History
This is a top-down timeline of the Five of Swords history (essentially serving as a campaign summary for our 126 session D&D campaign that ran from January 2021 to January 2024). For character-specific actions and arcs, look at the Members section below.
The members of the FoS met in the middle months of summer in 398 AR. Arstan Gehrwind had a quest he needed help with: head into the Ruins of Dergas, get magic materials back, and a blacksmith would tell him where his lost friend, Isabelle, had gone. Thus, the other four members of the yet-unfounded FoS---Valna, Thokk, Edward, and Veldrin---answered the call. They went forth into Dergas, slew members of a not-yet-important cult, and brought the magic materials back. The blacksmith gave Arstan the information, and Arstan asked his four new friends for a new favor: follow him to Loria, where more clues awaited.
They agreed, and their bonds grew deeper. Before they could leave Alnwick, however, the newly-arrived angelic warriors known as
The Chosen came to Alnwick. These angels had just recently pledged themselves to
The Theussaun Protectorate, an act that would continue to have ramifications throughout the FoS's adventures. Edward, for reasons not yet revealed, demanded they stay hidden. The FoS found friends in the thieves' network known as the King's Men and hid beneath the town. Veldrin and Arstan were caught out and about, however, and had a thankfully-nonviolent interaction with Hadariel, one of the Chosen.
Once the Chosen left, the FoS booked it to Loria. They had brief adventures along the way, but arrived in Loria unscathed. In Loria, the FoS's connection to the King's Men deepened. They took jobs and built relationships with other movers and shakers in the industrial city, like
Mastery of the
Wolfcast Company. Arstan continued searching for Isabelle, until the aforementioned cult reared their head once more.
The FoS realized the outpost they had hit in Dergas was a part of a much bigger conspiracy than they initially believed. This cult, the Followers of the Black King, were an Obsidian Lord cult devoted to uniting the followers of the Five and tearing the Protectorate down. The Followers attacked Loria and the cities of the First Line in a string of horrific bombings. The FoS helped the Protectorate---including the Chosen---in restoring order and slaying the attackers, but they knew they would have to hit the Followers' headquarters or more attacks would happen.
With a tip from the King's Men and help from Thokk's old war buddies in the Protectorate, the FoS snuck through the First Line and into the Desolate Foothills, where Dustorn Keep, headquarters of the Followers, awaited them. Accompanied by some key allies, the FoS tore Dustorn Keep down and defeated the Followers once and for all, though the battle was hard. The FoS were named heroes of the Protectorate and granted pardons for any crimes they had committed---a boon most useful to Edward, who had been hunted by the Protectorate for seeing things he shouldn't have.
Six months passed after the battle with the Followers. Several members of the FoS built powerbases, and all of them continued to train and grow. Then, in early 399 AR, the FoS received a job to escort Judith Celebrindal, a mage from
The Ioturan Heartland, down to the lands of
Camaerith. The FoS reunited and trekked southward. As they travelled, they and Judith came to trust and even like one another, but something sinister developed, too. The FoS had numerous encounters with supernatural beasts, each time accompanied by a strange, greenish-white mist.
The FoS got Judith to Camaerith safely, but the situation there developed quickly. Valna's estranged father, Arbane Elendiir, displayed an interest in the FoS quickly. He was an Ilthinaluvar of the
Camaerithian Circle, and thus one of the most powerful archmages in the world. He contacted the FoS for a job: go to a Camaerithian ruin named Amyahil, retrieve a Camaerithian artifact, then come back and get paid. The FoS took the job and went to Amyahil, and discovered it to be inhabited by horrid entities from Nathrivox. The mist was there, and they quickly realized there was something much larger than they believed occurring.
The FoS retrieved the artifact---a dark black orb---but Edward died in the process. They returned to Camaerith and resurrected him, but he decided to leave afterwards, believing he was out of his depth now. The FoS gave the orb to Arbane, and Arbane arranged for a
Bard by the name of Jonathan to join in Edward's place. The FoS warmed up to him slowly, but warm up they did, as Arbane sent them to Nathrivox itself to gather more artifacts. They did so without major difficulties, but continued to notice a conspiracy developing.
When the FoS returned to Camaerith, they gave the artifacts to Arbane, then decided to bow out of working with him further on account of their growing suspicion towards him and the conspiracy. Instead, the FoS pursued a series of other objectives: Valna slaying an End
Monk, Thokk becoming Tempestborn, and brokering the foundations of a peace between Orakgra and Camaerith. During this long stint, Arbane tipped his hand as an orchestrator of the brewing conspiracy. His network,
The Order of the Forgotten Blood, revealed themselves and staged a coup in Camaerith.
The FoS hurried back to Camaerith and fought through the occupied city. The Order, with ties to Nathrivox and specifically to Ellas Elendiir, had brought aberrations and vampires to the city to help hold it. And, with the orb the FoS had gotten for Arbane, he had blanketed the city in unnatural night. Their battle was long and hard, eventually taking them to a vacuum between planes to stop Arbane and Ellas from shattering Ellas's prison. They managed to defeat the ancient vampire, in no small part because Valna was able to convince Arbane to betray Ellas. The Order was thus defeated and Ellas's plans foiled, and Arbane was tried and sentenced to prison.
After the Order's defeat, the
Camaerithian Concord and Orakgra finalized their peace and ended the Orakgran War. The FoS helped Camaerith rebuild for a few weeks, then went their separate ways once more, until a new threat rose.
In the late months of 399 AR, that threat came in the form of a letter. Celevar, a major from Kubrington, summoned the FoS to Yathra Silthame in order to help him investigate his troubling suspicions as to the loyalties of the Temple-Tribunal. The FoS obeyed the summons and went to the Silver City, Arstan's home. Celevar met them there and they worked together to figure out what was brewing in Yathra Silthame. Celevar's suspicions led them to Heliestheos's Stars, an extraplanar group of foes that Veldrin had served for years who now planned to make their move and free Heliestheos from her extraplanar prison.
The FoS moved quickly to try and slow the Stars down, for the Stars' plans were well-laid and hard to follow. The first large battle came when the Stars attacked Yathra Silthame by way of infernal portals on Twilight's Recompense. The FoS fought and slew Ath'tared, one of the higher ranking Stars, but faced defeat nonetheless as Vyllath and Thur'anach invaded the city with dragons and aberrations. The FoS fled desperately and regrouped back in Camaerith, where a handful of their allies and family members had gone to recover. There, the FoS planned how to defeat the Stars and healed.
The FoS proceeded to go on a multiversal adventure gathering allies and making strategies to defeat the Stars and prevent Heliestheos's release. Veldrin forged a pact with Laaelum, creating The Veiled Crown, then was saved by Alindr, who made him their Sage of Order. Valna unlocked the original monastic tradition, learning from Yamma himself, and gained untold power. Arstan became the Gravebinder and secured the FoS many boons from Laianath. Thokk overcame his connection to Marzak and became the greatest Tempestborn since the Reckoning. Celevar became the Warden of Life and was granted
The Heart of Peace. The FoS became the greatest band of heroes since
The Reckoning and rallied the whole of Yophas to fight Heliestheos and her Stars.
In a final battle spanning Lysithea and Yathra Silthame, the FoS broke the Stars and their powerbases. They weren't able to stop Heliestheos's release, but they pulled her to the wastes of Epharan and slew her in a final, epic battle. Thus, the
Heliestheos Crisis ended and with it, the Age of Extant (now called the Age of Survival) came to a close.
While the members of the FoS's stories did not end with the Crisis, their story as a group was mostly over. Those who survived stayed in touch, but each had many responsibilites and dreams that they went on to fulfill.
Members
Arstan Gehrwind, the Gravebinder
Human man, Paladin of Laianath
Originally sent by the
Order of the Star in Yathra Silthame, Arstan Gehrwind came to the Protectorate with a priestess, Isabelle, who he was to protect; however, upon arrival, Isabelle disappeared. Arstan swore an oath to conquer whatever obstacle stood in the way of finding her. It was actually Arstan who originally got the Five of Swords together, for he needed help to head into the Ruins of Dergas and retrieve materials that a blacksmith wanted.
When the Five of Swords began to pursue the Followers of the Black King, the Five of Swords found the pieces of a Remnant of the Reckoning:
Oathkeeper, the Blade of Empyrean. Upon reforging it, Arstan took up the blade and leaned fully into his Oath of Conquest; however, he quickly came to realize Oathkeeper bore the curse of Empyrean's madness, and he struggled with containing it for a long time.
Two months and a destroyed Followers of the Black King later, Arstan was reunited with a tormented Isabelle. In the half-year after, Arstan established a small keep for himself and Isabelle---Castle Gehrwind---and begun building a powerbase within the Protectorate. Upon travelling with the Five of Swords to Camaerith, Arstan realized the full extent of the flaws in his original oath---including the fact that it was actually sworn to
Empyrean, the Broken Solar, who had been acting in lieu of Yamma. Arstan reswore an Oath of Devotion to Yamma himself, and came to be Oathkeeper's new master.
After the Five of Swords triumphed over Ellas Elendiir and the Order of the Forgotten Blood, Arstan had proven himself as a capable and devout follower of Yamma. Castle Gehrwind continued to grow, and when the time came for Arstan to return to Yathra Silthame with the Five of Swords, he was ready. With Oathkeeper severed from Empyrean, Arstan received a mission from Yamma in Yathra Silthame---kill a corrupted solar of Yamma who had fallen to Xael, and be named Silver Paragon. He did as he was told, and Arstan became the Champion of Yamma.
As the Heliestheos Crisis grew, Arstan was at the forefront of preparations for whatever moves Heliestheos's Stars would make. He revealed Glatur Hardcloak, a member of the Temple-Tribunal, to be a traitor. He rallied the knightly orders of Yathra Silthame. But, when the time came, Arstan and the Five of Swords proved no match for the Stars' assault. They decimated Yathra Silthame and took the Silver City. Arstan was at the forefront of planning to retake his home, but was slain by Thur'anach in Glizziarial. He made a pact with Laianath: be resurrected and never die again, but become Laianath's Gravebinder forever.
He took the pact.
With his power, Arstan secured many blessings of Laianath that allowed the FoS to triumph over the Stars, in the end. But, it cost him everything. As soon as Heliestheos was defeated, Laianath pulled him back to Laithna, where he would wait and watch for another true threat like Heliestheos. He left the FoS and his wife---with their unborn daughter---behind.
Celevar Longheart, the Warden of Life
Celestellan man, Cleric of Syluru
Initially a humble cleric of Syluru and major in the Kubrington Brigade, it was Celevar who summoned the FoS to Yathra Silthame. Although he was only with them for a few weeks, Celevar proved himself utterly necessary to the FoS's long-term success; he was a peaceful man, an amazing medic, and a potent cleric. It were these traits that pushed Celevar high in Syluru's graces, as well as his position as a person who could enact great good across Emaxus, both during the Heliestheos Crisis and beyond.
Thus, Celevar and the FoS traveled to Sylthereth, earned the grace of Queen Naivarra, and trekked through the Heart of Syluru itself. There, at Spring's Peace, Celever spoke with Syluru's spirit and was named Warden of Life. She gave him the Heart of Peace with the title and a task: he would stay on Emaxus until peace reigned once more, even if it took a thousand years. She warned that the Age of Extant would be ending soon, and war would bring the birth of the next era. He accepted with no compunctions.
In the Crisis, Celevar was a key member of the FoS. After, he became a history-maker. He wed Queen Eliza Kubrin II, brokered a dozen peaces across Emaxus, and fathered a long line of powerful heirs in Kubrington. While his work is never over, Celevar has already made incredible strides in his god-given mission.
Thokk Nindred, the Tempestborn
Half-Orc man, Paladin of Isael
A former
Theussaun Fist and Hand of the Crown, Thokk Nindred is the Tempest's Champion -- the first named champion of any Child of Yamma within the last several decades. Originally heeding Arstan's request for aid as a confused, non-traditional holy man with an ephemeral oath of vengeance sworn against an unknown foe, Thokk has grown into Isael's chosen champion.
With the Five of Swords, Thokk helped dismantle the Followers of the Black King. During their hunt of the cult across the Protectorate, Thokk discovered more about his unexpected relationship with Isael -- and the horrible attack he survived that set him on his path. When the Five of Swords travelled to Camaerith, Thokk was now a Hand of the Crown, the elite, secret service that serves the Council of Generals in the Protectorate.
By the end of their several month stay, he would lose this title and nearly be executed for treason -- but the gains were far greater. He grew closer to his friends within the Five of Swords, claimed
Storm Breaker, Blade of Thunder, and became Tempestborn. Thokk devoted himself to his god and his friends in equal measure, striving to better himself and those around him in Isael's name.
In Yathra Silthame, Thokk fulfilled his Oath of Vengeance by slaying Ath'tared, the devil who had killed so many of Thokk's siblings-in-arms. Thokk held his friends up and fought hard for their victories. And, when the Heliestheos Crisis was done, he built Fjallsathra, a city devoted to Isael and Syluru from its inception. In the decades after the Crisis, he built Fjallsathra into a new trade and religious hub, forging it into a powerful city-state with alliances across the world. He married Aramoira, and they had three children. By the time Thokk died of old age in 478 AR, Fjallsathra was the center of Isael worship in Emaxus. Aramoira lived on, as did Thokk's line, and carried on their greatness.
Valna Elendiir, Wielder of Karma
Wood Elf woman, Yamman Monk and Historian
After running away from a past of alcoholism and a complicated family in a position of power, Valna spent seven years training with an elderly man named Habun in
The Saltmeadow Marshes. As a monk, Valna used her skills in the Way of the Drunken Master to aid the Five of Swords greatly in their earliest adventures.
Over the course of the party's pursuit of the Followers of the Black King, Valna trained with more varied monastic traditions and, during their stint in Loria, she met an earth
Genasi named Adamant. As a former Master of the End, Adamant gave Valna power, purpose, and ill portents. They granted her the
Vestments of Karma and instructed her to use them to change or kill the other Masters of the End -- powerful monks who, after a schism, Adamant had imprisoned in karmic bonds a century prior.
Since becoming the Wielder of Karma, Valna shifted from her Drunken Master path to mastering the Way of the Astral Self. Other than Thokk, Valna's martial prowess was near-unmatched, wielding her ki, her mobility, and her unsuspecting brutality to win battle after battle.
Over the course of the Five of Swords' time in Camaerith, Valna had many reckonings with her past. She discovered her mother was actually alive despite thinking she was dead for a decade, her father did terrible things but wanted to redeem himself in her eyes, and her friends were both better and worse than what she first thought. Valna took these in stride and went on to be utterly crucial to the FoS's many victories, and she changed the world in her own right by rediscovering the original, Yamman way of monasticism. She also founded her own monastery out of her family's massive estate in Camaerith, where she taught dozens of people like her to defend themselves and perfect their bodies and minds.
After the Crisis, Valna kept the mantle of the Bearer of Karma. She built her monastery and taught people the Way of the Inner Dawn, as she came to call it---that original, Yamman monasticism. She spent many decades building her
Order of the Inner Dawn, establishing monasteries in most major cities across Emaxus---and even across Yophas. In 480 AR, after the death of her best friend Thokk, Valna decided to take up a seat on the Camaerithian Circle. To this day, she remains the Grandmaster of the Order of the Inner Dawn, the Ansrivaluvar (Master of Memory) of the Camaerithian Circle, and the Bearer of Karma.
Zekral Kilth, the Sage of Order
Drow man, Wizard and Champion of Alindr
Exiled prince of Thalos and survivor of the Disaster in
Aitreas, Zekral Kilth first came to the party as Veldrin Hune. Proving himself useful in battle but deeply untrustworthy otherwise, Zekral had a very rocky journey with the Five of Swords. Though his patron's identity was a mystery at first, she eventually awakened and revealed her true, terrible form: Heliestheos, an immeasurably ancient and powerful dragon with the capabilities to collapse all of Yophas into one single universe. As the time she would be unleashed from her prison approached, she created her Stars, a group of six of her most powerful lieutenants, of which Zekral ranked number six.
As her Red Star, Zekral was both the Five of Swords' nearest threat and their best option for eventually facing Heliestheos. He believed he was being a double agent for almost a year, before realizing the Stars were using him far more than he was using them. They had been feeding him false information to keep the FoS distracted. Zekral left the Stars immediately, but passed into deeper waters when he forged a pact with Laaelum, and created
Willtaker, the Veiled Crown. Foolishly, he sought borrowed power on borrowed time to right his initial wrongs, all the while creating new wrongs that far outshone his initial ones.
After many arguments, the FoS convinced Zekral to cut his ties with Laaelum and stop seeking pacts with entities. Then, a new entity reached out with a final pact. Alindr contacted Zekral with a bargain: become the Sage of Order and be freed of Laaelum's corruption, but serve Alindr for centuries to battle whoever next took up Willtaker. Zekral accepted, and was reforged as the Sage of Order.
In the final battle with Heliestheos, Zekral proved to be instrumental in avoiding catastrophe, and it was by his hand that the Dragon of Space and Time was slain. After the Crisis, Zekral bargained to get Arbane out of prison, instead bringing him along for decades as they sought to undo paradoxes created by Heliestheos's death, and to prepare to face Laaelum's next scheme.
Former Member(s)
Edward Valmonte
Human man, Criminal and Rogue
Edward Valmonte was one of the founding members of the Five of Swords who narrowly avoided death in the Attack on Loria and went on to help bring down the Followers of the Black King in Dustorn Keep. Sadly, when the Five of Swords made their way to Camaerith for a myriad of reasons, Edward was slain during an expedition into some ancient Camaerithian ruins.
Though successfully resurrected, Edward decided to part ways with the Five of Swords thereafter, believing he was out of his depth. He returned to Theussau where he stayed with his family, while doing the odd job for the King's Men every now and then.
Johnathan Carlisle, the Broken Bard
Human man, Bard and Father
Joining the Five of Swords at Arbane Elendiir's behest after Edward Valmonte's departure, Johnathan Carlisle is a former Theussaun ambassador, troubadour, and wandering performer. Though his past is largely a mystery, he presents himself as a simple man from Woodhurst with a love for fishing, string music, and cooking, and enough hatred in his heart to say the meanest things to the Five of Swords enemies.
Though he'd only been with the Five of Swords for a few months, he proved instrumental in their victory over the Chosen and the Order of the Forgotten Blood. With his ability to support his friends, cripple his enemies, and generally be a nuisance on the battlefield, Johnathan proved repeatedly that he could be counted on for a tide-turning spell as often as he could for a good chat.
Jonathan met a brutal end alongside Arstan in Glizziarial, when Thur'anach ambushed them and only Valna and Celevar escaped.
Allies
The Five of Swords had many allies and friends that they made in their travels; beyond that, each member had allies and followers they'd accrued on their own. For the sake of brevity, only the most influential or helpful allies are listed below.
Ilthinaluvar (Archmage) Aramoira
Wood elf woman, ilthinaluvar of abjuration
Ilthinaluvar of Abjuration for the Arcanul Ordinate and member of the Camaerithian Circle, Aramoira was the author of
The Complete History of Emaxus, a powerful archmage, and the single most helpful ally of the Five of Swords. After meeting them when they came to Camaerith, Aramoira had given them shelter, monetary and material aid, and been a rock to lean on.
Aramoira was integral to the FoS's success throughout the battle against the Order of the Forgotten Blood and the Heliestheos Crisis, and she went on to marry Thokk Nindred. She remains the Regent of Fjallsathra and an Ilthinaluvar on the Circle to this day.
King Usur Theussau III
Human man, King of the Theussaun Protectorate
King Usur Theussau III first met the Five of Swords at the Lorian Memorial. After they successfully defeated the Followers of the Black King at Dustorn Keep, he granted them the title of Heroes of Loria and told them that he would hold them in high regard.
He met the Five of Swords again at the Camaerithian Memorial after the Order of the Forgotten Blood's coup was foiled, during which time he told them that, no matter how the Council of Generals felt, the Crown would always consider them friends and allies. Usur had given the Five of Swords a vouchsafe in the Theussaun political structure, which had grown especially helpful as the Council of Generals grew more and more threatening. Who knows how much aid Usur had given the party behind the scenes?
Judith Celebrindal
Human woman, mage and scholar
First meeting the Five of Swords when they were hired to escort her from Clifland to Camaerith, Judith hated the party at first. She found them grating, unprofessional, and endangering -- which, all things considered, weren't wrong at the time; however, she came to love them over time.
During her time studying at the Ordinate Conservatory in Camaerith, she helped them with research and answering questions, and when the Five of Swords organized an illicit peace summit with Orakgra, she joined as an ambassador.
Former Ilthinaluvar Arbane Elendiir
Wood elf man, former ilthinaluvar of divinamancy
Of the party's allies and enemies, no one has switched around as much as Arbane. While in the Protectorate, Arbane loomed as a shadow on Valna's -- and by extension, the Five of Swords' -- mind; however, when the group made their way to Camaerith, he actually reached out to give them employment.
The Five of Swords helped Arbane several times before calling his true intentions into question and leaving him. When the Order made their move, Arbane tried to bring his wife and Valna's mother, Aninyel, back from Nathrivox. She called him a monster, prompting him to carry out the Order's final plan: bringing Ellas Elendiir back and attempting to bring his prison plane, the Arakhal Tothor, to Emaxus, an act which would devastate the land it replaced and kill tens of thousands of people.
But, at the crux of Ellas' victory, Arbane turned against him. Moved by Valna's trust in him, Arbane stopped the arcane rituals and helped killed his grandfather and stop the Order's plans. After the coup failed, he willingly turned himself in and was condemned to life in prison, though he was still willing to serve as a source of information, aid, or just conversation to Valna and the Five of Swords.
After the Heliestheos Crisis, he joined Zekral and traveled across Yophas, fixing planar rifts and spacetime paradoxes. He did this as his punishment until the day he died in 498 AR.
Aninyel Elendiir
Wood elf woman, former ilthinaluvar of transmutamancy
Valna's mother Aninyel Elendiir was a mysterious woman for much of the FoS's adventures. Valna believed Aninyel was dead for over a decade, then, when she found out she was still alive and across the planes, Aninyel avoided contact for months. It wasn't until the Stars reared their ugly heads and the Heliestheos Crisis began that Aninyel consented to meet the party, but she proved to be the crux of the FoS's victory, in the end.
Aninyel had been working on a counter-ritual to disrupt or edit the Stars' summoning of Heliestheos ever since her apparent death. With the FoS's help, Aninyel completed this ritual, and with the FoS and many of their arcanist allies, Aninyel concocted a plan to hit the Stars back with their own summoning. During the final battle, this ritual nearly killed Heliestheos during the summoning, but due to Thur'anach's interference, it instead allowed the FoS to choose the battlefield they would fight Heliestheos---allowing them to limit the collateral damage wholly.
After the Crisis, Aninyel stayed out of politics and the public eye, but she and Valna fostered a new, happy mother-daughter relationship. Aninyel died in 521 AR.
The King's Men
Thieves' guild in the Protectorate
Though the Five of Swords have never met the King himself -- the elusive, mysterious leader and founder of the King's Men -- his thieves' guild was integral to not only their survival, but also their triumph over the Followers of the Black King. Most specifically, the Five of Swords were granted shelter in the Alnwick and Loria chapters of the King's Men, forming a friendship with Pannad Alnwick, the leader of the Alnwick chapter, and a more tense but working relationship with Zythen, the leader of the Loria chapter. In fact, it was Zythen who clued the Five of Swords in on where to find the commanders of the Followers of the Black King.
Enemies
Like their allies, the party has many enemies -- past and present, some of which they don't even know about -- but the main ones are listed below.
Followers of the Black King
Cult/terrorist group in the Protectorate
Though the Five of Swords initially met to go on a extraction job in Dergas, it was the extended battle against the Followers of the Black King that
made the Five of Swords. Formed of disgruntled citizens of the Protectorate, the Followers of the Black King worked from Dergas to the Desolate Foothills on undermining Theussau.
Whatever innocent beginnings the group preceding the Followers of the Black King had, the fact of the matter is that they eventually came under the sway of cambion twins by the name of Draclin and Xalel. The pair radicalized and expanded the Followers, promoting a message of unity amongst all followers of the
Obsidian Lords -- a dangerous concept, given that the infighting among Obsidian Lord followers is a large aspect of what keeps them weak.
The Followers of the Black King ended up causing a series of disease-spreading bombs in Loria and the four cities along the First Line. In the wake of these awful events -- which took over a thousand lives in total -- the Five of Swords were joined by several allies on the push to find the Followers' HQ and destroy it. With a tip from Zythen in the King's Men on the location of one Dustorn Keep, the Five of Swords went into the Desolate Foothills, found Dustorn, and slaughtered the Followers' command structure.
Though they slew Draclin and Xalel, the cambions completed a ritual that fused a demon and a blue dragon just before their defeat. The terrifying two-headed dragon spawned from the act flew off into the Desolate Foothills, and the Five of Swords never found it again.
Order of the Forgotten Blood
Camaerithian supremacist/extraplanar organization
Having infiltrated nearly every facet of Camaerithian society and with leaders on the Camaerithian Circle, the Order of the Forgotten Blood was a powerful and dangerous secret society in Camaerith. Though many people in power knew of them, many thought they were simply a secret fraternity at best and a Camaerithian supremacy group at worst.
The truth of the matter was far more dangerous. The Order of the Forgotten Blood had been around since the Reckoning, just after the event known as
Ellas' Fall. Ellas' son, Fendrel Elendiir, immediately began work to prepare Camaerith for Ellas' eventual return.
For four hundred years, the Order worked to infiltrate Camaerith and research how to free Ellas from his prison plane. In 399 AT, they succeeded, and were it not for the intervention of the Five of Swords, untold devastation and power would've been unleashed. Thanks to the Five of Swords, Aramoira, and Arbane's betrayal, Ellas was defeated and the Order's attempted coup failed.
Heliestheos's Stars
Extraplanar group of champions
The Stars proved to be the FoS's most dangerous and secretive enemies ever, for their ranks were diverse and exceptionally powerful. Consisting of
Greatwyrms and aberrant ambassadors from beyond Yophas, the Stars were unique in that they won: they conquered Yathra Silthame, killed multiple members of the FoS, and summoned Heliestheos. While their victories were all short-lived, the Stars alone gave the FoS a true and horrible fight. Eventually, the FoS killed them all and slew Heliestheos herself, but it was a hard-won victory.
A watermelon, a knight, an untraditional holy man, a grape, and a thief walk into a bar...
*gulps*