Lord Vorendal, the Queen of the Dead's right hand, is a man shrouded in mystery. While most fallen are made to serve the living, Vorendal is no servant, but the unliving master of armies. Both the living and the fallen dread his marching orders.

Lord Stevas Vorendal's presence is impossible to ignore while he walks the halls of the court in Abysola. Known for his dangerous charm, words sharp as knives, and his legendary ruthlessness on the battlefield, rumors about him are many, and he makes sure not to confirm or deny any. Let the fools guess. Everyone in Belyos knows him, or at least, knows what he is capable of, and no one dares stand in his way.

Lord Vorendal achieved the renown he now enjoys during the Luminous Crusade, when few believed that the court of Abysola could rise victorious from the conflict at hand. The Order of the Shattered Throne was expanding its control over the continent. When blades were finally drawn, Vorendal, who was a warlord of little renown at the time, presented himself directly to the Queen of the Dead, seeing this as an opportunity to show what he was capable of. He promised to solve the problem and, when offered an army for the mission, Lord Vorendal refused, claiming he only required the royal endorsement. No one knew at the time, but the Queen had acquiesced to this stranger's request due to sensing their shared nature as unliving, fallen beings.

Using the Legacy that resides where his heart should be, he raised an army from the corpses of Order Loyalists, be they soldiers or villagers alike. He broke the siege at the city-state of Veloma, growing ever more powerfull with each life his fallen army claimed. By the end of a single day, the Order was forced to retread, never again overreaching in the same manner. This horrifying spectacle made Vorendal's name known and feared throughout the continent.

This achievement made him the right hand of the Queen herself, but the Dreadheart won’t accept being second best. While in court, he plots patiently for the day he will be finally crowned as the King of the Dead. Vorendal sees in the Malediction a chance to strike yet again towards his goal, using the Relics to conquer the power he desires and no one will dare to stay in his way.

All thought Morrida was destined for a servile life, but she had other plans. Now the first master of soul-stitching, a power thought to be long lost, the Blue Witch lives a secluded life among her beloved corpses, serving no one but her own ambitions.

Born with little affinity for the Legion's magic, and denied love and sympathy by her family, as soon as they realized she had no potential to raise their influence amidst Abysolas's rank, Morrida was seen by all as nothing more than a burden to be tolerated. Expecting to be freed from her, her family sent her to Epitaph, to become an acolyte of the Anush-Vah. There, she would be approached by a beautiful, sweet-worded Lord, who encouraged her to explore more of her magic, telling her of one of the honored dead, named Akriphista, who could share with her deep secrets of magic. Secrets she could use to prove her worth.

Morrida would learn much from Akriphista, an ancient erisyr, keeper of magical secrets from before the Fall. Unlike others, Akriphista saw in Morrida potential, born from her wish to defy expectations. As she taught, the Anushamatra can be tampered with, and mixed with many different magical traditions. One of them is the Liastrum magic of the Conclave, which Akriphista taught the first principles to Morrida. Empowered by this knowledge, Morrida would plead with her family to accept her back into the fold, only to discover that Vorendal, the Lord who had told her of Akriphista, and who had become her friend and lover, had arranged to be married to her.

Vorendal was a being as ancient as Akriphista, a fallen in his own right, he had caused her death centuries ago. His sweet words could not bend her will after that betrayal, so he had bid his time until finding someone who could. When Morrida refused him and refused to give away the secrets of Akriphista, he showed Morrida his true colors, wounding her, and scaring her face Once more, Morrida had been used, but she would not bow to this destiny imposed on her.

Feigning her death, and journeying to the Conclave, Morrida learned to master Liastrum magic and earned herself the Soul-Stitcher, a Relic thought useless by the mages, unfamiliar with the Anush-vah. It was a bone needle, which enabled her to use liastrum treads to bind together spirits to corpses. Now a master of a new magical technique, she would tame the unruly spirits of the Umberlands, binding them to a Corpse Titan, breathing life into it once more. This feat once thought impossible, earned her the grace of the Queen of the Dead, who wished the Blue Witch to be her successor. Instead, all she asked for was dominion over the Umberlands, and the freedom to do as she wills. Many thought her mad, but in fact, she was finally freed from expectations, and from Vorendal. The witch knows that those with power are the ones who pull the strings, and if she’ll ever be more than a pawn, she’ll need way more power than her Relic can provide. A power that can be found only in the Malediction.