Tcharlat
The Loyal Vassal of the Overlord
Intermediate Goddess

Epithets:	Shadowqueen, Sentinel of the Five Pits, the One Loyal Vassal
Alignment:	Lawful evil
Symbol:	Black dragon, shrouded in shadow
Primary followers:	Evil dragonkind and all evil-aligned sentient monsters

     The true form of the Soverign of the Chromatics is that of a hulking dragon some 1500 feet in length. Eternally cloaked in shadows, Tcharlat's entire body is covered by scales black as pitch, rendering them all but invisible. As her ponderous body moves about and shards of light penetrate the darkness, patches of her scaly hide glisten like dewdrops on the surface of a tar pit, reflecting iridescent flashes of red, green, and blue.

     Tcharlat's massive teeth and hideous talons are a sickly white, while the slit pupils of her oily black eyes pulse with a pallid light that gives neither warmth nor comfort. It is said that any mortal being caught beneath the shadow of the True Goddess in flight has his courage smothered and his hope shattered.

     Tcharlat's first mention in the Astarith is in the pages of the Fourth Book. As the War of Dominion drew to a close, an anonymous and unseen Power from Beyond drifted about the World, searching for a single Dragon who took pleasure in slaying the peoples of the New Races. The Power found what she was looking for in the heart of the draconian war leader Profariax, a brilliant general and a prolific mother of new wyrms. The strange Power whispered to Profariax she slept, stood at her side as she planned her strategies, and bided her time until the wyrm was in the height of her battle fury.

     At that moment, Tcharlat touched the mind of her chosen, offering the Dragon mastery not only over the New Races, but over her own kind as well—and Profariax's tainted spirit leapt at the chance. As the power of Tcharlat poured into her being, the general's steely gray scales seemed to dissolve into inky blackness...the True Goddess's first Avatar. Her dragon half forsaking her loyalty to the Gray Shifter, Tcharlat/Profariax withdrew to "their" lair and laid a clutch of eggs: five in number, their shells were of shades never seen before on the face of Minarra: frosted blue, bloody red, luminous white, shimmering green, and oily black. Each egg contained two dragons, male and female, destined to become the progenitors of Minarra's Chomatics.

     The Shadowqueen is the only Power of the House of Darkness whose loyalty to the Overlord is unquestioned. Far wiser than her fellow vassals, Tcharlat learned two vital lessons from the carnage of the Age of Mists, and never forgot them. The War of Dominion taught her that no race of Dragons born of Minarra could ever exterminate the New Races and take Minarra for their own—nor could she ever hope to usurp the Overlordship of the Pits through a worldly victory. Submitting herself to Lazev's authority, Tcharlat wormed her way into the good graces of the Overlord with promises of fell squadrons of chromatic wyrms for the War of Souls both Powers could see coming.

     Later, when the War came and was ultimately "lost" by the forces of Darkness, the two Powers stood as one to prevent the Overlord's vassals from taking the Ebon Scepter by force. In this, Tcharlat was merely being pragmatic: the House of Darkness needed a dictator, and Lazev was the only True God worthy of the office. The alternative—eternal scheming and unending warfare—would gain her and her people nothing. Thus it has been since the closing of the Astarith.

     Avatars: To Minarra's great relief, manifestations of the Shadowqueen are very rare indeed. She almost never deigns to grant exclusive audiences to the religious of her monstrous followers, forcing them instead to travel to the lair of a chromatic wyrm of the Silahr Draconev to bear witness.

     Whenever possible, Tcharlat will make her appearances in the most spacious of natural caverns. Barring that, she will choose the top of a cliff face or the summit of a hill or mountain, and schedule the event for one of Minarra's infrequent moonless nights.

     Since witnesses to Tcharlat's Avatars are almost always forbidden to speak of their experience to outsiders, one can only speculate as to the Shadowqueen's motives. From the mayhem that usually follows a visitation, however, one can infer that her main purpose is to spur her faithful to acts of not-so-random violence, conquest, and plunder. In those rare instances that the Shadowqueen allows news of a visitation to spread, it is merely to terrify the outside world with her veiled threats and idle pronouncements of doom.

     Mortal Servants: Like the Gray Shifter, Tcharlat relies exclusively on the Silahr Draconev of her dark wyrms and on the priests and shamans of the monstrous sentients of evil. But unlike her counterparts among the Draconihm, the Shadowqueen is hardly generous when it comes to granting spells. Quick to take offense and slow to forgive, Tcharlat demands (on the surface at least) absolute fidelity and unquestioned obedience from her worldly instruments. In practice, however, she keenly enjoys watching her underlings struggle to further their own ends while attending to hers...for those that can do both are her favorite servants of all.

     There exist a considerable number of spies, guardians, and watchers among Tcharlat's servants. It's no secret to Minarra's adventurers that the greater the evil, the greater the odds that at least one of the Shadowqueen's foul minions will be close at hand. These cunning and lethal creatures have been the doom of uncounted heroes down through the ages.

     Philosophy/Tenets of Faith: If there's anything that Tcharlat actually "teaches" her dragons and monstrous followers, it's that one's share of the world is as much as one dares to risk in obtaining it. Territory, treasure, and all the rest have to be taken—by force, cunning, or what have you. Sharing is something that is done only when you have no choice, and loyalty is only for that handsome, scaly reflection in the mirror. Tending to the needs of the next generation is the only exception to this rule that the Shadowqueen will tolerate.

     But Tcharlat is no fool, and her directives for those who serve alongside the followers of the Overlord are another matter entirely. Cooperation, discipline, and initiative are expected whenever the common causes of Lazev and his One Loyal Vassal are being served—and only her very best are selected for such prestigious service.

(Draconihm)

(Draconihm)

(House of Darkness)

(X)

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