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A few months ago we released the first pieces from a new series called “The Secrets of the Lamp”. Created by Jeremy Girard, with parts sculpted by Walter DeMarco, this series of djinn and other characters was inspired by stories like The One Thousand and One Nights. Today we have the start of the storyline for these characters that Jeremy created below.
Note: A number of these parts will be available in this weekend's sale, including painted and unpainted versions of the female assassin head and the normal djinn head. We will also have the curly shoes, magic lamp, and new scimitar sword available!
Chapter 1 - Dhzeshh the Victorious
Located amidst the shifting sands of a great desert, the kingdom of Hezar Afsana had long been home to many magical creatures and races, including the legendary Djinn. Beings of pure fire whose innate control of magic would rival even the greatest mages of the world, in ancient times the Djinn ruled unchecked, and battles between these nearly god-like beings threatened to destroy Hezar Afsana and its people.
One of the greatest of all the Djinn of Hezar Afsana was the blue-skinned warrior known as Dhzeshh the Victorious. As magically powerful as any of his race, Dhzeshh was equally adept at battle with common weapons, and his mastery of blades and magic was an awesome and terrible sight to behold. None who challenged the skill of Dhzeshh survived to regret their decision, and the people of Hezar Afsana shook in fear at the mere mention of his name, for when he took up arms, entire neighborhoods would crumble as collateral damage of the battles he waged.
Challenger after challenger fell before Dhzeshh the Victorious, but little did this mighty Djinn know that a new threat began to rise to his power – a threat that would come from the most unexpected of places.
Chapter 2 - Mala
Tired of living in constant fear of the precocious whims of the Djinn, the people of Hezar Afsana hatched a plan to rid their kingdom of these threats once and for all. Led by a young warrior known as Solomon, they discovered a magical artifact thought lost to the ages, a scroll that would imbue a common object with the power to trap ones enemies in a form of limbo, binding them to the will of whoever had spoken the words of the spell. Solomon used this spell upon a golden lamp, for it was well known that Dhzeshh had an affinity for golden trinkets and treasures. Now all the people needed to do was to make sure that the powerful Djinn touched the lamp, for if he laid even a single finger on its golden shell, the spell would trap him under the power of Solomon.
Entrusting the task of smuggling the lamp into Dhzeshh’s palace fell to a crafty assassin known as Mala. The plan was to place the lamp in a spot where the Djinn would see it, and trusting that he would be unfamiliar with the treasure, would pick it up to inspect it and thus be trapped by the spell. Of course, sneaking past a Djinn is nearly impossible, even for the craftiest of assassins.
Captured by Dhzeshh, Mala had to think quickly, so she dropped to her knees and begged the Djinn for mercy, telling him that she was but a lowly worshipper of his great power and she longed to have a piece of him close to her at all times, so she snuck into his home to steal a piece of treasure.
Dhzeshh enjoyed being praised nearly as much as he enjoyed seeing weakness cower before him. Knowing that this human female was not worth the effort of destroying, he announced he would let her live so she could tell others of the wonder and might of Dhzeshh – and then, in a moment of uncharacteristic generosity, the Djinn bent down to retrieve the “stolen” lamp, intending to give it to Mala for her boldness in entering his palace. As soon as the Djinn’s fingers touched the golden lamp, he could feel his power draining. Fury in his eyes, he knew he had been tricked by this girl, yet he no longer had any power to fight her, and he was sucked into the black limbo of the magical lamp.
If you know the tales of King Solomon, you know he was the most powerful ruler of Hezar Afsana. What you may not know is that he seized this power thanks to the magical lamp that Mala the assassin returned to his possession after she left the palace of Dhzeshh the Victorious. For with that lamp, Solomon gained control over the powerful Dhzeshh, using him to defeat and entrap the rest of the Djinn and building himself an army of unwilling weapons in his quest for power.
Chapter 3 - The Twins
For all his power and craftiness, Solomon was still a mortal man, for even the magic of mighty Djinn cannot defeat the crawl of time or the touch of death upon mortal flesh. Solomon would eventually die, and his kin would fight over his legacy in a fruitless effort to fill the vacuum of power his death created. None would do so, and in time the house of Solomon would crumble.
Years passed and the once mighty kingdom of Hezar Afsana itself would fall into ruin and memory. Treasures of the old world were buried beneath the shifting desert sands, undisturbed, for centuries.
Time does a funny thing when it comes to magic. Powerful spells lose their potency over time, and once-unbreakable seals may weaken and break. This is what happened to the lamp of Solomon. The seals that kept the might Djinn at bay cracked and little by little the enslaved creatures of smoke and fire began to reclaim their freedom. The first two captives to make they way past the lamp’s barriers were twin Djinn known as Zinnin and F’larr.
The red-skinned Zinnin was being of pure fury. Wielding twin blades, he delighted in using those weapons in place of his potent magic to strike down those who would stand against him.
His blue-skinned sibling, F’larr, was a contrast in more than just skin color, for where Zinnin was fiery and furious, F’larr was cold and calculating. This cunning warrior would take his time and find the perfect attack to defeat an enemy in the quickest, and most painful, way possible.
Together these Djinn escaped into the world with only two things on their minds. First, they vowed to make all humankind pay for the treatment at the hands of their jailer, King Solomon. Second, they would delight in taking revenge against the traitor who bound them in the first place, the once-mighty Dhzeshh. They would find this traitor and destroy him for his crimes against all Djinn-kind.
To be continued….
