Rak Tulkhesh

In the city of Thaliost, Archbishop Dariznu orders a criminal to be burned alive in the market square. In Sharn, officers of the watch pummel a Cyran whose only crime is being a refugee. In Aundair, a soldier wonders how he could have done the things he remembers doing at the battle of Shadukar . . . while in Fairhaven, Queen Aurala plans to start the war anew.

What drives this inhumanity and unreason? How can Aurala possibly believe that a return to war could benefit her people? From the outside, the actions of people such as Aurala and Dariznu appear to be madness . . . and perhaps they are. Or perhaps they are due to the influence of a terrifying and ancient force—possessed of a spirit so powerful that the shard to which his spirit was bound was shattered and spread across the world in an effort to dilute his effect as much as possible.

Nonetheless, this mighty fiend’s power is on the rise. He draws strength from every blow struck in anger, and his will drives the peaceful to be consumed by hate. He is Rak Tulkhesh, one of the first children of Khyber, who also wears the title the Rage of War. A fiend with godlike power, he is the incarnation of every impulse that drives mortals to battle. Fear, greed, hatred—these are seeds that Rak Tulkhesh cultivates until they produce a bloody harvest.

The Rage of War has the power to shatter kingdoms. When he breaks the bonds that currently keep him in check, the mortals around him will become the savage vanguard of an ever-growing army, a force dedicated to slaughtering those that are too weak to serve their fiendish master. His return will usher in bloodshed beyond anything seen in the Last War. Those who resist the call to join his army of reavers will still feel his touch, urging them to acts of hatred and aggression. Minor arguments will spin into bloody feuds and massacres, and law will collapse in the face of vigilante violence.

It is fortunate indeed for the rest of the world, then, that Rak Tulkhesh is currently imprisoned. The pure essence of this soul is divided among a group of Khyber shards spread through the underworld. His spirit-pieces are confined in these shards by the pure light of the Silver Flame. Thus shattered and bound, he cannot bring his full power to bear on the world. But he can influence events in the vicinity of one of his shards, and he draws power from every act of violence and aggression. The Last War was a boon that allowed him to set his hooks in the hearts of thousands of soldiers and civilians. While many now regret extreme actions they took during the war, those actions have weakened the bonds of Rak Tulkhesh, giving him greater sway over those regions around his shards. The terrible violence seen in Thaliost and other occupied cities, the hatred directed against warforged and Cyran refugees, the voices of those calling for a new war . . . the breath of Rak Tulkhesh fans these flames. And if the Last War begins anew—or if a greater conflict breaks out, such as outright war between Khorvaire and Riedra—it could be the final blow that shatters the demon’s chains.

Though most of Rak Tulkhesh’s fiendish army remains bound through the efforts of the Silver Flame, a few of his soldiers have escaped from these bonds. Over the years, they have spread across Khorvaire and beyond. Rak Tulkhesh’s chief disciple among the Lords of Dust is Mordakhesh, a rakshasa dread knight who served as his warlord in the Age of Demons. Mordakhesh is a superb combatant, but his greatest weapons are his brilliant grasp of strategy and his superhuman charisma. A gifted shapeshifter, Mordakhesh has had a hand in many of the bloodiest conflicts on Khorvaire. He helped the Dhakaani smiths forge their first swords, advised Malleon the Reaver when he was slaughtering the goblins, and watched with a smile as the towers of Dorasharn crumbled in the War of the Mark. He has followers in virtually every army in Khorvaire. Some of these cults know whom they serve. Others he manipulates by playing on patriotism, faith, or the desire for change. His agents often begin as good people, but their martial nature leaves them vulnerable to the power of Mordakhesh and his master, and they are twisted into merciless killers. Mordakhesh’s overall goal is to encourage conflict, both in open warfare and in less structured strife among civilians. It is when hatred drives mortals to inhumane behavior—when war turns humans into fiends—that his master gains strength. His actions are guided by the Prophecy, as interpreted by the rakshasa seers of Ashtakala. He knows that Rak Tulkhesh can’t be freed until the correct elements of the Prophecy come together, and this fact has held him in check in the past. Now, though, the signs are promising: The Next War may indeed be the last one.

It is up to you to decide how far the cult of war reaches, and who knowingly serves Mordakhesh and his master. Here are a few existing forces.

The Razor Wind: The Rage of War fuels the primal powers of the Carrion Tribe that calls itself Razor Wind. These barbarians are one of the deadliest forces in the Demon Wastes, and, in the past, the tribe’s small numbers have kept them from posing a significant threat to the Ghaash’kala orcs who guard the gates of the Labyrinth. Now it seems that this has been a ruse—that the Razor Wind tribe has intentionally spread itself thin across the Wastes, and that it is pulling a great host together in the south. The barbarians have excavated one of Rak Tulkhesh’s soul-shards and are carrying it with them; this object enhances their primal powers and enables them to manifest demons to aid them in battle.

The Three Faces of War: Born in ancient Karrnath, a cult that swears fealty to Dol Dorn, Dol Arrah, and the Mockery has become a recognized and accepted fraternity among the armies of the Five Nations. Although some branches of the Three Faces of War are just what they appear to be, Mordakhesh has corrupted many others among its cells. Since a large number of the members of the sect are officers, Mordakhesh relishes the opportunity to shape the overall conduct of the coming war—promoting brutality and the pursuit of vengeance.

The Five Voices: Over the last decade, a number of new chronicles have risen up across Khorvaire. None of them match the Korranberg Chronicle in terms of the scope or the quality of their journalism, but each is tailored to the people of a particular nation, with a tone carefully chosen to stir up the pain and resentment of the war.

For instance, those who turn to the Voice of Karrnath for their news are told that the Cyrans caused the Mourning as an excuse to worm their way into every other nation as so-called “refugees” and that they are preparing treachery, while Kaius is ready to sell their country to Breland and the Mror Holds in the name of peace. Meanwhile, the Voice of Cyre warns the refugees of the contempt that others hold for them and the plans that are in the works to exterminate them all.

On the surface most of the stories seem ridiculous, but each new issue of the Voice excels at telling people exactly what they want to hear . . . and in the process driving up tension between the nations, exacerbating bigotry and short-sighted nationalism. The audience for each Voice is growing rapidly, and those dedicated to these new chronicles often dismiss all other sources of information. A thorough investigation would support the conclusion that all five Voices are owned by the same person, a member of the Aurum who is himself just one of many identities maintained by Mordakhesh. Even if this truth gets out, it sounds exactly like the sort of ludicrous theory that a follower of one of the Voices will dismiss out of hand.

The dragonshard that once held Rak Tulkhesh’s spirit is now broken into a dozen pieces. The fragments vary in size; Mordakhesh wears the smallest shard on his ring, while the one possessed by the Razor Wind tribe is the size of a human head. All the pieces can be recognized as Khyber dragonshards, formed of deep purple crystal threaded with glowing veins of red light.

Even while his spirit is divided, the consciousness of the Overlord remains intact, and he is aware of events that occur around all his shards. Reuniting the shards will not free Rak Tulkhesh. The division simply serves to limit his ability to influence the world while he is bound. Mordakhesh’s sliver affects only people he speaks to. The chunk carried by the Razor Wind affects the tribe’s army. And the seed of fury buried beneath Thaliost is influencing the entire region. Long dormant, its power was unlocked when Thrane captured the city during the war. Now its influence grows with each act of violence and retaliation. Though nominally held by the Church of the Silver Flame, Rak Tulkhesh is the true power shaping the future of Thaliost.

Because the seeds of war are suffused with the energy of the overlord, they are virtually impervious to all forms of damaging or magical effects; they are effectively artifacts, and shattering or shaping one would require an effect on par with the epic magic that was used to bind Rak Tulkhesh during the Age of Demons. If a shard is somehow destroyed, its power will be distributed among the remaining fragments.

All forms of strife and discord serve Rak Tulkhesh’s goals. His agents can be a driving force within any number of other organizations, from the Aurum to the Emerald Claw. The Lord of Blades, the Kech Shaarat—any aggressive force could have been instigated by the Rage of War, and if his agents are exposed and defeated, those conflicts might be defused. Here are a few ideas to consider.

• The adventurers encounter a small band of Razor Wind barbarians that have made their way out of the Demon Wastes. After defeating these reavers, they come into possession of the chieftain’s axe—a mighty weapon that contains a sliver of Rak Tulkhesh’s prison. With each battle in which the axe is used, its power grows. Will a character try to master the axe and use its powers for good? And as its powers grow, will it actually create strife and discord wherever the heroes go?
• When the Silver Flame reveals the nature of the curse afflicting Thaliost to Jaela Daran, she is determined to cleanse the city. Before this can happen, Dariznu breaks with the church of Thrane and rallies those templars corrupted by the Rage of War to his side. Jaela knows that a full siege will only further increase Rak Tulkhesh’s power. She needs a small, elite force to brave the fiend-filled layer of Khyber beneath the city and neutralize the seed of war. Are the characters up to the task? And what will it take to bring down Dariznu once the influence of the fiend is broken?
• After the adventurers catch the public eye, the five Voices start following their actions and produce slanted stories designed to turn the public against them. Can the heroes expose the Voices and shut down this tool of the Lords of Dust?
• Cannith South has produced a new floating fortress. It is the most powerful weapon the house has ever created . . . and it is powered by a shard of Rak Tulkhesh’s prison. When its crew falls prey to the demon’s influence and unleashes the fortress’s power against Breland, the characters must make their way aboard and gain control of it. But what will they do with the cursed vessel once it is in their hands?
• The Razor Wind tribe breaks through the Labyrinth and spills into the Eldeen Reaches. Empowered by fiends, this horde could carve a bloody swath across Aundair and the Reaches. Or it could surprise everyone by swearing allegiance to the Queen of Aundair—a move that would change the balance of power and further Aurala’s martial ambitions. How can the adventurers deal with an entire horde of barbarians? Can they keep Aurala from falling prey to Rak Tulkhesh’s influence, or will she start the true Last War?