Thanat
Overview
This ancient lineage mastered necromantic arts, with some members even embracing undeath themselves. They specialized in death magic, capable of animating corpses, draining life energy, casting curses, and summoning and binding fiends. A cataclysmic retribution five hundred years ago decimated them to the last. Now they are forever bound to a macabre eternity as the deathless loremasters of House Magia.
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Origins
When Basil the Cruel summoned war's call five centuries ago, House Magia donned a mask of fealty and presented the warrior-mage with a macabre boon - risen armies of the dead and constructed weapons of potent magic. Yet, when the tide of battle surged, House Magia cast its gifts against the tyrant king. The necromancers of Thanat the Deathspeaker and their House entire turned their backs on Basil in the vainglorious gambit of ending the war in one stroke of treachery, their betrayal an echo of their original rebellion of years past. But Basil's retribution rained upon them, a tempest of wrath and magic that swallowed the Bloodline of Death, leaving a void in their wake but for the apotheosis of one single lich.
Now the inheritor of Thanat's grim legacy, the new Deathspeaker, Hadrian the Undying, his undead soul blackened with grief and vengeance, embarked on a task of unthinkable scale and gruesome intent: to reclaim his brethren, their knowledge, their power, from Death's firm grasp. So began the hideous cycle of Thanat's claim to Magia's fallen. The corpse of every slain sorcerer was subjected to arcane rituals of necromancy, their souls forcefully called back into ghoulish caricatures of life. Zombies, wights, mummies, ghouls, specters, the first Graveborn - all manners of undead monstrosities - resumed their station as scholars of Thanat's bloodline under Hadrian's command. Magia's libraries descended into restless vaults of eternal watchfulness, their halls stalked by the living dead. No breathing heir remains within the Bloodline of Death; only an undead lineage built upon Magia's deceased and lost, dedicated to the perpetuity of knowledge and the defiance of oblivion.
Motivations and Goals
The peculiar hierarchy of undeath signifies that the Deathspeaker's will descends through their entire flock. Thanat's primary goal under Hadrian the Undying is the preservation and imparting of knowledge, making the bloodline's members the lorekeepers of the House. The Deathspeaker finds fulfillment in teaching; not because of selfless compassion, but by indulging a deeply singular obsession with knowledge and tradition. The lich also seeks to ensure the longevity of House Magia and Cruxis itself, believing that the wisdom of the past can serve as a beacon for the future. Hadrian believes his own pursuit of power, immortality, and knowledge holds the torch for the preservation of sorcery's entire heritage. Thanat's legacy, however, extends beyond the macabre. The necromancers also pursue advances in medicine and alchemy with similar deathless zeal, strides though driven by a fascination with death, provide for life's preservation. In this fashion, Thanat represents a pragmatic approach, a necessary evil, neither malicious nor altruistic, prioritizing results with all tools within reach.
Role within Magia
Thanat and its undead custodians serve as the memory of House Magia, their contributions and endurance forming a vital aspect of Cruxis' existence. The lich and his disciples maintain the most comprehensive records of the house, the city, and the surrounding lands. They serve as invaluable advisors when the house finds itself confronted with difficult decisions. Hadrian's first-hand knowledge and his wisdom, while often cloaked in cryptic layers of antiquity and bizzare outbursts, can provide insights that are otherwise inaccessible. Beyond guardianship of lore, Thanat also nurtures the lifeblood of Cruxis. Their necromantic prowess aids in practical matters, breathing unlife into mindless undead from Magia's criminals and castoffs to tend the fields or serve as tireless sentinels, a silent workforce in eternal service. Legions of undead laborers work in uncanny harmony with the Stormcallers of Zephyros, the joint efforts of both bloodlines tending Cruxis' surrounding fields, sustaining the only large scale harvests in Pauza's northernmost marches.
Values and Beliefs
Death, to Thanat, was not an end but the beginning of a new cycle, a shift to a different state of being. The bloodline upholds a deep respect for the balance between life and death and see their manipulation of this balance as a means to understanding, rather than upsetting, the natural order. While they may not actively participate in the power struggles within House Magia, the bloodline staunchly believes in imparting the values of knowledge and wisdom beyond the barriers of morality. They believe that the lessons of the past and an understanding of death's mysteries can light the path forward. Thanat holds true to the belief that their existence, while shrouded in darkness and controversy, is necessary. They pursue necromantic knowledge, not for power but for understanding. They seek the mysteries of existence - life, death, and the in-between - not out of desperation but to safeguard their legacy. It is their hope that by delving into these arcane secrets, they might bring enlightenment to House Magia and to the world beyond. Though their practices have dwindled in influence with the bloodline's decline, the tendrils of their grim magic continue to bolster House Magia. They serve as chilling reminders of the darker reaches sorcerers can muster.
Leadership
"Old" Hadrian the Undying is the current Deathspeaker and most senior member of the Undead Bloodline: all others beside the lich were exterminated in the war against Basil the Cruel five centuries ago - then forcefully raised into their current undead fate. As an undead being who possesses incredible longevity and one of the few magicians in Cruxis interested in history and record keeping, Hadrian acts as the foremost keeper of the clan's traditions and secrets. Hadrian is well-versed in the lore and legends of Cruxis and Pauza, but his long unlife, undead cravings and stunted memory have given him a unique and alien perspective on the modern world of mortals. His awareness and motivations are often muddled with those of half a millenia ago, and while insightful when pressed, his eccentric goals and interests may not always align with visitors or allies.
Hadrian's long existence has taken its toll, and his physical form has long been transformed into that of a gaunt cloaked and desiccated figure, radiating with necrotic energy. Despite his age and frightening appearance, his long, bony fingers hold his books of lore and records with tender care, displaying passion for sharing history and knowledge that even necromancy cannot corrupt. His once-human eyes have long since been replaced with glowing pits of smoldering embers, hinting at the vast power the lich still wields.
What do all tales have in common? They end.
"Thanat, once my ward to guide, embraced his heritage of blood and bone. The same sparks of defiance I'd kindled in my own youth now flared in the heart of my wayward pupil.
My oaths bound me to Fulda's cause and traditions. Yet a voice whispered to follow. Oh, how the pages of time yearned to chronicle their tale! Thus did Hadrian the Chronicler, Hadrian the Bonetender, Hadrian the Mortal, Hadrian the Fool, forsake his anchor to trail his former students. One token specter from a past they sought to shed. As dawn and Isarne's voice beckoned our march north, I watched Lahrsted's marbled domes and spired towers under the newborn light for the last time."
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