Jizan of Alkatilum

Name: Jizan Saltpointe of Alkatilum

Sobriquet: Murderer of Mothers, Matricidor, Hell Childe, The Red Hand

Race: Standard human

Sex: Presumed male

Age: 36-40 months old

Occupation: none/child OR serial killer

Current Location: Unknown

Last Known: The City of Beggars

Faction: Presumed Infernal

Appearance:

Jizan Saltpointe has two appearances, dubbed 'Sweet' and the 'Hell Childe'

Sweet Jizan appears as a typical human child approximately three years old, but of dubious gender. Most will assign Jizan as male, but this is not supported by any evidence, other than the fact the only thing more horrific than a murderous three year old is a murderous three year old girl. Jizan is typically dirty faced, wearing tattered clothing, and generally a disarmingly poor child.

Hell Childe Jizan retains the three year old form, but gains the ability to levitate two to three meters above the ground, and their eyes produce a monstrous green-gold glow. 

Combat:

Sweet Jizan doesn't seem to have any abilities beyond that which a child would have, only has rudimentary ability to speak, and is by most accounts, either a simpleton or a near mute.

Hell Childe Jizan can levitate two to three meters above the ground, can move an at exceptional speed, and when unobserved, can blink short distances. This allows Jizan exceptional pursuit abilities. The worst part about facing Jizan is his ability to manifest what most victims/spectators/opponents describe as 'the red hands'. 

Jizan's Red Hands are a series of spell like abilities, and each round of combat, Jizan has three points it can spend using these attacks. The red hands created by these abilities are roughly the size of a normal human being, and are dramatically larger than Jizan's child like form.

The Crushing Red Hand (1 point) makes a basic grapple attack to constrict an opponent. If Jizan constricts a target with a crushing hand, it can choose to continue to constrict in the next round. In the horror stories, this is how Jizan prefers to kill its victims, with a prolonged terror inducing strongle.

The Forceful Red Hand (1 point) is a tool using ability, and Jizan can use Forceful Hands to lift objects, tear doors off, and otherwise do anything a person with exceptional strength could do. Jizan uses these to tear apart hiding places, knock foes away, force doors open, and otherwise be a horror. Using all three points on the forceful hands can allow Jizan to accomplish feats of strength relative to the ability of a giant.

The Blocking Red Hands (2 points) create a barrier around Jizan and block attacks mundane and magical on par with have a pair of tower shields.

The Striking Red Hand (1 point) is a powerful attack, and is usually only used when facing seasoned fighters, and is a bashing/penetrating attack that deals serious damage. Jizan never uses this when hunting, and only against dogs and skilled hostile opponents.

The Red Hammer (2 points) is a massive punishing strike. Two Red hands appear, clench each other and then swing mightily at whatever has irked Jizan. This attack knocks opponents back, sunders shields, and can do horrific things like shatter the body of a grown man, break the spine of a horse, reduce a wagon to kindling, or buckle the gates of a castle.

Jizan the Monster

The story told of Jizan is fairly common, it appears as a sad and miserable child, almost inconsolable. The creature always appears near a new mother, a pregnant woman, or some other woman involved in the care of the very young. If treated well Jizan seems to perk up, and a short time later simply cannot be found. Those who are cruel, dismissive, or otherwise negative will find themselves 'haunted' by the child.

Those deemed worthy of Jizan's dark attention are stalked, driven to a state of paranoia, until the creature strikes, bringing them to the limit of what horror they can experience without going mad, and then being crushed and mangled to death. Often a victim will bring in assistance in the form of heroes, mercenaries, or assassins. Jizan seldom has much difficulty with hirelings, but exhibits no cruelty towards them, and more often than not is content to cripple, knock out, or simply throw foes in such a way they are unable to fight further.  

Origin of the Hell Childe

Jizan Saltpointe of Alkatilum was a golden child, and the heir apparent to the Saltpointe merchant empire. Jizan was cast out of the house at the age of three, and the reasons vary from source to source. There is a persistent rumor that Jizan was the product of infidelity, possibly incest, or was otherwise considered to be of mixed or inferior breeding. The transgression was enough for the child to be thrown out with the household garbage. Another version was that there was a fight between the Saltpointes and Jizan's mother disposed of the child as a strike against it's father, a cruel twist in the game of gold and daggers. The last version was that Jizan's mother was involved in some sort of cult, or magic circle and Jizan was intended to be a sacrificial offering in a ritual that went horribly wrong.

Jizan reappeared, and its first victim was it's mother. The rest of the Saltpointe house suffered and many members of the family met their ends, and the first telling of Jizan's revenge came from the crippled and broken guards of the house who survived the assault. 

Jizan would periodically appear again and again, each time, the manifestation lasting until a mother was left in a pile of blood and broken bones.

The Dark Truth

Jizan was a child who was deeply wrong by his mother, a betrayal of unimaginable and unequaled magnitude. He was taken to a flesh market and sold to the sort of monstrous and horrible people who make the slave pens and hornless goat taverns their regular haunts. There was no need for money, he was not a difficult child. Quite the opposite. The truth was far simpler, Jizan's mother was a monster, Munchausen by proxy, and a sadist. She sold her son to experience the betrayal, and make a little coin. Jizan was carried by his new owner a short distance where he was slammed onto a table and literally torn apart and devoured. The manifestation of the red hands is a recollection of the horrible hands that tore him apart, covered in his own blood.

This act of barbarism and cruelty, unmatched at the time, as Jizan's mother even had a few bloody bites of her son, drew the attention of Orgruk the Bloody Handed, a somewhat powerful mid tier demon with a shtick for blood and blood covered hands. Orgruk captured the soul of Jizan before it fled, and bargained with the mauled and mutilated spirit of the child. The deal was very simple, not because Jizan was a child, souls are ultimately immortal, but Orgruk didn't see Jizan as a prize, but as a brilliant tool and potential pupil. The demon invested a great deal of it's own power into Jizan and then released him into the world.

Jizan became a haunter of evil mothers, a combination so seemingly at odds with reality that no one could fathom it. Jizan's targets were few, and far between, but when a woman managed to draw it's child like focus, the horror of what happened would be told for years afterwards. 

Author Notes:

Jizan is a response to Toralf Young-Sword by War10ck. I enjoyed writing it, and I hope you all enjoy reading it. Happy COVID days.