~Through the Maw~
Shaking, broken and bloodied he pulled himself to his feet. The small scared white scaled kobold peered about the now still and vacant room. The whistling and humming of the recent calamity still ringing aloud in his mind. Confused and disoriented, he is uncertain of what fully transpired before him, this wonderful and awful thing. The creature known as Beem Jo began to contemplate his beginnings, his horrific past, and the path yet to come. . .~Game for Gods~
In a cave situated along the Dragon Coast, nestled in the nook of Cedar Hollow lived a small tribe of kobolds known as 'The Minno Clan'. A rural and peaceful place, freshwater streams bubbled and laughed near the craggy caves of the shore. The thick tall pines that blanketed this region filled the air with their sweet tangy aroma and provided shelter from prying eyes. The kobolds were given the title of the minno clan by the locals of the region as the tribe made their living by pilfering the local fishermen for their food goods. Although not out right a violent society, they were schemers and trappers, occasionally snaring traveling merchants or ending a fool hearty adventure whom came seeking fame and riches within the nest.In this small kobold sanctuary, deep within the craggy rocks of the Dragon Coast, seven new hatchlings were welcomed into this dangerous world. He emerged, weak, thin, shaking, the runt of seven; however, there was much rejoicing amongst the minno's for this feeble little creature bore the scales of a White; A great hunter he would one day become as he had the gift of a chromatic, clearly a sign of greatness bestowed upon them by the God Tiamat. It was believed that Tiamat had chosen him to be her champion. Beem's early years were filled with admiration, respect, and boardline worship for his scaled coloration; perhaps, given enough time in such an environment he would have grown strong, he would have grown brutal, and his bloodlust would never have been quenched, a true and awful tyrant. Fates strings however tugged in a different direction, it seemed the Tyrant Queen had created a champion of her own, a creature of destruction but the Wyrmking had yet to make his play.
One late crisp eve, along the bubbling creek near the minnio's nest, an elderly man bearing a long beard and silver tinsel hair would set up camp amongst the stretching pines of the Cedar Hollow. The man, was bent and crooked. He walked with a twisted gnarled branch, his face shaded by his simple brown smock and robes. Curious, Beem Jo observed this strange being, perhaps he could nick a shiny trinket from the old fool or make off with whatever provisions he brought into the forest with him. All night the albino hunter watched and waited for his opportunity to strike, but the old man never seemed to give him an opening. Just as dawn broke, as the golden rays of the sun rose above the shimmering cove the man turn towards the small hunter, his eyes flaring brightly like two sapphire commits streaking through the night. This gaze seem to piece through earth, stone and leaf. The man straightened and turned, his posture correcting. The man’s gaze continued to be fixed on Beem and in a flash of hoary grey radius the he vanished. The perplexed Beem, unsure of what had just transpired, pressed himself. What the man was he could not have known, but the hunters instinct to pilfer was overwhelming. he scavenged the camp for riches, food, and resources but found only the cooling ashes of the campfire and a small icon which depicted a blue shield, centered there the portrait view of a silver headed dragon. Not fully understanding what this thing was, he kept it for himself. Oddly as his claws moved over the icon it brought him a feeling he had not known before, it soothed his animalistic instinct, it comforted him, a calming energy he had never felt before. For the next fortnight this little creature would experience vivid dreams, premonitions of a large and ancient silver platinum creature shielding those around him, mending their wounds, easing their suffering. Soon Beem’s gifts began to surface.
His fellow tribes kin rejoiced once more for not only did Beem bear the markings of the White but possessed enough power to be deemed their clans shaman. A drive to heal and protect inspired everything this little runt of seven did and soon his white matt scales would reveal a different hue, they began to shine with a pale silver sheen. Peaceful was this valley, its bubbling creek, it's shielding cargg, this shady pine forest with its darkened bows; all of which would change in a moment as death was on its way in the form of dark skinned fey.
~What the Winds Bring~
The stars twinkled blindly above in the inky black sky, their gaze seemingly uncaring for the little creatures below. A ship landed on the shores of the Dragon Coast, its black sails depicting a stark white spiral and carrying with it a troop of murderers. As death upon the wind they came sweeping over and quenching everything in their wake. The high strong pines suffered under the hellfire unleashed upon them, lit ablaze they crackled and screamed as they were turned to ask. the craggy streams drenched in crimson, carried with it the unfortunate and the drowned down back to the black waters of the sea. The fishermen and women slaughtered while the slept, their villages erased from existence. like a cat playing with its prey the Minno clan were taken, each member of the tribe, one by one. Each falling in their own gruesome and grotesque manner befitting the techniques of their raiders, each death felt like a knife in the heart of their chief, the runt of seven who was to bring them much greatness but only saw them shredded into nothing. No shield came to save them, no platinum spectral wave would wash over them and heal their wounds, no horrific torture relieved or shown mercy upon them. Those unlucky few that did not meet such horrible deaths from the raids of the Dragon Coast where taken as prisoners for experiments, slaves for the Mistress esteem, and food for their pets, for the great house Vassashea the seekers of portals had found its fill here in the Dragon Coast. Amongst the survivors was the last of the Minnos a white scaled kobold with a subtle knack for giving life. ~The Black Forge~
Taken back to the Mistress of Vassashea each captor was evaluated for their usefulness. Some found their way to market as gladiators, servants, or subjects for experiments. Beem Jo found himself judged before the Madam of Doors, the great Mistress, Mineria Vassashea herself. He was chained and shackled before her, a tall elegant drowess her hair tied into a tight bun atop her dark purple frame. She had heard of this little creatures meager gifts, the intel sussed out by Meneria’s own personal guard who called themselves “The Shades of Vassora”. Headed by Meneria’s brother, a thin, ambitious and shifty figure, they lead the vanguard that scorched the Dragon Coast and saw the Minnos tribe ended. Eager to please his older sister, he presented the creature Beem Jo before her, another diamond atop the many riches looted from the island. Disinterested in this insignificant and pathetic gift she quickly dismissed the creature and shamed her brother for it, her attention was focused else were. The true treasure of the hour was that of a small metal cog pulled from the heart of the Dragon Coast. The great mistress, upon seeing the simple brass metal cog which bore the carving of an ancient language long lost, she shed a single tear. This was the most emotion the Madam of Doors had ever shown in the public forum and it shook her court to the very core, a cacophony of gasp and whispers erupted and were immediately silenced with a single wave of her hand. The object was quickly whisked away by her own sorceresses to parts unknown within the manor of Vassashea.Her attention then turned to the few hand picked prisoners plucked from the unfortunate survivors of the Dragons Coast. Of the six that were set before her, two were immediately put to death for unseen offenses, one was sent to be a catalyst in the new research of Meneria’s house sorceresses, one was sent to wander the great expanses of the endless caves and passages of the underdark, a fact that seemed to give the great mistress much joy. Then there were two, one was a middle age man by the name of Aculous who had once been a councilor to a province, now rubble. His pepper black and grey hair receding revealing a very distinct windows peek, the man was more librarian than barbarian and was chosen to be the Mistresses personal bookkeeper and steward. The second was the pathetic kobold, believing that he might be hiding additional information regarding his homeland he was sent to be tortured for additional information. And with a quick wave of her hand the kobold was dragged from her sights. Beem was sent to the Black Forge, a tall obsidian spire that seemed to have jutted violently from the cities foundations, it was situated near the estate of Vassashea where the prisoners of the most esteemed would be kept close by. Within the blackened spire the creature Beem Jo was kept, all time melted away. Here in the underdark the sun was as foreign as kindness, or empathy, or love. Out of sheer luck, providence or cruelty the creature known as Beem Jo was allowed to keep one token, the only item left from his old life on the once peaceful coast, a blue shield icon with a silver dragon head set in its center, and even here the icons calming effects seemed diminished. His dreams became clouded, distorted, as if they themselves were at a vast distance and seen only through a keyhole.
After months spent suffering in the Black Forge Mistress Vassashea concluded that there was nothing more this insignificant creature knew that she in all her wondrousness did not already know and had the white scaled kobold dragged before her. Cunning and entitled was Mineria Vassashea and she still saw some usefulness in his creatures meager healing abilities, after all she was surrounded by ambitious enemies and her studies of extra planer travel put her in harm's way frequently. In an unceremonious declaration the Madam of Doors had a heavy iron collar afixed around Beem Jo’s thin silver scaled neck, She took Beem Jo as her personal servant, he was to mend any wounds she or her personal guard would sustain during their trials, he would serve her food and taste anything suspicious, he was to carry her laborious possessions such as the grossly oversized tomes which she would study endlessly or strange and dangerous artifacts. If Beem Jo stepped out of line he was punished violently and brutally befitting the perfected techniques of the drow kind, these lessons of the great Mistress Mineria Vassashea the Madam of Doors were etched into his hide, large gashes and open wounds that even the white scaled kobold would never be able to mend completely.
It had become his sole being, his purpose was to serve house Vassashea, a life he desperately hated but had been beaten, broken, and forced to accept. He would accompany Mineria’s troupe comprised of her brother, The Shades, and Aculous to places far and wide within the underdark searching for artifacts or knowledge of worlds beyond. When the escapades around the underdark would end Beem and Aculous would find companionship in their shared terrifying existence, their hidden distain for Vassashea and acceptance into this life they found themselves in, they began to form a strong friendship and would do what they could to keep the other from receiving the wraith of a random unknown offence levied against them by Mineria or many in the house of Vassashea. many years would pass under the servitude of the great and horrible Mistress Mineria Vassashea, and each year would see her power and influence grow. At times when the violence escalated, when more raids had been conducted, and more lives there thrown into the eather to feed her ambition; Beem’s gifts where requested, he would be forced the heal the monsters of The Shades regiment, the monsters of the Vassashea corsair core, and the monstrous collection of lower tribesmen put under boot by the great house. In situations such as these, in the sunless dark here, Beem would often curse the icon that gave him these powers and its false promises. His ancient blood would swell and he would let his draconic tendencies loose, often nothing more than a violent tantrum in his seclusion, he would lash out at other captives nearby and destroy whatever pathetic objects he was allowed to keep for himself. These outbursts were often met with beatings but Aculous would attempt to calm his little fiend and cover for the damages that were caused. Beem would always remember each sacrifice made by Aculos his only friend here in this terrible place, he would reclaim the icon he'd cursed and continued to survive.
~The Ritual Turned~
The one defining moment had arrived, the Madam of Doors had unlocked the mystery behind the simple brass cog that cost the lives of all that called the Dragon Coast their home. Deep within the darkest depths the Mistress had uncovered a chamber; one that, given the right key could allow its bearer to walk planes freely, her life's ambition laid out before her and the simple brass cog the key to everything. Gathering together those that she deemed necessary Mineria Vassashea brought her best sorceresses to conduct the gate opening ritual, her personal guard regiment The Shade lead by her brother to guard her whilst the ritual was being conducted, Aculous the mistresses steward, chief librarian and brilliant mind, and Beem Jo for his healing capabilities in case things were to take a turn for the worse which they often did. Situated in the hexagonal chamber and stationed at the center here was a solid brass pedestal, the chamber itself was domed, above painted across the surface was the vast expanses of the outer planes, the inner planes, and everything in between. A sprawling image depicting the gods, gates, and the universe around them. The troupe took their respective positions, the sorceresses formulated a circle around the great chamber, chanting in a horrible dark language that had long been lost to this world. Beem and Aculous stood upon the perimeter here, observing. Mineria Vassashea and her brother at the center, she casting the final ritual and he watching her flank. The ritual began, the chamber creaked and groaned as if the room was being compressed by dark shadows, and buckling under enormous pressures. The discordant chanting of the sorceresses seemed to break and weave disharmoniously, creating a vortex of magical powers cascading towards the center. Here at the height of her journey, the pinnacle of her life's ambition, Mineria stood chanting as the blue arcane energies sparked around her. In her hand the brass cog, the key. The energies swirled and twisted about the chamber, Beem was finding it hard to focus through the energies as they surged around him and found it harder still to keep on his feet as the arcane winds pushed his small frame to and fro. Aculous was faring no better, nearly losing his footing as the winds pushed him around, his robes catching them like a terrible sail. As the ritual reached its peak Mineria cried out “I have done it, no world is out of my grasp now, I will conquer all and all will know my name, I am the master of worlds and only I hold this key”. As she cackled with exuberant madness and joy a knife sunk deep into her back, her brother smiling wickedly from over her shoulder. The ritual turned, its focal point cast weakly to her knees by her brothers betrayal. In a flash of arcane energy Mineria attempted to save herself, teleporting next to the creature which so often mended her wounds in the past, one she so often mistreated. Standing with the blood stained dagger in the center of the chamber her brother looked towards Mineria who had flashed to the perimeter near the kobold Beem Jo and before he could utter a single command a door erupted open behind him. The ritual unstable, broke, and crackled wildly, portions of the camber exploded into stone shrapnel raining down atop the troupe. The portal door had opened, its frame light in black unstable energies and its center twisting with a black inky void. The commander of the Shades was immediately and violently cast into the portal behind, the doors energies began to pull all towards it. Beem clung desperately to a dislodged piece of the chambers ceiling, A rock that nearly crushed him as it was sent flying across the room. The portal swallowed everything around, the sorceresses and the Shade regiment were each pulled into the dark void one by one. Aculous had managed to hold unto a flagstone on the floor he yelled out in pain as he clung desperately by his fingernails, Mineria had managed to clasp ahold of the white silver kobold as her now frail and limp body flailed about the ground. She climbed and climbed, each grasp loosened Beem’s. as she closed the gap she demanded that the kobold throw his worthless life away and save hers, for her life was worth more than that of a slave. Unyielding and bearing his teeth the now defiant creature did not move; but, lacking the strength to fight her all the young kobold could do was cling to his saving grace, the pile of rubble set beside him. A hand reached out, Aculous managed to grip hard the foot of the Mistress of Doors, the most esteemed, he pulled with all his might, causing the matron of house Vassashea to slip back. Aculous shouted words to his little friend but his voice was drowned by the cacophony of noises around them and the howling of the arcane winds. In that moment Aculous was cast spilling into the void beyond, a swift kick from the Mineria removed the steward from the safety of his flagstone. Seeing his only friend pulled through the darkness Beem grasped ahold on his symbol of strength, his symbol of hope, one he cursed but never forsook. His eyes flared with a sapphire blue energy as he grasp the desperate Mineria Vassashea with holy vengeance. “Vassashea you bring nothing but pain and suffering, hopelessness and despair, this world is rid of you!” and with crackling platinum silver energy the Mistress Mineria Vassashea, the Madam of Doors, the most Esteemed lost her grip and was sent screaming into the void she created, in one defining moment.
The winds whipped and howled around the small kobold, the only creature left in the ruined chamber, the open maw of black swirling void continuing to pull the stone work apart. Beem still struggling to hold onto his piece of rubble as exhaustion began to set in, weakness in his arms, his grip began to give, as the winds picked up his small body ready to be pulled into the hungry portal beyond the door slams shut with an earth shattering boom. as the small kobold is thrown to the ground, the wind was knocked from him. He is left bloodied, winded and shaken as he pulled himself to his knees, seeing the empty space where Aculous once stood sent him weeping for the only friend he had ever known was now lost. Shaking, broken and bloodied he pulls himself to his feet. The small scared white silver scaled kobold peers about the now still and vacant room. The whistling and humming of the recent calamity still ringing aloud in his mind. Confused and discorded, he is uncertain of what fully transpired before him, this awful and wonderful thing, the creature known as Beem Jo began to contemplate his beginnings, his horrific past, and the path yet to come.
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((Thank you to everyone who took the time to read the origins of Beem Jo. Please feel free to leave comments or concerns. the main theme that's played out through this character is the pull of good and evil, heavily inspired by the games the Greek gods would play on mortals Beem is stuck in a tug of war between Tiamat and Bahamut each trying to get the 'one up' over the other. If you find inspiration in this story or would like to add to it please feel free! Cheers!))