Akachi was a priest of the former god of the dead, Myrkul, who lived in Mulsantir in Rashemen.[1]
History[]
He, along with his brother Araman, was offered as a "sacrifice" and they were given the names "Akachi" and "Eveshi". Akachi became a favored priest, seemingly immune to poison and disease, and was unaffected when a plague called the Black Whisper spread throughout Mulsantir.[1]
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 continued 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.[1]
The Betrayer's Crusade[]
Akachi had a lover, a wizard who was Faithless. She died in an 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.[1]
In his anger, Akachi turned against his faith and god. He vowed to tear down the Wall to retrieve her from oblivion. He became known as the Betrayer. He rallied together his brother, whom he had nicknamed "Ahrraman" and brought forth allies, including the demilich Rammaq whom he had 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.[1]
The crusaders were met by 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.[1]
Spirit Eater[]
Myrkul judged his Chosen as False. While the False were usually condemned to serve the City of Judgement, Myrkul decided to bestow a special punishment. He had 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.[1]
Myrkul set this up as part of a greater contingency plan: the suffering of Akachi and all those the spirit eater affected as it walked 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 of 1358 DR. If the curse were to ever end, he would eventually be forgotten.[1]
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.[1]
The Faceless Man[]
Akachi was reduced to a being known as the Faceless Man, the embodiment of the dark hunger that was 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.[1]
When the Kalach-Cha undertook 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 Kalach-Cha and companions had to chase down the Faceless Man through a dreamscape vision of Crossroad Keep and West Harbor, before entering the heart of his or 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 Kalach-Cha was able to defeat the Faceless Man. Exactly how was undetermined:[1]
- If they had received all three fragments of the Mask of the Betrayer during the various dreamscape visions, the Red Woman and Boy would have it reformed. With this mask, the Kalach-Cha could use it to restore Akachi's identity and completely destroy the curse.[1]
- The Kalach-Cha could choose to discard the curse. This freed the Kalach-Cha, but Akachi remained cursed and the spirit eater remained.[1]
- The Kalach-Cha could choose to bind the Faceless Man within his or her soul, and remain forever on the Fugue Plane.[1]
- The Kalach-Cha, if evil, could choose to devour the Faceless Man, and fully master the dark hunger.[1]
Description[]
As the Faceless Man, Akachi was no more than featureless glowing shape, with an ornate mask where the face would be. His eyes lacked all sign of intelligence, only instinct.[1]
