Lorien Thalorin

The Tragedy of Dr. Lorien Thalorin: Scholar, Destroyer, Exile

 

Early Years: A Brilliant Mind, A Dangerous Obsession

Lorien Thalorin was born in the arcane city of Aelyndor, a bastion of learning and magical innovation within the kingdom of Vandekar. A half-elf born to a human noble and an elven scholar, Lorien grew up caught between two worlds—a brilliant prodigy who never truly belonged to either.   From a young age, he showed a keen intellect and a relentless curiosity, particularly in the fields of planar physics, arcane binding, and forbidden bestiaries. He believed that all creatures, even the most destructive, followed a set of rules—laws that, once understood, could be controlled.   His early research at the Vandekari Institute of Grand Thaumaturgy focused on legendary creatures of immortal resilience, and one name stood above all others—the Tarrasque.   To most scholars, the Tarrasque was a myth, a horror of ancient times, a creature sealed away by gods, lost in history. But Lorien was convinced it was more than legend. He believed that, if properly understood, the Tarrasque’s regenerative capabilities and boundless power could revolutionize magic, healing, and warfare. He theorized that the creature wasn’t merely a beast, but a cosmic constant—a force tied to the fabric of reality.   And he wanted to find it.  

The Cataclysm: Awakening the Tarrasque

At the height of his academic career, Lorien made a fatal discovery. Deep beneath the catacombs of Castle Vandekar, he unearthed an ancient Cyclopean ruin, far older than the kingdom itself. Inscribed upon the monolithic stones was a prophecy—a warning etched in the forgotten tongue of the elder seers.  

"The Sleeper lies beneath. Bound in chains of time, it dreams in hunger. To unbind it is to unmake all."

  But to Lorien, it wasn’t a warning—it was an opportunity.   With the support of Vandekar’s King Althric IV, Lorien was given full royal patronage to study the ruins. He led a team of scholars, mages, and arcanists into the depths of the forgotten city. There, he discovered a sealed planar rift—an arcane cage, a wound in reality itself.   Xaathuun.   The name came to him in dreams, whispered from the stones themselves. It was not just the Tarrasque—it was something far worse. A primal force, twisted by time and the folly of those who tried to contain it. The ancient Cyclopes had sealed it away, not to imprison it, but to keep reality from unraveling.   But Lorien didn’t listen.   Using an array of arcane equations, planar attunements, and blood rituals, he devised a method to access the sealed dimension that housed the beast. On the fateful night of the experiment, he and his team shattered the final binding glyph.   Reality buckled. The world screamed. Xaathuun woke.  

The Fall of Vandekar

The Tarrasque’s awakening was not a simple emergence—it was a rupture, a tidal wave of destruction that erased Vandekar from the map in mere hours. The kingdom’s capital, Erelis, was reduced to rubble within minutes. The royal palace collapsed under the weight of a single swipe of Xaathuun’s tail.   The sky blackened as the beast unleashed a roar so powerful that mountains cracked and the tides surged. Thousands died instantly. Tens of thousands more perished in the fires and earthquakes that followed.   And Lorien Thalorin?   He survived.   But he would wish he hadn't.  

The Curse: Becoming the Riftwalker

The sealing ritual had been incomplete, and when the containment rune collapsed, the eldritch force binding Xaathuun lashed out like a broken tether. Lorien, standing at the heart of the ritual, became its conduit.   The breach did not fully open, nor did it fully close. Instead, it latched onto him, warping his very essence.   Xaathuun was now bound within him.   Lorien was no longer just a man—he had become a living rift, a vessel through which the beast’s power could seep into the world. When his emotions ran high, when pain or rage overtook him, the monster stirred, forcing its way through his flesh.   He was no longer the scientist who sought to study the Tarrasque—he had become its prison.  

Exile: The Fugitive of the Inner Sea

The few survivors of Vandekar hunted Lorien, cursing his name, blaming him for their suffering. His former colleagues denounced him, the arcane orders branded him a heretic, and the world itself seemed to reject him.   For decades, he fled.   He crossed the Inner Sea, wandering from Cheliax to Absalom, then beyond to the Mwangi Expanse, the Shackles, and Osirion. Everywhere he went, Xaathuun stirred within him, leaving a trail of devastation whenever he lost control.   The legends grew:

• "The Devourer’s Shadow walks among us."
• "The Riftborne One brings calamity."
• "Lorien Thalorin is no man—he is a plague given flesh."

  Seeking peace, he finally vanished into the ocean’s mist, sailing to a remote island off the coast, lost amid the tides of the Inner Sea.  

Present Day: The Monster in the Fog

For years, Lorien hid on his island, living in self-imposed exile. There, he sought to understand his condition, to find a cure, to silence the monster inside him.   But the world never forgets its nightmares.   Whispers of a scholar-turned-beast still drift across the taverns of the Inner Sea. Some say the island itself is cursed, that ships that stray too close vanish in the mist, devoured by something unseen.   And now… Something stirs.   A powerful force—be it a warlord, a scholar, or something worse—seeks him out. Perhaps they want his knowledge. Perhaps they seek to claim the beast within him.   Or perhaps…   They have come to finish what was started in Vandekar.   Because Lorien knows the truth: Xaathuun is not truly asleep. It is waiting.   And if he loses control again…   The world may never recover.