Azalin Reviews - Darklord Mullonga
Domain: Nightmare Lands Domain Formation: Unknown Power Level: 💀💀💀 ⚫⚫ Sources: Domains of Dread (2e), Nightmare Lands (2e)
One may reach the Nightmare Lands by traversing through the Mists or by being pulled into the dreamweb weaved by the Nightmare Court while sound asleep. At least six Darklords rule over this ever-changing land.
The ruler of the Nightmare Court is the Nightmare Man. Mullonga, though a Darklord herself, is one of his underlings as are all the members of this Court. Mullonga takes on the appearance of a hackneyed frail, older woman aided by a gnarled, wooden staff. Unsurprisingly, she is a witch.
As most witches and hags do, Mullonga uses illusions to hide her more haggard appearance and often pretends to be a lost wizard. In this guise, she befriends wanderers: a name commonly given to those who arrive in the demiplane through the Mists.
She thrives on sowing seeds of doubt, mistrust, and fear amongst groups of travelers. That fear is the key to Mullonga’s power. She feeds on dreamers’ fears, especially those tied to a particular phobia. She delights in creating dreamscapes that mirror her victim’s fears. A villager from Kartakass, for example, may have witnessed a loved-one being mauled by a wolfwere and developed a fear of such creatures. Mullonga will send them dreams of running from snapping jaws and howling wolves always on the verge of reaching them. She may even transform the dreamer’s shape into a timid rabbit to amplify the terror of being preyed-upon.
Mullonga resides within a decrepit neighborhood in the City of Nod located at the center of the dreaming. The alleyways and ramshackle buildings of her neighborhood are constantly shifting, creating a maze that is near impossible to solve. There she keeps a laboratory where she creates arcane heads from the severed heads of wanderers who die in her realm. She typically sews three of them together and the resulting nightmare roams the domain feasting upon warm flesh. Her arcane relic, a cauldron that always contains a foul, bubbling ichor, is located in one particularly debilitated building in this labyrinth. As with all the Nightmare Court, destroying her arcane relic will significantly weaken her.
This wretched grandmotherly figure is technically a wizard, though not by any traditional means. Instead of memorizing and studying spells, she steals them from her victim’s dreams by pulling them out of the dreamweb.
As with all her brethren, Mullonga’s past is as mysterious as all witches wish to be. Perhaps she was a true wizard who stole the inventions of others. It would explain why she has to resort to such a strange and highly unpredictable method of casting and our tormentors do love imposing such restraints on us spellcasters.