Novius Dorian

Novius Alrennikar Dorian (12 Lowsummer 3122 - c. 3400-3450), later known as Alrenn the Blighted or Alrenn the Lich (c. 3400-3450 - 15 Broadwinter, 4082) and Dovar the Lightbringer (22 Midsummer 4081 - 9 Midwinter 4082), was the eldest son of Urmenator Dorian, final emperor of the Dorian Empire.

Over his lifetime, Novius became obsessed with necromantic arts, eventually finding a book on lichdom in 3278 VR, which he studied for over 100 years before hiring the Black Hand to retrieve the items he needed to create his phylactery. He caused a tremendous amount of destruction and loss of life during the Alrennean War.

Birth & Childhood

Alrennikar ("pale and joyful child" in Elvish^[1]) Dorian was born to Urmenator and Kamarena Dorian, the final Emperor and Empress of the Dorian Empire, in King's Pride, Teveren. He was the eldest child of Urmenator and thus first in line to inherit the Empire. As such, Novius's father was incredibly protective of his eldest son, forbidding him from leaving the Pride Castle grounds without a sizable escort.

Thus, Alrennikar remained in King's Pride for the majority of his youth, studying with the satellite instructors from Coldhaven Academy and taking a particular interest in the wizarding arts, an interest he shared with his younger brother, Erlighein. Urmenator was notoriously opposed to wizardry, due to his mother Serexa's involvement and subsequent death in the Catastrophe, and forbid his children from studying magic while under his care, pushing Novius instead into more diplomatic and historical study.

In the summer of 3193 VR, Novius met the gnome Eggleston Palrick Vesto Jorb Kallanian, a powerful wizard who was in King's Pride at the time securing funding and crew for what would eventually become the Halls of Gleaming Splendor. Eggleston requests were turned away by Urmenator, but Novius found the gnome interesting and sought a meeting with him alone. They met at Deepwell Tavern in the Checkered Ward, and Novius learned of Eggleston's plans. The gnome also taught Novius a few tricks to harness the Weave for basic spellcasting, essentially cementing Novius's path to wizardry. In turn, Novius secreted funds to Eggleston from his personal allowance until the completion of the Halls in 3258 VR.

From his meeting with Eggleston until his 100th birthday and nameday, Novius studied wizardry in secret, bribing magic-users within Coldhaven to provide him with the necessary texts to start spellcasting.

Early Adulthood & The Halls

Approximately one month after his nameday, Novius left King's Pride with little warning. He traveled straight to Noveste to study with the wizards in Coldhaven Academy, despite his father's protestations. While there, his arcane study veered quickly toward necromancy, where he became obsessed with raising the dead as minions to serve him in mundane affairs. He quickly became known as the "One with Bones," referring to his skeleton servants. He received his robes on 6 Lowsummer, 3242, after 20 years of study, and was named Honorary Archmage of Coldhaven, an honor given mainly due to his royal status. (His brother, Erlighein, would become the actual Archmage many years later.)

His study complete, Novius dug deep into arcane research on necromancy, traveling all across Dorian in search of relics and texts that would aid him in discovering "the secret of death," as he later called it. Despite his near immortality as a high elf, Novius was concerned with dying and prolonging his life, even if he were to be killed. He was keenly aware of his family's history of being assassinated, and thus began sowing contingency plans in case that should happen to him, especially after he became Emperor.

Novius seemed completely uninterested in relationships, or even friendships, with some historians later referring to him as asexual and more focused on his work and secret goals than anything else. This was another point of contention between Novius and his father, who wanted desperately for his son to conceive his own heir. (In the end, only Brycella Dorian had any children, and all were heirs to their father's islands in Morentar--islands the tabaxi would reclaim quickly after the Empire's fall later on.) Novius kept extensive journals of his research, with little information beyond that, aside from a few notes about his frustrations with Urmenator sending "bored women to his door."^[2]

In 3209 VR, Novius was contacted by Eggleston, who revealed that he had begun construction on the Halls of Gleaming Splendor. Perched atop the back of a dead god floating in the Astral Sea (or so Eggleston claims; there are no windows in the dungeon to prove the exact location outside), the Halls were meant to be a dangerous and devious puzzle, which would beguile any who entered and left few survivors. Eggleston requested that Novius travel to the Astral Sea to help with the Halls' construction, which Novius agreed, with one condition: that he be the first to complete its dangerous trials. Novius left Avo in 3210 VR via Eggleston's spelljammer, the Tumblerider, which had plane shifting capabilities, and assisted with conception and construction of the Halls' many rooms for roughly ten years. According to Novius years later, Eggleston kicked him out as he wanted to keep most of the dungeon's secrets to himself.^[3]

Returning to Avo, Novius resumed his necromantic studies, taking residence in Wellork Tower in the Mincemeat Ward of King's Pride and largely disappearing from public life for around 30 years, aside from a few brief interviews with Storybearers, who described him as "pale," "gaunt," and "seemingly lifeless." One Storybearer, Hyrin Komff, noted that Novius was eating very little: "There were plates and bowl stacked up in a corner of the larder, full of rotting food he did not finish. He seemingly subsisted on little more than water and coneilsia."^[4][5] He was also visited by family on several occasions, including a stint with Erlighein in the mid 3240s which may have sparked his younger brother's desire to pursue the arcane arts.

In 3258 VR, Novius was once again contacted by Eggleston, as the Halls were complete. Novius arrived a year later and spent around three years within the Halls, before finally completing it in 3262 VR. The journey took him nearly to death several times, and upon exiting, he provided Eggleston with pages of notes on how to make the Halls harder. He then left the Astral Sea, never to speak to the gnome again.

The Fall of the Empire & Ascent to Lichdom

Rumors of underground forces attempting to assassinate Emperor Urmenator had been spreading throughout the continent since the early 3200s, but it wasn't until 3265 VR that any came to light. With the Gate Scheme, which saw Empress Kamarena taken via a gate spell which thrust her deep into the bowels of the Abyssal Plane to be killed by demons, Novius witnessed for the first time the danger in being a Dorian. He abandoned Wellork, not attending his mother's funeral, and disappeared from public life once again, for many years. His whereabouts were unknown when his father was assassinated in 3275 VR, but it was later discovered that he was in possession of the Libaris Mortalis Rezzi^[6], the Book of Lichdom, by 3278 VR. It is widely believed that he obtained or purchased the book from a drow who was unaware of its potential.

Almost nothing is known of Novius's time between his disappearance in 3265 VR and 3399 VR, when he hired the Black Hand to retrieve various items needed to create his phylactery. The Black Hand members were unsuccessful in obtaining any of the items, and Novius learned that his brother, now in hiding and going by the name Ghein, had hired his own group of adventurers to prevent Novius from proceeding. In response, Novius waited for Ghein's team to gather several of the items and then killed them, taking them for himself. He then presumably plane shifted or otherwise left Avo, disappearing once again.

The first sightings of Novius in his lich form, Alrenn, were in the early 4000s, over 600 years later. What happened during that time is virtually unknown. Scraps of knowledge include Alrenn meeting with the atropal Jarunvandir, deep underneath the city of Urster, roughly 100 years prior to the Alrennean War. Alrenn also created at least one planar portal (the one underneath Urster) to a hidden alternate home or safehouse. There was a sharp rise in shadow and undead activity in Teveren during the early 4000s, leading some to believe that Alrenn had lived or spent time in the Shadowfell or other negative energy planes, gathering the dark energy required to sustain his lich form.

The Alrennean War

Full Article: The Alrennean War

Alrenn took refuge deep within the Frozen Wastes north of Teveren for at least 50 years, in Merfen's old dilapidated tower, biding his time and subjugating the northern tribes of the area. He also attempted to ally with the ancient white dragon Sav Garan, who attacked him in response; Alrenn easily bested the dragon but allowed Sav Garan to live in exchange for aiding him in rounding up the northern tribes of Teveren and establishing camps outside Merfen's Tower. Five years later, in 4055 VR, Novius and his undead hordes began the five year devastation of Teveren with the surprise attack and obliteration of Noveste and the razing of Coldhaven Academy, which took about two months.

Alrenn swiftly pushed his hordes through Teveren and eventually over the Fangs and into Akhentour. In 4056 VR, he met the dragon twins, Galonar and Krybiir, and successfully allied with them, allowing him to conquer and destroy Teveren with ease.

By 4060 VR, Alrenn's forces were crossing into Akhentour, where they faced stiffer resistance due to the country's bolstered defenses, but Alrenn still cut through most of them like butter, eventually making his way into Garrod and creating his lair, In 4062 VR, Krybiir crossed into Morentar to sack the village of Southbrook, but was defeated by Aldor Moorwind who, at the time, used the chthonic power of EOD to kill the dragon instantly. Galonar, sensing his brother was dead, tried to kill Alrenn in revenge, but the lich defeated him and used his bones to reform him as a dracolich.

Alrenn's motivations for utter destruction are unknown, though most scholars and necromancers believe it was a necessary effort to consume souls in order for him to maintain his powerful lich form. On 22 Midsummer 4062 VR, a group of heroes from the Kavonne League of Adventurers assaulted Garrod and attempted to destroy Alrenn and his phylactery once and for all. However, the wards guarding the phylactery itself were impossible to open without specific items, including the Deck of Many Things, and so the sorcerer Narellyn Ambersole threw the phylactery into a gate portal to the Plane of Fire, while the wizard Demetrius presumably brought Alrenn to within a thread of death, but kept him barely alive to prevent his resurrection by his phylactery. The specifics of how he did this are unknown, but later spellcasting reconstructions, as well as future events described below, lead many magic-users to believe that Alrenn's body was kept within an ooze that fed off of his soul energy without killing him--a parasite, in a sense, thus preventing him from reconstituting next to his phylactery.

Demetrius and Alrenn disappeared momentarily before Demetrius reappeared, dead. The war was over, the casualties immense.

Dovar the Lightbringer

In 4081 VR, a mysterious stark white entity known as Dovar the Lightbringer descended into the Temple of the Gods in northern Akhentour. It brought a message of peace and sent Emissaries to the cities of Akhentour to establish diplomatic relations. Dovar sought "peace" but seemed to actually be siphoning the life from the world, much like Alrenn had; the Temple and all the land surrounding it was slowly turning white, all color removed from it.

An envoy from the Kavonne League of Adventurers as well as the Nastiboys from the Redfang Guild traveled to the Temple to parley with Dovar in an attempt to end whatever it was he was doing. Among the KLA was the elf wizard Ghein, also known as Erlighein Dorian. The two guilds remained with Dovar for months, and over that time Ghein became increasingly distraught, as he likely realized or felt that Dovar was his brother. He eventually went mad and killed almost everyone in the Temple; only Pyotr Goraerd of the Nastiboys remained, clinging to life.

Meanwhile, Redfang Guild members the Dragonslayers, along with guildmasters from the guild, Ian van Montelle of the KLA group that defeated Alrenn's first incarnation, and the Warden Korth of Avbrungia, arrived at the Temple on 9 Midwinter, 4082 VR. Korth had been tasked with retrieving or defeating Dovar, who apparently had escaped from the Warden's Dungeon in the Far Realm. There, they discovered the mad Ghein, who denied them entry into the Temple. The Core, Korth, and Ian attempted to appease Ghein, while the Dragonslayers snuck into the Temple via etherealness spells. There, they spent one last moment trying to parley with the entity before Korth burst in and they all attacked him.

Dovar the Lightbringer was destroyed by the Dragonslayers and Korth. Afterward, the white form around him dissolved, revealing the husk of Alrenn's nearly dead corpse within; he had been surrounded by some type of sentient ooze, perhaps the one Demetrius captured him inside. Korth approached the body, wanting to take it back to Warden's Dungeon, but in doing so the radiant aura of his armor, Sunbringer, obliterated the corpse. Korth left Avo and the rest began searching for Alrenn's phylactery to try to destroy it before his return.

Alrenn's Brief Reprisal

Unbeknownst to anyone, Alrenn's phylactery had been returned to Avo at some point prior to the arrival of Dovar by firenewts, who entered the plane likely via the Tree of Flames on Ash Island. It was subsequently discovered by Lucretia Voss, daughter of notorious pirate captain Edvard Voss and, at the time, The Eye of EOD, somewhere in Low or Midfall 4082 VR. She took the phylactery to Yoste, the Dead Isle, to study it more within the Black Keep and with the aid of necromantic cults there. After discovering that the phylactery belonged to Alrenn, she teleported with several necromancers to Old Garrod, where she met with Alrenn's undead lieutenants still stationed there. They began plans for Alrenn's eventual return.

At roughly the same time, the Lost Ones (another adventuring group of the Redfang Guild), who were in possession of a spelljammer called Scuttle, which had advanced locating capabilities, attempted to retrieve the phylactery from the Plane of Fire via the Tree of Flames, only to discover that it was not there. In searching Avo, they discovered evidence of the firenewts bringing the phylactery into Avo, and began a vast search of the world.

Alrenn reincorporated as a demilich roughly one week after his death, and Lucretia prepared for his first soul sacrifice, the one that would return him to lich form. Meanwhile, Ian van Montelle, who had moved to Stonnet, witnessed one of Lucretia's necromancer cultists purchasing a copper stake at the marketplace there. Sensing something was amiss, he followed the cultist to Old Garrod, where he discovered the undead hordes rising up again. There he was captured and was to be the first sacrifice to return Alrenn to his lich form. Ian managed to warn the Dragonslayers about his impending demise via sending, and they, along with the Core guildmasters of the Redfang Guild, Peggy Redfang, Aloysius Pridd, and Landallyn, infiltrated the city and destroyed Alrenn and his phylactery once and for all on 15 Broadwinter, 4082 VR.

Aftermath & Legacy

Erlighein "Ghein" Dorian was killed by Korth during the battle against Dovar, and Landallyn's attempts to revive him were unsuccessful, as he seemed unwilling to be resurrected. Thus, there is debate as to which brother was the last Dorian to ever live; if you count his undeath as a lich, Novius was the final Dorian. Otherwise, it was Ghein. The name Novius Dorian faded into obscurity by most, as did the Dorian dynasty in general, as the populace moved on.

Alrenn's final destruction marked the end of the 5th Era of Dorian and ushered in a new 6th Era, one which saw the country of Akhentour reunited as one under the Pax Ultima. Aloysius Pridd left Akhentour and settled in Davast Keep in Teveren, where he cast his final wish spell, returning the greenery and plant life to the countryside. The archdruid Bravan Tellesani sent many of her circle to Teveren to aid in making the country green again, and several adventuring parties traveled to the ruins of Noveste to defeat the nightwalker there. In roughly a decade, Teveren was habitable again.

1. ↑ From alren, "pale, white," and sometimes "cold," nik, "child" (male), with -ar adjective suffix, "joyful" or "happy").
2. ↑ Book 3206.3, pg 26, from the Texts of Novius Dorian.
3. ↑ "The gnome left me out of the final preparations and additions to the Hall [sic], as he intends to keep its deepest secrets to himself." Book 3419.6, pg 58, from the Texts of Novius Dorian.
4. ↑ St.B. Log 3244.8.12, pg 3.
5. ↑ Coneilsia ("bit of delight" in Elvish) is an elvish pastry, basically like an American biscuit but lighter and with numerous herbs which make it very flavorful on its own.

↑ From Old Common libaris, "