Kryssmun

Kryssmun was a champion of good during The Six Circles catastrophe. During this time, he also became a tragic example of a fallen paladin. His tale would be passed on to many generations of paladins as a tale of how evil can corrupt the soul.

Kryssmun would later dedicate himself to become a positive influence in The Nine Hells, leading a group known as the Last Bastion.

Description
Kryssmun appeared fairly typical for a Yaksha. A tall humanoid with a distinctly canine physiology. He had solid blue eyes and a coat of light grey fur that denoted his celestial heritage. His fur swept back into somewhat of a mane that traveled from his scalp to his back.

Kryssmun almost always dressed in full armor or some other uniform to display his martial prowess and his unwavering loyalty to whatever divine being he had pledged himself to at the time. Notably he always wore a full helmet with an elongated visor to accommodate his canine facial structure.

After his death, Krismun was reborn in hell and took on many characteristics of Hell Hounds. His eyes turned a molten orange and his mane was replaced by a smoldering flame. His skin was desiccated and charred from his exposure to the Seventh Ring's heat.

Personality
In the beginning, Kryssmun was an unwavering force for good. While he could often be brash and headstrong, it was never out of a desire to prove himself, but rather out of an unwavering enthusiasm to spread good and destroy evil. Like all paladins, he lived by a strict code of chivalry and dedicated himself to practicing all eight virtues of Heaven. Due to his unwavering dedication, Kryssmun had a tendency to become blind to shades of morality, seeing everything in a binary.

Ultimately, his obsession with protecting the Mortal Realm proved to be his undoing as a paladin. During the events of The Six Circles he became disenchanted with the side of good, believing that evil was more efficient at achieving its goals. His dedication to protecting the realm remained unchanged, but his personality became more impatient and brutal as time wore on. This, however, also resulted in a deep self-loathing despite refusing to repent for his misdeeds done in the name of protecting others.

Being unable to repent in life, after a long period of torment in Hell, Kryssmun rededicated himself to rediscovering the goodly traits that he had cast aside, such as compassion and mercy. He chose to use his punishment as a method to repent and bring good to where it was needed most: Hell itself.

Early Life
Krismun was one of the second generation born after The Return, when the Yakshas had come to earth to battle the demonic Rakshasas. Since the war had already ended peacefully, Kryssmun and the rest of his generations were allowed to explore other possibilities, though his parents greatly encouraged him to celebrate his heavenly roots. As such, Krismun's training to become a paladin was not only natural, but started at a very young age.

Despite his comparatively freakish appearance, the Holy Order of Kerrington was happy to train a boy with celestial blood. As predicted, he was naturally gifted in the fields of both theology and martial ability. As he grew so did his skill, and he was able to carry himself with a huge amount of self-confidence that managed to never reach so far as to become pride. His ability became inspirational to the other paladins, who grew much more swiftly than Kryssmun did but nonetheless still looked up to his example.

He was given the title of a full knight at the young age of 40, and would continue to impress his superiors. He became infamous for turning down awards and honors but continued serving the kingdom faithfully, traveling to all of its borders on missions to combat evil.

The Six Circles
When Demons started rampaging, Kryssmun doubled his efforts to contain the outbreak, but it seemed to be of no use. Eventually he got a personal summons from a loremaster named Kalimos, who told him the secret of the Six Circles and their guardians, who must all be defeated to end a disastrous ritual. Paired with Kenpin Xi'angjing and Raskolnokov, he set out on a quest to defeat the guardians.

Throughout the quest, Kryssmun found his faith tested. After having to face a mentally-ill woman, a crippled old man, a sickly girl, and finally an honorable man who sold his soul, he was at his limits. What broke him, however, was the revelation that Kalimos was a Psychophage in disguise and the people he had hunted down were in fact preventing the Old Ones from exploiting a tear in the fabric of the universe.

Furious over the betrayal and the seeming incompetence of the forces of "good", Kryssmun renounced his faith. In desperation, he turned to the artists of the Six Circles and contacted the Devil Lord Mephistopheles. The Devil Lord was eager to make a deal in order to counteract the loss of the Circles, and so Kryssmun pledged himself to evil, becoming a vile Blackguard. Abandoning his comrades, Kryssmun waged a one-man war against Kalimos's forces for over a year, eventually picking up a few recruits along the way. His good nature soon soured into bitter resentment, becoming more and more brutal and evil as time wore on.

When Ken and Rask returned to him one day, he chose to aid them in one last attempt at killing Kalimos. They battled their way to the cathedral Kalimos had taken over and did battle with the Eldritch mage. Kryssmun's fall turned out to be a blessing in disguise as the three performed a synchronized burst of power, Kryssmun's Infernal energy conflicting with both the Celestial and Eldritch energies that the other two possessed. This caused the portal to collapse into a hole between realities. Kryssmun ran Kalimos through and shoved him into the portal, supposedly trapped for eternity.

After their victory, Kryssmun chose to retreat from the world, knowing that his new allegiance would cause conflict. Rask chose to accompany him and the two began wandering in secret. Still, Mephisto owned his soul and there was still much work to be done...

The Arachnis War
Kryssmun continued to work for the Nine Hells, rarely involving Rask unless it was absolutely necessary. As a reward for his service and his victory over Kalimos, he was gifted a mighty blade known as an All-Devourer. He would go on to use this blade to harvest the souls of his enemies for several centuries, often falling into states of catatonic depression that not even threats from his Infernal masters could rouse him from. It was quickly found that he was rather selective of what duties he would bear, outright refusing some tasks despite threats against his soul. Thankfully for him, his strength was too valuable to lose and Mephisto tailored his missions accordingly.

It was through chance that, during The Arachnis War, Mephisto charged him with aiding a vampire lord named Duroth for unknown reasons. He and Rask, now inseparable if not vitriolic friends, stood guard and acted as jailers for the depraved vampire lord. It was only until his encounter with a group of heroes including Garrett Karas, Vic Graveblade, Connor Lightwing, and Ivan the redcap did he finally meet his match.

Kryssmun fought well and used all manner of dirty tricks, slaying and consuming Vic's soul during the fight, but was finally killed by Garrett using a sneak attack coupled with a holy smite. Kryssmun laughed, finding it ironic that Garrett had managed to keep his paladin-granted powers despite being even more underhanded than the Blackguard. Kryssmun died, and due to his pact, fell directly into Hell.

Afterlife
Mephisto was not amused by Kryssmun's stubbornness in life, and sought to torture his independence out of him. For countless years Kryssmun was burned in Hellfire, taking on the appearance of a humanoid Hell Hound. However, he was not so easily broken, the former paladin finding some solace that he met his end at the hands of a holy warrior and thus felt he deserved his fate. Eventually, he decided that he could still repent, even if he could never see heaven again. The act of doing good was itself a reward, and there was no place that needed light more.

Kryssmun eventually broke free of his prison and went on the run. Over many years of hiding and laying low, he encountered quite a few souls that had been wrongfully imprisoned in the Inferno. With the help of a Devil named Ardat, he started shepherding them away from the Nine Rings and toward the Abyss, where the Devils held no jurisdiction. The Abyss was not much safer, but had many places to hide and regroup. He and his group of followers managed to build a fortified location where the damned could rest in relative comfort.

Soon, a number of damned souls, repentant Devils, and misfit Demons called the place home, helping each other find the strength to overcome their afflictions and finally shed some good in the deepest pits of evil. Kryssmun named the fort The Last Bastion, and has been its most stalwart and loyal defender as well as de facto leader.

Skills and Abilities
Martial Skill: Kryssmun was a master swordsman, favoring a simple but effective sword-and-shield fighting style in his early days. He chose to strike a balance between offense and defense, which was further complimented by his use of plate-mail. His swordsmanship would prove to be his most constant and dependable skill in combat, with his other abilities simply enhancing his capabilities. After receiving his All-Devourer, Kryssmun forwent the use of a shield, both to enhance his offensive ability and out of a disregard for his safety, brought on by his self-loathing.

 Divine Magic:  As a paladin, Kryssmun could channel the raw divine power of his god, Argos, into miracles. Most often his magical abilities took one of two shapes. The first was his ability to mend wounds and treat ailments with a single touch, a spell shared by almost all paladins. More commonly he displayed his power to channel his blade with a Holy Smite, sheathing the blade in divine light and causing it to deal more grievous wounds to Devils and those with evil hearts. Kryssmun would permanently lose these abilities once he fell from grace.

 Unholy Magic:  After his fall, Kryssmun was granted a number of boons by his Infernal masters to replace the ones he'd sacrificed. One such power was the ability to summon a massive Hellsteed to use as he wished. Mephisto granted him the power to breathe Hellfire, and channel his blade with an Unholy Smite as the polar opposite to his previous Holy Smite ability. Instead of treating wounds, he could worsen them, or progress diseases if he chose. Finally, after becoming even more versed in Divine Magic, he could manipulate his shadow and cause it to deliver attacks for him onto unwary foes. Again, Kryssmun would lose these powers once he died and Mephisto revoked his boons.

Relationships
Kenpin Xi'angjing: Early on, Kryssmun got along well with Ken, finding the man's Kajiwaran wisdom to be interesting. They became fast and close friends in little time, sharing tales and good humor. They both had a similar high moral standing, although Kryssmun would often mistake Ken's unwillingness to immediately act as a lack of conviction. This difference in methodology would be the main strain between them until Kryssmun's fall. Kryssmun would then see Ken as a spineless slave, although after their joined defeat of Kalimos Kryssmun once again found respect for the monk. It was this respect and Ken's refusal to condemn him that fueled the most doubt, lingering long after the human's death.

Raskolnokov: Conversely, Kryssmun found Rask insufferable during their early time together. Insane, violent, and almost idiotic, Kryssmun disliked Rask on almost every level, going out of his way to spend a little time with him as possible. he also found Rask's antics rather annoying (such as naming a pet undead monkey after him) and would never humor his insane ramblings. In the days leading up to his fall, he slowly started to warm up to the madman, which made him fear he was going insane as well. By the time the portal was sealed, Kryssmun had grown attached to the big lug, finding his insane innocence a welcome reprieve from the well-planned evil he was now dealing with. They would continue to be close friends despite the Blackguard's constant verbal abuse, even up until Kryssmun's death.

Ardat: While at first Ardat only chose to help him in order to subvert her rivals' plans, the Pit Fiend slowly but surely started to find herself inspired by Kryssmun's actions in Hell. With his newfound perspective, Kryssmun encouraged her to embrace her positive actions, much to her annoyance. He believes that, deep down, Ardat and every other thinking thing has a spark of good, even if it does not come naturally to them. After convincing her to join The Last Bastion officially, he's grown to understand that she is fighting against her better nature constantly, and is careful not to push her too far.

Trivia

 * Kryssmun was reportedly the first Yaksha to have ever turned against the gods, though more would occasionally follow in his footsteps.