Melephaeusa

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On 14 Temporal 299, the people of Andrithiach established a monarchy. It followed the Gwildath Bureaucratic Codices; just like their ancestors had at Celanil and those of Gwildath.

In the western part of Azrik the empire lived in peace and prosperity, trading heavily with their Tragaran neighbors. The rise of the First Khazarkar Empire was to change all of this. In the Domination Wars (995 - 1016), they suffered loss from magical storms and a land being torn apart by unrestrained magic. This Gulimbor Cataclysm (996 - 1203) led to the Melephaeusans joining of what became known as the Great Exodus. Most Melephaeusans fled north into Cal-Thaoun land, taking ships north to the isle of Gathrot.

Naval passage and ships were very costly during the time of the Great Exodus. The demand of people seeking to leave Gulimbor far exceeded what the harbors of the rogue states could supply.

- Ermikel the Balance - "The Great Exodus"

Aboard Cal-Thaoun and Ivory Asylum ships, Melephaeusa's refugees went north to the largest island of what would later be known as Necrocrypt. The decision to rebuild their civilization on islands once ruled by the Durkoth and one of their Saints, was largely the province of a long-serving, highly trusted, civil servant named Caliguworm. Seeking the appreciation of something greater than the ministers and leaders of his kingdom, he heard whispers on his surveys of Gathrot and its sister islands. He listened to these dark whispers, convincing himself that Gathrot would best serve his people.

On the Isle of Gathrot, the Melephaeusans reoccupied an old overgrown ruin. Amazingly intact, preserved against the elements by magic, for two millennia ago it had served as the capital city of the Abâthigûr Empire (862 HE - 1011 HE).

The settlers faced a number of dilemma's while rebuilding Phanêthil. One was what to do about the occasional zombie or skeleton found wandering aimlessly about. Some were for putting them down, others disagreed saying that the burial customs of the Abâthigûr, even though long gone, should be respected. This meant leaving these mindless, and non-hostile undead to wander. Another issue that tested the refugees was gnarled staffs found in the ruins. These were magical defoliation weapons that their previous owners had no qualms about using, keeping the jungles at bay with their nature destroying magic. Nearly a third of the Melephaeusans were against using them. They ended up using them, quickly clearing the jungle from the ruins and opening up land for farming. This and other things gradually led to dissension in a people that had long been bound tightly by the bureaucracy of the GBC.

... beyond the ruin's alien architecture, what I'm told is of the Horgon style, the most disturbing thing of the area are colossal ornate structures. They resemble mausoleums, yet once served as places of authority. My cousin's section, responsible for labyrinth clearing, told me that beneath each of these mausoleums is a vast empty crypt.

- Dúrildir, worker of Jungle Defoliation, Team 6 - "Where did they go?"

In 1018, dark whispers guided the famed civil servant Caliguworm to the Spire of Molakh-Búle. Once inside, he found the one who had been speaking to him since his first expedition to Gathrot, two decades ago. It was a newly minted god named Thasmudyan. He had long enticed Caliguworm, promising fame and success. Of which Caliguworm got more than he could ever imagined, even awarded the highest medal of the kingdom, "Civilization Preserver". Caliguworm now had to fulfill his part of the deal. He was to spread the teaching of Thasmudyan to his fellow Melephaeusans. This did not go well. Melephaeusa's people had no interest in a young upstart god promising eternal existence by becoming an undead. They were also against the practice of necromancy, which Thasmudyan so openly offered. Failing to get worshipers the normal way, Caliguworm went on a murdering spree, raising the slain, slowly forming an army of undead from his own people. These were supplemented with terrors from the bowels of Mulun'nâth and other undead havens. Those with the means, luck or skill, escaped the clutches of Caliguworm's growing legion. Many fled to their ancestral home Tasartir, others went north joining Brucrmus's cities. Those that could not escape, went on to fill Phanêthil's once empty crypts. Many centuries later they would join the undead legions of the Black Tide of Thasmudyan as the Phanêthil Division.

By 1029, Melephaeusa was devoid of the living. Gathrot and her sister islands became collectively known as Necrocrypt, haven for undead, a bastion for the Cult of Worms, and religious heart for the Thasmudyan's growing flock.