Erum-Hel

Erum-Hel

(Person)

Titles

Lord of the Mohrg; Lord of Mohrgs

Alignment

Chaotic evil

Ancestry/Species

Mohrg

Class

Assassin 10 / Trickster 6

Gender

Male

Homeland

Midnight Mountains, Orv

Organization

Whispering Way

Images of Erum-Hel

Source: Undead Unleashed, pg(s). 12–15

Erum-Hel, Lord of the Mohrgs was a mohrg commander on the side of the Whispering Tyrant during the Shining Crusade in the 38th and 39th centuries AR. He was grievously injured during the Battle of Three Sorrows in 3823 AR by the then-mortal Iomedae, and was forced to retreat back to the Midnight Mountains in the Darklands realm of Orv. His defeat is remembered by the Inheritor's faithful as the fifth of her eleven Acts, the collection of examples of her great virtue and valor.

As of 4714 AR he was based in Wormsmaw, from where he ventures to hunt followers of Iomedae; his obsession with followers of the only being to defeat him drives his thoughts.

Background

Origins

The oldest existing text describing Erum-Hel, the Chronicle of Aroden's Triumph, quotes even older, now-lost sources dating to Tar-Baphon's original crusade in the 8th century AR. Erum-Hel was already described as a powerful undead servant of the wizard-king at this point, and his origins and deeds before this point are not known. Some speculate that Erum-Hel began his life as a mortal servant of Tar-Baphon, and was raised into unlife after his demise. Other theories believe him to be older than his master, and to have only come into Tar-Baphon's service later in his existence.

Many who believe Erum-Hel to predate Tar-Baphon link him to the undead Thassilonian runelord Zutha, and believe him to have been awakened when Tar-Baphon entered the Cenotaph to obtain the necromantic knowledge stored within it. Others, however, consider Erum-Hel's unusual anatomy and his links to the Vaults of Orv to suggest that the legendary mohrg began his life as an urdefhan.

Regardless of his origins, Erum-Hel first entered Avistan's history during Tar-Baphon's initial attempt to conquer the continent. Erum-Hel vanished from history after Aroden slew his master, and did not reappear until the Whispering Tyrant's return 3,000 years later. His activities during this period remain unknown to scholars.

Shining Crusade

Erum-Hel served as one of the Whispering Tyrant's generals during his campaigns in central Avistan and his war against the Shining Crusade. One of his chief enemies at this time was Iomedae, then a mortal paladin of Aroden and leader of the Knights of Ozem. Seeking to decapitate the leadership of the Crusade, Erum-Hel began picking off the knights protecting Iomedae one by one and torturing them to death. He repeated this process, returning the severed heads of his victims to their camp after carving them with the name of a future target, until he came for Iomedae herself in order to kill her, animate her corpse, and march her against her former allies.

Erum-Hel and Iomedae clashed in an encounter later named the Battle of Three Sorrows, where through the use of the Chalice of Ozem, Iomedae drove the mohrg from the field of battle. Although this confrontation was greatly embellished in later legends, Iomedae was herself grievously injured, and was found by her followers blinded and barely coherent. Nonetheless, Iomedae's victory over Erum-Hel succeeded in restoring the morale that had been lost following Tar-Baphon's killing of Arazni, turning the tide of the Crusade. This victory was later codified as the Fifth Act of Iomedae.

Recent activities

After his defeat, Erum-Hel fled to the fortress of Wormsmaw, in the Midnight Mountains of Orv. There, he continues to obsess over his defeat and the haunting taste of Iomedae's blood that he had during their clash. Although he is consumed by a need for revenge on Iomedae, her divine status puts the Inheritor herself beyond his reach. As such, Erum-Hel assiduously hunts followers of Iomedae, seeking to avenge himself by proxy on the goddess' church. Recently, however, he has also begun to steal artifacts and relics belonging to the Church of Iomedae and to those who failed the Test of the Starstone. While he still devotes his energy to hunting down Iomedae's faithful, he is also giving thought to following his nemesis' footsteps, taking the Starstone's test himself, and facing his old foe on equal footing once again.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.