Blackthorne

Blackthorne was a human Paladin of Nemesis who was eventually corrupted and joined the cult of Scrix.

History
Born in 1422, Blackthorne was initiated at a young age at the temple of Nemesis and partook in many quests for the cause of justice. In 1444, Blackthorne confronted a Young Red Dragon that had been preying on livestock and scorching the fields of the peasants who lived nearby. The Dragon was slain, but the left side of Blackthorne's face was hideously burned and he was blinded in his left eye. As a reward for his bravery, he was given the deeds to a Tower, which he travelled to in 1445.

When he arrived at the tower, which was actually a defunct temple of Scrix, Blackthorne met an archmage named Torlor Dathrak, who told him of the demon lord who promised arcane power and forbidden knowledge to all who served him. Dathrak convinced Blackthorne to join him on a quest to find the memoirs of Acererak, which contained extensive lore about the Negative Plane. The two of them located the memoir, which was stored in the castle of Lysander Titanblood. They entered the castle and were attacked by guards, who Blackthorne was forced to kill in self-defense. After this, Dathrak recruited the disgraced paladin to the Cult of Scrix.

Blackthorne functioned as the primary enforcer of the Cult of Scrix, and was single-handedly responsible for the massacre at the monastery of the Dawnfather, which ended with him stealing the Ring of the Elder Elemental Eye.

In late 1453, Blackthorne heard from one of his agents (who was inadvertently tipped off by the drunken boasts of Grub) that the orb had been recovered and immediately set out to claim it. Discovering that the group of students who had discovered the orb were still at the Royal Green Dragon Academy, Blackthorne sent a Maw Demon to eliminate them. The demon managed to kill and devour Rose, but it was slain and the students escaped. Blackthorne would encounter the students again after their escape from the Keepers of the Unseen Flame. Demanding that they turn over the orb, he dueled with Xendon, easily overpowering the young sorcerer. Just as he was about to strike the killing blow, however, Julia Stormwhisper appeared in earth elemental form and defeated him.

Blackthorne traveled to the city of Heraldur where he had an audience with King Thoradin, where he revealed that he was in possession of the deeds to a tower on the outskirts of the city. After confirming that he was the legal owner of the tower, Blackthorne traveled there, hoping to lure the students to him. Blackthorne's ambush worked well as the students, upon their arrival in Heraldur, denounced him to King Thoradin. The skeptical king sent them to Blackthorne's tower to collect evidence. When the students arrived at the tower, Blackthorne send a Glabrezu and a Hezrou after them, stalked Grub, who had entered the tower, and stole the orb from him. He then took the orb to the altar in the highest room of the tower and prepared the ritual to supplant the magic gods with Scrix. Before he could complete this ritual, the students, along with Karmiir Metalmace, managed to defeat the demons and interrupt the ritual. As Scrix sought to draw power from the Orb, the students attacked Blackthorne. Although he managed to severely injure Xendon, Grub, and Agnes, James managed to kill Blackthorne and used the fallen Paladin's sword to destroy the altar. When the altar was destroyed, Blackthorne's dying body crumbled into dust and Scrix's essence was trapped within the orb, blemishing its otherwise smooth surface. Shortly after his death, Blackthorne's tower collapsed and James buried his remains in an urn near the ruins.

At some point in 1454, Blackthorne, unable to rest until he atoned for his sins, rose as an undead. Blaming Torlor Dathrak and Scrix for his fate, Blackthorne, now a Death Knight, set out to claim vengeance.