The Archmage Iggwilv first made her presence known circa CY 460. Shortly thereafter, she conquered the fledgling nation of Perrenland, ruling it for a decade from her secret lair in the Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth.
It is often said that much of Iggwilv’s power came as a result of her discovery of that fell place and the treasures it contained. Nonetheless, power is what she had, and she used it well. Oddly, some learned historians claim that Iggwilv was an accomplished necromancer, even a specialist in that field. How these noted scholars substantiated such a theory is a mystery, for Iggwilv had long borne the reputation of one who associated with fiends, and such creatures were heavy among the ranks of her servants. The very fact that she managed to summon and bind Graz’zt himself would seem to suggest that conjuration, rather than necromancy, was her forte.
Iggwilv’s reliance on fiends to increase her power eventually caused her downfall. During the course of one of her malevolent rituals, she made a critical mistake that accidentally freed Graz’zt from his captivity, and a spectacular battle ensued. In the end, Iggwilv was triumphant, forcing Graz’zt to flee to his Abyssal home, but she paid a dear price for that victory. The wounds she suffered reached far beyond merely the physical, damaging her psyche to such a degree that much of her personal power was torn from her.
When the news of Iggwilv’s condition reached her oppressed subjects, they immediately took up arms and marched on her secluded abode. Her minions, realizing that the reign of their queen was ended, scattered before the oncoming armies and took with them the bulk of her amassed fortune. Among the items stolen by her former servants was the Nethertome.
For about 60 years, the Nethertome was absent from recorded history, its whereabouts and owner unknown. Then, in CY 521, it turned up in the library of Thillion “Flamefingers” Dern, an aged Bisselite mage who died without an heir. During the auction of Thillion’s belongings, the tome was sold to one Gelvin Torlar, a mage who, at the time he bought it, did not have the magical wherewithal to employ its secrets.
Surprisingly, Gelvin held the book against all comers, even in those early years when his personal might was lacking and those who wished to seize the tome for themselves assailed him on what seemed a weekly basis. By the end of the decade, however, the constant battle to hold the tome had exhausted Gelvin’s funds and magical resources, and he was forced to sell the Nethertome for a mere pittance, else starve or be slain in a spell duel. Although Gelvin made it known that the Nethertome had been sold, the actual transaction took place secretly. Thus, the buyer’s identity was never learned, and the Nethertome vanished once again.
Perhaps the most astounding moment in the Nethertome’s history came in the years just prior to the Greyhawk Wars. Iggwilv had returned, and with her was the Nethertome, though how she came into its possession is not clear (some believe it was she who purchased it from Gelvin). Worse still, she managed to recover most (if not all) of the power she lost in her battle with Graz'zt all those years ago, and she threw her lot in with Iuz.
Upon her reappearance, the Archmage Tenser set in Motion a series of events that would see to the recovery of the Crook of Rao, which Tenser himself unwittingly carried into one of Zagyg’s demiplanes, where he lost it. A band of adventurers was charged with recovering the Crook, and was able to do so and turn it over to Tenser, despite Iggwilv’s attempts to stop them.
Iggwilv was not so easily put off, and she renewed her practice of summoning fiends and binding them to her will. Why the Crook of Rao was not used to stop her (for such was the purpose for its recovery) is uncertain, though some whispers hint that whoever obtained the artifact from Tenser lost it thereafter which would explain the recent tales that suggest the Crook of Rao is in the possession of Drax the Invulnerable, Lord Protector of Rel Astra). By the time the Greyhawk Wars rolled around, Iggwilv had a sizeable force under her control, which she put at the disposal of Iuz.
Fortunately, Iggwilv had not learned from her old mistakes. Early in the Wars, she attempted to summon and bind Graz’zt once more, but Graz’zt, who had not forgotten Iggwilv’s previous transgression against him, was prepared. When he stepped through Iggwilv’s gate, he produced a unique magical device which sundered her protective circles and binding magic. It was here that Graz’zt captured and imprisoned his former consort, and despite the objections of Iuz, Graz’zt confined Iggwilv in the Abyss, where she remains to this very day.
Nonetheless, it is known that the Nethertome did not accompany her on the journey to her Abyssal prison, but the current whereabouts of the book cannot be confirmed. It is generally believed that luz turned it over to one of his Boneheart wizards, and most fingers point to Jumper or Null, as the Nethertome would be most useful to them in their work at Fleichshriver.
who is she and what is she all aboot?
