Deep within the deathless woods of Ghur lie the ancient ruins of the Underbough Sepulchre. Just how old this crumbling ziggurat truly is remains a mystery, for it was already falling to pieces when the Sylvaneth of the Underbough cultivated their sacred groves around it. But submerged within its rune-etched bowls, they found a rare treasure indeed: a clutch of draconith eggs, petrified thoroughly in Chamonic metal.
Generations of leaders of the Underbough Grove postulated upon the nature of the eggs. None could answer how they got there, but all could detect the faint traces of life within. Despite every effort at imparting life-giving magics, Alarielle’s children failed to coax the preserved hatchlings out of their unnatural stasis. Having exhausted all of their options but still feeling honour-bound to save their charges, their young leader, Branchwych Drakenot, turned to an unlikely helper: a travelling necromancer, as expert in the matters of death as Drakenot was in life. From the first necromancer and his skeletons, Drakenot learned of the ancient legend of Maudra Rua. They hypothesized that the eggs were probably sealed alongside the sundered dragon – and imparted a prophecy that one day, when the godbeast woke from her slumber, the Underbough may yet cultivate the eggs to hatch.
Thus was a unique pact formed. The Deathrattle and the Sylvaneth remained together at the Underbough Sepulchre. As the gentle tree-spirits watched over the unborn, the necromancers raised spirits in undeath to guard them. As the realms bleed into one another as their ancestors foretold, the newly arisen Necromancer Drakenot intends to honour the deal that was struck for this guardianship – to kill and raise Maudra Rua into an ultimate undead sentinel, the greatest guardian his clutch could possibly have.
Necromancer Drakenot
The Necromancer that leads the Underbough Sepulchre is accused by many of being a walking contradiction. How can one of Alarielle’s life-giving children have so embraced the trappings of death? To Drakenot themself, this is not a quandary, but pure logic: death is but a cycle of life, and to raise the draconith trapped irretrievably between the two, they must become a master of both. When Maudra Rua finally wakes, Drakenot intends to end its life and resurrect her, creating the ideal guardian for the infant draconith, keeping the Sylvaneth’s charges safe for the entirety of their eternal lives. Drakenot themself rarely speaks, preferring to hide their half-withered form under the skulls of ancient alphabeasts. If they experience emotion anymore then they hide it well, for their monotonous, scratching voice betrays nothing of their true intentions. They have commanded the respect of both the Sylvaneth and the Deathrattle for generations, for despite his brethren’s misgivings, all agree one one thing – the raising of the draconith brood must be seen through till its end.