The Twisted Rune
The Twisted Rune is a highly secret cabal of liches and other powerful undead spellcasters. The inner circle is highly secretive, and employed agents to do their bidding, most of whom were unaware that they worked for the Rune. At one point the Twisted Rune was the most powerful organization in southwestern Faerun. Since the Spellplague, the Rune has been much more secretive and has avoided showy displays of power as it had done in the past (e.g. Halaster's Highharvestide).
Key Facts:
- Despite being composed of Liches and other undead spellcasters, the Rune is politically opposed to the Red Wizards and Szass Tam in particular.
- The Twisted Rune knows Halaster Blackcloak's secret of Gate construction and have built a network of such gates all over Faerun.
- Ralayan the Occultacle is one of the nine Senior Runemasters
Structure
The Twisted Rune began as a consortium of liches, as they created and made the group what it is today. Each lich used its own agents, who had their own networks in turn. In this original incarnation (before the second death of Rysellan the Dark), the Runes membership quickly grew unwieldy without the checks and balances necessary to maintain control over the ranks. The organization of the Twisted Rune now is much tighter; only those one or two ranks from the senior Runemasters even know they are part of the Twisted Runes network. The senior Runemasters Council is now a tightly knit group of nine like-minded undead beings content to remain behind the scenes and work in concert to gain power for all concerned. They remain active
in very small ways among the lesser members and agents, using charms and other subtle tactics to avoid drawing much attention to themselves. Many Twisted Rune agents and members are in other power groups in the South, from the Cowled Wizards of Amn to the Knights of the Shield, and these groups are none the wiser.
Assets
The two greatest assets of the Twisted Rune are the long arm of time with which they can infiltrate other organizations, and the gate network constructed by Frostrune and Ralayan. According to Ralayan's notes, over 100 gates now exist in locations such as the Wood of Sharp Teeth; the Giants Run, Troll, Marching, Omlarandin, Starspire, and Osraun Mountains; Shoonach; Cape Velen; the Calim Desert; the Thornwood; the Forest of Mir; and various islands among the Nelanther, on the Deepwash, and in the Lake of Steam. Underground and undersea gates also exist. Not all of them link to the senior liches lairs or to each other, nor are they all automatic (some requiring a mental or verbal command or physical token for their destinations or activation).
History
Founded in the Year of the Broken Branch (864 DR) by the aging mage Rysellan the Dark, the Twisted Rune was intended to be a secret consortium of mages manipulating the real power of the South. After placing contacts within an area, each contact or agent cultivated a web of other lesser agents and contacts, further spreading the intelligence and control of the Rune member to whom he or she reported. By the Year of the Dracorage (1018 DR), the Twisted Rune was the largest power group in southwestern Faerûn, with agents infiltrating the power structures of every country and city south of the High Moor and west of the Storm Horn Mountains. While the Rune attempted to control nations from within, the political stability of this region was never great, making it difficult for the hidden wizards to manipulate any power. The Twisted Rune wormed its way into controlling the lesser powers of Valashar and Mierittin and the royalty of Tathtar and other smaller realms, only to watch their work crumble from the actions of others. After losing much of their influence on the grand scale, senior Rune members began planning the control of cities and towns before controlling whole countries.
Just as with the Red Wizards and the Zhentarim, the Twisted Rune became as much an enemy to itself as its opponents for power. Its members actively plotted to undermine or usurp the power and influence of other Rune members, and this of course led to internal strife. For centuries, the Rune could not work agents into the royal power structures of Tethyr until the Year
of the Tomb (1182 DR), when Rysellan the Dark gained the contact and confidence of the court vizera Wyvorlaa. For a few short years, the Rune influenced Tethyrian politics and power, and the close work between vizera and senior Runemaster gained Rysellan the jealousy and enmity of the Runes more rapacious members. In the Year of the Soft Fogs (1188 DR), Rysellan s plan came undone when three other liches accused the founder of revealing the Runes secrets; the spell battles and intrigues then unleashed saw the final death of Rysellan the Dark and the destruction of two of his apprentices (also liches of the Rune). Thanks to three Amnian liches (two of which were destroyed in the battle), the Rune also caused the end of its own influence in Tethyr, as Wyvorlaas alliance was uncovered and she was executed as the last vizera. Similar conspiracies reigned a century later, when Bhagenn the Crimson attempted to slay the other senior members of the Rune and take command; he was betrayed by his own protege, Priamon Frostrune Rakesk, and Frostrune became a lesser member under Jhaniloth Puiral.
Powers shifted across the Realms with the poisoning of King Azoun of Cormyr and the rise of Zaranda Star in Tethyr. The Twisted Rune needed to put some of its plans into motion to restore its power base, partially lost during the Time of Troubles. With Cormyr in political chaos, courtiers could be turned into deep cover agents of the cabal. The stabilization of Tethyr drove the Runes influence further underground, but the shortterm loss could be overcome should the Twisted Rune insinuate itself into the new power structures of Tethyr and Amn. Lastly, the Rune had to act after centuries of inaction because the Red Wizards of Thay were encroaching westward, and this had to stop. Higharvestide of the Year of the Gauntlet (1369 DR) saw the Runes greatest and most disruptive power play. Priamon Frostrune Rakesk and Ralayan the Occultacle kidnapped Halaster Blackcloak from Undermountain. While Halaster was their prisoner in the Tears of Selûne of wildspace, the two liches mined his thoughts for the secrets he held on gate construction and manipulation. Meanwhile, gates to and from Undermountain raged out of control, spewing monsters from Undermountain across the Realms and hurling innocents into the deepest of dungeons. While the chaos was not intended, it suited the Twisted Runes plans, as it kept major players distracted and away from the true villains.
Halaster ultimately escaped their clutches, but not before Frostrune and Ralayan learned his secrets. The Twisted Rune now had knowledge that allowed it to circumvent Red Wizard interference in its plans and possibly destroy the Red Wizards, thanks to the gates that the Rune could now build and control. As only those two Twisted Rune members were involved, the Lords of Waterdeep and Harpers believe it was simply a private conflict between the exiled Priamon and Halaster. In less than a year, Priamon (now a senior Runemaster for his efforts) has created a series of gates all about the Lands of Intrigue, linking each Runemasters lair to central meeting points or each others lairs. The major meeting places of the Rune have two-way gates that recognize which gate was used by beings to arrive there, and automatically sends them home when they leave the meeting. All of these gates were specially designed to work only for undead beings; any living creature that uses these gates would be drained of life and the gate would fail to activate. Unfortunately for the Twisted Rune, this safeguard was put in place by Frostrune to avoid his betrayal by his fellows: upon his final death the prohibition against use by the living ended, leaving the Twisted Rune exposed.
Founding Date
Founded in 864 DR by Rysellan the Dark
Type
Secret, Brotherhood
Notable Members
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