Codex 01: Eye of the Abyss

Author's Note: This is the first entry in a codex of background information on the world of Orc Dominion. It's not really erotic, though there may be some adult themes, and it's written more like an encyclopedia than a story. But I still hope you enjoy it! If you find them interesting I will continue to post them. This entry is on the Eye of the Abyss, a gem mentioned in the last chapter of Orc Dominion: Rebellion.

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The Eye of the Abyss, famed stone of Prince Andarrion The Thrice Damned, is a storied gem in Zentara, though it is less well known outside of the kingdom. Like the better known Moon of Deznessuian, the Eye of the Abyss first appears within recorded history and its existence is a matter of fact, not myth or legend. However, many of the dark rumors that have sprung up around the stone are not to be taken seriously. The Eye was discovered approximately one hundred and eighty six years before the current age during the reign of Prince Xander Grennally of Ruar. Stories reached the Prince of a man killing goat ravaging the countryside outside of the city.

Though at first he dismissed the stories as absurd, when the respected mayor of a small village presented the mangled body of a young boy in full view of the court, the Prince had no choice but to take action. A grand hunt was called, and knights and nobles from all over the City-State of Ruar gathered to fell the beast. Even with the corpse of the child, Xander believed he was on a snipe hunt. Thus, he was much surprised to discover cloven hoof prints of gigantic size running through the village, and stunned at the level of damage the beast was able to inflict on the homes of the town.

As horrific as the damage was, at least it made the beast easy to track. Unfortunately, the men of the village had the same idea. As the armed party followed the path led by the beast, they found body after body littering the forest. Some were pulverized, some appeared half-eaten. None were still alive.

The party finally tracked the beast to his lair. The goat was the size of a destrier, and as powerfully muscled as such large warhorses are. Its horns were like cudgels, and in the midst of a charge the beast was near unstoppable. However, while the beast was more than capable of slaughtering unarmored and underarmed villagers, a party of knights was more than capable of dispatching the beast. It is said the goat was feathered with two dozen arrows, and even then it finally fell only when pierced through the eye by the spear of Xander's sergeant at arms while standing down its charge.

To celebrate the victory, the Prince ordered a feast with the goat being the main course. Tragedy struck when Prince Xander began to choke while eating a soup made from the belly of the fel beast. All attempts to save him failed, and when he passed from this realm a black onyx stone was found lodged in his throat.

After Xander's death, his son Andarrion ascended to the throne. Andarrion had been fascinated with sorcery from a young age, and with the Eye he felt he finally found the reagent needed to make his magic work for real. Though many were outraged that he would not only keep, but prize the stone that killed his father, Andarrion ignored such criticism. It is said he used the stone in alchemical experiments, trying to turn lead into gold and increase the wealth of the city. Stories quickly circulated of the Prince's treasure, which was said to be hidden in the castle, city, or surrounding countryside. Even to this day, many commoners go in search for Andarrion's lost treasure.

In later years, many would credit the wealth of Ruar to his alchemy, though the truth is that Ruar's prosperity started with the first of Andarrion's calumnies. The Prince had never been renown as a warrior, but after setting the Eye into the hilt of his sword, he became a demon in battle. After entering into an alliance with the City-States of Fullorm and Haverset, the three armies launched a joint attack against Swetford. Despite the latter's wealth, the Prince of Swetford was unable to withstand the might of the alliance, and his forces were soon routed and scattered.

The three Princes demanded a quarter of Swetford's wealth each in annual tribute for a period of twenty years. In addition, Andarrion demanded the Golden Mask of Swetford, an ancient idol used in the worship of a since forgotten deity. Although no longer in use, the loss of the idol was a huge insult to Swetford, and drove the City-State into an even closer alliance with the City-State of Braden and the other peoples of what is now Heste.

Andarrion then proved himself to be a demon in truth, when he earned damnation for the first time. While the three princes were celebrating their victory, his army set upon his allies, massacring their forces and seizing the Princes of Fullorm and Haverset as hostages. Not only did he confiscate their shares of the tribute from Swetford, but demanded additional tribute from them as well.

After the war, the Prince set the stone into an ivory ring which he wore constantly. Pleased with how the stone had furthered his desires so far, Andarrion was resolved to further increase his power. He began to sacrifice animals in an attempt to summon demons with whom he hoped to bargain with for magical power. While many of the stories surrounding the stone are legend, this one is fairly well known, as the increasingly unstable Andarrion made no secret of his intentions, and was known to threaten his courtiers with Abyssal damnation when his deal was made.

The Prince also began to kidnap young women, whom he would whip in order to please a dark and previously unknown Goddess, Lomestra. Today, it is assumed that Lomestra was an invention of his own madness, as no other mention of such a Goddess can be found in any historical record or legend. Many were alarmed at his increasing insanity, but feared to take action, as the Prince was still popular with the army, whom he had led to a great victory. However, when the Prince began to sacrifice humans in an attempt to awaken the stone's power to summon demons, the Lord Mayor of Ruar and a company of knights resolved to take action.

The Lord Mayor, Feson Aerwith, planned to sneak into the castle and take the Prince into custody and install his young son as Prince with a council of Regents. Unfortunately for the citizens of Ruar, the plot was an immediate failure. As the group attempted to sneak into the castle, they were surrounded and taken into custody. Andarrion knew every detail of the plot, and within hours everyone connected to the conspirators was in custody. It isn't known how the Prince knew of the ploy, and many attributed his advance knowledge to prophetic powers gained through his sorcery. It is known what happened to the conspirators; all those taken into custody were tortured to death in Andarrion's dungeons.

The defeat of the coup was the last serious challenge to Andarrion's reign until his son. The tortures and sacrifices made in this time have become legend, and the ghosts of his victims feature heavily in the spiritual and ghostly lore of the city. The supposed power of the ring to induce madness in any who look to deep into it spring from these tales, as Andarrion enjoyed releasing any who managed to survive his dungeons, as they invariably lost their minds in the process. The Prince's use of dark magic earned him damnation for a second time.

It should be noted that no overt sign of magical ability was ever demonstrated by the Prince. None of the tales surrounding him tell of any successful use of magic that was witnessed by others. Nonetheless, Andarrion's longevity, his ability to survive numerous threats, and the wealth accumulated during his reign were nothing short of miraculous.

Andarrion finally met his death at the hands of his own son. In his later years, Andarrion became convinced that the only way to successfully summon a demon and enhance his powers was to marry Lomestra. To do this he believed that he had to whip, and then sacrifice, his wife to the Goddess, which would conveniently free him up for marriage as well. Killing his own wife earned him damnation for the third time, and finally spurred his son Aerick to action. All accounts of the confrontation state that Aerick had to remove the ring from around his father's finger before managing to kill him. One tale of dubious authenticity states that the son brought his father a young virgin as a gift for his 'bride', and that her female parts were so tight that she was able to pluck the ring off his finger when the Princess inspected her hymen.

Many wondered why Aerick did not destroy the ring, and many stories have arisen over the years explaining how he could not. Official records suggest that discarding or destroying the stone would create more fear, since its whereabouts would be unknown. With the ring held securely in the Prince's treasure, there would be no question about where it was or what it was doing.

The Eye of the Abyss has remained securely in the possession of the Grennally family ever since. No subsequent Prince of King has worn it since, as donning such a cursed object would bring widespread confusion and condemnation. What would it say about a ruler who chose to embrace the stone and the dark history surrounding it?