Marosh the Black
Welcome once again to Nefarious Knowledge, an article where we discuss the various people, places, and things found throughout our supplements. Today I want to talk about a character mentioned in our first-ever supplement for Dungeons and Dragons edition 3.5, and the pathfinder roleplaying game, Marosh the Black, Archlich of Gorgynia.
Little is known about Marosh the Black prior to his conquest of the throne of Gorgynia (a city-state located on the Imre peninsula, just southwest of the Immortal Empire of Kyldor), and little has been discovered since. Below is all the archived knowledge relating to the mysterious Archlich.
Affiliations
Marosh the Black is known to associate himself with two major powers on the Imre peninsula, where he wields his greatest influence and spends most of his time. The first such power is the city-state of Gorgynia, which he has ruled unchallenged for the last eight decades. The second is the order of Malgyor, a secret society founded by the Archlich and dedicated to the pursuit of immortality and ever-greater power through the use of arcane magic.
The City-State of Gorgynia
The city-state of Gorgynia is one of the largest and most affluent of several such city-states on the Imre peninsula. With a population of nearly 70,000 and the region’s most impressive standing army, Gorgynia has long held great influence in the region and that has not changed under the rule of Marosh Lorul, better known as Marosh the Black. Marosh gained this epithet due to his study of dark magic considered taboo for centuries in many parts of the world, including, until around 80 years ago, the independent states of Imre. Many citizens of Gorgynia feared that it was the end of life as they knew it when Marosh the Black arrived in 1475KR with an army of undead monsters to claim the city from Queen Irzsebet IV, whose family had ruled in Gorgynia since ancient times. However, life in Gorgynia remained largely unchanged.
A few new laws were passed, legalizing all forms of previously banned arcane magic and banning any save an Archlich of Malgyor from ruling the city. Additionally, Marosh ordered the construction of several new colleges devoted to the arcane arts, so that the city has seen an influx in young mages seeking a world-class education. Indeed, most citizens receive at least a basic education in spellcraft. Finally, Marosh disbanded the guard and the army, replacing them with an undead horde completely loyal to Marosh, and while it is a little unnerving to have the streets patrolled by armored skeletons and walking corpses, the system has proven to be quite effective in keeping the crime rate down. While life hasn’t really changed that much since Marosh’s rule, death in Gorgynia has changed considerably. Marosh does not levy a tax in gold or labor, but requires that every citizen donate their body after death to fuel his ever-growing army of undead warriors. Added to this are bodies of all his defeated enemies and the monsters that formerly inhabited the peninsula.
Because of this, Gorgynia boasts one of the largest and most powerful armies in all the world, second perhaps only to the mighty legions of large empires such as Kyldor to the north and Turvitius to the distant south. Gorgynia no longer possess much of a labor force, as mining, farming, and construction are conducted largely by undead servitors. This allows Gorgynians to have more intellectually stimulating careers, and so most of the population is made up of experts in either fine crafts or trade and they have relatively few commoners. Gorgynia now also plays headquarters to the order of Malgyor.
The Order of Malgyor
Founded by Marosh in the year 1362KR, the order of Malgyor is devoted to the study of less traditional and often forbidden magic (particularly that found in the Tome of Onkus), to the ends of increasing one’s power and ultimately achieving immortality. Little is known about the organization, for in order to join the order you must impress one of the organization’s existing Archliches, whose identities are unknown save for Marosh and Malovir (who rules the island nation of Jocovis). A number of rumors surround the order, such as that they secretly have a hand in the politics of Kyldor and are manipulating events in that nation from behind the scenes, or that they are planning to end all life to create a sort of eternal undead society. What is fact about the order is that they are led by Marosh the Black, that they call their leadership Archliches, and that they have uncovered the lost tome of Onkus, the only known account describing the transformation from mortal to lich.
Deeds
These are the things that the Archlich Marosh is best known for: firstly, his widely remembered conquest of Gorgynia; second, and perhaps more importantly, is the tale of the rediscovery of the Lost Tome of Onkus.
The Conquest of Gorgynia
Where Marosh came from no one knows, but in the year 1474KR Marosh arrived at the doorstep of Gorgynia with an army containing thousands of undead monstrosities and demanded that Queen Irzsebet surrender the city to him. She of course refused, rallied her own armies, and sent requests for aid to her allies across the Imre peninsula and in Kyldor. The battle commenced soon after with great losses to both armies, but Marosh could replenish his forces much more quickly than the Queen (faster in fact than anyone had ever expected), and with each passing day the army of Gorgynia continued to dwindle and the forces of Marosh the Black only continued to grow. Irzsebet’s only hope was aid from her allies, but while Kyldor sent a token force, no other aid would come.
On the tenth day of the siege, Irzsebet began conscripting townsfolk to contribute to the failing defense of her city while she waited for reinforcements to come. On the thirteenth day of the siege Irszebet once again needed to levy the townsfolk in order to stave off defeat, explaining if they could only hold out a little longer help would arrive soon. By the fifteenth day without help, the people remaining in Gorgynia grew tired of seeing their friends and loved ones die only to rise against them and so they sent a delegation to Marosh saying that should he spare the remaining townspeople they would depose Irzsebet and throw open the gates for him. Marosh agreed to the proposal, and the next day when Irzsebet appeared once again to demand more troops, she was immediately taken by an arrow, and her palace was stormed so that her heirs could also be taken care of.
The gates were thrown open and Marosh was proclaimed king. He quickly established his new rules and taxes, and then set off with all haste to the great hold of Gorgynia, said to be the home of many ancient and valuable treasures. There has never been a clear reason for why Marosh chose to invade Gorgynia, though it is suspected that he desired something found only in the great hold.
The Discovery of the Lost Tome of Onkus
If historians best remember Marosh for his conquest of Gorgynia, then mages best remember him for his discovery of the Tome of Onkus, an ancient script written by the mighty dragon Onkus nearly 1000 years ago. The tome was once kept by the Mezeyman dynasty of the Alhit, an ancient people who used to inhabit modern day Megiros, and was said to be the secret to their power during the four centuries they ruled that region. However, when the Mezeyman dynasty fell to infighting in 772MC, the tome became lost to time and the Alhit people fell soon after. No one really knows when Marosh uncovered the tome, reportedly from the tower of Kuman in Megiros, as the discovery did not become a matter of record until after he had seized the throne of Gorgynia in 1475KR. Most rumors and tales, however, agree it was well over 200 years ago, and that the first thing Marosh did with the tome was to use the dragon’s ancient magic to transform himself into an immortal lich. Many speculate that it was with the knowledge found in the ancient tome that Marosh managed to raise his undead horde so quickly and efficiently during the siege of Gorgynia. The full extent of the book’s power remains untested and known only to the highest-ranking members of the order of Malgyor.
Onkus
In ancient times, a mighty dragon ruled over much of what is modern day Megiros. The dragon known as Onkus was, in addition to being a great dragon, also a powerful mage who, according to legend, knew all the secrets of magic. Onkus was a brutal tyrant who demanded vast tribute in both gold and slaves from the peoples of his land. He did, however, conduct trade with the Alhit people, who, according to an ancient prophecy, could one day be his downfall. He gave to the Alhit a great gift of sorcery in exchange for their loyalty, bestowing the Tome of Onkus, a written copy of his dark knowledge, on their king. That same power would be wielded against Onkus in future years, leading to the dragon’s death. It is said that with his dying breath, Onkus cursed the entire world with the coming of horrors as yet unknown to the world. So far, nothing has come of this curse.
Plans
Intelligence is at best lacking about Marosh’s current plans, though he has been amassing troops near the border of Nitra for some time now, and has offered a fifty thousand gold reward to anyone who brings him the crown of Sedri Mezeyman.
The Conquest of Nitra
Due to the fact that he has been massing an undead horde near the border to Nitra for several years now, many people have come to the conclusion that Marosh intends an invasion there in the near future. However, Marosh declines all such accusations, stating that the Nitrans have proven to pay less attention to where the border lies and that he is merely looking to the defense of his people. Still, as the numbers continue to increase on the border, armed conflict seems more and more likely. As the Nitrans begin to grow more concerned about the troop buildup, most experts agree that war will break out sooner or later.
Sedri Mezeyman
The Crown of Sedri Mezeyman, first king of the ancient Alhit people who once inhabited Megiros, is said to be a powerful artifact created from the bone of a long dead god, using the knowledge found within the Tome of Onkus. The crown is said to lie in the tomb of Sedri Mezeyman, hidden somewhere in the deserts of Megiros. For whatever reason, the Archlich wants this crown fairly badly and has offered a sizable reward to whoever can bring it to him.
Rumors
The following are various rumors pertaining to the Archlich of Gorgynia.
The Resurrection of Onkus
Some say that Marosh was corrupted by the tome of Onkus and now seeks to resurrect Onkus as a highly powerful undead dragon in order to rule over the world. According these rumors, he requires the Crown of Sedri Mezeyman, whose line betrayed the mighty dragon to death, in order to accomplish this.
War with Kyldor
Some people say that Marosh is planning a deadly assault on Kyldor in the coming days, using an undead army he has been building up for nearly eighty years. With Kyldor in hand, some speculate his conquest of the entire world will soon follow.