Drachlaz

Assassin of the Cross
CategoryRuins
ContinentKarterus
RegionMa'Ohari
Founded3 Kindle 690 LE
MapTha'lith

Drachlaz is an ancient ruin in the Kazzatar jungle. This fortress was built by the demon empire Varelay to threaten the vampires lurking in the Abrudax Peaks. While patrols went out and the garrison protected against night attacks, below in the lab, work went on in figuring how to blend the qualities of a Vampire and Demon as one. These sinister experiments resulted in the creation of the first bloodbag demons. Varley's special weapons division, the Mathral Helas, also created an environment where they could create vampires from captured prisoners. They would then starve the vampires of blood, turning feral, they were released in packs on enemy settlements.

The demons would fly in at night and drop the blood-suckers in villages and towns, some of these places were wiped out in a night. The Mathral Helas were responsible for these attacks. These murderous demons were a cunning, merciless and bloodthirsty bunch. It took a special unit of the Radiant Cross to enter Drachlaz and assassinate the lot.

- Corormoor, Tragaran of Tilnangau, from a personal diary - "Vampire Deliveries"

Drachlaz's top leaders and alchemists were all slain when holy assassins from the Radiant Cross attacked the place. During the attack, dozens of vampires escaped into the surrounding jungles. A few of these were master vampires. Thereafter the vampires plagued the fringes of the Varelay empire and the master vampires established petty holds and set to preying on the demons.

After the fall of Varelay (2608 LE - 16 HE), the vampires turned upon each other or shifted operations to the west. In the western tracts of Ma'Ohari, the encroaching territories of the dwarves became a welcome source of fresh blood for vampires that had mostly been feeding on demon blood for the last two thousand years.

In the First Merioss Crusade (911 HE - 920 HE), the last of the Drachlaz Lords was killed. Drachlaz, an eerie and dark place tainted by centuries of evil, was never fully searched or cleared. After Smizerak's army took Drachlaz, the victors were plagued with sightings of apparitions, frostbite injuries from areas of extreme cold, and psychic nightmares. The horrors of the place were too much for even veteran soldiers when heavy losses were suffered from attacks by ghosts and other spectral undead. The victors abandoned the place only days after taking it. Smizerak formed an elite unit of rangers and priests for occasional patrols of the place and to keep treasure seekers away from the haunted ruin. The traditions of this unit carry on today with the Night Vigil.

Based on the number of death giants he has under his command, it is strongly believed that Raxcvillibus entered Drachlaz and used something inside the place to turn fire giants into undead servants. In the Terror March, he used 19 of these fell creatures to wreck havoc alongside death knights and an army comprised of Gol'hakh, maleraunts, and cambion dwarves.

Drachlaz is still a haven for undead. Some of the more dangerous of these are the Assassins of the Cross. Decades after the holy assassins of the Radiant Cross died in Drachlaz, they were found and raised by a vampire lord more interested in research in magic and ancient lore. He raised these undead to patrol Drachlaz and keep out any interlopers. When this vampire lord was taken out by the Night Vigil, the Assassins of the Cross became free-willed.