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The Mechanical Messiah
At one time celebrated with titles such as the Plenipotentiary of the Dark Maze, the Harbinger of Eschatological Truths, and the Paraclete in the Hircine Mask, the pitiful remains of the former god-king – a ghostly corpus reinforced with countless soulsteel prosthetics and inhabited by a broken mind – is now referred to only as the Mechanical Messiah.
His armies destroyed by the legions of the First and Forsaken Lion, his cult in Creation unraveled and eradicated by agents of the Perfect, his Underworld cult largely absorbed by disciples of the Shining Path, and even his corpus mostly devoured by Oblivion;  the continued existence of the Mechanical Messiah has become a symbol of both hope and despair:
Despair for some who sees the fearsome capability of the First and Forsaken Lion; and hope for some who sees that despite his power the First and Forsaken Lion chose or was forced to stay his hand in destroying the other Deathlord. Hope for some who see that even a Deathlord can be defeated; and despair for some who realize that maybe the Deathlords cannot be destroyed at all.
Dari of the Mists and the Cathedral of the Panegyric
Three years ago two deathknights accompanied by a small retinue of war ghosts and nemissaries arrived at the gates of the Underworld city known as Dari of the Mists. Going before the Megalith Panel, they kneeled and pleaded for sanctuary for themselves and their cargo – a maimed Deathlord.
Whether it was the show of humility by two haughty Abyssal Exalted or maybe some ambitious thought of future reward that swayed the wills of the panelists to risk the anger of the First and Forsaken Lion by willingly opening their gates to the Mechanical Messiah remains a mystery. It has become apparent, though, that the decision was not an altogether bad move.
It is true that since the Cathedral of the Panegyric was raised across from the Plaza of the Megalith power has been a bit more divided. But while the Meritocracy of the Messiah does exercise some control over the decision making of the Megalith Panel, it is largely made up for by the sheer impact the presence of a Deathlord in Dari gives the words of the Megalith Panel when dealing with citizens and neighbors alike. Besides, the inexperience and in some cases indifference of the young deathknights has given the elder ghosts quite an amount of leverage in city politics.
The Cathedral of the Panegyric was raised by the Daybreak Caste necromancer calling himself Crimson Lachrymatory shortly after the arrival of the Deathlord’s retinue in Dari. It serves as a place for worship where the devout can pray to the Mechanical Messiah and, under the careful observance of the clergy, touch the metallic feet of the savior who will one day rise to free the Underworld South of the First and Forsaken Lion, but the black arches, halls, and porticoes also serve as home for the Meritocracy of the Messiah.
Made up by the original group that arrived with the Deathlord as well as five deathknights who were exalted later by Crimson Lachrymatory using the Mechanical Messiah as a giant conduit to channel the dark essence, the young Meritocracy of the Messiah serve as the primary governing body in Dari of the Mists with the Megalith Panel acting as the older and more experienced counterweight.
The Meritocracy of the Messiah and the Megalith Panel
The Daybreak Caste necromancer Crimson Lachrymatory was one of the two Abyssal Exalted who arrived with the Mechanical Messiah and pleaded the Megalith Panel for asylum. A mighty necromancer, possibly surpassed only by the Deathlords themselves, he was directly responsible for exalting most of the other Abyssal Exalted in the Meritocracy he used to head. It was a surprise to all of them when, three seasons ago, Crimson Lachrymatory withdrew from the public eye along with a group of skilled artisans and closed the gates to his grand First Age workshop shut. Now, each month a galley arrives in the ports of Dari and ghostly slaves are herded to the soulforges of the necromancer’s factory. Crimson Lachrymatory is forging something big and the Underworld has yet to see what it is.
The Pilgrim Who Treads Forbidden Paths was a Solar once. As a member of the Eclipse Caste and therefore protected by ancient oaths, he entered the Underworld with the purpose of parlaying with the masters of the dead and make them stop their encroaching in Creation. Followed by howling mortwights unable to attack him, the Solar descended through the dark paths of the Labyrinth itself. Here he found, or was found by, the Devourer of Worlds who spoke to him.
What the Malfean said and whether the Solar spoke back is uncertain, but a month later he ascended from the mazy depths ready to become an evangelist of the dead. Traveling to Dari of the Mists and kneeling before the Mechanical Messiah, he gave himself over freely to Crimson Lachrymatory who proceeded to taint the Solar’s essence with the power of necromancy.
Exalted before her Deathlord’s fall from grace, Myosotis at the Gallows Hill has never set foot in Dari of the Mists. Almost five years ago the Moonshadow Caste Abyssal was appointed by her master to act as chamberlain of his Stygian citadel and she has come to like her existence in the megalopolis of the dead too much to risk it by going to Dari to face her peers. Occasionally the Meritocracy of the Messiah or the Megalith Panel will send envoys to Stygia carrying orders and Myosotis at the Gallows Hill follow them just often enough for her not to be considered worth disposing off.
Panelist Ahmet is a relatively young ghost, but while he has not been on the Megalith Panel for long he has not spent his time being idle and now his opinion carries some weight with both the Meritocracy of the Messiah and the Megalith Panel. His chief concern is to lobby for the deathknights taking action against the Perfect of Paragon as the lacking influx of ghosts from that city will eventually prove a great problem for all of Dari. Both bodies are still discussing possible courses of action.
The Mechanical Messiah
At one time celebrated with titles such as the Plenipotentiary of the Dark Maze, the Harbinger of Eschatological Truths, and the Paraclete in the Hircine Mask, the pitiful remains of the former god-king – a ghostly corpus reinforced with countless soulsteel prosthetics and inhabited by a broken mind – is now referred to only as the Mechanical Messiah.
His armies destroyed by the legions of the First and Forsaken Lion, his cult in Creation unraveled and eradicated by agents of the Perfect, his Underworld cult largely absorbed by disciples of the Shining Path, and even his corpus mostly devoured by Oblivion;  the continued existence of the Mechanical Messiah has become a symbol of both hope and despair:
Despair for some who sees the fearsome capability of the First and Forsaken Lion; and hope for some who sees that despite his power the First and Forsaken Lion chose or was forced to stay his hand in destroying the other Deathlord. Hope for some who see that even a Deathlord can be defeated; and despair for some who realize that maybe the Deathlords cannot be destroyed at all.
Dari of the Mists and the Cathedral of the Panegyric
Three years ago two deathknights accompanied by a small retinue of war ghosts and nemissaries arrived at the gates of the Underworld city known as Dari of the Mists. Going before the Megalith Panel, they kneeled and pleaded for sanctuary for themselves and their cargo – a maimed Deathlord.
Whether it was the show of humility by two haughty Abyssal Exalted or maybe some ambitious thought of future reward that swayed the wills of the panelists to risk the anger of the First and Forsaken Lion by willingly opening their gates to the Mechanical Messiah remains a mystery. It has become apparent, though, that the decision was not an altogether bad move.
It is true that since the Cathedral of the Panegyric was raised across from the Plaza of the Megalith power has been a bit more divided. But while the Meritocracy of the Messiah does exercise some control over the decision making of the Megalith Panel, it is largely made up for by the sheer impact the presence of a Deathlord in Dari gives the words of the Megalith Panel when dealing with citizens and neighbors alike. Besides, the inexperience and in some cases indifference of the young deathknights has given the elder ghosts quite an amount of leverage in city politics.
The Cathedral of the Panegyric was raised by the Daybreak Caste necromancer calling himself Crimson Lachrymatory shortly after the arrival of the Deathlord’s retinue in Dari. It serves as a place for worship where the devout can pray to the Mechanical Messiah and, under the careful observance of the clergy, touch the metallic feet of the savior who will one day rise to free the Underworld South of the First and Forsaken Lion, but the black arches, halls, and porticoes also serve as home for the Meritocracy of the Messiah.
Made up by the original group that arrived with the Deathlord as well as five deathknights who were exalted later by Crimson Lachrymatory using the Mechanical Messiah as a giant conduit to channel the dark essence, the young Meritocracy of the Messiah serve as the primary governing body in Dari of the Mists with the Megalith Panel acting as the older and more experienced counterweight.
The Meritocracy of the Messiah and the Megalith Panel
The Daybreak Caste necromancer Crimson Lachrymatory was one of the two Abyssal Exalted who arrived with the Mechanical Messiah and pleaded the Megalith Panel for asylum. A mighty necromancer, possibly surpassed only by the Deathlords themselves, he was directly responsible for exalting most of the other Abyssal Exalted in the Meritocracy he used to head. It was a surprise to all of them when, three seasons ago, Crimson Lachrymatory withdrew from the public eye along with a group of skilled artisans and closed the gates to his grand First Age workshop shut. Now, each month a galley arrives in the ports of Dari and ghostly slaves are herded to the soulforges of the necromancer’s factory. Crimson Lachrymatory is forging something big and the Underworld has yet to see what it is.
The Pilgrim Who Treads Forbidden Paths was a Solar once. As a member of the Eclipse Caste and therefore protected by ancient oaths, he entered the Underworld with the purpose of parlaying with the masters of the dead and make them stop their encroaching in Creation. Followed by howling mortwights unable to attack him, the Solar descended through the dark paths of the Labyrinth itself. Here he found, or was found by, the Devourer of Worlds who spoke to him.
What the Malfean said and whether the Solar spoke back is uncertain, but a month later he ascended from the mazy depths ready to become an evangelist of the dead. Traveling to Dari of the Mists and kneeling before the Mechanical Messiah, he gave himself over freely to Crimson Lachrymatory who proceeded to taint the Solar’s essence with the power of necromancy.
Exalted before her Deathlord’s fall from grace, Myosotis at the Gallows Hill has never set foot in Dari of the Mists. Almost five years ago the Moonshadow Caste Abyssal was appointed by her master to act as chamberlain of his Stygian citadel and she has come to like her existence in the megalopolis of the dead too much to risk it by going to Dari to face her peers. Occasionally the Meritocracy of the Messiah or the Megalith Panel will send envoys to Stygia carrying orders and Myosotis at the Gallows Hill follow them just often enough for her not to be considered worth disposing off.
Panelist Ahmet is a relatively young ghost, but while he has not been on the Megalith Panel for long he has not spent his time being idle and now his opinion carries some weight with both the Meritocracy of the Messiah and the Megalith Panel. His chief concern is to lobby for the deathknights taking action against the Perfect of Paragon as the lacking influx of ghosts from that city will eventually prove a great problem for all of Dari. Both bodies are still discussing possible courses of action.