al-Kathos - Khaizuran-al-Mayfit (Malbus)

Malbus is an imposing being, even though he is slightly shorter than most other genies. He is a bulk of muscles, his body covered is black, coarse hair, his dark skin ever sweating. His face is set with eyes that seem to glow red, and his mouth is filled with oversized, sharp teeth.
The most hideous about his form are the two large ram-horns that seem to grow out of his head at a strange angle. They spring up from the manes on his head, and are a particularly vicious weapon.
Malbus ever dresses as if war can break out at any moment - even though no-one in the domain can remember any large battle having been fought within their lifetime. He wears a flaming red lamellar armor, with a black cloak. He carries a great scimitar around, and several daggers. He is always on edge, and people who annoy him may find out pretty quick how well he wields his arsenal of weapons.

Khaizuran-al-Mayfit was, long ago, an Efreeti of some standing, a potent warrior in the ever lasting war against the Djinn. He was known for his bravery and fearlessness in battle, for his military cunning, and for his insight in not only the goings-on at the courts of the Djinn and Marid, but also the complex political struggles that surrounded the Sultan of the Efreet.
Most, however, he was known for his ability to set people against each other. Where Khaizuran-al-Mayfit went, so went strife, and hatred, and the clash of swords of rivals pitted against each other over some minor sleight, at the instigation of Khaizuran the Warmonger.
All in all, while Khaizuran-al-Mayfit was popular among the warriors of his race, he got less and less in favor with the Sultan and the other Noble Efreet, who grew tired at having to put up with his schemes.
Recognizing an uprising against his position before it came to fruition, Khaizuran-al-Mayfit made out to the prime material plane, to wait out for a time when people would have forgotten the quarrels, and he would be welcomed again as the genius general that he was.
The efreeti travelled the world of Zakhara, a land of both harsh desert and unrivaled beauty, and offered his services at the courts in the various cities - against a large share of wealth, of course. He learned much about these pity human creatures, who seemed, at times, even more eager to join battle and fight their fellow man. It filled him with glee to set cities against each other, and lead the marching armies of one city to burn and pillage the other. These were dark times for Zakhara, and few words are spoken about it now.
Now at one time, there was a shair whose name was Reggeth Ben Khamal, a pretentious man of small standing, who had chosen to harnass the power that was Khaizuran to the benefit of his hometown Liham, which was waylayed by conquerers and slayers of Qudra and Muluk.
To his excitement, Khaizuran appeared before the shair at his words of invocation. The Efreeti was not at all pleased to be summoned by the meager man, and was about to shred the insolent soul to shreds when he took in his surroundings and saw the potential of the battle-eager people. Thus, he stayed his hand, and allowed himself to be bound to the city, and put his powers to use for its benefit.
The city prospered and grew, it's trade multiplied, it's troops became so fine they were rented to other cities, and the city itself gained the name of 'City of Soldiers'. Before the year was over, however, Liham was at war.
The rivalries with the forces of Qudra and Muluk were cause for Liham, under the guidance of their Efreeti general, to declare itself ruler over the Free Cities, supposedly to prevent the cities from falling out with each other, and to protect the coast from the raidings of the barbarian nations. Liham took the city of Umara to make the point clear, and promptly fell into battle with the other cities.
Khaizuran relished the fight, but his disregard for humans made him careless - and so, while he was fighting the Muluk in the north, the Qudran armies set siege to Liham, and burned it to the ground. The emir of the mamluks himself sought out the general Efreeti, and, for the first in a long time, Khaizuran met a master that challenged even his powers. The two fought long and hard, and some say the fight lasted two days, while the mamluks razed the town and the people of Liham fled into the wilderness. Finally, as the emir was about to land his final blow on the neck of Kazhuran, the Efreeti threw down his weapon and raised his hands in defeat. A silence fell over the battlefield as the emir lowered his scimitar, then turned to pronounce victory.
At that moment, sudden as a fire blast, Kazhuran thrust a dagger into the emir's back, piercing his heart. The emir dropped on his knees, looking in disbelief at the tip of the blade that now protruded from his chest. Kazhuran meanwhile rose, lifted his great scimitar, and struck the emir dead. As his head toppled to the ground, a great fury made itself master of the gathered forces, and as a man they threw themselves, both maluk and Liham soldier, at the betraying genie. Baffled, Kazhuran could not hold his grounds, and in rage and frustration, the Efreeti turned and fled. For days the Efreeti traveled east, the emir's forces at his heels, until a great sand storm finally gave him the opportunity to shrug off his pursuers. He dove headlong in the storm, oblivious to the elements, and continued onward.
When the storm settled, Zakhuran was was pleased to see his pursuers gone. He was also soon to discover that the grounds on which he now walked were not Zakhara. Quickly survying the terrain, he found that he had come to a strange land, and that he had gained an uncanny control over it. Zakhuran had been drawn into Ravenloft, and had become the darklord of al-Kathos.

Zakhuran has spent almost fifty years in Ravenloft. To the local populace the Efreeti is known as 'Malbus'. Few realize he is a genie, instead depicting him as a monstrous abomination.
His monstrous appearance has totally isolated Malbus. He prides himself in training the best of soldiers, but as most people depict him and his fellow genies as creatures of the night, he has not found anyone to appreciate his 'art'. The people, who live in cities miles apart, are paranoid and see him as a threat, rather than a savior, while the rulers are not interested in war. Even the desert riders, wandering warriors without a home and with little morals, are openly opposed to his presence. It took Malbus almost a decade to recruit the darkest of men for his army of darkness.
Even with his army, however, there is little joy. The genie's domain is surrounded by desert and totally isolated. There are no neighboring lands to conquer, no people to set against each other, no cities to raze.
Now that he has gathered a force of warriors and wizards around him, he rules the land from the Burning Citadel, though more by implied violence than by right.
Malbus found few genies in al-Kathos. The only ones obviously present are the Jann, who are malicious and fell easy under his control. Nothing in the domain is any challenge to the all-powerful Efreeti, and as he is slowly driven insane by his inability to act, his visage grows more grotesque.
The only challenger in the domain is, sadly, out of Malbus' reach. A unknown power has set up a temple of jackal-headed priests in the City of Despair, whose ruins are hidden in the jungles east of al-Kathos.
To Malbus' fury, he is for some reason magically banned from entering the jungle, instead being confined to the barren wastes that surround it. The forces he sends in do not return, and he spends most of his time thinking up a way to circumvent his limitation. As such, he has left the rest of his domain in relative peace. It is possible that another darklord controls the jungle grounds, and he would be prepared to some negotiation with anyone who can tell him who it is that rules there.

Malbus cannot seal his domain. The desert itself seems to spread out infinitely, and he has no control at the jungle's border. It frustrates him that he can not stop those that try to escape his domain, while he himself is barred from crossing.
His only way to prevent escape from the domain is to command his army of soldiers, the Jann, or the Cult of the Flame, to find the perpetuators. They are, over all, very effective.

Malbus prefers to let his men handle a fight, not out of fear or cowardice, but because he likes to see a big fight whenever he can get the chance. He particularly likes pitting friends towards each other. If this fails, or when the perceived threat proofs too powerful for his troops, he will gladly wade into battle, brandishing his weapons with great efficiency.
Aside from all his genie powers, Mabus can head-but for 1d10 points of damage, stunning an opponent for 1d4 rounds if that character fails a save vs spells. Otherwise, he prefers to use his great scimitar, doing 2d8+4 points of damage. He has two attacks with this weapon - and only with this weapon - each round.
As long as Malbus fights in a battle, it is near impossible to stop fighting. Nobody - including Malbus - checks for morale during the fight. If a PC wants to retreat, they have to make a save vs spell. Those that succeed can flee normally. Those that fail wil fall into a battle frenzy, which lasts until Malbus calls off the fight or all opposing forces are dead

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