KURAH SHAN

Real Name: Kurah Shan

Class: Extradimensional (Pytharian) magic user

Occupation: Necromancer

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Dhylka-Ryn, Pytharia

First Appearance: Claw the Unconquered #6 (March-April, 1976)

Powers: Shan had limited knowledge of necromancy. He possessed a fragment of the Grimstone, allowing him to summon monsters created from his imagination, as well as access the fears of others and give them tangible shape. He could spread darkness, summon black flames, and create structures of light.

History: (Claw the Unconquered #6) - Kurah Shan was a sickly orphan living in the village of Dhylka-Ryn. The villagers despised his weakness, and endlessly tormented and beat him. Pfylahna was his only friend, and they eventually became lovers. Her father discovered their tryst, and ran Shan out of the village. He sought refuge in a cave which was once the l;air of a necromancer. The power began to corrupt him, and when he took possession of a fragment of the Grimstone the power turned him evil. He cast a darkness over Dhylka-Ryn, set up a castle for himself, and demanded the villagers worship him. They refused, so he summoned demonic beings to torment them. Pfylahna was sent to find a champion to lift the curse, and she found Claw the Unconquered and Ghilkyn. She hoped they could break the curse, but spare Shan's life, because she knew there was still good in him. Shan invited them into his castle, where they were assaulted by creatures he plucked from their minds that represented their deepest fears. They caused their fear to vanish through willpower, and when Shan's sorcerous flames failed to stop them he panicked. He ran off, hoping to return to the necromancer's cave and retrieve a more powerful talisman. Unfortunately his panic and power summoned his own worst fear, the villagers that made his life miserable, and the summoned phantasms killed him. The curse was lifted from Dhylka-Ryn, and only Pfylahna mourned him, the rest of the villagers oblivious to their hand in the tragedy.

Comments: Created by David Michelinie & Ernie Chan.