Mehdi Ibn Salaad
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- "I'll keep you a seat in hell."
- — Mehdi Ibn Salaad
Mehdi Ibn Salaad was raised by one Eleanore of Skara Brae, the lover of a notorious Nujel'mid pirate by the name of Salaad al-Nadir. Born from a loveless union of lust, Mehdi spent his first ten years with his mother, living a modest life of poverty and hunger. The winter of his eleventh birthday changed the path of his life forever, when Eleanore fell to some unknown illness. It is said that he remained with the frozen corpse of his mother for days until the local militia finally separated him, kicking and screaming from her side. After spending the remainder of his childhood in an orphanage Mehdi went on to join the Militia, despite being far under the standard recruitment age. At fifteen he became rookie of the militia, serving under the orders of a Baron Sigurd for five years, defending the island against hegemonic ellements within neighbouring Spiritwood.
When Mehdi joined the militia officer corps a violent dispute errupted between he and the Baron. Firstly ibn Salaad accused the nobleman of showing too much leniency to the town's criminals, and secondly he demanded that a more radical and cruel approach was necessary to combat the island's intrusive neighbours. Their feud almost came to blows when Mehdi, stripped of his rank and commission, left Skara Brae to find refuge in the pit of corruption and piracy that is Buccaneer's Den. There he started his wicked schemes, and established a company of slavers known as the Tuaregs of the Blue Desert. To his surprise and delight this new and gruesome business became wonderously profitable, and the nobility of both the Sultanate of Nujel'm, the Republic of Vesper, and even far-flung Kaldor made regular use of their services. Slavery blossomed in Sosaria, spreading fear among isolated villages. As a result the violent and cruel reputation of Mehdi rapidly built up.
This dark yet wealthy era met it's end when the combined might of the Knights Templar and Army of Kha were set against the Tuaregs. In a grand assault the slavers were slaughtered in their entirety, with only Mehdi managing to escape with the Tuaregs' treasury to the safety of Vesper. There he fell under the protection of Captain Chucky and the patronage of the greedy Kain Twothumb. In the Vesper Trading Company, Mehdi found a means of aquiring yet more profit, and began to dedicate the organisation's resources to rekindling the slave-trade, going so far as to errect a gladiatorial arena. His efforts paid off, as the bloody fights fascinated most of Sosaria's elite, and gathered unprecidented revenues for both his own gain and the coffers of Vesper.
His luck would not last, however, and upon the dissappearance of Captain Chucky Vesper changed its political line, forcing Mehdi to abandon slavery. He turned instead to Daemonic rites and practices under the influence of his right-hand man, Arejun Damascus – the people of the city came to fear him, forcing him to flee under accusations of murder, corruption, and necromancy. Despite this third push into exile, he remained one of the wealthiest men in the known world. His influence could be seen in all corners of the land, not least of all in Magincia, whose young ruler Gerrick Adarastos soon took the aging slaver on as a personal counsellor. This eventually led to his appointment as Archon of Magincia, allowing him to realise his hostile and warlike plans by raising a Legion of fierce warriors. His sinful ways and love of daemoncraft made him ever more perverse and corrupt, tallying up a roll-call of foes both distant and close.
When the danger became too great he fled one last time, taking refuge in the erudite sanctuary of Spiritwood.
At the age of sixty four a small group of Vesperian guardsmen finally trapped him and escorted him back to the Republic to pay for his crimes. The trial was staged and over almost instantly. Death, they declared. The bloated and bejewelled Mehdi finally died on a crisp winter morning, his head struck off in Vesper's main plaza by the axe of Hanse Davion.
