In the city of Eruk, there once lived a great wizard by the name of Ikhtanabu Xul. He was well versed in the arts of sorcery, and his red tower was filled with strange treasures and iron-bound books of arcana. The wizard’s life was one of luxury and pleasure, served as he was by servile eunuchs and dutiful apprentices.
As he grew old, Ikhtanabu Xul’s beard became white as snow, and he began to fear death, for that he should lose all his accumulated knowledge and be denied his worldly pleasures. The wizard studied forbidden books of necromancy to learn the secret of immortality. While Ikhtanabu Xul learned many secrets of the tomb, he did not find the recipe for the coveted elixir of life, nor any spells that could prolong his life beyond the number of years allotted to him by the black candles of life that burn in the secret temples of Yadar.
Thus the necromancer died, old and weak and bitter, and his last instruction to his chief apprentice, Arakshat, was to be preserved by the arts of the embalmer and placed in a private tomb, safe from the depredations of ghouls and tomb-robbers, hoping for some future resurrection by the spells of his apprentice.
Unfortunately for the dead wizard, the loyalty of his apprentices was as short-lived as his own quest for immortality. Within months, the apprentices of Ikhtanabu Xul had squandered their former master’s wealth on feasts and debaucheries and rivalries, each trying to become the new master of Ikhtanabu’s tower.
The chief apprentice, Arakshat, ultimately had all his rivals killed, maimed, imprisoned, or banished; but the infighting had left Ikhtanabu’s wealth spent and his precious library scattered. Arakshat took what was left, sold his master’s ravaged properties, and left the city of Eruk, and was never seen in its precincts again.
Years later, a pack of hungry ghouls, attracted by the bituminous scent of Ikhtanabu Xul’s mummified corpse, burrowed into the necromancer’s private tomb in the catacombs of Belthaar and devoured his well-preserved body. Now it became evident that not all of Ikhtanabu Xul’s necromantic studies had been in vain, for certain secret spells protected the wizard’s repose, and his evil shade was released after the feasting of the ghouls. The shade was unable to rest before it had exacted Ikhtanabu Xul’s revenge upon his treacherous apprentices but it was bound to the tomb and needed a living host body to leave.
Thus the wizard’s shade inhabited a silvered ritual dagger prepared for this purpose until the broken tomb was discovered by a lowly tomb-robber. This thief, Taziz by name, managed to snatch the valuable-looking dagger from the tomb before he was beset by hungry ghouls and was forced to flee.
Out of the catacombs, in the dingy back alleys of the city, the shade of the necromancer possessed the body of the hapless thief, Taziz. However, before Taziz/Ikhtanabu could return to the tomb or seek out revenge on his former apprentice, the tomb-robber was assailed by a band of thugs, whose leader, Jahwar, had glimpsed the silver knife carried by Taziz and decided to take it from the lone man.
The cult is bent towards Ikhtanabu Xul’s will for seeking eternal life, and he will stop at nothing for that.
Currently the organization is nearly non-existent. He is carefully grooming a new apprentice, however.
Outside of the dagger containing the spirit of Ikhtanabu Xul, no one is a member.
Invocation (Blood Grimoire), Shaping, Willpower, First Aid, Healing
Ikthanabu Xul’s Blood Grimoire
Spells from this school largely only work on creatures with blood, or on blood itself.
Spells known are:
Animate (Blood)
Sculpt (Blood)
Transmogrify (to Blood)
Ritual casting times - minutes
Wrack (Razor Wind)
May gain Bleed special effect
If the target's Chest receives a Major Would with this spell, the heart of the target bursts forth from his chest and into the hand of the caster. This preserves the heart as if fresh for 1 day per point of intensity.
Note, Touch spells can score more Special Effects, using Unarmed.
Regenerate
Ritual Casting Times - minutes
Store Manna
Ritualistic Casting time - hour
Enchant (Heart)
Heart must be fresh (within a minute) of death when the spell is started
Ritualistic Casting time - hour
Perceive (Blood)
Allows the target to detect blood over great distances, either carried by wind or water. Traces of blood can be sensed at distances of half the intensity of the spell in kilometers
Being able to learn from Xul should be enough of a gift for anyone!
Arakshat, former apprentice of Ikthanabu Xul. Xul desires his destruction most of all.