Undying Dynasties

The **Undying Dynasties** are a faction within the 9th Age game.

It is also a term used to describe the remnants of the oldest human empire, Naptesh , as well as inheritors and imitators of Naptesh, such as the Terracotta Army and the Barrow Legion  .

The leaders of the Undying Dynasties have been described as nobles of their former lands, held to this world by their power and will long after their deaths . The armies of the Undying Dynasties are also undead and have been said to possess an intelligence greater than that of other undead .

## Magic Use

The following is a quote used to describe the magic use of the wizards of the Undying Dynasties:

> "Lying beneath eternal sands, sealed in tombs for centuries, the Undying Dynasties know the workings of time as no others. Dedicating themselves to the preservation and restoration of their golden civilisations. It is only magic which permits them to escape the decay of ages, and return their legions to unlife, time and time again. As they continually stir from their sarcophagi, the Pharaoh’s seek an age in which their society will never fall again."
>
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## Naptesh

*Main article: Naptesh*

Naptesh is, or was, a nation in northern Taphria . It was founded presumably in the Second Age , and was once a fertile land   . At the height of its power, it was a great empire that spread far around the middle sea .

### The Great Dying

*Main article: The Great Dying*

The Great dying was an event that took place in the Third Age . The then king, Phatep, was betrayed and killed by Setesh. This plunged the nation into civil war between Setesh and the king's wife Queen Teput. The result of which is said to be that the gates of the underworld were closed off to the naptaan people.

Eventually the whole empire fell.

## Terracotta Army

When Naptesh fell, many of its people fled. Among these was Haskhunet, high architect of Hanaphuk, who is said to have fled east. Some years later, Tsuandan records mentions a sage from the west appearing. The sage is said to have aided the emperor in constructing a terracotta army to guard his tomb. It is theorised that this army would be animated in similar way to naptaan golems, but the whereabouts of the tomb of the last Xun Emperor is unknown.

## Barrow Legions

Many northern neighbouring nations and people to the naptaan empire assimilated the naptaan burial traditions. Creating barrow mounds imitating the pyramids of Naptesh. Like those pyramids, these mounds, many of which are found in Zagvozd, are rumour to harbour the undead.

Explanations for this phenomenon differ. Some claim it is because the neighbouring people also assimilated some of the religion of Naptesh so were struck by the same curse that keeps them out of the underworld. Others that they imitated the necromantic arts from Setesh and therefore live on after death.

## Sources

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Jorge Zamoran. An account of the peoples, nations and monsters which inhabit the world. Prepared for Prince Estaban (*Main Rulebook*)
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Alberich Hauptmann (911 A.S.) Death Knows No Borders, chapter VI; Eichtal Press (*Undying Dynasties armybook, p16*)
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Alberich Hauptmann (911 A.S.) Death Knows No Borders, chapter IX; Eichtal Press (*Undying Dynasties armybook, p58*)
4. ↑ Interview with Sigmund Selig, the Great Sage (*The 9th Scroll issue #4*)
5. ↑ On races and their magic (*The 9th Scroll, issue #5*)
6. ↑ Map of the Lands and People of the 9th Age, by Meradus Gercator, 962 A.S. (*Main Rulebook*)
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 The World Hymn, a reproduction of an Equitan tapestry, itself believed to be a copy of an ancient dwarven carving and poem dating from the first century AS. *(Main Rulebook)*
8. ↑ Beatrix von Ueblingen (962 A.S.) My travels in Naptesh: Entries from the 2nd and 3rd of Damos (*Undying Dynasties armybook, p22*)
9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 Naptaan Book of the Dead, translated by Abd al-Latif. (*Undying Dynasties armybook, p11-12*