Remnants

Cult of the Whispered One

During the Age of Arcanum, a powerful archmage known as the Whispered One attempted to ascend to godhood by conducting the Ritual of Seeding from high atop the citadel of Thar Ampala in the realm of Shadow. The Whispered One surrounded himself with a cult of fantastical mages and empowered murderers to protect him during his ritual of apotheosis. Yet the cult was shattered, and the Whispered One defeated, at the hands of Yos Varda and the Army of the Just. Defeated, ruined, and their Whispered One destroyed, the cult appeared to vanish from the world.
Even in apparent death, this dark mage left instructions with his most devoted, allowing for the possibility of his defeat—and the promise of rebirth. The remains of the cult dubbed themselves the Remnants and began laying the groundwork for the Whispered One's eventual return. With each passing generation, his will grew ever stronger, until one day the Remnants accomplished their task. Vecna the Whispered One returned from the clutches of death, completed his Ritual of Seeding, and began his ascent to godhood, only to be immediately banished beyond the Divine Gate by Vox Machina. Though they are now scattered, the Remnants seek new ways to restore their god to his promised position of absolute dominance over creation.

Figures of Interest

Quinton Puck

Lawful evil, male human
While he runs a middling jewelry business within Emon, Quinton is secretly the leader of the Unveiled Sight. He is a master of creating and piercing illusions, deciphering ancient script, and all things to do with the magical arts of obscurement and unveiling. He can be recognized by his blood-red spectacles.

Ixrattu Khar

Chaotic evil, female vampire (tiefling), Master of the Devouring Blood
This escapee from the Black Bastille prison in Emon is Tal’Dorei’s most infamous mass murderer, who once slaughtered and consumed hundreds of innocents on a deadly killing spree from Kymal to Emon. During her imprisonment, Ixrattu was plagued by shadowy visions of a woman beckoning to her from beyond the bars. The visions pointed her towards weaknesses within the Black Bastille's guard, and helped her achieve the unthinkable: escape. Once free, she vanished for a year as she scoured the countryside, puzzling over the cryptic whispers of her continuing visions.
At the end of her quest was a fateful discovery: within a lightless underground passage, she found the venomous crossbow Condemner, a Vestiges of the Divergence. Now she lurks in Kraghammer, where she trains a network of elite assassins who gleefully dispatch anyone the Unveiled Sight identifies as an enemy of the Remnants.

Public Agenda

The Whispered One achieved an incomplete victory over twenty years ago, and now his cult is building a new generation of faithful to make his megalomaniacal dreams a reality. The cult’s leadership believes that reuniting these malign artifacts will give them greater power to commune with their god and let them begin their quest in earnest to reach him through the Divine Gate. This leadership is known as the Circle of the Dismembered. Each cult leader in the circle commands a branch of the cult, named for a part of the Whispered One’s body. These factions are:
The Unveiled Sight. Members of this cult are tasked with scouring the planes for arcane lore that could restore their master to the Material Plane.
The Mordant Voice. Members of this cult serve their master by infiltrating other factions across Tal’Dorei and subverting their purposes with subtle propaganda.
The Devouring Blood. Members of this cult specialize in the art of silent death. They train in stealth and necromancy to become truly horrific assassins.
The Unseen Touch. Members of this cult are trained in magic that corrupts the mind and perverts the will, making them vile puppet-masters that prepare the world for their god’s return.
The Insatiable Heart. Members of this cult do the vital ground-level work of seeking out new blood. They are trained to exploit the emotional weaknesses of their targets to convert them to the cult, without the need of magic.

Foreign Relations

The Remnants remain largely unknown, even after their master’s grand ascension, and wish to keep it that way. Those who are aware of their presence are either cult members or people who have uncovered their insidious existence and wish to stamp it out wherever it may appear. Thus, there are rarely any alliances made by or with the Remnants.

Type

Religious, Cult

Deities

• Vecna

Location

Tal'Dorei