Vecna: The Whispered One, Lord Vecna, God of Undying Secrets. All of these name before the Catastrophe would only be recognized by the most knowledgeable of sages and most devout clerics. Unfortunately for the Multiverse, times have changed. Now, nearly all omembers of the Inner Planes have come across the name at some point in their lives. The returned undead deity now haunts the dark underground caverns of the Shadowfell's Underdark, also known as the Underfell (I made up this name, as far as I can tell, there is no name for this large region of the Shadowfell).
Around 30 years after the devils won the Blood War, a servitor to Tiamat known as Arkhan the Cruel travelled to the Elemental Plane of Air to retrieve the EYe of Vecna, which he discovered a local community of Aarakocra had gotten possession of through forgotten circumstances. He traded a fragment of the Rod of Seven Parts with the Aarakocra for the undeathly eye, and then left under the orders of Tiamat, travelling to the Elemental Chaos to prepare the plane as his lady's new home. During this time, for reasons unknown, Tiamat's plot to travel to the Elemental Chaos fell through, and Arkhan the Cruel perished with the old eye and hand attached to his corpse.
During the time following Arkhan's death, a chaotic Archomental named Jivelxer claimed the Hand of Vecna from the corpse of Arkhan. The whereabouts of the Eye of Vecna are currently unknown, and it is also unknown whether or not Arkhan's body had the eye when Jivelxer encountered his body. He added the item to his collection of trophies that he wore on his body. During the Second Dragon-Giant War, Jivelxer was summoned to the Material Plane by a dragon archmage, where it unleashed its total fury and destroyed many giants before it perished by the blade of a celestial. After this battle was over, when a goliath was raiding the corpses of the fallen creatures, it claimed the hand from the fallen Archomental's body, and left the battlefield. A Goblin Arcana Cleric slew the goliath on the road, and took the Hand from its corpse. This cleric was a female goblin priestess named Zilya Brightstring, a follower of the Yikare who then was corrupted by the hand's unholy powers, turning her into a follower of the fallen Lord Vecna.
She soon started a cult to her fallen master, gathering many followers, and began performing rites to the deity. Through years of dedicated service, increasing cultists, and massive rites of sacrificing humanoid bodies and souls to Vecna, they were able to resurrect their dead god in 234
FC (Following Catastrophe). After the casting of an Epic Spell to reincarnate their deity, the risen Vecna slew many of his cultists to consume their souls, reanimated their bodies into undead under his control, and left with the rest of his followers to the Shadowfell. Zilya Brightstring, now going by the title Saint Zilya Darkcord, became an undead power under the service of Vecna, similar to a lich, with cleric powers as well as arcane ones.
Vecna quickly amassed an army of undead, sorrowsworn, nothics, and his followers, which he used to assault the Raven Queen's Fortress of Memories, slaying many Shadar-Kai in the process. The Shadar-Kai and other servants of the Raven Queen were barely able to save their queen's palace, and they forced the remaining armies of the Undying King into the Underfell. After this battle, both Vecna and the Raven Queen began preparing for further battles.
Vecna took his followers, many unwilling humanoid residents of the Shadowfell, and combined them with his power over undead energies. This changed them into a new race of deathtouched humanoids known as the Vezyi, and most of them are devoted to Vecna. Their society is a magotheocracy, run by necroarcane priests, based on service to Vecna, and return back to life to serve their undead god.
Vecna now has built a fortress in the Underfell, known as the Bastion of Risen Powers, guarded by legions of heavily armed undead. Inside the keep reside him, his Council of Hallowed Death, and Saint Zilya Darkcord, all who work together to overthrow the Raven Queen. The only humanoids allowed inside the keep are Vezyi that have devoted lifetimes of service to Vecna, and any others who attempt to get in never get out. It is rumored that the heart of the bastion contains Vecna's phylactery.
Vezyi: These gray-skinned deathtouched humanoids, who are fairly new to the world of Tor-eal, are now a very populous race of Shadowfell dwellers. Run by priests of Vecna, known as Iremongers, their societies run on worshipping and serving their undead Lord Vecna. This race was created through the undeadly powers of Vecna, designed in both physicality and cultural structure to be the prime worshippers of the newly reborn god. Though Vecna has plenty of undead forces to fill his army, like any deity, he needs mortal followers to devote themselves to his worship in order to maintain power. The Vezyi (Vezye in singular form) have a magotheocracy, with the leaders of their settlements typically being Arcana Clerics that focus on necromantic magics. These priests are the Vezyi Iremongers, and they dwell in the center of their settlements, where the inverted necropolises that serve as the Vezyin temples reside. The Vezyi Iremongers are at the forefront of the Vezyin society, and they could not function as servants to Vecna without these priests.
Though Iremongers are key to the Vezyin settlements, they are not typically the leaders of their communities. The Vezyi have a democratic republic of sorts, all of which form a relatively complex system of appointing Iremongers. In nearly every settlement, the people of the Vezyin community vote for a champion that will lead their city, known as their Hand of Vecna. The Hand of Vecna will appoint 7 councilors, known as Keys, which must be confirmed into their seats by a vote by the residents of the Vezyin communities. The Hands of Vecna remain in power for 10 years, and the Keys have terms of 5 years. If during the time that a Hand is in power, if an Iremonger dies (there is most often only 2), and their death is permanent, the Keys will vote for a replacement. The Hand gets to approve or deny this replacement, but once the Iremonger is confirmed, they are in until they perish and have no pardons left.
When a Vezye is born, they are brought to an Iremonger, and receive a circular black mark on their left hand's pinky finger. When a Vezyi dies, if their body is recovered quickly enough, the Iremonger will restore them back to life, typically with a Raise Dead spell (Due to the Vezyi's extended time period for resurrection, the Raise Dead spell can be cast on them 100 days after their death). During the casting of the spell, the Iremonger bestows another similar mark on the finger to the left of the most recently marked finger (so, if this is their first restoration, their left ring finger's tip will recieve a mark, and so on). These restorations are called "pardons" and are integral to the Vezyin societies. If mutilated to the point where it is unclear how many pardons a perished Vezyi has left, Iremongers will often choose not to restore the dead back to life if foul play is suspected in any way.
Any Vezyi is allowed 9 pardons, granting them a total of 10 lives. Those who have used less pardons are typically more reckless in Vezyin societies, and are considered less experienced by those with more pardons used. The society has titles for those who have used any specific amount of pardons. A Vezye that has used all their pardons is not allowed to be revived by any Iremongers, but are not prevented from seeking out resurrection magic in other races, though it is normally considered taboo in their society. When a Vezye has used all 9 pardons, perishes, and their body is returned back to a Vezyin Necropolis, an Iremonger will reanimate them as a Zombie, Skeleton, or other undead, and will eventually release the undead into the Underfell, where it will wander until it becomes a member of Vecna's undead army.
The following lists the title of those who have used a specific amount of pardons:
- Zero pardons used, Zon.
- One pardon used, Ahnz.
- Two pardons used, Tuek.
- Three pardons used, Threz.
- Four pardons used, Feik.
- Five pardons used, Frahc.
- Six pardons used, Sed.
- Seven pardons used, Svoe.
- Eight pardons used, Eht.
- Nine pardons used, Tenith.
- Ten pardons and beyond, Vulek.
No Iremonger is allowed to purposefully restore a Vezye back to life that has clearly used all their 10 lives, but mistakes happen. If a Vezye has lost their right hand or both, and it is not clear that they have any lives left, the only Iremongers allowed to restore them back to life are those who can restore their lost limbs once their life is restored. In such a case, the body is bound tightly before the Iremonger resurrects the Vezye and restores their lost limbs through a regenerate or resurrection spell, and they then analyze their amount of pardons left. If they discover that they should not have been revived, their life is not taken away, but they are given three circumpunct marks on their body. One on the palm of each hand, and one on the forehead of the Vezye. These marks are called the "Eyes of Vecna" and they are given just before the Vezye is cast out of the settlement forever.
Those who have the Eyes of Vecna marking their skin are known as the Vulek, and they are banished from reentering Vezyin society. Any Vezyi that slays a Vulek once they are banished, and brings back evidence of their death, are awarded by an Iremonger magically removing one mark from their fingers, therefore awarded another life. In the case that a particular Vulek becomes too much of a problem to allow enjoyment of their stolen life, the Iremonger that gave them their latest life will hire a Vezyin bounty hunter to track down the escaped Vezye, and bring back the cut off palms and skin of the forehead of the slain Vulek. The Iremonger will then animate both hands as crawling claws, and often keep the skin of the forehead as a prize. These bounty hunters are known as Palmbearers, and are honored by Vezyin culture, and feared by Vuleks across the Multiverse.
Though the Vezyin society is evil and venerates Vecna, Teniths often leave the society, free of any motivation to remain inside of the society. Vuleks are driven out of the society, literally chased by those trying to kill them, and barely ever return back to any Vezyin settlements. Most Vezyi adventurers are either sent on quests by Iremongers in the name of Vecna, or are Teniths or Vuleks that are no longer members of Vezyin society.
