Canonfire! Forums-viewtopic-War God of the Baklunish?

Sat Jul 04, 2009 11:13 pm Iuz: The Mortal Years

I recently read a thread regarding Iuz's ascension to godhood and it got me thinking: has his history as a mortal ever been covered in depth (here at CF or other source)? Specifically, I'm looking for more details of his years in the Howling Hills and his bandit chieftain "father". If not, I'd like to hear some theories, if anyone has any.

Thanks.

Sat Jul 04, 2009 11:16 pm

Well, I wrote this. I didn't deal with his stepfather at all, though.

Sun Jul 05, 2009 7:49 am

Thanks, Rasgon. Great stuff, as always. I'm curious about his stepfather and the role he had in Iuz's life as well. I've got a few ideas but haven't really sorted them out in my head yet. Any thoughts?

Sun Jul 05, 2009 11:52 am

I've assumed a few things based on published materials. Dorakaa seems to have existed before the rise of Iuz, though it was named Dora Kaa at the time. I've taken this to be the name of the realm that Iuz inherited from his his cuckolded "step-father". I also made the assumption that it was probably a barony, and that the step-father and his neighbors were acknowledged nobles of the Northern Reaches, even if they were little better than bandit lords. I imagine his father to have been seduced by and married to Iggwilv, who would have been at least about 150-200 years old at the time. I can see that Iggwilv already had a plan to be impregnated by Graz'zt if she hadn't already done so, and saw the marriage as a way to foist a half-demon child on a man who whose inheritance would benefit her son. For this reason I see Iuz's step-father as having been a lord of some importance in the region. Personality-wise I see him as probably having been cruel and abusive, especially if he was suspicious about who the boy's father really was. I imagine Iuz to have been relatively young when he inherited his step-father's title in 479, though not too young since he conquered 3 neighboring fiefs the next year. His step-father's death would have been of unnatural causes brought about either by Iggwilv or Iuz (Poisoned by Iggwilv, smothered with a pillow by Iuz, who knows?)

Sun Jul 05, 2009 1:44 pm

I had always assumed that Dora Kaa and the neighboring petty states were simply a westward branch of the Bandit 'Kingdoms.'

As far as Iuz's early life, yeah, you can pretty much assume he spent it getting kicked around by his adoptive father, and pulling the wings off of flies on his spare time. Evil Grin

Sun Jul 05, 2009 1:52 pm

From Return of the Eight, page 55:

Sun Jul 05, 2009 9:28 pm

Sun Jul 05, 2009 9:43 pm

Some excerpts from here

Around CY 250, Stinvri, Viceroy of the Ferrond, declared his independence and wrested control of the Marklands from the Great Kingdom. In CY 256 he passed control of the region to his son, crowned as King Thrommel I (1)...

More than a century of nomad raids had reduced the northern lands (or Northern Reaches) to a ragtag collection of petty holdings run by warlords. They considered the change in government as merely the replacement of one distant figurehead for another, with little effect on their daily struggle for existence...

The northlands (east of the Veng, north of the Whyestil) never were actually granted their independence. Then again, the majority of petty rulers there never swore fealty to Thrommel to begin with. Their divided nature convinced Thrommel that they were not ready for self-governance yet, and he treated the lands like protectorates...

In the north, raids from the nomads had increased. The petty lords of the Northern Reaches were failing one by one.

Some excerpts from here

The ultimate victory against Iggwilv was not without its costs. A decade of preoccupation with Perrenland and the Velverdyva had left the Northern Reaches long neglected. With few Knights and no army patrols, the area had utterly collapsed into banditry. Though still claimed by Furyondy, none of the local lordlings recognized the rule or rights of the King (23). In CY 479 a local bandit lord of the Howling Hills region died and left his holding to a son named Iuz (24). This “man”, powerful and darkly handsome, quickly consolidated his inheritance. Using humanoid mercenaries, dark magics, and cunning strategies, he rapidly expanded his fief (25). At the time, elven Knights were still active in the Northern Reaches. They soon heard rumors of the new bandit lord, and duly reported them to Furyondy. Most troubling was the suggestion that Iuz employed humanoid mercenaries, when the policy of Furyondy had been to eliminate humanoids where possible. The elves recommended that the Furyondian Knights send a full commission of inquiry and assert dominion over Iuz’s holdings, forcing him to meet the standards of a subject of the King. But the Howling Hills were a long way from the civilized parts of Furyondy, and the King and his Knights alike were more interested in the estates just across the Veng and Whyestil than those in the distant north. They let the matter rest for the time being (26). The next year Iggwilv began her invasion of Perrenland and by CY 481 she was menacing the Highfolk. The Elven Hart was recalled from the Northern Reaches and Furyondy turned away from the matter (27).

But the problem of Iuz grew, as one sage has said, “like mold on an overripe peach” (28). As his domain spread, tales of horrors and atrocities reached Furyondy with increasing regularity. A road from Dorakaa (his new capital) to the Howling Hills lined with skulls. Watchtowers with fires fed by human fat. Iuz himself taking a huge, demonic form (29). Clearly, the rumors would have to be investigated and action would have to be taken. But the pressing matters of Bissel and Highfolk were deemed more important. The known dangers of Ket, Keoland, and Iggwilv were accorded more importance than the rumors from the north. By the time Iggwilv fell in CY 491, Iuz had conquered all the land between the Dulsi and Opicm Rivers and was regularly sending raiding parties into the Vesve (30).

When the fall of Iggwilv freed the Furyondi army and Knights, everyone knew that something would have to be done about Iuz. Tales of the horrible fates suffered by lord and vassale alike in the half-civilized barons on the northern shores of the Whyestil were common knowledge. But still, King Avras III (23) hesitated. A war against Iuz, now great in power, would deplete the army, impoverish the treasury, and yield little in land or booty for the participants. The northern lords pressed for immediate action, but to succeed the King would need the troops of the southern lords as well. They were loathe to have their men so far from the frontiers of Ket and Keoland, and attempted to wring concessions from the King (28). The war would likely extend beyond the period the King could demand free service from the nobles, and he had little to offer them. The line of selfless Furyondian monarchs had slowly lost lands relative to the nobles. The occupation and defense of Bissel had for the last half-century been a steady drain on the royal treasury (while enriching the noble rulers). King Avras’ attempts to increase taxes to pay for a campaign against Iuz were completely ineffective, aside from earning him the unjust moniker of “King Avarice”.
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Mon Jul 06, 2009 6:24 pm

Thanks for the feedback, these have been some great responses. I agree that Iuz's stepfather only ran a small fief either in or near the Howling Hills; given that he only left Iuz a couple hundred bandits, that's hardly an army large enough to control much more. It certainly makes sense that he spent a lot of time in the proximity of the Howling Hills in his youth, since the Soul Husks are also located there. I'd also speculate that Iggwilv delivered an infant Iuz to the bandit stepfather to secrete him from Graz'zt, so that Iuz would remain on Oerth to assist Iggwilv in her plans of conquest. I don't think there is a great deal of info regarding whether Graz'zt even knew of Iuz until he was older, when Iuz was mauled and deformed during Graz'zt's battle with Iggwilv.

And there is still more conflicting canon:
From Dragon Magazine #336:

Mon Jul 06, 2009 9:48 pm

Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:10 am

Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:56 pm

Personally, I've never used material from WG7 and I don't think it is considered canon by most. I think its a parody of canon, so there is some merit beneath all the mirth.