Veyne

Veyne
Status:	Alive
Guild:	Necromancer
Race:	Elf
Gender:	Male

Background

Veyne was first seen around Crossing, Riverhaven and Langenfirth in 389AV, wearing shadowsilk and behaving erratically. He claimed that he was imprisoned by the Dragon Priests and was experimented upon, leading to some kind of disfigurement and causing him to despise them and seek their undoing.

Veyne began approaching people with no apparent link between them and requesting their loyalty and obedience. In return for this, he has offered a variety of things that were seemingly tailored to whomever he was speaking to, including power, knowledge or "answers," the ability to defend loved ones from enemies, the ability to seek vengeance, or the ability to cleanse the world of all that is "vile." Those that accepted his terms and agree to serve him "to the fires of death and beyond" (or beyond the grave, or similar terms) were given a ring. Several however refused him and his offers. In an attempt to sway Malzard into accepting a ring, he showed him a flesh-bound tome and revealed his skeletal hand, but was rejected and it resulted in stories of his disfigurement spreading, though many treated it skeptically. Shedding light upon his dark world, Angel helped reform several of Veyne's members from the cult . See Veyne's Rings for more about his followers and who has renounced him.

Almost as soon as Veyne arrived in Therengia, he was banished by Lord Rossman acting in the Baron's stead, and it was declared that those who had accepted rings were now persona non grata in the province as well. His arrival and departure were occasionally heralded by Xala'shar invasions, and an undead eagle was sighted in some of the regions where he visited, though no satisfactory connection between the events could be made at the time.

Eventually, Veyne relocated to Ilithi, where he began recruiting and making plans with his followers. At one point, he showed them a scrap of fabric with a crest depicting a blazing sun over two crossed swords, saying that it was the symbol of a group of Dragon Priests operating in the Zaulfung and to gather any information on the group they could, and cooperate with any authorities they could.

As his influence in Shard grew, some citizens opposed his presence in the city, citing suspicions of necromancy and other strange activity. One of these, Kougen, approached Caelumia and requested her assistance in driving him from the city. She agreed and sent Galren Rippentropp and Virge to assassinate Veyne and remove his cloak, wishing to corroborate Malzard's story and link Veyne concretely to necromantic practices. Though their attempt failed and Veyne fled, wounded, Galren was shortly after attacked by an undead eagle, his eyes torn out and his body mutilated. He was shortly after threatened and killed by then-Provincial Guard Xelten, and Xala'shar descended upon those that aided Galren's corpse.

Viewing this as a blatant gesture of guilt, Caelumia rallied a group of Rippentropps and other citizens to Shard to avenge Galren and finally out Veyne and chase him out of the city. Upon being slain by Korutu and Jhime, his cloak fell away and his undead eagle soared off his shoulder, and Xala'shar were summoned to the city. Finally outed, he declared that he would have revenge and was killed twice more by citizens, his body melting into black ooze and reappearing elsewhere each time.

Meanwhile, one of Veyne's followers sought out a member of the group of supposed Dragon Priests, a Cleric named Srallunaq, and murdered her, stealing from her a tome of some kind and several other documents on Veyne's behalf:

"I have received the tome safely, and have placed it under the guard of my finest soldiers. All these years you have kept it hidden and safe, as I asked you to do so long ago. From what I have seen the ward remains intact, but the lines of magic have begun to weaken and fracture. The carnage they have inflicted is great, but I have hoped that together we will be able to devise a means to contain them once again."

"There are only two of us left now. The passing of our brother bodes dark tidings for what is to come. We have set watch upon that fowl place for so many years, and yet I did not expect this day to come. While our numbers are strong, we were woefully unable to keep the Xala'shar from discovering a way to pass through our protective spells and escape their prison. We have always known a few of them had survived the sealing, but tales tell that their numbers are growing once more.

"His eagle is upon the winds once more, and our worst fears have come to realization. He offers his rings as he once did, and I have heard tales of people vanishing in the night. Just days ago I sent several of our best men to eliminate the necromancer, but none returned alive. Be watchful of his minions during your return, and I look forward to our long overdue reunion."

Since then, Veyne has gone into hiding, popping out now and then to say he will revenge himself upon Theren and those that outed him. His activities while underground are unknown.

Description:

You see Lord Veyne of the Xala'shar, an Elven Necromancer.
Twisted flesh reminiscent of a melted candle hangs from the bony protrusions that form the right side of his face. Smooth skin pale as alabaster highlights the delicate features of the other half of his mangled visage, boasting a single ice-blue eye. His waist-length platinum hair is worn straight and loose, though clumps are missing on the mangled side.
He appears to be in his Prime for an Elven, though the blight of necromancy makes it difficult to discern.

On his right shoulder rests what was once a magnificent white-tailed eagle. The only hint of its true form lies in the small patches where ragged feathers cling to its greyish skeleton, revealing its undead nature. Only its predatory eyes remain unmarred, cunning and ever vigilant.

He is holding a wickedly curved sacrificial dagger with a black bone hilt in his right skeletal hand.
He is in good shape.

He is wearing a flayed skin pouch carefully sewn together with waxy-black thread, a patchwork hooded cloak formed from mismatched pieces of skin sewn together with waxy-black thread, some articulated black bone armor carved with a tangle of cryptic sigils, a heavily scratched leather sheath embossed with a faded crest, an ancient flayed skin tome tightly bound in a snarl of black iron chains, a tarnished silver ring hung from a braided leather cord, a worn falconry gauntlet and a pair of rugged dark leather boots covered in rusty streaks.