WARNING: The following contains major spoilers for The Legends of Vox Machina, now streaming on Amazon.
The Legend of Vox Machina has concluded its first season. After a turbulent adventure, the Briarwoods have been defeated, and Whitestone is free from their tyranny. Percy DeRolo has achieved his long-awaited revenge against his family's murderers, but it came with a cost. The influence of the demon Orthax nearly consumed his soul and almost forced him to kill those close to him.
Although Orthax was purged from Percy, questions still remain. What exactly is Orthax, and how does the demon work? Orthax had been with Percy for a long time, subtly influencing his decisions. During that time, neither Percy nor the rest of Vox Machina ever noticed the malevolent being. The connection between it and Percy may have been broken but is the demon truly gone?
What is Orthax?
Orthax was a shadow demon from the infinite plane of chaos and evil known as the Abyss. Unlike their counterparts, the devils who follow order and law, demons are motivated by absolute chaos and behave much more savagely. Most demons seek to plunge the world into unending anarchy and madness. Orthax was no exception to this rule.
In particular, Orthax was a demon that dealt in vengeance. It was drawn to strong feelings of hate and the desire for vengeance. The rage that filled Percy after the death of his family was exactly what it was looking for. Orthax amplifies these feelings and pushes its victims to constantly seek their revenge. This path inevitably leads its victims to self-destruction and the loss of their souls.
Orthax usually manifests as black smoke that emanates out of the person it is attached to. This smoke can solidify into the massive humanoid figure with a birdlike face. This form was the inspiration behind Percy's beaked mask that he wore when enacting his vengeance. Both Percy's mask and Orthax's physical form strike fear in the hearts of their victims.
What Can Orthax Do?
For the longest time, Percy was unaware that he had even formed a pact with Orthax. He simply believed that he had dreamed of the creature in one of his many nightmares. Orthax had seeded the idea for the iconic pepperbox pistol into Percy's mind and pushed him to create the firearm. Once it was made, the pact between Percy and Orthax was sealed, and the names of Percy's targets were engraved on the gun.
When Percy kills a target of his vengeance with the pistol, their soul is gifted to Orthax to be consumed. With each soul taken, Orthax grows more powerful. As shown in the series, Orthax's pact does not simply end when all of the targets are killed. A new set of names appear on the gun, like the members of Vox Machina, and the quest for vengeance repeats itself. If Percy had not been saved by his friends, he would have spent the rest of his life hunting down souls for Orthax to consume.
During the Critical Role Dungeons and Dragons campaign that The Legend of Vox Machina is based on, Percy received Warlock abilities as a result of his pact with Orthax. He could hex his targets with black smoke, create minor illusions, and subtly charm others. Even after the pact with Orthax was broken, Percy retained these abilities. Percy might also get to keep some of the magical abilities he got from Orthax as well in the animated series.
Is Orthax Permanently Gone?
Any person that's ever played Dungeons & Dragons will tell you that killing a demon is almost an impossible task. They usually have a whole host of resistances and immunities to various forms of damage. If they're not killed in their home plane, most demons simply return to the Abyss where they can plan their return.
When Scanlan threw the gun into the acid, Orthax's pact with Percy was broken. This freed Percy's soul but didn't kill Orthax. The demon is still out there and likely very angry at the members of Vox Machina. There are still plenty of angry souls out there with vengeance in their hearts just waiting for the right push from Orthax.
