Marcel

Infobox

Marcel

General Information

Type	Stat
Type	NPC
Pronouns	He/ Him
Occupation	The Original Vampire,Priest of Chronovorus
Associated Groups	The Black Cult
Race	dhampir
Age	Ancient
Languages	Common
Nationality	The Deadlands
Residence	Currently Unknown

Status

Type	Stat
Status	Alive

Appearances

Type	Stat
First Mention	Session 69
Last Mention	Session 68

#INFORMATION_MISSING_OR_OUT-OF-DATE

Overview

Description

Appearance

Personality

Relationships

History

Appearances & Mentions

§	Interactions
Session 70	After the contract was made, the party quickly filed out of the room and into the corridor, where they could all breathe again. As soon as they entered the corridor, they were confronted by the body of The Hand, who had crumpled on the floor. Viktor quickly rushed over to examine the body. The Hand looked like they had had all of the energy of their body drained from them, as his skin had been incredibly aged and turned pale. Viktor concluded this definitely wasn't natural and probably had something to do with Marcel's awakening.
Session 70	Mordecai said they wouldn't leave until they got their horn back. Viktor nodded, then said he still had a few questions for Marcel before leaving; he offered to grab the horn on his way out. Mordecai nodded and thanked Viktor for the offer.
Session 70	Before entering Marcel's room, Viktor pulled Halfbie aside and told them he would be casting the legend lore spell to find out any information about 'Gil-Galad'. Halfbie hesitated, half-jokingly remarking that this didn't feel like it honoured the spirit of adventure. Viktor didn't care and cast the spell anyway, but frowned when it failed, indicating the word had no significant importance or legendary status. This revelation confused them both as Halfbie wondered why Chenris had left them this mystery.
Session 70	With that settled, Viktor reentered Marcel's room; Drache and Mordecai refused to follow him and instead preferred to watch from afar... where they could still breathe properly.
Session 70	Viktor goes to knock on the door before stopping himself; he assumed that since Marcel was so old he most likely didn't care much for formalities and etiquette[^1]. He quickly opened the door and said, "Hello, Marcel, I would like to have a quick chat if that's alright with you?"
Session 70	Marcel did not answer, instead holding a glare that felt like daggers. Viktor tried to make conversation, but Marcel refused to engage. Halfbie, watching from the corridor, wondered if there was some etiquette he could respond to, and whether Elven etiquette might work, since it had probably changed over 1000s of years. Halfbie decided it was worth the shot and knocked rhythmically before entering the room, half-bowed. Without looking up, they bowed fully, then stood with their head down. "Lord Marcel, could I ask you a question?"
Session 70	Halfbie quickly felt Marcel's hand wrap around their throat as he sinuously tapped the vein on their neck. "I am no Elf, You are disgusting"
Session 70	Marcel slowly sat back on his throne and let the wizard ask their question.
Session 70	A deafening silence filled the room; even the bats hanging from the ceiling stopped their occasional squeaking. Watching from the sidelines, the party's jaws dropped as they waited with nervous anticipation to see how the Vampire lord would react to such a question. For an imperceptible moment, Marcel's eye twitched before he used magic to fling Halfbie against the wall for their insolence. Halfbie quickly recovered and stood up. With his head resting in his hand, Marcel answered: "i suppose the Jam on my toast..."
Session 70	Left alone in the room, Viktor apologised for Halfbie's question, but Marcel met him with a bored statement about his lack of interest or care.
Session 70	Viktor thanked Marcel for the information before leaving the room with his back to the Vampire. He suddenly felt his presence behind him as his fangs sank into his neck. Viktor reflexively cast banishment on the lord, but when it failed, he resigned himself to the fact that he likely couldn't break the grapple. After a few moments, Marcel released the doctor before complaining about how bad Viktor's blood tasted. Viktor echoed the Vampire's feelings before strolling out of the room, completely forgetting to get Mordecai's horn.
Session 70	As he crossed the door's threshold, Marcel sliced Viktor's tendons, causing him to fall to the floor and leave him unable to walk. Viktor, too proud to stop, didn't stop after falling and began dragging himself across the floor. He then turned to face the Vampire and began casting the sunlight spell. But before the incantation could finish, Marcel appeared at eye level in front of Viktor and whispered in his ear, "Cut off your leg." The order came as part of Marcel's status as the vampire progenitor, making it impossible for Viktor to ignore.
Session 70	Viktor immediately grabbed a knife and cut his leg off cleanly. As he did, Marcel grabbed Viktor by the scruff of his neck and threw him out like trash; before closing the door, he threw the leg out too. "Sooo i don't think we have the ability to fix this." Mordecai said sarcastically looking Viktor and his leg.
Session 70	"I will not be talked down to by someone who worships the gods. I do not care how old or powerful Marcel is. Quite frankly, it is disgusting how his blood is flowing through me. Not to mention that he is a follower of Chronovorus." Viktor said, his voice full of contempt as he spat on the ground. "at least it will be easier to get out of the cave without this", as he waved his leg above his head.
Session 70	At that moment, they all noticed that one of Marcel's bats had followed them out of the room and was watching them intently. After a moment, it jumped down from the ceiling and dropped a vial. The vessel was full of blood with rich black specs suspended in it. Viktor tentatively picked up the vial, and the bat then mimed drinking it. However, Viktor, as a doctor, refused to drink something he didn't know would do anything.
Session 70	After a brief inspection, he infers that it is most likely Marcel's blood, but he cannot confirm anything since the mystical and arcane are outside his field of expertise. He resolves to have Halfbie identify it later, when they catch up with the boy, and puts it in his pocket.
Session 70	Suddenly, Mordecai heard a thud, as if someone had fallen over, from Marcel's room. Mordecai, who also wanted to grab their horn, peered through the door to see what had happened. Inside, Mordecai saw Marcel's body on the ground, crumpled and confused. Mordecai tentatively walked into the room and grabbed their horn. As they were about to leave, Halfbie returned to the party and exclaimed in shock when they saw Viktor with one less leg. Mordecai was about to greet the party member before they heard scratching coming from Marcel's body. He was using his long nails to carve something into the stone floor. He had written "Fake"
Session 70	The Mouth pleaded for Halfbie and the rest of the party to find a way to defeat Marcel instead of killing Vaelrith. Halfbie nodded and exclaimed that he already had the beginnings of a plan forming. Upon hearing this, the mouth seemed to let go and passed away peacefully.
Session 70	The parchment the Mouth left him was clearly some complex incantation that even seemed to confuse Halfbie. From what he could tell, it would put Marcel back to sleep, but the preparations would take well over a year to complete, as the room and mechanisms needed fixing, and they would have to be returned to his Coffin.
Session 70	Halfbie put the note into their spellbook to keep it safe; they probably wouldn't be able to put the Vampire back to sleep, but it might be useful. Continuing, Halfbie eventually found the lair's armoury. Many of the weapons were decayed and/or broken from sitting there for 1000s of years. However, one longsword was in perfect condition. Taking it from the rack, they unsheathed it and found the blade pitch black, as if made of shadows, as if it absorbed the little light left in the room. Halfbie cast Identify on the blade before the vision completely turned black. When they opened their eyes, they found themselves in Marcel's grand room.
Session 70	Halfbie tried to get up, but their body failed them, and they crumpled to the floor. Halfbie was now certain they were in Marcel's body. Does that mean Marcel is in my body??
Session 70	Their actions caught the attention of Mordecai, who tentatively stepped closer to see what they were writing. Seeing what was written, Mordecai hesitated, then used telepathy to speak with "Marcel". Once they connected, Halfbie tried to explain the situation as best they could. Mordecai exclaimed if they really were Halfbie, then who was Chenris' professor at Stixhaven?" Halfbie quickly answered correctly.
Session 70	Mordecai turned their head to look at "Halfbie" who was crouched down and tending to Viktor's leg. There, a quick burst of light flashed as Viktor's leg reattached, making Viktor extremely suspicious of how Halfbie could heal a limb like that. It was a much higher tier of magic than what either of them had access to. They passed it off as something they figured out. They then pulled out the piece of paper the Hand gave the real Halfbie and asked if anyone knew what it did. Viktor's eyes narrowed as he asked how someone like Halfbie wouldn't know what the incantation did.
Session 70	"Halfbie" feigned ignorance and suggested they get a move on, as the only thing they found worth noting while exploring was the sword on their back, which they handed to Drache, who marvelled at it. They all began walking away, leaving Mordecai and the real Halfbie in Marcel's room. When asked if they had a way to move, the real Halfbie used Bigsby's magic Hand to fly through the corridors after Mordecai.
Session 70	Marcel tried to deny it, but after Mordecai explained what had happened, he eventually gave up and said all he wanted was the chance to go to the surface and enjoy life for a while. None of the party liked the idea and asked if he would switch back; Halfbie even said it might be difficult to complete Marcel's request to kill Vaelrith without a fully functioning body. Pointing out that it was nearly impossible to perform the semantic and verbal components of spells and rituals. He sighed, then healed the body's hand, making it much easier to move and articulate them.
Session 70	"There you go, now run along." Said Marcel.
Session 70	The party pushed back even harder; Drache then accidentally activated the sword, causing Marcel and Drache to switch bodies. Now looking down on everyone, Marcel laughed and proclaimed how amazing his new body felt. After reestablishing who was who, the party tried their best to get the sword from Marcel. This scuffle eventually led to Viktor taking the sword and casting banishment on it.
Session 70	While they waited for the sword to return, Marcel looked at the rest of the party like someone analysing a restaurant menu before ordering. Mordecai gave a nervous laugh before explaining that Marcel wouldn't enjoy being in his body, since he would have to deal with Seifer, who wouldn't tolerate him.
Session 70	"Seifer...Seifer... Do you mean Seifer Willow? oh i would love to have a chat with her!" Marcel explained. He then quickly grabbed the sword and forced a switch, leaving Mordecai in Drache's body. He then felt incredibly quiet. Mordecai tentatively used empathy on their own body, only to find Seifer and Marcel arguing over who should have the body.
Session 70	Mordecai, using the strength of Drache's body, wrestled the sword away and forced Marcel to switch; then, after a lot of effort, they finally managed to get Marcel back into Halfbie's body. Knowing that their body hadn't fully recovered from Marcel's attack from earlier, they shouted for everyone to attack their body. Their theory was that if their body were unconscious, it would be much easier to switch bodies and leave.
Session 70	They then all attacked, quickly knocking out Halfbie's body. however before they could do anything, a blood-red whirlwind began vortexing around Halfbie's body, throwing everyone back. After resurrecting Marcel, Polity asked them not to try killing the body he inhabits, as his curse would simply cause him to reincarnate into a random person nearby, making it impossible for the original owner of the body to return and causing great inconvenience for him.
Session 70	Eventually, Halfbie convinced Marcel to switch back, promising him a night of fun. The two returned to Marcel's room as Halfbie, through practised motions, put a blindfold on Marcel and cuffed his hands behind his back before beginning his escape preparations.
Session 69	"Ok, so you were told by a Fae Trickster to go see Marcel, right?" said Mordecai to Drache. "And now your shadow is acting weird where were very close to finding him. They're probably connected, right?"
Session 69	Inside was a large room. The walls were lined with copper pipes, all of which seemed to feed into one central pipe that led to a large, ornate coffin atop a raised platform in the centre of the room. Through the coffin's glass front, Marcel was visible. He was wearing nothing but a loincloth, exposing a body covered from head to toe in deep scars. He stood unconscious in the coffin with his head lolled to the side like he had been frozen in the final moments of his life. All the pipes feeding into the coffin seemed to be carrying blood that one could guess to be what was sustaining him.
Session 69	Viktor decided to walk in, stating proudly that he did not need air to live. However, as he entered the room, he felt the same, but a little less intense. It felt as if someone was strangling him. When Viktor tried to speak, nothing came out of his mouth. From the door, Mordecai tried to use telepathy to talk to Marcel. However, as soon as the connection started, Mordecai was suddenly and violently pulled into the room until they were no more than a meter away from the coffin. The telepathic connection returned nothing but a blood-curdling scream before Mordecai fell unconscious and was thrown back to the party. Viktor instinctively grabbed Mordecai and began to heal them.
Session 69	Drache rushed into the room to stop the curse and fought through the choking sensation to tell Marcel the news. "Hey Marcel, I need to tell you something... I need to tell you that Vaelrith is back"
Session 69	A sudden silence fell over the room before the pipes began to shake and shudder. Drache stepped forward and repeated his message. The pipes responded by shaking even more until some sections began to shake themselves apart and fall to the floor. The blood within the pipes instantly vaporised into red steam that slowly began leaking out. Suddenly, one by one, all of the pipes burst, letting out an enormous cloud of red steam as Marcel's eyes flicked open.
Session 69	Halfbie gave a friendly wave before suddenly being thrown across the room and hitting the wall. The glass in front of the coffin shattered as Marcel stepped out of it with a confused expression on his face. Covered in rubble, Halfbie remarked, "Nice to see you again."
Session 69	In a second, Marcel appeared in front of Viktor before grabbing his arm and examining the crystal embedded in Viktor's body. "Would it be help to know he used the crystal to kill Aeloria?" remarked Halfbie
Session 69	Marcel stood up in front of Viktor, cracking his neck as he did so. As he rose to his full height, the party heard every bone in his body crack and reform into an impression of standing up. He then grabbed the remains of Viktor's cloak and wrapped it around himself. His head then whipped to face Drache. "Tell me again what you said earlier"
Session 69	Marcel's deep black eyes flashed red for a moment as his hand lashed out to Drache, hoisting him into the air by the scruff of his shirt. "Are you lying to me of all people?"
Session 69	Marcel let Drache drop to the floor like unwanted food. "How"
Session 69	Marcel's head snapped independently of his body to Mordecai as he began walking over to the tiefling. As casually as picking up a pen, he grabbed one of Mordecai's horns and snapped it clean off. Mordecai cried out in pain.
Session 69	Marcel's head moved independently again to stare at Halfbie with demanding eyes. "it was someone called Chenris," Halfbie answered.
Session 69	"Chenris...?" Marcel muttered. "Where is this Chenris right now?"
Session 69	"Then pray." Marcel's anger was palpable. "We did say Aeloria is dead; someone had to take her place."
Session 69	Marcel moved unnaturally towards Halfbie; his talon-like black nails traced the outline of their face, threatening to draw red with each movement. "So you killed a god..."
Session 69	"Do you think this is a game?" said Marcel, as he bared his fangs. He suddenly appeared in front of Drache, and before anyone could react, he drove his hand deep into Drache's gut. With a fragile snap of his fingers, 5 contracts appeared in the centre of the room. They had one clause written on them: The fatebreakers will kill Vaelrith. "I suggest you sign," the vampire sneered.
Session 68	Mordecai muttered something about how unfair it was that Viktor got to age backwards. They repeated the joke to Seifer, but she didn't respond; in fact, it felt like she wasn't there anymore. Mordecai quickly panicked and interrogated Viktor. Viktor nodded in satisfaction before explaining that the plan he had been working on for some time had finally been completed; he was now essentially one of the towers. He explained that he had initially shelved the idea until he found out that Marcel was a follower of chronovorus. He apparently got the idea from Lost Haven.
Session 68	And what will Marcel think of you destroying his messengers?
Session 68	I do not care about Marcel. I am not a follower.
Session 67	Once he had finished, Korrigan explained that since he had done something for Drache, it was only fair that he would help them out. Drache, now annoyed that he had fallen for Korrigan's trap, eventually relented and asked what Korrigan wanted. They explained that all they wanted was for Drache to go to the Deadlands and tell Marcel that Vaelrith had returned. When Drache tried to ask follow up question about a more precise location or how to find Marcel, Korrigan just gave a small chuckle before waving. Drache awoke from the dream, instantly falling out of bed and landing with a loud crash on the floor.
Session 67	He joined halfway through Drache recounting his dream to Mordecai and 'Halfbie' when he mentioned his task with Marcel, Viktor shook his head in disbelief before explaining that the task was impossible, not only was the deadlands a very large and dangerous place, but Marcel was also a Vampire Lord and progenitor of all vampires. Meaning there was zero chance they would find him without him wanting them to.
Session 67	Viktor was starting to think the scene was quite pleasant until a child burst through the doors. In between breaths, the child explained that 'they' were coming. The Priest nodded, arising from his desk and approaching the child. Many of the children watched in expressionless as the child was hoisted up by one hand before having his neck snapped by a thumb.
Session 67	The Priest then orders the children to get ready to defend their home before marching with purpose into a bookshelf. As he approached the bookshelf, he suddenly disappeared as if walking through an invisible wall. After a few moments, he returned wearing a set of ebony armour and a matching sword.
Session 67	Viktor watched the scene in stunned silence; it was only once The Priest started to exit that the study got a good look at the man's face. He looked slightly different to his historical sketches and portraits, but there was no mistaking it; this man was Marcel, the Vampire Lord.
Session 67	Once he had relayed the story, he very confidently walked into the same bookshelf; however, this time whatever secret passage allowed Marcel to walk through did not activate, leading Viktor to cry out in pain as he clutched his nose. He tried approaching a few more times from different angles or while focusing on various parts of the vision. however none of them worked.
Session 67	After a battle that was as brutal as any war that Chenris had read about or fought in, Marcel was cornered. one of the villagers could no longer contain their fury and broke from the crowd and tried to plunge a large kitchen knife into the man. However, the villager was stopped by who seemed to be the one leading the assault on the church. He claimed that a quick death like that would be much too good for a criminal as vile as Marcel. Murmurs rippled throughout the crowd behind him.
Session 67	Before they answered, the man took a knee and began praying; the villagers quickly joined in. Marcel howled in pain as he clutched his heart like it was about to fall out. His body began violently convulsing as if a spirit or demon had possessed him. His black hair grew darker until it seemed like light was no longer able to escape its clutches. The whites of his eyes soon followed suit as skin began to rip and tear from his rapidly growing nails and clawed at his face in an attempt to stop whatever was happening to him. Marcel fell to the floor with a loud thud.
Session 67	Marcel saw the opportunity and ripped up the floorboard, bending him before systemically breaking every bone in his body to crawl under the foundations of the church. He slowly dragged his broken body though creating the foundations with edges of his broken bones and blood. Seeing that his champion had escaped, chronovorus let out another maniacal laugh before disappearing into himself.
Session 67	Those most affected by the ageing, Drache, Mordecai, and Aiden rushed to leave the room. Chenris wasn't too far behind, although he didn't seem to leave the church like the others. Instead of passing through the gate, he stopped by the door where Marcel had been cornered in the past to investigate the floorboards. He quickly found a set of loose and damaged ones; upon lifting them, he found an empty passageway that the spiders and insects of the area had long claimed. However, there were clearly deep grooves that the broken body of one Marcel had cut out.
Session 67	Before anyone could answer, they stormed back inside to find Viktor still in Marcel's study as he attempted to translate some of the notes still in the ornate desk. The documents mostly contained documents regarding the daily running of the cult. Marcel was kidnapping children from the local area and sacrificing large chunks of their lifespan to chronovorus before keeping the adult children as members of the cult. Other documents seemed to track the length of time each kid was left in front of the time rift, with the name of the child, date, years stolen, and time in front of the rift all being recorded in immaculate handwriting.
Session 67	Interestingly, Viktor managed to find what seemed to be a diary from Marcel from when he was younger and before he led the black cult branch in the area. It detailed the story of a large meteor crashing in the area. Marcel managed to be the first person to reach it and found a large purple crystal that seemed to hum with a powerful but strange energy. Much of the rest of the diary is the various tests and studies Marcel conducted with the crystal before it eventually left his possession.
Session 67	"Was it Marcel who imprisoned you here?" asked Viktor.
Session 67	Chenris was just about to run out of options when suddenly Xekai and Niaros walked through one of the rifts and a very young-looking Marcel walked through the other. Viktor, Mordecai and Drache quickly ran over to the eclectic group. Niaros and Xekai looked just as confused as the party did. They explained that they were just on their way back from the Sundering after sealing Ignatus, and now they were here.
Session 67	Viktor approached Marcel, who was clearly holding the crystal. Terathera's words regarding this place's strange relationship with time rang out in his head. This was most likely Marcel when he first found the Meteor. He turned to Niaros and asked if he had a way to defeat a God. Niaros was stunned into silence for a while. Xekai watched in silent anticipation.
Session 67	Viktor took the crystal from Marcel, showed it to the dragon, and explained that these crystals have a strange effect on the gods. Niaros nodded, only half following the party members. He proposed that there must be some activation requirement for the effect to take place. Viktor turned to the centre of the room where the apparatus for the previous crystal was. They both ran over to it; Niaros gestured for Viktor to place the crystal onto the machine. Viktor nodded and placed the crystal. Instantly, it began humming cosmic power and draining his life force rapidly. Viktor looked up at Chenris, contemplating the burdens and guilt he had carried for so long, and understood his purpose. He placed his trust in the soon-to-be God and actively gave the crystal his life force.