![[Hextor.png|400]] **Lesser Deity** **Alignment**: Lawful Evil ### Overview Hextor, known as _The Herald of Hell_, _The Scourge of Battle_, and _The Champion of Evil_, is the intermediate deity of war, discord, massacres, conflict, physical fitness, and tyranny. An ancient god of the Oeridian peoples of Oerth, he embodies military conquest, ruthless discipline, absolute authority, and the belief that the strong possess the right to rule the weak. His followers regard warfare as an instrument for establishing power and believe that obedience, strength, and the willingness to employ cruelty are essential to maintaining civilisation. Hextor is a calculating and merciless deity who considers compassion and personal freedom obstacles to effective government. He teaches that peace can only be secured through overwhelming military superiority and that order is meaningless unless rulers possess the strength to enforce it. Unlike gods who delight in uncontrolled violence, Hextor favours organised warfare, disciplined armies, and carefully planned campaigns of conquest. Hextor possesses two principal appearances. In his more approachable form, he resembles a handsome, athletic human man with fair skin, jet-black hair, and dark eyes. This appearance is particularly associated with his authority over physical fitness and his earlier divine existence. In this guise, Hextor can be articulate and charming, displaying considerable intelligence and knowledge. His more familiar form is a terrifying, grey-skinned humanoid with six muscular arms, coarse dark hair, bulging red-rimmed eyes, and two enormous tusks extending from his lower jaw. He wears black iron scale armour decorated with skulls and carries a different weapon in each hand. These weapons commonly include a flail, battleaxe, battle pick, longsword, mace, and falchion. Hextor's additional arms were granted by mysterious beings known as the **Lords of Evil**, whose assistance enabled him to become a formidable opponent of his half-brother, **Heironeous**. Their rivalry remains one of the most important conflicts among the Oeridian gods, representing the opposition between honourable warfare and tyrannical domination. Hextor is widely worshipped by soldiers, conquerors, mercenaries, tyrants, cruel nobles, military officers, and those who believe that obedience to superior authority is the foundation of society. His religion has historically exercised considerable influence throughout the Great Kingdom of Aerdy and its successor states. ### Domain and Influence Hextor's divine authority encompasses warfare, discord, massacres, conflict, physical fitness, and tyranny. He governs the exercise of military power, the organisation of armies, the suppression of rebellion, and the establishment of governments sustained through force. His teachings maintain that the world is inherently dangerous and that individuals must either obtain power or submit to those who possess it. Hextor considers conflict inevitable and believes that strong rulers must impose order upon weaker populations. His followers are encouraged to advance their own authority while remaining obedient to those who outrank them. The central principles of his religion are military discipline, unquestioning obedience, superior strength, and the ruthless pursuit of victory. Cruelty is regarded as a legitimate instrument of government when enforcing authority. Hextor teaches that laws are valuable only when rulers possess the ability and determination to impose them. His association with physical fitness reflects the importance he places upon strength, endurance, combat readiness, and rigorous training. Soldiers and priests are expected to maintain their bodies as instruments of war, while weakness and poor discipline are treated as failures requiring correction. Although most of his worshippers are evil, some lawful neutral individuals honour Hextor because they value the security provided by strict government. These followers believe that harsh discipline can prevent disorder and that a stable society requires clearly defined relationships between rulers and subjects. Some prefer persuasion and education before resorting to force, although they generally accept slavery and severe punishment as necessary features of civilisation. Hextor's greatest enemy is **Heironeous**, the lawful good god of chivalry, justice, honour, and valour. The two are half-brothers, born to **Stern Alia**, goddess of Oeridian culture, motherhood, and law. Their hostility originated through differences in temperament, jealousy, and opposing beliefs concerning the proper use of strength. Hextor also maintains an ancient rivalry with **Erythnul**, the god of slaughter. Religious traditions maintain that Hextor wrested authority over warfare from Erythnul, whose uncontrolled violence he considers inferior to disciplined conquest. Their rivalry reflects two conflicting approaches to conflict: Erythnul seeks destruction for its own sake, while Hextor seeks conquest, obedience, and enduring domination. He reserves particular resentment for his mother, Stern Alia, whose favour toward Heironeous contributed to the differences between the brothers. Hextor's hostility toward her extended to attacks upon her worshippers, and his followers contributed to the destruction of her religious influence within Medegia. Other divine enemies include **Pelor**, **Rao**, **Pholtus**, **St. Cuthbert**, **Trithereon**, **Delleb**, **Ehlonna**, **Fharlanghn**, **Kord**, **Incabulos**, **Mayaheine**, and numerous other powers opposed to tyranny and oppression. Hextor maintains alliances with several evil and lawful divine powers, although these relationships are often uneasy. His associates include **Beltar**, **Bralm**, **Kyuss**, **Nerull**, **Wastri**, and **Wee Jas**. He has also reached understandings with certain orc and goblin deities, and his priests sometimes cooperate with followers of **Gruumsh**, **Ilneval**, **Bahgtru**, **Khurgorbaeyag**, **Maglubiyet**, and **Nomog-Geaya**. He is associated with the infernal powers of the Nine Hells and maintains agreements with several of their rulers. Hextor is also believed to have negotiated bargains with **Tiamat**. His cooperation with devils reflects their shared commitment to hierarchy, domination, and the enforcement of authority. Hextor's divine realm is **Scourgehold**, an immense fortress situated upon **Avalas**, the first layer of the Infernal Battlefield of Acheron. The fortress stands upon one of the enormous iron cubes drifting through the plane, surrounded by the endless warfare characteristic of Acheron. Scourgehold is protected by numerous walls of iron and stone, fortified towers, and powerful siege engines. Its innermost stronghold contains the **Great Coliseum**, a vast arena where Hextor's legions train for war. The complex is also associated with the name **Champion's Fortress**. It serves as both his residence and the centre of his supernatural armies. ### Symbols and Icons ![[HextorSymbol.png|300]] Hextor's principal holy symbol is a black, spiked gauntlet gripping six red arrows. Another recognised representation depicts six red arrows pointing downward and arranged in a fan. The emblem is known as the **Symbol of Hate and Discord**. The six arrows represent Hextor's six arms and his association with overwhelming military strength. Their arrangement reflects the power of disciplined warfare, while the enclosing fist symbolises the authority of a ruler whose commands are not to be questioned. His followers display the symbol upon armour, shields, banners, ceremonial objects, and the walls of religious fortresses. Military companies devoted to Hextor frequently incorporate the six arrows into their standards and insignia. A traditional priestly emblem consists of six arrows bound together near their fletching and suspended from a crude iron chain. These arrows are fashioned from hornwood, treated with a mixture of blood and ash, and traditionally must have been used to kill a sentient creature. Senior priests may carry versions dyed red with blood, while lesser clergy are restricted to grey arrows. Black, blood-red, and dark iron are closely associated with his religion. Traditional Hextorian priests wear blood-red robes, while ceremonial garments may consist of black robes decorated with white skulls or grey faces. Military priests commonly wear chain or scale armour beneath their vestments. Hextor's favoured weapon is the **flail**, representing punishment, military authority, and the enforcement of obedience. His personal flail is known as _Executioner_, although he wields numerous other weapons in his six-armed form. The Symbol of Hate and Discord possesses supernatural significance beyond its religious use. Hextor himself can employ its power to provoke arguments, intensify resentment, and transform minor disagreements into hatred and violence. ### Worship and Tributes Hextor's worship centres upon military discipline, strength, obedience, conquest, and the recognition of superior authority. His followers believe that devotion must be demonstrated through action, particularly by defeating enemies, enforcing laws, and expanding the influence of their deity. Religious ceremonies are deliberately intimidating. They frequently involve forceful chanting, discordant wind instruments, shouting, screaming, and iron weapons struck against hard surfaces. These sounds reflect the violence of warfare and reinforce the authority of the priests conducting the services. Prayers are often expressed as commands or statements of law, emphasising the belief that all members of society must recognise their proper position within an established hierarchy. Ceremonies are traditionally conducted in Old Oeridian, although Common is also used where necessary. Established religious practices include: - **The Feats of Strength**: Priests seeking advancement must complete trials demonstrating martial competence, endurance, physical fitness, and the ability to command others. The nature of these challenges is revealed through prayer and divine visions. They may involve demanding physical ordeals, dangerous military assignments, or campaigns against enemies of the faith. - **Blooding**: Celebrated throughout the seven days of **Growfest**, this festival marks the beginning of the spring campaigning season. Worshippers demonstrate their strength and fitness through military exhibitions, arena battles, and ritual bloodletting. Some offer their own blood, while others sacrifice captured enemies. An especially notorious custom involves releasing prisoners who were captured during the preceding year but never ransomed, then hunting them across a battlefield. Three priests armed only with daggers conduct the pursuit, symbolising Hextor's six arms. - **Discordsmight**: Celebrated on **Ready'reat 25**, this observance commemorates an ancient ten-month conflict between the Medegian Bladelands and followers of Heironeous. Hextorian tradition celebrates the campaign as a victory in which its forces defeated a numerically superior enemy and extended their influence toward the Flanmi River. Followers of Heironeous commemorate the same conflict through **Valormight**, interpreting the prevention of further Hextorian expansion as their own triumph. - **The Fist of Eternal Malachite**: Celebrated on **Needfest 4**, the midwinter festival, this holy day commemorates the military victories through which Hextor's church helped secure the ascendancy of the House of Naelax during the Turmoil Between Crowns. The celebration also recognises the church's dominance over rival religions following the coronation of Ivid I. Outside the former Great Kingdom, the occasion may honour victories achieved in the service of local rulers. - **Rites of Submission**: Religious ceremonies emphasise relationships between individuals of unequal authority, particularly rulers and subjects, officers and soldiers, and masters and servants. These observances reinforce the obligation to obey recognised superiors within the Hextorian hierarchy. - **Military Oaths**: Warriors swear declarations of loyalty before campaigns, pledging obedience to their commanders and promising victory over their enemies. Such oaths are important expressions of religious commitment and reinforce the duties expected of soldiers. - **Sacrificial Offerings**: Hextorian temples maintain bloodstained altars upon which prisoners and other victims may be sacrificed. These ceremonies demonstrate the absolute authority the religion claims over those it has conquered. - **The Trials of Hextor**: Individuals seeking admission to the Fists of Hextor must undergo demanding tests of martial skill, endurance, and ruthlessness. These trials are intended to expose weakness and identify individuals incapable of committing the acts demanded by the church. Successful applicants subsequently participate in a secret initiation ceremony. Hextor's religion also preserves important sacred writings. **The Book of Hextor** is the principal scripture of the faith. It recounts Hextor's youth, his rivalry with Heironeous, and his decision to seek assistance from the Lords of Evil. Most surviving copies are written in Old Oeridian, and the text presents Hextor's pursuit of power as an example of determination and rightful ambition. **The Celestial Grindwheel** is a controversial collection of scrolls written by a Hextorian monk. It suggests that Heironeous and Hextor may represent opposing halves of a single divine being and that their conflict preserves the balance between good and evil throughout the multiverse. The established church rejects this interpretation as heresy. --- ### Clergy and Temples Hextor's clergy is a highly organised religious institution structured according to military principles. Its members are expected to obey superiors, maintain strict discipline, and demonstrate the strength necessary to command others. The priesthood includes clerics, crusaders, specialty priests, fighting monks, military commanders, and certain individuals trained in assassination and covert operations. Humanoid shamans also serve Hextor among tribes that have adopted his worship. Many priests serve as generals, advisers to tyrannical rulers, enforcers of oppressive governments, or commanders of private armies. Others organise campaigns intended to weaken foreign states through violence, political discord, or rebellion before Hextorian forces attempt conquest. Training is particularly severe. Prospective priests undergo prolonged physical and psychological ordeals intended to eliminate weakness and establish obedience. Those who survive are expected to become equally demanding toward their own subordinates. Novices are known as **the Unblooded**, while fully ordained priests are called **Discordians**. Collectively, the priesthood is known as the **Bloody Host**. The established ranks of the clergy are: - **Scourge of the Third Rank** - **Scourge of the Second Rank** - **Scourge of the First Rank** - **Champion of Tyranny** - **Knight Terrible** - **Knight Horrible** - **Knight Malevolent** - **Knight Tyrant** Senior priests bear the titles **Patriarch** or **Matriarch**, while commanders of religious armies are known as **Patriarch-Generals**. These ranks exist alongside practical religious offices and military appointments. An important tradition within the priesthood is that of the **Battlescourges**, Hextor's specialty priests. These individuals combine extensive martial training with divine magic devoted to intimidation, domination, and battlefield superiority. Battlescourges are drawn principally from humans, half-orcs, half-ogres, and tieflings. Their training emphasises physical endurance, the mastery of weapons, and the ability to overwhelm enemies through strength and fear. They can invoke supernatural effects that increase physical power, inspire terror, weaken opponents, and produce temporary additional arms during combat. More experienced Battlescourges can unleash destructive magic and provoke discord among their enemies. Priests are traditionally expected to carry six weapons or shields, reflecting Hextor's six-armed appearance and preparing them to benefit from manifestations of his power. The Hextorian clergy is not universally secretive. In lands where the religion holds political authority, temples operate openly and frequently cooperate with local governments. Their priests establish laws, support military expansion, and suppress organisations that might threaten established rulers. His temples are generally constructed as imposing fortresses, frequently occupying mountain passes, river crossings, former battlefields, and other strategically important locations. Their architecture is deliberately intimidating, featuring heavy stone walls, iron gates, defensive towers, and extensive military facilities. Many temples contain large forges used to manufacture weapons and armour. Interior decorations include skulls, statues of warriors, battlefield murals, and bloodstained religious altars. Some strongholds employ animated armour and undead guardians to protect important chambers. Hextor's greatest historical influence has been within the **Great Kingdom of Aerdy**, particularly during its decline into tyranny. His church strongly supported the House of Naelax during the Turmoil Between Crowns, securing considerable authority following the accession of Ivid I in **446 CY**. The religion subsequently retained considerable power in the **North Kingdom**, where it became the official state faith. **Grenell I**, Overking of the North Kingdom, is recognised as the titular head of the Hextorian church within his dominion. Several prominent temples are associated with his faith. **The Cathedral of Hextor**, situated within Grenell's palace complex known as the **Cyst** in Eastfair, is among the religion's most important sanctuaries. Its interior contains statues, stained-glass windows, and murals commemorating the military victories of the Aerdi. Undead guardians protect parts of the cathedral. **The Malachite Spires**, located in Delaric, are associated with **Patriarch Krennden**, an influential religious leader who opposed the later rule of Ivid V. **The Basilica of the Scourge**, situated in Bellport, is associated with **Patriarch Halldrem**, a prominent supporter of Grenell. **The Battlehall of the Unholy Bloodshield** was an important Hextorian temple within the palace grounds of Rauxes. Named for its sacred military relic, the Battlehall served Patriarch-General Pyrannden and the church's elite warriors. Its defences included supernatural guardians formed from coagulated blood. The Hextorian priesthood also experienced a major internal conflict known as the **Iron Schism**. During the final years of the Great Kingdom, Patriarch-General **Pyrannden** remained loyal to Ivid V, while **Krennden** denounced the Overking as insane and rejected his authority. The resulting division separated the faithful into hostile factions, weakening the unity of the church even as it retained considerable political power. Numerous military and religious orders support Hextor's church. **The Company of the Twin Shields**, **the Order of the Six Severed Hands**, and **the Gray Knights of the Great Skull** are established church armies whose traditions developed within the Great Kingdom. Their companies are associated with sacred military standards and relics. **The Brotherhood of the Gray Hand** is an order of fighting monks devoted to preserving Oeridian culture and opposing the **Order of the Glory Everlasting**, a rival monastic organisation dedicated to Heironeous. **The Fists of Hextor** are an elite fraternity of religious templars and mercenaries established and supported by the church. They are employed by rulers and military commanders whose objectives are compatible with Hextor's teachings. Their contracts are negotiated through the priesthood, and their reputation rests upon ruthless efficiency and strict adherence to agreed terms. Candidates for the Fists must survive the Trials of Hextor and a secret induction ceremony. Survivors emerge with extensive scars, although the precise details of the ceremony remain concealed from outsiders. Once accepted, they are considered members of the clergy and undertake missions approved by Hextorian religious authorities. ### Powers and Abilities Hextor possesses extraordinary divine powers associated with warfare, tyranny, punishment, physical strength, and supernatural domination. His abilities allow him to direct vast armies, overwhelm powerful opponents, inspire terror, and impose his will upon enemies. His principal abilities include: - **Six-Armed Combat**: Hextor possesses six arms, each capable of wielding a different weapon. His additional limbs allow him to attack multiple enemies and employ an extraordinary variety of martial techniques. - **Divine Martial Prowess**: Hextor is an exceptionally powerful combatant possessing immense physical strength, endurance, and skill with numerous weapons. He favours disciplined attacks and the efficient destruction of his opponents. - **Executioner**: His favoured flail is a powerful supernatural weapon associated with punishment, domination, and the destruction of enemies. - **The Symbol of Hate and Discord**: Hextor can use his divine emblem to arouse resentment, provoke quarrels, and intensify hostility among those exposed to its influence. - **The Trumpet of Acheron**: Hextor possesses a magical trumpet capable of summoning undead warriors. It can call forth a company of skeletons to serve him, while a considerably larger host of skeletons and zombies may be summoned once every six years. - **The Sixfold Arrow**: Hextor may manifest by transforming a single arrow into six identical missiles, each capable of striking a different enemy. On rarer occasions, he can transform an ordinary iron-tipped arrow into an enchanted arrow particularly deadly to its intended target. - **Manifestation Through Battle Arms**: Hextor may manifest his power through a devoted warrior, granting additional supernatural arms during combat. Such manifestations allow the recipient to wield additional weapons and shields against multiple opponents. - **The Mantle of Hextor**: Hextor may envelop a follower in supernatural power, altering the individual's appearance into a terrifying, skull-like form. This manifestation is particularly associated with assassinations and missions against political or military enemies. - **Supernatural Fear**: Hextor can inspire terror and dread, particularly among enemies confronted by his monstrous appearance. He may also surround a faithful warrior with an aura of fear during combat. - **Domination and Compulsion**: His divine magic can impose obedience upon weaker creatures, suppress resistance, and strengthen the authority of individuals acting in his name. - **Divine Strength**: Hextor can grant exceptional physical power to favoured servants, particularly those who demonstrate ruthless discipline and martial competence. - **Command of Fiends**: Hextor maintains relationships with powerful devils. A pit fiend may serve as his herald, while bearded devils, barbed devils, and horned devils are among the creatures associated with his divine assistance. - **Other Supernatural Servants**: Hextor is also associated with blood golems, bladelings, fiend knights, animuses, nightmares, dragons, and other dangerous creatures that serve his military and religious interests. - **Authority Over Scourgehold**: Within his divine realm, Hextor commands immense supernatural armies and exercises control over the fortifications and military forces of his stronghold. Several powerful relics are associated with his worship. **The Iron Gauntlet of Hextor** is a right-handed gauntlet of black iron worn by the deity during his first battle against Heironeous. It contains a portion of his divine power and possesses an intelligent, lawful evil will. The gauntlet grants extraordinary physical strength, enhances the authority of its wearer, and can unleash devastating divine magic. It has passed between powerful servants and high priests of Hextor and seeks to dominate those whose beliefs conflict with its own. **The Chain of Obeisance** is an enchanted spiked chain traditionally forged from the shackles of Hextor's prison-fortress. Its supernatural properties allow a devoted wielder to subdue enemies and impose magical domination upon prisoners. Such chains were originally employed by powerful warriors responsible for capturing enemies on the battlefields of the Outer Planes. **The Gauntlets of the Blood-Lord** are heavy, spiked gauntlets from whose joints blood continually seeps. The first pair was worn by a priest responsible for massacring entire villages before the advance of Hextor's army. Following the priest's death, Hextor reclaimed the gauntlets and has subsequently granted similar relics to favoured followers. Their enchantments enhance physical attacks and certain forms of destructive divine magic. These artifacts embody Hextor's authority over strength, obedience, punishment, and the deliberate use of violence to maintain power. ### Treatment of the Chosen and Faithful Hextor rewards followers who demonstrate strength, loyalty, discipline, and an ability to command others. He considers ambition desirable when accompanied by the ability to enforce authority, but regards failure and disobedience as serious offences. His relationship with the faithful is founded upon hierarchy rather than compassion. Individuals who serve effectively may receive supernatural blessings or positions of command, while those who prove weak or unreliable are vulnerable to harsh punishment. His treatment of devoted followers is reflected in several established traditions: - **Blessings of Strength**: Hextor may grant exceptional physical power to warriors who demonstrate discipline and martial ability. - **The Feats of Strength**: Priests seeking advancement must prove their superiority through divinely guided challenges. Successful completion establishes their readiness for greater religious authority. - **Divine Manifestations**: Hextor occasionally intervenes directly through his followers, granting additional arms, supernatural protection, enchanted weapons, or abilities that spread fear among enemies. - **Rewards for Conquest**: Military commanders and priests who secure victories, expand the faith, or suppress important rebellions may receive increased authority and religious recognition. - **The Gifts of the Blood-Lord**: Particularly favoured worshippers may receive relics such as the Gauntlets of the Blood-Lord, demonstrating the deity's approval of their accomplishments. - **The Powers of the Battlescourges**: Specialty priests may receive blessings associated with physical strength, intimidation, the weakening of enemies, and the supernatural multiplication of their arms during combat. - **Infernal Assistance**: Hextor's servants may obtain assistance from devils, especially when undertaking military campaigns that advance his religious and political interests. - **Punishment for Failure**: The church does not tolerate serious failures in duty. Priests and warriors who prove incapable of completing important objectives may suffer severe punishment from their superiors. - **The Fate of the Faithful**: Devoted followers hope to continue serving Hextor after death within his realm in Acheron. His fortress is associated with ceaseless military preparation and the continued exercise of disciplined martial authority. Hextor's favour does not guarantee safety or advancement. His teachings maintain that individuals must continually demonstrate their worth through strength and accomplishment. Even highly placed followers may be replaced when someone more capable establishes a claim to their position. The religion does not possess a universally established order of mortals formally designated as the Chosen of Hextor. His most influential servants are instead powerful priests, military commanders, Battlescourges, templars, and individuals who have demonstrated exceptional service to his cause. ### Myths and Legends Hextor's mythology concerns his divine family, the origins of his six arms, his rivalry with Heironeous, and the development of his authority over warfare and tyranny. His church preserves accounts that differ considerably from those taught by the followers of his half-brother. - **The Birth of the Brothers**: Hextor and Heironeous were born to **Stern Alia**, the Oeridian goddess of culture, motherhood, and law. They had different fathers and were raised within their mother's divine household. According to tradition, Stern Alia anointed Heironeous with a sacred substance known as _meersalm_, making his skin almost impervious to injury. Hextor received no equivalent blessing. This difference became an important source of resentment and contributed to their eventual hostility. - **The Betrayal of Savnok**: During their youth, Hextor and Heironeous were entrusted with guarding their mother's weapons and armour. A servant named **Savnok** stole Stern Alia's enchanted armour and used its power to establish a dictatorship within the mortal world. The brothers pursued him but discovered that the armour rendered him extraordinarily difficult to defeat. Hextor eventually recovered their mother's bow and arrows and used them to kill Savnok. He subsequently persuaded Heironeous to conceal the incident rather than confess their failure. Their different reactions to the deception revealed the growing division between their beliefs concerning duty, authority, and personal responsibility. - **The Battling Brothers**: Hextorian tradition describes the conflict between Hextor and Heironeous as the result of their fundamentally different understandings of strength. Followers of Heironeous maintain that Hextor embraced evil because of jealousy and moral weakness. The priests of Hextor reject this interpretation, claiming that their deity deliberately chose the path of strength and domination rather than remain subordinate to his more celebrated brother. The tale is used to justify ambition and the belief that power must be seized rather than granted. - **The Bargain with the Lords of Evil**: Seeking power sufficient to overcome Heironeous, Hextor entered into an agreement with mysterious supernatural beings known as the **Lords of Evil**. They granted him two additional pairs of arms and greatly increased his martial power. Their identities remain unknown, even among Hextor's senior clergy. Religious scholars have proposed connections to various infernal powers, but no definitive account establishes who these beings truly were. Hextor remains bound to fulfil the obligations arising from their agreement. - **The Six Arms of the Scourge**: Hextor's monstrous form is traditionally associated with the power gained through his bargain with the Lords of Evil. Each of his six arms carries a different weapon, reflecting his ability to confront numerous opponents simultaneously. His priests regard this transformation as evidence that determination and ambition can overcome disadvantages imposed by birth or circumstance. - **The Rivalry with Erythnul**: Hextor's authority over warfare was not always uncontested. Ancient accounts maintain that **Erythnul**, the god of slaughter, previously possessed a greater claim over the divine portfolio of war. Hextor eventually wrested this authority from him, establishing himself as a deity of organised conquest and military domination. Erythnul's hatred of Hextor continues to reflect their opposing beliefs concerning warfare. - **The Medegian Bladelands**: Ancient Oeridian history records the establishment of the **Medegian Bladelands**, a kingdom dominated by followers of Hextor. Its warriors fought against neighbouring peoples, including those devoted to Heironeous. The memory of these campaigns survives through Discordsmight and the opposing Heironean festival of Valormight. Both religions preserve different interpretations of the conflict's outcome. - **The Turmoil Between Crowns**: During the civil conflict that engulfed the Great Kingdom between **437 and 446 CY**, Hextor's church supported the House of Naelax in its pursuit of the Malachite Throne. Its military strength contributed to the coronation of Ivid I in 446 CY, securing considerable influence for the religion. However, this alliance also subjected the church to increasing control by successive Overkings. - **The Iron Schism**: Following the Greyhawk Wars, the Hextorian priesthood became divided over the rule of Ivid V. **Patriarch-General Pyrannden** continued to support the Overking, while **Patriarch Krennden** declared him insane and renounced his authority. Krennden attracted considerable support among priests and powerful regional rulers who opposed Ivid. The resulting schism weakened the unity of the religion and contributed to the fragmentation of its political influence. - **The Fall of Rauxes**: In **586 CY**, following the Flight of Fiends, Patriarch-General Pyrannden declared that Ivid V was no longer Overking of the Great Kingdom. Rival nobles and military leaders subsequently attacked Rauxes in an attempt to seize the Malachite Throne. The city became engulfed in a mysterious magical field, effectively ending its role as the capital of the Great Kingdom. - **The Celestial Grindwheel**: A controversial religious interpretation maintains that Hextor and Heironeous are opposing halves of a single divine existence. According to this theory, their endless struggle sustains a cosmic balance between good and evil. The established Hextorian church rejects this interpretation as heresy, particularly because it challenges the separate identities and ambitions of the two gods. - **The Death of Stratis**: Hextor and Heironeous possessed another brother, **Stratis**, a deity associated with war who became involved in the conflicts of western Oerik. Unlike his brothers, Stratis was not exclusively associated with either good or evil. His eventual death removed another divine power concerned with warfare, leaving his legacy contested by surviving combatants and rival traditions. These accounts illustrate the central themes of Hextor's religion: ambition, resentment, the pursuit of superior strength, and the belief that legitimate authority is established and maintained through conquest. ### Encounters with Hextor's Influence Hextor's influence is most frequently encountered through military organisations, tyrannical governments, fortified temples, religious mercenaries, and campaigns intended to suppress rebellion or expand territorial control. - **The North Kingdom**: Hextor's religion holds considerable political authority within the North Kingdom. Priests operate openly, participate in government, and support the military ambitions of Grenell I. - **The Cathedral of Hextor**: This important religious stronghold within Eastfair is associated with the royal palace and contains impressive representations of Oeridian military history. - **The Malachite Spires and Basilica of the Scourge**: These major Hextorian temples serve as important centres of religious authority within the North Kingdom. - **The Bloody Host**: Priests of Hextor may command armies, enforce oppressive laws, advise rulers, or organise military campaigns against enemies of the faith. - **The Battlescourges**: These specialty priests combine martial strength with supernatural abilities associated with intimidation, domination, and destructive warfare. - **The Fists of Hextor**: These elite templars can be hired by rulers or commanders whose objectives are compatible with the church. Their strict contracts and reputation for ruthless discipline make them particularly dangerous military opponents. - **The Brotherhood of the Gray Hand**: Members of this monastic order may be encountered preserving Oeridian traditions or conducting operations against the Order of the Glory Everlasting. - **The Iron Schism**: Conflicts between rival Hextorian factions may arise from competing loyalties to former imperial authorities, religious leaders, or powerful successor states. - **Religious Rivalry with Heironeous**: Conflict between the churches is common, particularly where Hextorian authorities attempt to suppress paladins, knights, and other individuals devoted to justice. - **The Feats of Strength**: Priests seeking advancement may undertake dangerous missions intended to demonstrate their ability to command others and defeat powerful enemies. - **Sacred Relics**: Objects such as the Iron Gauntlet of Hextor, Chain of Obeisance, and Gauntlets of the Blood-Lord may attract the attention of ambitious priests or rulers seeking supernatural authority. - **Infernal Servants**: Powerful Hextorian commanders may receive assistance from devils, particularly during campaigns that strengthen tyrannical governments. - **Scourgehold**: Travellers entering Hextor's divine realm within Acheron encounter an immense fortress dominated by military training, oppressive discipline, and the preparation of supernatural armies. ### Conclusion Hextor is the intermediate deity of war, discord, massacres, conflict, physical fitness, and tyranny, and one of the most influential evil powers within the Oeridian pantheon. His teachings establish strength, discipline, obedience, and military conquest as the foundations of authority. His church maintains a highly organised hierarchy supported by fortified temples, military orders, specialty priests, and professional armies. Unlike religions devoted to uncontrolled destruction, Hextor's faith seeks lasting political dominance through systematic conquest and the enforcement of oppressive laws. His ancient rivalry with Heironeous remains central to his divine identity, representing the opposition between honourable warfare and tyrannical domination. His hostility toward Erythnul, resentment of Stern Alia, and obligations to the Lords of Evil further demonstrate the importance of ambition and superior strength within his mythology. The Iron Schism and the collapse of the Great Kingdom reveal that even Hextor's highly disciplined religion is vulnerable to internal conflict when its leaders disagree over legitimate authority. Nevertheless, its continuing influence within the North Kingdom demonstrates the enduring strength of its religious and military institutions. Through his realm of Scourgehold, his infernal alliances, and the devotion of his military priesthood, Hextor continues to influence the wars and political struggles of the Flanaess. The Scourge of Battle's enduring purpose is the establishment of absolute authority through strength. His faithful believe that peace can only exist when resistance has been crushed, obedience has been secured, and the weak acknowledge the dominion of those powerful enough to rule them.