Ackal Ergot (2650 PC - 2595 PC) was the founder of the Ergoth Empire and a warrior of great renown in the early days of Krynn. Born in the village of Sanction (which later grew into a dark city), Ackal Ergot became an adventurer in the wake of the Second Dragon War. Many legends have surfaced over time about his early exploits, which included slaying an entire tribe of Bakali single-handed, capturing a dragon known as Blackwyrm who tempered his sword with dragonbreath, and facing off against a dark priest known as Raekel. However the most significant journey that Ackal would undertake, was when he traveled into the Sentinel Mountains and came across the mystical artifact known as the World's Heart. From the strange artifact he received a vision of how he would unite the Khalkist barbarian tribes into a vast empire.
The adventurer returned to Sanction and then led a number of expeditions back to the World's Heart, where he took a number of treasures from the ancient Ogre cities surrounding the World's Heart, as well as make himself known to the barbarian tribes of the Khalkist Mountains. Using the treasures he had discovered, Ackal begun to bribe many of the tribal chieftains, winning them to his side. Those tribes who opposed him were crushed by the might of his sword and his loyal followers. His brother Bazan Ergot came to rule one of the many barbarian tribes in these early days, whilst his brother defeated all other tribes or forced them to join him.
Ackal became known as Ackal the Great, and was a monstrously large and powerful man. He was served by a band of loyal followers, chief of which was the warrior Tolandruth (not to be confused with Tolandruth of Juramona, who would appear in the kingdom centuries later). However Ackal was also known to have killed most of his comrades and friends in his fits of rage, and garnered a reputation for beheading those who served beneath him. He also was reputed to be a great savage, who drank blood from the skulls of his enemies, and was portrayed as a fearsome and beastly man, to strike fear into the hearts of his foes.
Seeking to unite the lands around him, Ackal slew the Lord of the Western Hundred, and claimed the lord's beautiful wife Balalana for himself. Balalana became his queen, and was kept locked away in Ackal's fortress, so other men could not taint her. Eventually there was only one tribe left which did not bow to Ackal, the nomadic barbarians who served under Bazan Ergot. As Bazan would not kneel to his brother, the pair fought a bloody duel to the death, which ultimately resulted in the death of Bazan.
By 2600 PC, Ackal Ergot had made Daltigoth his home, and the seat of his new empire, which he named Ergoth. He also named himself the Emperor of Ergoth, and the warriors who served under him as all being the Riders of the Great Horde, and the new nobility of the land. Balalana was elevated to Empress of Ergoth, and his other wives were the Princess Consorts. The empire expanded slightly and then settled under the new ruler and his warlords, however the reign of Emperor Ackal Ergot would only be short. Five years later, the emperor fell down a flight of stairs in his newly constructed Imperial Palace and died in 2595 PC, leaving the empire to his sons.
Inconsistencies[]
The death of Ackal Ergot has several stories. One was that the emperor was in a drunken stupor and tripped on his own cape, sending him awkwardly down the staircase; whilst another was that assassins pushed him down the stairs. Another final report was that he was killed in the saddle whilst fighting battles on the borders of Ergoth. One source said he made it past his seventieth year and declared Daltigoth his capital that year.
References[]
- A Warrior's Journey, p.254-255
- The Wizard's Fate, p.145-146, 232-233
- Tales of the Lance, The World Book of Ansalon, p.19
- Heroes of Defiance, Book One, p.59-60
- The Seventh Sentinel (Novel), p. 11