Azkhrumdar

Artwork by Joseph Meehan

Azkhrumdar is a powerful relic from Norn, created as part of a pact between Draemyre and the People of the Maelstrom in their war against the Beasts of Armageddon. As described in the Codex of Whispers, it is capable of killing Elder Numens and destroying Wither, but requires the wielder to be of both bloodlines to be used effectively.

History

Azkhrumdar was created by the best smiths among the Human nations of Norn, combining Draemyre's technology with the mystic arts of the People of the Maelstrom. Its haft is made up of a living branch from the World Tree, and the ax head consists of a crystallized lattice capable of holding a "prime intellect" — a god-like artificial intelligence known as ROOT. As controlling the weapon required the installation of Draemyre magitech into the wielder's brain, and the World Tree could only be used effectively by a Person of the Maelstrom, the ax was given to Bast to lead the fight against the corruption in their lands.
Although unnamed in the Codex, the book tells of Bast's many deeds, although few attributed his success to the boy, and instead spoke of the legend that was Azkhrumdar. Although not explicitly said, as found in context clues across the adventures of the Dream Team (but especially Riley Logan's story during S10E3: "Riley"), this led to others coveting the power of the ax for their own gain. This culminated in the betrayal of Sara No-Name, who led several sub-factions in the alliance in an attempted coup to kill Bast and steal his weapon. During the duel between the two forces, Bast was forced to rely on Crow (his since-corrupted patron) to survive, infecting both himself and Azkhrumdar with a kind of Wither Corruption.
As seen by Mist in his journey to Paradise (see S10E1: "As Sheep That Have No Shepherd"), the betrayal and resulting deaths severely traumatized Bast, forcing him to repress the memories in return for a semblance of mental stability. After fleeing the conflict events are hazy, save for the story told in All Is Lost, when Azkhrumdar was used to try and kill Bast, but instead caused him to fall in the rainbow mists that surround the edges of Norn.
This cataclysmic meeting of divine forces caused the creation of the Infinity Petal, as Azkhrumdar entered an infinite loop in its quest to both kill Crow and protect Bast — two beings that had quickly become one due to their patron bond and the swarming corruption. The operating system of the ax became known simply as the System, a group of intelligent processes led by ROOT, which worked from the ax itself to handle the metaphysical ramifications of the Petal and their presence in it. The great, reflective wall that split the realms was later known as the Mirror by scholarly natives of the Entwined Infinities, although its true identity was revealed to the Dream Team in Lost But Never Found.
Most recently, Mist has uncovered that the four chips that were implanted in Bast's brain (required to control Azkhrumdar) manifest across the Petal as the XS Pierce, Geldenleaf Tower, the Tower of Saints, and Vulreach. Each seems to have their own purpose, and can execute powerful operations that effect the entire Petal — most notably End Day, also known as "DELETE", the process owned by Vulreach.