groundrules | undead lieges

THE UNDEAD LIEGES

A quick skim of the revealed undead factions that have taken Akhuras by literal storm so far.

ANURR \| "HALTHAM"
	Embodiment of ancestral cold storms and wind, who regained frozen western keep Sa-Hareth from Unhalad with the inadvertent help of the party in Arc I. Frostily rational and amenable to some negotiation. Has taken on the mantle of saviour to other undead. Acts as a lone force, opposed to Unhalad's 'siblings.' Typically recruits by offering willing unlife to those about to perish in the cold. His undead forces retain independence, a (diluted) sense of self and human-like intelligence. Created through betrayal. Misses an arm. Amenable to cooperating with the group, but untrustworthy. Pic source: Travis Fimmel as Ragnar Lothbrok (Vikings).
THE BROTHERHOOD An alliance of undead lieges that have seized the majority of the world of Akhuras. They began hostilities when the dead first stirred, with the storming of magically and technologically progressive Ellethia, leaving only the Merchant and a handful of refugees behind. They govern the lion's share of territory, relying on outskirt provinces — such as Sa-Hareth, during Unhalad's rule — for human conscripts for their armies or auxiliary labour. Sorcery citadel Taravast pays the brotherhood a tribute of magical weapons to escape similar enslavement.
UNHALAD \| SLAIN
	Lord of Famine. Former ruler of Sa-Hareth, who numerically outnumbered and briefly ousted Anurr with the help of magical reinforcements from his 'siblings.' Embodiment of famine and cannibalism. First emerged in the Sa-Hareth mines. His undead forces are crude, converted through duress, retaining little intelligent awareness and over-relying on animal instinct. Defeated during Arc I by the combined forces of Anurr and the party, his spirit absorbed by Sith Lord Archeval. Art source.
THE HUNTRESS
	Herald of the brotherhood. A beautiful woman who never gazes ahead. To meet her eyes is to relive your greatest tragedy. Rides bare at a hard pace. Where her stallion lingers, plants begin to wither, wells to dry, the earth starts to crack. Her extended presence is believed to have doomed Ellethia. She is followed by her retinue of feral dead, acting as hounds. All undead, necromancers and those who came close to death feel compelled to follow her. Previously Anui, loathed wife of the deceased Beastmaster.Art source.
BEASTMASTER \| SLAIN
	Lord of the Beasts. Embodiment of animal instinct and the bloody hunt. Could summon and command a vast army of living distorted creatures, including those of different realms. Seized Taravast to meet the forces of Anurr. Patron of the village of Ke-Waihu. Formerly Hyang-Won, a local huntsman, husband of the Huntress Anui. Sought his young son, who was sacrificed to the House of Ravens. Slain by Diego Hargreeves in Arc III. Art source.
THE CHILD
	Lord of Pestilence. Child of the slain Beastmaster, reduced to taking shelter in steampunk citadel Serthica. Received pestilential powers of decay he cannot control after being offered as human sacrifice to the Ke-Sanwon volcano by his mother, the Huntress. Can shatter and revive living and dead beings by manipulating particles.Art source.
RATHAKKU
	Lord of War. Cruel, cunning, decisive, strong. Apt torturer and tactician. Sufficiently patient to wait out a year of siege against Alem. Leads the armies of the brotherhood — so far, to perennial victory. Art source.
'THE RIDER ON A PALE HORSE'
	Referenced briefly by the Merchant: if the brother who comes rides a pale horse, flee without turning back. Name, abilities and temperament unknown. Art source.