The Bastion of Vhal’Zarim - The Shield Guardian
Still it waits beneath the overgrown ruins, motionless and watchful. They say if you speak the name of its long-dead master, it turns its head. But only once.
Role in Its Society:
The Bastion of Vhal’Zarim is a forgotten relic of empire, a construct left behind after the collapse of the Arcanocracy of Vhal’Zarim. Unlike ordinary shield guardians, which still follow their masters, the Bastion has been masterless for centuries — yet it continues to guard the shattered gates of its fallen city, compelled by the last echo of its arcane bond.
The people of nearby settlements treat it with fearful reverence. Hunters leave offerings at the city’s edge. Bandits speak of comrades who vanished after challenging the sentinel — only to be found days later, crushed into the stones.
Some believe it protects nothing now. Others say it guards a still-living wizard, locked in magical stasis deep within the ruins, waiting for the world to be safe again.
Appearance Description:
Towering at twelve feet tall, the Bastion is a masterwork of arcane engineering, its ornate plating etched with glowing sigils and war-scripts. Its eyes gleam like twin sapphires — not with life, but vigilance.
Time has not rusted it. Vines crawl over its form, but burn away when combat begins. Its core pulses softly beneath a reinforced breastplate, and a strange crystal embedded in its chest flickers with an unstable rhythm.
Backstory:
Crafted during the height of the Arcanocracy, the Bastion served as personal protector to Magelord Ithrazul, one of the empire’s High Conjurers. When the empire fell during the Sundering Wars, Ithrazul vanished — rumored dead, exiled, or entombed alive.
Without command, the Bastion should have collapsed. Instead, it remained — anchored by a corrupted command gem fused to its core during a final, desperate ritual. That gem sustains its purpose but twists it, trapping the construct in a loop of failed protection.
It is a creature driven by absence — forever guarding a city that has no citizens, waiting for a master who will never return.
