Imprisonment of Hephsut & Formation of the Sun Ward

M onths after the Battle of Kaf’nia Bay, as the dust of war settled and Nioba’s banners flew once more over reclaimed lands, a chance encounter would seal the fate of both a defeated foe and the empire itself. Caravans of Naga traders, traversing the perilous Bonewall Mountains, stumbled upon a figure cloaked in rags—a shadow of his former self, his body frail but his hatred burning with undiminished fury. This was Hephsut, the Immortal Lich, his power battered but far from extinguished. The Naga, sensing the dark remnants of necromantic force coiling within him, captured the lich and delivered him to Kitesh. It was an act of pragmatism, yet one that forever kindled Hephsut’s seething enmity towards the Naga people, a grudge that would ripple through history like a scar carved into stone.

Kitesh, wise enough to know that death was no prison for a being like Hephsut, sought counsel from the Prophet Kings. Together, they decreed the construction of an eternal tomb—a prison not of mortal stone alone, but of divine will and arcane mastery. Deep within the heart of the Bonewall Mountains, they carved an abyssal vault, its walls etched with sacred runes and bound by wards woven from both celestial and necromantic sigils. Here, Hephsut’s soul and body were shackled in perpetual stasis, entombed in a darkness so absolute that even time itself seemed to hold its breath. Hephsut was not merely imprisoned; he was bound to the very bones of the earth, a grim testament that even the brightest light casts the deepest shadow.

With Hephsut entombed and the echoes of war fading, Kitesh turned his gaze to the fragile future of Nioba. From the ranks of his most loyal and battle-forged warriors, he selected one hundred champions—soldiers tempered by conquest, bound by unbreakable oaths, and blessed by the divine radiance of Amnut. These warriors were anointed as the Sun Ward, not merely as guardians of the empire but as the living embodiment of Kitesh’s legacy.

Each Sun Ward bore a blade imbued with a fragment of the radiant energy drawn from Kitesh’s Sun Spear, their weapons shining as beacons of divine wrath and protection. Their charge was sacred: to safeguard the Eternal Tomb, defend Nioba’s borders, and stand as eternal sentinels against the creeping darkness. They were more than soldiers—they were legends forged in flesh and steel, their very presence a symbol of divine favor and an unyielding reminder of the sacrifices made to secure peace.

When a Sun Ward fell, their blade was not buried with them. Instead, it was reclaimed, cleansed in the sacred waters of the River Niobe, and bestowed upon a successor chosen with solemn ceremony. This ritual ensured that the lineage of the Sun Ward remained unbroken, a living testament to the enduring spirit of Nioba. Their banners, emblazoned with the mark of the sun, flew across every stronghold, a constant reminder that while darkness could be buried, it must always be watched.