Tserrerak¶
Tserrerak is a High Wizard of Acadia, an enchanter, "1 of 8 who ruled Acadia", secretly a member of the outlawed Nexa-Vinian Order. Tried for necromancy and mass murder, he was imprisoned by the Acadians for three hundred years, his spirit held in a black gem. Freed in the Fourth Age, he is no one's servant: he means to rebuild his order, "assert dominance" and build the Tserrakis Empire, and through the Collegium of the Amber Sun and his apprentices he already rules the confederation called the Sovereign Assembly.
Also spelled Tserrarak, Serrarak, Serrark and Tserrak.
Trial and imprisonment¶
The Rolls of Acadian Justice & Punishment of 1388 record the Trial of Tserrak on three counts: "Necromantic Experimentation", "Murder … 15,678 people of necromantic blight", and "Use of Necromancy." The Annals of Arcane Remediation record the aftermath, the "Necromantic Blight of 1387", of "200,000+" sick. He was confined in an Acadian Imprisonment Crystal "for Necromantic experiments … harvesting magic from mortal chaff." The same outline gives a second reason: he was "secretly a Nexa-Vinian … this is why he was imprisoned." Both dates are given without a calendar; the Fourth Age page discusses them.
His imprisoned spirit is the Black Gem; an Orb of Tserrarak, which "uses at least 3 Sovereign magics (High Magic)", was consulted for knowledge. His tower on Acadia "is a ruin on the top of a volcanic rock, almost completely destroyed and sliding off the rock", most of it eaten by the Netherworm. He had foreseen the loss: "he had an emergency plan in place to move his library/lab into a separate subplane." Both relics are listed among the Lesser Relics, and the tower on the Broken Sea page.
Release¶
The adventurers of the Marshford Campaign carried the gem, learned from it, and went to Acadia to free him. "Tserrerak is NOT a servant. Once freed, he will be grateful but has many things he must attend to (rebuilding his order, asserting dominance and building the Tserrakis Empire)." His gratitude went as far as gifts, Amulets of Fungal Protection and a Staff of Power, and an offer "to swear allegiance to him and become his vassals."
The empire¶
Tserrerak's instrument is the Collegium of the Amber Sun, "an old, somewhat known magical college" of decent and quiet reputation that he has "co-opted": membership has surged and "most of the original members have been pushed out or sidelined." Through it he manages the Sovereign Assembly, "a Confederation of Nations … whose rulers are directly or indirectly managed by the Collegium", led by a Triumvirate of whom two are his apprentices and the third a former Nexa-Vinian. In the Kingdom of Arnyr one of them, Serevon Ashmark, governs behind an imposter king.
He had "an 'understanding'" with the demon Kosh'Tuul, the rat-god of Narlhaven, whose fragment was the inoculation against Arnyr's demonic plague, and Kosh'Tuul was "backed by the Collegium." Then he betrayed him. Kosh'Tuul, "nearly destroyed", has gone to ground in the east and "is now a bitter enemy of Tserrerak and will counter his influence in the east". That story is the Marshford Campaign's.
Gap
No source describes Tserrerak's appearance or age, says where the Tserrakis Empire lies or whether it yet holds land, or reconciles the two reasons given for his imprisonment.
Mordecai Solvar¶
The Acting Sovereign, head of the Triumvirate. "Mordecai is a mid-level apprentice of Tserrerak." He "was resurrected recently", and belongs to "the new secret society of Wizards (displacing the Nexa-Vinians) known as the Collegium of Amber."
Valdris Caeldorn¶
A Sovereign of the Triumvirate: "a high-level ex-Nexa-Vinian."
Serevon Ashmark¶
A Sovereign of the Triumvirate: "a high-level apprentice of Tserrerak", who "was freed from imprisonment." In Arnyr he is the high councillor, First Councillor Serevon, who "seems to run things" while King Aderik Tugard is displaced.
Kollis¶
An apprentice of Tserrerak, named in the notes on Narlhaven, where a teleportation circle in the stables of the Dancing Boar tavern leads to Tserrerak's laboratory.
Councillor Yunpril¶
A councillor who wears "a golden necklace with a Sunburst", the sign of the Collegium of the Amber Sun. He warned of orc sympathizers, and stole the party's Seeking Stone.