Legion of the Fallen

Selejia is a vast continent with few beacons of civilizations that may grant some respite from the dangers that abound the land. Outside of the Malediction itself, the Fall left many scars upon the world, and the Umberlands are chief among them. Suspected to be one of the battlefields of the final war of the Age of Relics, these shadow-cursed swamps and bogs are home to a litany of vengeful spirits and to the unnaturally preserved corpses of that ancient conflict. For hundreds of years, any attempt to traverse the Umberlands was foiled by the apparitions that inhabit them. That is, of course, until the Legion made itself known.

Beyond the Umberlands lies the mountainous region of Pharadus, where a nation had managed to rise from the ashes of the Fall. This nation would eventually establish itself as one of the four great influential powers of the continent, Belyos, known to outsiders as The Legion of the Fallen. It was quickly realized how exactly they were able to pass through the Umberlands unharmed because they did not make a point of hiding their powers over life and death. They were not ashamed of them in the slightest and wield them to this day with the certainty that what they do is nothing more than their sacred duty. The other budding nations of Selejia had doubts about that, some would say justifiably so.

The members of the Legion are self-entitled masters of death. Through their necromantic magic, they are able to make corpses rise from the grave to do their bidding and inflict decay upon the living flesh of their enemies, or even worse, their minds. All of these capabilities the necromancers of Belyos will proudly announce to any who are willing to hear. The immediate consequence of their openness was that, as soon as the Legion emerged from its alpine refuge, it was met with trepidation by both the city-states of the age and the emerging nations. Not even the largely secular and practical mages of the Conclave received these newcomers with open arms. The continent waited with bated breath for an attack coming from the south, a horde of undeath that would blight the land and cause a second Fall. That attack never came to pass.

Defying all expectations the Legion did not send in armies of undead monstrosities, but living diplomatic envoys, to all major settlements. These diplomats came bearing words of peace, and offers of trade, but beyond that they had access to knowledge thought to be lost to the Fall and were willing to share it. The initial apprehension turned into excitement as the people of the world prepared for what was to be a new age of commerce, progress, and enlightenment. Unfortunately, the Legion’s offers came with secret strings attached. The envoys they had sent had a mission beyond establishing diplomatic ties. They were there to spread the word of Ptan-Ravalum. The envoys had brought with them something much more insidious and dangerous than an army: their culture and Religion.

That’s where the Anush-Vah and the Tale of Ptan-Ravalum come into play. The necromantic arts have been practiced in Belyos for as long as history records, but according to their spiritual traditions, this has not always been the case. It is said that in a time before the Fall, maybe even before the age of Relics, a mortal queen named Ptan-Ravalum, was visited by three of the Everlasting. These Gods came bearing grave news and good tidings alike. They told her of the great destruction that was to come and how her people would suffer for it. They had seen the portents and decided to intervene in favor of her ever-faithful people. Not all of the Everlasting had agreed to intervene, but these three had devised a plan that would save her people and usher them into a new age of peace and enlightenment. They would share with her a part of themselves, of their own life and power, and would elevate her into a new state of being. She would be given the power to guide and protect her people and the other Everlasting would not be able to harm her. So it was that Ptan-Ravalum became the first Queen-Priestess of this new path. Under her leadership, her people blossomed into a thriving culture and a booming empire. 

Eventually the other Everlasting came to discover this betrayal of their original vision and sought to take revenge against Ptan-Ravalum, for daring to rise above her lowly station. Instead of striking at her, they cursed her people and made it so they would perish before their time and all the great works they had accomplished would crumble beneath their feet. Ptan-Ravalum watched helplessly as her people suffered and decided to take action. Her powers were not enough to undo what the Everlasting had manifested into being, but she could herself create something that could rival their cruelty.

Ravalum used her divine powers to trespass into the Unreachable Realms of the Everlasting. Once there, she would steal from them the Anushamatra, The Breath of Creation. In possession of this new unfathomable power, she willed herself to the material realms and used the Anushamatra to remediate the curse of her people. She could not erase the work of the Everlasting, but she could add to it. First, she forged for herself a tool with which to perform this daunting task, a staff of great power that would be known as the Amatrix. With it, she wrote new rules into the bedrock of her mountainous home, and with this, into reality itself. Those stones would form the foundation of a new path forward for her people, the Anush-Vah. Through the power of special Relics, such as the Amatrix, the dead may be revived and given a new purpose. They could help the scattered survivors to rebuild, they could defend the living from the ravages and calamities the Everlasting would send their way. Some of them could even remember part of their living days, and through that memory safeguard the knowledge gained by the previous generations, so that the new ones would never forget it. The Fallen, her suffering people victimized by the Everlasting, would themselves become the instrument of her vengeance. By their very existence, they would spite the jealous Gods and prove that their creations did not need them.

It has been untold millennia since that time and through turmoil and disaster the Legion of the Fallen has endured, thanks to their tireless guardians. Even through the fall, which erased from the world much of the magic and knowledge the great empires of the past once held, the Belyans have fared surprisingly well. Although their numbers were greatly diminished, the living have been able to maintain a stable society through the use of the Anush-Vah. The necromantic magic shared with the people by Ptan-Ravalum flows through the bloodlines of several families and has been responsible for supporting a society that now prefers to enjoy life to its fullest.
The undead of the Legion serve several different and some rather interesting purposes. There are of course those who clean and plow the fields, care for the vines, and come to collect the fruit once the season is right. There are those responsible for the construction of the large and ostentatious palaces the Belyans are so proud of. These and many other menial labors can be performed by even the most simple-minded ghoul, as long as they are under supervision, but not all of them are created equally. Some of the undead retain a stronger impression of their living days and can be made to perform complex tasks such as art or music. Beyond that, some have retained knowledge that was lost due to the Fall and are able to produce wonders not seen in the world since before that time. Of course, every single one of those can be turned into a practical, if not effective soldier, and their sheer number will compensate for any faults they may have in efficacy. If a show of force becomes necessary the necromancers of the Legion can create purpose-built monstrosities of sinew, bone, and decayed flesh that can bring nightmares to the bravest knight. 

Through the centuries the Legion has come to depend on the work of the endless hordes and has a constant need of corpses, fresh and ancient alike. The battlefields of the final wars of the Age of Relics are the perfect places for them to find the workforce they need. Some may even say that this dependence has grown into complacency and they would not be wrong. The ruling class of Belyos, the nobles of Abysola, have grown accustomed to a debaucherous and decadent lifestyle. Wanting for nothing except the resources necessary for the reanimation of the dead, the Belyans have learned to indulge the virtues of life at the expense of the service of the dead.         

Of course, bringing the dead back into a semblance of life is not a feat easily performed. It requires a great deal of practice to master the secret arts of Anush-Vah and that is if you even have the aptitude for them in the first place. It is also a costly endeavor, with both the initial ritual and the maintenance of the undead requiring large amounts of Anushamatra, the prima materia of creation. This is one of the reasons most settlements of Belyos are located near the coldest mountains of the continent. The cold climate helps to preserve the undead flesh with little to no cost and allows the Legion to safeguard them in vast underground chambers for later use. Finally, the power bestowed by Ptan-Ravalum generally does not extend much beyond Belyos itself. Within the capital city of Abysola, within the ancient labyrinthine fortress that serves as its base, lie the original stones in which the Amatrix was used to overwrite reality, but their area of influence can only be extended by sacrificing more of the Anushamatra. Outside of Belyos, the undead will quickly decay, unless sustained by specially powerful Relics, such as those wielded by the Seekers. The Legion of the Fallen aims to change that. 

The goal of Ptan-Ravalum had always been to spread the influence of Anush-Vah throughout the world so that the mortals would never again have to suffer at the hands of capricious Gods. The inheritors of her will are intent on this goal of worldwide influence and to accomplish it there are two conditions they must fulfill. First, they must spread the philosophy and culture across the world, showing its benefits to the people. They do so through peaceful means and found so much initial success that the practice of Anush-Vah has been outlawed in many civilized places, as the powers that be fear the liberation of the masses. 

The second condition that must be fulfilled is the empowerment of the Amatrix and of the sacred stones in which Ptan-Ravalum set her laws. For many years the spread of the Legion was limited by the unavailability of enough Anushamatra for this goal and the other nations could sleep soundly in that knowledge. Now, the borders of the Malediction have started to recede, Seekers have been sent to secure newly discovered Relics and return them to Abysola to have their essence extracted by the Spirit Walkers. 

As the powers of Anush-Vah extend their reach, the borders of Belyos expand northward, and the Legion of the Fallen prepares for a new age of the world when death will be conquered once and for all.