The Lord of Envy

The Fourth of the Lords of Sin

Habitat: Orland, Or CIty, Lair; Treasure: Relics

Garlgax, the Lord of Envy, was once a drow prince named Gar'zax of House Doomthron, one of the great noble houses of Darkonglaxsti. Born a male within a cruel and rigid matriarchal society, Gar'zax entered life with few expectations placed upon him. Yet from an early age he possessed gifts that set him apart from his peers. He was intelligent, ambitious, and unusually favored by fate. More importantly, he shared a bond with his sister Dalth'zala that bordered upon obsession. The two were inseparable throughout their youth, and she remained the only being Gar'zax ever truly loved.

Both children were selected for the priesthood while still young and admitted into the Novitiate Order. For Dalth'zala, advancement was expected. For Gar'zax, it was extraordinary. Males rarely rose beyond the lowest ranks of the priesthood, yet both siblings displayed remarkable talent and devotion. Together they advanced into the Numerary Order, a distinction that brought them prestige and influence within Darkonglaxsti.

Their ambitions grew with their accomplishments. Both set their sights upon the Theocratic Order, the highest rank of the priesthood and the true rulers of drow society. Such an achievement was nearly unheard of for a male, but Gar'zax refused to believe the barriers that constrained others applied to him. His sister encouraged this belief, and his growing power as a priest seemed to justify it. His confidence was strengthened further by the fact that his mother, Lex'gora, stood among the highest-ranking priestesses of the entire Order. Gar'zax became convinced that his ascension was inevitable.

For years he devoted himself to study, prayer, and intrigue. By day he immersed himself in sacred learning beneath the earth. By night he spent countless hours cavorting with Dalth'zala, sharing forbidden love and the dreams of the power they would someday wield together.

When the day of elevation finally arrived, Gar'zax entered the ceremony expecting vindication. Before a gathered assembly, the names of the new Theocrats were announced. He listened with pride as Dalth'zala's name was called. Then he waited for his own.

It never came.

The ceremony ended. The honors were bestowed. Gar'zax stood forgotten among the crowd.

That night Dalth'zala came to comfort her brother. She found not the devoted companion of her youth, but a man consumed by humiliation. In a fit of jealous rage, Gar'zax struck her from behind and strangled her to death. In a single moment he murdered the only creature he had ever loved, not because she had wronged him, but because she possessed what he believed should have been his.

With his sister dead and his future ruined, Gar'zax turned his bitterness outward. He blamed his mother. He blamed the Theocrats. He blamed the Dark Serpent Goddess he had served faithfully throughout his life. Rather than accept his own failure, he convinced himself that he had been cheated. He swore vengeance against House Doomthron and vowed to tear down the priesthood that had denied him.

Fleeing Darkonglaxsti, he sought refuge in the nearby settlement of Ruthless, a sinister place haunted by squid-headed abominations the drow called Mind Flayers, their dreaded enemies. There he forged an alliance with Doolth, a powerful priest among those fell beings. Renouncing both his family and his faith, Gar'zax abandoned his former identity and took the name Garlgax. At Doolth's urging, he embraced the worship of Vornoth, the Walker-in-Darkness, and discovered that his new faith granted him powers he had never possessed before.

Armed with these dark gifts and supported by his monstrous allies, Garlgax launched a savage assault upon House Doomthron. His own mother fell beneath his wrath, along with many members of his bloodline. For a brief time it seemed his revenge would be complete.

Then the Theocrats intervened.

The drow priesthood shattered his rebellion and left him mortally wounded. Garlgax escaped only by fleeing back to Ruthless. There, weakened and vulnerable, he discovered the true nature of his allies. The squid-headed abominations immediately turned upon him, eager to destroy the pawn they no longer needed.

Only Doolth remained loyal. Claiming to have received a vision from Vornoth himself, the dark priest entrusted Garlgax with the infamous Amulet of Evernight and guided him through hidden tunnels deep beneath the world. At a secret meeting place, Doolth's vision proved true. Waiting there were agents of the Dweller in the Wintervale. Without hesitation, the abomination-priest surrendered Garlgax into their custody.

What followed remains hidden behind the shadows of the Nameless City. Garlgax remembered little of his years there. Fragments of memory survived, but much of his former life was stripped away, twisted, or remade. Whatever entered the city was not the same being that eventually emerged.

When he returned, he was no longer merely a bitter drow prince. He had become the Lord of Envy.

During the Dark Conquest, Garlgax led the successful invasion of Orland and established himself as ruler of the conquered kingdom. There he found satisfaction in spreading misery among those who possessed what he never could. Chief among these objects of envy were the surface races themselves. The freedom of the open sky, the warmth of the sun, and the simple joys of life above ground became constant reminders of what lay forever beyond his reach. Unable to enjoy such blessings himself, Garlgax dedicated much of his existence to ensuring that others enjoyed them as little as possible.

Garlgax stands six feet, one inch tall and possesses the ebony skin and silver hair common to the drow race. He is lean, weighing roughly one hundred and seventy-five pounds. His voice is high, sharp, and perpetually tinged with spite. He is a master schemer, preferring manipulation, betrayal, and corruption to open confrontation. When nervous or deep in thought, he habitually twirls strands of his silver hair between his fingers, a small remnant of the prince he once was.

Unlike many villains driven by hatred, Garlgax is motivated by something far smaller and far more poisonous. He cannot bear to see others possess what he lacks. Every accomplishment becomes an insult. Every joy becomes an affront. Every success enjoyed by another feels like a theft from himself. Thus he embodies envy in its purest form: a soul so consumed by resentment that it would rather destroy happiness than endure another's possession of it.