Curling tendrils of foul-smelling mist wound their way through the fetid
air of the cavern, wreathing the massive black-robed figure of Babel,
God of Oblivion, as He hunched near a large boulder. Across from Him,
the slim, regal image of Apollyon, the God of Suffering, sniffed in
disapproval. The fetid caverns of the older god offended His sense of
elegance and proportion, but it was better than allowing the Chaotic
deity's distorting miasma to taint the alabaster perfection of His own
ivory temple.

"There is a new Archprelate, Entropius. His name is Ellodin."

Babel snorted with disgust, disdain radiating from His black eyes.

"What do We care for new Archprelates? There have been a thousand of
them since those ragtag clerics started up that dungheap of a Church.
They're all mortal. There will be another new one in another century or
less."

The suffering god responded with the cool tones of someone explaining a
simple concept to a small child, one perfectly formed hand raised in
admonition.

"These last decades the Church has been under the heel of Silas, whose
pig-headed stubbornness has resisted Our every attempt at interference.
Now there is a new leader, untried and untested. Perhaps there is a
chance for Us to strike a blow against the powers of the east."

A curt twitch of Babel's head indicated that He was willing to consider
the proposition, and the two gods plunged into deliberations, devoting
the remainder of the night to formulating a plan for the subversion of
the Archprelate.

The next morning, a shimmering figure flickered into view before the
newly appointed Archprelate Ellodin, confronting him in his tower
chamber high above the basilica. It addressed the rajamala in soothing,
modulated tones.

"I am a spell-wrought sending from Lord Babel, come to establish a
relationship with the new leadership of the Church. Our factions have
been at war for many years, but there is no need for this to be so. We
have a common enemy in Mhaldor, for the triumph of Evil means a terrible
defeat for both Chaos and Good. Let us therefore conspire to work
against this mutual foe, at least so far as is agreeable to us both."

The Archprelate considered thoughtfully, but did not reject the offer.
For though his mistrust of the God of Oblivion was deep, his hatred of
the powers of Mhaldor was deeper still, and the thought of striking a
blow against them was immensely tempting.

Over the following months, Apollyon and Babel moved to put Their cunning
plan into motion. One at a time They crafted a number of scenarios, with
Apollyon constructing artificial targets and Babel advising Ellodin on
how to strike at them. The result was that Ellodin led the Church on a
series of increasingly dramatic forays into Mhaldorian territory,
achieving what seemed like victories for the east, and slowly becoming
more receptive to the advice proffered him by Babel.

Finally, the gods conspired to place a hook in the bait that They were
feeding to Ellodin. In a great working that took five full days and five
full nights, Babel forged a black gauntlet from the ancient stones of
His caverns. Working with supernatural precision, He carefully plunged
it through every manner of flame and sorcery, diligently purging it of
the Chaotic taint that would reveal its origin to searching eyes. When
He was finished, the artefact was pure and unblemished enough even to
fool the superficial inspection of another god, though it remained
entirely a divine tool of the Lord of Oblivion alone. Whipping across
the land like a foul wind, Babel deposited the gauntlet in a secret
chamber beneath a mound in the Northreach Forest.

Meanwhile, Apollyon sent a number of His daemons to harangue the city of
Shallam, claiming that they were exacting retribution for the recent
series of victories orchestrated by Ellodin. As the pressure on the city
mounted, Babel once more addressed the Archprelate in his tower.

"There is a powerful relic hidden in the barrows of Northreach, forged
long ago to assist the Archprelates in battling demons," the figure
intoned serenely. "The only condition is that, once worn, it cannot ever
again be removed."

Without hesitation, Ellodin assembled a Church expedition that travelled
to the northern forest and, after much searching, retrieved the gauntlet
placed there by Babel. Gnawing suspicion still lingered in his heart,
however, and so he did not wear the item immediately. Instead, he
delayed, taking it before the Gods of Light one at a time to inspect. In
each case, however, Ellodin carefully concealed Babel's role in its
discovery. With that crucial fact hidden from Them, the Gods of Light
gave the gauntlet only a superficial examination, finding nothing
immediately suspicious about the item.

Ellodin finally withdrew to his tower, taking the gauntlet with him. As
he sat considering it, fraught with indecision, he looked out his window
and saw that yet another group of daemons was swarming into the city,
brutally oppressing the defenders with their cruel blades. At the sight,
his eyes flashed with determination, and he strode forth from his
chamber. When he joined the defenders, the black gauntlet of Babel was
on his hand, and the daemons fell before him like stalks of wheat before
the harvester's sickle. He triumphed easily over the foe, and a surge of
elation filled him. He spent the remainder of the day delighting in the
powers of his new weapon, doing his best to forget the truth of its
connection to the God of Oblivion.

The next mission that Babel presented to the Archprelate, shortly
thereafter, was even more insidious. One of the lords of the Inferno,
the Daemon Duke Caraxis, had raised a rebellion against Apollyon.
Incredibly powerful within his own territory, this Infernal Prince had
resisted Apollyon's attempts to crush him for almost a century. His
defences, however, were not aimed towards the angelic powers of Light.
The priests of Apollyon, at His instruction, performed a ritual to open
a portal into Caraxis's demesne. Babel advised Ellodin of the location
of the portal, offering a chance to strike against a mighty daemon.
Ellodin, unquestioning, immediately led a Church expedition to the
portal, slaughtering the Mhaldorian ritualists. They passed through the
portal and descended upon Caraxis, overwhelming his guards with the
power of Babel's gauntlet, and slaying him after a brief struggle. The
group returned to Shallam triumphant, unaware that they had just won a
great victory for the Gods of Evil.

The moment finally came, however, when Babel pushed Ellodin too far, and
the Archprelate refused Him. Flying into a rage, the ancient god
promised to destroy him utterly, threatening to reveal all that the
Archprelate had done thus far. Ellodin stood firm, unwilling to
acquiesce to Babel's demands. The god departed in fury, flames wreathing
His immortal form as He vanished into thin air.

A few months later, the god made good on His threats. With a roar that
shook the heavens, He called Pentharian, the God of Valour, to meet Him
at the Shrine of Ascension. There, before an assembled crowd, Babel
summoned the Archprelate and cast him to the ground at Pentharian's
feet. With a snarl rumbling in His voice, He intoned: "Behold, God of
Valour, the Archprelate. Look upon the gauntlet that adorns his wrist --
a sign of his covenant with Me."

The entirety of Ellodin's betrayal was presented to the God of Valour in
a surge of power, confirmed by the sudden revelation of the gauntlet's
true nature. In an instant, Pentharian knew all that had transpired, and
His ire filled the sky with ominous flashes of light. He denounced the
fallen Archprelate in thunderous tones, casting him out from the holy
Church and declaring him a traitor to all that the Light stood for. The
assembled crowd looked on in awe as the god's righteous fury raged, and
Babel and Apollyon departed in triumph.

Penned by My hand on the 24th of Phaestian, in the year 502 AF.