The Story So Far
Koth
At the first opening, Einarr Soulbreaker of the Cult of Araleth provided potions that instigated vision quests in those who drank them. Resulting from this, and with the guiding wisdom of Gunnr Spiritguide, the Koth used a special knife to destroy a ghost with a line across his neck, telling of terrifying gods known as the Snow, the King, the Hive, and the Knife.
Furthermore, following the Festival of Ganshe, a mysterious woman dressed all in red came to the Koth camp at midnight.
At the second opening, the Koth heard tell of multiple knife-wielding murderers targetting the tribes, one of which, a man named Keaghan, came to the camp to attack during the Festival of Nathaia. Using Tanelim magic, his unusual powers were turned to peaceful ends, and he was allowed to leave.
The camp was also approached by a member of the Bloodred Tribe who, are, apparently, living deep in the Forest with a group of Werewolves, all serving Ganshe together. The Koth were charged with finding Ganshe's red cloak in the Forest, but they never discovered it.
Then, on the final morning, Gunnr Spiritguide came again before the Koth, claiming that she had the Goddess Nathaia embedded in her mind. She said Einarr had been using Ollath magic to somehow bind the Koth gods to human forms, and that this practice had to stop. When questioned, Einarr was tight-lipped.
At the third opening, Einarr's plan came to fruition. He revealed that he had Araleth bound to him, and that "he" was a fusion of the two entities. He wanted all of the gods to be bound to mortals in this way, so that new mortals could take over the mantles of the gods. However, none of the other gods were keen on this plan, and the Koth decided to respect their wishes and return them each to godhood, except for Araleth, who named a successor for himself. This mortal was Keaghan, once a murderer, now a healer named The Miraculous. The Koth, with reluctance, performed the ritual to raise Keaghan to godhood, and Araleth stayed in the Mortal Realm.
Meanwhile, Ganshe set another task for the Koth, as well as for the Werewolves. She had decided Patter, a childlike fey, should become her new child, and both the Koth and the Werewolves were charged with acculturating this fey into their way of life. In the end, the Werewolves were more successful, and Patter became the wolf-child of Ganshe.
At the end of the opening, the Stalker known as the King brought all of the factions to his realm, and commanded that they fight for his amusement. The Koth were one of the victorious factions, and for this, they were granted the lives of all deceased Marked Ones, aside from the Traitors amidst that faction. Now, hundreds of people have newly come to life and are living with the Koth, and spreading knowledge of their particular magic that keeps them hidden from the Stalkers.
Phalreans
At the first opening, a threat loomed large over the Phalreans. It was discovered that revered scholar, Magister Ludivine, had killed themselves after leaving coded notes about visions they had received about a dread entity called the Snow.
A more immediate problem had to be dealt with, however. An archive containing many ritual scrolls had come loose from its foundations and was soon to fall into a raging river. Archivist Yselle proposed a scheme to save it with magic. Magister Henri, a known experimenter, argued for letting the old knowledge be destroyed, promising to replace it with brand new ritual scrolls for a new age. Yselle's plan was favoured, and the Archive was saved, to Henri's chagrin.
Additionally, a few blank Cartomancy cards were discovered, although nothing was done with them, yet.
At the second opening, the Snow was clearly increasing its influence over Phalrean lands, driving the entirety of Magister Laureline's haven to extreme self-destructive behaviours. Furthermore, cards with the much-maligned Teardrop symbol were found in the Cartomancy deck, prompting strange changes to the effects of rituals if drawn.
Overshadowing all of these concerns, however, was the discovery of a Phalrean ghost in the Forest. The ancient spirit, calling himself Fabien LaPlace, claimed that the minds of every deceased Phalrean across history was trapped in the depths of the Forest. Worse still, Fabien felt the presence of dark forces swooping in to devour the Phalrean dead. With the help of Magister Henri, the Phalreans performed a ritual allowing one of their number to siphon these ghosts into the care of a chosen deity. The Phalreans chose the fey demigod Pinnacle to govern their new afterlife.
At the third opening, it slowly became apparent that the Phalrean dead were not with Pinnacle, much to her anger. As the Phalreans tried to resolve this mystery, they were approached by representatives of a new organisation within their numbers; the Iron Key. The Key were a secretive group with authoritarian leanings, and it was whispered that they received their orders from ghosts of the dead. They were working on a new invention, a magical set of keys known as the Clavisigili. This artefact, useable only once, had the power to either admit, or exclude, a divine being from the Phalrean sphere of life.
It came to light that the Phalrean dead were actually within the domain of the Knife, and that she was commanding the Iron Key herself through their ghosts. The Key's leadership was taken down, the the Clavisigili were used to admit the Benefactor Juliath into the Phalrean realm. Combined other action taken against the Knife, this allowed the Phalrean afterlife to be taken over by Juliath, who now stands as the god of the Phalreans.
Right at the end of the opening, the Phalreans were approached by the spirit of their founder; Prince Reanus of Torna. He, having clawed his way to demigodhood, came with a warning about the approach of the Stalkers, telling the Mortals that these ancient gods will destroy either the Mortal Realm, or the Forest, or the Casket of Nightmares. He proposed that Marked One magic be used to ensure the Forest was destroyed, cutting off the Casket from the Mortal Realm. He also asked that the Phalreans help him become a full deity, to stand in a pantheon alongside Juliath, but he was thoroughly rebuffed in this regard.
Tanelim
At the first opening, the Tanelim were conflicted as several Ollath attempted to repent and rejoin the Tanelim ranks. Some offered the mercy of the Benefactor Sulian, who allowed the penitent Ollath to magically become Mortals again. Others were skeptical, especially after the Benefactor Corvaril gave a Revelation proclaiming that all Ollath, penitent or not, must be slain. This prompted a schism within the Tanelim ranks which would last for months thereafter.
Furthermore, the Tanelim discovered that the souls of their dead had been stolen by a malevolent party. Investigations into this malfeasance would continue...
...into the second opening, where it was discovered that Sergeant Tacita Kovacs, also known as Taxos the Summoner, had orchestrated the soul crimes, with the help of one Alex Petran. She was brought in for trial and execution, but she was stolen away unexpectedly by three disguised werewolves.
Meanwhile, the schism had only been getting worse, and moreover, another faction called the Monotheists, worshipping the King in secret, was growing amidst the chaos. Using the crown of the ancient Prince Reanus of Torna, the Tanelim made Juliath the head of the Benefactor pantheon. Using their new power and authority, Juliath resolved the schism on Heaven and the Mortal Realm, brought the Monotheists to heel, and pushed the King's influence from Tanelim lands.
Pinnacle, the fey demigod, had given the Tanelim a Revelation, somehow, proposing herself as a candidate for head of the pantheon, but unsurprisingly the Tanelim passed on that option.
The theological troubles of the Tanelim continued in the third opening. Amongst devotees of Corvaril, a practice known as Decimation gained some popularity, whereby a regiment would fight amidst itself to the death until only the strongest warrior remained, although this proved to be the influence of the Knife. Meanwhile, Sulian, the peacemaker, spoke to the Tanelim of something called The Final Pathway. This involved one of the Tanelim bringing Sulian, tied to his soul into the Casket of Nightmares, whereupon they would re-ascend among the Archons, as a way of starting to make peace between Heaven and Hell. This was done, and Sulian has become the Archon of Peace, whatever that may mean.
Werewolves
At the first opening, the Werewolves, like the Koth, celebrated the Festival of Ganshe. A renegade runt approached the camp and tried to convince the Werewolves to disavow their worhsip of Mother Ganshe, but said runt succeeded only in getting slaughtered for his apostasy.
It was also at the first opening that a pair of Werewolves, through the power of Bloodcalling, transformed their appearance to resemble Mortals, allowing them to sneak into the Mortal camp. They sought to steal the Phalrean Cartomancy deck, but this proved impossible.
At the second opening, the Werewolves encountered the Alpha of Alphas- a Werewolf avatar of The King who sought to bring all packs under his control. He had beaten many other Alphas in single combat to achieve this. The Werewolves in camp, ignoring tradition, attacked the Alpha of Alphas as a group, cutting him down at last.
Another group disguised themselves as Mortals, this time to rescue the Summoner Taxos from a Tanelim trial. She was successfully brought back to the Casket, but two Werewolves died in the attempt.
Later, the camp was approached by a representative of the Quickblood pack, who had allegedly been dwelling in the depths of the Forest with Gansheite Koth. The Werewolves were told to retrieve Ganshe's cloak from the Forest, and they were successful, gaining Ganshe's favour in so doing.
At the third opening, the Werewolves were given a new challenge by Ganshe; to make the childlike fey Patter into Ganshe's child, by convincing Patter to actually want to become a Werewolf. Meanwhile, the Hive was spreading her dread influence through the Werewolves, converting many into unthinking drones in her service.
The Werewolves succeeded in bringing Patter into their number, and in return, Ganshe gave the Werewolves a choice. She was strong enough to fight and kill one of the Stalkers, and the Werewolves were asked which of the four it should be. Given what the Hive was doing to Werewolves throughout the Casket, they painted her as their target. Ganshe rose into the planes above, fought her battle, and slaughtered the Hive completely.
Decaying Ones
At the first opening, the Decaying Ones began to experiment with a new brand of Somaticism; augmented eyes. They discovered an ability to influence the Phalrean Cartomancy deck in novel ways, and also grew an eye on the summoner Nasaat.
One Decaying One purchased an expensive wish-granting potion from Dor. Allegedly, it showed a path to infecting the Phalreans with the Decay.
Several Decaying Ones were impressed upon meeting Pinnacle, swearing to worship her and performing ceremonies in her name. They also encountered the fey called Corpse, and assisted in his efforts to acquire a physical body.
At the second opening, the Decaying Ones were attacked by one of their own; a woman called only The Cutter. A powerful, knife-wielding threat, she had undertaken a spree of cutting body augmentations off other Decaying Ones. They slew her, and used their eye augmentations to discover she had been affected by the ancient god the Knife. To prevent the Knife's continuing influence, they worked with a strange ghost from the Forest to instead invite the influence of the Hive (who apparently is the Knife's opposite) into their lives. Time will tell what impact that decision might have.
At the third opening, the Decaying Ones found that the Hive's influence intensified the Decay, but also granted new Somaticist powers to all their number, allowing them to spontaneously grow new parts with the aid of Mortal souls. This was especially pleasing to Bwobobulu, the famous Decaying One supermodel.
The Decaying Ones were visited by their Emperor, who they hadn't previously known existed, who appointed various of them to cabinet positions before leaving. They were also visited by the Summoner known as Mister Sinister, who was in prison, and wanted them to grow a big punchy arm on him so he could smash his way to freedom. They obliged, and it is believed he may be at large to this day.
At the end of the opening, the Hive was destroyed, ending the effects she was having on the Decaying Ones.
Ollath
At the first opening, the Ollath discovered there was a rogue faction amongst them, calling themselves the Penitents. They sought to beg the Benefactors for forgiveness for their apostasty, and wrote their names upon a new document called the Salvatorian Accord. The Ollath found and interrogated one of their number (during a poetry reading contest), but were unable to prevent several Ollath escaping to the Mortal Realm. Still, the dissention this caused amidst the Tanelim who couldn't agree on whether or not these double-traitors deserved to live, may have been worth it.
Unrelatedly, attempts were made to court the notoriously wealthy Cecilia Vade, who remains to this unmarried, and still notoriously wealthy.
At the second opening, the Archons gave the Ollath a task; ghosts of numerous deceased Phalreans had emerged in the Forest-between-Worlds and the Archons wanted to claim them to dwell with them in Hell. The Ollath determined that, in order to let the Archons claim the ghosts, they needed to safely bind one of the Archons to one of themselves using Sorcery. Further investigation determined that the Hivemaster, the Avatar of the Hive, could help, but at this stage, a Sorcerer tried binding an Archon to Hivemaster himself. This allowed the Hive to literally devour said Archon, making the Ollath justifiably fear for their futures...
At the third opening, Cardinal Leontia appeared. The founder of the Ollath herself had been sent by the Archons to deliver an ultimatum; the Ollath needed to totally excise the presence of the Hive from the Casket, or else, the Archons would wipe the faction out entirely. The Ollath encountered multiple opportunities to do this, including sacrificing the Hivemaster to the Archons, and helping fight the Hive-infested Werewolves. The fey Pinnacle tried to advertise herself as an alternative focus for their worship, asking the Ollath to ritually sacrifice Leontia to her, which would save the Ollath from their potential doom, but the Ollath passed on that option. In the end, however, the Ollath were fully in the clear due to Ganshe herself slaughtering the Hive. Whether the Ollath will remember what the Wolves and their mother did for them remains to be seen.
The final victory of the Ollath at the third opening occurred when all of the factions were summoned into the dimension of the King. He told them all to fight for his amusement, and the Ollath were one of the winning factions. For their victory, the King gave them charge of the lives of all deceased Marked One Traitors, who now live among the Ollath and give fearful prayers to the Archons each night.
Marked Ones
Late night during the second opening, a set of Ghosts appeared from a long-extinct culture called The Marked Ones. These ancient hunter-gatherers were so called because, from birth, they considered themselves all 'marked for death' by their terrifying gods, the four Stalkers (the King, the Snow, the Hive, and the Knife). To indicate this, they were all tattooed with a line across their throats. They told the Mortals and the Nightmares that the Stalkers were awakening from a long slumber, and moving inexorably towards the Mortal Realm and the Casket.
Increasing numbers of these ghosts have been seen in the time since and, as promised, the dread influence of the Stalkers has only increased. The Marked Ones have, at points, spoken of the magic they once used to keep the Stalkers at bay, or placated them. For anyone to survive what is to come, perhaps this magic needs to be harnessed again.
Now, the Marked Ones have, amazingly, returned to life, having been put back on the Mortal Realm, and the Casket of Nightmares, by the King. They have another part to play in the legend of the Stalkers, but will they ever know a life free from fear of those dread deities?
At the first opening, Einarr Soulbreaker of the Cult of Araleth provided potions that instigated vision quests in those who drank them. Resulting from this, and with the guiding wisdom of Gunnr Spiritguide, the Koth used a special knife to destroy a ghost with a line across his neck, telling of terrifying gods known as the Snow, the King, the Hive, and the Knife.
Furthermore, following the Festival of Ganshe, a mysterious woman dressed all in red came to the Koth camp at midnight.
At the second opening, the Koth heard tell of multiple knife-wielding murderers targetting the tribes, one of which, a man named Keaghan, came to the camp to attack during the Festival of Nathaia. Using Tanelim magic, his unusual powers were turned to peaceful ends, and he was allowed to leave.
The camp was also approached by a member of the Bloodred Tribe who, are, apparently, living deep in the Forest with a group of Werewolves, all serving Ganshe together. The Koth were charged with finding Ganshe's red cloak in the Forest, but they never discovered it.
Then, on the final morning, Gunnr Spiritguide came again before the Koth, claiming that she had the Goddess Nathaia embedded in her mind. She said Einarr had been using Ollath magic to somehow bind the Koth gods to human forms, and that this practice had to stop. When questioned, Einarr was tight-lipped.
At the third opening, Einarr's plan came to fruition. He revealed that he had Araleth bound to him, and that "he" was a fusion of the two entities. He wanted all of the gods to be bound to mortals in this way, so that new mortals could take over the mantles of the gods. However, none of the other gods were keen on this plan, and the Koth decided to respect their wishes and return them each to godhood, except for Araleth, who named a successor for himself. This mortal was Keaghan, once a murderer, now a healer named The Miraculous. The Koth, with reluctance, performed the ritual to raise Keaghan to godhood, and Araleth stayed in the Mortal Realm.
Meanwhile, Ganshe set another task for the Koth, as well as for the Werewolves. She had decided Patter, a childlike fey, should become her new child, and both the Koth and the Werewolves were charged with acculturating this fey into their way of life. In the end, the Werewolves were more successful, and Patter became the wolf-child of Ganshe.
At the end of the opening, the Stalker known as the King brought all of the factions to his realm, and commanded that they fight for his amusement. The Koth were one of the victorious factions, and for this, they were granted the lives of all deceased Marked Ones, aside from the Traitors amidst that faction. Now, hundreds of people have newly come to life and are living with the Koth, and spreading knowledge of their particular magic that keeps them hidden from the Stalkers.
Phalreans
At the first opening, a threat loomed large over the Phalreans. It was discovered that revered scholar, Magister Ludivine, had killed themselves after leaving coded notes about visions they had received about a dread entity called the Snow.
A more immediate problem had to be dealt with, however. An archive containing many ritual scrolls had come loose from its foundations and was soon to fall into a raging river. Archivist Yselle proposed a scheme to save it with magic. Magister Henri, a known experimenter, argued for letting the old knowledge be destroyed, promising to replace it with brand new ritual scrolls for a new age. Yselle's plan was favoured, and the Archive was saved, to Henri's chagrin.
Additionally, a few blank Cartomancy cards were discovered, although nothing was done with them, yet.
At the second opening, the Snow was clearly increasing its influence over Phalrean lands, driving the entirety of Magister Laureline's haven to extreme self-destructive behaviours. Furthermore, cards with the much-maligned Teardrop symbol were found in the Cartomancy deck, prompting strange changes to the effects of rituals if drawn.
Overshadowing all of these concerns, however, was the discovery of a Phalrean ghost in the Forest. The ancient spirit, calling himself Fabien LaPlace, claimed that the minds of every deceased Phalrean across history was trapped in the depths of the Forest. Worse still, Fabien felt the presence of dark forces swooping in to devour the Phalrean dead. With the help of Magister Henri, the Phalreans performed a ritual allowing one of their number to siphon these ghosts into the care of a chosen deity. The Phalreans chose the fey demigod Pinnacle to govern their new afterlife.
At the third opening, it slowly became apparent that the Phalrean dead were not with Pinnacle, much to her anger. As the Phalreans tried to resolve this mystery, they were approached by representatives of a new organisation within their numbers; the Iron Key. The Key were a secretive group with authoritarian leanings, and it was whispered that they received their orders from ghosts of the dead. They were working on a new invention, a magical set of keys known as the Clavisigili. This artefact, useable only once, had the power to either admit, or exclude, a divine being from the Phalrean sphere of life.
It came to light that the Phalrean dead were actually within the domain of the Knife, and that she was commanding the Iron Key herself through their ghosts. The Key's leadership was taken down, the the Clavisigili were used to admit the Benefactor Juliath into the Phalrean realm. Combined other action taken against the Knife, this allowed the Phalrean afterlife to be taken over by Juliath, who now stands as the god of the Phalreans.
Right at the end of the opening, the Phalreans were approached by the spirit of their founder; Prince Reanus of Torna. He, having clawed his way to demigodhood, came with a warning about the approach of the Stalkers, telling the Mortals that these ancient gods will destroy either the Mortal Realm, or the Forest, or the Casket of Nightmares. He proposed that Marked One magic be used to ensure the Forest was destroyed, cutting off the Casket from the Mortal Realm. He also asked that the Phalreans help him become a full deity, to stand in a pantheon alongside Juliath, but he was thoroughly rebuffed in this regard.
Tanelim
At the first opening, the Tanelim were conflicted as several Ollath attempted to repent and rejoin the Tanelim ranks. Some offered the mercy of the Benefactor Sulian, who allowed the penitent Ollath to magically become Mortals again. Others were skeptical, especially after the Benefactor Corvaril gave a Revelation proclaiming that all Ollath, penitent or not, must be slain. This prompted a schism within the Tanelim ranks which would last for months thereafter.
Furthermore, the Tanelim discovered that the souls of their dead had been stolen by a malevolent party. Investigations into this malfeasance would continue...
...into the second opening, where it was discovered that Sergeant Tacita Kovacs, also known as Taxos the Summoner, had orchestrated the soul crimes, with the help of one Alex Petran. She was brought in for trial and execution, but she was stolen away unexpectedly by three disguised werewolves.
Meanwhile, the schism had only been getting worse, and moreover, another faction called the Monotheists, worshipping the King in secret, was growing amidst the chaos. Using the crown of the ancient Prince Reanus of Torna, the Tanelim made Juliath the head of the Benefactor pantheon. Using their new power and authority, Juliath resolved the schism on Heaven and the Mortal Realm, brought the Monotheists to heel, and pushed the King's influence from Tanelim lands.
Pinnacle, the fey demigod, had given the Tanelim a Revelation, somehow, proposing herself as a candidate for head of the pantheon, but unsurprisingly the Tanelim passed on that option.
The theological troubles of the Tanelim continued in the third opening. Amongst devotees of Corvaril, a practice known as Decimation gained some popularity, whereby a regiment would fight amidst itself to the death until only the strongest warrior remained, although this proved to be the influence of the Knife. Meanwhile, Sulian, the peacemaker, spoke to the Tanelim of something called The Final Pathway. This involved one of the Tanelim bringing Sulian, tied to his soul into the Casket of Nightmares, whereupon they would re-ascend among the Archons, as a way of starting to make peace between Heaven and Hell. This was done, and Sulian has become the Archon of Peace, whatever that may mean.
Werewolves
At the first opening, the Werewolves, like the Koth, celebrated the Festival of Ganshe. A renegade runt approached the camp and tried to convince the Werewolves to disavow their worhsip of Mother Ganshe, but said runt succeeded only in getting slaughtered for his apostasy.
It was also at the first opening that a pair of Werewolves, through the power of Bloodcalling, transformed their appearance to resemble Mortals, allowing them to sneak into the Mortal camp. They sought to steal the Phalrean Cartomancy deck, but this proved impossible.
At the second opening, the Werewolves encountered the Alpha of Alphas- a Werewolf avatar of The King who sought to bring all packs under his control. He had beaten many other Alphas in single combat to achieve this. The Werewolves in camp, ignoring tradition, attacked the Alpha of Alphas as a group, cutting him down at last.
Another group disguised themselves as Mortals, this time to rescue the Summoner Taxos from a Tanelim trial. She was successfully brought back to the Casket, but two Werewolves died in the attempt.
Later, the camp was approached by a representative of the Quickblood pack, who had allegedly been dwelling in the depths of the Forest with Gansheite Koth. The Werewolves were told to retrieve Ganshe's cloak from the Forest, and they were successful, gaining Ganshe's favour in so doing.
At the third opening, the Werewolves were given a new challenge by Ganshe; to make the childlike fey Patter into Ganshe's child, by convincing Patter to actually want to become a Werewolf. Meanwhile, the Hive was spreading her dread influence through the Werewolves, converting many into unthinking drones in her service.
The Werewolves succeeded in bringing Patter into their number, and in return, Ganshe gave the Werewolves a choice. She was strong enough to fight and kill one of the Stalkers, and the Werewolves were asked which of the four it should be. Given what the Hive was doing to Werewolves throughout the Casket, they painted her as their target. Ganshe rose into the planes above, fought her battle, and slaughtered the Hive completely.
Decaying Ones
At the first opening, the Decaying Ones began to experiment with a new brand of Somaticism; augmented eyes. They discovered an ability to influence the Phalrean Cartomancy deck in novel ways, and also grew an eye on the summoner Nasaat.
One Decaying One purchased an expensive wish-granting potion from Dor. Allegedly, it showed a path to infecting the Phalreans with the Decay.
Several Decaying Ones were impressed upon meeting Pinnacle, swearing to worship her and performing ceremonies in her name. They also encountered the fey called Corpse, and assisted in his efforts to acquire a physical body.
At the second opening, the Decaying Ones were attacked by one of their own; a woman called only The Cutter. A powerful, knife-wielding threat, she had undertaken a spree of cutting body augmentations off other Decaying Ones. They slew her, and used their eye augmentations to discover she had been affected by the ancient god the Knife. To prevent the Knife's continuing influence, they worked with a strange ghost from the Forest to instead invite the influence of the Hive (who apparently is the Knife's opposite) into their lives. Time will tell what impact that decision might have.
At the third opening, the Decaying Ones found that the Hive's influence intensified the Decay, but also granted new Somaticist powers to all their number, allowing them to spontaneously grow new parts with the aid of Mortal souls. This was especially pleasing to Bwobobulu, the famous Decaying One supermodel.
The Decaying Ones were visited by their Emperor, who they hadn't previously known existed, who appointed various of them to cabinet positions before leaving. They were also visited by the Summoner known as Mister Sinister, who was in prison, and wanted them to grow a big punchy arm on him so he could smash his way to freedom. They obliged, and it is believed he may be at large to this day.
At the end of the opening, the Hive was destroyed, ending the effects she was having on the Decaying Ones.
Ollath
At the first opening, the Ollath discovered there was a rogue faction amongst them, calling themselves the Penitents. They sought to beg the Benefactors for forgiveness for their apostasty, and wrote their names upon a new document called the Salvatorian Accord. The Ollath found and interrogated one of their number (during a poetry reading contest), but were unable to prevent several Ollath escaping to the Mortal Realm. Still, the dissention this caused amidst the Tanelim who couldn't agree on whether or not these double-traitors deserved to live, may have been worth it.
Unrelatedly, attempts were made to court the notoriously wealthy Cecilia Vade, who remains to this unmarried, and still notoriously wealthy.
At the second opening, the Archons gave the Ollath a task; ghosts of numerous deceased Phalreans had emerged in the Forest-between-Worlds and the Archons wanted to claim them to dwell with them in Hell. The Ollath determined that, in order to let the Archons claim the ghosts, they needed to safely bind one of the Archons to one of themselves using Sorcery. Further investigation determined that the Hivemaster, the Avatar of the Hive, could help, but at this stage, a Sorcerer tried binding an Archon to Hivemaster himself. This allowed the Hive to literally devour said Archon, making the Ollath justifiably fear for their futures...
At the third opening, Cardinal Leontia appeared. The founder of the Ollath herself had been sent by the Archons to deliver an ultimatum; the Ollath needed to totally excise the presence of the Hive from the Casket, or else, the Archons would wipe the faction out entirely. The Ollath encountered multiple opportunities to do this, including sacrificing the Hivemaster to the Archons, and helping fight the Hive-infested Werewolves. The fey Pinnacle tried to advertise herself as an alternative focus for their worship, asking the Ollath to ritually sacrifice Leontia to her, which would save the Ollath from their potential doom, but the Ollath passed on that option. In the end, however, the Ollath were fully in the clear due to Ganshe herself slaughtering the Hive. Whether the Ollath will remember what the Wolves and their mother did for them remains to be seen.
The final victory of the Ollath at the third opening occurred when all of the factions were summoned into the dimension of the King. He told them all to fight for his amusement, and the Ollath were one of the winning factions. For their victory, the King gave them charge of the lives of all deceased Marked One Traitors, who now live among the Ollath and give fearful prayers to the Archons each night.
Marked Ones
Late night during the second opening, a set of Ghosts appeared from a long-extinct culture called The Marked Ones. These ancient hunter-gatherers were so called because, from birth, they considered themselves all 'marked for death' by their terrifying gods, the four Stalkers (the King, the Snow, the Hive, and the Knife). To indicate this, they were all tattooed with a line across their throats. They told the Mortals and the Nightmares that the Stalkers were awakening from a long slumber, and moving inexorably towards the Mortal Realm and the Casket.
Increasing numbers of these ghosts have been seen in the time since and, as promised, the dread influence of the Stalkers has only increased. The Marked Ones have, at points, spoken of the magic they once used to keep the Stalkers at bay, or placated them. For anyone to survive what is to come, perhaps this magic needs to be harnessed again.
Now, the Marked Ones have, amazingly, returned to life, having been put back on the Mortal Realm, and the Casket of Nightmares, by the King. They have another part to play in the legend of the Stalkers, but will they ever know a life free from fear of those dread deities?