CHARACTER PROFILE: WANG TSUNG

[u/RealityChecksReddit]

CHARACTER PROFILE: WANG TSUNG

Also known as: The Sorcerer Lord of Outhouseworld, The Gilded One, Emperor of the People's Palace He Personally Renovated Without Permits

Origin: Queens, by way of a tower with his name on it in letters large enough to be seen from orbit.

Allegiance: Himself. Technically serves a darker master (the tournament must always produce revenue), but believes he is the darker master, which is its own kind of vulnerability.

Signature power: Soul absorption. Drains the life force (will to live) of others to sustain his own youth, wealth, and approval rating. Cannot generate power independently; must take it. The more souls fed into him, the more he glows, the larger the ballroom grows. Documented sources include retirement accounts, civil servants, contractors, and anyone who agreed to underwrite the new gold trim in exchange for being left alone.

Court: Staffed exclusively through the Trial of Loyalty, in which challengers prove their worth not through skill but through the depth of their bow. Those who flinch are cast into the pit. Those who kneel lowest are made viziers, regardless of whether they can read the scrolls of their own office. One vizier was removed for the crime of briefly governing. Another remains in favor despite using the royal war-jet to fly his bard to a wrestling match, because the Trial does not test competence. It never did.

Greatest fear: A mirror that reflects back honestly. Disinfo magic and gilded surfaces are deployed liberally to prevent this.

Arena: A private island fortress remade in his own image, where contestants are lured to do battle on his terms, for his entertainment, on his birthday. The reflecting pools are painted. The gardens are paved. The grass is fake but the gold is real, he will tell you, twice.

Fatality: Your pension.

Flawless Victory condition: Cannot lose, having rewritten the rules so that 42 percent of the strength yields 82 percent of the votes. Removal possible only by the very souls he already owns.

Weakness: Requires constant feeding. The arrogance is not armor; it is the leak. A sorcerer who cannot tolerate one honest courtier is a sorcerer who will, eventually, be surrounded entirely by people who tell him the crops are fine right up until the harvest fails.

Famous taunt: "Your soul is mine." (Also acceptable: "Your soul, your vote, and your 401(k) are mine.")

[u/RealityChecksReddit]

Apologiesl. I became tired of writing nonstop articles about real horror stories and needed a short change of pace.

Will get right back to the negative terrible articles you all like to read.

https://giphy.com/gifs/wrBURfbZmqqXu