 IMAGE01: Jeearr IMAGE02: Jeearr IMAGE03: Jeearr (close-up on eyes) |
The ancient and evil force called Jeearr once spread pestilence and terror across many lands. The demon thrived by literally feeding on war and suffering. This strange hovering creature had the semblance of a giant cat with no legs, just a head and a tail stuck onto a huge, furry ball. But this demon had no whiskers, and the tail looked very powerful and was covered with suckers like the tentacles of an octopus. Jeearr was surrounded by a faint light, as though he were not really present, but merely a projection of some kind (he was impervious to physical attacks). He spoke in a high-pitched, squeaky voice.
Like most demons, Jeearr could possess a victim by surrounding them like a cloud and settling comfortably into their skull and seizing control of mind and body. It would suck all knowledge and magic powers, adding them to its own. While possessing, Jeearr's form could be described in visual terms as a giant spider with millions of legs, wrapped around and feasting on the body and spirit.
Jeearr desired to enslave the people of the land, forcing them to erect great idols to himself, watching as parents offered up their own children upon the altars, as the rivers of the land filled with blood. His wishes never saw fruition. Only the combined magic of many kings and wizards stopped this great power, even as he was preparing his final assault. He was imprisoned in the void beyond our world. His jailors warned future generations that his exile might not be permanent; this warning was proved to be accurate when Jeearr returned to the Eastlands during the early years of the reign of Syovar the Strong (c. 888~913 GUE). Grawl, one of the most powerful warlocks of the time, was in thrall to this demon from the void. Jeearr's possession was the possible source of its incredible powers.
Jeearr sought to strike just at the point where Syovar was about to call together all of the city-states to meet for the Conference of Quendor to sign a peace treaty for one unified Kingdom of Zork. As the conference approached, a truce between all the warring neighbors had been observed—but instead of working toward peace, the nations had merely used this time to build huge armies, poised to attack should the treaty not be signed. If Syovar was not present at the conference, the treaty would not be made and Quendor would be merely the prelude to the worst bloodshed that the Land of Frobozz would have ever seen. That was what Jeearr planned.
Using his servant Grawl, Jeearr sought to lure Syovar by capturing his niece and nephew. The demon hoped that he would be able to deceive the king into thinking that it was Grawl alone who had been seeking revenge, unaware who the true culprit was behind the ordeal. Syovar took the bait, going to rescue Bivotar and Juranda from the castle of Grawl. During a battle of sorcery, Jeearr's protective powers allowed Grawl to inflict heavy damage upon Syovar before the evil warlock met his end. With Grawl dead, Jeearr hovered above the body of his servant, then vanished. Syovar stumbled backward and fell to the ground.
It is still a matter of debate on what exactly occurred here. Due to Jeearr’s own words in his future 957 GUE defeat, where he stated that he could not survive without a host, (thus an unknown sorcerer was able to defeat this demon by preventing him from entering another host) most theorize that Syovar was possessed at this point by the evil spirit. Others see this as impossible, as Jeearr frequently appeared to Bivotar and Juranda to torment them many times apart from both Syovar and without a host, while they were questing in lands far from the Castle of Zork. Thus there is still much confusion as to the seemingly inconsistent nature of Jeearr and the illness of Syovar.
With the king out of comission, Bivotar and Juranda sought the Helm of Zork, hoping that Syovar's son Logrumethar would be able to use its shapeshifting powers to assume the appearance of Syovar and still attend the Conference of Quendor. Otherwise, with the absence of the king, a ar would spread across the face of Zork—enough fighting and bloodshed to keep Jeearr fed and powerful for a thousand years.
Along their quest Jeearr spouted riddles (before doing a lazy somersault in mid-air, laughing curiously, and vanishing), which were actually great benefactors for finding the Helm of Zork. Although he seemed like a harmless jokester, the fiend was completely demonic. It is uncertain why Jeearr assisted them in this manner, if it simply enjoyed taunting them, hoped to confuse them, or was amusing by prompting them with little hints.
Once Bivotar and Juranda gained possession of the Helm of Zork in an ancient castle, Jeearr appeared once last time, speaking this time with cold hatred and malevolence. Its sucker-covered tail began to whip back and forth, faster and faster, forming a powerful wind which encircled the entire castle turret before destroying it. The two adventurers were narrowly able to escape. The recovery of the Helm of Zork enabled Logrumethar to assume the form of Syovar and the Treaty of Quendor was signed, thus thwarting the evil plans of Jeearr.
But the end of the year 957 GUE would see the reemergence of the fiend, who established his lair in the Griffspotter Caverns in Egreth. The villain's plot for conquering the world involved manufacturing an army of millions of light-resistant grues, using infernal machines conveniently provided by the Frobozz Magic Grue Breeder Company (luckily, these grues were never released into the world at large). Other devices seemed to have been designed to aid the forces of evil while sapping magic powers of Enchanters everywhere. Also within these caverns, Jeearr built the Chamber of Living Death, and Hall of Eternal Pain, and another room where which was the control center for the evil experiments.
The first indications of Jeearr's return can be found in the diary of the mage Belboz. He wrote in his notebook that the ancient demon's powers could endanger the Circle and possibly the entire kingdom. Without consulting any others, Belboz decided to conduct some dangerous experiments, operating alone to shield the Circle from the perils involved. In attempting to entrap this demon, these experiments left Belboz open to his power. He became possessed by the Jeearr’s spirit, causing Belboz to grow troubled, preoccupied, and withdrawn. This monstrous creature used Belboz's body as a host, intertwining himself throughout Belboz's mind. It was in this pathetic condition that Belboz was forced by Jeearr to leave the Council Hall in Accardi and travel to Egreth, where he would become the physical embodiment of the demon as he furthered his plans.
Fortunately for the world, the same Enchanter who defeated Krill found Jeearr's lair and exorcised him from the body of Belboz with the SWANZO spell. At this point the demon became a wispy translucent shape that warned the Enchanter in a deep voice of the inevitability of his epoch of evil, a reign of terror that would last a thousand thousand years. Jeearr claimed that he had stolen all of the knowledge and secrets of Belboz and was ready to put them to use. His plan was foiled when the VARDIK spell prevented him from entering the body of the Enchanter. Without a host to feed on, Jeearr could not survive. Thanks to the cleverness of the Enchanter, Jeearr was left without such a host, and is gone for all eternity.