Artisans of Immortality

In the southernmost reaches of Selejia, one can find a nation ruled by the living masters of death. Both the living and Fallen inhabitants of Belyos prepare for a new age of the world, when they reach beyond their borders and use their esoteric arts to rescue all from the curse of death.

About the Faction

History

People of the Faction

Magic

Lore Articles

When the Everlasting walked upon Selejia, mortals had already proved they were capable of wondrous feats of magic. Some believed those feats were only possible due to the benevolence of the Everlasting, who illuminated the minds of mortals with their knowledge and skills. There were those, however, who dared tread where even the gods would not, and who proclaimed themselves to be better, their works more beautiful and mighty than that of the Everlasting. Those who bore witness to the flying city of Abysola may have dared to agree.

During the Golden Age, the people of Belyos went beyond service to the Everlasting and strived to better themselves and their world. Their most beautiful creation was the floating city, and even some of the Everlasting looked at it with jealousy in their eyes. The leader of the Belyosans, Ptan-Ravalum, guided her people from Abysola as the maestro of a beautiful orchestra. It is said her skill with magic was great enough to rival the Everlasting of the Triumvirate, but it was her dedication and pride in her people that made them rise to such lofty heights. Ravalum believed that each person could be the master of their own fate, and that they should pursue the power to protect this freedom, even from the gods. Such blatant defiance of the Everlasting and what they stood for was the intent, as the Belyosans strove to shatter the status quo, but they could not have expected such a brutal response. In a single day, a kingdom was destroyed and another rose from its corpse.

The Triumvirate struck down the floating city of Abysola, smiting them for the crime of surpassing their own glory, as Ptan-Ravalum, the only survivor, cried out in a vengeful rage. It was then that she first used the power of the Anush-vah, also known as the breath of life. With mastery over this eldritch art, she awakened an entire city of corpses, defying the will of the vain gods. She swore to her people that their sacrifice would never be forgotten and became the first Queen-Priestess of the Legion. Ever since Ptan-Ravalum’s act of rebellion, the Legion has turned its back on the teachings of the Everlasting. The Amatrix, the artifact forged by Ravalum herself during her rebellion, has been passed forward to each new King or Queen of the Dead in a continuous line, even through the tempestuous time of the Fall. Some say the very spirit of the Queen-Priestess inhabits the Amatrix, sitting in judgment of every would-be monarch, denying all who would rule for themselves before the people.

In the south of the continent, the followers of Ptan-Ravalum have rebuilt on and around the ruins of Abysola. Even though their numbers were severely diminished, death wouldn’t stop the Legion. The ways of the Anush-vah have created a new model of society, where death is far from being the end, and where the Legions of the honourable Fallen, serve the living.

The Court of the Dead

Don’t be fooled by its name; the Court is mostly composed of the living inhabitants of Bleyos. Members of families with wealth and knowledge of how to wield the Anush-Vah form the aristocratic council that advises the Queen or King of the Dead, leader of the Legion. From these distinguished ranks, The Amatrix, the artifact left behind by Ptan-Ravalum herself, selects its wielder. Unlike elsewhere, the right to rule is not determined by one’s bloodline, for the Amatrix cares nothing for the offspring of those who once held its power. The one who truly understands Ravalun’s vision for the future of Belyos, who has the intellect and drive needed to carve the path forward, and who knows the value of their people, is the one chosen to become the monarch. The Amatrix’s will is the law that rules the Legion of the Fallen, and the monarch is its living vessel. Eventually, the vessel is consumed by the power of the artifact, and a new King or Queen must be selected.

There are also nobles that don’t spend their time in the palace of the capital city. Nonetheless, their power shouldn’t be ignored. Each family has a natural talent and expertise in a necromantic tradition, a way of manipulating the Anush-Vah that no one from outside has access to. From father to son, they pass this knowledge along, and through their usefulness to the monarch they keep their political relevance. However, not only duty fills the life of a Legion aristocrat. Most of them no longer follow the teachings of Ptan-Ravalum, caring more about their own well-being, their lavish parties and personal fulfillment. Their short-sighted vision of the whole causes the court to be a nest of political intrigue.

The Fallen

Most of the population of Belyos is composed of the risen dead in many shapes and forms. The powerful armies of the Legion are made in large part of the corporeal risen, as is the labor force that works the fields, builds the palaces and maintains the infrastructure.. They are risen again due to the Anush-Vah, the Breath of Life, that leaves us when we die, housed in a new shell by the necromancers of the Legion. As long as they are commanded by a living general, their numbers can make them an extremely effective army. However, if the knowledge gathered during their lives is more useful than their physical skills, they are taken to the Epitaph, where their wisdom may be preserved.

The farther one wanders from the capital, the more they see that shades and spirits also populate the cold south. In desolate places such as the Umberlands, these souls wander, in a state of unrest, begging for the living to hear their plight, attacking them when they don’t. They gain form regardless of a necromancer’s actions. Spirits can coalesce into existence from the souls of the dead anywhere, but they do so much more frequently within Belyos, where the influence of the Amatrix is strongest. Those spirits that come to be from the conjunction of souls who share a traumatic and terrible death are known as the Tragedies.

How the Art of the Dead is Done

The Anush-Vah, the breath of life, is the power that is part of every living being, the force that animates the body, and that leaves us when we draw our last breath. Death corrupts this force, and it quickly decays until there's nothing left.. Its manipulation, first achieved by Ptan-Ravalum to raise an army from the ruins of Abysola, is the way the necromancers of Belyos manage to breathe life back to any dead carcass. Some creatures can be reanimated more easily than others. The longer one stays dead, the harder it is for the necromancer to raise it again, and the process is never perfect. The necromancers summon the soulbreath from the environment and use it to reanimate corpses, but the process is akin to trying to unspill a bottle of wine. Each noble family holds expertise in specific variations of the necromantic arts, passed from generation to generation as deeply guarded secrets. This expertise is what gives them power, both political and practical.

Also known and commonly referred to as soulbreath by most, the Anush-Vah’s entropy can be channeled to the necromancer’s will. By having the domain of the soulbreath, not only a resurrection is possible, but also a hex. Through entropy, a necromancer can force its own Anush-Vah, or the one of a fallen, to contaminate and corrupt the body of another. By forcing a soulbreath foreign to the vital energy of an enemy, a hex process begins. The target feels their body corroding, black stains take over the skin as burn marks, taking away their vital energy and causing excruciating pain. Controlling a hex such as this is a well known torture method used among Belyos’ prisons.

The closer a necromancer is to the Amatrix, the easier manipulating the Anush-Vah is. Powerful seekers and necromancers can bend the soulbreath to their will in any place of Selejia. However, the aura coming from the Queen of the Dead’s legacy makes the soulbreath more malleable than usual. Some say that’s why the necromancers have such a hard time expanding their dominion further from the south…

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