The Asherlux Society

Started from descendants of the Bleteshazzar, the Society was originally concerned with awakening their blood's true power so that they would have another immortal ruler. Their primary goal was to master the gift and make it a science so that their people would be able to have a more predictable line of succession. While their research was permitted under Harasin, it was not tolerated by Haman when he came to power and the people who would later become the Asherlux Society were hunted and repressed. Some however managed to flee Kmet-Tha and returned to the continent to practice their arts in peace. To this day they are bitter enemies of Haman and should they encounter his agents they make it their first priority to wipe them out. The opposite is also true, however and Haman has set a notable amount of resources into finding and wiping out the remaining adherents.

History

Before and During the time of Narem-Kumat (-2,250 to 0 CA)

After the Belteshazzar and their servants fled the devastation of Shahar-khet they began a nomadic life that lasted for millenia. During this time they tried to settle several places but without a strong leader they were quickly overwhelmed and driven off by local humans who (while weaker) outnumbered them and knew their lands better. These failed conquests took their toll and the Belteshazzar bloodline became dangerously thin. To combat this a number of Belteshazzar were asked by their brethren to keep track of the bloodline and make certain that the geneologies were kept in tact. These Garderners of the Blood or (Sumak Arush) were the beginnings of the Asherlux Society.

Through careful record keeping and shrewd match making, the Sumak kept the line strong without the detrimental effects of inbreeding. One way they did this was the creation of a psuedo-caste of Belteshazzar who were deliberately bred with non-Belteshazzar humans and then at periodic intervals were carefully mated with full fledged Belteshazzar. The importance of their work brought the Sumak a great amount of prestige, and when their population was finally at such a level as to no longer need their constant tending they set their minds to another task that they deemed vital to their people.

For the millenia that the Belteshazzar wandered as vagabonds none of their children had been born with the gift of their bloodline. The Sumak and many other Belteshazzar believed that this was because of their diluted bloodline and now that their population was sustainable and with the recent subjugation of Narem-Kumat in -2,050 CA, they began to experiment with the differing bloodlines to see if they could breed those in whom the gift would manifest.

Beginning their work in earnest in -1,568 CA they finally met with seeming success in Harasin, a prime candidate that managed to awaken his powers in -1,093 CA. However, Harasin's children could not awaken their gifts and it was at that time that many of the Belteshazzar wondered if it were only possible for one immortal to exist at a time. Despite this growing thesis, the Sumak continued their program, this time adding in new experimental mental and physical training drawn from multiple cultures to enhance the candidates' potential.

Harasin believed that he owed his power to the Sumak's breeding and he shared their desire for a stable succession should anything happen to him. However, when he was killed during the Lataneran occupation, the Sumak's official sanction died with him. They were still accepted by the Belteshazzar and were supported by all the noble families who wanted their children to either be or birth the next immortal, but their continuing failures caused their influence to wane.

During the Reign of Haman (25 to 300 CA)

Things took a turn for the worse when Haman took power. The Sumak were wise enough to stay out of the power struggle as he subjugated Kmet-Tha but it wasn't long after he had consolidated his power that he turned his attention to the society. During the first century of his reign he attempted to take control of their breeding program, turning it more and more toward the purpose of breeding stronger warriors. The Sumak resisted this, viewing it as a paltry task compared to their ultimate goal. For a time Haman suffered their half-hearted insolence, but when he declared himself the only god to be worshiped in Kmet-Tha he offered them an ultimatum; abandon their efforts to breed another immortal or be destroyed. Some of the Sumak decided to ally with Haman, but many more chose to honor their oaths to their order. Haman's purge was brutal, and nearly two thirds were sacrificed in a grand ceremony to honor the new god king. The remaining members fled from Kmet-Tha, some of them making it to Antanides where they attempted to disappear into Eshtora. This would not stop Haman, who was already making plans to send emissaries to pervert the cult of Nikandros. But for the time being he found himself busy with putting down several small rebellions and outlining his new plans for the remaining Sumak.

During this time of respite rebellious Sumak reorganized and rethought their strategy. Their main goal was the breeding of an Immortal but their purpose was first and foremost to destroy Haman. To break all ties with those who remained, they changed their name from Sumak to the Asherlux Society, which in the Lataneran/Eshtoran pigdin tongue of the region meant Joyous Light, which was a term meaning a perfectly executed task.

Absalom's Rebellion (400 to 451 CA)

Absalom's rebellion provided an irresistible and unexpected opportunity. When he and his band of resistance fighters were driven from Kmet-Tha, the Ahserlux Society sought the man out and offered their services should he be willing to reinstate their program to its former position. Absalom seems to have been hesitant at first but with Haman's increasing power he eventually conceded to their requests and an alliance was formed.

The first contribution made by the Asherlux Society was to train certain resistance fighters in their new forms of combat and mental discipline, something that made them more deadly than a common soldier. Absalom lacked the manpower to take on Haman directly so creating a corp of elite soldiers would certainly help strengthen his position. In a sort of payment for this, Absalom's elites were incorporated into the Asherlux Society's breeding program along with the promise that Absalom himself would eventually donate his own seed.

As the decades drew out, Absalom encountered failure time and again, and began to increasingly rely on mercenaries to bolster his diminishing Belteshazzar forces, he knew he would be perceived as an invader inviting the barbarians of common humanity to the very gates of Kmet-Tha. This did not dissuade him, but it did make him uneasy about the vulnerable position that would put him in. That along with Haman's astounding powers made him doubt whether he could either defeat Haman or hold the island. This started in him a deisre to create a partner, another immortal to assist him in this conflict. At the relatively young age of 134 year, Absalom was in his prime and had time to play the long game. He simultaneously began trying to father such a partner and trying build an army of hybrid soldiers mingling Bleteshazzar blood with that of common humans. In these two efforts he relied heavily on the Asherlux Society.

In the later task they met with moderate success, producing men and women who held the common gifts of their race, though many of them didn't show obvious outward signs of their heritage. With the later, however, they were met with less success. Absalom fathered five children, each of them with pure Belteshazzar blood and created with women who were descendants from previous Immortals. Each were trained in Asherlux arts and each was extremely powerful in their own right but the spark of immortality remained stubbornly unlit.

Then finally in 450 CA the Asherlux Society found a way. It was risky but they believed it could work. Their plan was to "stoke the fire" of the perspective Immortal by using part of Absalom's power. An arcane ritual was created wherein Absalom would during coitus release his power time and again, until he had spent himself utterly, which would hopefully charge his seed with power that fueled his immortal spirit. Absalom was reluctant but after weighing the potential losses and gains he consented and conducted the ritual with his consort.

The ritual was a success. Absalom's consort became pregnant and even in the womb Absalom reported that he could somehow feel the same power that was in himself resonating from his child. His consort and child to be were sent to sea with several Asherlux members, a small retinue of servants, and a priest of Ashtra's Midwife sect. There was however a price, Absalom's exertions somehow diminished his power, and he would never again be back to his full strength. However, both he and the Asherlux Society viewed this as an overall success.

Thus invigorated, the Asherlux Society turned their attention ironically to the very purpose to which Haman had desired, breeding better warriors, superior Belteshazzar that could react with frightful speed, manipulate lesser humans, and have complete control over their bodies. They had been working on this to some degree for centuries but that had been in order to create and Immortal, now that they had done so they sought to create his perfect servants, to make certain that Absalom and his heir/partner would see their potential usefulness.

After Absalom's Defeat (451 CA to 600 CA)

With the abrupt defeat of Absalom came the near extinction of the Asherlux. Haman quickly found their centers and eradicated any he found with no offer of servitude this time. Carrying out a secret eradication he reduced the Asherlux from their strength of hundreds strong to only a scattered handful. Those who escaped eventually regrouped and fled further inland, where Haman did not yet have spies and could not yet reach. This safety however came with a sort of surrender. For by relocating so far from the Eshtoran coast the Asherlux unanimously gave up on their dreams of ever returning home. Absalom was dead and his child was lost to their knowledge, they no longer had an Immortal from which to breed more Immortals. Worse still, with so few of their number remaining it was inevitable that their common gifts would diminish and could easily be lost entirely within a few generations.

Their order's original goals no longer within reach, the Asherlux Society once again reorganized and came up with a new strategy. If they could not use the original stock created by Belteshazzar's mysterious ascension, they would simply find a way to start the process anew, and create a new race to rival the old.

Carefully they spread their blood through some of the strongest breeding stock among common humans. Desert raiders from the border between the Spellrend and Eshtora and Marabi, intellectuals of the Vahid, aesthetics from the Kasmiran Kingdoms, were all brought into the program. Enhanced by carefully cultivated Belteshazzar traits, the Asherlux created an intense training regimen that put their previous efforts to shame.

The Asherlux also became semi-nomadic, abandoning permanent bases of operation so as to avoid a repeat of Haman's purge. They moved just within the borders of the Spellrend and wandered between various temporary shelters and chapter houses, keeping small waypoints manned by members of their order trained to detect and avoid (or eliminate) threats of discovery. For the most part they seemed to disappear into the deserts and Haman, distracted with other matters, presumed them extinct or at least no longer a credible threat.

Cloaked in secrecy while at the same time admitting some of the best and brightest humanity had to offer, the Asherlux grew larger and even more secretive, their society becoming a sort of secret psuedo cult, dedicated to no god but to the betterment of the human race as a whole.

The Coming of the Asherlux (650 CA to present)

While the Asherlux Society continued their breeding programs they also sought a way to rekindle the immortal spark. Several methods were tried, the first was the concept of breeding nonhumans into the program but this was quickly discarded as the Asherlux decided that while they were accepting common men into their program they wished their Asherlux to be fully human. The second method involved multiple attempts so infuse arcane power into their progeny. This met with failure for the most part until certain members made trips into the desert and discovered a strange substance that seemed to be coalesced Chaos Magic in 662.

Similar in some respects to crystallized magic found along the ley lines deep in the Kalladian mountains, this solidified Chaos magic was indeed a physical representation of the raw essence of magic, however it was always encountered in a dusty form that was quickly found capable of mixing with food and drink. Potions made with this essence had varying properties, including the lengthening of life spans, the sharpening of senses, and rarely limited oracular capabilities. It was however, similar to a drug, and those who remained on it for long periods of time suffered intense withdrawal that was often fatal if more of the substance (code named Quintessence) was not administered. Quintessence also had a strange side effect, causing most who imbibed in it to have a light red or orange colored irises. It is unknown if this was because it enhanced some strange part of the Belteshazzar blood or if this was an effect that it caused on all addicts, to date none but the Asherlux Society have taken enough for the effect to manifest.

The Quintessence was carefully integrated into the Asherlux Society's breeding and training program and in time it was found that women had a greater felicity to the substance. In 678 CA it was discovered that there were times when women could carefully "overdose" after which they were able to see the past through their ancestor's eyes and their perceptions were amplified many time over and they were able to read people's thoughts and intents by merely studying their menutiae. On top of this even Asherlux members with no or little Belteshazzar blood found that their abilities were almost on par with that of stronger blooded members and their arcane skills were redoubled.