The Obsidian Cabalists - Part I and Part II

[Balandar]

Part I NBBN: 16661-03101
Part II NBBN: 16661-03102

In recent times many Avatar and New Britannia Citizen towns have been laid under siege by Obsidian Cabalists, the horrible entities that worship the eight anti-virtues. In my search for understanding the obsidian magic, I have uncovered ancient texts, that may help shed some light on these supernatural beings. The details on the Cabalists are a bit fuzzy and it's difficult to find accurate information. I have attempted to provide an accurate picture on our new Cabalist neighbors.

Please do not read further if you prefer to not know the details contained within and to discover this information for yourself.

First, let's review a brief history to help us understand the Obsidian Cabalists…

The Obsidian Eye, Cabal, and Prophecy

The Obsidian Empire was founded by the one known as The Obsidian Eye. From what little we know, this individual was the first to discover and practice chaos magic from the Shard Falls. He was also the first to use the power of the Destiny Pool and to foretell a prophecy.  Over time he mastered the magic and others came to learn from him. These apprentices eventually became the sorcerers of the Obsidian Cabal. The Cabal, under the Obsidian Eye, created the Obsidian Empire in order to fulfil his prophecy:

The world is fallen; fallen into chaos.
Men reached up in anger and shattered the sky.
Its blackness falls to earth like a rain of dark glass;
The ordered customs and rows of society are shattered.
All men stumble
in the blinding light of a blood red dawn.
Sightless who will not see.
Deaf to the truth they will not hear.
Mewing and wailing of and for themselves.
They kill with discordant and untamed shouts
The melodic order of their better selves.
Yet from the Obsidian’s fall shall arise
Seen only by the ordered Eye
The blade which shall render order in their midst;
Silence the voices who screech outside the ordered tune;
Darken the eyes of unwelcome vision;
And bring one vision, one voice, one song
To a world reborn in perfect twilight.
Supreme and ordered once more in its flawlessness.
Of one thought and purpose born and died.
Until only the night remains.

In their attempt to fulfil the prophecy the Cabal sorcerers used this new magic to mutate humans into the various monsters and beings we see today; Elves, Trolls, Satyrs, Fauns. They also raised the Undead. The Cabal of Obsidians interpreted the prophecy as a world in chaos and that their Obsidian Empire would return the world to order.

Obsidian sorcerous acolyte Markus Dirae recorded the words of The Obsidian Eye, so the Dire Prophecy is also known as the Dirae Prophecy.  The avatars have only been in New Britannia for a short while. What our purpose here is unclear, but the Oracle, if asked, will tell you the following:

IT SHALL COME TO PASS IN THE LONG DAYS AFTER THE FALL…
THERE SHALL COME ONE FROM BEYOND THE CIRCLES OF THE SUNDERED MOON...
WHO SHALL BIND THE WORLD TOGETHER...
FROM ITS SHATTERED STONE AND BONE SEAS...
THEY SHALL BIND TOGETHER ALL THAT FLY ABOVE THE LAND...
BURROW BENEATH IT...
AND WALK WITH PURPOSED TREAD UPON ITS SURFACE...
IN THAT DAY SHALL ALL BE BROUGHT TO BOW...
BEFORE THE POWER OF THE ONE...
THE WORLD SHALL BE SWEPT CLEAN OF ITS FOLLY...
AND CLEANSED OF ITS IMPURITY...
BEFORE THE CHOSEN ONE...
AND THE TRIUMPH OF THE HOPE...
IN THE DARKNESS SHALL BE COMPLETE.

I do not know if this is a continuation of The Obsidian Eye prophecy, part of the original, or in addition. I am still researching this subject. However, the Obsidian Cabalists we see today are those ancient sorcerers from the Obsidian Empire Cabal.

                End of Volume 1

The last remnants of the Cabal have twisted the use of chaos magic to prolong their lives. They worship the eight anti-virtues and lay siege to towns, seeking to fulfill the Dire Prophecies. When the Obsidian Empire fell, they realized the world could not be theirs, not under the Obsidian Dominion. Instead, the Cabal viewed the prophecies in new "light". The Sword of Midras, the blade which shall render order in their midst, was linked to the Virtues and was associated with this eventual "twilight of the world"; a world reborn in perfect twilight.

The Cabalists interpret this twilight as the end of the world. By twisting the Virtues and laying siege to settlements that display devotion to the pristine Vitrues they believe their bloodshed will bring about the end of all life, until only the night remains. They firmly believe they will succeed with the help of their mindless slaves, mutated abominations, and undead servants.

Despite their obvious evil and desire for the destruction of all things living, some avatars wish to help their endeavor. Little do they realize that endeavor is impossible. The Cabalists' servants are slaves to their will, their free will has been utterly subjugated. An avatar's desire for self-gratification, which is obvious as they are trying to help the Cabalists for their own delusional ideals, would be judged by the Cabalists as having too much free will. Therefore, any avatar or New Britannian Citizen will always be attacked on sight. However, this does not prevent anyone from following their old Aspects of Rulership and ideologies that was under the Obsidian Empire.

The Eight

The eight Cabalists are large, floating, and imposing beings. You can tell them apart by their masks which reflect their anti-virtues. Each also carries a different weapon or shield. There is a rumors are that their artifacts contain powerful enchantments. I have been unable to vrify this.

Dolus: The Cabalist of Deceit who causes confusion in the ranks, whose symbol is the Two Faces of Deceit. He wields a wand comprised of black branching twigs.

Temna: The Cabalist of Despite who turns allies against each other, whose symbol is the Torn Heart, wielding a large repeating crossbow.  

Nefario: The Cabalist of Dastard (Cowardice) who strikes terror into those who dare oppose him with his long thin 2-handed blade, whose symbol is the Raised Arms of Capitulation.

Nefas: The Cabalist of Injustice who causes enemies to beg for mercy, whose symbol is Imbalance. His oversized 2-handed Judge’s gavel is a mockery of Justice

Avara: The Cabalist of Punishment who inflicts huge amounts of damage that lingers for long amounts of time, whose symbol is the Flail.

Indigno: The Cabalist of Dishonor who generates large clouds of poisonous gas, whose symbol is the Poisoned Chalice, and uses a horrific 2-handed polearm is covered in barb.

Corpus: The Cabalist of Carnality who forces opponents to “disrobe”, therefore losing all their defensive protection, whose symbol is Intercourse.

Fastus: The Cabalist of Vanity who mesmerizes opponents, whose symbol is the Vortex of Self Absorption, and has a 1-handed spear with a metal mirror to distract enemies.

Devotional Shrines and constellations

As mentioned, the Cabalists focus their energies on towns that contain devotions to the eight positive Virtues and three principles. There are fourteen constellations visible in the night sky; Eight of which are the positive virtues, Chaos is an eight pointed constellation, the Principles appear as three intertwined rings and also as the book of Truth - the candle of Love - and the bell of Courage. Ethos as an infinity symbol with a vertical line running through the center.

In my travels I have found that the following towns are associated with these morally good constellations.

  - The Book of Truth: Aerie
  - The Candle of Love: Ardoris
  - The Bell of Courage: Resolute
  - The Hand of Honesty: Etceter
  - The Heart of Compassion: Brookside
  - The Sword of Valor: Point West
  - The Scale of Justice: Kiln
  - The Tear of Sacrifice: Northwood
  - The Chalice of Honor: Jaanaford
  - The Ankh of Spirituality: Fortus End
  - The Crook of Humility: Eastmarch

The Cabalists, Planets, and Sieges

The Cabalists sieges are not random nor are the number of Cabalists that attack a town. Originally I thought this was the case. However, upon closer inspection of the planets, which are representative of the eight anti-virtues, and the constellations, representing positive virtues, one can find that as planets are aligned with constellations the Cabalists will siege a town with the associated devotional. The number of Cabalists and the specific Cabalist(s) that are attacking are dependent on the number of planets aligned with the constellation.

It's helpful to have an astrolabe to determine which planet(s) and constellations are aligned.

It's baffling to me that multiple towns can be attacked by the same Cabalists. I have observed this on a number of occasions in my travels. My only conclusion is that their twisted magic and supernatural power allows them to carry out this marvelous feat.

                End of Volume 2