Many rumors are spread throughout the Court of the Dead about Lord Vorendal, the Dreadheart. Some say he has been alive since before the Fall, others say he bathes in the blood of those who oppose him, and there are those who swear he is the most powerful Seeker in Selejia. They are all answered by Vorendal with a grin. None of this matters, what is really important is the truth of his actions.
There is no one alive, or dead, in the whole of Selejia who hasn’t heard about the Dreadheart, the High Marshal of the Legion of the Fallen, Lord Stevas Vorendal. Known and feared throughout the land, he is widely regarded as the best military leader of Belyos, if not of the whole continent. His combat and social skills made Vorendal one of the most influential people in the Legion, especially in the court at Abysola.
Lord Vorendal paved his way in the Court of the Dead with elegance and a charming, if cool disposition. He has been around for a very long time, recognized by many as an ascendant undead consciousness. It’s not a secret that Vorendal conquered immortality, a trait envied by many in Belyos and a condition supported by the magic of his relic, the Heartlock, which Vorendal exposes as a badge of pride. However, no one knows exactly how he achieved this feat, and Vorendal clearly isn’t willing to share his little secret anytime soon. He seems to enjoy the many theories the court comes up with, in fact.
It was during the Luminous Crusade that Vorendal first achieved the renown he now enjoys. The Order of the Shattered Throne is a declared foe of the Legion and of the Anush-Vah, for in their eyes, it’s unnatural and inherently evil to deny the dead their righteous slumber and sinful to prevent their heavenly judgment. The distance between both factions usually prevents direct conflicts, but the city-state Veloma, a neutral sanctuary to commerce in the Golden Road where all faiths are accepted, became a stage for a battle between the Valcarist Church and the Priests of Anush-Vah, which ignited the Luminous Crusade.
The Valcarist Church and the Priesthood of Anush-Vah had always been at odds and their conflict came to a boil over 200 years ago. The assassination of a Valcarist Priest took place in Veloma, which outraged the members of the Order. The incident was blamed on the religious envoys of Belyos, leading to escalating aggressions that demanded the intervention of city forces. If the Belyans were truly responsible, no one really knows, but the Valcarists had been looking for an excuse to fight for a long time and this was the perfect opportunity. Veloma sided with the Belyans and protected them, which prompted the Order to send their forces to siege the city. It took a while but, one by one, the Order’s forces traveled south, demanding, with an army at their gates, that the city-states exiled all Priests of Anush-Vah from their territories. Fearing the Order’s power, the city-states conceded, but Veloma held their ground. In retaliation, the Order formed a siege around Veloma, compromising the city’s business and the well-being of its citizens.
It didn’t take long until the Legion sent their own forces to Veloma, but no commander could take the undead forces far enough out of Belyos to break the Order’s siege. The Legion had to rely on their few living troops and could only raise their undead forces for a limited amount of time. They were at a loss until Vorendal decided to take the matter into his own hands.
He presented himself before the Queen of the Dead, with a visage that was at once striking and dreadful. Vorendal had long white hair, and the sinister glow in his eyes was the same as the light emanating from the Relic on his chest, the Heartlock. At the time, he presented as an errant knight and promised the Queen of the Dead that he could deliver victory at Veloma. Sensing the power of his relic and his devotion to the cause of Anush-Vah, the Queen gave him permission and offered any forces she could spare. Vorendal said it was not necessary, for he would raise his own army.
Many nobles were quite skeptical about his ability to take the undead far enough from Belyos, but Vorendal showed them all not to underestimate him. Using his magic and the power of the Heartlock, the Dreadheart led a bloody campaign north, destroying settlements along the way and winning minor victories against the forces of the Order. Many died by his own hand, both combatants and innocents and with each victory, he raised the defeated as one of his soldiers, forming his army. By the time he arrived at Veloma, he had control over a whole legion of undead and was ready to strike. Vorendal didn’t wait for a clean fight, he charged during the night, surprising the Order’s soldiers and killing them before they could take up arms.
Vorendal knew that beyond reaching victory, he needed to send a message. His frontlines were composed of the undead who were soldiers of the Order in life, which deeply affected his enemies’ morale. To make things even crueler, as soon as an enemy perished, Vorendal would bring him back to fight for the Legion. In a single night, the Dreadheart had struck a deadly blow from which the Order couldn’t recover, turning Veloma’s outskirts into a bloodbath. The Valcarists were forced to retreat and Selejia celebrated Vorendal as a hero, for his actions ended the siege and freed the city. He could have kept traveling north, attempting to conquer the rest of the Golder Road, but the Order was strong and he didn’t have the element of surprise in his favor anymore. Besides, only promised his Queen he would solve the siege in Veloma and it was actually useful to keep some enemies alive. The survivors would go back to Dynas and tell the horrors Vorendal was capable of, spreading fear and making the Order think twice before trying something against the Legion again.
His performance during the Luminous Crusade is, until this day, talked about, praised, and feared in all of Selejia. Every faction considers this episode in the Legion’s history before trying to charge against Belyos or facing any of their leaders. Of course, Vorendal’s efforts for the glory of the Legion didn’t go unnoticed by the court. Those achievements made him rise to become the right hand of the Queen of the Dead herself, and one of her most trusted advisors.
However, Vorendal never contented himself with second best. He has played the court game for centuries with an unmatched patience, planning his next movements in a manner only he could. For Vorendal, taking some years to conquer his greatest desires is nothing, after all, he has all the time in the world and nothing has ever been able to stop him. As much as his current position is the dream of anyone in the Legion of the Fallen, Vorendal is determined to eventually become the supreme leader of Anush-Vah, taking the Queen’s power and position for himself. Unfortunately, this ultimate goal is out of his reach for now.
The Amatrix, an Everlasting Relic granted to the Legion by Ptan-Ravalum herself, has been the symbol of office to the Kings and Queens of the Dead since the days of the first Queen-Priestess, but its significance to the rulers of Belyos goes beyond that. Each King and Queen is the steward of the Relics’ power and they can wield it to perform great deeds, but only for a time. Every single ruler of Belyos since Ptan-Ravalum has passed on to the care of the Spirit-Walkers, leaving the Relic itself to decide on a successor. The nobles of Belyos all gather at Absyola during this time and embroil themselves in the political struggle for a chance of joining the selection ritual. Vorendal himself had a privileged chance to try and meld with the Relic and was soundly refused by it. Be it for his undying nature or the corruption of the Heartlock, the Amatrix would not allow itself to be wielded by Vorendal.
His efforts have since turned to schemes that may allow him to control the Queen, and therefore the Relic and the Kingdom, but he has not abandoned his bid for total dominion over the Anush-Vah. His attention is now drawn towards the Malediction, where Seekers venture, in search of lost Relics and their life-changing powers. Vorendal knows the secrets of the ancient empires are just waiting there to be rediscovered, and that with those secrets he may even be able to finally take the Amatrix for himself. Perhaps there are powers even greater awaiting for someone worthy to take them. Some may say such ambitions are the fruit of a maddened mind and that braving the Malediction is like choosing a slow and painful death. Vorendal does not fear death or pain; to him, the Malediction is nothing but another battlefield to conquer and all the glory and power of victory are as good as his.
