Arochel

Arochel 

One of the two most powerful aelin archmagi of the void in the War of Night, the enigmatic Arochel was one of Serachel's most trusted followers during that conflict.

Along with his lover (and fellow archmage) Sabanthe, Arochel stood first in the eyes of Serachel following his turn from the light. A masterful politician even among the aelin, Arochel was a popular demagogue among his people until he proposed a truce with the shuddeni in return for ending the aelin involvement in the war. Seeing his measure narrowly defeat in the Senate, Arochel left Ilodaiya, going on to set himself up as the power behind the collective assemblies of the various smaller city states where the debased (and by this point, proper) version of Serachel worship was practiced. It was in these cities that he saw that public resources were spent on an emergency program of research into the magics of the Void, with the justification of unraveling the 'secret' of shuddeni success in the War.

It was through these researches that Arochel met Sabanthe, a woman who matched even his own formidable intellect and charm. Both proved gifted scholars of the black arts, and they pooled their efforts to produce a standing army of demonkind to force a peace between their cities and the shuddeni. Temporarily secure, they expanded their influence and holdings through a series of deft political manuevers (backed by the shuddeni and their demon allies), acquiring more aelin cities in the name of Serachel.

These depradations would have gone unchecked (and indeed, might have completely sapped all aelin aid to the humans in the War), had it not been for an almost evangelical campaign by the Champions of Avendar, who brought their religious fervor to purging the blight at the heart of aelin culture.

Seeing their greatest enemy in the Champions who would expose their diabolical research and corruptive influence, Arochel and Sabanthe lead the bulk of their forces in a direct attack upon the Tower of Aramril. Arochel brought with him his shuddeni allies, and Sabanthe rode a great dragon (See: Tzet-Sabanthe) of the void against the Tower.

Unfortunately for Arochel, their forces were soundly defeated at Aramril through the timely arrival of the first spirit scholars, who also helped to wound Tzet-Sabanthe and drive the great void dragon into hiding for many years. With their forces annihilated, Arochel and Sabanthe returned to their people, only to find that with the tide of the war moving with the light, most cities had foresworn all worship of Serachel. Those which remained under their direct control were encircled and destroyed by the Ilodaiyan aelin, who regarded their betrayal and war against the first city of their people as unforgiveable.

Arochel and Sabanthe lived to see their god Serachel defeated by the ch'taren deity Rystaia within the Realm of Dream, and then caught in a trap of his own making. (It is not altogether clear whether Serachel chose to be trapped to escape destruction, or whether this was a result of a critical miscalculation in the battle with Rystaia...)

Arochel realized that the open worship of Serachel among the aelin would be a doomed venture at this point in history, and took action accordingly. He and Sabanthe secured magical forms of immortality for themselves, determined to survive to see their god again dominant in Avendar. Arochel chose undeath as his escape from mortality, and became an arch-lich of frightening potency, shedding the last remnants of any moral compunction as he abandoned the trappings of true life. Sabanthe traveled to Dream, and wove a protective spell about herself, allowing her to sleep unharmed and hidden from any prying eyes, freed from the passage of time on the prime material.

It is known that Arochel and Sabanthe exchanged the keys to their immortality with each other, ostensibly the only persons outside of Serachel that they loved. Sabanthe bore Arochel's phylactery in an amulet about her bosom as she slept, while Arochel was entrusted with the duty of awakening Sabanthe when the time was right.

Such a 'perfect security' scenario allowed for Arochel to be truly immortal (since his phylactery lay ensconced in an amulet about Sabanthe's bosom), and Sabanthe to be truly indestructible (albeit inaccessible) as she lay hidden in Dream.

Arochel took a pleasing mortal form for himself (in reality, just an illusion cloaking his decayed form), and insinuated himself back into aelin culture. Over the centuries, he made sure that the decadent aesthetic theories of Serachel did not die, but in fact slowly flourished, and infected their way into the core of aelin (and even human) society. Thus in some small measure, he ensured that the fruits of the War of Night were lost to the aelin -- stagnation, not expansion, was the reward for their victory.

Arochel also worked with a fervid diligence in ensuring that all mention of Serachel's name was stricken from the records of aelin society. Aelin were eager to embrace abstract ideals of beauty at normal times, and the reminder of their own crimes during the War of Night was something which did not sit well on their conscience. So, within the span of centuries, Serachel was scarcely mentioned in any aelin city, although his lasting influence on art and culture was still present. This was no blasphemy on Arochel's part -- rather, a cunning attempt to lay the groundwork for his master's inevitable return.

It is also conjectured that whatever magical trap Serachel lay bound in had a larger, secondary magical effect that removed him from the memory and records of mortals. If the trap were originally intended for Rystaia, it would be the perfect mechanism for excising her worship from Avendar. Once imprisoned, the deity would be forgotten by its adherents, and gradually pass away into myth... leaving no way to release the god or goddess. If the trap were actually a cunning escape for Serachel, this feature worked perfectly in his favor -- for his very enemies were loathe to speak his name, and in time, was generally forgotten altogether. Arochel no doubted aided this magic, destroying (or hiding) records, slaying the greatest of Serachel's enemies, and so forth. At the same time, he set up 'mystery cults' devoted to abstract personifications of beauty and depravity, which worshipped Serachel in deed if not in name.

Finally, as the centuries wore on and the bindings on Serachel's prison began to fail, Arochel concocted a masterful set of plans that would result in the freedom of his god.

It began with a mortal named Sydonus....