Hephsut's Deal

A s the War of the Undying raged with unrelenting fury, Nioba teetered on the brink of annihilation. The undead hordes surged across the land, a relentless tide fueled by Vauldis’ dark ambition to reunite the Infinus Maledus, Infinus Sanguis, and Infinus Mortis. His goal: to forge the apocalyptic Infinus Apocryphum and ascend as a god of death. With the world crumbling and hope fading, the Sun Ward found themselves at a desperate crossroads. Their armies were shattered, their leaders slain, and the radiant light of Amnut dimmed under the shadow of Vauldis’ necromantic might.

In their darkest hour, the Sun Ward turned to the unthinkable. They sought out Hephsut—the very lich they had imprisoned within the depths of the Bonewall Mountains centuries prior. Their plea was bitter, a humiliation etched into the proud legacy of Nioba's defenders. But desperation outweighed pride.

Hephsut received them not with fury, but with cold amusement. Time had not softened his hatred for Vauldis; rather, it had festered like a wound left untreated. His enmity was rooted in jealousy. In life, Hephsut had been Vauldis' scribe, his mind sharp and ambitious, yet always overshadowed. Vauldis had reached lichdom first, ascending to immortality while Hephsut remained shackled to mortality. This slight, perceived or real, gnawed at Hephsut’s soul, fueling an eternal resentment that eclipsed even his disdain for the Sun Ward.

The bargain was struck in a chamber carved from black stone, lit only by the flickering glow of cursed candles. The Sun Ward offered Hephsut his freedom and the promise of the Infinus Maledus once Vauldis was defeated. In return, Hephsut divulged secrets only an ancient like him could know—the vulnerabilities in Vauldis' phylactery network, the rituals binding his soul, and the dark pacts he had forged with forgotten entities beyond mortal comprehension.

Armed with this forbidden knowledge, the Sun Ward rallied the fractured remnants of their allies, forming the Pact—a coalition of desperate kingdoms and weary armies united against a common enemy. Together, bolstered by Hephsut’s venomous insight, they waged one final, catastrophic campaign against Vauldis.

At Ruin's Peak, amidst a sky choked with ash and screams, Vauldis met his end. The battle was apocalyptic, the ground scorched by magic and blood. But as the dust settled and the echoes of war faded, the true cost of victory became clear.

Hephsut, ever true to his word yet steeped in malice, claimed the Infinus Maledus amidst the ashes of battle. The Sun Ward, depleted and battered, could do nothing to stop him. Their triumph over Vauldis had been a hollow one, for in their desperation, they had freed a darker shadow, one whose ambitions would soon eclipse even those of the First Lich.