The end of the world as we knew it came a century ago.
In the last days of the last Era, three heroes strove against a dread necromancer. One of the Heroes was a mighty dwarf, whose strength and fury carried her through her battles. The next was a Knight of the Five Fists, whose elemental fury carried her forward through battle. The last was the Knight's brother, a Cleric of Sehanine Moonbow.
For many long years, they dogged the heels of the Necromancer. The three followed at his heels, unmaking his plots and becoming a great nuisance. Their efforts delayed him greatly, yet they were always too slow to completely unravel his works. Despite their every effort... the Necromancer gathered what he needed to claim nigh unlimited power: The Hand and Eye of Vecna, and the Wand of Orcus. With these unholy artifacts, the Necromancer sought to claim dominion over the mortal world.
Thus, a final confrontation was assured.
The Eight Archmages gathered together, and contrived a plan that would see the Necromancer fall. The Heroes would use cunning magic to transport themselves into his inner sanctum, and engage the Necromancer in battle. At the same time, legions of Knights and Warriors assaulted his fortress through conventional means... forcing his forces to engage them and buying the Heroes a better chance.
Of course... the plan was not to kill the Necromancer, but instead to imprison him. In doing so, four great Evils would be sealed away where none could wield them. The Necromancer, and his unholy artifacts, would be contained within an extra-planar fortress... one from which he could never escape. The Archmages lurked outside of the battle... coming in at the last moment to unleash their spell and capture their wayward student.
Of course, as we all well know, their plan failed. The Necromancer had succeeded in becoming a Lich, and holding the power of the Artifacts. He turned the Archmagi's Spell back upon them, killing them and sealing their Souls away where even the Gods would be hard-pressed to find them. The Heroes fought on, giving their last measure of devotion to their quest. In the end... nobody won.
The Barbarian sundered the Eye of Vecna, cutting it in half and ripping it from the Lich's face with a brutal strike. The Lich grew desperate with the loss of such a mighty Artifact, and banished the Knight to parts unknown... and unleashed his fury upon the Cleric. The Cleric fought on for as long as he could... but the Lich's power was too great for him to long endure.
As the Cleric fell to his knees, and began to fall through the door to death... he cried out for help. He called out to his Goddess for assistance, to any Gods that would render aid... and aid was rendered. A Solar heard his prayer and intervened. The Angel restored the Cleric to life, and bade him to rescue one of the Lich's servants and flee from the castle... for the Wand of Orcus was soon to explode. Although the Cleric called out for the Barbarian to flee... she continued to fight.
The Solar sacrificed itself to destroy the Wand of Orcus, pouring its full power into the unholy artifact so that both would be annihilated... and the Necromancer's Power would be broken. The Wand of Orcus exploded shortly afterwards... unleashing the power it contained. The Lich's Castle, and the mountain upon which it sat, were destroyed... and not even rubble remained in the wake of the annihilation. If only the destruction could have remained that minor.
The Cleric left through the portal they had used to enter, hauling the woman with him. He met with those who survived, and told those who would listen of what had happened. He vanished not long after that. It's said by some that he and the woman wander the world, seeking to find some way to fix what has gone so terribly wrong. Others whisper that he seeks his lost sister and some remnant of their dwarvern ally, so that he might resurrect the latter and reunite with the former.
The Shattering of the Wand of Orcus marked the end of the Age of Heroes... and the beginning of the Age of the Dead. Ever since that moment, the Necromancer's Fog has drifted over our lands. Unholy Power seeps into the world, mutating its creatures and raising the dead from their graves. Nobody really knows why. Perhaps it was the Necromantic Power unleashed by the destruction of the Wand of Orcus and the Artifacts of Vecna so closely together. Perhaps it was the Lich's last spell being unleashed in a half-formed state.
We have labored for a century to survive, huddled together in the cities where we can still hold our ground against the Unholy Horde in the wilds. Only the bravest souls travel, and even then they rarely move without many armed guards. Evil reigns beyond the lights of our homes... and there are no more Heroes to take it to task and restore what is Right.
In the last days of the last Era, three heroes strove against a dread necromancer. One of the Heroes was a mighty dwarf, whose strength and fury carried her through her battles. The next was a Knight of the Five Fists, whose elemental fury carried her forward through battle. The last was the Knight's brother, a Cleric of Sehanine Moonbow.
For many long years, they dogged the heels of the Necromancer. The three followed at his heels, unmaking his plots and becoming a great nuisance. Their efforts delayed him greatly, yet they were always too slow to completely unravel his works. Despite their every effort... the Necromancer gathered what he needed to claim nigh unlimited power: The Hand and Eye of Vecna, and the Wand of Orcus. With these unholy artifacts, the Necromancer sought to claim dominion over the mortal world.
Thus, a final confrontation was assured.
The Eight Archmages gathered together, and contrived a plan that would see the Necromancer fall. The Heroes would use cunning magic to transport themselves into his inner sanctum, and engage the Necromancer in battle. At the same time, legions of Knights and Warriors assaulted his fortress through conventional means... forcing his forces to engage them and buying the Heroes a better chance.
Of course... the plan was not to kill the Necromancer, but instead to imprison him. In doing so, four great Evils would be sealed away where none could wield them. The Necromancer, and his unholy artifacts, would be contained within an extra-planar fortress... one from which he could never escape. The Archmages lurked outside of the battle... coming in at the last moment to unleash their spell and capture their wayward student.
Of course, as we all well know, their plan failed. The Necromancer had succeeded in becoming a Lich, and holding the power of the Artifacts. He turned the Archmagi's Spell back upon them, killing them and sealing their Souls away where even the Gods would be hard-pressed to find them. The Heroes fought on, giving their last measure of devotion to their quest. In the end... nobody won.
The Barbarian sundered the Eye of Vecna, cutting it in half and ripping it from the Lich's face with a brutal strike. The Lich grew desperate with the loss of such a mighty Artifact, and banished the Knight to parts unknown... and unleashed his fury upon the Cleric. The Cleric fought on for as long as he could... but the Lich's power was too great for him to long endure.
As the Cleric fell to his knees, and began to fall through the door to death... he cried out for help. He called out to his Goddess for assistance, to any Gods that would render aid... and aid was rendered. A Solar heard his prayer and intervened. The Angel restored the Cleric to life, and bade him to rescue one of the Lich's servants and flee from the castle... for the Wand of Orcus was soon to explode. Although the Cleric called out for the Barbarian to flee... she continued to fight.
The Solar sacrificed itself to destroy the Wand of Orcus, pouring its full power into the unholy artifact so that both would be annihilated... and the Necromancer's Power would be broken. The Wand of Orcus exploded shortly afterwards... unleashing the power it contained. The Lich's Castle, and the mountain upon which it sat, were destroyed... and not even rubble remained in the wake of the annihilation. If only the destruction could have remained that minor.
The Cleric left through the portal they had used to enter, hauling the woman with him. He met with those who survived, and told those who would listen of what had happened. He vanished not long after that. It's said by some that he and the woman wander the world, seeking to find some way to fix what has gone so terribly wrong. Others whisper that he seeks his lost sister and some remnant of their dwarvern ally, so that he might resurrect the latter and reunite with the former.
The Shattering of the Wand of Orcus marked the end of the Age of Heroes... and the beginning of the Age of the Dead. Ever since that moment, the Necromancer's Fog has drifted over our lands. Unholy Power seeps into the world, mutating its creatures and raising the dead from their graves. Nobody really knows why. Perhaps it was the Necromantic Power unleashed by the destruction of the Wand of Orcus and the Artifacts of Vecna so closely together. Perhaps it was the Lich's last spell being unleashed in a half-formed state.
We have labored for a century to survive, huddled together in the cities where we can still hold our ground against the Unholy Horde in the wilds. Only the bravest souls travel, and even then they rarely move without many armed guards. Evil reigns beyond the lights of our homes... and there are no more Heroes to take it to task and restore what is Right.
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