Varenn the Light

Varenn the Light (-28 DR to 22 DR) was the last king of Kala' Nostus, reigning over the kingdom until its fall in 22 DR during the Sanguine Plague. Varenn was known to be a noble king, one who guided his people fairly and justly. During his time as king, he mediated between the dwarves of the Silver Halls in the north and their elven enemies in the west. Under his watchful eye, Kala' Nostus grew in prosperity and fame. Varenn was also known as the Lion of the East due to his victory against the avatar of Vecna, personally seeing to the deity's banishment from the material plane. After Kala' Nostus was ravaged by the Sanguine Plague in the final years of his reign, Varenn and the people of Kala' Nostus sought to end the plague's dominance over the east by sacrificing the kingdom in a mass suicide.

Though Varenn and his people perished, their remains would become the catalyst for the birth of Kaelorenn and his undead legions. It is unknown why Varenn and his people suffered this fate of undeath; some scholars attribute this event to the Sanguine Plague itself which might have had unforeseen effects on the dead, while others believe it to be the largest recorded case of a Warspawn rebirth.

### Early Years

Varenn was the first and only child of Seglid the Younger, who presided over the kingdom of Kala' Nostus as a fair king. As an only child, Varenn had the hopes and aspirations of a kingdom to shoulder, and thus begin his training as a prince from the early age of six. He was doted over by a court's worth of mentors, teaching the young prince everything from algebra and geometry to sword fighting and horse riding. Having been born under a "lucky star", Varenn took quickly to his duties and the praises that came with them. More importantly than these tangible skills, Varenn's mother Delina of Ossbruck taught him the value of the masses he will one day rule over.

In his later youth, Varenn sought to learn from his father in the matters of courtly duty. He would often be found attending to his father in court or on diplomatic missions, accepting to deliver documents of great importance personally at his father's behest. After a few years of courtly affairs, Seglid grew old and sick, becoming unable to attend to governmental duties personally. In his stead, Delina and Varenn would together see to any matters that the elderly king could not. On a winter night in -11 DR, Seglid would pass from his illness, leaving behind Varenn to fill his shoes.

### Reign

Though young, Varenn proved to be a very capable king. In his early reign, he sought to improve relations with neighbouring nations and vassal states. He collected the lords and ladies of the lands in order to discuss their roles in the governance of the nation, and soon formed the peasant council in order to represent the common folk in political matters. Several land reforms allowed serfs a greater share of the wealth, and several entertainment venues within the capital caused Varenn to soar in popularity. It was also known that Varenn was a merciful king, choosing to forgive those whose crimes were not grievous, going as far as to chastise and imprison guardsmen who used their power for self-gain. Though his policies made him popular with the peasants, the aristocrats and noblemen of Kala' Nostus found him to be tiresome and self-absorbed, often squandering his wealth on peasant banquets and intermingling with the lower classes, with a few rumours even claiming that he had taken a peasant woman as a lover.

A scholar of the kingdom once saw the young king wandering the streets followed only by two of his guardsmen, knowing that amongst his people harm would never come to him. As Varenn approached the turn of the street he saw a drunken man wandering the streets with ill intent. Spotting a bathmaid, the drunken man began to hurl insults and aggression towards the young lady in his foggy stupor, calling to the street a great crowd of onlookers. The king, enraged by this scene, approached the man and struck him with great power, causing the man to tumble onto the ground. As the man saw the visage of the king, he pleaded not to be imprisoned for his mistakes, and swore to all the gods that he would never raise his voice. Still displeased, the king ordered the woman to put down her chores and step away, then telling the man that her duties were now his. Varenn also ordered the man to never again let his lips touch wine, and that the royal treasury would spare the funds for a single guard to always follow the drunken man wherever he went to ensure that this order was never forgotten or abandoned.

### Varenn as the Lion of the East

In -1 DR, word of a great evil arising and terrorising the land reached Varenn. Collecting his finest knights and soldiery, the king rode out to confront the evil, believing it to be some sort of monstrosity that slipped from the underdark. Upon arriving at the scorched and wretched lands, King Varenn realized that it was not a mere monster, but rather an avatar of Vecna that had found its way to the material plane. Seeing that many villages and towns had already been burnt down or consumed by the spreading evil, Varenn and his retinue rode towards the thundering clouds that collected with a purple miasma. The king and his knights found great resistance on their way, fighting twisted creatures of both undeath and foul birth in a bid to confront their master. Though well trained, the knights and soldiery were worn down by the constant stream of vile undead until they could bear to fight no longer. Seeing his men in such a state, Varenn decided to confront the avatar of Vecna by himself, slipping away from his men as they rested during the night.

Clambering the black tower that rose above the earth, Varenn finally found himself staring down the hideous visage of Vecna, a creature of such detestable inclination and morality. Fiery words were exchanged between the Lion of the East and Vecna, until finally Varenn charged the avatar with a brandished blade and swung with all his might. Many blows and spells were thrown in either direction, causing large sections of the tower to begin to crumble in the fury of their battle. Eventually, as the avatar was temporarily weakened, Varenn leapt towards it and slew it with might, running his blade through its terrible neck and ending the evil that so haunted the lands.

### The Sanguine Plague

In 14 DR, rumours began to circulate of a terrible plague which was affecting the citizens of far off lands. The plague, the origin of which is not known, manifests itself in rats and small vermin and critters. The rats, after being infected by the plague, would slowly begin to lose their fur and patches of their skin, revealing the pulsating flesh below and giving them a hideous and sickly red colour. This was also a trait that was passed on to infected humanoids, causing them to decay and wither into shambling fleshy and emaciated creatures. The infected also became hyper aggressive, foaming and chasing after non-infected creatures. Though the rumours of the terrifying plague were certainly unsettling, most citizens of Kala' Nostus continued their lives comfortably and far away from such horrors - until 16 DR that is.

During the trade season, several merchants who arrived seemed sickly and weary, their skin splotched and red. The citizens and guards of Kala' Nostus sought to provide them aid, allowing them to stay in one of the merchant houses that sit adjacent to the city centre. This, unfortunately, would be the last fatal decision of Kala' Nostus. Within a few hours, the merchants had gone ravenous and had attacked several servants and staff within the merchant houses, causing the guards to kill the now mindless and ferocious traders. This, of course, caused an exponential increase in cases as those infected by the merchants then went on to infect others, until the entirety of the city centre had to be quarantined and locked away. Varenn, unable to watch idly by, decided to commission the greatest surgical and medical minds in the kingdom in order to devise a plan of action to deal with this Sanguine Plague. Many years would pass as the doctors and professors tirelessly dedicated themselves to finding a cure, as more and more of the citizens inside the city succumbed and withered due to the rampant disease. Eventually, several towns and cities within the kingdom were entirely infected, the people within dying off in droves and piling the earth high with their rotting corpses. These cities and towns became known as Red Meadows due to the change in the colour of the soil, and people often avoided them as abandoned and haunted dwellings with nothing but vile corruption to be found within.

By 22 DR, most cities within Kala' Nostus were entirely deserted and crumbling. The capital city, one of the last few cities left, was slowly decaying due to the infections as the sick slowly expanded past the quarantines and walls set up by the city guard. The doctors and surgeons failed to produce any cures for the damnable corruption, and in realising that there was no hope for Kala' Nostus' survival, Varenn declared one last policy as a sovereign, one that he dreaded and regretted. In the quiet hours of night, King Varenn gathered the nobles and the knights in order to explain that there were no more solutions at hand, and that should the disease claim the city Kala' Nostus would only cause other lands what the merchants caused them. Varenn proposed that the cities be razed and the infected citizenry killed. The knights of Varenn were understanding of this extreme measures, but the nobles (many of whom were infected or had relations who were) protested greatly, calling Varenn a tyrant and declaring that should he proceed with such plans they would rally all that they could to depose him and his twisted ideals. Hearing this, Varenn contemplated and dismissed those present, taking the time to think his decision through. The nobles, believing that he had finally grown to fear their strength, were content to leave.

In the dark of night on that day, the noble estates within the city were broken into and the nobles were slain, killed in their beds. Varenn had sent the knights to covertly execute the plan regardless starting with the nobles, and soon after the city was in turmoil as the thousands who were sick were put to rest and killed. In this chaos, several of those carrying out the decisions were infected themselves, causing them to fling themselves off rooftops and fall on their own swords rather than accept the plague. In the end, a blazing city lit up the night sky as Varenn and the remainder of his knights watched from high above. Pain contorting his face at the destruction of his city and his people, Varenn knew that very few throughout the continent will know of the sacrifice of Kala' Nostus, and many would call him a tyrant were they ever to find out his deeds.

Turning to his knights, Varenn produced the vials of odourless liquid and handed them out. As each of the remaining knights took their seats at the royal table, they uncorked their vials and looked amongst one another. Varenn, seated at the head of the table, bid his loyal knights farewell as he severed himself from the mortal coil. With the last of the souls within Kala' Nostus extinguished, thus was Varenn's end.

### Kaelorenn

From the ashes of Kala' Nostus arose a terrifying figure, a horror unknown to the world. As mentioned previously, it is unknown what caused the king to undergo lichdom and arise as a foul undead. Kaelorenn the Undead King arose with great might and hatred for the world living, born from the ruin of a great kingdom and people. Behind him, legions of clamouring undead that sought to extinguish the flame of life throughout the continent. It is unknown whether any shred of King Varenn lives within Kaelorenn, but for the sake of the deceased king's memories, let us hope not.