Tale of the Original Hellride
As shared by Reya Mantlemorn.
"It was several centuries past that the great troubles began. Fiends roamed the lands to the north and west of Elturel. Fields were despoiled, livestock slaughtered, homes razed, and people dragged off to a terrible and unknowable fate. Terror gripped the hearts of all.
"The city’s cavalry rode across the land, striking down fiends wherever they found them and suffering fearful losses. But it was never enough. For every fiend they destroyed, it seemed as though two more appeared elsewhere. The ruler of Elturel, the High Rider, asked his people to pray to the gods for aid. To everyone’s astonishment, a mighty angel entered the city the next day. The prayers of Elturel had been heard, and help had come.
"The angel located the gate through which the fiends were entering the natural world, and declared that she would lead the cavalry to the gate, destroying the infernal host that was amassing there, closing the portal to Hell, and striking a great blow against the forces of darkness.
"The High Rider went out with the riders of Elturel, now numbering many thousands, with the angel at their head riding a great golden mastodon. With a great cry, the amassed army charged the gate, but the trickery of the legions of Avernus knows no bounds, and they kidnapped the High Rider's lady love -- herself a soldier -- and carried her through the gate. As one, the angel and the Riders rode through the gate after her, charging into the heart of Hell itself.
"When they caught the cowardly legion at last, they managed to save the lady knight, but not without dire news -- a second legion was bearing down upon them, and this one would wipe them out surely; the one best hope was for some to delay the legion while the rest escaped. When asked for volunteers, however, to a man the Riders voted to stay and fight. The High Rider thus drew lots with his men to determine who would stay and buy time for the rest, and who would leave to warn of the treachery of Hell's legions.
"With the fates thus cast, a small number of Riders returned to the gate, while the High Rider, his lady love, and the angel bore down upon the blood legion. The battle was mighty, and the legion buckled, but they did not break; the High Rider, the lady, and the angel were defeated and never seen again, but they bought the time needed for a small remainder of the army of Elturel to return to the gate and pass through before it closed behind them.
"They returned to Elturel, singing dirges to their fallen comrades and their bravery, as well as that of the angel who saved them at the cost of her own divine life; great celebrations were made in honor of the fallen, and ever since, the armies of Elturel have been known as the Hellriders."
