In times long passed, there was a duelmaster of tremendous skill and renown, a warrior called as Darius. However, once he had conquered the arenas of his homeland, the challenges became scarce, few and far between, and he was driven to seek greater challenges. He was accustomed to the company of kings, and it was one such member of the royalty that told him of the ultimate trial, an otherwordly arena spoken of in legend. So Darius sought out an invitation to the mythical Amphiseum, and little time passed before he gained entry into that prestigious ring.

However, it was not what he had anticipated. The foes he faced gave him that excitement he craved, the fame that would take him to greater heights, but though his skill was great, his pride dwarfed even that, and seeing the prowess of those he might battle, his ego was shaken to the core. Upon the stage of the Amphiseum, he wished to prove himself, but doubt crept like a shadow behind him. Finally, he could take no more sought a way to ease his mind, to restore his confidence. He needed to make a deal.

He approached a demon well known throughout the arena, a being whose seat was crafted from the bones of gamblers, Baa'Yial. Darius told the demon of his concerns and the demon smiled and told him he could grant Darius's desires. He gifted him a shield, promising he would never fall in battle so long as he had the shield. the price would simply be to become his champion. If he could win 100 consecutive battles in Baa'Yial's name, the demon would free him from his service.

Darius knew there had to be more to it than that, but the shield was only a precaution after all, the price not that high... He took the shield.

True to his word, Baa'Yial's shield was everything Darius wished for. It allowed him to fight as never before, freeing him of the concerns that had shackled him before, and he grew in fame and confidence. Victories continued to collect around him, nearing half his appointed task, and it seemed he would quickly rise to stand among the highest ranks of the Amphiseum, even among the power of the planeswalkers who ruled the ring.

Until he found a sword pressed to the hilt through his chest.

Stunned, he looked upon the blood flowing out of his chest until it stopped... and then rage took him. Robbed of his weapons, robbed of his senses, he beat his opponent to death with the shield that was meant to protect him and only as he stood over the shattered body of his opponent did the cold truth sink in. Darius was dead.... but Baa'Yial's promise held true. He had not fallen and in that moment fury shook through his undead flesh as he understood the cursed existence he had brought on himself. Nevertheless, his only hope lay in completing the task given to him.

With every victory following that, he felt more of himself waste away, replaced by the darkness that dwelled within. His flesh withered, improbably strong despite it. His soul was trapped in that mummifying shell, and all the joys of his life wasted away. Without the need to eat or sleep, without the ability to satiate anything save the bloodlust of the arena, it became his only purpose. The only thing left to him the freedom he was promised.

At last, that fateful 100th duel came and though it was a fierce match, it seemed to pass in a haze for Darius. He would at last know rest, and he climbed the steps to the pavilion given over to the demonic spectators. He stood before Baa'Yial's throne and demanded he be freed, but all that caused was a deep chortle from within Baa'Yial's corpulent form. He shook his head and told Darius that his task was scarcely over. Darius stood confused while the demon informed him that when he died, that was still considered a loss, even if he had beaten his opponent.

That dark rage swept through him once more and he leapt upon the demon. Baa'Yial fought back, but to his own shock, found his handiwork was perhaps too effectual. Darius proceeded to beat him to death with his bare hands, and standing over the shattered seat, he threw away the shield and demanded some way off the Amphiseum. Another demon, known as Lilin, took the shield as payment and offered him a chance to go anywhere he wished. He simply told her to find him someplace he could die and that was the last heard of Darius.

Lilin, for her part, handed the shield to her chosen, an immense golem, and dubbed it "Grim Vengeance". She said it seemed fitting.

In warmer times, when the glaciers did not hold the world in an icy grip, the great mountains were thrust out of mighty seas and upon the shores of one of those inland oceans stood the stronghold city of Cangrexo. Mightiest city state of its time, it was a jewel that many coveted. From the sea it was defended by a number of island strongholds, but from the shore it was utterly unassailable, surrounded by a great stone wall. Many times, it weathered the siege of invading armies, but none envied Cangrexo as much as the warlord Krios.

He had overseen over a dozen sieges, desperate to control the city, but never before had he managed to overcome the great walls. However, the evening before yet another attack, a great thunderstorm stirred in the skies above the sea, casting Cangrexos in pale fulgent flashes. Krios took it as a sign that they would finally succeed, and a great feast was thrown together. Perhaps it was foolish to celebrate before the battle, but his men needed a reason to fight, a reason to believe that they could take Cangrexos. However, the feast was interrupted as the dancing lightning reached a frenzied peak and from the clouds an immense body plummeted from the heavens.

With a resounding, world shaking crash of thunder and a tremendous cloud of dust, a body crashed to the ground. Approaching the crater, Krios found something he had only heard of in tales but had never seen. One of the great thunder wyrms, a sea dragon. It coughed wetly, blood pooling all around and Krios and his finest men climbed down into the dragon's grave. In a startling turn, it gazed his way and spoke.

It asked him what he sought, why he had come to see the mighty beast in its most humiliating moment. Krios told him it was not his intention, but they had seen the mighty battle, though they had scarcely understood how fierce it was. The sea dragon seemed amused at that, but told Krios that he would be better served flattering a being that was longer for the world. The warlord told him he could not think of anything he would rather do on the eve of such a great battle. He told the dragon of Cangrexos and his many attempts to break the city and with his last breaths, the sea dragon told him that if he truly wished to crack those walls, he could have done it easily. For his flattery then, the dragon told him to take a tooth from his mouth once he died and it would ensure his victory. It was not long after that the sea dragon's breath rattled and stilled for all time.

Krios wasted no time and had his men pull one of the beast's teeth, a task that took ten of his strongest men. The tooth was the size of a man's torso, sharper than a sword on one end and blunt upon the other. Not knowing what else to do, he commanded his armorer's to affix it to a haft and he would wield the weapon in battle the next day. They worked feverishly through the night, but upon the dawn, Krios had his maul. It was a crude thing, but he swung the hammer as if it hadn't taken many of his finest to carry the tremendous thing.

Raising it above his head with a bellow, Krios charged Cangrexos. Arrows rained about him, but he did not falter and with a might swing of the maul, he struck the wall with all his might. A resounding crack, like the earth opening or a thunder clap, echoed against the mountains and stunned silence reigned for several heartbeats. Then, with slow grace, like an avalanche, the wall broke and fell.

The invaders wasted no time and rushed the city, storming the grand chambers of its queen, and scarcely anyone dared stand in their way. The wall should not have fallen, they muttered in shock. It had been their greatest defense. In some ways, it had been their ONLY defense. The armies of Cangrexos did not occupy the city, but the island fortresses meant to repel attacks by the sea. It did not take long for them to surrender to their new king, all the will fleeing from the people of Cangrexos and at last Krios attained his goal.