"No! Stop it, you mustn't do that. Not in here!" yelled
Timoe. The beautiful young cleric had been fighting the
Demonkin for five hours. Her short blond hair was matted in
blood and her aching body screamed for rest. With all her
weariness she could not fail the temple in its hour of
need.
"I have no choice! This is the reason the artifact was made.
Its very purpose is to protect the temple when all else
fails. This is the only way." the old cleric Kit answered
her, "the Demons are about to break into the inner sanctum,
over three hundred brothers and sisters are dead, we cannot
let this go on."
"But to bring him, IT, here, it's madness. You can not
summon that dark beast into the inner sanctum; you will
defile its very nature. The avatar must never be invoked,
especially in the presence of the Sitaya. We cannot know
what effects the artifact will have on the God-Thing", Said
Timoe.
"Don't be a fool child!" scolded the old priest, "You know
perfectly well that the avatar will be at our command. It
was weakened by the binding magic and its connection to the
god himself is all but severed, the real Vhaerun would not
even know of the avatar. It cannot harm us and will never
lay his hands on the Holy Blade."
The eleven clerics standing in the inner sanctum turned as
the vault door shook with the impact of a massive weight.
"It must be done now!" yelled Kit as he removed the
bejeweled onyx horn.
"May Mystra save us all!" said Timoe as she readied her mace
and faced the failing doorway.
Kit took the horn to his old lips and blew on it, a chord
most beautiful echoed through the holly vault, yet it sound
was as sinister as the Demons' aura.
Timoe blinked as a dark purple light appeared in front of
Kit. It was as if all light was drawn into the flickering
purple orb drowning the nearby area in absolute darkness.
All the clerics in the room went pale as the magnificent
avatar of the evil Drow God Vhaerun appeared before them. He
was by far the most handsome creature they had ever seen,
his black skin sparkled in the candlelight, a thick mane of
stark white hair reflected the light in the room, making him
look as if his face had an inner light. His features were
perfect and he simply radiated power. The avatar looked at
his hands and smiled, red fires shone in his eyes as he
stared at Kit. A look of horror crossed his unblemished
features as his eyes fell on the onyx horn. Those fiery eyes
shone even brighter as he said in a voice too beautiful
"destroy that horn immediately and I might spare your life!"
His tone was so commanding that several of the younger
clerics in the room moved towards Kit, their eyes fixed on
the magical item.
"No!" the cleric said, his call breaking the enchantment.
"With this I control you, not the other way around. You will
obey..." the statement was cut short as the heavy vault door
burst open. A Demon was standing on the very edge of the
inner sanctum, its segmented eyes protruded from an
insect-like head. The beast was two meters tall and over
half as wide. Its four arms ended in massive claws and its
smell was like that of a rotting corpse.
"Destroy them!" screamed Kit, "All the demons in the temple,
Kill them all."
With a savage roar of fury the avatar tore his eyes from the
magical horn and ran towards the approaching demon. Green
light appeared in the demon's hand and he threw it at the
approaching Drow-elf. With a puff of smoke the figure was
gone. The energy bolt went through the smoke and slammed
into a young cleric, killing it on the spot.
The demon started laughing, but his six foot frame quivered
as a metal crescent blade tore out its chest. The face of
the God-thing appeared behind the beast's shoulder.
"Smoke and mirrors, deception and deceit, the true Drow
way", he said as he sliced the massive demon in half. A wide
smile appeared on that evil, perfect face when he saw the
body of the young cleric. "Ahh, a job well done. He died
valiantly for your cause." The sarcasm in his voice was as
blatant as his evil smirk. He raised his curved sword in a
mock salute.
"Off to kill more demons, master", the avatar said as it
prowled out of the inner sanctum.
Kit and Timoe rushed after the Drow while shouting for the
others to stay back and guard the Sitaya.
The avatar had been locked up for over seven millennia and
even for an immortal that was a long time. He longed for
some chaos and mayhem. In a few short moments he spotted
another demon, its ugly bat-like face twitched as it
registered the lone figure running uncommonly fast towards
it. The demon used his substantial innate magical powers to
summon a killing bolt of magic, and launched it towards the
approaching figure.
The Drow met the bolt with the back of his hand and slapped
it away.
In less than a heartbeat he was on top of the beast. His
crescent blade wove deftly, left then right severing both of
the demon's arms; in that one fluid motion the Drow reversed
the blades momentum again for the third time, bringing it
down low and taking the demon's legs. The large beast
collapsed on the floor, lacking all appendages.
The Drow smiled as he placed his hand over the prone
monster's torso. The beast screamed as a bright blue flash
coming from the avatar fingers made its body explode into
fragments. Timoe looked on in horror at the immense power of
the avatar.
As the Drow male turned to her; she saw that he was covered
in gore. Vhaerun looked into her eyes as all the blood on
his red and black clothes evaporated into dark and oily
smoke, leaving them spotless. He flashed a sadistic smile
promising death, and moved on.
And so it continued. The avatar went from floor to floor,
room to room, killing everything alive and undead in its
path. Many priests died by the indirect hand of the
God-thing but many more demons fell before his might and
magic. After no more than two hours the temple was again
housed by nothing but clerics, and a very excited avatar.
The power flowed through the Drow, filling him once more.
And yet, he felt checked. Like a lizard on a leash. He tried
to connect once more with his higher being, to escape the
physical bonds of the avatar. He couldn't feel it. It was
like no part of the immortal's soul was housed in this
avatar. The god felt wrong and he knew the source. The onyx
horn. He felt bound to it. For an eternal creature that was
an unbearable feeling. He wanted to kill every single human
in this temple. Yet, he could not. The horn kept him subdued
and he could not even destroy it...

Timoe walked the halls of the temple with Kit. They were
littered with death. The remaining clerics were busy
clearing the bodies of their dead brothers and sisters. The
demons that fell dissipated after death, banished from this
plane but not dead. Timoe looked at the face of her mentor.
The old cleric looked even older now. His skin was grey and
clammy, and his eyes were dull.
"Send him back", she said, "the temple is cleared, the
demons are gone, and you look weakened. The avatar cannot be
controlled for much longer. For all our sakes, release it!"
"No! stop this!" said the old cleric, "We need him. The
Demons attacked twice already and they would do so again.
Only the avatar can stop them. We must wait for the third
wave. I can hold on."
"For how long? How long can a mortal hold on to a god?"
"We will hold, Vhaerun is no match for the Lady, especially
this soulless avatar. It is she who created this horn and it
is by her power that the avatar is held here. He will serve
us to his end, he will die for us."
"Or he will find a way to kill us all", Said Timoe.
The silence that followed scared her more than the last wave
of demons.

The Drow was beautiful beyond believe. The perfection of his
face, the clear power in his slight frame... Shandra could
not take her eyes off of him. Vhaerun walked over to the
pretty young acolyte, smiling fondly. His sharp features
softened immediately, resembling nothing more than a
darkened face of a kind and beautiful elf.
"Are you feeling alright, child? Do you need healing?" he
asked her with his sweet and gentle voice.
"No... No... I am fine, thank you", she said, smiling
shyly.
"No? But I can see you're hurt", he said, taking her arm and
covering her injured elbow with his hand.
Pleasing warmth spread from that point into Shandra's body,
healing her injured elbow and invigorating her.
"Thank you", she said.
"By all means, it was my pleasure. Tell me, Shandra, how did
I get here?"
The power of his voice was undeniable, overriding her
teachings and everything else. The young priest could see
nothing but the crystal blue eyes of the beautiful Drow.
"The horn summoned you", She said, her voice slurry,
"Millennia ago the lady Mystra managed to capture an avatar
of Vhaerun and store it in the sacred horn. That was you, I
guess. They say the evil soul of the God was stripped from
the avatar and that when released, its connection to the god
would be severed. You are not Vhaerun, you can live any life
you want. As soon as you fulfill the Geas set upon you by
the Onyx Horn. After you do, you will be free."
"I see, thank you. And what about that jeweled dagger
hanging in the room I was summoned to, what was that?"
"That is the Sitaya, the holy Dagger. It held some of
Mystra's divinity during the time of trouble. Its power is
unclear now that the Lady is in possession of her powers
again but..."
"Shandra, move away from it", Said Timoe as she entered the
meeting hall where the two were talking. "He is the very
essence of danger. Make no mistake, child, he is evil!"
"She does not understand me, or us", Vhaerun whispered into
Shandra's ear. He kissed her hand while keeping eye contact
with Timoe and walked away.
"What did you talk about. you silly girl?" Timoe asked
Shandra, her anger evident.
"I can't remember really", Shandra said, a confused look
coming to her face. "A war maybe, I can't remember, a
dagger! He asked me about the Sitaya."
Shandra looked up to see the avatar was gone. She left the
young girl and ran to the Inner-sanctum, yelling out for
Kit.

Vhaerun looked up to the entrance of the vault room, the ten
men guarding the entrance would be easy pickings, but he
knew he could not harm them while under the power of the
Onyx Horn. He decided to take a different approach,
summoning up the magic that coursed through his veins he
created a dark shadow. It made the light twinkle and the
room became full of areas of utter darkness and brilliant
light switching places and moving randomly. The men guarding
the entrance were on edge and moved closer to each other,
leaving several gaps in their line. Moving with the stealth
so typical of the Drow, the avatar slid into the shadows. It
took him no more then ten heartbeats to enter the sanctum.

Running with the horn in his hands, the old cleric cursed
his stupidity. How could he miss the connection? He had been
guarding the Sitaya for so long he had forgotten that it was
more than just a relic. He watched Timoe run before him and
cursed himself again. The sanctum's entrance was bathed in
shadows, fear clutched at his heart as both clerics ran into
the room.

The dagger was a pretty thing, A 20 centimeters long blade
that was mounted on a Silver hilt, decorated with various
magical beasts. It had no hand guard but just what the
avatar needed - a drop of a true god's blood. He felt the
resistance as soon as he reached for the blade; there was a
barrier holding his hand from his prize.
Concentrating all his might, he moved his awareness to his
fingertips, allowing him to focus all of his substantial
power to those five long digits. The shattering sound of the
shield was a sound as beautiful as his own voice. In one
swift movement the avatar raised the blade to his neck and
with a single thrust ended its own life.

The clerics arrived just in time to see the lifeless body of
the avatar drop.
"Maybe he won't come..." The fear in Kit's voice was as
tangible as the body at their feet.
Timoe dropped to her knees and tears streaked her eyes as
she prayed.
A figure stepped out of the shadows and with a single flash
of a sword decapitated the beautiful young woman.
The red burning eyes of the true Vhaerun were full of
mocking as he stared at the shocked old priest.
"Now you will obey!" said the god, "destroy them all!" an
evil smile was on his face as he looked over to the ten
guardsmen.
The god's will was too powerful for the old cleric to
resist. He took a wand from his belt and pointed it at the
men standing at the entrance of the Inner-Sanctum. They
could not hear the God's words and looked at their leader
with a confused expression. With tears running from his
eyes, Kit fired a fireball right at the feat of the ten men.
Their dying screams of pain were mixed with the old man
wails of grief and the evil god's chilling laughter.
"Come on, old man", Said the avatar, a wide sadistic smile
spreading on his exquisite face. "There are many left to
kill in the temple."