Osybus
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This section contains canon info from officially published sources |
A highly mysterious member of the Dark Powers whose name is largely obscure today[1], Osybus was once a mortal necromancer who gained the powers of undeath through utilizing souls taken from other people. He also drew on dark pacts to fuel his upward transformations in power, including the veneration of the Dark Powers[2]
Osybus did not rise to power alone. Hundreds of years ago, he established the Priests of Osybus recruiting like-minded individuals whom also desired mastery over life and death. Osybus shared his dark knowledge with them, and in turn they assisted them in his transformation into a lich of almost godlike power. After his ascension, he imbued them with a shred of his power, granting them the ability to take souls and reincarnate as undead monstrosities following their deaths[2].
The depredations of Osybus and his followers drew the attention of then-uncorrupted Strahd von Zarovich and the Ulmist Inquisition. Together, Strahd and the Inquisition sounded the alarm and took the battle to Osybus directly. However, it was ultimately Osybus' priests that proved the nail in his coffin, for their fear of his betrayal in eating their souls motivated them to assist Osybus' foes. Osybus did not go quietly and cursed the immortality of his former minions to become unreliable[2].
Later, the Priests of Osybus came to understand that corrupting Strahd and unleashing him as an agent of evil upon the world would allow a reversal of their curses. Yet Osybus, now one of the Dark Powers, and others in thier number snatched up Strahd and imprisoned him in his own domain within the Mists, thus once again keeping total immortality from the Priests of Osybus. So denied, the Priests have long since toiled to help Strahd escape from his prison[3].
