The Ascended Order

[The King Of The Moon 5121]

THE ASCENDED ORDER;
THE REDEEMED LEGION OF MTHYUL TLAN

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In the days of my youth, there existed a guild. A Sutican relic of a once mighty order; inheritors of the first holy assembly of wizards, hailing from the motherland of Aegis. They called themselves ‘ascended’. The successors of the Order of the Mongoose, these sorcerers obeyed the aengul Aeriel, enacting her alleged purpose as Caretaker of Souls and Warden of the Soulstream. 

 

It was said in times gone by that these ascended clashed with the undead servants of Iblees. That they stood as defenders of the living and shepherds of the dead, to banish the evil of the Betrayer’s domination for the good of all mortals.

 

This is a half truth. 

 

The mission of the ascended had its merits. In the hearts of her first champions burned valour, and a desire to rival the influence of the Betrayer. What they lacked, however, was the wisdom to see that they had been themselves betrayed. Deceived, as all maleficar are, by an immortal puppet master. 

 

Aeriel clashed with Iblees on Aegis, and in the wake of their battle the continent was destroyed. Sunken and ran awash by corruption, the homeland of the descendants merged with the Abyss, and mortalkind was forced to flee. 

 

Iblees was trapped in the Nether for his misdeeds, taking with him the undead flesh of all who fell in the wake of his battle with Aeriel. Meanwhile, the so-called ‘soul warden’ reaped an army for herself: the souls of all who fell in Aegis were caught in her web, bound to her hellish realm known as Ebrietaes. 

 

In the years to follow the Order of the Mongoose floundered. Its members - once great sages and protectors of mankind - clung desperately to the lie that their efforts had ‘saved’ the world. The revelation of their failure drove many to madness, whilst those too arrogant to accept the damnation they had wrought upon millions became depraved.

 

By the time of the guild that existed in my youth, ascended membership had largely been displaced by a handful of deviants and undesirables. In the years preceding they had come to depend on the now defunct Order of Tahariae and the still active Order of Xan to carry out their duties, sloth permeating through their ranks as they cloistered themselves away behind the safety of fortress, castle, and manor walls… Until their final deathrattle was croaked out in the dusty cellar of an unexceptional suitcan abode, upon the continent of Atlas. 

 

It is said that these degenerate ascended had befriended - and indeed bedded - practitioners of the infernal magics. That their powers in sculpting and redeeming the souls of mortals were forgotten in their decadence, or simply remained unused over the course of centuries of civilian life, whilst their patron watched from on high and did nought - too pre-occupied with enjoying her Aegisian feast of souls, and the souls of continents thereafter once her apparatus for capturing such had been complete.

 

The ascended failed, and mortalkind was betrayed. 

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Today, abundant souls remain imprisoned. Dead men - canonist, red faithful, brathmordakin and unfaithful alike - bound to the Ebrietaes’ turmoil forever. Soul-eaters - Infernal, Druidic, Shamanic, Xannite and the like - now dominate the mortal plane, funnelling all others that aren’t condemned by the old ascended apparatus to their own hungering deities. 

 

The civilised nations of the world have begun to see this horror more clearly, though elsewhere the efforts of the maleficar go unchallenged. 

 

It is this revived order’s mission statement to right these wrongs. To operate free of any foul bargain or instruction from Aeriel or her consorts, enlightened by the teachings of Mthyul Tlan and the ways of Fire, Umbrage, Harmony and Strife. Our purpose: to offer redemption to those deserving; to nurture the souls imprisoned in Ebrietaes and beyond, and offer any who consent to it relief from their torment, and salvation through service in the Redeemed Legion. 

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A new Ascended Order awakens, its creeds:

 

I. That no mortal shall suffer unjust bondage in life, death or undeath. 
Free will was the Creator’s gift to mankind, and no master mortal nor immortal may seek to reclaim it. No man nor his remnant soul may be ensnared unwillingly.

II. That no maleficar shall be suffered to live or feed their immortal masters.
In enacting the will of any patron but the Creator himself, one’s right to liberty is forfeit as they strip others of it undeservingly. They must be redeemed or obliterated.

III. That mortality is precious and should be preserved at all costs.
As was intended by the Creator himself, before his perfect vision was spoiled by the meddling of Aenguls, Daemons and others. The Ascended and their Redeemed Legion will protect the living from undue harm just as they shepherd the dead away from damnation.

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Those who aspire to the above amongst the living that wish to redeem and the dead that seek redemption are implored to seek out the Herald of Embers - Abdiel, son of Sataric - in the Principality of Celia’nor. Come in peace, and respect for the laws of the realm in question.

Spoiler

((Those looking to join as a freshly revived undead character in the Redeemed Legion should contact Mordu#0001 directly or join our discord https://discord.gg/UGVpqrYp so as to arrange a seance in which any PK'd character's soul might be saved from Ebrietaes and brought back via the appropriate creature application))

 

[Heero 4078]

Located in parts unknown, a derelict relic of a forlorn era stirs with newfound purpose. With a the knot of a noose readily prepared and renewed venom coursing through their veins, Crumena of Kamees dots any adverbs he encounters of this supposedly rehabilitated order with the sigil of a forgotten covenant and accompanying text etched crudely beneath.

 

 

"Blundermore P. WindRaker will hang for his transgressions. Death to the Regenerators."

[Zacho 1737]

Dael'ran, The once Silver Sage, stood distantly on the edge of the voidal corruption, peering into the tear of destruction that still plagued the lands, cursing it. As word reached him of an Ascended order his mind began to inflate with thousands of memories, times of death and damnation, of tragedy, and of joy. As he read through the missive he'd squint intensely and grumble "I had figured it would be a real dedication- instead it is piracy of the name and rebranded under some unknown figure...." He'd raise his free hand to grasp his chin in thought "It is a disgrace, but people do as they desire I 'spose" The man said just in time for some idle horror to approach, a battle to ensue. 

[RandomRhunes 146]

[!] An accursed being seeking redemption takes notice of the missive.

[SimplySeo 5229]

In the Halls of Kal'Darakaan, a Dwarfen Lord once slighted by the Ascended in his youth amidst their final days. Also ties a noose.

[justDEWit 133]

An elf of some bygone era caught word of the happenings, opting to perhaps remain in his obscurity. 

[Wand 932]

The bearer of the Arm of Aeriel, last remnant relic of the Order former, looks upon the happenings westward. Their intentions would be revealed in due time.