The Duskmorne Conspiracy

OVERVIEW

The Duskmorne conspiracy was an internal struggle between factions within the Jergencrest Arcanium; at the time the headquarters for the entire The Academy of Arcanium . The principal antagonist was Uriel Duskmorne, a powerful wizard who rose to prominence outside the walls of the Arcanium and attempted to create and pull off a violent takeover the of the institution to use its resources to further his person goals.

Uriel Duskmorne

What little remains of the written records of the man come from the few writings by his followers that survived the ordeal. Nothing is known about his early life, and if anything was written, was probably more myth than reality. In the 1240s, Uriel began being seen, travelling around The Empire of Varangia teaching arcane techniques and philosophies. As someone unaffiliated with the Academy, these teachings were illegal within the Empire. But neither the Academy nor Empire made much of an effort to crack down on this type of freelancing. Under these conditions, Uriel grew a sizable following and eventually formally settled in the city of Kelretnia. Uriel's beliefs were the antithesis of the Academy's. He believed folks were meant to push the Arcane to its limits, and any danger with that, worthy. Sacrifice in the pursuit of perfection was necessary. As a result, his disciples caused numerous destructive and deadly events in and around the city. His acolytes were known to dabble in necromancy and practiced harmful techniques on unwilling test subjects.

The Seeds of Rivalry

It was at this point the Academy began moving towards curtailing his movement. The headquarters in Jergencrest under the guidance of the Arch-Provost Valorie Boldwinter lobbied the Kelretnia local government to shut Uriel down. But by this point, Uriel's sycophants had usurped much of the power in the city, and thus, the demands of the Academy went ignored. Furthermore, Arcanium expeditions to uncover magical artifacts began to get disrupted by Uriels followers. This led to many deadly encounters, and only enhanced the growing tension between the two entities. Also, throughout the Empire, multiple branches of the Academy were burgled and ransacked. The Duskmorne's did a poor job of covering their tracks. Valorie went to Horthmert directly to petition the Emperor to brand Uriel a criminal and disperse the cult out of safety for the people within the Empire. The emperor eventually agreed, and thus Uriel and his followers went into hiding deep within the Great Veldt Jungle.

The Conspiracy

By 1250 AC, a faction within the Jergencrest Arcanium began growing in influence. They accused Valorie of being ill-equipped to handle her position and used Duskmornes actions and disappearance as evidence. Unbeknownst to Valorie at the time, this faction had been created and funded by Duskmorne followers. At this point, many had infiltrated the Academy and were colluding to bring its demise from within. The man pegged to unseat Valorie, Tergard Olivate had been one Uriel's first disciples, and imbedded himself within the Academy early on. This faction leaked vital information to their fellow followers outside the Academy. It is rumored many dangerous, and power artifacts left the safety of the Academy and were released back into the world. There were a few assassinations of Valorie loyalists that many believe came with the backing of Uriel and his followers. Valorie and Estmyra Mystbringer were not aware of how deep the conspiracy went until The Pranathe Three, hired by Valorie tracked down the The Twelve and unraveled their true intentions and connection to Uriel. With this information, Valorie, Estmyra and the Jergencrest Academy were able to root out and apprehend the conspirators.

Final Confrontation

With much of the nefarious tactics used, and crimes leveled against the Academy by Uriel and his followers now known, the Academy took on the task of bringing Uriel to justice. Valorie, her Arcanium team with support from Varangian auxiliaries eventually tracked Uriel down in his sanctuary deep within the Veldt. It is rumored that the Valorie and Uriel confronted each other in a great duel. We know from personal writings of Valories inner circle at the time, she blamed Uriel for Estmyra's disappearance, therefore revenge was no doubt on her mind. Regardless of what really happened, Uriel was reported to have been slane during an attempted apprehension and his following was snuffed out.

Lasting Impact

The image of the Academy of Arcanium in the eyes of common people suffered immensely. For many did not understand the difference between the two entities, and associated the destruction caused by the Duskmorne's as being carried out by elements of the Arcanium. The danger and destruction wrought by the pursuit of the Arcane always weighed heavily on the mind of those outside the walls of study. For years the Academy had prided itself as a bulwark against said destruction, yet, here it was, their own causing it. Mistrust of the institution and those with Arcane abilities only grew in the following years. This along, with previous events during Pyrhem's Calamity, Invasion of the Mountain King , and later on The Zurlandor Crisis and the rumored causes of the The Great Cataclysm of the Darnelles, all perpetrated by individuals' astute in the Arcane only furthered the resentment and mistrust. Overtime the Arcanium became more and more insular and protective of itself.

Duration: 1499 AC to 1556 AC
Belligerents: The Jergencrest Arcanium & Disciples of Uriel Duskmorne