Baron

The entity known only as "Baron Zahar" is an enigmatic one, he'll say little to nothing about who he was or what his existence was like in the Grand Umbra. What little can be gleaned of who he is can only be based upon his more recent circumstances, having been brought into the realm of mortals inadvertently by the trainee sorceress Adaliah, nearly consuming her in the process before fleeing into the relative safety of the surrounding taiga to avoid the fury of an angry town filled with necromancers. Upon taking shelter in the dense forest, he could immediately sense something was wrong... his body quickly weakening, likely from the botched summoning. Thus, he waited and schemed, trying to decide when best to make his move and draw out the young fool who dared summon him... at least, that is, until she brought herself to him... fleeing a hungry pack of wolves right to the doorstep of the ruined temple in which he'd chosen to hide.

Deciding that he couldn't very well allow these beasts to take both food and a chance for the vengeance that was rightfully his, he slaughtered a few of them, enough for the rest to think better of their chances tangling with a Nox. The invaders dispatched, his attention turned quickly to the rather unwise summoner, pinning her to the floor and demanding an explanation. After all, how truly absurd could one individual be, to not only summon a high-class of demon without proper training AND escape certain doom in it's clutches, but to then leave the one place they're potentially safe from said demon's wrath and waltz right into it's waiting maw?! Nothing seemed to make sense, and the questions only compounded as the Baron silently noted another strange occurence... as his young summoner had returned to him, so to had his strength begun to wax once more.

He found himself listening to her story with an uncharacteristic level of interest, feeling his power growing all the while as she told him of the circumstances of her birth, the alienation she'd felt from her village, and that, on top of everything else that had gone wrong, the potent risk she'd taken from the summoning had resulted in her banishment from the only place she'd ever called home. Thus, true to his people, Baron Zahar offered the lioness a deal: Stay with him always, never leave his side, and he would provide her with protection, shelter, and a way to continue her studies into the dark arts...maybe even powers and techniques that no mortal tutor could ever teach her. Perhaps realizing she had no other options, Adaliah reluctantly agreed, leaving both wondering just how fruitful this new arrangement might be, and each questioning silently the strange, new comfort they felt in the other's presence...

Like most demons, Baron is a cruel man, quickly and brutally taking what he wants when he wants it unless cajoled or otherwise baited by Adaliah, for whom he shows an odd affinity. Any mortal who dared make light of him would be swiftly snuffed out, but Adaliah regularly refers to him without his title and receives naught but the occasional intimidating reprimand. If nothing else, he takes very seriously his oath to protect and provide for Ada, though how much of that devotion is self-serving in nature, only the Baron himself can truly know. He is capable of transforming himself into a more conventionally Vanusian form, resembling an unknown subspecies of Z'mai, though he despises using this form, referring to it as "frail and weak" despite it's towering stature and formidable muscled build.

Though the nature of the link between he and Ada remains a mystery to the pair, it is one that continues to draw them together and prove beneficial to them both. Her increasing tendency to gravitate to him while sleeping seems to be largely intrinsic to the link, but his growing need to test the limits of just how much they can benefit one another from additional closeness is far from driven purely by instinct...