Talos Cleft

Ice Mephit

Talos Cleft is a fog shrouded plateau at the center of Angvild. In the Dawn War, the island Angvild was dragged into this world by team of primordials. They pulled it from Chaos, through the Web of Magic and then to the world Bal-Kriav where it came to rest in the waters of Morwuld Briin. When the primordials finished this monumental feat, they turned to shearing away part of its highlands. The work of separating the area from its base was overseen by a young upstart primordial named Talos. Most of the hard labor was done by hundreds of storm archons, storm giants, cloud giants, and thousands of ice mephits. The latter creatures were forced to expend all their energy freezing rock and then having it blasted apart by bolts of lighting. The primordial Geb also helped in the task by supplying a powerful rock boring device called the Earthspear. When the valley and mountains were separated from their base, they left a rugged plateau overshadowed by a massive island. This floating island, buoyed by the entropic energies of Chaos, was named Krarkauk. Nearing the end of the Dawn War, Talos was captured and banished from the Mortal Systems. Before he was caught, he set Krarkauk adrift on the clouds. The plateau left in its wake became known as the Talos Cleft.

Talos Cleft is almost always shrouded in cold fog. The fog and the chill in the air are the residual energies of all the ice mephits that perished separating Krarkauk from Angvild. Thousands of these creatures were forced to kill themselves by expending all their cold energy against the rock. This "sacrifice" was oversaw by storm archon taskmasters which promised either eternal suffering in Piranoth's Steps or a release back to Chaos where they would be reborn into something greater for their sacrifice. After the Dawn War, most of the primordials and their minions were captured or driven away from the mortal realm, yet some remained. The ice mephits that once lived under the whip of Talos's taskmaster were considered no threat to the world, so the gods and angels left them on Angvild. These ice mephits tend to stay in the highlands of the island and preferably in and around the chilling temperatures of the plateau. Some of the mephits have been convinced to live in Mechantus where their cold radiance is put to use in refrigeration.

Apoxlin's Sentence

Apoxlin

Apoxlin is a powerful female angel serving under Phalgas. In 1485, a hell knight named Raxcvillibus Dumu'loc was sent on an important mission for the god Thasmudyan. This mission was actually a trap set by aforementioned god and the mortal Ta'khar Jagg. Instead of being assassinated, Apoxlin and her team captured Rax, then hauled him him back to Lunia.

He was taken to the Hall of Edicts where he stood trial for soul destruction. He was charged with other lesser things like being a leader of the Black Tide. These lesser charges did not stand up in court for they were affairs of the Mortal Systems and not universal crimes like destroying souls.

Raxcvillibus's sentencing was presided over by Danzar-Khâl and Athena. They were there to monitor Apoxlin to make sure she was impartial in the affair, and following the letter of the law.

Rax lost the trial. It was easily proven that his weapon Grarg was a Cairn Scythe, a forbidden class of weapons, and under questioning, the sentient weapon proudly admitted to devouring what it called "enemy souls". Apoxlin's sentence was read out to the charged. It took the form of a powerful curse stating that the defendant must serve nine years in the Hells and then he would return back to Bal-Kriav to serve out the next nine years, then repeating until the sentence finished. The sentence started in 1485, and ended 198 years later in 1683.

The prosecution thought Rax would die in his first rotation to the worlds of the Hells system, but he survived, and continued to survive. He actually came out mightier than when he stood in Nawenglorûs's highest court of law.

As part of his sentence, Raxcvillibus would go to the worlds of the Hells system eleven times. Of that time, he served nearly 30 years under Hells diabolical overlord Asmodeus. The most difficult part for Raxcvillibus during this time was that he would only remain in the Hells for nine years and then be yanked back to Bal-Kriav where he would live for nine years before repeating. As a result, he had no permanency for what he had done or accomplished; he would return to find all that he had built was gone or taken over by someone else. As a result, he became mercenary in his ways, offering his martial and leadership skills to those across Midrêth and when away in the Hells, to fiends.

Another aspect of Apoxlin's Sentence, a holy curse that he was bound to oblige by, was that each time he went to the Hells it was to be random on which world he arrived. Sometimes, it took a couple years to reach his master from where he was teleported in. Not even the awesome might of Asmodeus could help him. This was because Rax's divine curse made him invisible to things like crystal balls. The hardships were many, often having to blaze a path through enemy territory, or hiding for weeks on end as they camped nearby. Even in the hells, he was a dangerous appearing foe; a hell knight, donned in ancient ornate armor and bearing legendary weapons, was a sight to think twice before making any sudden movements.

Another part, was while Rax was doing time in the Hells, his sword Grarg was forced to remain behind. The rule of Apoxlin's Sentence prevented the sword from joining Rax in the Hells.