I have recently recreated my eq1 shaman on eq2 with the announcement on the return of bertoxxulus. Unfortunately I've never been up to date with any eq lore, and I am just looking for any information out there about this diety. Especially what events he has had a hand in and what type of following he would have.
------- Bertoxxulous - The Plaguebringer Bertoxxulous has no allies. His followers often follow the dark art of necromancy, which he wholeheartedly supports. The Plaguebringer appears as a humanoid hunchback draped in tattered, decaying robes. Under his hood can be seen a very handsome face attached to the body of a rotting corpse. He is enemies with Tunare, Rodcet Nife, Karana, Mithaniel Marr, and Rallos Zek. He rules the Plane of Disease, which is dark and drippy with geysers of ooze and rivers of pus. The land itself looks, feels and even smells like decaying flesh, and is inhabited by all manner of evil creatures and undead- ------ Taken from the lorenorrath website.
Well that's the old info about the gods back when EQlive was first released. There is no actual reason to why he is or is not enemies with Rallos Zek. My guess would be that Bertox doesn't like having his victims killed in battle, but rather suffer to death through disease. Bertoxxulous has some influences across Norrath. Though there is nothing to confirm or deny it, rumor has it that Cazic Thule turned to him in order to create the Greenmist that he would later unleash onto the Shissar and save the Iksar race from extinction. That same rumor also has it that Tunare and The Rathe were the ones who inspired him to create it in the first place. They were fed up with how the Shissar had razed the land, just like the orcs are doing in Zek. In the summer of 2001, however, the greatest Live Event to ever take place in EQ had occured. In what started as a plot against the citizens of Qeynos, the Bloodsabers planted an Idol of Bertoxxulous into the fields of the famous Miller family, the largest farmer family in all of Western Norrath. Invoking an incantation, they summoned a three-fold Plague down onto the Karanas. The first plague turned the skies green with acid rain. The 2nd plague was an outbreak among the citizens. Anyone who walked through the plains would experience rashes, terrible itching, coughing and wheezing. Nothing fatal, thankfully. The third plague were swarms of giant beetles across the lands to destroy the vegitation. Qeynos' investigation into the plagues, lead by Vegalys Keldrane, would result in the War of the Plagues. While not covered in EQlive, the War of the Plagues was a great war that broke out between the Qeynos Guard and the Bloodsabers, who proved themselves to have more numbers than any could have imagined. When the war died down and came to an end, Qeynos learned of the location of the Idol of Bertoxxulous, and cleansed the land of the plague.
Cusashorn wrote: Thanks for reminding me of this event. I vaguely remember running through the karanas in eq1 and feeling a little ill. What other races would be likely to worship Bertox? It seems like most of the races in the game currently lean towards one diety or another, and none of them lean toward Bertox.
IIRC Most of Berty's followers in EQ1 were humans. I dimly recall some DEs hanging out with them, but that might have been more of an alliance of convience w/ the necromancers than any racial alignment.
Taken from Tomes in the city of New Tanaan in EQ1 during the Planes of Power expansion: The Necropolis of Lxanvon and the Arrival of the Plague Bringer Volume I In a Norrathian age long past, when dragons ruled the lands, seas, and skies, an ancient race did spring forth from the will of an unknown god. They were a cunning and powerful race of beings, able to survive in a harsh world ruled by the scaled children of Veeshan. The true name of this extinct civilization has been lost to the mists of time, the evidence of their existance buried and all but destroyed by the elements and the forces of change. The eldest of dragons sometimes whisper tales of this lost race of beings who were the first to stand against and slay the great children of Veeshan. They speak of them to their young, as a human mother would tell ghost stories to her child. The dragons whispered tales of a great kingdom of wicked yet noble beings that built cities from the bones and sinew of the slain children of Veeshan. This is one such tale, passed down to the scribes of New Tanaan many years past by the dragon sorceror Ulvaxazoviak. Many ages ago, in a time that only the spirits of the ancestor dragons can recall, a long dead ancient race, The Xulous they are called in the tales of my kind, did build upon the lands that would become Tunaria a great necropolis to house their dead kings. The crypts of the necropolis were fashioned from preserved remains of slain dragons and it was called Lxanvon, which means in the tongue of the Xulous, 'Kings Rest'. As the necropolis filled with the dead Xulous royalty, honored and revered in death as much as in life, a festering evil began to take over in the lowest bowels of the crypts of the kings. The Xulous, through their adoration and reverence of their rotting kings, their defilement of the dead children of Veeshan, and their dependence on the deaths of dragons for the expansion of their kingdoms did unknowingly bring a powerful and ancient evil to Norrath. As years passed, the evil presence in the bowels of Lxanvon grew stronger, and there, within the rotting corpses of those ancient kings, Bertoxxulous was born. Volume II The royal priests of the Xulous kingdoms often journeyed from their ivory cities to Lxanvon on behalf of their people, to deliver offerings and praises to their dead kings. Bertoxxulous, donning the decaying bodies of the dead Xulous nobles, appeared before these royal priests demanding obediance, reverence, and sacrifices. Bertoxxulous deceived and corrupted the minds of the royal priests and their allegiance belonged to the Lord of Death and Decay above their living kings. Amidst these firsts priests of decay, one was held above the others, Ultor Szanvon the Putrid; he led the priests of decay in the spreading their dark doctrine. Ultor, an influential priest in service to the mightiest of the Xulous nobles schemed and murdered his way into the position of chief advisor to the living Xulous King. Ultor convinced Xulous King to visit the tombs of his ancestors, and there within the presence of Bertoxxulous' full might he performed a dark ritual, sacrificing the king in the bowels of the crypt. Through the dark ritual Ultor summoned twelve spirits of previous Xulous kings and bound them to his service. The risen undead kings rose armies of the dead from the necropolis of Lxanvon and spread across the lands ravaging all in their path, and leaving only death and destruction in their wake. Those who were not destroyed by the weapons of the undead armies were killed slowly by a deadly plague, carried by the risen kings, and spread like wildfire amidst the Xulous. Their entire race succumbed to the pestilence and the Xulous were no more. Bertoxxulous, pleased and swollen with pride by his genocidal accomplishment called his minions back to the necropolis that had served as their resting place for so many years. The risen Xulous kings gathered in the bowels of their crypts as a great mist enveloped Lxanvon. The ancient dragons watched from afar as the mists cleared, revealing only a barren and broken landscape where the necropolis had once lied. It is said that the necropolis of Lxanvon still exists in the Plane of Disease, unchanged from when the ancient dragons witnessed its vanishing from Norrath, and that the form Bertoxxulous favors when visiting Lxanvon is a twisted visage of the long dead race he destroyed, so many ages ago.
Also from Tomes in New Tanaan: Deadtime Stories of Bertoxxulous Volume I Raex and Vindor Long ago in the Kingdom of Skaxron lived two childhood friends, Raex, and Vindor. The friends played, fought, competed and grew up together in their lawful kingdom. As they matured both young men proved to be the greatest warriors of their generation. They became pledged as knights in service to their good King Randall. Two years after the knighting of Raex and Vindor, the War of Ages engulfed their continent, separating the friends as they fought to save their beloved kingdom. War raged for many years, their good King Randall was slain, and all the lands were put under the rule of an iron fisted dark emperor. Raex and Vindor survived these lean years as mercenaries and swore complete and utter vengence upon the dark emperor that ruled the land. They did not have long to wait, for a great and ancient evil was listening. Bertoxxulous, Lord of Decay, heard the plea and offered to assist Raex and Vindor for their permanent indentured servitude. For the Plague Lord knew they were among the greatest of warriors, and would aid him greatly in his rise to power. Blinded by vengence Raex and Vindor immediately agreed to the deal. With a snap of his fingers, Bertoxxulous banished his servant, the dark emperor, to another realm and accepted the two great warriors into his service, for they did not know Bertoxxulous had conquered their world just to bring them into the ranks of his minions. Carprin Deatharn Long ago on the continent of Antonica, within the world of Norrath, there existed a small village known as Yawnwater. The village of Yawnwater was a typical village, with happy villagers and flowers that grew all about the town. In the middle of the village stood a small shrine dedicated to the goddess of love, Erollisi Marr, located right off of a small river that flowed down into a great lake. However all did not remain right within the happy little village of Yawnwater. On a dark night when the moon was just a sliver inthe night sky, terror and destruction came down upon the happy little village of Yawnwater. The dark knight, Carprin Deatharn, determined to prove to his god, Bertoxxulous, Lord of Decay, that he was an exalted spreader of corruption and decay that none could match, came upon the village set to destroy it. Caprin killed off what resistance the village had to offer and then gathered around the shine to Erollisi Marr, the elderly, the women, and the children, who were to weak to defend themselves from the dark knight. Carprin then set to systematically desecrating the temple by performing a dark sacrifice on its altar. After the sacrifice he infected the rest of the survivors with an incurable malady that left them slowly wasting away and dying. When Bertoxxulous saw all that his servant did in his name he was pleased and raised him to new and untold levels of power. It was not long after that Caprin Deatharn would join his master in the Plane of Disease. Volume II The Tale of Toluwon In the Plains of Karana in a time not so long ago, the clergy of Karana erected a small temple in honor of The Rainkeeper. Among those present at the building of this temple was Young Toluwon, a promising cleric that had recently been raised up from the position of Acolyte. Young Toluwon was one of the most promising clerics to come in years. He had shown wisdom beyond his years, mastered the honored rituals of Karana in a short time, and performed the extremely difficult Ritual of Thunder and Lightning for the first time in centuries. However, all this was soon to come to an end for Young Toluwon for he had a different path to walk. Young Toluwon returned home soon after helping finish up the final building stages of the temple. He had to visit his love in the nearby city of Qeynos. When he arrived at his lover's house, he found a small note asking him to meet her at a private locale. Concerned, Toluwon made his way immediately to the locale, to find something he could not believe. His lover was a worshipper of the dark god Bertoxxulous. She was with a group of people in brown robes muttering chants to the Lord of Decay. Once he overcame his disbelief he knew what he must do. He would join her, for she was more important to him than anything else. When the decision was made, the worshipers of Bertoxxulous immediately sent Toluwon out to prove his faith. They sent him against his old brethren at the newly built temple in the Plains of Karana. When he arrived the priests were surprised to see him back so early for they knew he loved his woman dearly. He assured them everything was all right, and told them that he needed to get some rest. Little did they know what dark plans were about to unfold. In the dead of night Toluwon crept around and slit the throats of each priest within the temple. Then performing a dark ritual told to him by the priests of Bertoxxulous he desecrated the newly erected temple. Toluwon had now become a full-fledged member of Bertoxxulous' clergy. This is how Bishop Toluwon came to join the legions of corruption. Rise of Avhi Escron Thousands of years ago in lands long gone there was a prophecy of power. It said 'One shall be born perched between light and darkness. They will grow and one day shroud the world in golden light or encompassing darkness. For they will choose.' Avhi Escron was born shortly thereafter. She was the child foretold in the prophecy and the forces of light and dark waged war over her. As time passed Avhi began to show signs of extreme magical power, unmatched by any ever known to the world. The time for her to choose was fast approaching. As the time came upon her Avhi was tempted by the forces of dark with images of unseen power, wealth beyond imagining, and endless lands to rule. With these images in her mind, Avhi chose the side of evil, and the world fell into an encompassing darkness. The ancient evil, known today as Bertoxxulous, was among the powers that she now served. Decay and corruption became a daily part of Avhi's life as she explored the dark arts of necromancy, creating new dark rituals, and spells became commonplace as she reached the pinnacle of her power. Eventually Avhi declared herself fully in the service of the Lord of Decay. Soon after she brought down a mighty spell of foul corruption upon the kingdoms, laying waste to huge tracts of land. And so Avhi continued until one day she was raised tothe side of her lord in the Plane of Disease. Volume III Fall of the Wemmal Royal Family The Wemmal Family had ruled their small island in the middle of the endless sea for years. Not knowing of the other continents and lands of their world, it was a self-contained island filled with peace. One day that changed, for chance brought a sole survivor of a shipwreck to a beach on their land. The survivor was Banford Paffa a cook from a pirate ship that had been wrecked in a nasty storm. The islanders discovered him on one of the beautiful beaches and brought him to the royal family. The Wemmal's were taken with this seemingly charming pirate from lands unknown. They offered him a position on the cooking staff for he knew many exotic dishes previously unknown to the islanders. However, the Wemmal's would soon learn that their new cook had a dark secret. Bandford was a worshipper of Bertoxxulous, the Lord of Decay. He set to slowly poisoning the food he served to the royal family. Soon after all of the royal family became sick and dying. It was discovered that Banford had been poisoning them, but by then it was to late, and the Wemmals were dead. The islanders maddened by grief for their beloved royals lynched Banford and hung his corpse from the islands tallest tree. Bertoxxulous pleased with what Banford accomplished gave him a new form in the Plane of Disease, where he now serves his lord for eternity. Origins of the Bubonians In the deepest depths of some forgotten tomb, Tarkon Praez, a necromancer in service to Bertoxxulous, was perfomring experiments on a tribe of rat men that he had previously enslaved. During this time he bred a variety of rat men, but none of them were what he wanted. Tarkon wanted a ravenous, festering, and foul breed that would strike terror and fear into the hearts of the pure. Tarkon decided to pray one day to his dark god for guidance. After many hours of prayers, foul rituals and sacrifices, Bertoxxulous enlightened Tarkon with a vision of what he must do. He would travel to the farthest reaches and find the necessary components to perform a ritual of the darkest evil. The four components Tarkon was to gather were a unicorn heart, tail of a phoenix, tears of a virgin, and the blood of a faerie. After many trials and tribulations he gathered the necessary components and began the dark ritual. What took form was more than he expected. An extremely evil crazed race of rat men that carried a foul plague in their blood and minds. He dubbed them the Bubonians and set them on the land. The Bubonians tore apart the lands near the tomb of their creation, spreading disease, death, and destruction wherever they went. They continued unhindered for a time, until they were banished from the world by a good and noble order of knights. Bertoxxulous took the Bubonians into the Crypt of Decay and that is where they have festered ever since, waiting to lay waste to the world once again.
I think Rallos and Bertox are enimes for a very simple reason. other than conflict, there is really no force that can decimate the physical size, power, and mortal of an army like pestilance and disease. armies ten thousand strong can be brought to nothing in a matter of weeks and months from a single polluted water supply or a bad batch of food. and I bet that aggravates Rallos to no end that bertox's domain can so easily rival or overpower his domain of War.
That is correct! The Dark Reflection was a faction of Gnome Wizards, Necromancers, enchanters, clerics, shadowknights, and warriors who lived in the Mines of Malfunction during the age of Turmoil, and were loyal to the Plaguebringer. In fact, the person you had to talk to about the tokens (not sure what exactly their purpose was, since I never got them, though I heard they were used on certain PvP servers) was found in Ak'Anon. A short snippet of lore from the Maps of Myrist states it as follows: Despite the gnomes' dislike of outsiders, they have been touched with the dark arts of necromancy. In the depths of the city lies the Temple of Dark Reflection. Their presence is known and tolerated, to a degree, though they strive to ward away unwanted attention to their dark dabbling. The young populace is especially cautioned from showing interest in the cult and is advised to acoid the temple. Since they have left the citizenry alone, the followers of the Plaguebringer feel they should deserve the same "courtesy." Also, the story in the link here speaks to the beginnings of the Dark Reflection, oddly enough, that being Meldrath the Malignant/Mad. If I am not mistaken, this book was from the Planes of Power, and intended to explain the existance of the Plane of Innovation.
As for EQII, considering Bertoxx's habit of using rodents as plague carriers, I would say that some Ratonga would see him as a natural god for them. In fact, there were rodent-men in the Crypt of Decay with everything else that he had, and plague infested rats were as common as the leeches, mites, mosquitoes, spiders, oozes and centipedes he had in his plane of disease.
all i know is that im glad bertox is back, my high elf necro has followed him in his own lore since i created him. now i can actually do it! lol
I think Bertoxxulous falls into the Dark Godhead category with Innoruuk, Rallos Zek and Cazic-Thule - even though they may not all get along, they have relied on each other before and fight against the forces of "light".
Reading that above story about that lost race that Bertox wiped out... hmm it sounds more like a "creation" story about Bertoxx. It seems like he kind of ascended to godhood, or did he just feel like making his presence known to the world at this moment in time.
DreamerCloud9 wrote: I had always taken the Xulous tomb story as the story of Bertox's creation. It makes sense, the tomb was built out of dragon parts which possibly could have imbued the whole building with a sort of latent arcane energy, and that combined with the contents of the building, and the powerful races devotion to their rotting kings kinda stewed up a consciousness that embodied decay and disease. And because of this consciousness's near perfect representation of such an influential force it ascended to godhood and took it's place on the wheel of influence. Conversely, one would really have to wonder how a force the likes of disease, rot and all that good stuff wouldn't have been represented from the beginning. Then again, maybe Bertox was always there, but didn't make himself known to the rest of Norrath until that point. Then again, who's to say that this wasn't the point of Bertoxxulous's creation and before that his seat amongst the gods of influence was vacant, or didn't exist. It's interesting to note that the same can be asked of Bertox's chief rival, Rodcet Nife, the god of healing. From all that we know of Rodcet it appears he is some sort of inter-stellar(planar?) traveler that ascended to godhood.
Well, the original History of Norrath story that describes it's creation and the arrival of the gods makes absolutely no mention of Bertox or Rodcet Nife. However, it's never been elaborated on whether it really is how Bert came to be or not.
I believe in EQOA (so take it for what its worth, the lore from that expansion seems to be pretty conveluted, and the parts that carry over are something of a crap shoot), they had the emergence of Rodcet Nife, I believe. His creation goes something similar to the following: An intelligient race of beings lived in the southwest corner of the ancient continent Tunaria. This race, called the Jalraeth, were consumed with aquiring knowledge, and understanding all they could. These beings were immortal, and being so, were obsessed with death, something they could not experience first hand. In their studies, they would kill anything that ventured near their Castle of Envar in the Dead Hills in an effort to study it. Legends tell of one who rebelled against his peers, and instead of creating a means of death strove to heal the plagues developed by the Jalraeth, and purge disease from the lives of mortal beings. Thus Rodcet became a hero to these mortals, and the Temple of Life was erected in Qeynos in his honor, and some say, by his guidance. That's a paraphrase version of the lore. What forces lifted Rodcet Nife to deity level (since we do have record of a Plane of Health that he rules over), I have no idea. It'd be nice to know EQ2's take on the Prime Healer. But why am I talking about Doctor Fine? This is a thread about Berty!
Probably the Realms of Disease (and the Realm of Healing) were both under Tunare's Banner originally, as parts of the Natural world. When enough focus was put on them though, new gods arouse to carve out those niches and build their own domains. It was probably similar to how Rallos Zek raised demigods to take over various facets of War craft (Tactics, Rage, etc...), or Druzzil helped create the Plane of Music and so forth. (though the plane of disease may not have been willingly created by Tunare)
Saroc_Luclin wrote: Hmmm...while Tunare is probably the closest thing Norrath has to a general nature deity, she's technically the goddess of growth specifically. In other words, she really only embodies the positive, life-giving aspects of nature, not things such as disease. To draw an (extremely nerdy) comparison to the Dungeons & Dragons pantheon, Tunare is more like Ehlonna, whereas a "true" nature deity would be more like Obad-Hai.
