The murder of Paruallex is one of the great tragedies of Syhelia's history. His death not only forever scarred the Cinderlands, but also forever robbed the world of a great mind and charismatic leader. There are some among the Divine Lamplighter's faithful, however, who for centuries have sought to right this great wrong, even if it means commiting atrocities in the process. Most followers of Paruallex, such as the Knights of Cinder resign themselves to mourning his memory and carrying on. Some however, refuse and insist the dragon may yet live again. These fringe zealots are the cult known as the Withered Flame, immersing themselves in the forbidden lore of necromancy to find a way to return their deity to Syhelia. The cult has been outlawed and persecuted for centuries, like all groups that practice necromancy, and was once believed to be dying out alongside worship of Paruallex in general, however the founding of Fyrefall so close to Dragonsgrave has revitalized them, and the group has plagued the town for almost it's entire history, reappears every decade or so to cause trouble.
The unholy art of raising the dead has become an obsession of the cult over the centuries, and it has slowly perverted their originally noble if misguided intentions. Whereas once they sought to restore Paruallex to how he was before his death, their increased understanding of necromancy's limitations as well as the slow corrosion of the cult's moral compass has led to the modern group having a far different picture of their ultimate goal. While the details are only slowly revealed to initiates as they rise through the ranks to avoid scaring them off, the Withered Flame's vision for their "Great Work" now resembles something out of a nightmare rather than a utopia (although they themselves are seemingly oblivious to this). Members speak of a great desiccated dragon, a carrion deity that breaths vermin and scouring black flames. They barter with demons for profane knowledge and conduct horrific and perverse rituals to advance their understanding of raising the dead, all in the name of a better world. most who have encountered the cult agree that the most terrifying thing about them is not the atrocities they commit, but rather that through all of their evil, they find reason to believe they are making the world a better place.
Members: