-- Lore: Plane of Rage
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It is said that when one mortal kills another during a fit of rage that the killer is sent to the Plane of Rage when they die. There, in this war-torn plane of Sullon Zek, maiden of Rage, her minions and subjects wage an eternal battle.
All newcomers to the Plane of Rage must endure the Seething Wall. At first, the subjects see an all-consuming darkness. Then they feel cold, leathery flesh and the pinch and scrape of armor against their bodies, crushing them from every direction. They also smell the stench of death on the cold air. More strangely, they begin to feel the urgent need to destroy and vent their unrelenting rage. They feel the power of Sullon Zek's rage calling to them.
All creatures that find themselves in the Plane of Rage want nothing more than to fight for Sullon Zek and earn her respect. It doesn't matter how many they have to kill to gain her approval. With this eternal desire, every creature in the Seething Wall moves forward, shoving its way out to the edge. Ultimately, they come to stare out over The Devastation battlegrounds, anger growing in their hearts, waiting for Sullon Zek to call them to battle one by one.
The Devastation
Few of the souls warring on the fields of the plane give it a name. To most it is simply the place where they must fight or die and return to the rot and stench of the Seething Wall. If they refer to the battlegrounds at all, they call it The Devastation.
The Seething Wall, the place of the armies' continual rebirth, surrounds The Devastation, looming over it as a reminder of the price of death. This wall is infinite, squirming with struggling bodies all aiming to please the Maiden of Rage. And from the torn ground of The Devastation, the armies can see their destination -- Sverag, the Stronghold of Rage.
As soon as the bodies fall from the Seething Wall into The Devastation, they immediately find an alliance to strengthen their numbers to fight to the Mistress of Rage and earn her respect. The lands around them at the outer rim are dried and cracked and thoroughly trodden. They are littered with shattered stone from broken walls, fortresses and towers.
The look of the land changes daily as battles rage across it. Structures are built and destroyed as armies vie for positions of power and fight the constant influx of enemies from the wall. And during this eternal war, the balance of power is always shifting.
The armies of the lands set up camps as quickly and frequently as they can by building low walls and tents at any point they feel is strategically sound. They usually do not last long. If opposing armies don't destroy them, the quaking earth will. Many creatures of Rage believe the ground trembles with Sullon Zek's rage.
And as the swords continually clash and blood soaks the dry ground, every creature's prize looms at the center of The Devastation -- Sullon Zek's tower. Only by gaining control of Sverag, the stronghold, will the right to serve Sullon Zek be earned.
Sullon Zek
In a long forgotten age, Sullon McKlarren was a simple barbarian whose only desire was to defend her northern homeland on Antonica from its enemies. Battle after battle, she excelled as her prowess with axes and swords was unmatched. She was always victorious, slaying ice giants, fierce wild beasts, and many others. Halas, the barbarian city, came to rely on Sullon and her small band of friends as defenders of their home.
As she battled she learned to focus her anger and hate for her enemies. Her focused ire became so great that she seemed to shift into an alternate consciousness. During those moments, even her friends could not reach her, and it worried them. In those fierce states of pure rage, Sullon was unstoppable. Even her faithful wolves, Ghost and Snowtail, began to spend more time away from her than at her side. They feared for her, but more than that they grew afraid of her. And each time Sullon used her talent for focusing her rage, she seemed to get stronger, so strong in fact, that Rallos Zek, the god of war, noticed her. Her unique talents were of great interest to him and so he summoned her to Drundar, the Fortress of Zek.
In the great pit of Drundar, Rallos Zek pitted Sullon against many of his champions and favored warriors. They all failed. Sullon's ferocity and talent almost made her challenges boring. With few champions left to fight Sullon, Rallos Zek stepped into the pit himself and faced her.
With humility, Sullon lowered her axes to the ground and began to kneel when Rallos issued a terrifying yell and forbade her from ever dropping her axes again. He commander her to fight him. And she did.
For what seemed like hours they fought in the pit. Sullon, consumed by her rage, sent her blades whirling, her body lithe and limber evaded and seemed to curl around Rallos' strikes. The ring of parries chimed throughout Drundar as Rallos' minions began to gather around the pit. Never before had such a fight been witnessed. Sullon never seemed to tire. Her first strikes still as strong as her last -- the one that found Rallos' axe and both of hers locked together. Sullon shook with anger and ferocity trying to break her weapons free, perfectly willing to drop them and take on the great god of war with her bare fists.
That's when Rallos laughed so loudly it shook the great stone fortress. His laugh surprised Sullon so much that her focused rage was interrupted and she kneeled before him, prepared to die for having the audacity to take up arms against a god. As she waited for the sting of an axe on her neck, she felt only the cold touch of steel on each shoulder as Rallos anointed her as the Maiden of Rage.
He gave her dominion over the aspects of war that manifest in pure rage. None save Rallos himself could withstand her in battle, though her brothers thought that they could defeat her, for they were wiser than she. They, of course, never attempted to prove their claims.
Legends say that she remains inside Razorthorn, her tower within the stronghold, urging those dedicated to her to increase their rage and learn to focus it. It is said that she will honor those that do so by allowing them to serve her in the tower. There are other legends that say that she was betrayed by her father, Rallos Zek, and imprisoned in that tower because he feared her strength. The legends are merely rumor, however. Only Sullon Zek and perhaps those that serve her in her tower know the truth.
The Bolvirk
From the broken earth and bones left behind in the Devastation, Sullon Zek molded a race of her own, called the Bolvirk. She named this race after her much-adored berserker mentor -- Bolvirk McDurnnan -- who was lost to her when she was a mortal child.
The Bolvirk are Sullon Zek's own giants and form the greatest army in the Plane of Rage. Sullon created the Bolvirk to be examples of the power of rage. They are sturdy and their rage is tremendous. They can focus their anger and use it to become fearsome foes on any battlefield, much like Sullon, their maker. They were driven by the force of Sullon Zek's own fury, like all the others in the Plane of Rage
The flesh of the Bolvirk appears slightly melted or twisted
and their bones protrude from their bodies in places,
especially at the elbows, knees and knuckles, forming a
grim exoskeleton. Scarification rituals are used by the
Bolvirk to denote rank, and thus the most powerful Bolvirk
look like an illuminated scroll. The runes of power that
adorn them are made by pouring molten metal into open
scars in the skin, where it hardens and stays.
Soon after they were created, the Bolvirk built a fortress around the tower that was the home of their goddess. True to their nature, they built a functional, durable fortress meant to withstand the rage of those that the goddess knew would be drawn to her. The stone walls were not built artfully, but securely. The bricks of the walls and buildings were also created to give the Bolvirk some relief from the dangers of constant battle -- but there has been no rest for many long years. The roof materials, once adorning stately vaulted ceilings, have been used up in the creation of catapults, spears and axe hafts. The blankets have been burned or used as bandages. There is little left but the stone, which itself is often used as catapult shot (or simply thrown at opponents by the Bolvirk).
The Bolvirk controlled the stronghold for many years until one of their own faltered.
The Bolvirk believe that Sendaro was the greatest fighter to ever live. He fought any that would face him and triumph. It wasn't long before only the most insane in The Devastation would dare face him. He grew bored with no challenging opponents to vent his rage upon and began to force his own kind to fight him. But the fights did more to frustrate Sendaro than quench his rage as he required more formidable opponents. Within a few years, his pent up rage began to consume him and he became uncontrollable.
Sendaro began attacking and killing the strongest of the Bolvirk to sate his need to unleash his rage. His actions ultimately weakened the force of the Bolvirk so much that enemies took notice and began to attack the stronghold in greater numbers and frequency.
It was during this time that an ancient Bolvirk leader named Verdarg arrived in The Devastation from the Seething Wall. He was brought forward by Sullon Zek in order to challenge Sendaro. Verdarg was one of the first Bolvirk Sullon created. He was wise and willful enough to never lose control of his anger.
Verdarg incited the armies battling in The Devastation to believe they had the strength and power to take control of the stronghold away from the Bolvirk. Under Verdarg's taunting battle cries, waves of enraged warriors swarmed the stronghold's gate attempting to crush the Bolvirk.
Once the battle was engaged, Sendaro himself came forth, thrilled to appease his bloodlust. He threw open the gates of the stronghold himself and stood before the mass of enraged armies, ready to fight. Sendaro slew the invaders by the hundreds. His eyes burned as pure rage flowed through him with every strike. None could pass him.
As Sendaro was engaged, Verdarg and a few worthy warriors readied a makeshift ram made from the pieces of broken siege weapons. They rammed the walls of the fortress so forcefully that part of the great wall crumbled just enough for them to scale it. From within the walls of the fortress, Verdarg and his warriors unleashed a wave of destructive rage upon the Bolvirk until all but one was dead. With his eye on Sendaro, Verdarg charged. The battle was long and arduous and in the end, Sendaro made a fatal error.
With his rage fully unleashed and out of control, Sendara was reckless in his attacks, something Verdarg had anticipated. With both great arms swinging mighty axes in the air, Verdarg undercut and sliced Sendaro clean across his leathery belly.
Sendaro knew immediately he'd suffered a fatal wound and staggered for a moment. His eyes never left Verdarg's as he began to drop to his knees and succumb to death -- to be sent into the Seething Wall to begin his journey back to Sullon Zek. He then smiled at Verdarg, almost as though he was grateful to have had the chance to stand toe-to-toe with one of Sullon's very first children; a true challenge.
Since that day no one has been able to hold the stronghold for long and every being in The Devastation fights to occupy it.
The Bolvirk now feel the same urges as all creatures of Rage. Most have forgotten that their scarred hands built the formidable stone walls of the stronghold. All they know now is that they must destroy their foes and gain control so that they might earn the right to serve Sullon Zek inside her tower.
Sendaro, the greatest leader of the Bolvirk, is found in the Plane of Rage often, for he is summoned from the Seething Wall by Sullon Zek quite frequently. And as Sullon Zek's rage grows more powerful, the battles have come faster and bloodier. It seems more and more souls are finding themselves awakening within the Seething Wall.
«« Back to Prophesy of Ro Manual Directory
It is said that when one mortal kills another during a fit of rage that the killer is sent to the Plane of Rage when they die. There, in this war-torn plane of Sullon Zek, maiden of Rage, her minions and subjects wage an eternal battle.
All newcomers to the Plane of Rage must endure the Seething Wall. At first, the subjects see an all-consuming darkness. Then they feel cold, leathery flesh and the pinch and scrape of armor against their bodies, crushing them from every direction. They also smell the stench of death on the cold air. More strangely, they begin to feel the urgent need to destroy and vent their unrelenting rage. They feel the power of Sullon Zek's rage calling to them.
All creatures that find themselves in the Plane of Rage want nothing more than to fight for Sullon Zek and earn her respect. It doesn't matter how many they have to kill to gain her approval. With this eternal desire, every creature in the Seething Wall moves forward, shoving its way out to the edge. Ultimately, they come to stare out over The Devastation battlegrounds, anger growing in their hearts, waiting for Sullon Zek to call them to battle one by one.
The Devastation
Few of the souls warring on the fields of the plane give it a name. To most it is simply the place where they must fight or die and return to the rot and stench of the Seething Wall. If they refer to the battlegrounds at all, they call it The Devastation.
The Seething Wall, the place of the armies' continual rebirth, surrounds The Devastation, looming over it as a reminder of the price of death. This wall is infinite, squirming with struggling bodies all aiming to please the Maiden of Rage. And from the torn ground of The Devastation, the armies can see their destination -- Sverag, the Stronghold of Rage.
As soon as the bodies fall from the Seething Wall into The Devastation, they immediately find an alliance to strengthen their numbers to fight to the Mistress of Rage and earn her respect. The lands around them at the outer rim are dried and cracked and thoroughly trodden. They are littered with shattered stone from broken walls, fortresses and towers.
The look of the land changes daily as battles rage across it. Structures are built and destroyed as armies vie for positions of power and fight the constant influx of enemies from the wall. And during this eternal war, the balance of power is always shifting.
The armies of the lands set up camps as quickly and frequently as they can by building low walls and tents at any point they feel is strategically sound. They usually do not last long. If opposing armies don't destroy them, the quaking earth will. Many creatures of Rage believe the ground trembles with Sullon Zek's rage.
And as the swords continually clash and blood soaks the dry ground, every creature's prize looms at the center of The Devastation -- Sullon Zek's tower. Only by gaining control of Sverag, the stronghold, will the right to serve Sullon Zek be earned.
Sullon Zek
In a long forgotten age, Sullon McKlarren was a simple barbarian whose only desire was to defend her northern homeland on Antonica from its enemies. Battle after battle, she excelled as her prowess with axes and swords was unmatched. She was always victorious, slaying ice giants, fierce wild beasts, and many others. Halas, the barbarian city, came to rely on Sullon and her small band of friends as defenders of their home.
As she battled she learned to focus her anger and hate for her enemies. Her focused ire became so great that she seemed to shift into an alternate consciousness. During those moments, even her friends could not reach her, and it worried them. In those fierce states of pure rage, Sullon was unstoppable. Even her faithful wolves, Ghost and Snowtail, began to spend more time away from her than at her side. They feared for her, but more than that they grew afraid of her. And each time Sullon used her talent for focusing her rage, she seemed to get stronger, so strong in fact, that Rallos Zek, the god of war, noticed her. Her unique talents were of great interest to him and so he summoned her to Drundar, the Fortress of Zek.
In the great pit of Drundar, Rallos Zek pitted Sullon against many of his champions and favored warriors. They all failed. Sullon's ferocity and talent almost made her challenges boring. With few champions left to fight Sullon, Rallos Zek stepped into the pit himself and faced her.
With humility, Sullon lowered her axes to the ground and began to kneel when Rallos issued a terrifying yell and forbade her from ever dropping her axes again. He commander her to fight him. And she did.
For what seemed like hours they fought in the pit. Sullon, consumed by her rage, sent her blades whirling, her body lithe and limber evaded and seemed to curl around Rallos' strikes. The ring of parries chimed throughout Drundar as Rallos' minions began to gather around the pit. Never before had such a fight been witnessed. Sullon never seemed to tire. Her first strikes still as strong as her last -- the one that found Rallos' axe and both of hers locked together. Sullon shook with anger and ferocity trying to break her weapons free, perfectly willing to drop them and take on the great god of war with her bare fists.
That's when Rallos laughed so loudly it shook the great stone fortress. His laugh surprised Sullon so much that her focused rage was interrupted and she kneeled before him, prepared to die for having the audacity to take up arms against a god. As she waited for the sting of an axe on her neck, she felt only the cold touch of steel on each shoulder as Rallos anointed her as the Maiden of Rage.
He gave her dominion over the aspects of war that manifest in pure rage. None save Rallos himself could withstand her in battle, though her brothers thought that they could defeat her, for they were wiser than she. They, of course, never attempted to prove their claims.
Legends say that she remains inside Razorthorn, her tower within the stronghold, urging those dedicated to her to increase their rage and learn to focus it. It is said that she will honor those that do so by allowing them to serve her in the tower. There are other legends that say that she was betrayed by her father, Rallos Zek, and imprisoned in that tower because he feared her strength. The legends are merely rumor, however. Only Sullon Zek and perhaps those that serve her in her tower know the truth.
The Bolvirk
From the broken earth and bones left behind in the Devastation, Sullon Zek molded a race of her own, called the Bolvirk. She named this race after her much-adored berserker mentor -- Bolvirk McDurnnan -- who was lost to her when she was a mortal child.
The Bolvirk are Sullon Zek's own giants and form the greatest army in the Plane of Rage. Sullon created the Bolvirk to be examples of the power of rage. They are sturdy and their rage is tremendous. They can focus their anger and use it to become fearsome foes on any battlefield, much like Sullon, their maker. They were driven by the force of Sullon Zek's own fury, like all the others in the Plane of Rage
The flesh of the Bolvirk appears slightly melted or twisted
and their bones protrude from their bodies in places,
especially at the elbows, knees and knuckles, forming a
grim exoskeleton. Scarification rituals are used by the
Bolvirk to denote rank, and thus the most powerful Bolvirk
look like an illuminated scroll. The runes of power that
adorn them are made by pouring molten metal into open
scars in the skin, where it hardens and stays.
Soon after they were created, the Bolvirk built a fortress around the tower that was the home of their goddess. True to their nature, they built a functional, durable fortress meant to withstand the rage of those that the goddess knew would be drawn to her. The stone walls were not built artfully, but securely. The bricks of the walls and buildings were also created to give the Bolvirk some relief from the dangers of constant battle -- but there has been no rest for many long years. The roof materials, once adorning stately vaulted ceilings, have been used up in the creation of catapults, spears and axe hafts. The blankets have been burned or used as bandages. There is little left but the stone, which itself is often used as catapult shot (or simply thrown at opponents by the Bolvirk).
The Bolvirk controlled the stronghold for many years until one of their own faltered.
The Bolvirk believe that Sendaro was the greatest fighter to ever live. He fought any that would face him and triumph. It wasn't long before only the most insane in The Devastation would dare face him. He grew bored with no challenging opponents to vent his rage upon and began to force his own kind to fight him. But the fights did more to frustrate Sendaro than quench his rage as he required more formidable opponents. Within a few years, his pent up rage began to consume him and he became uncontrollable.
Sendaro began attacking and killing the strongest of the Bolvirk to sate his need to unleash his rage. His actions ultimately weakened the force of the Bolvirk so much that enemies took notice and began to attack the stronghold in greater numbers and frequency.
It was during this time that an ancient Bolvirk leader named Verdarg arrived in The Devastation from the Seething Wall. He was brought forward by Sullon Zek in order to challenge Sendaro. Verdarg was one of the first Bolvirk Sullon created. He was wise and willful enough to never lose control of his anger.
Verdarg incited the armies battling in The Devastation to believe they had the strength and power to take control of the stronghold away from the Bolvirk. Under Verdarg's taunting battle cries, waves of enraged warriors swarmed the stronghold's gate attempting to crush the Bolvirk.
Once the battle was engaged, Sendaro himself came forth, thrilled to appease his bloodlust. He threw open the gates of the stronghold himself and stood before the mass of enraged armies, ready to fight. Sendaro slew the invaders by the hundreds. His eyes burned as pure rage flowed through him with every strike. None could pass him.
As Sendaro was engaged, Verdarg and a few worthy warriors readied a makeshift ram made from the pieces of broken siege weapons. They rammed the walls of the fortress so forcefully that part of the great wall crumbled just enough for them to scale it. From within the walls of the fortress, Verdarg and his warriors unleashed a wave of destructive rage upon the Bolvirk until all but one was dead. With his eye on Sendaro, Verdarg charged. The battle was long and arduous and in the end, Sendaro made a fatal error.
With his rage fully unleashed and out of control, Sendara was reckless in his attacks, something Verdarg had anticipated. With both great arms swinging mighty axes in the air, Verdarg undercut and sliced Sendaro clean across his leathery belly.
Sendaro knew immediately he'd suffered a fatal wound and staggered for a moment. His eyes never left Verdarg's as he began to drop to his knees and succumb to death -- to be sent into the Seething Wall to begin his journey back to Sullon Zek. He then smiled at Verdarg, almost as though he was grateful to have had the chance to stand toe-to-toe with one of Sullon's very first children; a true challenge.
Since that day no one has been able to hold the stronghold for long and every being in The Devastation fights to occupy it.
The Bolvirk now feel the same urges as all creatures of Rage. Most have forgotten that their scarred hands built the formidable stone walls of the stronghold. All they know now is that they must destroy their foes and gain control so that they might earn the right to serve Sullon Zek inside her tower.
Sendaro, the greatest leader of the Bolvirk, is found in the Plane of Rage often, for he is summoned from the Seething Wall by Sullon Zek quite frequently. And as Sullon Zek's rage grows more powerful, the battles have come faster and bloodier. It seems more and more souls are finding themselves awakening within the Seething Wall.
«« Back to Prophesy of Ro Manual Directory
