Crypt of the Hellriders
The Crypt of the Hellriders is a location in Avernus that contains the corpses of the fallen Hellriders that died during the 912 Charge of the Hellriders. The crypt was guarded for centuries by Olanthius, one of the Hellriders' generals, and it contained the souls as well as the bodies of the fallen, but after the Lost Star Detectives freed the trapped souls and Olanthius was released from his pact keeping him alive in undeath, the crypt stands abandoned.
Purpose / Function
Following the solar Zariel's fall and transformation into an archdevil after the Charge of the Hellriders in 920, Zariel began planning a way to honor her fallen mortal comrades. To this end, all the bodies of the slain Hellriders were gathered and entombed in a specially built crypt. Olanthius, one of the generals of Zariel's failed crusade, had been bound into eternal servitude to Zariel when she fell and was ordered by her to guard the Crypt of the Hellriders against all intruders.
However, the conflicting loyalties and oaths sworn to Zariel's cause kept many of the Hellriders from passing into a true afterlife in death, their souls still bound to their bodies, trapped in a state of limbo. These oaths of fealty were kept on various documents that the Hellriders carried with them and were hidden in the crypt near their bodies.
In 1497, the Lost Star Detectives, a group of adventurers seeking to end the Damnation of Elturel, found the Crypt of the Hellriders. Discovering the contracts binding their souls, the Detectives destroyed them, allowing all of the remaining Hellriders to pass into their true afterlife. This action brought a furious Olanthius, who had been campaigning with Zariel against the demons of the Abyss, racing back to the crypt. Olanthius attempted to kill the Detectives, but was talked down after the group discovered his journal and reminded him of the love he held for Lady Yael.
Only a few months later, Olanthius was freed from his service to Zariel after her redemption during the Battle of Elturel. With no guardian and nothing to guard, the Crypt of the Hellriders was abandoned.
Comments