Bone sage

A bone sage is one of the undead rulers of the planet Eox in the Pact Worlds system. Eox does not have a planet-wide government, but is divided into countless small fiefdoms, each controlled by a bone sage. Nearly all of the bone sages can be classified as necrovites.

History

According to popular belief, the first bone sages were once beings known as elebrians who looked much like modern humans. They were gifted in the use of both technology and magic, but became so proud that they sought to subjugate the neighboring planets of the Pact Worlds system who refused to bow to their superiority. In a bid for dominance, the bone sages attacked their sunward neighbors, a duo of planets known as the Twins and shattered them completely with a massive weapon, creating the asteroid belt known as the Diaspora. The superweapon created a titanic backlash, however, that blew an enormous hole in Eox's crust and ignited its atmosphere. The resulting firestorm destroyed the planet's ecosystem and cities. Only a few thousand elebrians who had been hiding in bunkers deep below ground survived this apocalypse. This tiny community found that the intense radiation of the backlash had rendered them infertile and decided that the only way to continue their civilization was to use technology and necromancy to overcome the challenge of living on a planet that had become hostile to most forms of life. They transformed themselves into undead necrovites and became the first bone sages.

Outlook

Even though they argue amongst themselves, the bone sages present a unified front to the system's Pact Worlds government. Often stereotyped as being evil, the bone sages are better described as being coldly amoral and utilitarian. One example of this is that the bone sages were among the first group to publicly support the creation of the Pact Worlds government, despite the fact that they had preyed upon other planets in the past and had to hand over a significant part of their military for system-wide defense.

Many (if not all) of the bone sages of Eox adhere to a philosophy known as the Song of Silence, which posits that undeath is the most perfect form of existence, and which taught them the secrets to becoming liches.

Allies

Bone sages are served by body merchants, traders who deal in corpses that are brought to Eox to serve the bone sage as undead servants.

Military

The bone sages have considerable military might compared to the other members of the Pact Worlds, and travel the stars in unusual starships that are a mix of technology and magic and look more like the skeletons of enormous creatures. Examples of these include the Thaumtech Omenbringers, the Death's Head Necrogliders, and the Blackwind Sepulcher.