Magnaarn

Warlord Magnaarn (died MS 5076) was the ruler of Nyras. He was able to recover the Doomstone of Darke and use it in a war against Lencia, but prolonged use threatened to turn him into undead. He was slain by Lone Wolf during the events of The Darke Crusade.

Appearance

An illustration of Magnaarn is available at The Darke Crusade: §200.

An illustration of Magnaarn, after prolonged exposure to the Doomstone of Darke is available at The Darke Crusade: §75.

Magnaarn was a huge Drakkar man, not much taller than six feet but massively built with a red-haired scalp, and a battle scar ran from his top of scalp to point near the lobe of his left ear.

When possessed by the power of the Nyras Scepter, his body becomes twisted and mummy-like, with burning, feverish eyes with black sockets.

After continued exposure to the Doomstone of Darke, Magnaarn was on the verge of becoming undead, with a crooked back.

Biography

In MS 5076, prior to the events of The Darke Crusade, Lencia invaded Nyras in a bid to recapture ancient lands that had been lost to the Drakkarim. Warlord Magnaarn, the High Warlord of Darke, commanded the defenders. The war started auspiciously for Lencia as they crossed the Tentarias successfully and besieging Shpyder and Darke, but it stagnated as winter approached. Magnaarn quested for the Doomstone of Darke during this lull. Lencia feared that, if successful, Magnaarn would be able to force the Nadziranim of Kagorst and Akagazad to assist him. They sent Lord Floras to Sommerlund, seeking Lone Wolf's aid. Lone Wolf agreed to help.

Lone Wolf and Captain Prarg, a Lencian soldier, tracked Magnaarn to the Temple of Antah. They turned out to be too late; Magnaarn had found the Doomstone. In the ensuing confrontation, Prarg was taken prisoner, while Magnaarn buried Lone Wolf under tons of rock with a colossal explosion. Afterwards, as Lencia feared, combined the Doomstone with the Nyras Sceptre, recreating Darklord Dakushna's deadly sceptre. He rallied the forces of Kagorst and Akagazad, and launched an offensive to relieve the siege of Darke. The offensive cut through Lencia's lines like a hot knife through butter.

Magnaarn's offensive had reached Darke when Lone Wolf returned, having survived the events at Antah. Lone Wolf confronted Magnaarn at the Palace Tower, the highest point in the city of Darke. By now Magnaarn had become possessed by the power of the Nyras Sceptre, and the Doomstone had nearly turned him undead. In spite of his power, Lone Wolf sensed that deep down, he was afraid. He first sent a Tahrdemon to attack Lone Wolf, then after the Tahrdemon was defeated, he mustered enough strength and spite to challenge Lone Wolf personally. Magnaarn was slain in the ensuing duel.

After his death, the tide of the war turned decisively in Lencia's favour, and the Nadziranim and their allies were driven back north. Magnaarn's fate, however, was even worse: Naar captured Magnaarn's spirit and imprisoned him in the Plain of Despair, to be tormented for all eternity.

In the gamebooks

Warlord Magnaarn is the primary antagonist of The Darke Crusade. He successfully imprisons Lone Wolf, but Lone Wolf claws his way out of prison and confronts him in Darke. He is the final combat encounter of the book:

Warlord Magnaarn (with Nyras Sceptre)
Combat Skill 50, Endurance 36
↪The Darke Crusade: §75/§179

Magnaarn is encountered again in passing, in the The Curse of Naar. Here, Lone Wolf finds himself at the Plain of Despair in an attempt to recover the Moonstone and rescue Alyss from Naar's inner sanctum. Lone Wolf recognises several of the souls of foes he had slain over the years, including Magnaarn, sentenced to be punished by Tzor for all eternity for their failures.