The small village of Riverbend was located on the shore of a wide channel section of the Orange River (one of six rivers that used to run from the Great Divide, eventually creating the Flowing Rainbow. This river is now long dried up and had its place taken by the now Great River). The people of this village were of simple nature, surviving mostly off the nutrients that the river provided. All-in-all the villagers lead simple lives, not attempting to meddle in the affairs of the mages and warriors within the surrounding cities. However, one man, whose name has long since been forgotten, was intrigued by the power and respect that being a magician came with.
He was sick of being just a mere fisherman, so therefore began to travel every cycle to the nearby cities in order to begin his studies. However, being of a less-than-modest background, no guild or society or sect would take him under their wing. After being rejected time after time after time again, he decided that the only way to become a powerful mage was to do it on his own. He would barter with the young trainees for copies of their books and scripts, while using the wealth that he stole from his village to buy the necessary alchemical supplies from the seedy parts of the public. He managed to keep his studies a secret for decades, until there was a call to arms for a gathering against the centaur tribes that were constantly attacking the human city of Veldarush (the starting grounds for the now powerful Keldaerin). The mage took this as his chance to prove himself, and began digging through his spellbook. He chose to summon an elemental that he thought he could command to destroy the centaurian tribes once and for all.
The problem with taking your studies from the copied sheets of a young apprentice is that not everything is always the most accurate. Instead of the earthen creature that would obey his every word, a giant pit of darkness and black fire arose from the ground, and in the midst of it a balor appeared. In his anger he slew the summoner and half of the village, then turning the undead against the survivors. The creatures left from this exchange were caught between an existence of life and death, and now under the servitude of a lieutenant to the demon prince Baphomet. Once the carnage was through, the recruits of the demon prince were left to pay for the misgivings of one. The one who summoned the balor begged for forgiveness for the demon and asked if there was anything that they could do to stay out of service. The demon struck a deal and told him that, so long as they kept recruiting soldiers for his army, that they would not have to serve. All they would have to do is sacrifice ten people around the time of the Demon Moon for the rest of eternity.
