The Hellmouth of the North

Since the Fall of Man, the borders between the worlds have been strained. When the perfect order of God was blighted by sin, it allowed creatures from Hell to escape their miserable domains where they had been condemned for their rebellion against YHWH. With the Ultimate Heresy, the borders of the worlds became even more worn, and tears in reality appeared, allowing some denizens of Hell to escape their just punishment, bringing misery to Earth. Thus it is no wonder that all cultures have tales of hunters in the dark – monsters that have come from another world to savage and consume ours.

But some cuts in the fabric of reality are deeper than others. In the vast coldness of the far North the borders of Creation sometimes give way, allowing a gaping Hellmouth to manifest itself in the physical world. Some say this Northern Gate stands at a cross-section of ley lines where men fell prostrate before craven images in the dark days. Others say that this was the place where angel Azazel fell in the most desolate of all regions of the world.

Though nothing but an insignificant miniature copy compared to the vile majesty of the true Hellgate of Jerusalem, the Hellmouth of the North still holds enough power to make the thrones of all the realms within the Arctic Ocean tremble. Hidden in the trackless wilderness of the Kola Peninsula the Gate appears for a brief few hours, in location and time, shifting with the mercurial power struggles of Hell itself. When such a time comes the skies turn red and a hail of brimstone burns everything it touches for miles around. As the gate yawns open, the unbearable heat of Hell reduces forests to cinders and the unearthly fumes turn animals into twisted monstrosities that rend each other and themselves in anguish. The Hellmouth then disgorges the hosts of the Court of the Seven-headed Serpent, coming to challenge the rule of God.

At such times those men of the North that have fallen to darkness gather under the banners of Hell and muster at the Gate. Combined warbands strike out and foe fires light the night sky of the North. The light of the Redeemer never shone as bright here, and many people still cling to their old ways and old gods. It is a bitter twist of irony that not all who fight for the Lords of Inferno see themselves as servants of evil. The devils know how to appear beautiful and noble in the eyes of their followers to deceive the humans. Many believe they are fighting for real gods to drive away the invaders.

The Hellmouth of the North never remains open for long. The Synod of Strategic Prophecy strives to predict the timing and the ever-shifting location of its next appearance, so that the Church of the North and the forces of the Kalmar Union, the Knightly Orders of the North and the Tsardom of Novgorod can muster to meet them in battle. It is a war often fought in the middle of winter, and the servants of the Court have proven to be just as adept at using intense cold and ice as well as hellfire in their war against the Faithful of the North. These incursions tie up the greater part of the strength of the people here, which otherwise could be used to bolster the main theatre of war in the Levant. And whilst thus far each invasion has been defeated, they have all left their mark in trackless forests and endless tundra – remnants of monsters lurk in the dark forests and forbidding hills, waiting for the call to arms that is sure to come next time the Hellmouth of the North gapes open.

There is another, deeper concern that the War Cardinal holds about the Northern Gate and why his personal servants keep vigil over it. Ziminiar, one of the royalty of fallen angels, is also the devil of the North. The Council of Saints has issued a dire warning to the Princes of the Church: if this scion of Hell ever becomes the Serpent Head of Pride, he will come to claim the North as his own, and mountains will tremble at his passing.