Creature:U'thaam

"A great festering darkness; it pulled us closer to itself. And then the sound - the sound of doom cracking open and hell pouring through, giving way to great heat. The heat of a thousand suns that turned the hardiest of my men into ash and bone. And then I saw it. The maw of infernal doom looked upon me, but I was fortunate enough to escape. Past darkness and fire, the creature returned to dwell in its abyss."

- Account of Kai Sagesworn, c. 500 BNA

The U'thaam, known also as the Infernal Dooms are immense and ancient Fire s, twisted into evil by during the earliest eras of the Aethereal Firmament. Many of them were imprisoned by the ancient races in times long forgotten, although over the course of history, some of the U'thaam's shackles have been broken - allowing them to fester in the deepest recesses of the world.

History
The U'thaam are among Koldenwelt's eldest Fire Elementals, existing on Koldnewelt's surface before the rise of civilisation. During the Sundering of Time - a cataclysm of ' making that had resulted in the annihilation of the, the Simulacrum of Destruction sought to distort and convert others to his cause on Koldenwelt. Whilst many mortals were effortlessly swayed to the Adversary's might, Elementals and Colossi proved much more difficult. Nevertheless, the Adversary had succeeded in transforming many of the elder Elementals on Koldenwelt to darkness - the U'thaam were the greater hierarchy of the Fire Elementals that Caligaduro Provectus had succeeded in creating.

For several centuries, the U'thaam - an ancient name for these beasts - terrorised Koldenwelt - purging entire forests and destroying entire civilisations. Only by the efforts of the ancient races of Koldenwelt, the U'thaam were eventually lured and trapped deep underneath Koldenwelt's lands, encased in vast prisons and magically sealed with such strength that the U'thaam could not free themselves of. However, as time passed and these civilisations fell to the Void or time itself, the magic that kept them imprisoned weakened. Some of these prisons over the course of history were broken into by s and setting them loose, but as time passed, some U'thaam found the strength to break free of them.

It was not known as to how many U'thaam were created by Caligaduro Provectus and there is little to no record as to where they were imprisoned; although some imply that several U'thaam were sealed in the Sea of Sand due to the sparsely populated and desolate climate that would make them so difficult to find. The methods of imprisoning or even killing an U'thaam have long been forgotten, and those who remember their existence dread the day that they find the power to regain their numbers.

Appearance
The U'thaam are massive creatures; accounts of legend indicate that they were of greater size than most dragons although not as large as s or elder dragons, and easily could tower over most buildings or crush them underneath their feet. As elementals of an evil nature, twisted by the Adversary, the U'thaam are creatures breathed in both flame and darkness, and exude a sense of great terror wherever they walk. It was thought that each U'thaam appeared unique, and thus each one had a certain name given to them by the Adversary.

Behaviour
Beings driven to destroy all that they see, the U'thaam were subservient to Caligaduro Provectus and carry out the Simulacrum of Destruction's will accordingly. Entirely belligerent to all life on Koldenwelt, it is the very purpose of the U'thaam to annihilate all in their path. Despite this, the U'thaam know friend from foe; they did not actively destroy those also underneath Caligaduro Provectus' service, although the U'thaam's short and explosive temperament did not save potential allies from their wrath should they have been roused to anger.

Abilities
It is not entirely foretold of the abilities of the U'thaam, but it was once believed that an U'thaam set upon a city can raze it to nothing but ashes; and entire armies were able to be vaporised by them should they have encountered one. As exceptionally powerful Elementals, very few possessed the strength or knowledge to kill one, and thus most or even all of those that were defeated were in fact imprisoned instead of destroyed. As beings of both darkness and fire, the U'thaam had a strong aversion to the light; including sun magic, as well as an aversion to the water. It was known that the U'thaam had no weakness in environments, although knew to fear the seas.

Quotes
"My predecessor's predecessor had fought an U'thaam. They indeed succeeded in entrapping the demon underneath the earth, but he had lost his life in the process. For a warrior as great as he was to have been killed in a fight against those creatures must have meant that they brought true calamity to whatever they saw."