GHILKYN

Real Name: Ghilkyn

Class: Extradimensional (Awadakan)

Occupation: Prince of the Thousand Hills

Group Affiliation: None

Known Relatives: None

Aliases: None

Base of Operations: Pytharia, formerly Awadaka

First Appearance: Claw the Unconquered #4 (December, 1975)

Powers: Ghilkyn dabbled in sorcery, and could open portals to other dimensions. He was an exceptional swordsman and horseback rider.

History: (Claw the Unconquered #4) - Ghilkyn found his entire dimension boring, and dabbled in sorcery, revealing to him the existance of other dimensions. He traveled to Pytharia, but passed through the netherworld on the way there, and ended up with small demon horns. At the trading post of Kall-Ryn-Dassa he saw Claw the Unconquered being attacked by villagers looking to collect a bounty set by the evil King Occulas. Ghilkyn couldn't stand an unfair fight, and helped Claw fight them off until their numbers swelled, and they were forced to retreat. On their way to another village they saw a young woman named Cybilyth who was bound and about to be executed by the village priest for witchcraft. They saved her, but a portal opened and discharged the demon N'Hglthss. The true culprit of the witchcraft was King Occulus' mage Miftung, who was opening portals to the netherworld to summon demons to destroy Claw. Claw and Ghilkyn found their swords had little effect against the giant, who was still dazed from dimensional travel. Claw stuck a speak in the demon's foot, and when he tried to walk he toppled over. The demon would recover, and Cybilyth directed them to the cave of the sorcerer Asvitar, The Burning Man , who once had contact with the Elder Gods, and had great knowledge of the occult. Asvitar told them of the magic sword Moonthorn, the only weapon capable of slaying the demon. It was Claw's by right, but his enemies hid it in the nether void, and split the Grimstone, which opened the void, into three pieces. Claw didn't think the quest worth it, as he had little love for the world, but when N'Hglthss awoke and started killing villagers he attacked the monster, and and managed to make him flee. Claw told his new friends he was ready to seek the Grimstone.

(Claw the Unconquered #5) - Claw and Ghilkyn sought the first fragment of the Grimstone in Varcanum, and had to fight off monsters, including a Cyclops summoned by Miftung. The occult scholar Safa Ghul had the fragment, and in return for it he asked for the ruby eyes of a nearby occult oracle. Claw said he could just take the fragment by force, but Ghul showed him an alchemist brew that he could dissolve the Grimstone in if Claw tried. They found the Oracle's shrine, and a girl named Mlrssa claimed to be the Oracle's slave, and showed them a body drained of all life, saying that was the fate of invaders. They did not heed her, and found the Oracle, a statue of a dragon. Energy came from its ruby eyes, and it summoned a giant crustacean guardian. Claw maneuvered himself under the creature, so he could stab it in its' unprotected underbelly. Mlrssa said she was free now, and told Ghilkyn he deserved a reward. He gladly accepted her kiss, but the life began to drain from him, and Claw forced her from him. She revealed herself as a manifestation of the Oracle. Claw fought her off while Ghilkyn pried out the statue's eyes, destroying the Oracle's essence. Ghul was pleased with the transaction, but when he attempted to access the Oracle's knowledge by placing the rubies over his eyes the power destroyed him. Claw felt no sadness for the man's death, seeing his actions as pure hubris.

(Claw the Unconquered #6) - Claw and Ghilkyn rescued a girl from brigands on their way to Dhylka-Ryn, where the second Grimstone fragment was located,. The girl was named Pfylahna, and she was from Dhylka-Ryn, which was suffering from a curse. Her former friend Kurah Shan had discovered the Grimstone, and using its power summoned monsters and cast the village into eternal twilight for the way the villagers had persecuted him for his weakness in the past. Claw was interested in the Grimstone, not the reward of gold she offered, but begrudgingly agreed he could end the curse. Pfylahna's father was displeased with her champions, calling them a fop and a half-naked savage. Ghilkyn stopped Claw before he attacked the man. Claw and Ghilkyn entered Shan's mystically created temple, and fought monsters they'd dispatched in the past. Ghilkyn figured out that Shan had summoned them by reading the heroes fears, and they both found the willpower to stop being afraid; causing the monsters to vanish. They confronted Shan, who summoned black flames to destroy them. As death neared Claw went into a trance, removed his glove, and revealed his demonic hand. The hand summoned a portal that sucked up the flames, and Claw regained control of himself. Shan was afraid and fled, but ended up accessing his own fears of the villagers who tormented him, and his summoned fears killed him. Claw retrieved his Grimstone fragment, more determined than ever to learn his own origins. Pfylahna mourned her former friend, but her father didn't care, and Claw gladly punched him out before taking leave of the village.

(Claw the Unconquered #7) - Claw and Ghilkyn sought the last fragment in Karth, and while crossing the Lake of Hands, they were attacked by living seaweed conjured by Miftung. Occulas was displeased that the hero was getting closer to his goal, but nothing he had Miftung summon could stop him. Claw used lantern fuel to set the seaweed ablaze, but he heroes boat was also set on fire. They were rescued by Trefalion, and his people the Heshanoy, who took them aboard their boat, and led them to their magic undersea kingdom. The Heshanoy were a technologically advanced race, and created their kingdom to be isolated from the outside world. The final Grimstone fragment powered their kingdom, and the heroes tried to explain why it was absolutely necessary that they take it, but Trefalion would not hear of it. Claw was determined to know his origins, and the nature of his hand, so he was determined to take the fragment, even if it resulted in the deaths of the Heshanoy. Ghilkyn could not allow this, and dueled with his friend until a Heshanoy child asked them to stop fighting, and Claw realized how cruel it would be to destroy such a peaceful race. Miftung sent a sea creature to attack Claw, and the heroes destroyed it. The Heshanoy realized that violence was inescapable, and after taking the heroes to the surface Trefalion presented them with the fragment. He dove back to his kingdom, which perished undersea. They'd chosen death over living in a world of violence. The heros pieced together the Grimstone and entered the void.

(Claw the Unconquered #8) - Claw and Ghilkyn found themselves in the alien dimension of the 7th Void, dominated by craggy boulders floating in space. The dimension rejected Ghilkyn’s presence and he vanished, leaving a void behind in his place. Claw found the Moonthorn, but it was guarded by Mahan K’handa, an agent of the Dark Gods. Claw defeated K’handra and claimed what was rightfully his. The Shadow-God spoke to him, saying they were destined to meet in combat because their fates were intertwined.

(Claw the Unconquered #9) - Claw and Ghilkyn found themselves back in Pytharia, and Claw noted that his Grimstone was gone. Ghilkyn told him not to worry, reasoning that it vanished because it had served its’ purpose. They saw destruction and ruin all around them, and knew they must be close to the rampaging N’Hglthss. They were approached by a young woman, who asked them to save her father, who refused to leave his village even though N’Hglthss was destroying it, and when he wouldn’t listen to reason Claw physically dragged him to safety. Claw and Ghilkyn confronted N’Hglthss, and Claw crippled him with Moonthorn by severing his Achilles tendons. The demon flailed in pain, and Claw plunged Moonthorn into his chest, sending the demon back to the dimension from which he came. The Elder Gods of Light took Claw to their realm to reveal that he was their champion in their battle against the Shadow-Gods and their servants. Claw refused to be anyone’s pawn and shattered Moonthorn before taking his leave of the Elder Gods. Claw told Ghilkyn he’d learned from the Elder Gods that King Occulas had slain his father, so he vowed revenge, but had to go his own way, and hoped he’d see Ghilkyn again one day in this world or the next.

Comments: Created by David Michelinie & Ernie Chan.

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