Order of the Shattered Soul
Despite its small size, or perhaps because of it, the Order of the Shattered Soul is working quickly to achieve its goal. The Order is made up of three members, religious zealots who broke away from their respective orders under the banner of the All-Consumer, a deity thought dead for so long that his name, and in many cases his existence, has disappeared from history altogether. However, the Order is convinced that the All-Consumer, whom they call the Shattered One or the Shattered Soul, still exists, wishes to return to life, and will reward them handsomely if they restore him to power.
In 835 PD, the Order discovered a gargantuan corpse lying at the bottom of a cave in Foren, perfectly preserved in a sea of red flowers. They believed this to be the avatar of the Shattered Soul and planned to resurrect it through a long-lost necromantic ritual. To this end, they gathered the Book of the Dead King from beneath the Aeor University of the Arcane School of Necromancy, the Blade of the Martyr from the vaults beneath Aeor's Exandrian History Museum, and attempted acquire a mortal creature who could be manipulated into giving up his life for their cause. Unfortunately for them, they chose a champion of the Shattered One's most hated enemy, the Raven Queen, whose friends slaughtered the Order's leader and sent the other two members running.
The remaining members of the Order have since realized that the body of the giant did not belong to their dead god; however, whispers of a screaming pit in Blightshore have reached their ears and piqued their interest. Recognizing how unprepared they were to face opposition, they have regrouped and traveled south, hoping to gather new acolytes to expand their power base and aid them in their scheme.
Notable Members
Although the Order began with three members, they are slowly and carefully expanding their membership to ensure that they never repeat their misfortunes in Eiselcross.Sarjour Sylvaranth
Neutral evil, male wood elf Originally a member of the Claret Orders, Sarjour was the first to believe Mithyola's tale of a dead god who wished to return to life. Understanding that a grateful god might grant valuable rewards, he recruited his friend Isafice and quickly took charge of the operation to resurrect the body of the All-Consumer's supposed avatar. He was killed in the ruins at the hands of an unnamed adventuring party, but Mithyola and Isafice hold hope that they will one day become strong enough to bring him back to lead them once again.Isafice
Chaotic evil, female halfling As an orphan in Port Damail, Isafice quickly learned that the only person she could trust was herself. Running away from the orphanage that had mistreated her, she ended up in the arms of the Myriad, which treated her just as badly but at least paid her in the process. When the Zhelezo burned down the warehouse where the Myriad was allowing her to live, she realized that the organization's time was at an end, at least for now. She fled north to the Marrow Valley, where she met Sarjour Sylvaranth, the first person to show any interest in her beyond her ability to steal. She spent some time learning from the Claret Orders before faithfully following Sarjour north to Eiselcross.Mithyola
Lawful evil, female goliath Formerly the Tribehealer and Legendspeaker of the Kunathali goliath tribe, Mithyola lost everything when she became a servant of the All-Consumer. The blood magic her patron granted her terrified her people, who branded her forehead with the symbol of a knife and cast her out, stripping her of name and title. Mithyola now wanders Exandria, convinced that resurrecting the All-Consumer is the only way to save the people who abandoned her and redeem herself in the process.History
Years ago, Mithyola Legendspeaker was the spiritual leader of the nomadic Kunathali goliath herd in the mountains of Foren in Eiselcross. She studied their oral tradition as soon as she was old enough to memorize song, so by the time she came of age, she knew the herd's entire mythology and history by heart. For years, she led her people in their rites and rituals and recited songs of the past to remind them of who they were.
In the year 830 P.D., a terrible plague swept through the Kunathali herd, and their Tribehealer was among the first to perish. With no one else fit enough to make the trip, Mithyola journeyed north toward Mutalos, where altaroth live on swamp days. Although at the time the herd was too far south for the altaroth to survive the trip, she brought a magically heated jar with the hope that the warmth would extend their little lives long enough that their sacs would still be potent when she returned.
Three days into her journey, a terrible blizzard struck Foren. Mithyola took shelter in a cave. As she slept, terrible nightmare visions haunted her dreams. She saw death sweep Exandria, bringing rot to all living things, and rising out of the desecration a horrible, all-consuming darkness. However, in the unity of death she saw order, and in the darkness she saw peace. When she woke, she traveled deeper into the cave and found a chamber with blood-red flowers growing across every wall but one. This wall proved hallucinatory, but a wall of force stood behind it, cutting her off from the whispers beyond. Mithyola returned to her herd with hundreds of the flowers, which she ground into a medicine that saved her people.
Mithyola visited the cave often, dreaming its dreams and experiencing the terror within. The more time she spent within it, the more obsessed she became with the darkness that rose up from the rot in her visions. She devoted herself to the voice of that darkness, whom she called the Shattered One, teaching the Kunathali that only by surrendering to its desire for destruction would they restore order to Exandria. The Kunathali thought her mad until the Shattered One granted her blood magic, which she wielded in the defense of her herd when a rival clan of wildfolk hunted in their territory. Taking control of the blood in their veins, she moved them like puppets and forced them to slaughter each other. Horrified, the Kunathali stripped her of her names, branded her forehead, and forced her out.
With nowhere else to go, Mithyola traveled south to the Greying Wildlands. There she met Sarjour Sylvaranth, a blood hunter of the Claret Orders who was more concerned with power than slaying monsters. He believed Mithyola's story and recognized that the Shattered One must have tremendous power if he could contact mortals and grant boons even in death. Sarjour and his companion, Isafice, abandoned the Claret Orders and followed Mithyola back to Foren, where they explored the cave in depth and began to concoct a plan...
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