Long ago in the Golden Age, as noted in the History of the Known World, the ancient Amantep enslaved the Balor Azmodeium. Amantep worked to drain the Balor’s powers and knowledge during this period of enslavement. This was when Amantep came across a process to create powerful warriors of darkness.
Seeing it as his chance to create an unstoppable army, Amantep began experimenting on a number of people and creatures. The results were more then he could have hoped for, perhaps a little too much. It wasn’t long until Amantep realized that these test subjects quickly became difficult to control and prone to betrayal, on more then one occasion many of the test subjects actually attacked him!
Deeming the experiment a total failure Amantep abandoned his research and begun focusing on more important matters, like how to extend his life.
However, Amantep could not have known the danger his research notes actually held. Desperate for power and an escape from servitude a young scribe under Amantep called, Yogrull Danick raided his master’s forsaken knowledge. Reading each of the books carefully and in secret, it was clear to Yogrull that even these failed experiments were far beyond the power of a mortal man. Diving in head first, Yogrull was sure that he had found what he was looking for.
The process to turn a person into a Blackguard is actually alarmingly easy once you know it. The first step is to create a very detailed magic circle by the feet of the subject. Any error will result in the subject’s immediate and gruesome death.
The next step is to have the subject ritually begin cutting their entire body, the notes instruct that it is advisable to get as close to the bone as possible when cutting. The subject should then relax and speak the magic incantation. Upon finishing the chant a small black orb will appear in front of the subject.
The final step for the subject is to plunge a hand directly into the orb and forcibly pull out its essence. (The notes instruct that no magical knowledge is needed to pull the essence out, and that the subject should merely pull as hard as they can.) Once the process is finished, the subject will now be able to extract power from within their self at any time; however, it takes time and practice to get used to.
Unfortunately for Yogrull, the notes did not in-fact tell him how painful the process is. Cutting himself did hurt a fair amount but it was the amount of strain in pulling the essence that caused him the greatest pain.
The orb itself is something like a portal, leading to a place called the Plane of Shadow. There have been mages in the past who were aware of this realm, and have even been able to draw power from it. A mage who can do this is allowing power to flow from the Plane of Shadow to the Material Plane as they shape and mold it like clay as it transgresses.
A blackguard; however, forcibly tears a chunk of the shadow plane from itself, taking it into himself and using it the way a person may use a slave.
As Yogrull tore at the piece of the shadow plane, a number of horrifying noises followed in its wake. Once his hand left the orb, sounds like glass shattering, paper cutting, metal snapping and wood splintering filled his ears all at once. It felt unnatural and wrong. He pulled his hand out of the orb with a loud crackling blast of sound.
The room around him grew visibly darker, the flames of his fire seemed to produce no warmth at all and something in his hand seemed to scream with silent horror. He looked down at his hand and found he could not make out its shape, as if it were a gap in his vision. Slowly, the pain in his hand began to seep into him, turning into featureless rivers of nothing as they flowed into his deeply bleeding cuts.
At first he was horrified at what he had done. It was all wrong to Yogrull and he could not believe that this was the only power he had gained.
A few moments later, the pain in his hand was gone, and that was when Yogrull, the puny and worthless little scribe of Amantep, felt the true nature of his new demonic powers.
Yogrull could feel his heart beat begin to soften and slow. It seemed like a strange sensation having a heart, and for a moment Yogrull wondered why he even needed a heart at all. Suddenly, Yogrull's heart beat grew stronger and louder then ever before. However, the sound of it was off, It was wrong somehow, it was hollow.
Yogrull liked it!
Licking his lips,Yogrull looked around his room. What sort of pathetic creature lived here? Obviously not him, if he was ever going to have a room it would be adorned with gold and treasures from far away.
Wait, why just a room? He should have a castle. He would build the mightiest castle in all the land, all the rooms would be lined with gold.
Of course the outside walls would have to be painted with blood, and covered with the bones and heads of his enemies. He could not fathom a good castle without blood, or without heads for that matter.
It was then that Quintall, Yogrulll's associate, knocked on his door and said, “Yogrull? Come on, the master will be up soon and he’ll expect everyone to greet him like usual”
Yogrull replied, “Ah I see, could you wait there just a moment Quintall?”
Moments later, Yogrull had kicked the door apart, its splinters flying everywhere. In shock Quintall fell over, looked up with confusion at his friend and asked, “Wha-…. What are you doing?”
Yogrul's red eyes burned with evil as he replied, “Hmm? You still here worm?”
Yogrull stepped through the remains of his door and picked Quintall up from his collar and said, “Well, I think I’ll start by cutting your arms and legs off … Hmm… actually, I wonder what your heart tastes like?”