Fenroth's Blight

Many days before the Ruin, Fenroth , the schemer, came to Enki , Ruler of the Afterlife, and said to him, “Lord Enki, ruler of the life beyond this one, your power must indeed be great. For all who pass from this life fall under your rule, what mysteries must fall beneath your throne and realm! But a lonely existence it must be, for it is said among the other gods that only you know the roads to the Realm of the Dead, the chiefest of your kingdoms.”

And Enki replied, “Indeed my realm is vast, from the last blink of life through the eternity of death it stretches. None ever leave my realm, save for the One Without a Name, and no other has ever snuck in but he. All souls that fall to my control must stay there forever, the evil will be bound to Ixiole as prisoners, and those of good heart shall rest in the halls of their fathers, enjoying feasts and peaceful rests for eternity. Indeed no one knows the secret crossings from this realm to mine, else wandering spirits would escape my realm and haunt the land of mortals*. Only I know the way inside, and I keep this secret as I keep my kingdom.”

To this Fenroth spoke, “Forsooth this secret is highly valued, but perhaps I could offer something for trade? My lord Enki rules all the spirits below, those who die he reigns over forever on end, but those who live shall evade his grasp until their times have come, all except the gods who have no times to their lives. But I, my lord, have crafter a tool of great power, one that in your hands would bestow a great rule unto you.

“A scepter, my lord, of mighty strength. With one touch this weapon will steal the life from its victims, causing them to die instantly. With this tool, my lord would have no equal, any mortal and immortal would be subject to his mercy. Any soul he wanted to rule would become his servant, bound to his Realm and to his reign.

“In exchange, I, Fenroth, humbly request only this as trade: tell your servant how to find the roads between your realm and this. For there are many spirits still lost in the mortal lands, those who were never able to be found in your realm. I wish to see such spirits lead safely to your kingdom, so that they may finally depart the mortal lands and know their fate.”

Enki looked down on Fenroth, and weighed his words. To let Fenroth into his realm would mean the schemer would know his secrets, and he was aware of Fenroth’s nature. But to wield such a tool as the scepter Fenroth had forged, all life would be subject to him, even Fenroth if he betrayed his word. “Swear to me that you will only use the roads to bring restless souls to my kingdom, and I will grant you this knowledge.”

Fenroth bowed low, “I swear my king.”

So Enki was given the scepter, and he told Fenroth the secret roads to his realm. Then Fenroth left, went back to wonder the mortal lands and speak with the restless souls.

In this time, Fenroth hatched the creature Gogreth from its egg. A monstrous sized vulture, who flew over the lands as an eye for Fenroth.

When the Ruin began, and Enki and his brothers fought against the forces of the Nameless god, Enki rode on his chariot into the battlefield, his mighty halberd in one hand and Fenroth’s scepter in the other. Enki’s forces quickly laid waste to the Nameless One’s, but during the battle Enki grew weak and weary as an old man, and the scepter fell from his grip.

Unarmed he was brought down from his chariot, and slaughtered on the ground. Enki’s brothers fought the Nameless One’s forces back, but their brother had fallen. They mourned for their brother, and were filled with vengeance against the Nameless One.

After the battle, Fenroth told Gogreth to fly to the battlefield, and retrieve the scepter for him. The great vulture flew quickly, and engorged itself on the rotting flesh of the thousands of corpses that laid there. When it left, the vulture took the scepter in its talons and began flying back to its master, over the mountains and the plains.

At this time, the wise god Edaril found the Watcher Orius upon the mountain peaks, and said to him, “I fear that our masters, the brothers of Enki, are doomed to the same fate as he.”

“Indeed,” Orius spoke, “I have been watching over the night sky as Anu had instructed of me, and have seen the darkness moving through it’s shadow. Behold, a great flying mongrel has come to the battlefield where our master has fallen.”

Edaril looked, and saw the creature holding something in its talons. “That is the craft of Fenroth, the schemer, this creature must be in league with him!”

“I will stop this creature from returning to its master,” Orius said, and sent a silver arrow flying through the night and into the beast’s heart.

Hinron, the hunter, had been hunting in the forest nearby when he also saw the massive creature flying high above. He had loosed several arrows to bring it down but the beast was flying far too high from his arrows’ reach. Then he saw a miraculous sight, a bowman standing high on the hilltop, with an arrow of silver shining in the night, and shot the creature down in one shot.

The monster fell at the foot of the mountain, landing in the forest there and before the man. Hinron ran to the monster’s corpse and saw the silver arrow embedded in its heart. Beside the dead monster he also found a scepter lying on the ground near him, which had fallen from the creature’s grasp. Taking the scepter he examined it and its strange craft.

The the bowman from the hill came down to him, and found the man standing near the dead vulture and with the scepter now in his hand. When Hinron saw the man coming he was surprised to find himself in the presence of a divine, and fell down in fear before him. But the bowman spoke, “Stand up, Hinron son of Féon,” and the hunter stood up.

Hinron spoke, “My lord, do not harm me, for I am your servant. I was hunting through this forest, when I saw your arrow fly and slay this beast. The monster fell down before me, and I found this scepter nearby its body.” Hinron held out the scepter and showed it to the bowman.

Then the bowman lowered his hood and revealed himself to be Orius, the Watcher of the Night. “This scepter was crafter by Fenroth, the schemer. He has betrayed my master Enki and now he has been slain. We must hide this weapon, so that none of Fenroth’s servants are ever to find it. And you Hinron, you and your sons and all your servants, must protect this scepter for all your existence. It must never be found.

“And I, Orius, god of the night’s watch, will bestow you as a protector of the realm. You and all your disciples will guard over the night.” And Orius gave to Hinron his silver arrow, the one that had slain Gogreth, and gave him over to guard the realm.

When Enki fell, the Realm of the Dead became unrestful, for no king was left to rule over them. Then Fenroth, who had learned the secret roads to the realm, came in. He claimed the throne of Enki as his own, and took the name Fengorath. There he ruled all the spirits of the dead, and set up armies and generals of his own.

Later, he unleashed five curses upon the mortal realm, the King of Demons, the Lion of Ixiole, the Slaver of Souls, the Fellwind, and the Deceiver. Before the sons of Feradìl sealed him in his own realm, Fengorath’s servants moved to conquer the mortal lands, but were defeated after their master became imprisoned.