Once upon a time, the name Rodgar the Brave was spoken with reverence and fear. A fierce warrior and a devoted follower of Astralon, he led legions of warriors of the Sacred Order in the battle against evil. His attacks struck true fear into enemies and once he killed them, they stayed dead….they called him Deathknight.  

The Dark Lord Siroth knew that as long as the mention of Deathknight struck fear into the unholy, he had no hope of conquering Kaerok…he needed the Deathknight gone and forgotten. With the help of Skull Lord Var
Gall, Siroth summoned the monstrous God of the Lizardmen – the terrifying Hydra., in insatiable beast who consumed anyone who dared enter its lair. Now, all he needed was to lure Rodgar to battle the savage beast.

One day, a messenger from the king arrived at Rodgar's camp with terrible news: Rodgar’s daughter, Athel, in an attempt to prove herself worthy of her father's legacy, was leading a party to slay the Hydra. Having seen the monster himself, Rodgar knew Athel was in danger. He mounted his steed and rushed to save his daughter.

When he reached the lair, it was empty….just blood and gore everywhere, and the four heads staring down the venerable Deathknight. Little did he know that Athel was never in danger and the messenger from the king was nothing more than a trickster sent by Siroth to lure him in to face the beast. Deceived by the Dark Lord into thinking Athel dead, Rodgar allowed rage to consume him. He charged the monster in the trans of fury his foes have never seen before. He stabbed, hacked, and slashed at the heads of the monster cutting them down one after another, but they kept growing back. When the Head of Suffering provoked Rodgar into charging it, in a fit of rage he lunged towards it. An while he sliced the head clean off, he's gotten too close to the Head of Blight and was swallowed by it.

By the time Rodgar finally freed himself from being consumed, his flesh was
eaten away by the poisons, his essense gone, and only a mere skeleton remained. With his essence consumed
by the monster, the Deathknight was defeated. Ashamed of his current state, he quietly made his way into the underworld to live the rest of his days in solitude among the Undead. And once the Hydra has served its purpose, Siroth banished the monstrous deity away. 

After enough time has passed, the Deathknight was only a myth, a spooky legend demonspawn tell their kids. Only Arbiter knew who he once was, and while the kind elven general often let the old friend accomany her on many occasions, she never revealed his true identity to preserve his legacy. 

Since that fateful day, Rodgar’s wife has vowed to seek the Lizard God and free her husband’s essence from its foul entrails….and with Hydra’s return, Aniri shall have her revenge.