Tales of Awesomeness #9

The Gnoll's Axe

On one fateful night many centuries ago, a Gnoll chief witnessed a fiery object fall from the sky and crash into the ground. He approached the crash site and found strange metallic disc, the size of a human head, pulsing with an eerie glow.

Seeing this an omen of great things to come, the chief resolved to forge a weapon out of this object. He gathered his most powerful shamans and with their magicfire, the chief himself proceeded to forge the head of a greataxe.

For days, he worked with the unknown material, infusing it with magic, hate, greed and ambition. The resulting weapon was a terrible sight to behold. The blade itself was incredibly sharp and it is said that nothing of this world could match its strength. However, the true horrific power of the axe lies in the magic it unleashed, as the forging of the artifact bound the soul of every Gnoll to the will of the Gnoll chief and this compelled them to obey the latter’s every whim.

With the powerful axe in hand and an army behind him, the Gnoll chief declared himself king and launched a campaign of conquest throughout the continent of Brun.

For many years, the Gnoll army advanced and destroyed everything in its path. The resulting destruction drew the attention of Mystara’s immortal pantheon and prompted them to intervene. They gave a man named Halav insight on military tactics and a sword crafted by the immortals themselves. After all the preparations and with renewed vigor, the forces of man engaged the Gnoll army.

According to the Song of King Halav, the Gnoll king and Halav personally fought each other on a hilltop from dawn until noon and mortally wounded each other. The death of the Gnoll king was celebrated as a great victory.

Realizing that the Gnoll king is dead and his hold is no more, his lieutenants took the Gnoll axe from the battlefield and the Gnoll army scattered to the four corners of Brun.

The Gnoll lieutenants who took the axe does not want to be again bound to the will of one Gnoll, and for this reason, they sought to destroy the artifact. They tried to destroy the weapon through spells and steel, but its magic proved to be too strong and resisted every attempt.

Finding their efforts to be futile, the lieutenants agreed to hide the weapon. It is said that they again took the weapon and disappeared only to emerge a year later and declared that the axe will never be found.

This news pleased their Gnoll kin. On the night of their return, the Gnoll lieutenants were murdered by their own clans, ensuring that the artifact’s hiding spot will be lost forever.

Thus, it is said that there is a powerful artifact lost in Mystara and there are those who believe that the Gnoll’s Axe can still be retrieved.