| Organization | Cult |
|---|---|
| Leadership | Seven Rulers |
The Seventh Sigil is a secret, realm-spanning cabal of undead lords who united their dark powers to extend necromancy’s reach. Named for both the seventh school of magic and the seven undying masters who lead it, the Sigil weaves networks of undead across kingdoms and cults alike.
About[edit | edit source]
The Seventh Sigil is less a cult than a council of undying tyrants. Each Lord commands vast networks of undead, necromancers, and dark priests, yet they act as one when the Sigil is invoked. Their reach is subtle but vast: they whisper to desperate kings, bolster failing armies with skeletal reinforcements, and trade in blasphemous magic that others dare not touch. Mortals often mistake them for scattered necromancers or rival death cults, but in truth these fragments are all threads of a single web. They do not necessarily vie for outward world domination, but to instead subtly control the world from the shadows. Members of the cult believe that true ascendance and enlightenment can only come from undeath.
The Seventh Sigil operates like a shadow empire, its influence spread across the realm in discrete, compartmentalized cells. Each pocket functions independently, with its own undead minions, mortal agents, and secret caches of necromantic knowledge, ensuring that the failure of one agent does not compromise the others. The cult prefers subtlety over brute force, manipulating rulers, funding wars, and spreading plagues from the shadows rather than openly marching armies of the dead.
Origins[edit | edit source]
The origins of the Seventh Sigil lie in an age when the great masters of undeath walked alone, carving out petty fiefdoms of bones and shadows. Liches raised towers of desolation, vampires ruled from hidden crypts, and mummy lords clung to forgotten empires, each obsessed with their own eternal existence. Yet these isolated reigns often faltered; lich phylacteries were shattered, vampires were staked, and undead armies crumbled when mortals rose in defiance. It was in the ashes of these repeated failures that a revelation spread among the undying: survival and supremacy demanded unity. From whispered bargains and profane rituals of binding came the first convening of seven powerful undead, their pact sealing the birth of the Seventh Sigil. Rumors place the date of the order's origins somewhere in the mid-to-late BR era.
The decision to take their name from necromancy itself, the seventh school of magic, was no mere vanity. It was a declaration of their intent to embody and expand that school beyond any mortal comprehension, elevating necromancy to the highest of arcane paths. The Seven swore to pool their knowledge, share their minions, and build networks of cultists and agents that could move unseen across continents. What one Lord could not achieve alone, seven could accomplish together, and soon their influence stretched across continents. Even in those early centuries, the Sigil was more than a cult: it was an undead conspiracy, woven by beings who embraced undeath as their true nature.
The Seven Sigils[edit | edit source]
The Seven Sigils are the undying masters of the Seventh Sigil, seven powerful undead whose combined will shapes the fate of undead and mortals alike. Each commands vast networks of minions, cults, and necromantic secrets, yet together they form a council whose influence stretches across continents. Feared, whispered about, and rarely seen, the Seven Sigils embody the pinnacle of necromantic power, guiding the Sigil’s dark ambitions with patience, cunning, and authority.
Karthorix, Wizard of the Black Tower[edit | edit source]
Karthorix is an ancient wizard and lich, possibly the oldest member of the Seventh Sigil. Master of necromancy and other arcane arts, Karthorix has long outgrown any desire to control kingdoms or amass power, seeking only to continue learning in peace. Though a being of undeath, Karthorix’s temperament leans more toward curiosity than cruelty, displaying malevolence only when mortals or rival factions threaten his existence. Many of the souls bound to his phylacteries are willingly offered, and his true phylactery is hidden within a nondescript book tucked deep in the endless libraries of the ArchCrystal Tower.
Karthorix’s domain, the Black Tower, rises from the Pine Barrens of Osugbo like a shadowed monolith. Its interior defies reality, expanding far beyond the exterior’s narrow spire. Within, twisting corridors of laboratories, sanctums, and libraries unfold endlessly, each chamber a testament to centuries of study. Karthorix maintains a network of loyal necromancer apprentices, each carefully trained and often left to pursue their own experiments under his guidance. Though others perceive him as part of the Seventh Sigil’s malign influence, in truth Karthorix wishes only to be left undisturbed, a scholar of undeath seeking the secrets of life, death, and what lies beyond.
Vaelthys the Unmoored[edit | edit source]
Vaelthys was once a queen of a distant realm, but that was until her world was shattered by ancient horrors from beyond the stars. To survive, she offered herself to these eldritch entities, becoming their herald and transformed into an eldritch lich. Though she appears as a beautiful queen with porcelain-toned skin cracked with veins of gold, her true nature is incomprehensibly alien.
Vaelthys is singularly devoted to the will of her eldritch masters, seeking to bring their influence and agents into the world of Quelmar. Her magic warps reality itself, and her presence bends minds, twisting perception and sanity. Unlike other members of the Sigil, her network consists not of mortals or undead in the traditional sense, but of cults and beings altered by alien forces, all spreading the quiet, creeping influence of her patrons. This has caused her to be the most distant member of the Seventh Sigil.
Morgon the Ebon Shepherd[edit | edit source]
Morgon is a lich and devoted priest of death, animated and empowered by dark gods gods of undeath. Unlike some of the more reclusive members of the Seventh Sigil, Morgon thrives in the role of organizer and commander, leading his own vast cult of undead and mortals alike. His followers span continents, bound to his will through fear, devotion, and the promise of dark power. Morgon’s network is the largest within the Sigil, encompassing countless necromancers, death priests, and animated servants, all ready to be deployed at his behest.
The Ebon Shepherd is no stranger to peril; opposition from holy orders and rival powers forces him into constant movement. Morgon frequently relocates his base of operations, establishing new enclaves and spreading his cult’s influence wherever he travels. Wherever he sets foot, death and undeath march in lockstep, and rumors of his ever-growing host chill even the most seasoned generals. Morgon’s ambition is clear: to serve his dark masters, extend their dominion, and ensure that the Seventh Sigil remains the most feared necromantic power in existence.
Dame Layla Vorgrave, the Breaker of Hosts[edit | edit source]
Dame Layla Vorgrave was once a devoted paladin of Pelor, championing the god of light with unwavering faith. Her life shattered when she rejected the illicit advances of the head priest, who, claiming heresy, excommunicated her and ordered her burned at the stake. Death did not claim herm however; she rose as a death knight, reborn in unholy hatred and swearing vengeance on all churches, priests, and holy orders that would wield faith as a weapon.
Since that night, Layla has become a legendary blade for hire, serving in nearly every major war across Quelmar. Her martial prowess is unmatched, and she commands respect and fear on the battlefield, her blackened armor and cursed blade leaving devastation in her wake. Though some call her cruel, she fights with purpose, her vendetta against the faithful driving her forward, and her loyalty lies only with the Seventh Sigil, whose goals align with her hunger for vengeance and mastery of war. This has made her the most dedicated member of the order. Her network consists of veteran warriors and soldiers bound to her service, forming an elite cadre of mortal and undead fighters wherever she travels.
Neburak the Veiled Sun[edit | edit source]
Neburak, known as the Veiled Sun, is an ancient mummy lord whose mortal reign over a desert empire in the dunes of Pteris has long been erased from history. When his kingdom fell and he was buried beneath the sands for untold centuries, his will did not waver; he returned to the world as a being of undeath, his body preserved and wrapped in linens etched with arcane glyphs and ancient hymns. Now, he commands the desert itself, bending sands, storms, and the dead to his desire, ensuring that nothing survives unchallenged in the lands he claims.
Neburak’s network is a secretive and fanatical cult of desert necromancers, priests, and tomb-bound servants, all devoted to maintaining his dominion and furthering the will of the Seventh Sigil. His knowledge of ancient magic and long-lost rituals makes him a repository of secrets forgotten by even the oldest wizards and liches. Despite his distant demeanor, his will is as demanding as the desert.
Lord Valmere Duskborn, the Fang Ascendent[edit | edit source]
Valmere Duskborn is a strikingly handsome vampire, eternally youthful in appearance yet brimming with cunning, ambition, and ruthless intelligence. Once a lieutenant to Lord Caltherion Nocthrae, he betrayed and devoured his master, seizing both his position within the Seventh Sigil and his vast coffers of wealth. Like his predecessor, Valmere is a master of blood magic, but he has desires far beyond undeath and magic: he seeks wealth, power, and adoration above all else.
Valmere’s network spans nobles, merchants, and secret cults, all drawn by his charisma, promise of favor, or fear of his wrath. Unlike some of the more philosophical or martial members of the Sigil, Valmere thrives on influence and manipulation, leveraging his resources to cement his authority and expand his personal dominion. Though he owes allegiance to the Seventh Sigil, he views it as a tool rather than a master, always calculating the ways its power can elevate him further.
Sythyra Wyrmheart[edit | edit source]
Sythyra Wyrmheart is a female skeletal dragonborn lich and the newest member of the Seventh Sigil. Once a proud dragonborn sorceress, she embraced undeath to transcend mortality and pursue mastery over the most fearsome of creatures: dragons. Her obsession with draconic necromancy has reshaped her priorities within the Sigil, driving the order to focus on the creation of undead dragons and dracoliches, forging weapons and champions of unparalleled terror.
Sythyra’s network is smaller than some of the elder members, but intensely specialized. Her apprentices, both mortal and undead, are trained in the art of raising and binding draconic souls, and her laboratories are filled with skeletal wings, clawed bones, and alchemical wards for preserving the might of dragons beyond death. Though young compared to the other Lords, her vision is bold, and her influence is rapidly shifting the Sigil’s ambitions toward the skies, where undead wyrms will serve as the ultimate instruments of the order’s dominion.
