The Darkbringer

* Artwork
* Symbol

The Darkbringer is an ancient Ahlusian deity that was banished by Caihrnn.

Reborn as Hadar, it later sought to return to Ahlus through use of the Wayfinder Stones, ravaging the population and nearly consuming the continent entirely in doing so.

## History

An indeterminate amount of time before Aita's Second Gift, it is believed that Caihrnn and the Darkbringer were equal halves of a deity dedicated to the maintenance of the natural order, before they were split following a deep running disagreement in the process for this to occur.

Known as the Darkbringer to those select few that acknowledge its existence, the echo of Caihrnn instead seeks absolution through entropy, that is to say purity achieved through annihilation. A primal hunger like that of a hunting beast lingers at the heart of the Darkbringer, and all caught in the grasp of its arms surely feel the chill of the void as they struggle in face of their immediate demise. Nonetheless, there are no reported cults or sects dedicated to the Darkbringer, for it is claimed that Caihrnn in his fathomless wisdom feared for the soil and stone he had shaped and used his power to cast the Darkbringer aside, severing its connection with Ahlus.

Its essence scattered and left to drift in fragments in the void between the Planes, there is no direct route through which the Darkbringer can interact with the Prime Material Plane, and so no seemed way for it to make physical contact with those living upon it to enact its will.

After the reconstitution of one of the fragments of the Darkbringer into the being known as Hadar, the Elder Evil had long bided its time. It saw the ambition in the hearts of the Astedians as they started their first steps towards dominion with the establishment of the College of Claxinns. Hadar sent forth his servant Akmod and within the deepest stretches of the Lowerdark they began to lace the soil and stone once shaped by the hand of Caihrnn with otherworldly and alien magics. By twisting the creation of the Lord of the Quiet Places directly, they could create a substance that would be able to bypass the ward placed by the very same deity.

And yet, Caihrnn's power continued nonetheless, for he had fashioned the lands themselves. What would become the Wayfinder Stones had been created, but could not harness their full power for they were not of the lands. Akmod himself was grievously wounded by the subsequent experimentations, and still bears the scars of the failure. Instead they would require the native residents, for each and every mineral and substance that made up their form came from the soil and stone.

It would only be after the people of Ahlus discovered and refined the ore that the next stage the Darkbringer's machinations could come to fruition, eventually using them to return to the Prime Material Plane via Dal Quor to enact a terrible vengeance. Caihrnn, expending the vast extent of his divine might subsequently rebanished Hadar back into the Plane of Dreams before they could fully sunder the Realms of Ahlus, and so now seeks an alternate means to descend upon the Material Plane.

A second of these vestige fragments is believed to have coalesced to form the Weald Witch, whom subsequently sought dominion over the Feywild, wishing to twist it into a vast replication of Covengrove on the Prime Material Plane.

### Battle of Manifestation's Return

Aided by the actions of his servant Eordemos Lightvale, Hadar was briefly brought to the Prime Material Plane through use of the Legacies of Distant Reverie. In the ensuing battle in the city of Whittengrove, partially reconstituted versions of the Harbingers aided in the assault, though each were eventually defeated in turn.

Hadar proved a fearsome foe, grappling and consuming many of the defenders, but was eventually trapped within a ravenous void of Ealwant Besculus' creation, leaving them weak and vulnerable to a radiant and goring charge from the ki-rin Tianyan. Though seeming to be briefly destroyed, Hadar reconstituted briefly into a condensed fractal and crystalline form - the fragment of the Darkbringer made material. In this form, Hadar repeated harried their foes with high level spells, before being rebuked by the Exarch of Tohmos and shattered into naught by a vast radiant hammer.

## Allies

The Darkbringer's return to Ahlus was heralded by the loosing of seven beings of incredible power - the Harbingers.

*"The Glorious Eye, drawn seeking the truth of creation.*

*The Foul Labyrinth, Flesh stolen from the Mind.*

*The Storm of Rust, delved too lustfully seeking halcyon pasts.*

*The Locked Book, pried into the dark hunting for secrets lost.*

*The Maw of Undoing, eager for the power to destroy his rival.*

*The Stoneheart Despoiler, loosed for sake of chaos.*

*The Cold Devourer, the true servant that sacrificed their soul and blood."*

## Enemies

All are considered enemies to the followers of the Darkbringer, for none amongst them seek the same goals. It is against Caihrnn that hatred rages most strongly though.

## Commandments

Nothing is known of The Darkbringer's Commandments yet.