Akachi

Akachi was a priest of the former god of the dead, Myrkul, who lived in Mulsantir. He along with his brother Araman was offered as a "sacrifice," and they were given the names "Akachi" and "Eveshi." He became a favored priest, seemingly immune to poison and disease, and was unaffected when a plague called the "Black Whisper" spread throughout Mulsantir.

Only he and his brother were willing to go forth and tend to the dying in the city, and as such Myrkul allowed the other priests hiding in the temple to be stricken with the plague and die. Akachi was anointed as High Priest, and would continue to spread the teachings of the Lord of Bones and acted as Myrkul's hand of justice. For his service as his Chosen, Myrkul took the Silver Sword of Gith from the Nine Hells and gifted it to his high priest.

The Betrayer's Crusade
Akachi had a lover, a wizard who was Faithless. She died due to accidental spell backfire. Akachi was distraught over her fate; he knew she would be condemned to Myrkul's Wall of the Faithless. He petitioned to Myrkul to spare her that judgement, but Myrkul refused to grant exemption, even for his Chosen's beloved.

In his anger, Akachi turned against his faith and god. He vowed to tear down the Wall to retrieve her from the oblivion. He became "the Betrayer." He rallied together his brother, whom he had nicknamed "ahrraman," and brought forth allies, including the demilich Rammaq whom he once thwarted, a solar from Celestia named Zoab, and the blue dragon queen Ser'ryu. With this ragtag host, he crafted the Betrayer's Gate within the Death God's Vault, creating a bridge to the Fugue Plane where they launched the Betrayer's Crusade.

The crusaders were met with Myrkul himself, who led an even greater army: all the heroes of the ancient dead marched at his back, masses of the False, and many devils who had been summoned from the Hells. Akachi's army crumbled before the Lord of Bones, and his generals fled to the darkest corners of the planes. Not even the Betrayer could oppose Myrkul, in the realm of the dead. Akachi was dragged in chains to the Basilica and had judgement pronounced upon him.

Spirit Eater
Myrkul judged his Chosen as False. While the False are usually condemned to serve the City of Judgement, Myrkul decided to bestow a special punishment. He would have Akachi condemned to the Wall where he tore the Founder out, but before he was completely erased, he was torn back out of the wall and left an empty void. Akachi became an embodiment of the hunger of the Wall, a spirit eater that was set loose as Myrkul's curse.

Myrkul set this up as part of a greater contingency plan: The suffering of Akachi and all those the spirit eater affects as it walks the Realms would keep the fear, and in effect, the memory of Myrkul alive, enabling his consciousness to be preserved even after he was slain during the Time of Troubles. If the curse were to ever end, he would eventually be forgotten.

Most of Akachi's mind was shattered, with only a few key fragments: "The Boy," "Red Woman," and "the Wall." These were not completely destroyed, and were the last traces of Akachi's will, and were the pieces of the Mask of the Betrayer.

The Faceless Man
"'Akachi - the Faceless Man, the Betrayer. All that remains of the man he once was is a glowing, featureless form, his face covered by an ornate mask. His eyes are devoid of intelligence, his actions dictated by instinct rather than purpose.'"

Akachi was reduced to a being known as the Faceless Man, the embodiment of the dark hunger that is Myrkul's curse. He resided within each of the "masks," the victims of the spirit eater, slowly devouring them from within. All that were affected would be drained to Akachi's place in the wall.

When the player undertakes the Third Crusade, the Founder believed that by retrieving the soul from the Wall, Akachi's emptiness would be shut out. This was a lie by Myrkul; the Faceless Man's hunger would simply continue to devour the soul from within. As a result, the PC had to chase down the Faceless Man through a dreamscape vision of Crossroad Keep and West Harbor, before entering the heart of his/her soul. There the Faceless Man was cornered and made a last stand. After destroying many subcomponents of the Faceless Man (insatiable hunger, infinite despair, remorseless instinct, and relentless fury), the player was able to defeat the Faceless Man.

The choice then is up to the player:


 * If the player had received all three fragments of the Mask of the Betrayer during various dreamscape visions earlier, the Red Woman and Boy would have it reformed. With this mask, the player could use it to restore Akachi's identity and completely destroy the curse. This is the optimal ending.
 * The player can discard the curse. This frees the player, but Akachi is still cursed and the spirit eater remains. This is the suboptimal ending.
 * The player can choose to bind the faceless man within his/her soul, and remain forever on the Fugue Plane. This is an alternate suboptimal ending.
 * The player can choose to devour the Faceless Man, and fully master the dark hunger. This is the evil ending.