Years before the events of The Legend of Vox Machina, after the Briarwoods murdered his family and destroyed everything he loved, Percy de Rolo had a dream…or what he thought was a dream.
A shadow demon named Orthax appeared to him and offered him the means to get revenge. In exchange, Percy would build the gun. Every name on his list would become a soul for Orthax to consume.
Percy took the deal not understanding what he’d agreed to. By the time he did, Orthax had already corrupted the man, feeding on his rage.
Vox Machina broke the pact at the end of Season 1, but Orthax survived. It found a new host in Percy’s rival Anna Ripley, who made her own bargain with the demon in exchange for power. And when Ripley shot Percy dead in Season 3, Orthax was right there, ready to claim what it had always wanted.
Percy’s soul was trapped inside Orthax’s realm with the demon’s gun acting as a prison, condemned to an eternity of torment. Until Percy’s friend Vax decided to intervene.
Why the Matron Objected to Vax’s Intervention
In the Season 3 finale “Souls in Darkness”, Vox Machina and their allies decide to perform a resurrection ritual to bring Percy back to life. Vax uses his status as Champion for the Matron of Ravens, along with his ability to bend people’s fates to save Percy’s soul from Orthax.
However, the Matron of Ravens objects to Vax’s involvement because it would violate the barrier between life and death. She is both the goddess of death and inevitability. From her perspective, there are two separate problems at play. Orthax imprisoning Percy’s soul is a corruption of the natural cycle of life and death since he’s blocking Percy’s soul from moving onto the afterlife. But returning Percy to life after his death is a disruption of fate.
She’s not saying Percy deserves to suffer, only that he died and his time had come. Bringing him back throws the balance of fate out of alignment and the Matron warns Vax that it will come at a cost.
Now, resurrection magic exists in Exandria, and Vox Machina has used it before. But the show treats it as a rare, high-stakes process, rather than a simple undo button. And for Vax, the stakes are even higher. As her chosen champion, he’s bound to serve her will above his own. When he goes into Orthax’s realm anyway and pulls Percy’s soul back, he’s defying the goddess he pledged himself to.
Notably, the Matron doesn’t try to stop him. She knows he’s willing to sacrifice himself when it comes to the people he loves. But cosmic laws don’t appreciate being bent just because that person breaking them has good reasons. The price the Matron said Vax would pay starts to manifest itself on his skin.
What the Necrosis Means
After Percy is resurrected, a growing black stain appears on Vax’s wrist.
Some fans have called it a curse while others think of it as a visual representation of the phrase “life for a life.” But neither of those theories are quite right.
The necrosis is not the Matron punishing Vax out of cruelty or wounded pride. She is a force of nature. What the necrosis represents is more likely a sign that the universe is correcting itself after Vax altered Percy’s fate.
Think of it like gravity. You can jump, but the ground will always pull you back down. The Matron put that stain there, or it just appeared on its own, because Vax disrupted the balance of fate, life and death and the universe is pushing back.
Vax’s Ultimate Fate
Fans of Critical Role’s first campaign know exactly where Vax’s arc is heading as we head into Season 4 of The Legend of Vox Machina.
In the tabletop campaign, Vax’s doom was always tied to a bargain he struck when his twin sister Vex died and he offered himself to the Raven Queen in exchange for her life. Over dozens of sessions, the consequences of his deal played out through roleplay, grief, and acceptance. Vax eventually made peace with the fact that his soul belonged to the Matron now. When he was killed by Vecna, he made a final bargain: he could return to life long enough to help defeat the Whispered One. But when the deed was done, he would go to return to Raven Queen and stay with her forever. And he did.
There was no necrosis on his body though so the animated series seems to be experimenting with something different. The black decay on Vax’s arm makes his impending doom feel more immediate. Whether the show adapts Vax’s ending is still unknown. The necrosis could be a literal countdown to his death. It could serve as foreshadowing for something completely new and unique to the show.
Either way, the black stain is a reminder for us that Vax has been living on borrowed time for a while now. The Matron of Ravens might be patient but she always collects what she is owed.
Season 4 of The Legend of Vox Machina will premiere June 3, 2026 on Prime Video.
