Vassago

Vassago
Profile
Status:	Dead
Age:	Unknown
Race:	Demon
Gender:	Male
Class:	Warrior
Nation:	Yamato
Faction:	Northern Horde
Era:	Third Age

Vassago was a high-level demon who once worked as the Chief Torturer of Norash'namun and later became the herald of the Northern Horde. He had a lengthy history with Omaroch d'Zarnagon and liked to taunt his opponents and crush their spirits whenever possible. Vassago led a group of Northern Horde infiltrators into Alent to weaken the city from within and also to force the demons of Threshold to side with the North. Although he succeeded in stirring up trouble, he ultimately met his end when he faced Omaroch d'Zarnagon and Sarvin Keln in combat.

Biography

Early Years

Vassago was one of the many low-level demons who fought for power in the Demon Realm. He slowly rose through the ranks and eventually reached the mitglied class which gave him some prestige. He often spied on more powerful demons such as Omaroch d'Zarnagon and observed their weaknesses and strengths which he hoped he could one day use to his advantage. In time he rose to the position of Chief Torturer of Norash'namun, acting under orders from Grand Duchess Nhrakate d'Zarnagon.

Darkness Within

Vassago became a skilled torturer by the time Omaroch was having adventures in the outside world. When Omaroch was dragged back to the Demon Realm as punishment for disobeying the Grand Duchess and for coupling with a mortal, Vassago became one of the demons who tortured him for years to crush his spirit. He was present when the almost broken Omaroch told his story, and he wrote Omaroch's story down in what became known as Darkness Within.

The story had a deep impact on Vassago who now pursued his dream of becoming stronger even more furiously. He was relieved of his duty as torturer when Omaroch had been weakened enough. Vassago saw the Grand Duchess personally brainwash Omaroch into an obedient servant of Mardük and he became jealous when he found out that Omaroch had been sent back to the Land of the Living to keep an eye on his sons Kareth d'Zarnagon and Refan d'Zarnagon who would play an important part in an ancient prophecy which foretold the revival of Mardük and the triumph of demons.

Distreyd Era

Dark Times

Vassago was training one day when he suddenly found himself on the surface world. It turned out the prophecy had been fulfilled and Mardük had summoned every demon from the realm to fight in his name. Vassago participated in the Second Battle of Kageshima although he didn't fight as recklessly as many others and instead used his wits to lure his prey, humans, into clever traps.

Everything changed, however, when the Godslayer appeared and devoured Mardük. This caused the Cataclysm and made demons have free will now that their master Mardük was gone for good...although their bloodlust still remained. The now masterless demons ran amok, Vassago among them, and slew everything in sight in Yamato. The onslaught continued for months until finally five hordes emerged victorious and secured power bases all over Yamato.

Choosing a Side

Vassago now had to choose which of the five factions to support. After careful consideration he joined Malphas d'Xuvadon's Northern Horde which he thought was the faction with the most potential among the other candidates. He was intrigued by the Northern Horde's decision to let lesser races such as humans, elves and dwarves to join their ranks. He eagerly studied the interactions between his demonic companions and the lesser races and was surprised to see how effectively these two castes worked together under the command of Malphas and Dreadlord Leraje Thanadar.

He was quick-witted and quickly discovered a plot of the four demon hordes to get rid of the fifth horde, the Central Horde, because that horde's leader Omaroch hadn't returned and thus the horde was in a weak state. The other, less known reason for the coup was that Omaroch had been responsible for the birth of the Godslayer which had resulted in Mardük's death, and demons also used this excuse to destroy every last remnant of Omaroch's power for this betrayal.

The weakened and confused Central Horde was decimated not long after and its Dreadlord, Omaroch's closest lieutenant Ronove Thanadar, was assumed to be dead in the brutal aftermath of the coup even though no one ever found the body. Vassago was one of those who participated in the so-called Night of Blood, the fateful night when the four dreadlords and their minions betrayed Ronove whose injured body plummeted into the raging sea below.

Growing Stronger

Vassago spent the following months training and devouring lesser demons until he finally had gained enough power to ascend to the prestigious hoch class of demons. He also ran the spy network of the Northern Horde and soon found out that Omaroch was in fact alive in a city called Alent. Apparently Omaroch had abandoned his demonic circles and was now working for lowly humans for some reason.

Vassago decided to test Omaroch's strength and sent assassins after him on a weekly basis to keep him on his toes. He hoped to one day challenge Omaroch himself and then interrogate him to find out whether spending time with lowly beings such as humans had made Omaroch a better warrior or not.

Godslayer Era

A Crimson Dawn

"I just want to let you know that His Grace has set his sights on Libaterra and that he has sent His Lordship Leraje to prepare the forces of the Northern Horde. He wants you to know that there's nothing any of you can do anymore. You'll either bow down before the might of His Grace's Horde or be destroyed."

—Vassago to Omaroch d'Zarnagon

When Duke Malphas put his plan of invading Libaterra in motion, Vassago was tasked with delivering a message to Omaroch. Vassago appeared with a fellow demon assassin at Alent and sent the assassin after Omaroch while watching how the archdemon would react. Once Omaroch had disposed of the assassin, Vassago revealed himself to the angered Omaroch and revealed the severed heads of the female assassins of the Hisakata Clan who had been Omaroch's last remaining demonic supporters.

Vassago taunted Omaroch by calling the Hisakata women with various offensive names and also pointed out that he had grown so powerful that even Omaroch couldn't catch him anymore. He also stated that Malphas wanted Omaroch to know that the Northern Horde would conquer Libaterra soon and Omaroch could do nothing but watch it happen. After delivering these taunts, Vassago left the heartbroken Omaroch alone. He was delighted to see how easy it was to crush Omaroch's spirits but he also knew that he wasn't yet powerful enough to directly challenge Omaroch. Besides, he first wanted to see how Omaroch would react to the soon-to-come invasion before deciding how to deal with him.

Sowing Season

"I, Vassago, bring tidings to the rulers of Vanna from my master, His Lordship Leraje, head of Clan Thanadar, Hoch des Rot, Dreadlord of the Northern Horde, the mightiest champion of His Grace Malphas d'Xuvadon! His Lordship has chosen your home as his new stronghold and demands your total surrender!"

—Vassago addressing the people of Vanna

Vassago accompanied Dreadlord Leraje and the army of the Northern Horde to Libaterra where they conquered many towns while they were marching towards the grand city of Vanna. Once the army had reached Vanna, Vassago was sent to deliver an ultimatum to the leaders of the city and to demand the humans' total surrender. However, when Sultan Khalid al-Saif of Vanna didn't comply, Leraje took over and Vassago had the privilege to watch the events unfold as Leraje dueled Khalid's right-hand man Ismail and won.

The death of Ismail signalled the beginning of the Battle of Vanna, and Vassago disappeared within the ranks of the army to observe from afar what would happen next.

Fool's Errand

"I expect everyone in my team to be in full health. You, being a halfbreed, need to replenish yourself. Kill him and devour his heart. You want to grow stronger, yes? By killing this criminal you'll achieve just that but you'll also make poor Libaterra safer by eliminating one peace-threatening criminal from its soil. Or do you wish to question my authority?"

—Vassago to Refan d'Zarnagon

Garden of Fear

Vassago was hit by Sarvin's blood magic spell but managed to shrug its effects off albeit with great effort. He focused on the elven necromancer, deciding to defeat him first while believing Omaroch to be in too weakened a state to do anything. However, Omaroch managed to surprise Vassago by standing up with pure force of will and grabbing him from behind and biting his neck to draw out his blood.

While Omaroch held Vassago in place, Sarvin cast one more devastating spell on Vassago who, having already drained much of his power while defending himself from earlier attacks, could no longer withstand the spells and fell while the blood within his body erupted.

As Vassago lay dying, he lamented how he had been brought down at this moment and not later in a proper battle. He also expressed regret at how bloodlust would always define demons, including himself, although he realized that ultimately he was happy that Omaroch would be present when he was about to pass away. He questioned Omaroch about his strength and, when he learned how the memories of his loved ones had kept Omaroch going, he began wondering if, in some twisted way, Omaroch may have been a loved one to him and that perhaps he and Omaroch finally understood one another on some level.

Death

Vassago asked Omaroch to devour his heart and add his strength into his own. He didn't want to die to an opponent he had been haunting for so long without a proper gesture. Omaroch honoured Vassago's wishes and slew the dying demon, receiving his lifeforce which helped revitalize his weakened body and turn it younger and stronger.

Aliases and Nicknames

Herald of the Northern Horde

Vassago's title in the Northern Horde.

Chief Torturer of Norash'namun

Vassago's title in the Demon Realm.

Appearance

Vassago usually doesn't bother changing into a potential human or elven form as he wants to look intimidating in the eyes of mortals and doesn't want to limit his power for enjoyment like many other demons such as Malphas and Leraje do. He looks like a regular demon with dark skin, two horns, a forked tail, giant wings and big muscles as well as glowing red eyes. He sometimes prefer a green demonic skin or, if he has to impersonate humans, the form of a black human warrior.

Personality and Traits

Vassago is a rather conflicted individual. On the one hand he likes to show off his strength to those he knows but on the other hand he prefers to observe his enemies and sends lesser demons to fight for himself whenever possible. He's a cunning demon who seems to always be one step ahead of most of his enemies. He's also somewhat obsessed about Omaroch's life after working as Omaroch's interrogator for years, and he wishes to find out if Omaroch has discovered the reason for the hidden strength which mortal races seem to possess.

Powers and Abilities

Vassago is one of the most powerful demons in the Northern Horde even though he doesn't look diffrent from lower-level demons in the horde. He knows some magic but in the heat of battle he tends to rely more on strength than anything else. Unlike many other demons in the bloodthirsty horde, he prefers to fight verbally rather than physically and always tries to wear down his opponent's spirit before engaging said opponent in battle.

Relationships

Brak

Vassago saw Brak as a rabid dog albeit a useful one. The two often clashed as Brak questioned Vassago's authority, but the higher demon quickly put Brak back in line. Brak's little rebellion in Threshold didn't please Vassago at all, and he didn't mourn when he found out Brak had died, seeing the demon's death as an inevitable casualty.

Distreyd Thanadar XIII

Distreyd and Vassago constantly test each other's wits, and Vassago finds some perverse pleasure in their wordplay. Although he sees Distreyd as a lesser being, he acknowledges how wily the man can be and thus sees him as a useful asset in the Northern Horde, even letting him pretend to be the leader of the group in front of strangers for his own amusement.

Malphas d'Xuvadon

Vassago respects Malphas for being a young demon with great ambition. However, Vassago is more careful in his operations than Malphas and prefers to take things one step at a time at his own pace.

Omaroch d'Zarnagon

After spending years as Omaroch's torturer and writing down his confession, Vassago became obsessed with him and spent much of his time learning anything he could about Omaroch. This obsession led him to help in the coup to get rid of Omaroch's surviving loyal supporters and sending assassins after Omaroch to test his strength. The short confrontation between the two in recent times aroused Vassago quite a bit, and it seems his stalker-like qualities are only getting worse the more time he spends obsessing about Omaroch.

Refan d'Zarnagon

Vassago sees Refan as a potential threat but he can't help but like the irony of having Omaroch's son in his ranks. He keeps taunting Refan and is constantly pushing him closer to the darkness while waiting to see when Refan will snap. Refan doesn't like Vassago but is forced to obey him to an extent because he knows he can't challenge Vassago's authority directly.

Ronove Thanadar

Vassago is conflicted about Ronove ever since he learned that Ronove had become the Northern Horde's newest Dreadlord. He wonders how well Ronove remembers the events of the Night of Blood, but so far Ronove hasn't shown any signs of hostility towards him. Vassago follows Ronove's orders but he's also secretly reporting all activities to Malphas behind Ronove's back because he doesn't fully trust Ronove.

See also

• Northern Horde
• Omaroch d'Zarnagon