The native plane of the Ossified Undead was a verdant and tranquil place until the eye of the Plague God fell upon it. Under the malign influence of Plague, the world began to rot and wither. As the world around them fell into decay, the remaining Sages gathered to make a plan: they studied strange and dark magic that would allow them to transcend the weaknesses of flesh that the Havoc God preyed upon, and they would become beings of bone and spirit beyond death. Some rejected this, but many more were desperate enough to embrace the idea and become the Ossified Undead.
While those who rejected the Sages died out to disease and corruption, the Ossified Undead began to purge their lands of life. They drove back the Plague God’s servants until their plane was saved, but no living thing remained. After this, the Ossified Undead lived in peace for a time. None are certain how long this was, as without life, time soon lost any meaning. Some fell into insanity or despair. The Sages were once more charged with seeking a solution.
The Sages’ hopes were lifted when they discovered a Voidgate created by a strange sage from the plane of Tyria, who begged for help to protect his people. After some discussion, the Sages agreed to offer their knowledge, and in exchange, they asked for the right to settle in Tyria. While they provided their knowledge willingly, the Tyrians betrayed their side of the deal and severed their link with the Ossified Undead plane once the Havoc Wars were over.
The Ossified Undead and their Sages tried to reopen the link many times without success. Their opportunity only came when the Rift devastated Tyria, and they could take advantage of the sudden surge of energy that created the rift in order to open previously lost Voidgates throughout Tyria.
The Ossified Undead have begun to enter Tyria, returning once more to a land of life, but now view other factions with distrust, remembering their previous betrayal. Yet they are determined to make their home for their people in Tyria, even if they have to fight every other faction in Tyria to do it.
How will you carve out a new home in this plane of life?
History
A Dying Plane
The Ossified Undead’s home Plane used to be a verdant, tranquil place where they lived in harmony with nature, using their arcane abilities to foster a fertile environment. They were mostly isolated from other Planes, not knowing about Voidgates and having little use for defences. But this made them vulnerable to the Plague God, who endlessly seeks new life to contaminate and bring into his embrace. One Soul Daemon, a powerful Lord who was an expert in spreading disease, found his way into the Plane. The Ossified Undead call him the Ur-Catalyst. When the Ur-Catalyst arrived, the sickness spread quickly, and it became apparent that there was little hope of stopping it. Desperate to save themselves, the Sages focused all their powers into devising a spell that could conserve their spirits while turning their bodies into sterile, bone-like vessels immune to disease and decay.
Beyond Flesh
As most of the world fell into decay, the remaining sages gathered to make a plan: they studied strange and dark magic that would allow them to transcend the weaknesses of flesh that the Havoc God preyed upon, and they would become beings of bone and spirit beyond death. Some rejected this, but many more were desperate enough to embrace the idea. Those who refused the transformation were quickly wiped out, while the Sages worked feverishly to complete the extremely complex ritual of Ossification before the plague got to them. Many Sages and their disciples were still lost in the process, turned into inert bone statues by the spell’s imperfection.
Scorched Earth
Those who survived the transformation led a merciless crusade against the Ur-Catalyst and his agents, battling relentlessly while purging their lands of all life to leave no place for disease. They had no choice but to be the ones to choke out the last breath of their dying world. Soon, there was nothing left. With the last remaining organic remains obliterated or calcified, the Ur-Catalyst moved on to other targets, collapsing the Voidgate behind him.
The Silence
A period known as The Silence followed this pyrrhic victory. Ossification had had a terrible impact on the Undead’s psyche, as they did not have time to properly prepare their minds for such a radical change. Their home Plane was a barren wasteland, devoid of all things they once loved. Most Undead fell into a catatonic state, time losing all meaning as they stared endlessly at an empty horizon. Some of them never came out of this state, forever locked in their spiritual prison. Those of the Sages that remained sane entered a deep meditative trance, their powerful minds focused on finding some kind of solution. They concentrated all their power and knowledge into finding out where the Ur-Catalyst had come from, trying to find a way to access other Planes.
Age of Discovery
At some point, one of the Sages managed to detect a message coming from somewhere else. Another being, on another Plane, was seeking a way out as desperately as they were. The Sages answered the call, and soon a Voidgate opened, revealing a human wizard from the western steppes of Tyria. His masters were threatened by the forces of Havoc, and they were seeking a way to shield themselves from slaughter. Negotiations were held, and a deal was struck: the Sages would reveal all they’d learned about warding off death, in exchange for a territory of their own in the steppes.
Patronage
After some discussion, the Sages agreed to offer their knowledge; in exchange, they asked for the right to settle in Tyria. The Sages helped the wizard design a ritual of immortality. While they provided their knowledge willingly, the Tyrians betrayed their side of the deal and tried to sever their link with the Ossified Undead once the Havoc Wars were over, in order to avoid ceding their land. A couple of Sages trapped on the Tyrian plane managed to partly sabotage the ritual, triggering a curse that turned the Humans into the Vampiric Undead.
The Rift
The Ossified Undead remained trapped on their barren home Plane, but they had learned from this experience. They weren’t able to create Voidgates yet, but they began to be able to understand the energies that powered them. With nothing but time, they waited and studied. The opening of the Rift in Tyria was such a powerful event that the energy released surged through many planes. Jumping at the chance, the Sages were able to detect nascent Voidgates opened by the Rift and stabilised them. Finally, they had a way out, and on their own terms. Slowly but surely, the Ossified Undead began to enter, returning once more to a land of life.
Society
The Ossified Undead now venture into Tyria using new Voidgates, picking isolated places whenever possible. They marvel at the beauty and abundance of life on this new world. In order to maintain their claims in Tyria, they build imposing fortresses. These strongholds can be found scattered all over Tyria, often in land that is not coveted by civilisations; they have no need for food and water, and even a desert seems like a lush garden to them compared to their home plane.
Each fortress is ruled by a council of Sages, responsible for maintaining their people's bodies and minds. Ossified Undead’s minds are forever connected, and when their body is destroyed, their spirit flies back to their fortress, where a sage can entomb it into another body. They seek scholars that can help them research ways to mitigate or maybe even reverse their Ossified status.
A Traumatised People
Ossification was a difficult process on both the minds and bodies of many Ossified Undead. They are prone to feelings of emptiness and disconnection from the world that can send them into the same catatonic state they went through during The Silence. It is common to find immobile, unspeaking Undead covered with vines and moss across their territories. In order to prevent this, the Sages have developed various spells that can reinvigorate one’s spirit. But there is no definite cure and the Ossified Undead have developed their culture as best they could to mitigate this threat. They cultivate gardens, have menageries of pets and seek art and stories from all living beings.
Seekers of Beauty
The Ossified Undead are slow to trust and careful not to depend on other factions. But they enjoy all the manifestations of life that they can no longer experience by themselves. Because of this, a lot of fortresses encourage visits from merchants, artists and guests. They pay handsomely for things they find beautiful, things that can replace what they have lost. They have managed to ensure that they’ll never die, and now their struggle is making life worth living.
Some Ossified Undead travel the world in order to experience more. It is not uncommon for a lone Undead, or a group of them, to leave their fortress to travel the world, in order to experience the beauty and chaos of life. During these travels, they sometimes forge relationships with other factions. They are quite capable of fighting alongside these allies if necessary, in order to preserve something beautiful and fragile. For the same reasons, Ossified Undead might enter into conflicts over things that seem absurd to others, like preventing an army from trampling over a field of wildflowers or damaging a rare bird’s territory.
Conflict and Warfare
The Ossified Undead, having already been betrayed by Tyrians, are prone to viewing other factions with distrust. Their priority above all else is to create a home for their people in Tyria and many have already entered the continent through Voidgates. Many wish for revenge against the Vampiric Undead, who betrayed them.
Bonded by their traumatic past, Ossified Undead rarely argue and often follow those with the most fiery spirit among them, since their many struggle to find a reason to do anything. Leaders are often those who can find that motivation and communicate it to others. They are quite protective of each other and value solidarity. Still, now that they are spread out around Tyria, slight differences in philosophies between fortresses can lead to conflicts. They see these battles almost as a form of sport or competition used to settle debates, as they would never try to permanently destroy another Ossified Undead’s soul; some bodies might be broken but the souls are sent back to their Sages.
