Wulgreth (Ascalhorn)

Wulgreth was an Ascalhi wizard, consorted with baatezu in defiance of the ancient pact his ancestors had made with the Eaerlanni elves to abandon the dark arts of the Netherese. Wulgreth of Ascalhorn bested his rivals for six decades because of the help of his baatezu. In turn, his rivals summoned the aid of tanar'ri for their own defense, which killed the baatezu, conquered all of Ascalhorn (which then became known as Hellgate Keep), and overran the elven kingdom of Eaerlann and the dwarven kingdom of Ammarindar, destroying them both. This occurred in 882 DR, the Year of the Curse.

In 883 DR, the Year of the Giant’s Oath, the Ascalhi Wulgreth fled to the ruins of Karse, along with his man-at-arms, Jhingleshod the Iron Axeman. Wulgreth intended to exact his revenge against the demons by raising an army of undead from the ruins of Karse. When Jhingleshod realized what his master was up to, the knight slew Wulgreth. Unfortunately, he did this while Wulgreth was casting his spell, and the arcane energies the archwizard had been drawing from the area were released, transforming Wulgreth into a lich and the area surrounding Karse into a place of twisted magic and undead creatures known as the Dire Wood. To punish Jingleshod, Wulgreth hunted him down and turned him into an undead knight. Wulgreth then resided within the temple, in a different part of it than the Netherese Wulgreth was in, and made the Karsestone his phylactery.

Galaeron Nihmedu destroyed the body of Wulgreth, but it lives on because its phylactery is the Karsestone, which is now in the hands of the goddess of darkness, Shar. Jhingleshod wishes to die, but he cannot as long as Wulgreth of Ascalhorn still lives. That same day, Galaeron used the Karsestone to bring the city of Shade back to Faerûn.