Cult of Apophis

The Cult of Apophis (A-pop-fis) is a group of female wizards full of vile and evil, with intentions to gain power and terrorize the populace of Duskwood. They also want to use Duskwood as the place where they would implement the "Vision of Apophis". They are known for using illusions, druidism, and dark magic to pursue their goals and are considered petrifying and dangerous.
==Innocent Widow==
After the return of Apophis and her husband Rigobert to the Grand Hamlet after the Second War was over, he mysteriously died from a heart attack, leaving Apophis a widow and with all his money; strangely though, she sold her house and everything she had and moved deep into the forest. Many years passed with no sign of her, but finally new residents moved into her old house and found disturbing facets to the home: candles, bones, dust, and writings all over the walls. The local guards interpreted this as a sign of demonic magic and sent militiamen to hunt her down. With the darkening of the woods into what it is today, it was hard to find her, and so the search eventually ceased.
==The Witches of the Wild==
With the hunt for her discontinued, she commenced her plan. Apophis had gathered a group of five other widows with the same intentions: to find eternal life and power. They carefully planned their future, making rituals, forming a secret alphabet, learning the different schools of magic, and researching immortality. With little progress to show, Apophis and her followers arrived at a evil conclusion: "To extend our lives, we must drain the life of others, and place it into our own bodies." With this, the witch attacks had begun: children, young men, and women were attacked and used in their rituals. Such rituals included blood baths, life drainage, transformations, and more. With the massive-scale attacks in the woods, the local guards created a force to counter-attack the witches, in which they were successful. With the death of many of Apophis' followers, she decided to start using new tactics: using illusions and morphing into animals to draw citizens into traps. As years passed, they became experts at such magic and reigned terror over the woods.
==Death at Last==
Apophis's attacks were heartbreaking and cruel: dismembering corpses, drained women and stuffed men could be observed in their rituals. With the death of the son of a local rich landowner, the whole forest waged war at the witches, burning and killing any widow at the pyre. With the tactics of the Church, they infiltrated the witches' den and captured Apophis and her two last followers. They were brought to justice, sentenced to death, and burned at the pyre at the hands of the family members of the victims. 
==The Ancient Evil Survives==
The recent widowed Calphurnia (Cal-purr-nia) became a custodian for the town hall in Darkshire. After her husband's assassination by his supposed friends, she had nothing, so she needed a job. She felt regret and sorrow, but she kept going and working hard. Cleaning one day, she dropped a book that read "The Witch Cases", as she read, she became fascinated with the lore and the history of the witches. She returned home to her daughter and told her of what she found and what they could do with it. They both agreed to enact vengeance for their dead father and husband and retreated into the forest. By contacting ambitious widows and married women, they revived the cult and gathered once again the objects and books of their founding mothers and began to complete their work.
==The Summoning==
The cult had captured two Night Watch guards and moved them towards their witches' den, where they secretly planned horrendous plans. The Night Watch planned an assault to rescue the prisoners and destroy the witches once and for all. Two Night Watch guards and one adventurer named Payton were in this, through the journey from Darkshire to Raven Hill Cemetery, Marielle, a female Gilnean worgen joined. They fought against the guardian of the main entrance, which they with team work killed, but the entrance was shattered to ruins, with a strange shake. They were forced to enter the through the much darker and mysterious cave-like entrance. The smell of dead bodies and blood was everywhere, the pitch dark rooms were horrible. They were ambushed two times: once by misshapen bodies and the other time by ghouls. Beating the ambushes, they found a tunnel, which lead to the main room of the tomb. There they found cages, with kids and Night Watch guards, as well as mummified bodies and sacrificed bodies. The witches found the intruders and sent a wave of ghouls, Marielle, who seemed to be friendly, turned against her companions and in the dark room, she attacked them and killed one of the guards. Missing in one of her spells, she killed the ghouls and the two men tried to escape through the upper area where they found something strange. A summoning aura, with candles in each section and four wizards conjuring spells. A female entity would have appeared, her scream would have tormented the whole tomb alive. The group attacked the wizards, and fought off the female entity. As she died, a new being would take form, a huge shivarra would appear. Apophis was a demon after all! The group ran back to the tunnels in fear and escaped. Apophis ordered the witches to hunt them down, Marielle did so and she returned. Apophis offered her blood and made her another member. Now the once ancient evil is back.
==The Unknown==
Since the small attacks on the graveyard, little has been heard from the Cult. Witch Hunters have stopped their routines and have returned to their homes. A small scouting trip have reported that the Tomb of Apophis is empty, as far, no one or anything is left, just the blood and corpses. A small journal was found, it was badly written, and in a low, fetched Common dialect, that only the witches knew. Darkshire's curator explains that this must be some sort of letter, but it must be kept in the unknown, so he placed it with the "Witch's Cases" files, where it would rest.
==Membership==
All of the witches are zealous and dedicated to their cause, they live and would die to cause panic and death to others. With the promise of power, knowledge and vengeance, they are contacted in the means of the Ahlabazar, or a ritual that calls the witches, hearing the whispers of the summoner in the woods. Only women can perform it, they must be alone, in the woods, with the moon at high. When the witches reach them, they must do a pact with them and drink of their sacred vial. With this they become one with the cult and are welcome as a family member, with the ability to learn of their arts. 
===The Ahlabazar===
The Ahlabazar (A-la-ba-zar), with many few wizards know of the existence of this ritual. It is old and primitive and it is said that it comes from the Burning Legion, to contact their superiors, but these are rumors. It is considered mystical and dark. To perform this ritual, a woman must go to a clearance in the forest. Using smashed nature dust, candles and a blank book. The dust would be placed on the floor and draw a medium-sized star and the candles placed in each point. Then the actual chant would be said, and the witch will come.
==The Laws of Witchcraft==
It is strange to think that witches have rules, but the cult believes that if they are organized, they can accomplish their duties easily. These laws are considered sacred and holy, if they are broken, the penalty is death by torture or sacrifice. They are organized in a few and simple:
#Never dishonor Apophis or her daughters.
#Never betray the cult or the blood pact made.
#Never disobey the order of Apophis.
#Never steal nor disrupt anything in the cult.
#Never kill your own.
==Beliefs==
The witches have certainly identified themselves by hating on the light and its followers. The witches have created a strict, and traditional religion they follow to the line. They believe that after Apophis died, her body burned, but her spirit and powers passed to the Twisting Nether, and only a human sacrifice can bring her back into the body of another woman, with all her initial powers. Apophis has gained her title of Goddess to the Witches and Patron Mother of the Woods, she has altars that could be recognized by the star with strange symbols around it. They also venerate in the spirits of the fallen  and the existence of another soul-like world, in which they could use to channel energies from.  Witch ranks could be seen based on their belief system, when a witch has knowledge of all the schools of Witchcraft, she is considered venerable or Mother. Lesser novices are considered Spawn or Initiatitus, depending on their knowledge. When a witch dies of a natural cause or forced death, a ritual must be done, a tree must be marked with the name of the witch and symbolize that her spirit must rest there for eternity, until summoned once again. 
==Schools of Witchcraft==
After becoming a member of the cult, new witches have the ability to choose one school to specialize or many to master. It takes many years to perfect but it is worth the cost of time and wait. The following are the main schools that the witches learn:
Alchemy: Creation of potions, poison and vials.
Enchanting: Ability to enchant or disenchant objects to fulfill your will. 
Illusion: Ability to make your victim see an alternate reality, something not true.
Dark/Shadow Magic: Ability to curse, lower your esteem, cause nightmares, and damage a person from the inside.
Nature/Druid Magic: Ability to morph into wild animals, to control an animal for a period of time, to bind certain elements to do as you wish.
Necromancy (Frequently): Ability to raise the dead, to cure the dead and to bind them to your will. Recently, the witches have gained an ally in which introduced necromancy into the cult, with this, they could secure their existence.  
==The Witch Cases==
===Apophis' Old Cases===
-Benjamin Tobbs: 10-year-old son of a farmer found dead and decapitated in the forest.
-Caroline Mitchel: 22-year-old priest found lifeless; she had no blood in her.
-Bobby Dens: 15-year-old orphan found hanged and cursed outside of Darkshire.
-Melanie Hawkeye: 20-year-old virgin found with all of her body parts cut off.
===Recent Cases===
-Naira Lordsblood: 27-year-old paladin of the Conclave of Purity, found by her partners on a ritual site, with insignias and runes on her armor; later she was cleansed revealing an evil entity that was cursing her.
-Thomas "Little Jimmy" Ballad: 9-year-old son of a Night Watch guard, found dismembered and cursed in the forest.
-Josephine Bibi: 10-year-old daughter of a stable master, found dead and drained of blood inside the barn where her mother worked.
Night Guard Dorothy: 35-year-old guard that was captured with her partner and now their location seems to be deep into the catacomb of Raven Hill.
Night Guard Cornwell: 40-year-old guard and veteran, captured with his partner and their location seems to be deep into the catacomb of Raven Hill.
Desecration of Tombs: Massive desecration of several named graves in Duskwood, most were destroyed, others were marked with the "Mark of Apophis". Because most of the cemeteries are by fact run down by undead, this has not been looked into. 
Category:Duskwood
Category:Cult
Category:Necromancy
Category:Cult of Apophis
Category:Retired Guild
Category:Demon
Category:Undead