Millennial King

The Millennial King is a setting and character created by /tg/ in a thread asking why there were no good necromancers. The consensus was that, in the strictest sense, necromancy was not inherently evil (depending on the setting); the evil-ness comes from messing around with corpses and binding souls without permission. People bandied around ideas for good things that necromancers could do, like use his horde of skeletons for farming and construction, and using the resulting good-will to encourage people to allow him to use their bodies after they die; things went from there, and before long, people were writing about a city-state overseen by a grandfatherly lich who looks out for his subjects with his undead legions.

Arran'ak

Arran'ak is the actual city-state supported by the undead. It began as a mutual trade and defense pact among several villages, but its position was favorable to trade, so it became a minor economic power in the region. This inspired jealousy on the parts of Arran'ak's neighbors, Florin and Guilder; they warred over it, and ended up slaughtering the entire royal family (except for Myrhan, who had been away studying magic during the invasion, and his sister, who had been raped by a Florinese count and then killed) in the process. Myrhan avenged his family and fellow citizens by summoning an army of the dead (both those fallen in defense of Arran'ak, and the Florinese and Guilderian soldiers killed in the course of his campaign) and conquering both Florin and Guilder.

Presently, the nation is centered on the Spire, which is simultaneously the palace of the Millennial King and Dawn Queen, a resting place for the bodies of citizens who are not Risen, and one of several items rumored to be the Millennial King's phylactery.

Risen

The Risen are the legions of undead that labor in Arran'ak. Most are incapable of independent thought, and are employed for menial, repetitive tasks, like mining, farming, and building, which leaves the citizens of Arran'ak free to pursue skilled trades. Most citizens permit their bodies to be re-animated as Risen; after all, their King serves them after his death, so they feel obligated to do the same (and it's not as if they need their bodies after they're dead). Because flesh decays, Risen are reduced to skeletons before they are employed, though they wear bronze masks with a semblance of a face. Some Risen wear a small trinket donated by their living relatives, as a sort of memorial to the person they once were.

Executed criminals and enemy casualties are re-animated as Conscripts, and form the backbone of Arran'ak's military. They are unadorned except for their bronze armor and porcelain masks, and are identically equipped (for their designated function), for the people of Arran'ak hold that all are equal in death. Even their bodies are still treated with respect; after a Conscript is rendered unusable by damage or age, the remains are interred in the Spire and sanctified so that they cannot be re-animated.

Arran'ak's law enforcement and military are led by Sentinels, living officers who direct the undead. When they die, extra rituals are performed on their bodies to imbue them with a more advanced intelligence than most Risen. Both living and undead Sentinels wear similarly-decorated armor, though the undead Sentinels always leave their helmets on.

The very finest Sentinels, both living and undead, form the Chronus Guard. Under the command of Chronus himself, this elite force protects the Spire and serves as a covert intelligence agency and security service throughout the kingdom. The training undergone by the Guard can literally be longer than a lifetime.

Those people who do not wish to become Risen are interred in the Spire. This keeps their remains secure against unscrupulous necromancers, and also acts as a tremendous reserve of bodies to be Conscripted should the Millennial King deem it necessary. Some citizens are so deeply opposed to the idea of their body being used or potentially used by the King that they will have their bodies cremated; this so-called Cremationism is not illegal, but is highly frowned upon; it is most widespread among people who have no contact with the Risen, like artisans whose industries are not suitable for Risen to assist. Some of the more extreme Cremationists will actually desecrate and destroy the Risen, thinking that they are freeing the souls of the Risen (though extreme caution is taken in the re-animation ceremony that the soul is not trapped in the body).

Acolytes

The Millennial King cannot be everywhere (even with teleportation), so he organized the Acolytes to tend the Risen. Those with talent are offered the opportunity to become an Initiate, where they will study the theory of necromancy at one of several temples in the country, while performing basic maintenance duties on the Risen stored at the adjoining barracks and assisting with lower-level ceremonies, like the re-animation of Conscripts or simple medical procedures.

After completing their studies, Initiates become Adepts, and are apprenticed to Masters (who were once Adepts themselves). Adepts and Masters specialize into one of several tracks. The iconic specialization is that of the classic necromancer; Adepts and Masters on that path actually perform the rituals of re-animation to create Risen (the task of creating Conscripts is left to the Adepts, while laboring Risen are created by the Masters with their Adepts' assistance). A similar proportion specialize in healing, using their knowledge of the human body to help the sick who visit their temples. A few serve as magical law enforcement, investigating possible cases of unlicensed necromancy and assisting victims of such wicked or misguided individuals, or as diplomats to other nations, both to counter stereotypes about Arran'ak and to fight evil necromancers abroad.

The Sacrificed are, aside from the Millennial King himself, the most powerful necromancers in the nation. They willingly sacrifice their afterlife to remain and serve their fellow citizens even after death, and the Millennial King takes a major role in selecting them, before personally performing the ritual to bind their souls to their bodies. They advise the Millennial King and perform some of the most advanced rituals the kingdom requires, like creating Sentinels and releasing the souls of those unwillingly bound in undeath (like the victims of unscrupulous necromancers). All temples in the kingdom are headed by a Sacrificed, often one who graduated from it.

Characters

Myrhan, the Millennial King

Myrhan began as a noble son studying magic, but the invasion of his homeland forced him to put his education on hold. When he arrived, he found he was the last surviving member of all of Arran'ak's noble families, and he wielded his magic to raise an army of the dead to re-take his homeland -- and its conquerors, as well.

On the final day of his campaign, Myrhan confronted his sister's killer, the Florinese count who had masterminded much of the invasion, but was wounded by his opponent's cursed blade; though he was able to bring both the count and the prince of Florin to justice (by dissolving their bodies and souls), he succumbed shortly thereafter. Fortunately for Arran'ak, he was not unprepared: over the course of a year and a day, he became a lich and returned to life (or un-life, as it were). After rising from his grave, Myrhan raised the Spire over his old home, and he has ruled Arran'ak from there as the Millennial King ever since.

Presently, the majority of the Millennial King's time is spent managing the legions of undead that serve the kingdom, either directly or through the state-sanctioned necromancers known as Acolytes. Occasionally, he diplomatically engages dignitaries from other nations (though he generally defers to the Dawn Queen on such matters) and may intervene personally when dealing with a powerful invader, rogue necromancer, or undead creature.

The Dawn Queen

The reincarnation of Myrhan's sister (named Anyen?). Where Myrhan has tremendous necromantic power, the Queen seems to have some connection to positive energy: harvests tend to be more bountiful and summers tend to be warmer when she reigns, and even the distant Millennial King is warmed by her presence.

When the reincarnated Dawn Queen comes of age, Myrhan is able to sense that his sister has returned to the Material Plane. His Acolytes search the kingdom for the woman (she usually belongs to one of the Noble Houses, though some Dawn Queens have been commoners, much to the nobles' consternation). After she has been found, she undergoes the Rite of Dawn, a ceremony that infuses her with some of the memories of previous Dawn Queens, tempering her with the wisdom of many generations of rulers (though she will have been carefully screened and tested beforehand, as it is not an easy weight to bear). After this, Arran'ak enters a year and a day of celebration, during which she tours the kingdom, both to let the memories sink in and to become familiar with her subjects. Though her "persona" is immortal (she promised she wouldn't leave him "while he walked the earth", which is looking to be forever), her body is not; the death of the Dawn Queen is marked by year and a day of mourning, and for the next few decades (until the Dawn Queen is reborn), Arran'ak endures colder, deeper winters, and the Millennial King grows bitter -- though both he and his Acolytes are noticeably more powerful during these so-called "Long Winters".

Chronus

Myrhan's bodyguard while he was abroad, and his right-hand man during the war against Florin and Guilder. He actually died during the campaign, but was resurrected with his character intact -- and the world is very fortunate that he was, for he stayed Myrhan's hand from slaughtering the citizens of Guilder's capitol. After the war was finished, he stood vigil over Myrhan's grave for a year and a day as Myrhan became a lich (a vigil that is honored in many Arran'akian ceremonies and holidays), and was made Captain of the Sentinels after Myrhan returned; presently, he leads the elite Chronus Guard. His flesh has long since decayed away, though somehow he is still capable of drinking whiskey without spilling any through his ribcage.

External Links

• First thread, in which the idea is seeded.
• Second thread, in which the founding and organization of Arran'ak is fleshed out.
• Third thread, in which the present state of the country is discussed and written up.