For the past few years, each of the waves we have unveiled at our annual G-con broadcast event have revealed one of the ancient dark powers of Mythoss. These are characters who represent the four specific horrors of at the heart of the Realm’s destruction. Atop their gruesome steeds, they are quite literally the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
War came first, as the fiery Arethyr was the first of these ancient evils to return. Famine came next in the form of the vampiric goddess known as Illythia. Summoned back to Mythoss via the return of weapons they once wielded to the evil factions who still worshipped their names and carried out dark deeds for them, these two horrors have now seen the arrival of the third member of their dreaded foursome, the embodiment of decay and pestilence – the Lich King named Poxxus. In this “Figure in Focus” article, we will take a look at the third horseman who is the namesake of the mysterious and powerful Circle of Poxxus faction.
Designing the Horsemen
Even though we are now coming up on our 7th year since Mythic Legions first launched and we are just seeing Poxxus now, the truth is that this character (as well the other three horsemen) were designed before the Mythic Legions 1.0 Kickstarter even went live! At that time, we didn’t have the full storylines of Mythic Legions fully fleshed out, but as we began creating designs and characters for Mythic Legions, these four dark gods were created and the evil factions that carried their names began to take shape. Of course, we did not reveal these character designs right away (well, we kind of did – but more on that shortly). Instead, we wanted the line to find its footing before these banished dark gods would return to threaten all that was good in Mythoss.
Below you can see Eric Treadaway’s original sketch for the design of Poxxus. You will notice how closely this early design matches the final figure that was unveiled at the 2021 G-con: Poxxus event! There are, of course, a few small differences, the biggest probably being the design of Poxxus’ Plaguesayer bow, which evolved a bit from this sketch. Another interesting note here is the staff that is included in this sketch. Originally, we had imagined Poxxus having two weapons of power, since he has two main generals in the form of Azhar and Zazhar. We expected each of the demons to wield one of these weapons, and the staff was called the Pustleheart. In the end, we elected to use only the one weapon for Poxxus, making it so that each dark god had a corresponding weapon of power. The only time this staff has been shown publicly is here in this article.
Revealing the Horsemen
As mentioned already, the designs of the dark gods of Mythoss, including Poxxus, were not fully shown until years into the line, but we did get a sense of how these horrors would appear in the form of their namesake factions’ symbols. If you look at the faction logo for the Legions of Arethyr, you can clearly see the fiery head and distinct mask that the figure would eventually come with. Similarly, the logo for Illythia’s Brood shows the scales that are part of her Soul Spiller weapon, along with the shape of her headdress. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the faction symbol for the Circle of Poxxus gave us some clues to this character design. Looking at that logo, we can see the long beard, the skull-like face, and the crown of insect appendages that Poxxus bears, along with the wings that extend from his back.
Poxxus was also seen in a shadowy form thanks to the artwork of Nate Baertsch. The “Arethyr” image that accompanied the figures from that wave showed the personification of War in his revealed form, but behind his fiery body we could also see the dark shapes of the other Horsemen, including Poxxus to the left of Arethyr.
We would get an even better look at the Horsemen in the packaging art for the Illythia wave. The vampire goddess was obviously fully revealed on this artwork, and Arethyr also remained fully shown, but now we also had clearer looks at the other two dark beings. While still shown in shadows, this artwork was the best look at Poxxus prior to the unveiling of the wave that bore his namesake at G-con 2021!
The Circle of Poxxus
From the earliest days of the line, we knew something of the potent magical powers of Poxxus. The bios for the demons Azhar and Zazhar explained how Poxxus had summoned them into Mythoss, splitting the demon king Azahazzar in two as part of that summoning. Those bios also went on to explain how Azhar and Zazhar have fought for the return of their dark master in hopes that it would also return them to the powerful being they once were.
A few interesting notes about the faction that bears the name of Poxxus. It is one of the most diverse of all the evil factions. Illythia’s Brood and the Congregation of Necronominus are (at least thus far) populated by vampiric or skeletal beings exclusively. The Legion of Arethyr has some variety in its ranks, including orcs, goblins, demons, and evil dwarves. The Circle of Poxxus is closer to that faction than the others when it comes to diversity of membership. In fact, the first information presented on this faction mentioned the variety found within its ranks:
A collection of witches, warlocks, demons, djinn, sorcerers, and assorted wielders of dark magic. Their ranks are lesser in numbers, but collectively more powerful.
So far in the Circle of Poxxus we have indeed seen demons, shadow elves, a shadow minotaur, a Djinn, and a human, along with completely unique races like the Uubyr and Umangeist. This variety in not only the races of the faction, but also in the powers they wield, makes them a terrible threat to the Realm of Mythoss.
The Return of Poxxus
Both Arethyr and Illythia were returned to Mythoss once their ancient weapons were recovered. The return of Poxxus is no different, as detailed in the bio for the demon king Azahazzar:
As the generals of The Circle of Poxxus, Azhar and Zazhar have spent ages searching for The Plaguesayer, Poxxus’ cursed and deadly bow, in hopes of bringing about his return. Upon his arrival, Poxxus has now granted the demons their wish. Azhar and Zazhar have now recombined into the mighty Azahazzar.
So these two demons have finally regained their combined form, doing so by bringing back the horror that is Poxxus. According to his bio:
A terrifying visage of sickness and decay, the spiteful god Poxxus is pestilence incarnate. Dripping with disease and crackling with menace, the horrific sight of Poxxus alone is enough to inspire dread. Armed once again with his deadly bow, The Plaguesayer, Poxxus can fire off hordes of infectious insects with every pull of his string. Triumphantly riding atop his rotting horse Phlogeus, Poxxus travels the roads of Mythoss with the intention of poisoning the realm and all those that live within.
One interesting note about Poxxus is that his race is listed as a “Lich”. Traditionally, a Lich is an undead being who once possessed great magical powers, and who used those powers to live forever, albeit in a horrid state of “undeath” that few would find preferable to a natural demise. It makes one wonder what the history of this being may be, and what he may have been before he was the decaying god we now see focused on poisoning Mythoss.
Of course, a horsemen is not complete without the steed they ride, and like Arethyr and Illythia, the Poxxus wave also included a horse for the dark god – the “rotting horse” mentioned in his bio. Below you can see an image of this steed, Phlogeus, along with the third Horseman of the Apocalypse.
Mythic Legions: Poxxus
The third Horseman, along with his devoted followers and the brave souls who fight against this evil, are available for preorder now as part of the Mythic Legions: Poxxus wave. Head over to StoreHorsemen.com to order yours today!
The preorder period for the Poxxus wave from StoreHorsemen ends on January 9th, 2022 at 11pm EST.
Published on 12.21.21