Hepharius the Corpsewalker
For some time, Hepharius served as a loyal Arcanum to Evernight, focused on attaining his own great deal of power within the undead empire. When Ariana vanished, he sought to raise his own station within the Necropolis, only caring for more power. His plans backfired when the great black dragon, Telligrim, went mad with anger and wiped most of the undead out with fearsome power. Hepharius barely escaped the devatation, but it was that moment where he came to find his body to be a weak vessel. The lich spent some years afterward removing his need for a body, turning himself into a wraith. His power only increased with this act, and drove him to believe that Telligrim had nothing to offer him anymore, and so he defected from the Necropolis, searching for greater power that he could weild. He became obsessed with his pursuit, so much so that another came to manipulate him with offers of that which he desired.
Necrophitus Arcane, lich Lord of the Arcane Sons, showed him terrible powers that he could attain, and in doing so, convinced Hepharius to serve under him instead. For much of the time after, Hepharius found that while his incorporeal form was much stronger, he could possess bodies and control their own strengths. With the aid of Necrophitus, the Wraith mastered the powers of possession, and thus began to collect host bodies. He developed an obsession with collection, desiring more unique figures to have, such as nobles, powerful heroes and villains of legend; nothing could sate his desire to have a great and unnerving collection of corpses that he could masquerade as in public. The more Hepharius collected, the further Necrophitus' sphere of influence grew.
With each body however, the Wraith needed another phylactery to expand his control. Each new phylactery provided him additional power that he could store in order to fuel his control of the corpses he collected, which entailed more Weakness he had to keep close to himself. Hepharius didn't care; he was drunk with powers he couldn't have ever achieved in his mortal form, both political and physical. He was consumed by his desires and Necrophitus abused it, ultimately subjegating the Arcanum to his will.
Necrophitus Arcane
When the Fey had finally learned it was their time to leave the world, they did not want the ability to command magic to leave with them. They decided they had to pass this knowledge down to a mortal, one who was worthy of possessing it. So they searched the land, and found a man who seemed surround by the Weave. Not only surrounded, but he seemed to unknowingly embrace it. This was the one. His name was Necrophitus Arcane. The Fey then realized something, how could they teach a mortal something it took them ages to discover? They decided that the inner workings of magic was just too much for a mortal to comprehend, that they would only be able to understand the methods on how to command the magic, not how it actually worked. So they taught him everything they could, and that he would learn, but their time was running short, and again they found another flaw. A mortal body could not single handedly command all eight spheres as a Fey could without driving them mad. They gathered seven other pupils, and taught them each a sphere. Then they taught four the art of Valence, three the art of battle casting, and one the art of sorcery. They showed them how to create a spell book, something that was vital to a mage’s studies. The first spell book, written by the hands of the Fey themselves was handed to the mortals. If a mortal did not constantly study his or her spell book they would lose touch with the workings of their spells and the methods of how to bring them forth. For the slightest flaw in this exact method would cause it not to work, or worse yet, perhaps a mishap.
For many years the mages perfected the art of drawing their power from the Weave created by the two Crystal Mountains at either end of the world; they helped each other learn and grow with their great powers. They built a great establishment known as The Academy; a place built purely for magic, and made for nothing but the advancement of magic. Here they wrote down all they had learned, and what they were still learning. It was in this magnificent place (that some say still exists somewhere) that the sacred oaths of mages were written up. Naturally the other seven mages elected Arcane as their leader, so he began to oversee all goings on, but as time went by Arcane grew bored with what he knew, and what power he commanded. He was the chosen one, and he knew there had to be more than this. He locked himself away in his tower and began vigorous research to uncover new and better secrets. He became mad with power and hunger, but as mad as he was, he did discover new powers, things the Fey and the gods hoped no mortal would ever unlock. Necrophitus Arcane gave birth to the art of Necromancy, and eventually Black sorcery. He found away to sacrifice pieces of the Weave to power this strong and dark magic. With it he found ways to prolong life, and even how to bring life to undeath, creating walking abominations.
Arcane Sons of Necrophitus
When Necrophitus had been chased away by Lucindra and the other mages, many of his students followed him into the darkness and hid away, still learning and spreading the necromantic arts. What came about from this was a network of necromancers and black sorcerers building a collective of undead and other abominations to one day claim revenge on the college of magic and destroy The Academy at the Quartz Mountain. The Arcane Sons, a moniker claiming themselves as the would-be children of Necrophitus Arcane, were born as his army. For centuries they had hid away, raising undead in secret and amassing them to one day rise and swarm across the world in his name.
The cult was almost forgotten until some had been found; underlings of the cult finally caught in the act of graverobbing and raising the dead for transport back to where they had been hiding. It was then the danger became all too real. Centuries of raising the dead by some of the first magic users ever to exist. Despite all effort, the hunters could not locate where the Arcane Sons had hidden away and so the threat has loomed over their heads for some time now. No one is sure when the army will rise, but rumor of the three Houses of Hunters searching still and preparing for this have begun circulating.
Among the rumors circulating, it has been said that the use of necromancy and black sorcery - the destruction of the weave - empowers Necrophitus. With each spell cast or each strand destroyed, he grows stronger, feeding off the negative energy released. Some have even claimed that the use of this power has made him immortal and its continued use is what continues to keep him sustained in this world.
Corsair
Surprisingly little has been known about the fey, Corsair. It is known that he was involved in teaching the humans how to wield magic, he was involved in the creation of the weave - to a great capacity, having sacrificed his heart in the process - making it possible for humans to be able to tap into its power, and he was involved, more recently, in much of the current history of Travance. Something about the town that released him from his imprisonment from the book kept him around in some capacity.
On a consistent basis, while the town endeavored to destroy him in secret, he continued to persistently aid and hinder them at his whim, seemingly uncaring of their plans for him, even though he caught them in the act more than once. The fey continued to toy with the town, despite his relatively new malicious and twisted nature. Some claimed that his true nature was still hidden beneath the corruption that plagued him for staying in the Material Plane. Others believed he remained for a purpose, but Corsair kept a great deal to himself, as any Fey should.
Corsair has been one, even in his dark nature, to follow rules, more often set forth by himself, but rules that involve deals and favors. Of all recorded moments, he has neither turned away a favor he has owed, for however rare they are, nor ultimately doomed someone for a favor they have asked of him; though he had regularly made them work very hard to gain the request. The rules he followed might be seen as a weakness to exploit for those who sought to see him destroyed, and it may very well have been what caused his death.
It is a strange case, however, for no one has known a Fey to die, and more importantly, a fey whose heart still remains and beats as if alive. It is unclear whether this is in relation to the still intact weave that his heart is connected to or some other facts that remain to be learned. Even with the box that contains it, the heart still exudes a great deal of power, possibly causing the rise in arcane anomalies.
Outer Rim of the Spirit Realm
The Spirit Realm extends across the world of Arawyn, mirroring it in most ways because of the Ley Lines scribed by the Arani, allowing it and the Material Realm to connect. It is this connection that allows mortals to pass between the two realms and resurrect. However, while the Spirit Realm does overlap the entirety of the Material Realm, the opposite is not such. The Spirit Realm, once existing as its own plane of existence, extends beyond its mirror of the Material and into the Astral to some degree.
While it is known that the Spirit Realm extends this far, no record has ever been written about what exists there. It has been, up to this point, impossible for any mortal being to find a way to reach this place, and even if they could, return. What is know is that knowledge beyond the Material Plane exists in this place that has been kept from mortals since the time when the Arani would wipe the memories of the Mortal races as they were being resurrected.
It is important to note that whatever might exist out beyond the reach of the Ley Lines is dangerous to mortal kind, no matter what the circumstances. It is in the Outer Rim where the Spirit Realm begins to blend and meet the Astral Realm, and so it is possible that creatures from the Astral who have died inhabit this place as spirits. What this entails is completely unknown.
Devariatus, the Dark Arani
Ages ago when the Arani were given the task to scribe the Ley Lines, one refused the task and ultimately was imprisoned for the act. Very little is known about the being or how he escaped his imprisonment or what his ultimate goal is, but he holds some interest in what happens in Travance, possibly because of a prophetic vision.
Every Arani holds the power of prophecy and the great secrets of the Spirit Realm, and so he alone remains of the Arani to provide insight into them. The difficulty lies in the Arani’s cryptic messages due to, what some deem as a curse, the fact that anything spoken by one of the Arani becomes immutable fact. While they may prophecize the future, should they ever speak of the events they saw, it would become an inescapable fate.
Ellynias, Arch Mage of Frost
When the original eight humans were chosen to learn magic, each one was taught by a different Fey. Ellynias was taught to control and manipulate the sphere of water by a Fey off the Winter Court, known to the humans as Alluria. She was clever like the others and came to become incredibly proficient with the magic, learning how to change the arcane magic into solid ice. Her studies under Alluria continued into the powers of Valence, where she learned to manipulate the ice into a variety of protections.
She spent many of her years studying and teaching at the great academy near the Quartz Mountain. It was only after Necrophitus had defected from the academy and started spreading his necromantic magic across the world, that Ellynias also ventured from the academy, in part to help counter the destruction that he had wrought.
Eventually, Ellynias found herself among the elven people of Tyrelia, having travelled across the face of Arawyn. It was here she decided to stay and settle herself, exchanging teachings of magic for a home to spend the rest of her days. Sadly, when demons came to ravage the city, for all the might she could muster in order to help, she had fallen in battle.
After the battle had eventually been won, many of the elven forces were buried amongst the elves, but Ellynias was buried in a more extravagant tomb, as a way for the elven people to honor her for what she, a human, was able to do for them. The location of this tomb has since been lost to time, but as history goes, it is said she was buried with the few belongings she held most dear, including a gift from Alluria that she received when she was first taught how to wield magic.
Pentirr Knights
The Pentirr Knights were once an ancient order of warriors who swore to guard the weave with their lives against the forces that saw to destroy it. These knights wielded impressive arcane powers that have since been lost to the world when the Pentirr eventually met their downfall at the hands of Evernight and Arriana. Since then, the knights have served as undead minions to whoever holds the crown that contains their souls.
The downfall of the Pentirr came when Lord Weaveborn, son of Jerand, betrayed the rest of the knights to Evernight, who had captured and tortured his wife Cymoril. The Pentirr Lord eventually gave in to Arianna’s demands and gave his Pentirr Key, an item given to each knight for them to travel to Vardemere, to the dark queen in return for her release of Cymoril. Unfortunately for the him, Arianna had brainwashed Cymoril and broke her will so greatly, that she succumbed to the darkness and embraced it.
Because of the Lord’s betrayal, Arianna gained access to the sacred city of Vardemere, catching the rest of the Pentirr off guard, and managed to kill them all, ultimately raising them as her undead minions. Despite her efforts, however, they were still incredibly difficult to control because of their power. So she stored their souls into emeralds and embedded them into a crown, which allowed her to gain a greater degree of control over them.
It was by a stroke of luck that the Pentirr had been warned ahead of time by strange heroes from the future of this inevitable betrayal. They knew they could not change their encroaching fate, but they were able to prevent the dark queen from ultimately getting what she desired. The knights hid their keys across the world so that she could not claim them. While she could control their corpses and torment their souls, she would not have the full extent of their strength until she claimed all of the keys.
Before she could fully control Lord Weaveborn, he allowed himself to die, merging his soul with the Weave so that he might have a chance to one day help restore his fallen brethren.
Pentirr Keys
Every Knight, on the day they were inducted into the order, were given a sword forged by the Pentirr Smith Julian along with a magical key that would both give them further access to greater magical powers and allow them to travel to the arcane city of Vardemere. These two items were precious to the Pentirr, and something that they would guard with their lives; this being a part of their primary mission. While the Swords were specifically crafted for the knight, and thus only usable by the individual it was created for, the keys were something passed through the ranks, from one knight to another.
It was a measure of safeguarding; that the keys could only be used by the pentirr and their acolytes. It was this reason that Arianna needed the knights in order to gain access to Vardemere. It is known that many of the keys still remain hidden across the world, but over time a few have been discovered. Two knights have since been freed of their torment, and reclaimed their keys, but other still remain and either locked away in secret vaults or lost. It is unknown if a key can be destroyed, as no reports have ever been written about such an act.
