XOTAI
Real Name: Xotai
Identity/Class: Human, magic user (Hyborian Era, Pre-Cataclysmic era)
Occupation: Master sorceror
Group Membership: Temple of the Rat; other unrevealed sects of sorcerers
Affiliations: Tem
Enemies: Beast-Men, Conan, false Ghouls, Tem, many unidentified wizards and sorcerors
Known Relatives: None
Aliases: High Priest of the Temple of the Rat, Ageless One (only on the title), many other unrevealed ones
Base of Operations: Temple of the Rat, near the Kezankian mountains; mobile in the Hyborian world
First Appearance: Savage
Sword of Conan#128
(September, 1986)
{prima apparizione Italiana: Conan la Spada Selvaggia#72 Comic Art (Dicembre 1992)}
Powers/Abilities: Xotai's knowledge in the black arts was incredibly vast and deep. His scheming and magic abilities allowed him to impersonate and disguise as different wizards at the same time. His powers prolonged his life but they faded in time, so, after a millenium, Xotai had to replenish his sorcerous energies performing a ritual in the Temple of the city which spawned him. Even with his reduced power, he was able to magically alternate his appearance, casting illusions and hiding his real form to other sorcerers, travel by unrevealed means (probably teleportation) in mid distances (40-50 leagues), and emit burning charges of energy. At full power he could also levitate. The real extent of his abilities remained unrevealed but surely were they far wider than we know.
History:
(Savage Sword of Conan#128 (fb) - BTS) - Xotai was born millenia before the Hyborian Era. He became a powerful dread sorceror, greatly feared among men, master of a large sect of deadly sorcerors who existed from the beginning of the world, the Temple of the Rat.
Over the ages, Xotai lived and renewed his sorcerous power, every millenium going to the city were he was born. However, the passing of the years had effects on his body, which decayed to a near-skeletal status. Xotai used his illusions to project a human form around him, assuming different shapes and faces, deceiving both normal men and other sorcerers.
In the Hyborian era, shortly before the reign of Conan, Xotai needed to replenish his powers. To not waste his energies he hired Tem, a Cimmerian, Master of the Assassins, to deal with all the would-be mages who wanted to kill him during his journey to the dead city in the desert, where he was born. Tem accepted and hired Conan, his good friend, among his soldiers.
In
those days, Xotai also posed as
the High Priest of the Temple of the Rat, enemies of him. That way he learnt about their plans, which included an alliance with
the major known sorcerers in Hyboria, and the end of Xotai's
sovereignity through his death.
(Savage Sword of Conan#128) - During the travel, on the Kezankian mountain, the caravan escorting Xotai was attacked by armed men masked as ghouls, allied with the Temple of the Rat. Conan, Tem and the other bodyguards slew them all.
Still impersonating a sorcerer of the Temple of the Rat, Xotai and his brothers received a visit from Conan who gave them a magic warning from Tem to not interfere with the caravan's travel.
Some days later, after the battle against the beast-men, realizing that Tem had become unreliable, Xotai tempted Conan offering him the leadership of the caravan, but Conan refused.
Once in his birthplace, after the initial battle against the defensive
demonic forces, Xotai
offered again to Conan to join their forces against Tem, and Conan
refused again.
(Savage Sword of Conan#128 (fb) - BTS) - At the Temple, Xotai and Tem battled, and the old sorcerer, far more powerful than the assasin, killed him.
(Savage Sword of Conan#128) - Xotai started the ritual for regaining his power, placing five gems on the vertexes of a star. Conan attacked him but was held back by the head of a dragon created by Xotai. The floor crumbled and Conan managed to pull Xotai into the depth below but the sorcerer levitated and took off his illusion of humanity, revealing his true skeletal aspect. Conan used the magic globe which Tem had left him and placed it in the centre of the star of power. The star and throne exploded, Xotai lost his power and Conan could stab him with his knife. Tem was avenged.
Comments: Created by Jim Owsely (writer), Mike Docherty (pencils), Fraja Bator (inks).Profile by Spidermay.
CLARIFICATIONS:
Xotai has no known connections to
An evil place, standing in a grassy plain a 3 day journey away from the Kezankian mountains.
Its radiating evil affected the life vegetation around it, leaving a rotted, desert circle around it instead of the fertile, green plain further from it. The death coming from its walls, only partially reflected the evil and corruption performed in it.
The Temple of the Rat was the heart and the home of an important group of sorcerers, a cult that survived over the millenia. The strongest and undisputed leader of the sect was Xotai, but other important sorcerers plotted against him. Five, seated on the vertexes of a pentagram, around the High Priest, who sat at the centre of the pentagon.
They schemed the end of Xotai's sovereignity as master sorceror, and allied themselves with the major sorcerers of Hyboria. They gave them a lot of cannon fodder to use against Xotai and his caravan: the false ghouls, the beast men, and also many other demonic creatures as defense of the dead city where Xotai was headed.
In their roster, however, lurked Xotai himself, disguised as the High Priest, and aware of their scheming.
--Savage Sword of Conan#128
Sorcery-spawned minions, the humanoid, furry and clawed
beasts were used as low-level soldiers by unseen sorcerers.
Their strength was at normal level and
their agility a bit superior. They fought using their claws and fangs.
The beast-men were sent against Xotai's caravan, and attacked at dawn at the Oasis of Aphka. Their savagery and agility caused some problems to the armed men of the escort, but they were all trampled on by the fury of Tem's sandstorm.
--Savage Sword of Conan#128
The
Ghouls were normal men, masked and painted to resemble living skeletons.
They were lackeys of unidentified sorcerers
allied with the Temple of the Rat.
They attacked the caravan of Xotai in the Kezankian mountains. Their sudden appearance in the middle of flames on the snow gave them an initial advantage, soon foiled by Conan's savagery and vanquished by Tem's attack in the form of an Ice Worm. The skeleton men all died.
--Savage Sword of Conan#128
images:
(without ads)
Savage Sword of Conan#128, p44,
pan2 (Xotai, full body)
Savage Sword of Conan#128, p49,
pan9 (Xotai, demonic face)
Savage Sword of Conan#128, p40,
pan6 (Xotai, head shot of his false human guise)
Savage Sword of Conan#128, p39,
pan6 (Xotai disguised as wizard of the Temple of the Rat, head shot)
Savage Sword of Conan#128, p14,
pan5 (Temple of the Rat)
Savage Sword of Conan#128, p32,
pan4 (Beast-Man)
Savage Sword of Conan#128, p4,
pan4 (Ghouls)
Appearances:
Savage Sword of Conan#128 (September, 1986) - Jim Owsley (Christopher Priest, writer), Mike Docherty (pencils), Fraja Bator (inks), Larry Hama (editor)
Last updated: 05/22/08
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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