Malfator, Undead and the Innate evil or "Dark" of the Northern Province

            Malfator, the god of Suffering, Deceit and Slavery, is also the benefactor and progenitor of undead.  The "Brother" of Leah'Dah, and one of the original Ascendants of Pholtus, a God and god-killer by his own power and right.  Worshiped by the evil and the mad, and fed by the Negative material Plane, Malfator's one desire is to return the world to darkness by erasing the coming of Men and the Light.

Malfator has Three Aspects, or Avatars that walk the world in real bodies.  They have been seen, and appear as young men in graveclothes.

Malfator has only ever really been heard, as he can speak through all undead who can speak, and he takes note of enemies.  Innate Evil are not related to the deity in this way as it is a confusion of the powers of nature that allow them to walk the world again, pulling strength from other realms to animate their bodies and minds, so when they speak it is with their own voice, but the created and the minor machinations of that dark energy are like eyes ears and mouths for the God.  It is not uncommon for sages and wizards to have a skull animated in such a way to converse with and aid in research.

 

The classes of undead are generally understood in the following way;

 

Class I

·        Some weaker spirits and Created Undead.  

 

·        Characterized by limited or very low level Negative Planer Flux, ie.  No Permanent Damage, or limited non-permanent damage, like a normal wound.

 

·        Generally 1 hit kill creatures, or apparitions.  Skeletons, Animal Zombies etc.

 

          While it does take Negative Planar Energy to animate these things, they have for the most part, not been raised up by Malfator.  They are more like small lights that illuminate a world of darkness, and Malfator can at times, sense things through them, only very dimly.  A second level student of the School of Necromancy in the Hidden Tower, cannot proceed to 3^rd level without first raising a construct; a marriage of the Physical world and the negative material world by the young magic users power alone.  There are many such creatures in the world at large, lifted from eternity by trespassers to their resting places, or by the will of deviant scholars.

 

Class II

 

·        The most common Innate Undead.  Ghouls, Ghasts, Revenants, Mummies, Crypt Things, etc.

 

·        All Constructs, Animations and Spirits that discharge NegP flux.    

 

·        Do not absorb or discharge experience or memory.

 

·        Often have special attacks and defenses.

 

·        Require silvered or enchanted weapons.

 

These are the primary vehicles of Knowledge for Malfator and he routinely navigates existence in these vessels.  These entities are often grown from lesser forms of undeath, that have grown on the living, as each time they damage or kill a living thing, the “Hole” through which they pull their power from the negative material grows wider and the energy that comes through comes through faster and in greater amounts.  It is not uncommon for an animated guardian to grow into a dangerous and uncontrollable evil through mere accident.  As with Ghast’s and Mummies, the more they “Feed” on the living, the more they want to, the darker they become and the more Awake they feel.

 

Class III

 

·        Uncommon to rare creatures.  Wraiths, Wights, Ghosts, Vampires, 

 

·        Typified by intelligence and sometimes High Intelligence.

 

·        Attacks drain experience, memory and NegP flux damage.

 

·        Varied special attack forms and defenses.

 

·        Must use enchanted weapons to affect.

 

These creatures do the Heavy Lifting of the “Dark” in creation.  Class III Undead actively seek to destroy the Light.  Malfator rarely inhabits these entities.  Wights for instance, are responsible for though almost complete dissolution of the Dwarves Greatest engineering achievement in the Norther Province, the Loch.  Countless miles of underground roads, and wells and forts all underground and all controlled by Elemental Magic which the Dwarves weald like words.  Because of the packs of wraiths, the Loch has been closed and its countless entrances sealed, and it is now a place of forgotten wonder where only fools or the very brave dare go.

 

Class IV

 

·        Unique Evil.  Greater vampires, Specters, Bansheess, Lichs.

 

·        Genius or dire malevolence.

 

·        All attacks are lethal to life threatening.

 

·        Varied special attacks and defenses.

 

·        Only artifacts or Powerful magic weapons can permanently harm them.

 

These beings have a “Foot” of existence squarely in the Negative Material and so are very hard to truly destroy.  They have routine dialog with the master of their existence, Malfator, and are more the puppet masters of Evil in the Prime Material Plane than Malfator himself. For instance, Oovardiis is a very powerful Lich-like creature that has perhaps transcended even that.  So powerful that he created 9 Simulacra.  It took the Early Humans and the Ancient Elves to unite to bring down One of those Simulacra.

 

Class V

 

·        Extraplaner and Divine.  Aspects of Malfator, Malfator, the Angel of Sin, Netholar and the strange things that live in and roam the Negative Material Plane.

 

·        Genius level intelligence.

 

·        Varied attacks and defenses.

 

·        Unknown how to harm or defeat.

 

·        Eternal, extra dimensional.

 

While the Angel of Sin was known to have had a Portion of its existence wrapped up in the being Innis Gainsover, a Greater Vampire that was renowned in the Fallen City of Freewinds.  Most of that being exists in constant conflict with the Light in the Inner Planes.  Malfator acts in the world of the player characters through influence and his three “Aspects”, though he is more an elemental fixture of the afterlife.  And Netholar, is more like saying Violent Natural Acts, when referring to tornadoes and forest fires, only referencing the Negative Material Plane, and if those things had an intelligence behind them.  How do you kill those things?

Sages, the Seer and the Wardens of the Northern province.

    The Sages Guild as it is called by the common people of the King's land, are actually, Factia Mages of the School of Divination.  They maintain a center of power in addition to the School at the Hidden Tower in the Fallen City of Freewinds.  It is called the Gray Heart Observatory and has offices in all of the remaining cities of the peopled lands.  The actual observatory exists in an unknown location but is believed to be an Old Western city far to the west high in mountain ranges not yet visited by the new men.

    Once led by Obend Fouge for close to 1,900 years, at his death, they are now more of a function of the will of King John, than an Independent Facta.  The Gray Heart seems to further John's will in all things.

    Airlorn, the Primerium of the Facta now that Obend Fouge is dead, was raised in the court of King John, and was once a simple guard of the Blue tower.  Under his guidance, almost every body of armed men of the kingdom has at the very least a Sage attached to it that is capable of rudimentary martial feats.

 

    Leriman – A person hoping to be intuited into the Factia of Divination.  Also a Kingdom Office akin to an administrator.  

    There are Lerimen of the Gray Heart that work the Docks in Brighton, directing captains, recording goods brought in and leaving the port, and taking news.  They are scribes, copy books and are hireable to perform record keeping of almost any kind.  They are intelligent, are fluent in several languages, can read and write in at least three languages, and are great organizers.

    Scholar – A Factia Diviner of 1^st to 3rd level.  Also an Kingdom office akin to, researcher, teacher, Police Officer.

    Scolar's make up the bulk of the Sages Guild.  They read coins, they investigate acts of evil, they are cast a majority of the spells used by the guild.  They train Agents and even sages in areas of Expertise.  Many do not go on to become sages.  Many spend their time in the School and at the Observatory.  All Guard Outfits have at least one Leriman attached to it.  

    Sage – a Factia Diviner of greater than 3rd level.  Also an office akin to, detective and judge combined.

Sages are powerful Divinors and responsible for a great deal in the Northern Province as well as the world abroad.  They work with the Wardens all over the known realms.  They fight with the Kings Army in the South, they administer the lands of the Kingdom with the help of the Guardsmen.  There are several dozen sages in the Northern Province, with eight in Brighton alone.

    Seer – A Factia Diviner of Name level.  Also an office within the Kingdom responsible for high level judicial and administrative tasks.  

    The Northern Province has several seers.  One serves the Provent near the Quarry.  Two are located in Brighton, one in Bricking, and another 8 or so spread about the Province in various capacities, including the East Gate.     

    Provent - A Factia Diviner of Singular Intelligence, independent of the power structure other than they are guides of policy.  There are rumored to be three in the Northern Province, though only the Provent at the Quarry is familiar to people.  She spends her time exploring the ruins of Ovardiis' great tower.

    Primerium – The Leader of the Divination Factia.  Primerium Airlorn lives and works by King John's side, far to the south in Kias.

The Exvocates

Once the High Priestesses of Leah'dah, now these lost and broken women travel the lands to heal and help who they can, a kind of penance, self imposed, for not being able to protect or save their Goddess.

When Malfator, killed Leah'dah, she no longer was able to stand before the Great Veil and catch the souls flung there through violent tragedy.  Her death filled the coffers of Malfator with souls, though, many say, a bargaining still takes place at the time of death.

With Malfator standing in her place, he spreads his own veil before the nothing, and pulls all to him and back through the door of the Day, and into life again, only not life, but a bitter, painful trespassing paid for by the power of Malfators deity and the Negative Material Plane as the menace of undeath.

When Leah'dah's godliness was unmade in that terrible hour, many of her High Priestesses killed themselves in horror and panic.  Many of the Priestess did as well, though some were saved from themselves by the love and the loyalty of their Temple Guards.

What followed next was almost more horrible that the dissipation of the deity, in that all the Darkness that Leah'Dah held at bay for countless millennia, came pouring in like a bursting dam.  The Shrines were overrun, the Acolytes, the Adherents, the guards, the followers, were besieged mundane, and ancient evil, almost everywhere.  Few who loved her survived.

The Temples and the old places of Pholtus we pulled down into darkness forever.  Now they are treacherous places, strongholds of depravity and darkness.

But there are still some who live, who walk the world in pain and emptiness, and do what they can, for the Priestesses cannot heal with the power of their Deity anymore, but bind wounds, work with herbs and do what they can to fight the diseases and evils of the world.

One such Exvocate can be found at the Clearing to the north of Brighton, in what used to be the Plaza of the Old City of Pholtus.  There she heals with plant and bandage and some attend her.

They may also be found wandering the province, usually always with a guide, a man of great years, human and old but a warrior, a Temple Guard, still serving, still loving, for the call of them was a call of love, from the goddess herself, and from the Priestess they served with love with all their might and days and That was not killed and cannot die.