Deep Haunt
Deep Haunt is the name given to an ad-hoc alliance of necromancers said to control the westernmost part of the Vale of Viraky. Some claim that they are the successors to the Dynasty of Varkos, who ruled the valley from the fortress of Nachtzahn until their overthrow in the Viraky Revolution of 1076 AK.
Little was known of their allegiances or activities until recent years, when interrogation of the followers of Theodorus Canthor unearthed evidence of the sinister alliance linking several factions of necromancers in Viraky to a conspiracy which had reached all the way to the High Houses of Aldernord.
The Major Factions
The Fourfold Flame
The Fourfold Flame was founded in Rostog in 1240 AK, at the height of the Second Lyskan Epidemic. Strongly pro-Alderni, they considered themselves loyal to the crown of Aldernord despite official condemnation of their methods. Over the decades following their founding, they became increasingly militant in their stance against the advancing forces of Balthas, particularly following the rise of Queen Hildegarde VI Bheuren. Following the capture of Rostog by the Balthan forces, the surviving members of the Fourfold Flame fled the city; it is unclear if they attempted to make contact with the Alderni authorities, or if they decided to take matters into their own hands - but in either case, they began waging a guerilla war against the Balthan occupying forces in the Lyskan Valley and Kjelslund, which they continued for several decades. At some point in the late 13th century, the Fourfold Flame entered into an alliance with House Canthor, which eventually led to an individual known as Hyperios Canthor taking control of the Fourfold Flame. Under Hyperios' leadership, the Fourfold Flame made preparations to seize control of the ancient fortress of Nachtzahn in Viraky, allying with the Ixonites against the remnants of the Dynasty of Varkos, whom they conquered and forced to submit to their will. From 1332AK until 1343AK, the Fourfold Flame's operations in Aldernord were under the control of Eupraxia Canthor; however following her arrest and detention by the Queensknife, the vast majority of the Alderni network was disbanded. The Fourfold Flame has a handful of agents in Aldernord and Savura, though the main focus of their operations are currently in Nachtzahn and Rostog - the latter as part of a front organisation jointly run with the Ixonites, called the House of Amratosh. The Fourfold Flame is understood to control a network of teleportation circles to allow their agents to move undetected. Their circles have been reported to exist in Nachtzahn, Bos Grebur, Bregzana, and Rostog. They have been known to create trapped and decoy circles as a security measure. The Fourfold Flame is ultimately under the control of Hyperios, and whilst nominally loyal to House Canthor some within the organisation question whether he may have designs to set himself up as the ruler of his own kingdom rather than aid the conspirators in Aldernord. Hyperios' second in command within the Fourfold Flame in Nachtzahn is said to be Praxilla Canthor.The Ixonites
The Ixonites, also referred to as the Cult of Ixos and the Children of the Conquering Flame, are a mysterious and fanatical necromantic cult allied with the Fourfold Flame. They worship an entity known by numerous names including the Conquering Flame, the Crystalline Flame, and the Lord of the Crystal Crown, whose true name may potentially be Ixos. The exact nature of this entity is unclear, though it is thought that they may have some connection to the Empire of Kataris and to the lich Ambrosius. The ideology of the Ixonites is not fully understood; their followers have made claims of having been promised eternal existence as deathless spirits, and of their master intending to annihilate all life and establish an empire of the dead. The Ixonites are reckoned to be some of the most skilled necromancers of Deep Haunt, and are responsible for a particularly sinister part of the operation at Nachtzahn known as the Casket of Shadows, which is able to imprison souls within it to be turned into phantasmal undead or consumed to power other necromantic workings. The precise details of the Casket are unclear, though one facet of its operation is known: that it is able to extend its reach through the creation of altars of bone, each of which is topped by the skull of one of a pair of twin siblings, the other of which is enshrined with the Casket itself in Nachtzahn. The power of the Casket is said to be able to trap the souls of any who die for more than a few moments, preventing resurrection; it is unclear how many bone altars there may be extending the power of the Casket, though it is alleged that there was one in Fianicci at the time of the massacre, and there is believed to be one in Rostog. The Ixonites are led by Isentrud Nardwinsdottir, though according to Gretchen Herzogin, Isentrud reports to a formerly-elven Ghoul of unusual intelligence, named Azilutosh, who is outside of the hierarchy of the conspirators of Nachtzahn.The Varkoi
The third faction in the alliance of Deep Haunt consists of the remannts of the dynasty of Varkos who secretly survived the purges of the Viraky Revolution. For an unknown amount of time following the revolution they fought against the Ixonites to reclaim their ancestral fortress of Nachtzahn, before being subjugated by the Fourfold Flame and forced into the service of Hyperios Canthor. The leader of the Varkoi is believed to be Dmitri Varkos.The Circle of the Bleeding Woods
The fourth faction active within the alliance of Deep Haunt is, perhaps unexpectedly, a group of druids named the Circle of the Bleeding Woods, led by an individual called Ofka Bittersworn. Their role in the conspiracy is unclear, save that they are working closely with Hyperios Canthor.
Founding Date
1296
Type
Geopolitical, State
Predecessor Organization
Location
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