Many centuries ago an argument arose amongst eight mystical entities about who was the strongest. In order to settle the dispute they organized the Wager of the Octessence in which each of the entities would create a totem to hold a fraction of their power. The first human to touch these totems would in effect become an avatar of the mystical entities and gain a fraction of their powers. Ikonn buried the Ivory Idol of Ikonn in the Temple of Ikonn. This temple was located in present day Kenya. Centuries later a group of Tibetan Monks, who worshipped Ikonn, forged the Bell of Ikonn that would evoke the mystical entity. However James Narcross, a University teacher, killed some of the monks and stole the Bell. Ikonn felt the pain of his worshipper’s death and vowed vengeance for them. Many years later, after Narcross had died, a student called Mary Elizabeth played the Bell which granted the demon limited access to the Earth. However he was still not completely linked to the Earth’s plane so Ikonn was forced to insert fragments of his own substance into students attending the University of Narcross which drove the University into chaos.
Doctor Strange and
Clea arrived at the University and stopped the students. They then confronted Ikonn who easily countered each of Strange’s spells. However Strange soon realized that Ikonn’s link to the Earth’s plane depended on the sound from the Bell. Strange neutralized the sound and Ikonn was forced to return to his home dimension. Years after this encounter a child discovered the Ivory Idol of Ikonn and became the
Exemplar called Bedlam.