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 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 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 incorperated into the Asherlux 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.

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 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, 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 viewed this as an overall success.

Thus invigorated, the Asherlux 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