Ass-Uraqn, known as Lord of Three Thunders, the Hurler of Thunder, and the Poet of Justice, was the ancient Untheric deity of Warfare, Tactics, and Nobility. He was exiled from that land long ago and made his way to the lands that would be Chessenta where has fostered a loyal following ever since.
Mythology
Ass-Uraqn was Unther’s greatest general. During the First Untheric Empire he commanded Unther’s legions to victory after victory and allowed Unther to grow to great heights.
He was idolised by the people of Unther along with Amar-Du’uk, together the populace were proud of their martial heritage and their great heroes who never failed and were never defeated.
The Orcgate Wars brought an end to that dream. Most of the Untheric godkings were killed off and Unther and Akanu were forced to merge for survival. Ass-Uraqn was among the first casualties of Gil-Geamesq’s paranoia as he began eliminating and exiling the native Untheric godkings to consolidate his power and remove all elements of resistance.
Ass-Uraqn fled to Akanu and fought a guerrilla war against Gil-Geamesq’s rule to avenge himself upon the God-King of Unther. He remained a minor power in Akanu until the nation began to break up and became independent from Unther in all but name. As the people of Akanu mingled with migrants from Chondath and Tethyr, Ass-Uraqn gained a greater following but he also attracted the attention of darker powers that came with the migrants seeking to drain power from divine beings.
Ass-Uraqn became embroiled in a contest with a powerful Warlord who cornered him at the foot of Mount Thulbane. There the two beings battled amid a great thunderstorm, neither Ass-Uraqn, nor the Warlord were ever seen again.
History
Ass-Uraqn was among the greatest heroes of the Mulan that journeyed to rescue them from the Imaskari. He led the Mulan people in an uprising against the Imaskar Empire and masterminded the plan to attack Inupras directly and smash the Empire before a protracted war began.
Ass-Uraqn commanded the Mulan forces during the attack while Gil-Geamesq led the charge on the ground. Ass-Uraqn also commanded the campaigns against the dragons that claimed territory within Unther, he also conquered the Eastern Shaar and the Wizards’ Reach as Unther expanded. So great were his achievements that E-Nlil embraced him as a brother although he was never formally adopted into the House of E, and many expected Ass-Uraqn to succeed E-Nlil should he ever depart although it was an opportunity Ass-Uraqn never wanted or claimed when the time came.
Ass-Uraqn’s knowledge of tactics and strategy was unsurpassed, his organisation allowed the large armies of Unther to conquer far flung territories with minimal losses to disease, desertion, or battle. The great fortresses of the First Age of Unther were built with his input into the designs that made them such formidable towers of defence.
Ass-Uraqn’s was ever watchful for the movement of his enemies, his one weakness was his trusting nature towards his friends and allies whom he relied upon for his battle plans.
Before the Orcgate Wars, Ass-Uraqn’s most trusted ally was Amar-Du’uk; who led Unther’s aerial cavalry and was unbeatable in single combat. The Orcgate Wars weighed heavily on Ass-Uraqn because of the death of so many friends and allies – including Amar-Du’uk.
When Gil-Geamesq came to rule Unther and Akanu, Ass-Uraqn welcomed him with open arms without pressing his own claim to the throne of Unther, remembering the great warrior Gil-Geamesq was during the battles with Imaskar. He never saw the betrayal coming when Gil-Geamesq supplanted his entire following in Unther and aided Ram-Manu in replacing him as the Untheric God of War.
Ass-Uraqn took his vengeance by having his outlawed followers sabotage the flood defences in the Uthangol mountains and then summoning massive rainstorms that flooded the entire city of Unthalass. He did the same personally in Akanu and completely destroyed the city of Adanu, turning the once great capital into the Adanu Swamp (Modern: Adder Swamp).
Ass-Uraqn then took his own personal vengeance against Unther, acting as an outlaw that operated in the wilds of Akanu, trying to disrupt Gil-Geamesq’s control of the region. The people of Akanu largely despised Gil-Geamesq and the Untheric godkings and Ass-Uraqn was ignored as another example of the evil of the godkings.
As time passed foreigners from lands to the west began arriving in Akanu and they brought with them the worship of new and darker gods; including a god of vengeance known as Ahorz. These foreigners embraced Ass-Uraqn and his band of rebels; believing him Ahorz reborn, and so Ass-Uraqn became the leader of a band of freedom fighters fighting against the rule of Gil-Geamesq and against new tyrants who were beginning to exert their influence over the cities of Akanu in an attempt to create their own kingdoms.
During this period the most infamous of Ass-Uraqn’s deeds were the sinking of Unther’s fleet in 677 DR; the Year of Resonant Silence, using his fabled Gauntlets of Fury. His last known deed was when his band of freedom fighters and the forces of the Warlord met on the Fields of Pryollus in 742 DR, the battle was terrible and inconclusive and saw the two generals duel in single combat in a climactic battle atop Mount Thulbane. Both Ass-Uraqn and the Warlord were never seen again, but their followers persisted and sparked movements that would change Akanu and the rest of the realms forever.
In Ass-Uraqn’s absence his cult following merged with the migrating followers of Ahorz to create a new and stronger organisation. Ass-Uraqn became known as Hoar as his name was corrupted with Ahorz, the new Church of Hoar is strong in Chessenta, particularly in Mourktar (near to Ass-Uraqn’s last sighting).
Allies
Ass-Uraqn could always count upon the other godkings of Unther as his allies, but since Gil-Geamesq has driven them all away (or made them “disappear”), Ass-Uraqn has few allies left.
Despite his origin as a godking of Unther, Ass-Uraqn has achieved an almost Robin Hood status in the history of Chessenta, and anyone with a believable claim to be or represent Ass-Uraqn (now known as Hoar) can count upon the support of most of the common folk and the maligned.
Resources
Claws of Vengeance: During the second century of Unther’s existence, as the city of Unthalass expanded and the beginnings of a nation were formed, it encroached upon the territories of great dragons that had claimed the territories left vacant by the fall of Imaskar.
The first of such draconic conflicts involved the Ash Dragon of the Black Ash Plains, who had enslaved a legion of dwarves and established its own empire in the foothills of the Smoking Mountains. Ass-Uraqn and Amar-Du’uk led the forces of Unther against Vulpomyscan and the dwarves of the Wyrm’s Legion.
Unther won the day and the dragon was slain, and the godkings Amar-Du’uk and Ass-Uraqn plundered the stronghold of all its treasure. As a gift for his friend, Ass-Uraqn cut off the claws of the great Ash Dragon and had them enchanted so that they may defend the new fortress home of Amar-Du’uk. In total 20 claws were gathered an enchanted, 10 of them disappeared when the fortress was first lost and the others were gradually lost over the years, only 2 have been found in recent years and they form the Lash of the Death Dance now possessed by An-Unaki of Messemprar.
When hurled to the ground the claws transform into tiny skeletal dragons with bones made of ash hardened and solidified to the strength of stone. These dragons then attack the nearest creature making any form of movement (those standing still enlist no response from the dragons). When the claws are grouped together and hurled to the ground they form a single dragon of one size category greater than Tiny for each additional claw up to a maximum size of Colossal.
Enhancement Level: +2
Slot: None
Magical Properties: Summoning (x2); Uses, Recharge (x5); Activation, Use Activated; Range, 1 square. Cost 17,500 gp per claw
Gauntlets of Fury: These black metal gauntlets are legendary for their ability to produce lightning strikes yet they were known to radiate little magic themselves. The true magic of the gauntlets were hidden inside in the thick green velvet gloves that lined them. The origin of the gloves is unknown but it is believed that they were pulled from the body of Lord Artificer Yuvaraj and gifted to Ass-Uraqn by E-Nlil, Re, and E-Anu.
The power of the gauntlets were such that any injury incurred by the wearer, and any blow the wearer struck built up a charge of electricity (+1d4 per point of damage dealt or received) that could be released against those nearby. If enough of a charge was built up it was believed that Ass-Uraqn could release it in titanic storms that many think he used to flood Unthalass and Adanu and bedevil Gil-Geamesq and his forces.
The limit of the gauntlet’s charge is unknown, during the centuries before Gil-Geamesq ruled Unther, Ass-Uraqn used his prize for little more than parlour tricks (believing a surprise lightning strike from the glove to be ignoble). However, as his hatred of Gil-Geamesq grew he began using the power in battle against Gil-Geamesq’s men and even took to self flagellating himself in his lair atop Mount Thulbane to build up enormous charges to release upon his enemies.
Enhancement Level: +5
Slot: Hands
The Alternate Forgotten Realms 