Jerdishood

(Jur-diss-hued)
Jerdishood is the name given to a shriveled, black branch that belonged to a dead tree used in the necromancer Maldrone Swart's ritual to achieve lichdom. After Maldrone's imprisonment, the Jerdishood was stolen by a thief belonging to the Stanchine Mile. A civil war broke out between his top lieutenants in search of the Jerdishood, hoping to attain the same power their former master once wielded. Some hope that the root will lead them to his prison and free him, while others wish to use it to carve out their own lichdom's. Among the parties searching for Jerdishood, are agents of the Ulcirius Palatinum, beings said to surpass even the Nefarkudkurup in age and power.

History

Maldrone Swart's rise to lichdom

Maldrone's lichdom ritual in the early 10th century CN marked the first appearance of Jerdishood. His interest in Necromancy and his dark lord's realm of Carthal Wait, lead him to taking the branch with him to study it and discern anything that could remotely increase his powers. For most of Maldrone's reign, Jerdishood was kept hidden from mortal eyes in Burzar Gendrig, a vast citadel constructed at the height of the Winter Internim.

Theft and the Jagdthusr

Within hours of Maldrone Swart's imprisonment at the end of the Pale Dawn War, the Stanchine Mile sent their top thief, Almarius Drander, to retrieve the Jerdishood from Burzar Gendrig in the Trant Steer wastes. The journey and the raid itself were some of the most daunting and epic feats in Jordfold's long history. However, Almarius failed to return from his mission and the whereabouts of both he and Jerdishood are unknown to this day.
The brazen theft sparked rumours of a coup from within Maldrone's inner circle, the Council of Worms. Everyone was suspect, most of all Sanut Baton, one of Maldrone's top lieutenants and a trusted aid. However, during the end of the Winter Internem, it became increasingly apparent that Mercable Keeling, Swart's protege and oldest ally, was the favoured heir to Burzar Gendrig and its realms. A failed attempt on her life sparked the civil war known as the 'Jagdthusr' and saw the inner circle split into factionalism.