Blaspheus
Blaspheus is a powerful dark fey lord of the Feywild, a malevolent being at war with the Servants of the Moonlit Circle.1
Erdentree and the Seven
Erdentree, a fey spirit in the form of a golden elk, was held by Blaspheus in his Grove of Looming Shadow in the Feywild. The Circle of Lunara, the druid circle that founded the Servants of the Moonlit Circle, spent a hundred years planning to bring the spirit back to the forests of the Westreach, and hired adventurers for the task. Under the leadership of Archdruid Perildien, thirteen of them took the contract and succeeded in bringing Erdentree's spirit back into the material plane.2
The rescuers did not mean to fight the archfey, but the plan fell apart when a barbarian from the north, Lachland's father Karthul, killed Blaspheus's concubine. The archfey sensed her death and became aware of the operation. He reached the grove as the group was escaping through the portal, and with his powerful magic killed seven of them before they could get out. He then reanimated those seven souls as heralds of doom.3
Perildien himself fought against Blaspheus. Blaspheus held him for a few seconds in a powerful enchantment that felt like decades, in which he watched the deaths of his companions over and over again; the experience left a lasting mark on a once calm man. After Blaspheus butchered the Seven, Perildien swore to redeem the seven doom bringers.4
Servants and enemies
Blaspheus detests the Servants of the Moonlit Circle and hunts their members relentlessly, and his devotees and his warlock seek a way to return Erdentree to his grove. Fighting his influence in the mortal realms is the Servants' main duty, and they seek to avenge their fallen companions and free them from him.5
Karthul, the barbarian who killed the concubine, now walks the planes as Blaspheus's undead thrall. One night the druids of the Bluelands were tricked into opening a gateway to the Feywild, which let Karthul, a herald of Blaspheus, into the material plane; within a few hours the undead barbarian slaughtered the whole druid grove and the neighbouring town. Esther of the Bluelands, whose family was butchered by one of Blaspheus's generals, was among the survivors.6
Among Blaspheus's servants in the mortal world is the warlock Azimuth, once a gardener of House of Von'Rain, whose limp vanished and whose swordsmanship surpassed its old mastery when he received Blaspheus's boon. On the other side, Yortkul of the Servants became obsessed with hunting Blaspheus's undead generals once he learned of the founders' mission.7
Notes
Sources
This article draws on:
- MCMercenary Compendium(Bad Badger Games, 2024), pp. 16, 27, 55, 96, 150, 162-163
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OrganisationServants of the Moonlit CircleA mercenary company founded through the druid Circle of Lunara by the survivors of a mission that freed the fey spirit Erdentree from the Feywild. Led in spirit by Archdruid Perildien Elderwood, it fights the influence of the dark archfey Blaspheus.
CharacterArchdruid Perildien ElderwoodA two-hundred-year-old elven druid of the Circle of Lunara who led the rescue of Erdentree and gave up the post of archdruid to redeem companions slain by Blaspheus. He is now the spiritual leader of the Servants of the Moonlit Circle.CharacterAzimuthA former legionary and gardener of House Von Rain who became a warlock of the fey Blaspheus and now hires out his sickle in Vansreik.CharacterEsther of the BluelandsA former imperial soldier whose family was slaughtered when Karthul, a herald of Blaspheus, entered the Bluelands; after years as a bandit she joined the Servants of the Moonlit Circle to seek revenge.CharacterErdentreeAn ancient fey spirit in the form of a golden elk, freed from the Feywild by adventurers working for the Circle of Lunara, whose rescue gave birth to the Servants of the Moonlit Circle.RegionFeywildA realm apart from the material plane, where the dark fey lord Blaspheus held the nature spirit Erdentree until the druids of Lunara freed it, and to which tricked druids of the Bluelands once opened a portal.CharacterAzboThe great Azbo of the Zincirsiz campaign, an ancestor revered by orcs who reject their god as a shackle, whose hidden tomb inside a mountain the orcs and the mage Jonathan River sought.CharacterDarkaA half-orc chain warden of the Zincirsiz campaign and friend of the great orc Azbo, whose buried rooms near Azbo's mountain, with their diary, maps and books, were found by the mage Jonathan River.CharacterZolanFounder of the mercenary Followers of Zolan in the Raphael Efsanesi campaign, an undying figure of conflicting legends whose tomb lies in a desert inside a forest, guarded by centaurs and by a winged armoured avatar.CharacterAlcarin NowafinveA Chain Warden of the slayer doctrine, celebrated in the Ballad of the Six as one of the six wardens who stood against the Dark One on Victory Day.