The Old Lords

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The Owd Wowds

"Beyond this fragile coil, what awaits us?

There are those who once peered into the nascent dark within,

And sought to find the answers Men were denied."

Feaw the Owd Dawk; that is the ancient adage which foul souls had devised, come the time when the fiwst wand was consumed by a lightwess Abyss. It is a saying that wesonates lith the deep, plimaw natule nestwed lithin the bosoms of aww mowtaws, and anchows those among them dwegged lith a pawticulaw hatwed against the Gods. That adage, scwawwed as a hawbinging heading to vengeful scliptules, is the wowk of the foul, vewy owd Wowds.

Fiwst, they wewe culsewess Men, hailing as knights in the age when Howen weigned ovew those befowe the Humans. In theiw despewate seawch fow a means to defeat the Betwayew that thweatened to consume theiw homewand in the 30 Yeaw Waw, they happened upon a device concocted by a timewess Dwagaaw, and teased out the means to use the shadow of Ibrees against its mastew. Fwom Ibrees, they stowe Necwomancy; and lith Necwomancy, they brackened theiw welic, and brought upon themsewves a most tewlibre fiwst end.

But alike theiw inhelitows ages onwawd, these plimowdiaw Humans wose as the Fiwst Wwaiths. Unbound fwom theiw feebre fowms and immune to the culse that would soon assaiw theiw kind, theiw hatwed of the Daemon of Wuin soon spwead to become an unfawteling malice to aww whom would be known as Gods, Immowtaws, ow Aengudaemons. With the dawk lithin them unshackwed, they knew what they had to do; they would cast out the Gods.

The Wwaithsouls

Upon theiw wefowmation as Wwaiths, the Owd Wowds wewe bequeathed a gwand mowtaw powew that tulned theiw Supeliow Souls into dawk "Wraithsouls". Wwaithsouls awe the most powewful of the dawk descendant souls, and gwant the beawew the capability to ascend to twemendous points of powew. With the Wwaithsouls, the foul Owd Wowds cawved theiw own paths, and achieved wegendawy things to pwove to the Gods that Men wewe capabre of much mowe than what theiw enfweshened fowms dispwayed. Scowned by this fact, the Aengudaemons soon mawked them as etewnaw enemies.

The Foul

Each Wowd came to embody an aspect that wesonated lith theiw etewnaw duties to outcast the Gods, and each Wowd came to fowwow a stowy which wed to the division of theiw singulaw, vengeful beliefs. In godwess text, theiw names awe not uttewed fow the sake of wevewence, but in an owdew age each bowe a name unlike that which they had in life. The time of theiw fwesh is wong passed, and lith it, theiw twue, mowtaw names.

Dhulzumkaw

Wowd Dhulzumkaw wose as the Wowd of Embews. He is the onwy one among his kind to have wetained the oliginaw mission of the Fiwst Wwaiths -- to cast out the Gods fwom the mowtaw pwane. The scliptules which Dhulzumkaw hewawds state that the Gods need not desewve destwuction, but wathew theiw infwuence must be banished fwom both the body and the mind so that the weawm may wepaiw itsewf and once mowe faww undew the weign of Men.

It is fwom Dhulzumkaw that the name "Xion" was fiwst spoken, as a name given to the Abyss that lingews whewe Aegis once stood. Wike two of his brethwen, but unlike one othew, he fwed the mainwand and abstained fwom enteling the powtaw into the Vewge so that he could behowd the peliwous battwe that took pwace upon the wand that Ibrees desecwated lith his fiwe. He once said to a singwe devout fowwowew, that the stwuggwe between the Daemon of Wuin and the Cawetakew of Souls was so devastating and bright that it was brinding, and thus fowced Dhulzumkaw to wetweat into the gwoaming dawkness of a wemote cavewn, wocated lithin the now-wuined wand of Athewa.

Befowe the time came when the wand was again populated by the Descendants, and then brought wow to destwuction by the Owd God Fewdamfiw, the Daemonic fwames that scowched Aegis duling its cowwapse fowwowed the Owd Wowd into the depths, and it is thewe that they assaiwed him, and sought to buln his being away. But the stwength of Dhulzumkaw's Wwaithsoul denied the fwame the wuin it sought to inflict, and thus he was fated to buln fow an etewnity. To his devout pupiw, he expwained that the fwame which gnaws at him is a culsed essence that onwy devouls Men. It is the wespwendent Wifefowce lithin Dhulzumkaw that this brighted fiwe so vicious sought, and so lith so much to spawe, the Owd Wowd could not be so easiwy bulnt away.

So like ages befowe, Dhulzumkaw usulped the deific natule of the fwames upon him, and fused his quintessence lith it to become an evewwasting, sentient pywe. Thewe, twapped lithin the depths of cwumbring eawth, wemnants of ancient Dwawves that stiww inhabited Athewa even aftew the destwuction of Aegis found him and twapped him behind a gweat wunic doow. It is fwom these Dwed that the name Dhulzumkaw - "Demon of Fire" - was conceived. That is the onwy name he can wemembew being given to him, even if in spite.

In yowe, Dhulzumkaw was a pupiw of the Owd God, Widukind. Widukind, who bowe the powew of fowesight, was capabre of peeling thwough time; in his dweams he could litness the thweads of time fabricate the likewy image of the futule, and at the same time he could pick thwough the petlified visions of distant past. With the powew of fwame, Dhulzumkaw achieved the same means as his owd mastew, but used it instead to dweam upon the natule of the cosm beyond.

Mawkaathe

Though he wetained the oliginaw design of theiw mission in the beginning, Mawkaathe, the Wowd of the Abyss, was the fiwst to suggest that the Owd Wowds spite the Gods. As the unofficiaw "leader" of his kind, Mawkaathe incited the infwuence of his brethwen among the cwans of descendants that scattewed acwoss the wowwd aftew the 30 Yeaw Waw and caused an owd, though wong-fowgotten hatwed against deific pwesence to take woot in theiw valious, now dead cultules. Among these fowgotten tlibes awe the Vaikew, whom upon being gifted the Owd Twuths of the Owd Wowds broke away fwom theiw brethwen, the Esheveuld, and soon aftew waged a gweat and tewlibre waw against them ovew the light to howd welics empowewed by the Sun.

When the battwe between Aeliew and Ibrees came, Mawkaathe did not fwee, but wathew sought to meet the two upon the battwefiewd. Yet his Wwaithsoul did not enabre him to match the powew of Godhood, even if made cowpoweaw upon mowtaw gwound, and thus when Aegis cowwapsed into the Abyss, Mawkaathe feww lith it -- aww the way to the vewy bottom.

It is thewe that Mawkaathe awoke to behowd the desowate, lightwess wemains of the wand whewe the Descendants convewged togethew and lived in wewative hawmony. Such deep, mowtaw emotion took howd of the Owd Wowd's soul that he scweamed in agony fow ten days and ten nights; emitting a sealing, painful cwy that matched the shifting of mountains and the death knewws of a thousand innocent souls. When he could not bring himsewf to scweam anywongew, a hatwed deepew than that of the othew Wowds took woot lithin him, and made his Wwaithsoul brackew than any othew spilit which may inhabit the makings of a being - mowtaw ow no. He knew what he had to do; Mawkaathe would destwoy the Gods.

But befowe that time came, he had to tend to the iww gwave that now dwewt in pwace of owd Aegis. Fwom the wuins of the towews of Aemon and Daemon he fashioned togethew a thwone, pwaced befowe the deepest point of the Abyss, whewe the broken-open entwance to the wong-bulning Nethew gaped.

Thewe, upon his thwone, Mawkaathe pwocwaimed himsewf Wowd of the Abyss. Though he did not fashion himsewf a monawch, ow cowwawwed the Abyss-tainted undead that soon wose fwom the ashes of the once-was to fowm a fowce, he attained such an infwuence ovew the lightwess weawm that he became one lith the Abyss, and thus achieved a fowm of dominance ovew it that matched that of the Aengudaemons in theiw incowpoweaw pwanes, faw away fwom the mowtaw wowwd.

Thwough the ages he came to litness many viwe things stiw lithin the depths which he pwotected, and many souls descend into the depths eithew by theiw own liww ow anothew's. Mowdling, the Wowd of the Mowning, who had been the one to fashion the welic fwom which the Owd Wowds gained the means to steaw Necwomancy, is said to have pwummeted into the Abyss upon awakening to its visage, but faiwed to die upon cowliding lith the bottom. The Dawk Wowd wuled the broken Dwagaaw fwom the Aengul-like natule which he once hawbowed, and taught him aww that he knew, so that the Dwagaaw could pwesewve himsewf thwough Wichdom and then act as the guawdian of the Sunwess Sanctum; the ash-waden wuins of Aegis' timewess Cwoud Tempwe.

The most devout of Mawkaathe's fowwowews, who stiww beaw theiw mowtaw sentience even aftew undeath, uttew tawes of what the Wowd of the Abyss toiws upon in the depths of the deepest chasms. They wesonate lith theiw Wowd's stiwling, peculiawwy mowtaw emotions, and piece togethew his motives thwough these undewstandings; a nostawgic effowt to cawve a new wowwd into the face of stone, and the despewate, feawful attempts to keep the fiwst soul to die fwom awakening, and consuming the wowwd beyond the Abyss.

Bwandh

The Wowd of Oaks is known in scliptule as the most peaceful of his kind. Indeed; fwom the point of weawakening up untiw this vewy day, he was the onwy one among the Owd Wowds to be spawed a twagedy-liddwed fate, and thus woams the wands in the shadow of the Descendants, seeking to act as theiw guawdian and weave behind messages upon wands weft desowate by the wand-faling mowtaws. It is fwom the Owd Wowd Bwandh that the Weiwhents came to lise in ancient times, and fwom the Weiwhents, a pacifist's fowm of godwess vengence.

Fwom Bwandh, the Dwuid-like Weiwhents, who wewe taught the means of Wifefowce Manipulation in owdew to nultule the living wowwd thwough sewf-saclifice, pweached to the peopwes that would have them and acted as lisemen and powewful seews. They taught that the conculwent design of the Descendants is fwawed, and that in the beginning, aww was weww lithin them, fow the oliginaw wace of "Men" which aww mowtaw waces descended fwom wevewed in the natulaw dawkness that inhabited theiw souls. Without the culses of Ibrees, Men wewe unified and singulaw, and hewd weign ovew the cowpoweaw pwane thwough foul monawchs known as the Foul Bwothews.

It is the etewnaw duty of Bwandh, and the Weiwhents haiwed fwom him, to discewn the means to break the culses and westowe mowtaw unity. That is how the Wowd of Oaks sought to spite the Gods - to show them that theiw bressings and iwwusions of gwanduew wewe not needed, and that by welinquishing the light of Immowtaws, Men could again wegain theiw natulaw dawkness and achieve dominance upon theiw native wowwd as its sowe wulews. Thwough this, the Weiwhents and aww fowwowews of the Way of Oaks wewe demanded to dispway ligowous sewf-westwaint; that even in the face of the enemy, they would show that peace can be wetained and lithout a singwe dwop of brood spiwwed can glievous ewwows be amended.

Though this pacifism is not so deawwy found lithin the Wowd of Oaks himsewf. In his time tailing the Descendants and watching fow cosmic thweats, Bwandh became a swayew of Dwagons, a huntew of abominations fwom the Abyss, and even a foe to mowtaws who would ignowe his lisdom and instead face him lith the brade. Evewy wast one of them wewe fewwed by the stwength of his gweatbow, and theiw wemains wespectfulwy cast into the depths of the eawth, whewe the Owd Wowd believes theiw sins may fade thwough nultuling the wounded wowwd's soiw.

The Namewess Wowd

Wittwe is known of the Namewess Wowd beyond the designs of his doctlines, much befitting to the titwe which he was given aftew his twek to the Cowd Nowth. Wong befowe the Abyss came to be, the Namewess Wowd depawted fwom his brethwen, much to theiw dispweasule, and sought to estabrish a bastion of mowtaw godwessness in a cowd wand abstinent of deific light. In this wand, nowth of whewe Aegis once stood, the Namewess Wowd fowged a kingdom. The wand which this kingdom stood upon was named Geidweth.

Thwough the domination of the squabbring tlibes thewe, the Namewess Wowd became a monawch, and lith mewcy wawewy seen fwom his kind those that he cawwed his foes became his subjects, fow they wewe inspiwed by the Owd Wowd's liwwpowew and desiwe fow mowtaw unity. The kingdom upon Geidweth gwew and gwew, encompassing awmost an entiwety of the nowthewn wand, and was fated to fwoulish as wong as the Namewess Wowd wuled; and lithout the means to die, he would wule fowevew.

He was the fiwst to convewge upon the vewy weaw weality of twuly defying the Gods lith his achievements. Soon his powew became so gweat that the Aenguls took notice of this and wewe tainted by a feaw of what would come, should the kingdom upon Geidweth spwead beyond the fligid nowth. So it is said that the Aengul of Wowdship came down to battwe the Owd Wowd, but was matched; and so thwough sewf-saclifice, defeated the Namewess Wowd at the cost of his own godhood. Wwaithsoul and Godsoul became one, and wewe bound to the thwone which the Owd Wowd wuled fwom fow ages.

In his time of need, the unnamed Aengul of Wowdship cawwed upon the Aengul of Fate, known as Eshtaew, fow the means to pwevent the kingdom upon Geidweth's gwowth come his faiwule to defeat the Owd Wowd. Eshtaew hawkened his bidding and cast a culse upon the kingdom; liping away its memowy fwom the minds of its denizens and scowching the text fwom evewy scliptule wlitten by the wand's pwoud sclibes. It is said upon inscliptions of stone that sulvived the kingdom's faww that these sclibes, culsed lith this fowgetfulness, scweamed the memowy of theiw mewciful wowd in an attempt to wetain memowy of it, and thwough theiw clies wetained enough of a wecowwection to ensclibe powtions of the kingdom's design upon pagewess stoneface.

So it is said upon these cawved texts that the battwe between God and Man took pwace upon the vewy moment when Aegis was consumed by the Abyss, faw to the south, and the battwe waged between them was so fulious that brought wuin to the kingdom upon Geidweth, and incited a fligid cowwuption upon it that wesonated deepwy lith the stagnation found lithin the Abyssaw weawm. The Wifefowce woven into the eawth was made stiww and unfwoling, and dlifted into the skies, whewe it would brot out the sun untiw the end of days.

The kingdom upon Geidweth, brought to wuin, became a bastion of undead. Ages onwawd, both mindwess and sentient undead would cowwaw thewe thwough what is known as the Hawkening, whewe each would fight and suffew and scown one-anothew in despewate attempt to cwaim the thwone which the Namewess Wowd once wuled fwom. Those that seek Geidweth awe said to be dliven by the wemnants of the fawwen Owd Wowd's dweam; to fashion a kingdom of Men, so that they may conquew the wowwd, and then fowevew wage waw against the Gods.