Scholar Notes - August, 1214

• An Alliance

  • The Vaenqu’ellar

  • Path of Kagen

    • Cult of Kagen

      • Precepts of the Cult of Kagen

• Morlan Society

  • Morlan Physiology

  • Morlan Beliefs

• Founders of Visagalis

• Sphere of the New Dawn

  • Pasha Pelledour

  • Joshua X

An Alliance

The Vaenqu’ellar

The Veanqu'ellar are the last vestiges of the old dark elven houses banned together out of desperation. The whereabout of their stronghold is unknown and they seem to be determined that no one finds its, for they know they are being hunted. To this end, they have been forced to seek out allies to help with their survival and the Cult of Kagan has been fully embraced by the Vaenqu'ellar. This union makes both groups now much stronger than they previously were.

Path of Kagen

When people say they follow Kagen, it is his vision that attracts him, his vision of The Path. The Path is what led to the founding of the Cult of Kagen, and the precepts that bind the followers together. The Path is what led to the founding of the Order of the Obsidian Raptors. It is a Path that seeks to weave death and hopelessness into the world. It is essential that each follow embraces Death completely, not the death of others to stave off your death, or the death of others for pleasure, but embracing Death, that their old selves die, and they become Death. They must put aside all concepts of self, and serve only Death. The Path often calls for the sacrifice of letting yourself live so that you may bring more Death to the world. Those who do not truly believe that their continued existence is a sacrifice do not walk The Path. Those who claim to walk The Path, but do not, are often the first expended when it is time for calculated exposure. This is seen as a gift to those unfortunate who are unable to join with Death and become one with their god Galmachis. For those few misguided fools who seek long life and great power by serving Galmachis, well, they used to bolster the Path of Kagen’s terror troupes.

They have little concern for the followers of other Dark Gods, and see them simply as tools to be utilized when convenient. They understand that letting Malyc believe he is in control is of no consequence, as long as Death is promoted, Malyc forms a natural target for the forces of light to struggle against, more Death, all is well. Agaura is so quick to enter battle, so swift to bring pain and suffering, the forces of light are quickly notified of her follower’s presence that they never suspect that other forces are biting away at them, more Death, and all is well. Glomm, the corrupter, he lets the beings linger too long in their undead forms, not allowing the final death. Yet in truth it is from Glomm that they learned the importance of slow intrusion, of corrupting others to your ends. If the Cult has need of Glommites, perhaps it will do so under the guise of the Black Hand, there will be death, all will be well.

Cult of Kagen

A Galmachan Cult dedicated to hastening the death of every living thing on this planet starting with the sentient beings.

Iltar, the prophet of fate, is as close to a public face for the Cult of Kagen as there is to be, he delivers the words of Kagen to those that follow the cult.

Archanda - deceased, killed by members of the town of Travance a former Demon Knight become Devil Knight.

Vimka - Deceased, killed by members of the town of Travance a former Black Sorcerer.

Obsidian Raptors - Assassin Priests of Galamachis. They see themselves as sacrificing their own death to grant the blessings of death on to others.

Death Heralds - Glowing hands that appear when the Cult of Kagen are near. They hasten the death of the fallen on the battlefield. Only Wield Faith has been known to keep a Death Herald from its intended victim.

Precepts of the Cult of Kagen

Death Comes to All. Nothing lives that will not one day die. The only difference we can make is to choose the time death comes. Every hour sooner is like a prayer straight to Galmachis, yet every soul more is an even greater prayer. Killing five hundred men in ten years time is greater worship than killing only ninety-nine men this year and yourself the hundredth.

Death is the ultimate state of being; the only path of power is to become Death. Since Death comes to all, then the final state of being must be death. When you become Death, the bringer of Death, the embodiment of Death, it is the same as embracing death, you have become one with the ultimate state of being.

Death is worship, so worship is not required as long as there is Death. Alerting others of their impending doom is counter-productive to becoming Death for them. Their Death is all the worship Galmachis needs, leave rites and rituals to places secure from their eyes.

Deceptive Shadows create illusions of safety, and can promote further death. When you kill for Galmachis in the name of some other cause, the Death becomes rationalized in the minds of those from whom you seek to become Death. They can believe that Death is over in that moment, or occasionally they believe they must bring Death to others as a sort of revenge. It is this result which brings great glory for Galmachis.

The Death of a Hero is worth a hundred common men. Those that save others, those that inspire others, those that bring shelter and protection to the masses, they are the antithesis of Death, and as such, should be sought to be eliminated. As the Heroes fall, so do the hopes of common men. Those who are afraid and hopeless can be easier led into desperation and can in many cases be convinced to become Death themselves.

Morlan Society

A race from the deepest darkest part of the world beneath ours. They have a very loose clan based society. A Kula is a small group of Morlans, about five to twenty who scavenge and hunt for their food. A Warga is a large clan made up of hundreds of Kula. A Warga will have a territory, or Nagarep, that it defines as its own, and have several Kula there at any time, as well as the majority of the Morlords.

Morlan Physiology

The Morlans do not see as we see. Light or Darkness is all the same to them, rather their senses are so keen that they can completely tell what is around them down to a speck. Some speculate that the strange sound they make helps them see, but we have noted them being able to sense movement and objects even while silent. There have been a few accounts of them being able to sense hidden things as well. We have not encountered that with our investigations. However, it does seem that all Morlan possess some low level of psychic ability in the realms of communicating and reading the minds of others, and some posses strong psychic ability. When you couple this with the Morlan’s natural strength, a trained Morlan can be deadly to an unprepared traveler below the Darkholme. Fortunately, they do not often come far up from the depths they call their Nagareps. If you do have need to travel in Morlan territory, I advise bringing clubs and staffs as they have a poor reaction to ordinary wood instruments, as well as Ironwood and Wytchwood.

Morlan Beliefs

They believe that there are beings more powerful than themselves, the Morbethara, from which they are descended. They worship the Morbethara, and believe that they reside in a world beneath them, a dangerous world that exists on the edge of nothingness. They believe that if they grow powerful enough, they will cross over into this Stygian world of the Dysmier and join the Morbethara.

Founders of Visagalis

Kapriel was a Valosian Bishop, stern, yet with a certain charm to him. He was serving the Royal Family when he was sent on a mission by the King, on the way his was overrun by demons and he was the only survivor. He is said to have had a vision of the god Visagalis explaining that all gods were but the many faces of one god. He broke his vows to Valos and began preaching the word of the true one god, Visagalis. Visagalis’ holy words speak the truth for him: Multis Deorum Partum Unum, which means many gods are part of one.

He set out through the wrecked towns and villages of the kingdom, known to many in that part, they were quick to believe him, and when his miracles bore true, they became devoted. However, his truest victory was when he came across a band of dark clergy, praying on the weak, his followers looked to him to strike them down, but rather he preached, he spoke of how suffering, and death were parts of life to be embraced along with compassion and life, that the world needs both law and chaos. Somehow, they did join, and in a short time, many had a drastic change of perspective, worshipping what may have been previously though opposing forces, were now seen as two aspects of Visagalis that balance each other to promote growth, both personally and as a society.

It was this display that one of the victims, a Lazurus D’Shaeland, found to be the most beautiful creation he had ever seen. As a Brazinite, Lazurus believed that objects made of beauty and will were paramount, he believed that the greatest object to craft was one’s own soul. Lazurus grew up with the firm belief that all gods were involved in the ongoing creation of the world, and of each being on that world and looked for the reasons in all things good and evil, light and dark.

Kapriel and Lazurus became close, working together to craft the identity of the Church of Visagalis. Much of what Kapriel felt, Lazurus gave understanding, philosophy, and words to. They influenced each other, and the belief system of Visagalis grew. Both were well respected. It was said that you turned to Kapriel if there was a conflict outside, and to Lazurus if there was a conflict within. In the end, Kapriel had grown too militaristic, the same fervor that he had for the gods of light, translated poorly when you were the leader of a new religion. In the end, he lost his life, but Lazurus lives on, and through him the church is more introspective, dedicated towards building a new world out of the wreckage of the old.

Sphere of the New Dawn

Although only recently heard about, this organization has apparently been active but silent for close to twenty years. It was formed by three individuals who had forsaken their heritages and ties to the kingdoms they originally hailed from. This severance was important for they wished their new goal to not be tainted by the influence or interests of kingdoms. They formed the New Dawn with a single philosophy in mind. “One day this world will burn and civilizations will crumble. We will be ever vigilant and prepared for this time, and when it comes we will pick up the pieces of a shattered world and we will rebuild”. The organization was lead by “The Three” and all of their activities were done in secrecy and silence. Their members stretched across the world, as part of a secret society, which learned to prepare in silence and wait patiently to be called upon to serve their purpose.

About a year ago, that call was made, and the members of this organization came from the woodworks of every corner of the earth and gathered in one spot to make their final preparations. They shed some of their secrecy and approached some members of Travance as the world began to be bathed in demon fire.

As the world around them crumbled, the New Dawn stood strong upon the parapets of their camp and broke wave after wave of demon kind. The rest of the world was not prepared and so civilizations everyone were taken by surprise and by storm and over the course of a few short months, the world would never be the same.

The people of Travance were great of power though, and the only other place on the earth with strength enough to fight the darkness, and so fight the end they did, and so forth did they bring an end to the Demon Princes brief but potent reign upon the earth.

They saved the world from total destruction, but much destruction had already taken place. So much so, that forces of prophesy deemed this the end of one age, and the beginning of another. It was at this time, on the eve of Xuallas destruction, that the New Dawn, picked up its massive camp, and moved east. Through devastated towns did they pass, and each time did they halt their movement, fight the vestiges of Demonkind and bring some semblance of hope to survivors, so that they might be free to rebuild.

At the beginning of the New Age, did a stranger enter the New Dawns strategy tent, and proclaim that they would need his help. This stranger identified himself as Joshua X. Since his involvement, the New Dawn had changed its course from South East, to North East, strait into the Kingdom of Kormyre, and landing near the town of Altrion, the Kingdom side of the Rift gate. There massive camp has been settled there for three months now and while they have lent a tremendous amount of aid, they have said nothing of their intentions or reasons for staying there for so long.

The New Dawn is massive in size and is primarily a military force trained in tactics to slay demons. The help that they give is mostly in the form of destroying demons that now roam and hide all over the surface of the earth, threatening to strike out at the innocent and weak at any time.

Pasha Pelledour

Pasha Pelledour was an extraordinarily rich Sultan in the lands of Ja’Hagon. He held every trapping of luxury within the walls of his grand palace. One day, some twenty odd years ago, he packed a caravan and left his home abandoned, taking with him only but a sum of gold and gems, great in value, but modest compared to his full worth at the time. He was a short fat man when he left, though rumor has it that his reduced lifestyle over the years has thinned his belt tremendously. In other recent whispers about him, he also suffers from some incurable sickness that has beset upon him constant prophetic dreams that keep him from ever getting a healthy amount of sleep. While it remains forever a mystery which of the three conceived the idea of the New Dawn, It is rumored that his money no doubt funded their operations.

Joshua X

The name Joshua X has been heard before. The name comes up in writings of Travance near its early years. In those contexts it refers to him as a mysterious man dressed in black that smoked from a pipe. He claimed to be from The Isle of Sevenlore, as an agent of some kind. He delivered to the people of Travance a warning of a Dark Rider or Morgazzi, headed for Travance, and information on how to sever an astral cord to weaken it. The man was never seen or heard from again. The battle with the Morgazzi proved successful, but at the cost of the life of Baron Garrison Corvin, and the destruction of the demon slaying sword known as Aggravain. The name Joshua X also comes up sporadically in extremely ancient tomes related to the first and second ages. It is unclear whether or not those references are of the same man or not, for surly if they were, it would date the man to be incredibly old.