When they reach the entrance to the mines, the air was thick with the stench of blood and sweat. The sounds of battle echoed off the stone walls, mingling with the distant cries of the Shadowborne as they fought desperately to defend their stronghold.
"Be careful. Don't stray from the path I've laid out for you," Golly warned, dismounting his horse. "From here on, we proceed on foot. The tunnels ahead are narrow, and at times, we'll need to crawl to reach the underground hall. Thraigar, and anyone larger than Rain, will have to stay behind and guard the entrance."
Thraigar's face tightened with disappointment at the thought of missing the chance to face Gorm, but he nodded in agreement. "Understood."
"Wait, how did Gorm get down there if the entrance is so small? Isn't he, like . . . huge?" Rain asked, picturing Gorm as a towering giant clad in impenetrable armor.
The others exchanged glances, their expressions a mix of disbelief and amusement at Rain's momentary lapse in reasoning.
"W-what?"
"Gorm has been trapped in that underground hall since he was first discovered," Santi explained. "He hasn't been able to leave because he's been consumed by his ritual."
"Meanwhile, his generals and the Shadowborne Legionaries can easily slip in and out of the mines to do his bidding. They're more like shadows than soldiers."
"But how did he get your elder down there?" Rain questioned, his curiosity piqued.
Santi replied, "A complex teleportation spell."
"Can we do the same?" Rain turned to Golly, hopeful.
Golly shook his head. "To teleport into the underground hall, someone on the inside must perform the ritual. Without that, it's impossible."
"Oh, I see . . . I thought we could just teleport in there and be done with it."
"Gorm is fueled by an insatiable hatred," Golly continued. "There's no reasoning with this force. It doesn't negotiate, it doesn't bargain. When Gorm needs help, it commands with a voice that brooks no refusal. Disobedience means death, for in Gorm's eyes, all who assist it are expendable. Gorm craves only one thing: the efficient and utter destruction of its enemies and everything they hold dear."
Golly paused, allowing his words to sink in before continuing, "In life, Gorm was the executioner for King Ikhad. Like many executioners, Gorm was deeply attached to its axe, which it named Interitus — 'the destruction.' Gorm believed that those killed by it were obliterated utterly, sent neither to the heavens nor the hells.
"But no kingdom lasts forever," Santi interjected, her voice low. "When King Ikhad's reign crumbled, he became paranoid, desperate for someone to blame. When a prisoner escaped execution, the king saw it as a sign of betrayal. He turned on Gorm, sentencing the executioner to death by the very axe it had wielded."
Golly's expression darkened. "Gorm met its end at the blade of Interitus, but in its final moments, it swore vengeance on all who shared the king's blood. When Gorm awoke as a revenant, it found that the family tree had grown deep roots, extending far and wide.
"Over time, Gorm's humanity faded, its sex and gender lost to history. Now, it moves between bodies, becoming an avatar of obliteration. The name 'Gorm' itself is whispered in fear, and 'it' has become the only fitting pronoun for this relentless entity."
Rain shuddered as he imagined the terrifying existence Gorm had become. "How did Gorm overcome the one-year limit?"
"The reigning theory," Golly said, his voice dropping to a near whisper, "is that when the reaper came to collect Gorm's soul, Gorm buried Interitus in its chest. It wasn't enough to kill a reaper — nothing can truly kill death — but it was enough to make the reaper reconsider its collection. However, the reaper took Interitus with it.
Now, Gorm roams without its beloved weapon, and it wants that axe back almost as badly as it wants its revenge. Almost."
"I see . . . So who was King Ikhad?" Rain asked.
Santi's gaze darkened as she replied, "The king of the dark elves, long, long ago."
Rain's eyes widened in shock. "Wait, doesn't that mean your life is in danger, Santi?"
Golly shook his head solemnly. "All our lives are in danger," he corrected. "That axe, Interitus, has been embedded in the reaper for countless years. If Gorm somehow manages to reclaim it, the axe would be infused with the reaper's essence. Gorm could very well become powerful enough to kill the reaper himself."
Santi continued, her voice steady but grave, "And if that happens, Gorm might take the reaper's place. With his unrelenting thirst for vengeance, he wouldn't stop until every descendant of King Ikhad is erased from existence — and anyone who stands in his way will face the same fate.
Worse still, he could lose what little sanity he has left and descend into madness, slaughtering everyone in his path."