Blood of Vol
The Blood of Vol cult attracts followers fascinated by death and the undead. The most dedicated of these revere an ancient lich who calls herself Vol, Queen of the Dead. The Blood flows into the distant past, through the earliest days of human civilization on Khorvaire, to the elf kingdom of Aerenal, and even to Xen’drik, the continent of secrets. Vol and her followers see undeath as a path to divinity, invoking negative energy in contrast to the positive energy that powers the Undying Court. They are captivated by the figurative and literal meaning of blood and by heredity, seeking to manipulate bloodlines to accomplish some fiendish purpose. Vol herself is a powerful necromancer who has unlocked the secrets of undead creation. Clerics of the Blood of Vol are lawful evil. They have access to the domains of Death, Evil, Law, and Necromancer. The cult’s favored weapon is the dagger.
On the surface, the Blood of Vol appears to be an ancient religion devoted to the figurative and literal meaning of blood— the mysteries of heredity, death, and the undead. It consists of small groups of followers scattered across Khorvaire who know nothing about the true motives and goals behind the religion; they simply believe that blood is the source of life and that undeath is a path to divinity. Beneath the surface, the true horror of the Blood of Vol plots and schemes. The true followers (as opposed to the common folk who unknowingly help hide the deceptions) revere the ancient lich Vol (NE lich [elf half-dragon], wizard 16), self-proclaimed Queen of the Dead. The Blood of Vol flows into the distant past, to Aerenal and Xen’drik, the continent of secrets. A powerful necromancer, Vol seeks to manipulate bloodlines and revive the power of long-forgotten House Vol—the Mark of Death. Vol nurtures her schemes of conquest and revenge in the halls of Illmarrow Castle, in the frozen north of the Lhazaar islands. In Karrnath, her priests control the Crimson Monastery in Atur, the City of Night. Other strongholds, temples, and secret shrines are scattered throughout the continent, and one hides even in the ancient elf homeland of Aerenal. Twenty-six hundred years ago, Vol was the heir to the fortunes of House Vol, whose members carried the Mark of Death. Her family attempted to mix elf and dragon blood to put an end to the wars that rocked both civilizations. Erandis d’Vol was the result of these experiments, a half-dragon created from the arcane union of her elf mother and green dragon father. She was hidden and raised in secret as both House Vol and the green dragon sought to find a peaceful end to the conflict. However, the revelation of Erandis’s existence had the opposite effect: Elf and dragon alike saw the mixing of the species as an abomination. Finally, the two sides came together on one issue—half-dragons and the House of Vol had to be destroyed. As the Vol family was slaughtered, the matriarch used her powers over death to make sure her beloved daughter survived. Erandis became a lich, and now remains as the single memory of her family’s ancient glory. She still bears the dragonmark of Vol upon her withered flesh, but without life within her, the mark is just a decoration; she has not been able to invoke its power since the day she became an undead creature. Vol’s plans have multiple facets and layers. She uses her loyal followers to gather information throughout the land, to whisper suggestions in the highest halls of government, and to watch for any sign that her family mark still flows through elf blood. She plots revenge against both the elves of Aerenal and the dragons of Argonnessen. She seeks to revive her family mark and take her place as a true god of Eberron. Vol’s duped followers include many members of the common races from all walks of life. Her true followers include both living creatures and the sentient undead, and many of her most trusted priests are vampires, mummies, and liches willing to bow down before her. To further her plans, Vol created the Order of the Emerald Claw. Few know of the order’s connection to the Blood of Vol, seeing it simply as a fanatical Karrnathi terrorist group.
Karranath
A cult dedicated to the undead in general (and secretly to the lich Vol in particular), the Blood of Vol has had a foothold in Karrnath since the time of Kaius I. Although the king was eventually able to break the cult’s hold on his government, the Blood of Vol continues to operate in the nation’s secret places, watching for opportunities to expand its influence and for ways to once again insinuate itself into the kingdom’s halls of power. The high priest of the cult in Karrnath is Malevanor (LE male mummy [half-elf], cleric 8 Blood of Vol), who oversees the rites and rituals of blood within the Crimson Monastery, the largest temple dedicated to the Blood of Vol in the nation. The Crimson Monastery commands a prime piece of real estate in Atur, the City of Night. Though the cult doesn’t draw as many followers as it once did, and though many of its shrines and temples have been closed or forced into hiding, the Crimson Monastery remains active and open to the current day. Malevanor’s adepts and other cult members have hooks throughout the kingdom, secretly manipulating events from the deep shadows while presenting a humble countenance from their open temple.
Lhazaar Principalities
The Blood of Vol: Far to the north, on the frozen island of Farlnen, the lich called Vol (NE lich [elf halfdragon], wizard 16) holds court. In the halls of Illmarrow Castle, among the ice-laden peaks of the Fingerbone Mountains, Lady Vol nurtures her plans for dominion and revenge. In life, Vol was the heir to the fortunes of House Vol. She carried the Mark of Death and proudly proclaimed her heritage as both elf and green dragon. Her half-dragon blood, once thought to be a way to end the elf-dragon wars, eventually led to the eradication of House Vol as both elves and dragons declared the mixing of the species to be an abomination. Lady Vol survived the destruction of her family, but became an undead creature—a lich. In the centuries that followed, she gathered followers to her side and created the cult of the Blood of Vol (as well as more recently the Order of the Emerald Claw, which secretly serves her). Cultists loyal to Vol spread word of her religion throughout the Lhazaar islands, and a handful of people among the Principalities consider it their primary religion. Most followers know nothing of Vol the lich or her history. Instead, they worship the idea that blood is life and that undeath provides a life beyond death and a path to divinity. Vol uses her highly placed loyalists to gather information and issue suggestions to the sea princes and their advisors. In many cases, Vol is the power behind the throne—both in the Principalities and in unexpected places on the mainland.
Blood of Vol in Sharn
The Blood of Vol is a religion that reveres the undead. In Breland—and even in much of Karrn— people associate the Blood of Vol with mad necromancers and armies of the dead. But as with the Church of the Silver Flame or the Sovereign Host, the majority of the people who worship the Blood of Vol are commoners—hardworking peasants and crafters who simply wish to be left alone to practice the faith of their fathers. The vampire lords and wizards of the Blood of Vol may seek to spread chaos across the world or to restore the Lost Mark, but the typical parishioner simply wants to do his duty, give blood on the holy days, and pray for the spirits of his ancestors who have been taken from this world. The followers of Vol in Sharn know little about the true nature of the religion. They also believe in the existence of the gods of the Sovereign Host—and despise them. The core belief of the Sharn sect is that death is the greatest evil of all. There is no glorious afterlife, no rebirth; death is oblivion at best, and eternal torment for a soul taken by the Keeper. The gods cursed the world with mortality, but Vol has found a way to escape this curse. Fearing the power of Vol, the gods fled to the heavens, and today they do not walk the world. To the followers of Vol, the sentient undead are champions in the battle against death. The faithful believe that in time, the vampire lords will take the battle to the heavens and destroy the gods, and that when this is done there will be no more death. The regular giving of blood is a form of reverse communion—a spiritual sacrifice, showing the willingness of the community to support their champions and to give their lives to overcome death. As for mindless undead, the soul is all that matters to the followers of Vol and there is no taboo against raising the dead as zombies or skeletons; on the contrary, it allows those unjustly taken from the community to still serve it in some way. While they believe in the righteousness of their cause, followers of Vol know better than to discuss their faith with outsiders, even with fellow Karrns. The vile gods have enslaved the world, and the followers of Vol know that most people will not listen to them. Some of the followers of Vol are actually of good alignment; these people are deeply opposed to violence, and refuse to participate in the killing of an innocent. Others believe that there are no innocents, and that those who choose to serve and believe in the gods of death deserve nothing better. It is these people who are usually secretly recruited to serve in the Order of the Emerald Claw. The congregation of the hidden temple in the Graywall district are primarily peaceful followers of Vol. They provide shelter and passive assistance to undead or members of the Emerald Claw, but they themselves are not killers or necessarily evil—no more or less so than the inhabitants of any other district of Sharn.
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