Bearers of Anterrel

The Bearers of Anterrel are servants of Anterrel, an ancient deity of war and bloodshed. They each bear a portion of their god's Shadow, which gives them great power while also imbuing them with their Lord's thirst for war. When a Bearer is killed, their slayer earns their power, meaning that a Bearer can become more powerful by killing other Bearers. If one Bearer were to gather all of Anterrel's Shadow through this ritualistic killing, they would become the vessel for a reborn Anterrel.

## History

### **Cult of Anterrel (6R-225)**

After being brought to the Lawless Lands, Morgull abandoned Anterrel in the furthest reaches of southern Selmar. Anterrel began to build a group of followers in the Marsh of Thorns, attempting to spread his influence through bloodshed and conquest. Soon, the entire southern half of Selmar had been proliferated by the Sinful Legion.

### **War of Thorns (6R-861)**

The people of Selmar were increasingly threatened by the presence of Anterrel and the Sinful Legion in their lands. When the Sinful Legion desecrated the Temple of Tides in the holy city of Moonrest, the Sovereignty of Selmar declared war on the Sinful Legion. The War of Thorns lasted thirty years, and largely destroyed the Marsh of Thorns in the process. Near the end of the war, the Selmari called upon the aid of the Sanj Ahari, which turned the tide against Anterrel's forces.

### **Birth of the Bearers (6R-892)**

Anterrel saw his followers being decimated by the Selmari, and called together the 100 leaders of the Sinful Legion. Rather than face death at the hands of the Sanj Ahari, Anterrel chose to split his essence among his most loyal followers. These followers became the original Bearers of Anterrel, and each bore a piece of their Lord's Shadow within them. If one Bearer killed another, they would steal the essence of Anterrel from within the defeated foe, strengthening the victor. Many of these Bearers were slain by the Selmari at the end of the War of Thorns, causing the Selmari to become unwitting Bearers themselves. The Shadow of Anterrel corrupts its Bearer to crave violence and destruction, and to seek out other Bearers to defeat them in combat. A Bearer of Anterrel can only be killed in combat, and cannot die of natural causes, and thus many who have successfully resisted their murderous impulses have lived long lives in isolation. If one Bearer were to collect all 100 fragments of Anterrel, they would become the vessel for their resurrected Lord.

### **Yemnis and the Ruby of Ruin (7R-82)**

King Rhalthazar Rhubazeth of Yemnis executed a very powerful Bearer of Anterrel by his own hand, unaware of their affiliation with the Slumbering Sin. This made King Rhubazeth a Bearer himself, but he sought to reject this power. He attempted to sever Anterrel's Shadow from himself, and implant it into a sacred magical ruby. This created the Ruby of Ruin, which the Triton King sealed away deep within his vaults. Unbeknownst to the King, the Ruby's magic amplified the powers of Anterrel and began to influence his advisors and court. Eventually, this created schisms that were too deep to mend, and the Kingdom of the Tritons tore itself apart in a civil war known as the Yemnan Ruin. The Ruby of Ruin was lost to the depths, until a treasure hunter named Kleever Petrik discovered it near the end of the Seventh Reign.

### **Servant of Many (8R-241)**

Maukha Kivi, a Garnian Bearer of Anterrel, built a Warforged designed with the goal of killing other Bearers in order for Kivi to become more powerful. She named this Warforged Servant of Many, since he was built to usher in an age of Anterrel's return, which she believed would revitalize Garn. SOM killed Maukha Kivi in order to become a Bearer himself, and then began to hunt down other Garnian Bearers. He began to act as an emissary of the fictional House Anterrel, in order to draw out other Bearers of the Slumbering Sin.

### **Anterrel Expedition (8R-322)**

After the Opening, Servant of Many began to bolster support and gather adventurers to join him on a grand expedition into the Lawless Lands. He hoped to find the last few remaining Bearers in this new world, and ultimately become the new vessel for Lord Anterrel. Garrick Zenwhyl was brought as a part of this Expedition, in order to impersonate the fictional nobleman named after Lord Anterrel.

## Current Bearers

There are currently nine surviving Bearers of Anterrel.

* Servant of Many, the Speaker of House Anterrel. He inherited Anterrel from his creator, Maukha Kivi.
* Zegavel the Stalwart, the Githyanki watcher of the Astral Sea. They inherited Anterrel from murdering Dilinar the Dastard, who absorbed Anterrel's power from the Ruby of Ruin.