Necropoli

"“Huvnae ye ever wondered wa yoo've ne'er seen a ghool, lad? Wa ye dornt bide in fear ay gettin' yer een sucked it by a Bodak? Wa yer maw didne warn ye ay th' wraiths an' ghosts 'at rise frae th' grae? That's coz ay fowk loch me!” -Gravemaster Skulk Bren of Blackstin" Since the very beginning of civilization the Necropoli have existed. Researchers disagree exactly upon the origin of these cities. Some believe the Necropoli to be built on the original human settlements. Others believe them to be vestiges from when the gods walked upon the material plane. Some think they may even be the remnants of a lost race eliminated in the age of dragons. Whatever their origin, the Necropoli have become places of worship, fear, and superstition.

Cleaners and Keepers of the Dead
When a person dies with great pain and suffering in their soul, there is a possibility that their soul may return to the material plane tainted and disfigured. In each Necropolis there exists the knowledge on how to prevent such transformations from happening. Sometimes this knowledge is passed down by oral tradition, sometimes it is held in ancient leathery tomes, sometimes it’s carved on huge stone mosaics and word walls. Always it is guarded by a group of apostates and masters of undead ceremony. These morticians are schooled in all forms of funerary rites, appeasing the spirit of any and all corpses who pass through the gates of the Necropoli. None who reach the Necropoli dead return.

Infamy and Misconception
Although many view the Necropoli as sanctuaries against the deep night, the mysterious interaction between the morticians, magic, and the dead have spawned notorious rumours throughout the ages. Many who dwell far from a necropolis have grown scared and suspicious of both the men who work within their walls and the rights they perform, accusing the practices there as unnatural blood magic. Several necropoli have been attacked in times of chaos and fear, sometimes resulting in extended sieges outside their walls. The Necropoli of Gaheris in modern day Bedivere was completely destroyed during the Crucible Hunt having been confused for a place of arcane magic, leaving Bedivere to this day without any Necropolis. Since its destruction, Bedivere has had the highest rate of undead in all of Logres.

The Great Tombs of Kings
Despite the dark rumours surrounding necropoli there still exists in many regions an honour associated with burial at a Necropolis. Much of this comes from the tradition of burying the royalty of the Camelin Empire at the Necropolis of Blackstin, a tradition started with Draco Arthure himself. Nobility of all races and creeds pay small fortunes to buy expansive mausoleums in the Necropoli of Logres. Many, however, do so only out of a duty to tradition, for it is against the laws of many Necropoli to allow the living into the resting places of the dead, and few lords ever see the result of their exuberant death dowries. Yet this is not a privilege restricted to the powerful. Hundreds of Logres’ less affluent citizens who still keep to the faith of the Necropoli make pilgrimage to the catacombs of the dead each year, returning their loved ones’ bodies, along with more humble death dowries, to the same ground as their ruling lords. There is even tell of great funeral precessions from races long thought lost arriving unannounced at the gates of the Necropoli, although this is only legend.

The Shoal of Blackstin
Largest of the Necropoli, the Shoal of Blackstin houses the mausoleum of Draco Arthure, along with dozens of generations of past emperors and nobles. Also supposedly contains the resting place of many great wizards, dragons, giant lords, and other titans. It is the headquarters of the Keepers of the Gyre.

The Braes of Lon Avon
An open temple town, the Braes of Lon Avon is one of the few Necropoli that allows living visitors into its depths, albeit only once a year. Located in the north of the Camelin empire in Merseyside.

Moormish Cairn
The only Necropoli in Farregid, Moormish Caern is the subject of many rumours, ranging from accusations of cannibalism to eye witness accounts of necromancy. Due to its infamy the town has been heavily fortified, having learned the need to defend itself should it find itself on the wrong side of an angry mob. Perversely, many clerics trained within the walls of Moormish Cairn are desired throughout the land for their healing powers.

The Glade of Amares
Deep within the heart of the Lost Wood sits the ruins of a once great city. Some of these ruins are occupied by a mixture of races which follow ancient funerary practices almost as old as the ruins themselves, maybe older. Several Elvin kings are laid to rest in this nearly forgotten place, and its magic is said to be palpable.

The Bas Temple
The only Necropolis located inside a capital city, the Bas Temple is a humble temple seated in the once populous city of Joyeux Guarde. Rumoured to have an extensive underground city of catacombs, the Bas Temple is where most high elves choose to rest after their long drawn out lives come to an end.

The Rumming Tomb
By far the most remote Necropolis, The Rumming Tomb sits alone in the Rumming Step. Its isolation has rendered any need for fortifications mute, and the small stone village remains open but secretive. The rare traveler coming through the village is welcomed as a guest, but watched carefully and suspiciously for the duration of their stay, with the exception of funeral processions which are treated with the utmost respect and courtesy. Eyewitness accounts claim many strange creatures reside in the Rumming Tomb, and the awesome Hall of the Dead which towers over the village houses a menagerie of corpse from around the plains.

Hynafed Beddrod
Long abandoned, Hynafed Beddrod sits on the edge of the Feynish Grasslands in the middle of Orkney. Unoccupied, but not unused, it has become a test of bravery and devotion for citizens of Orkney to carry their deceased beloved to the crumbling towers of the Hynafed Beddrod. Still cloaked in an obscuring swirl of mysticism and legend, its ancient knowledge lost, it is said if one manages to overcome the dangerous creatures that lurk near the precipice of life and death that surrounds the tomb, and lay their charge to rest under the hallowed ground, they are certain to be reunited with their lost love when their time comes.

The Ebwyn Veil
The second largest Necropolis only to Blackstin, the Ebwyn Veil has grown over the centuries into far more than a Necropolis. Housing hundreds of warlocks and pact magicians, the Ebwyn Veil has become a place to make contact with beings too great to walk this plane. The Ebwyn Veil still continues its necropolitic duties to those who make the pilgrammage to its green walls, though most come not to bury their dead, but improve their life. What happens behind the walls of the Ebwyn Veil is a true mystery to all but a select few, however, every 50 years the Veil is lifted, opening its gates to the public. Many enter seeking to make a deal with a higher power, knowing they cannot return to the outside world for another 50 years. A clear slow river runs into a cavern in the walls of the Ebwyn Veil, where many still send the corpses of friends and family on long low funeral ships. What happens to the bodies once they enter the Necropolis is unknown, but no living creature who’s ever attempted to enter the Veil by this means has ever returned, nor have any of the dead.

The Lost City
Legends hold that there was a third Necropolis in the land now known as Orkney, but it was lost to mankind in a bout of hubris. The bards tell of a gleaming silver necropolis, made of the polished bones of thousands of corpses whose spirits had been laid to rest upon its grounds. The castle was tended to by the Archfey Ceithlenn, the spirit guardian of bones, sometimes called the King of Crooked Teeth (though you must never call him thus, for he hates the name). He was a just mayor of the silver city, and allowed mankind to visit the graves of those they once loved, and it was said that the magic in this place was such that one could converse with those who had passed to the other side. Now accounts differ as to the act of treason that angered Ceithlenn. Some say a rogue stole Ceithlenn’s silver badge of office from under his pillow while he slept. Others say a lover, driven mad by the ability to speak with her lost love but not touch or feel them, stole their spouse’s bones from the walls of the city, causing Ceithlenn’s great bone castle to crumble and fall. Whatever the reason, Ceithlenn’s anger was great, and he swept up the city of bones under his cloak and left, never to be seen again by the likes of man.

Other Hidden Necropoli
Whether these Necropoli are the only in existence, or whether there exists more of these mysterious conclaves elsewhere in Logres and possibly the world, is unknown. Yet one must wonder how the subterranean Dwarves, or the mysterious Drow, would hinder the danger of undead hordes lurking in the tunnels deep under Logres if they didn’t have some form of protection. Perhaps one day we’ll know.