People: Anabstercorian
- "We will rise again."
Anabstercorian is an alhoon, an undead illithid whose unlife is fueled by strange psionic powers. Not of this world, he hails from a set of bonded alternate material planes, known collectively as the Penumbral Empire.
History
Much of the alhoon's history is shrouded in mystery. It is impossible to determine his age, as he arrived in Trinity in his present state. However, the history of his presence in Trinity is documented well enough, and the efforts of X the Wanderer and his companions has revealed some measure of his intents and history.
Several hundred years prior to the formation of the Ronkan Empire, a portal opened between the world of Trinity and the Penumbral Empire, on a peninsular extension of the continent of Lotharien. Through that portal issued forth a number of powerful illithids, all greatly versed in the ways of psionics, and chief amongst them was Anabstercorian, their leader. They quickly set to work enslaving the local populations, wielding psionics of strength that have since rarely been matched. Along with them, they brought the githyanki, an alien race that had never been seen before in the realms of Trinity.
Anabstercorian and his ilk ruled over Lotharien for a number of centuries, slowly twisting the land, into what is now known to be a facsimile of the lands of the Penumbral Empire. Meanwhile, the occupants of Lotharien changed, as well, gradually gaining inherent psionic abilities thanks to the warping of reality due to Anabstercorian's presence.
In time, the occupants of Lotharien rebelled against the alhoon, and in a vast coordinated effort, the native peoples of Lotharien pooled their natural psionic talents into a single purpose: sinking the continent, planning to take the illithilich with them. The only remnant of the continent that remained was the Lost Isle, a desolate, icy plain upon which sat the Tower of Illusions, crafted by the Omega ages prior. However, while Anabstercorian lived, their efforts were not in vain: the destruction wreaked by the cataclysm undid the link between the worlds, and the portal to the Penumbral Empire closed.
Much of his forces lost, Anabstercorian did the only thing he could do: bide his time. Before his plans to conquer the world and reopen the portal could be realized, however, X the Wanderer and his companions sought him out and destroyed him in CR 402.
Rumors persist, however, that X did not succeed in destroying the alhoon, and that he still waits, somewhere deep in the depths below Lotharien, awaiting the time to strike... and during the Omega Event, those rumors proved true: it became known, after the fact, that Tetra had used his ability to traverse the timeline to inform the alhoon of his impending demise. His death at the hands of X and the crew of the Phoenix turned out to have been nothing more than a clever ruse. Anabstercorian was then tapped as one of the Omega's Chosen Nine, representing the Force of Psionics.
He was then destroyed in CR 465 over the course of the Omega Event by Thron and the members of the Faithful Faithless, but - once more - rumors persist that the alhoon yet again managed to arrange to escape his fate, and some claim he yet lurks somewhere within the bowels of the planet, once more waiting for his time to rise up and enslave the peoples of Trinity...
