The
Undying Threat
By Zamidren Book
Apprentice of the Warrior Mage Guild
And Devout of Murrula
Introduction
Throughout the ages, there has been a constant opposition
to the forces of advancement, civilization, and order -- to
the forces of life, for all intents and purposes. An
affront to all that is divine and worthy of respect, a
thing that would profane that which we most honor and
cherish. There has always been an enemy, hidden away in
the shadows, attempting to tear down all that we of
Kermoria have built by working together and mastering our
true potential.
Some shy away entirely from even discussing this peril that
we have faced in the past -- face even today, for it is
omnipresent, and challenges us still. They feel that to
give name to these enemies, to acknowledge their existence
and the power they have over us, they fear we have for
them... will only make them stronger, make the threat more
real. Or they feel that to study the magics of these
enemies only opens ourselves to being corrupted by those
same magics -- to know our enemy and his power will
transform us into our enemy. This is all hogwash, of
course. We must know of our enemy, of our peril at his
hands, and of their secrets and magic.
I call them the Undying Threat.
I speak, of course, of the scourge that is the Necromancer.
A plague wielding dark magics (magic of blood, death,
demons, and decay) and commanding the undead hordes that
burn our cities and desecrate our sanctified places.
I said that many are afraid to acknowledge this threat,
fearing to give it more power. But these are enemies that
we must confront with a stout heart and holy thoughts. We
make our enemies stronger not by knowing of them and their
power and their ways, but by fleeing from them. Our
ignorance of their weaknesses and our inability to
challenge their pervasive might, these are the acts they
rely upon. The notion that understanding the source of
their power will corrupt the heart and soul and transform a
good man into an evil one... is merely a notion of their
own devise, to frighten away would be champions of what is
right. I am but a mere novitiate in my path, but these
things are apparent to me. My elders are simply afraid. I
am not.
To bring enlightenment and to better confront our
adversary, I have been centering my studies on areas of
magic others would pretend exist not at all... and on the
parts of history my companions and elders try hardest to
forget.
***** ***** *****
Chapter One: The Origins of Necromancy
From the very beginnings of history on Kermoria,
Necromancers -- the masters of death and life, as they
fancy themselves -- have played a key role in shaping
mortal affairs. At the start, the Dwarves and Elves each
possessed Empires that covered all of Kermoria. They ruled
it, each with one half of the continent, and they were
always at each other's throats. Notable is that the first
thing to ever bring these quarrelsome races together was
the threat of Necromancy -- a threat that came in the form
of a man they would both refer to as "The Fallen Prince."
Regrettably, not even my thorough research could turn up an
entirely factual name for this individual, this Fallen
Prince. He was evidently called a number of things, and I
am not sure which, if any, of the names I discovered is his
true name -- I surmise that many of the names he is known
by are actually curses and other assorted vulgarities in
the languages of ancient Elven and ancient Dwarven. His
most well known moniker, though, was derived from the fact
that he was one of the sons of the Elven "Mother and
Father," believed to be the first of their people. He was,
then, a true prince among the Elves, but try finding any
Elven texts that speak of him today! Texts and the Elven
oral tradition will talk about Bright and Truly and the
other children of the Mother and Father, but not this man -
- shame, fear, and other lesser emotions allow this
supposedly great race to try and blot out the memory of him
and what he did. But they know. Even though they won't
speak of it, they all know, and remember. So do the
Dwarves.
The Fallen Prince turned from his parents, the progenitors
of Elvenkind, to walk down a darker path. While they used
their magics of life to sculpt beautiful creations honoring
the gods, he used his to twist and corrupt the living
essence of all he came across. Why? Who knows... ?
Perhaps out of cruelty, perhaps out of a desire to surpass
his parents and siblings by finding a greater power,
perhaps out of something else entirely. It doesn't really
matter anymore. He was infected, though, just as the other
Elves were, with a hatred of the Dwarves.
The time came when the Fallen Prince used his
deathsculpting, as I call it, to create a force of
warriors. He twisted the trees of the forests, the beasts
of the plains, and he turned them into rotted, undead
things that he commanded. With that force, he struck at
the Dwarves, hoping to kill them all. And if he did, he
surely would have claimed their entire Empire for himself.
Half of Kermoria, ruled by the Fallen Prince.
But the Elves, finally allowing common sense to overcome
their dislike of the Dwarves, recognized the pure evil of
what their brother was doing. And after they got over the
horrific shock of how he was using his powers, they joined
with the Elves to eliminate this new undead army. Not
before he did considerable damage, of course, and not
before he demonstrated the presence of the necromantic
threat to the world.
Sidhlot was the next most significant Necromancer to rise
up. He is a far more complex case -- driven not only by
the usual motivations but also by an unquenchable desire to
destroy his former leader (some say mother? some say
lover? The relationship between Sidhlot and his nemesis is
quite murky) Morganae, Queen of the Mountain Elves. He led
away exiles from her stronghold Garnedhren, exiles as eager
to see her dethroned as Sidhlot. Much of what he has done
over the years has had, as an underlying cause, the goal to
eliminate Morganae's power and influence -- take, for
instance, Sidhlot using his necromantic powers to corrupt
the Iron Clan, turning them into foul and evil tools, a
living weapon he could aim at Morganae's heart.
I don't know precisely the magics he used to twist the
essence of a living mortal being, but it was a truly lethal
usage of power. I am thankful that such magic has rarely,
if ever, been utilized since, by Sidhlot or by any other
Necromancers. As to other Necromancers, perhaps none of
them, either, knew the secrets behind that particular
magic, and so could not match it. But Sidhlot... I am at
a loss at to his failure to use such powers again. To make
my most educated guess, I would put forth that this power
was likely extremely draining on Sidhlot, prompting him not
to utilize it again. In later years, other Necromancers as
well as Sidhlot himself, would concentrate their powers on
dead beings, rather than living ones.
An ironic historical note regarding Sidhlot and his
followers. When first the Dwarves of Forfedhdar (for the
enclave of the Bone Elves does lie deep within the
mountains that serve as boundary between Ilithi and
Forfedhdar) encountered the Bone Elves, they were stunned
by the magics these Elves were using. The Dwarves beheld
monsters and beasts, as well as Dwarven warriors, felled by
the Necromancers, and observed that the Bone Elves were
quite literally draining the life from them via magical
means. They coined a term for these Necromancers, calling
them the "valpatur" -- translated, it means <soul rhythm>
(I am not sure of the precise correlation between that
translation and what the Bone Elves specifically did, but
perhaps it loses something in the translation, or perhaps
the Dwarves were being poetic). The Dwarves would later
tell their allies, the Humans, of the Bone Elves, during
the Elven-Human War. Valpatur that drained the life from a
living being... of course, here, again there were problems
with translations.
The Dwarves equated the heart with life, and in relating
this tale to the Humans, the Humans believed the Dwarves
were describing beings that would, literally, drain the
heart from a mortal... and in passing those tales down to
the next Human generation and the next, it eventually
became a tale of blood-suckers! And of course, the Human
tongue butchered the Haakish words the Dwarves used... so
the term "valpatur" was twisted into something the Humans
could pronounce more easily. As the Human generations
continued to go by, the tales of blood consuming vampires
became more and more engrained in the folklore of the race,
and the folklore grew ever more fanciful with each
retelling. The telling that exists today, a story of evil
creatures, used to scare little children... scarcely
resembles the actual accounts the Dwarves originally passed
along. As a scholarly sort, I recount this example to
establish how faulty and unreliable oral tradition really
is. It's good that, as a civilization, we've all moved
beyond that.
***** ***** *****
Chapter Two: The Undead Menace
The most identifiable, and likely most dangerous, aspect of
the Necromancer's power is the ability and desire to create
undead. These monsters are soulless beasts of pure evil
which have been enchanted into a mockery of the life given
to all Elanthian creatures by the divine pantheon. They
are neither alive nor dead -- beings that have already
died, but are given a new false life in order to further
the goals of their evil masters.
They are profane beings used in profane ways. One example
of such is the Necromancer Emuin, who created undead which
he set loose upon the holy grounds of the Five Provinces,
using them to eliminate the sanctified natures of those
places. Shrines, temples, and reliquaries were not safe
from Emuin's undead. He would destroy the sacred blessings
which enabled an altar to function and perform the will of
the Immortals... and he sacked places of refuge, stealing
and destroying holy artifacts, such as the divine Chalice.
All of this he accomplished by relying upon beings he
created through undeath magics. The Necromancer Emuin
created a particularly dangerous and fearful breed of
undead which he called bony fylgia.
The Oshu'Erhhsk family, a group of prominent S'Kra Mur
Necromancers, has frequently brought trouble to the regions
of southern Zoluren where it resides. The most significant
Necromancer of this family is one known as Lasarhhtha
Oshu'Erhhsk, creator of several types of undead -- the
germish'din, the seordhevor kartais, and zombie S'Kra Mur,
for instance. All powerful, lethal, and truly foul in
every sense of the word. Beholding these monstrosities is
not pleasant... especially the germish'din, for they are
stitched together, rotting beasts.
Lasarhhtha has utilized necromantic poisons (something upon
which I shall delve into greater detail, below) to
assassinate influential figures, such as members of the
Moon Mage High Council. He has nearly sparked a
necromantic civil war by stealing objects from Sidhlot and
his Bone Elves -- while some might rejoice at such an inner
war, one must bear in mind that countless innocents would
be caught in the midst should such an affair break out.
Lasarhhtha has also sought after, and regrettably acquired,
many a powerful artifact -- from sorcerous tomes to shards
of the fourth moon, Grazhir, to the truly dangerous
Deceiver artifacts.
The Dragon Priests (of which the Oshu'Erhhsk family was a
part) were known to frequently rely upon Necromancy in
their time. In fact, studies of the Dark Hand show that it
is almost purely Necromantic magic that was used to corrupt
that land, turning a beautiful stretch of the Ilithi
landscape into a realm out of nightmare, a land where
undeath is concentrated and ever growing.
More to the point, though, the Dragon Priests also used
scientific and alchemical experimentation, combined with
dark necromantic magics, to breed creatures for their
armies. One of the things that allowed the Dragon Priests
to conquer so much of the Five Provinces was their ability
to create a horde of undead beasts that would do their
bidding unquestionable, and were infinitely replaceable,
whereas mortal soldiers... once dead, were dead.
Another contemporary Necromancer who was had a profound
impact on the goings-on in Kermoria is the woman known as
Lyras, who used her power to create a vast undead army,
with which she ravaged the lands to the west -- driving
many refugee Prydaen and Rakash to Kermoria.
***** ***** *****
Chapter Three: The Necromantic Plague
Many are unaware of this, but it is actually possible to
create necromantic diseases -- that is, a poison which
infects the body, destroying it, and spreading to others,
enhanced by the powers of the Necromancer's dark magic,
which enable to diseases to act in a more powerful way, to
do things a normal disease could not, or to spread faster.
Some of the most disastrous plagues our lands have
contended with were not natural in origin, but were in fact
a creation of evil.
Perhaps the most profound and significant example of such
Necromancy comes to us not from Kermoria, but actually from
the southern continent, Albaria. Once, on Albaria, there
stood a great civilization, the Luethrans, which rivaled
the Elves and the Dwarves at the height of their power.
The Luethra race was innovative in architecture, magic,
trade, government, and the arts. They spanned the entire
Albarian continent, as well as Kermoria's Qi Archipelago.
So quite clearly, their influence was expansive, to say the
least.
Their eventual downfall came in the form of a plague, what
they called the "Rasman Plague," so named for the first
victim of the plague, a man by the name of Osaen Rasman, a
ruler among his people. This plague crippled the Luethran
people as it spread, causing devastation, riots, death.
Documents we have now, though, cause us to suspect one of
two scenarios: first, that Rasman was a Necromancer whose
experiments went poorly, thus resulting in his own death;
second, that Rasman was a target of Necromancers, who
assassinated him. Either way, we do know that his death
was not natural -- it was the first recorded instance of a
necromantic disease or a necromantic poison... and as such
instances go, this was a memorable one (a necromantic
disease that brought down an empire). This is a threat
that our people would have to contend with multiple times
throughout history, these necromantic diseases, and they
have always been unpleasant -- brutal in the scope of their
devastation as well as the manner of death they inflict,
the suffering. If anyone still doubts the significance of
the Luethran devastation by way of the necromantic Rasman
Plague, though, consider this: it was the plague that
allowed the Gorbesh to come to power in Albaria, allowing
them to create an Empire that has frequently threatened,
invaded, and overpowered Kermoria. These are the results
of Necromancy.
Other examples of necromantic diseases and poisons...
include the destruction of the village of Promado, in the
Journelai Mountains, the region known as Sorrow's Reach;
and the contemporary case involving the assassination of a
Prince of Zoluren by his Necromancer nephew, Sirolarn, a
situation full of complex political history.
The rumors of the time when Belirendrick's reign first
began indicated that the Prince had his brother-in-law, the
nephew's father, killed, in order to ensure Belirendrick's
ascension to the throne. Sirolarn's mother, Belirendrick's
sister, died in childbirth -- or so they say, at least. In
any event, it was essential for Belirendrick to have his
brother-in-law killed before Sirolarn's death, else the
infant would take the throne. He succeeded, becoming
Prince, and when Sirolarn was born, the Prince had the boy
taken in. It may well have been these events which led to
Sirolarn becoming a Necromancer -- he feigned studies as a
Cleric. Eventually he used his necromancy to create a
magic poison, which he used to assassinate the Prince, and
so for a time, he ruled over Zoluren. Sirolarn, to
establish some additional context, is one of the few
Necromancers to rule a nation in the modern era -- truly a
dangerous fellow there.
As an additional example of these diseases, there are
shreds of evidence to suggest that the plagues inflicted by
the Imperial rogue known as Jomay... were necromantic in
origin.
Lasarhhtha's method of assassination when he killed members
of the Moon Mage High Council was yet another necromantic
disease, which he spread by way of a hapless madman that
Lasarhhtha deliberately infected with the magical disease.
Then there was the case of Ralel, who devised extremely
dangerous creatures infected with a necromantic poison...
a poison which they would then spread. Ralel employed
these monsters to further his goals as an Elven separatist,
who sought independent sovereignty for the city of Leth
Deriel. He was also a member of the court of Queen
Morganae -- interesting, that, considering that her
greatest rivals are Necromancers. Perhaps she employed
Ralel, and gave him such wide latitude in his affairs, in
order that she may have a counterbalancing force against
Sidhlot; one Necromancer to combat another. This is only
speculation on my part, though.
***** ***** *****
Chapter Four: In Closing
It is fortunate from our perspective that the Necromancers
of Elanthia are so often at each other's throats. These
Necromancers recognize the threat they all pose to each
other, and they recognize that their greatest enemies (the
individuals capable of inflicting the most damage upon them
and their plans) are other Necromancers. For instance, the
driving enmity between the Bone Elves and Lasarhhtha is
well known, and almost laughable -- the Bone Elves
marginalized and hunted Lasarhhtha, who would later steal
necromantic tomes from them to enhance his own powers;
Sidhlot would then send his daughter and son-in-law to
reclaim those possessions and attempt to kill off
Lasarhhtha.
It is this inner chaos and strife... this inability to
work together and cooperate as a cohesive and organized
group... that has so often proved the ultimate failing of
Necromancers in general. As an example of what
Necromancers can do when acting in such a structured
manner, one need look no further than the Dragon Priests,
whose army-like organization allowed for mass destruction
and conquest. Whereas the Guilds of Kermoria act as a
single, organized force with a rigid hierarchical structure
which allows for comprehensive plans and unified decision
making... greatly enhancing their power... the
Necromancers do not. They are paranoid, afraid and
resentful of each other, and utterly disorganized.
This, I feel, is their greatest weakness, and it is at this
point that we as a civilization must strike. Only by
exploiting their weaknesses can we combat them, and destroy
them.
The threat that the Necromancers pose to our safety and way
of life cannot be underestimated. We must continue to
learn all we can of their magics and of what gives them
strength, so that we can... someday soon, I pray to
Murrula!... eliminate this Undying Threat.
I shall endeavor to continue my studies of Necromancers,
their origins, and their magic and powers. I shall
continue to seek ways to undermine their strength and help
bring the good people of the Five Provinces to victory over
this menace. Now that I have concluded my tome, my
compendium of study on the Necromancers, I will be
departing at once on an expedition to further seek
knowledge that may aid us. This is a dangerous task I have
set for myself, but I am reassured in that I will be
accompanies by my closest and truest friend and ally,
Dwarath Hvawst, a Paladin that I have known since my
childhood. While I read books and practiced spells and
sought ways to gain knowledge... he prayed, and honed his
skill at the sword and shield, becoming a true-hearted
warrior of the gods. With him at my side, I am assured of
victory in this journey.
By my hand,
Zamidren Book
***** ***** *****
Post Publication Note: While we are greatly indebted to Mr.
Book for his efforts, we must sadly pass along to the
reader that neither he nor Dwarath have been heard from
since departing on their journey to seek out the source of
necromantic power and combat it. We pray for their return
to us.