The devil's helmet

[Dreamcast]

The Devil's Helmet
By Nathan Davis : Kythorn 19, 1376

This is a recounting of events passed just over a tenday ago. It details the events leading up to the losses of  Landor Amortice, Gabrielus Dimeneira,  Kharst Delzhoun, and Garn. These four sacrificed their lives, and it is because of that sacrifice that we have lived in relative peace since then, most of the colony entirely oblivious to the terrible suffering and deaths that may have befallen them.

Yet this story does not begin with recent events. This tale stems from a battle more than a thousand years ago, between a devil of great power, and the celestial champion known as Telolaran The True. The devil was unable to defeat Telolaran the True, and was eventually imprisoned in another realm by a group of celestials led by a mage known as the conservator. The devil was sealed inside this prison by means of four wards, each symbolizing the sacrifice of the guardians as they worked to seal this evil away forever. For over a thousand years, the celestial guardians remained in this prison, to ensure the devil remained sealed. The celestials were slowly corrupted by this devil's influence, for they had underestimated his sway, believing themselves to be above his power.

It is not known how or when, but some part of the devil's power was placed inside a helmet. The helmet itself was a dangerous thing. When one looked at it, one was often compelled to put it on, at any cost. There were few who could resist it, and even the closest of friends would find themselves fighting over it, with no idea why. For those who had seen it previously, some were even compelled to try to take it on some occasions, even when the helmet was hidden from sight.

This helmet was found by Sergeant Simmons of the Sharboneth Armsmen, more than a thousand years after the devil had been sealed. For reasons unknown, he held it for a tenday or more without feeling the need to wear it. But once he first put it on, it began to affect him. He would become lost in battle, and appeared to be compelled to commit ruthless and macabre acts in battle. He has said at one point  he spent five minutes defiling the corpse of some creature with his sword, without realizing it, or having any idea why he did it.  Simmons had this helmet for some time, before eventually he was approached by Templar Gabrielus Dimeneira of the Pallid Mask, and she confronted him about the helmet and the apparent effects it had on him. He became violent, yet Gabrielus was the victor and began to safeguard the helmet as she attempted to find a way to destroy it.

Conventional means of trying to destroy or dispell the helmet proved futile, and for many days Gabrielus was forced to bear the heavy burden of the helmet. During this time, she was attacked by friend and foe alike, all compelled by the helmet. It is thought that the helmet sought to find someone more susceptible to its dark sway, as Gabrielus had shown a remarkable resistance to the influence of the helmet. Despite this, there were at least three occasions where she wavered, and found herself acting on the whims of the helmet. There was at least one occasion where she actually donned the helmet breifly before she regained her senses and removed it.  She bore the helmet for many days, before she was approached by Telolaran the True, or a messenger representing him. What was said between them is not known, but after this meeting Gabrielus and several of her trusted friends began to prepare for a most dangerous journey.

Gabrielus explained that Telolaran the True believed the helmet to be an artifact created by the devil that he had fought so long ago, and the only way to be rid of it and the influence it carried was to destroy the devil himself.  Doing so was dangerous though, as the devil first had to be unsealed. For the next days, those Gabrielus had informed of this prepared themselves for this daunting task. When the time came, we found ourselves walking to a place where some manner of portal had been opened, composed of  a bright light. When we walked through this portal we found ourselves  in a place which appeared to be some manner of temple, though it was unlike any I had ever seen.  More interesting though, were the occupants of this place. There were celestials all around us,  and we were introduced to Telolaran the True and Paereth the Diligent.  They told us more of the task before us, and instructed us to find the conservator and seek his help in breaking the wards  that sealed the devil away. Once we had freed the devil, Telolaran the True and his celestials would come and do battle with the devil. It was in this temple that the nine of us would last see each other all alive. Those present were myself, Gabrielus Dimeneira, Landor Amortice, Kharst Dhelzoun, Laeris Ni'tessine, Naida of Nar, Leged, the steward Taeral, Areus Bloodmantle, and Garn.

A portal was opened to the devil's prison, and we were set upon by shadows immediately upon entering. The prison itself was a place no words could truly describe.  The prison was teeming with baatezu, and  nearly every step we took we fought for. We were allowed no rest in this place, constantly being attacked from all directions by various types of lesser baatezu. We proceeded further and further into the prison, until we were faced by a large Baatezu, more powerful than any we had previously faced. It was with great difficulty that we managed to defeat it. It was shortly afterward that we were confronted by a magical  barrier of blades. Garn attempted to run through and was killed doing so. Despite the loss, there was little we could do for him, and we were forced to push forward as the baatezu would not allow us to remain idle in any place for long.  Not long after Garn was killed, we came across the original celestial guardians of the prison. They had been corrupted and succumbed to the will of the devil, and attacked us as we tried to proceed.

We fought inwards still, fighting against both celestial and baatezu until we at last found the conservator. Like the other celestials we had encountered, the conservator had become corrupted and we were faced with a difficult battle, his magic proved incredibly dangerous. It was in this battle that Landor Amortice was slain. Shortly after Landor died, the conservator came to his senses, and told us where the wards were, and how to break them.  We were told that there were four pedestals, and that by shedding our own blood onto these would break the wards. After telling us this, the celestial gave us one final request. He asked Gabrielus to kill him, to end the thousand year torment he had endured. After he offered one last prayer to his god, she freed him from his torment as he had wished. It was then we pressed on, always baatezu in our path as we fought for every step.

We soon came to a large rectangular room with many doors in it, each bordered by shafts of crimson light. At the center of the room were four portals, each one leading to one of the wards. In this room we were faced with another one of the larger baatezu, before wecould enter the portals. This  one proved far more difficult than the last, and Areus was slain. The Baatezu attempted to devour Areus, managing to consume one of his arms, before Gabrielus managed to kill it. I was able to return Areus to life, but his arm could not be restored. We had nearly lost another of our number, but still we pressed on. We entered the first portal and Naida used the blade on the first pedestal to spill her blood onto it. The ward was then broken moments later in a few flashes of brilliant  light. Despite our losses in moving this far into the prison, breaking the first ward was a ray of hope, and we were near the end of this nightmarish task. We proceeded to fight our way to the next three wards, which were broken by Laeris, Myself, and Areus respectively.

When the fourth ward was finally broken, the prison shook and we knew that the devil was indeed free. Telolaran the True, Paereth the Diligent, and many other celestials  came to aid us in this final battle to destroy this devil once and for all. When we found the devil, we found it had power far more than any of us would have expected, even Telolaran the True. Several of the celestial warriors were killed as if they were merely insects, the devil struck them down with ease. Telolaran the True charged him, and was slain himself. At this point things seemed bleak, and Paereth the Diligent bade us to flee, opening a portal through which we all escaped.

At this point it had seemed we had failed. Two of our companions lay dead, along with the loss of  many celestials, Telolaran the True among them. Paereth the Diligent told us this situation may yet be salvaged, because even though he was free the devil did not yet have the means to enter our plane. We were dispatched to the forests close to the Ilythiiri ruins, where some manner of ritual was being prepared to allow the devil to enter our plane, along with countless of his servants. In the forest we were met by many baatezu, and when we reached the spot Paereth the Diligent instructed us to find, we found a small grove. Inside the grove was a mirror similar to one we passed inside the prison. When we arrived at the grove, we were faced by two of the larger baatezu we had found inside the prison. Despite our best efforts, one by one we were defeated. For reasons unknown we were not killed as the others in the prison were. Presumably the baatezu were ordered to make us watch the devil we freed, enter our plane before we perished. One by one we were defeated, until only Gabrielus was left standing. More and more baatezu were arriving in the forest during the battle until there were hundreds surrounding us in every direction, and victory seemed all but impossible.

At that moment, when all had seemed to be lost, Gabrielus chose to sacrifice her own life, jumping through the mirror portal with the devil's helmet. It is not known why, but her doing so destroyed the mirror, and as it was destroyed, all the baatezu that had come to our plane through it were banished back to the plane they came from. As Gabrielus did so, one of the larger Baatezu attempted to devour Kharst, only managing to consum his head before being banished.

Garn, Gabrielus Dimeneira, Kharst Dhelzoun, Landor Amortice. They all sacrificed their lives to prevent this devil from coming to our plane. Celebrate their lives and their memory, for it is because of what they gave up that we were not overrun by the hordes of baatezu. It is because of them that  the sun rose that day without incident, passing most by as simply another day. It is due to their sacrifce that we are free to continue to look forward with hope, and continue to live in relative safety, working towards a brighter future.