A promise was made to Bloodloch by Ewis Bhaq'dal, the Undying, when she assumed command of the Lich Gardens following the Empire's brutal conquest and subsequent execution of Venicus, the arrogant former leader whose countless years of research failed to bear fruit. It was a promise of servants and thralls, of vast armies, of soldiers uncountable to bolster the Sanguine Fist and spur that fell city to yet greater domination over the peoples of Sapience.

Determined not to repeat the mistakes of her predecessor, the Undying lich convened a meeting of the Teradrim, enlisting them for aid in a sinister plot. The Earthen-kin were tasked with acquiring specimens for autopsy: living denizens, cut down and brought to the Gardens for a very thorough examination. The purpose was made clear: to better understand the physiology of the living and forcibly engender a state of undeath in the target.

For weeks the Teradrim toiled, fetching hundreds of such specimens to the laboratories. Escalation came in the form of enchanted bone charms, and a list of particularly desirable targets. Instructions were provided to inspect the targets in their homes and utilise the charms to compel each subject to follow behind the wielder. Over a dozen such subjects were taken in this manner, among them Father Garron of Arurer Haven, Trond of Jaru, Rakdor the Horn of the Vale, Gwenil the smith of Tainhelm, Rosiyaris of the Mournhold Enchanter's Society, Esme of Kald, and more still.

The disappearances did not go unnoticed. The watchful eyes of Enorian and Duiran soon picked up the mystery's trail and began a search, combing the villages and conferring with guards of varying levels of usefulness. Murmurs of an eyeless woman and a gregarious Gnome surfaced on several occasions, and it was first Garron and then Rakdor who, after delivering a confused and blurry tale of screams, blood, and kidnap, led the would-be detectives to Ewis's trail. The lich spitefully withstood interrogation, first from Kalena Emerson and Roux Aquila, then from Iesid Mulariad, Valorie Aresti, and Caitria and Sryaen Cardinalis the latter four attempting to burn Ewis's laboratory down around her before withdrawing.

Meanwhile, naught but frustration faced Ewis. Calling Thronekeeper Nipsy before her, she ranted and raved at the constant failures she had run into, distraught that every attempt at forced conversion, despite her best laid plans and intricate skills in physiology, was for nothing. It was then that Ivoln, the Earthen Lord, erupted from the splintered ground with answers. He spoke at length on the nature of undeath, and the futility of forcible transformation. Souls, He explained with no small measure of irritation, would flee to the Underhalls when any attempt to force undeath was made. Crestfallen, Ewis resumed her raving before the Earth God suggested another way.

Ondromikios Ijandrimali was a revered scholar in his time, a Magician and Scientist with peerless skill in matters involving life. His greatest achievement was the creation of a homunculus: an artificial soul. In death, the Magician was elevated by then-Dhaivol to the vaunted Glade of Heroes: where the greatest of all souls lie in wait for the last battle.

Ivoln proposed an incursion therein, to retrieve the soul of Ondromikios and put him to work. Fully aware that accessing the Underhalls via the normal means would result in the wrath of Dhar - a fight that in His own domain would be unwinnable by Ivoln, He instead spoke of a passage through the ley, and ordered His undead to prepare for the invasion.

Penned by my hand on Gosday, the 9th of Niuran, in the year 500 MA.
Discuss this post on our forums:
https://forums.aetolia.com/discussion/4308/events-post-285-shattered-souls-part-i-a-mockery-of-life