Bastion of Hate

The Bastion of Hate was a great fortress that served as the divine realm of Iyachtu Xvim. The Bastion was originally located in Gehenna, but was subsequently relocated to the Abyss. Following Xvim's death, the fortress was claimed by a group of githzerai.

"It's Iyachtu Xvim's realm. It's not supposed to be good."

- Jas

Description
The Bastion of Hate was a vast and blocky fortified castle made of basalt. In Gehenna, it was located on the slopes of the massive volcano Chamada, and towered above the rivers of lava that surrounded it. It sat on a large ledge carved out from the mountainside such that the cliffs served as the fortifications of the rear of the fortress. A network of tunnels inside these cliffs were the barracks for the Bastion's fiendish garrison. The other side of the Bastion was protected by a thick, crescent-shaped double wall dotted with six towers. The parapets were adorned with horn-shaped spikes and the walls were armored with riveted iron plates approximately thick which glowed with the heat of the surrounding lava. Spartan rooms inside these walls served as mess halls, armories, and chambers for new arrivals to await formal invitation into the Bastion. Winding passageways led from the walls into the hot and humid underground dungeon and torture chamber. A hole in the Bastion's walls allowed for access to a pool of lava that Xvim personally used to torture his prisoners and victims.

The main courtyard of the Bastion between the cliffs and walls was wide and lit by rows of torches. As one entered the fortress, there was a temple of Xvim to the right and a large tower to the left that rose high above the walls.

The temple was rectangular and made of black marble. It sat on a low hill and was reached by climbing a large staircase littered with bones to enter into the temple's a great hall. This long room was flanked by smaller rooms&mdash;in which the resident priests occupied themselves&mdash;as well as by an audience chamber at the rear where visitors met with the temple's high priest seated on a throne upholstered with human flesh.

The tower served as the seat of Xvim's power, and contained his throne room on the ground-level with a door that was kept barred by a gargantuan thighbone. The throne room was lit by large braziers and contained Xvim's giant-sized throne atop a dais. Tapestries adorned the walls, one of which concealed a giant-sized staircase that led to a trapdoor at the very top of the tall tower. All windows on the tower were magically barred to prevent intrusion.

Defenses
The fortress was imbued with powerful arcane magic that repelled lava and invaders alike, and even the terrifying Rajzak was unable to breach the walls. Owing to the hostile terrain all around, it was difficult to reach the Bastion of Hate except by air or teleportation, however it was heavily warded against both kinds of approach by an invisible barrier in the shape of a dome that extended from the walls and peaked above Xvim's tower. Thus, any who wished to gain access had to land or appear in front of the main gate and request entrance. The main gate was covered in iron spikes and consisted of two portcullises, a system designed to allow visitors to enter through the first and then be surrounded by guards before the second portcullis was opened to grant access to the fortress itself. The portcullises were controlled from a small gatehouse located directly above them.

Among the many weapons kept in the Bastion's armory was a large store of smokepowder.

Cosmography
The fortress originally sat on the slopes of the great volcano Chamada, the second layer of Gehenna, amid constant lava flows. Subsequently, it was embedded into the side of a mountain in the Spires of Rajzak located somewhere in the Abyss.

Inhabitants
As Xvim's divine realm during the mid-to-late 14 century DR, the Bastion of Hate was manned by a vast army of yugoloth mercenaries&mdash;particularly hydroloths, mezzoloths, and piscoloths &mdash;who lived in the tunnels behind the fortress. It also hosted a number of humanoid members of Xvim’s church who dwelt in the temple. Members of the clergy included:


 * Tyrannar Noxxe, the high priest in charge of the Bastion of Hate in.
 * Tyrannar Neri, the high priest who succeeded Noxxe.
 * Hatemaster Morr, a priest who greeted new arrivals and would serve as a guide at the behest of Tyrannar Neri.
 * Hatemaster Perr, a priest who died and returned to the Bastion as a petitioner, and was then assigned to the lowly task of gatekeeper.
 * Twenty armored priests and priestesses serving as guards.
 * Six priests who acted as scribes.
 * More than one hundred additional guards and low-ranking priests.

Other notable inhabitants during the mid-to-late 14 century DR included Ratagar the imp.

As of the late 15 century DR, the Bastion of Hate was home to demons and to a small group of powerful yet cautious githzerai.

History
The Bastion of Hate was thought by some to have been built in the distant past by an unknown architect.

Prior to the Time of Troubles and his bid to claim his father's portfolio, the then-demigod Iyachtu Xvim had no divine realm, and was known to divide his time between the Prime Material plane and Acheron. Following his ascension, he established himself at the Bastion of Hate by the late 1360s DR.

In the, Xvim sent minions to attack Beshaba, the goddess of misfortune, who retaliated by personally attacking the Bastion of Hate. However, Xvim was absent, and as she prepared to wait for him, she became imprisoned in his throne room and ultimately fell into a comatose state as he siphoned her power away. Despite this, bad luck seeped from her and infected the fortress for the next two days, resulting in the deaths of the head priest, Tyrannar Noxxe, as well as the captain of the guard and over 100 lesser priests and guards. At that point, Beshaba's cleric-turned-exarch Walinda stormed the fortress alongside an army of barlguras, hezrous, and bulezaus. With the help of Joel the Rebel Bard, the Bastion's gatekeeper was persuaded that the demons were in fact part of a simple power struggle between the Xvimlar leaders, and so the army was granted entrance and were able to storm the castle and clash with the yugoloth defenders. Walinda sacrificed herself to awaken Beshaba, at which point the Bastion of Hate had the "bad luck" to be struck by a massive earthquake. While the fortress itself was too strong to be damaged by the quake, Mount Chamada was not: the ledge on which the Bastion was located was dislodged, leaving the fortress to slide violently down the volcanic mountain.

"Xvim sent creatures to attack me in my realm. He must have been trying to force me to use my power. I went to confront him in his realm, but he was nowhere to be found. I sent the Bastion of Hate tumbling down Mount Chamada, and still the little weasel did not appear."

- Beshaba

As of the time of Xvim's death in the, the Bastion of Hate had been relocated to the Abyss where it appeared to be carved into the side of a mountain in the bleak badlands of the Spires of Rajzak.

Following the events of the Spellplague, Xvim’s ownership of the Bastion was forgotten. Throughout the 15 century DR, the mighty structure proved to be one of the only buildings capable of withstanding the dangers of the Spires of Rajzak, and thus became a popular base for the local demonic hordes. As of the, a group of githzerai had begun to explore the Bastion with the intention of converting it into a monastery.

Rumors & Legends
Some feared that Iyachtu Xvim had the power to extend a ghostly hand into the Material Plane to snatch folk away to the Bastion of Hate.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * Tymora's Luck
 * Beyond the High Road
 * Beyond the High Road