THE MALIGNISTS

The mortal races have always been aware of a thing known as the Pit. The
antithesis of our world, it exists simply to consume our reality. Early
Noctusari thought that the Pit was a mouth and as such sought to converse with
it. Repeated attempts to personify and reason with the Pit however turned out
to be a mistake as such actions only served to feed and strengthen it. After
some especially hideous failed experiments, the generally liberal Noctusari
banned all research on the pit. The ban was ignored.

A splinter group of Noctusari, most of whom were destined to die pursuing their
work, continued to research the pit. They dubbed their forebearers weak and
themselves the Malignists. Their experiments allowed them to create and
sometimes control some very powerful beings known as demons. The results of
these experiments created some of the most powerful beings in existence but
drove the Malignists mad. Their madness however gave them a unique type of
power which when combined with their Noctu magicks made them for a time the
most powerful of mortals.

Intent on world domination, the Malignists began the age of desperation by
performing a ritual which drew the dark moon Sukhder unnaturally close to the
land. Drawing power from its waves of magick they were able to open a large
gateway and direct rapidly reproducing hordes of demons towards the rival
cities. Ravaging the land and consuming everything they came across, the demons
quickly destroyed all mortal villages and most wildlife but were having trouble
with the heavily fortified cities of Kinsarmar and Antioch. Swarming about they
soon became a threat not only to Stavenn's enemies but to all life itself.

With the Malignists refusing to relinquish their control, the Stavenn
government eventually allowed the saboteurs to infiltrate and kill the
Malignists running the ritual of attraction. Sukhder rose away from the land
and the demonic forces ceased their manic reproduction and were eventually
wiped out, though the land is still scarred in many places from the event. With
the Malignists cowed the Stavenn government claimed to have the situation under
control, yet did not initially punish the Malignist leaders. Rather, they were
rewarded and put under constant surveillance as Stavenn realized what a
powerful bargaining tool they now had over the other cities.

The Malignists possess the skills of malignosis, necromancy and evileye. While
the more 'tame' demons have since become the subject of Noctusari enslavery,
Malignosis deals with the kind which tend to corrupt the minds of those who
work with them, hence the Malignist reputation for insanity. Necromancy is a
broad 'art' which involves everything mystically associated with death.
Similar to the curses skill, evileye allows the Malignist to strike down their
enemies by projecting the power of their twisted wills through the eyes and
into the soul.