Araxis

''“The Nameless Duke is dead! Stop fighting! The Hallowed walk free!”'' -

Unknown soldier at the conclusion of the Battle of the Hallows.

Rise of the Nameless Duke
The story of the Hallowed Lands of Araxis begins in the final days of the Ancient Empire of Kaverdi. In the last years of Empire, expansion was fuelled with blood and steel, the population grew weary and weak, many were unfit for battle except the elite warlocks. During these end times, the Nameless Duke began his conquest, lunging the spear of necromancy into the heart of Kaverdi, ripping off the layers and reaching the core. The Nameless Duke sent out a false call, luring all Hallowed from around the world to his evil castle, to then use cruel magic to enslave the minds of these helpless Hallowed into eternal servitude. Then the Nameless Duke and his armies plundered and pillaged, killing tens of thousands, reviving them as hallowed.

Eventually the Duke knocked at the bustling and brim city of Kaverdi's capital. Behind him, an army of enslaved undead. An epic battle ensued, according to tales thousands were slaughtered, mountains split, and warlocks sapped and drained the land of her magic. True Sighted let out rivers of magic, causing splits and splinters. The war tarnished the lands of Kaverdi, reducing a great civilisation to nothing but bare bones.

Reign of the Nameless Duke
With the Hallowed under his control and the Kaverdian Empire lain low, the Nameless Duke reaped terrible destruction upon the surrounding lands. Growing his own empire and subjugating multitudes of nations. But even when the nearest nations had been conquered, the Nameless Duke did not rest. For in the shadows he exploited the unkillable bodies of the subjugated Hallowed to twist them into tormented and demented monstrosities, to all servants who still held their mind they became known as the Harrowed. Once these monstrosities had been created, the Nameless Duke would Catalog them, study them, give them a number, then dispose of them to the dungeons. The true purpose of these creations never known.

All throughout his conquest there was one undead being that chose to serve the Nameless Duke willingly. That being the great dragon Araxias. Araxias assisted in the subjugation of the many lands the Duke went, and wherever the Duke walked Araxias was close by. This loyalty was, however, swain when two events occurred. Firstly on one mysterious night, for no explicit reason and after years of subjugation the Hallowed began to sing unconsciously:

Araxias please come and save us

For a Duke with no name has enslaved us

Tortured and servile are we

Under his awful yoke doth we plead

Araxias do not forsake us

Your own only hope please come deliver us

This curse placed left us so mindless

To commit actions that are most senseless

Araxias please do forgive us

We are evil malicious sinners

Our life left us long ago

Undeath is the only thing we know

Araxias do not forget us

Like this pain that inflicts the lot of us

Our tethers are all but forsaken

Our cry is to finally awaken

The Second being the final experiment the Nameless Duke performed, the attempted blend of Hallowed and Dragon. This was all too much for Araxias to bear so he disappeared,. When he returned it was leading a coalition of mortal armies to once and for all end the reign of the Nameless Duke. A great battle ensued and the Nameless Duke was finally slain by Araxias. Araxias then plunged himself into the lake. Upon his death the spell broke, and the Hallowed finally awoke from their subconscious torment.

Rise of Araxis
Now free to resolve their tethers, the Hallowed alongside the Harrowed set to build a home from where no ruler could ever enslave them once again. They rebuilt the cities, strengthened their infrastructure, and created a council. Word of this safe haven for the Undead and Damned spread and soon oppressed creatures from all over Kylorne flocked to The Hallows where they found open arms and a house to stay. The Hallowed Lands of Araxis was formed, named after the great Dragon himself, and no longer will they ever be slaves again.