Exemplars of Evil

Illus. by T. Giorello
96
t’s you or me, I’m afraid, and I don’t want to die.”
—Emmara Ishandrenn
Emmara Ishandrenn was once a potent force for
good in the world until she was captured, tortured,
and cursed by a lich known as Restarann. His curse
stripped away her goodness, cloaking her soul in deep,
festering shadow. Now driven half mad by terrifying
dreams, Emmara believes that she must perpetrate acts
of unspeakable evil to survive. From her lair in the Soth
Tarnel, a faded tomb in a lonely, crumbling sea stack, she
plots her revenge against all who abandoned her.
BACKGROUND
Emmara Ishandrenn—once an acclaimed adventurer,
follower of Pelor, and hero of the Free City—is now one
of its most implacable and dangerous enemies. A native
of the city, she spent her formative adventuring years
exploring the hills and woodlands of the surrounding
area with her compatriots, known as the Band of the
Eternal Sun. They grew in power and fame until, one
day, an influential local lord sought them out.
The lord told Emmara and her companions a harrowing
tale of ancient evil reawakened. A lich called
Restarann had stirred from his deathless slumber and,
for some unknowable reason, was sending agents deep
into the city. Victims slain by the agents were terribly
mutilated, arranged in strange poses, and surrounded by arcane
shapes drawn in their own blood or formed from their entrails.
This depravity could not be permitted to continue.
Thus, the Band of the Eternal Sun set out to find and slay
Restarann. After weeks of searching, they discovered his lair
and began their assault. The adventurers easily bested the
lich’s lesser guardians, but Restarann was far too powerful
for the intruders. Emmara’s companions were cut down by
mighty death magic, and she alone survived—barely.
It pleased the sadistic Restarann to spare Emmara a quick
demise. Instead, he tortured her for weeks before placing a
powerful curse upon her. The curse destroyed her honor
and morality, replacing it with a hatred for all things good
and fair. The lich was surprised by the depth of her conversion
and her newfound capacity for evil, and so he allowed
Emmara to live on as his servant. That night, however, terrifying
dreams began to haunt the former adventurer.
Emmara’s transformation brought more than nightmares.
With it came boundless ambition and an insatiable lust for
revenge. She hated her new master with a passion, for though
she truly embraced the darkness, she could not forget the
pain and suffering that Restarann had visited upon her.
Therefore, she slowly worked to subvert her master. Subtly
placed clues and garbled accounts from survivors eventually
led another band of heroes to Restarann’s lair. The adventurers
bested him in an epic battle, not suspecting that Emmara had
already taken steps to weaken the lich. Having laid her plans
carefully, Emmara survived her master’s fall and escaped with a