The Theft of the Infinus Maledus

Civil action

Vauldis, the First Lich, infiltrated Nioba’s sacred vaults, orchestrating a masterstroke of espionage and betrayal. Through a network of spies, cultists, and corrupted officials, he sowed discord within the Sun Ward, weakening their defenses. Cloaked in dark magic, Vauldis bypassed the sacred wards, stole the Infinus Maledus, and vanished—leaving behind only the corpses of Nioba’s finest and the first crack in an empire soon to crumble.

In the twilight years of Nioba’s golden age, the seeds of its undoing were sown not on the battlefield but in the shadows of its own complacency. Vauldis, the First Lich—an ancient architect of undeath whose name was whispered in fear across empires—had long coveted the Infinus Maledus, a tome brimming with forbidden knowledge and necromantic power. Though entombed deep within Nioba’s most sacred vaults and guarded by the vigilant Sun Ward, the tome’s existence could not be erased from history—or from Vauldis' relentless memory.   Through a web of spies, Awakened cultists, and corrupt officials embedded within Nioba’s own institutions, Vauldis unraveled the secrets of the vault's defenses piece by piece. These traitors, driven by greed, fear, or the promise of immortality, sowed discord among the Sun Ward, igniting internal strife that weakened the empire’s most sacred guardians. Assassinations, sabotage, and political intrigue tore at the unity of Nioba’s defenders, blinding them to the growing threat within their midst.   When the time was ripe, Vauldis struck with precision. Cloaked in dark magic that veiled him from divine sight, he infiltrated the heart of Nioba himself. The wards designed to repel death magic faltered before his mastery, offering little resistance to the very force they were crafted to contain. Slipping through enchanted barriers and sacred halls like a shadow given form, Vauldis reached the vault where the Infinus Maledus lay. When the dust settled, all that remained were the lifeless bodies of Nioba’s finest Sun Ward guardians, their blood staining the stone floor in silent testament to the empire’s failure. With the cursed tome in his grasp, Vauldis vanished into the darkness, leaving behind not just corpses—but the first fracture in Nioba’s crumbling legacy.