Editing Cabal of the Unseen Hand

The Cabal's structure is deliberately opaque, with Durnstang’s true identity known only to a select few. Each member has been recruited or manipulated by a higher-ranking figure in the Cabal, believing they are working towards their own personal goals, but in truth, they are all advancing a grand design.

===Key Members of the Cabal===
====<u>[[Maltherion]]</u>, the Whispering Lich (Undead)====
*Role in the Cabal: Master of necromantic lore, tasked with destabilizing the boundary between life and death, creating new forms of undeath that will challenge the Weave.
*Motivation: Maltherion believes that undeath is the ultimate freedom, allowing one to escape both the fragility of mortal life and the arbitrary rule of the gods. He has been led to believe that the Cabal’s purpose is to perfect undeath for all worthy individuals, making the living obsolete. He is unaware that Durnstang’s plan involves the complete collapse of both life and undeath.
*Key Task: Develop necromantic rituals to keep souls from passing into the afterlife, creating vast zones where death holds no sway, and souls become trapped, causing the Weave to fray.
====<u>[[Sarkathus]]</u>, the Demon Lord of Bound Souls (Demonic)====
*Role in the Cabal: Responsible for recruiting fiends and binding them to the material plane, amplifying the chaos Durnstang needs to weaken the Weave.
*Motivation: Sarkathus has long sought to subvert the natural order by trapping mortal souls in Hellish contracts. He believes that by working with the Cabal, he can undermine the gods and establish an endless reign of demonic influence over mortal souls. Sarkathus thinks Durnstang is a powerful mortal necromancer who seeks to tear down divine authority, not realizing the god of death has far greater plans in store.
*Key Task: Lead infernal incursions into strategic locations where the Weave is weakest, sowing chaos and capturing powerful souls to use as leverage against other gods.
====<u>[[Ivelka]]</u>, the Fallen Valkyrie (Living)====
*Role in the Cabal: Ivelka leads mortal armies and cultists who worship death, focusing on dismantling societies that protect the natural cycle of life and death.
*Motivation: Once a divine warrior tasked with ferrying the souls of fallen heroes to the afterlife, Ivelka was disgraced and cast out of her order after questioning the gods’ design. She believes that death, as it currently exists, is unjust, and that the souls of mortals should have the chance to escape reincarnation. Ivelka is unaware of Durnstang’s identity but is driven by a desire to see the gods fall.
*Key Task: Rally cults of death-worshippers to topple societies that value life, order, and resurrection. Her followers unknowingly play a role in breaking the Weave through bloodshed and mass death rituals.
====<u>[[Orralax]]</u>, the Beholder of Forbidden Sight (Monstrous)====
*Role in the Cabal: Orralax uses his immense psychic powers to gather forbidden knowledge, seeking out ancient magics that can unravel reality itself.
*Motivation: Orralax seeks to control reality, using his knowledge to alter time, space, and life itself. He believes the Cabal is a means to gain power over the Weave, using Durnstang’s plan to replace the gods with his own dominion over reality. Orralax has pieced together parts of the truth, but he underestimates the extent of Durnstang’s apocalyptic goals.
*Key Task: Orralax is tasked with finding ancient magical artifacts and spells that weaken the structure of the planes. He is specifically focused on locating remnants of primordial power from before the creation of the Weave, artifacts that can help tear open rifts between worlds.
====<u>[[Kyros]]</u> “The Shadowed Fang” (Living, Drow)====
*Role in the Cabal: Kyros, a Drow warlord, leads the Web of Knives, a mercenary and assassins’ guild operating in multiple cities. He is unaware that his organisation serves Durnstang’s larger plans, believing it furthers only his personal ambitions and Drow dominance.
*Motivation:  Kyros seeks to conquer the surface world through strategic assassinations, destabilising governments, and manipulating information to increase Drow influence. He believes he is working towards the resurgence of his people, unaware of how his actions align with Durnstang’s chaotic goals.
*Key Task: The Web of Knives weakens societies linked to life and death cycles through assassinations and espionage. Kyros believes he is expanding Drow power, but in reality, he is unknowingly aiding Durnstang in unraveling the natural order.

====<u>[[The Viridescent One]]</u> (Monstrous Fae)====
*Role in the Cabal: A fey entity bound to life and nature, the Viridescent One is being manipulated by Durnstang through his agents to slowly corrupt the natural cycle of rebirth in forested regions.
*Motivation: The Viridescent One seeks to reclaim dominance over nature, believing the cycle of death and decay has been perverted by mortals and the gods alike. She views the Cabal as a means to restore nature’s rightful place by unbalancing civilization, unaware that her actions play into Durnstang’s plan to break the cycle entirely.
*Key Task: Use nature’s corruption to spread plagues, twist natural forces, and cause mass deaths in places where life is most abundant, creating weak points in the Weave in areas tied to primal magic.