from the mad wizard's laboratory.

[Nemesis Revised]

Impressed by the recent demise of a dragon of death, the Nemesis raps his fist as he realizes the first weakness. The reports coming from our spies are true. Vanity was its nemesis.


A tiny smile was drawn from his malefic figure. To exploit such weakness is the Legion's expertise. There will be more studies initiated for such. And when the time comes, there will be more blood shed. The test for Aetheria is at hand. The champions will attempt to restore order, but chaos will only ensue.


His reflections were disturbed as a spy approached.


"There are more, my lord."


A devilish glee from the Nemesis aroused him. And in his thoughts were a list of weaknesses the new invaders could pose: could it be greed? ignorance? rage?


The greatest test is time. But as time passes by, the Nemesis feels the core of Aetheria is shifting again. A new dimension is near. It is ripping through the fabric. But it is different from the rest.


"Armies. I need hordes of them. Now."

[Nemesis Revised]

While the whole of Aetheria was defending itself from the second wave of war machines dispatched by Hierarch Primus, another war was being waged in the depths of the underdark. Unknown to the surfacers, a throng of Shadar-kai, followers of Shadow Sovereign, had launched a massive attack against Mendozuran.

The Nemesis had carefully studied Primus' move. If ever the invasion on the surface failed, the Shadar-kai would attack from the underground, surprising the defenders of Aetheria while they celebrate their victory from the surface invasion. The Nemesis knew that Primus had to secure Mendozuran and dispatch its leaders in order to do this. Mendozuran was the only point of defense from the Shadow Plane. It was the only city to have experience in holding off shadow invaders from its nexus.

At first, the Nemesis considered letting the Shadar-kai do this, to consequently achieve his vision of wiping out the surfacers. But then again, he had a long-standing feud with the Dark Sovereign ( from The Chronicles of the Nemesis)

But there was not much time to reflect. Loud blasts had erupted from the headquarters. An agent came and notified him of the rupture in the rift. It has grown ten times bigger allowing a huge army to take control of the headquarters.

"A thousand m'lord."

Mendozuran was being swarmed by the Shadar-kai. The city's loyal assassins and priests were being slaughtered by ancient killers. The guards, suddenly dropping dead on the ground without a trace of blood spilled. "They are efficient", the Nemesis thought.

But the Nemesis knew their weakness. The Sovereign, was a tyrant. He will always lead the whole army alone as his incredible tactical experience had proven him worthy of his title. But to cut the head off would destroy the body. The Nemesis, having been known for his deceptive style, issued the reproba excessum or in other words, the False Demise Act in defense of the city. It was a style that was exclusive to the legion. It was a simple solution. He would magically cloak all the remaining troops to assume an images of corpses. As soon as the enemy believes the illusion, they have signed their deaths.

So for hours, the battle lasted, the Shadar-kai believing that the armies of Mendozuran were being reduced to nothing. One by one, the Sovereign had secured each house, thinking its Matrons to be dead from the ensuing chaos. Then finally, the time had come. The Sovereign entered the temple to celebrate his victory. The moment he swung his sword to break the Goddess Lolth's offering table, a trap was sprung. The temple was suddenly locked, its gate shutting in the Sovereign and his elites like captives in a prison cell.


All of a sudden, a handful of men bearing an insignia of death had leapt from the shadows, simultaneously stabbing and slashing at the Sovereign's vital organs. At this point, the Sovereign tried to hide by the shadows but failed when he saw the Nemesis conjure a magical light that pierced through all shadows making escape impossible. The Nemesis grinned. He approached the sovereign and pierced his chest with his fingers enchanted with a 'formula of death.'

The Sovereign, had not died instantly however. He was gasping for his last few breathes while whispering... "Old friend, it is not over yet." With this, the Nemesis further twisted his glowing fingers into the Sovereign's mangled body until he broke and crushed his spine ending the Sovereign's existence.

It was over. The Sovereign's elite guards were easily dispatched when they cowered after their lord's death. Reciting a spell, the reproba excessum wore off and this signalled Mendozuran's army who feigned death to slaughter the leaderless Shadar-kai army. Because of Mendozuran's distributed leadership, each house's Matron was able to finish off all remaining hostiles. Others who had surrendered, either committed a ritualistic suicide or was exiled to the plane of spider-demons.

The Nemesis however doubted that it was the end. There was still a war. And the news of the dreaded dracoliches has spread like wildfire. It was time to gather more information and to prepare for the coming days of doom.

The Nemesis saves Aetheria... but only because it is in his hands.

[Nemesis Revised]

The Nemesis has been recently investigating on the new theories of evil, newer instances of the darkness present in Aetheria, in the hopes of finding answers as well as discoveries. He shifts through pages and pages of the dusty Tomes of the Dead, a collection of diaries written by adventurers, research wizards, as well as contributions from lich kings and demigods of the damned. Copies of the tomes are exclusive only to the citizens of Garagoth, the Nemesis' however, has authoritative access to such books.

Amidst the constructs and mercenaries of Primus, the Nemesis was particularly interested in the presence of dracoliches in the land, questioning the fact why these dragons have gone in packs obeying the will of this Hierarch Primus. If the new results appear from the investigation of these dracoliches, there could be a link to who and what this Hierarch Primus is.

Who? The champions of Aetheria have many perceptions of this Primus. He is said to be a murderer as well as a tyrant. Others call him an abomination. It is clear though, that to command dracoliches requires an immense amount of power in the land. A wielder of power, is Hierarch akin to the lords of Mendozuran and Garagoth? But the extent of his influence goes beyond Aetheria, having a vast, if not unlimited, will on the evils found in the planes.

What? This is the quisnam of Hierarch. Was he once a mortal being? Is he immortal? Undead? Divine? What is the nature of this Hierarch that exhibits the fearsome power he has demonstrated. From where has he come from? Is there a weakness? As the Nemesis believes in, every entity no matter how divine he is, will always be restrained by the laws of nature, or in other words the laws of the universe. Even the dieties are limited despite the recognition of their absolute power.

As for the Nemesis, he knows only one universal law that applies to the mortals of Aetheria. Eruditio de expiriri. It is of learning from mistakes. It is a wonderful law that lets even the weak grow to be powerful, unlike maggots who will continue to feast yet will only mature to an extent. Such is the law of Aetheria that has allowed its champions to recently destroy the Dracolich who has invaded Aetheria.

The only difference of the Nemesis from rest of Aetheria is his capability to minimize weaknesses and rapidly learn from experience. And that is why he is considered a knowledge-hunter. He proactively seeks wisdom not just from experience alone. It is a proven approach.

[Nemesis Revised]

To learn more of the Hierarch, the Nemesis decides to investigate on his most recent avatars, the dracoliches. To mark, a dracolich is an undead dragon that was transformed by a powerful wielder of magic, such as a wizard. They were once dragons as well but are now undead.

The Nemesis journeys to the north, seeking knowledge from the dragons of the realm, to withdraw wisdom of dracoliches. He enters Sleeth moving with utmost speed and precision, killing the guards on watch. His entrance, was left unnoticed as usual. Then he sights the first dragon protected by a handful of disciples. He conjures a frightening spell of doom, that instantly snuffs the souls of the disciples as well as of the dragon Chirrem.






He performs a scientia abduco on the dead dragon, a process of siphoning the vast knowledge bank that existed in the brains of dragons. He saw flashes of memories suddenly flooding into his veins, from the Great Defense of sleeth to the feeding of wyrms. Typical. Chirrem must have been a breeder and protector of the younger dragons. No knowledge of dracoliches however.

The next step for the Nemesis was to visit the quarters of the King and the Queen of Sleeth. Their palace was defended by hundreds of disciplines. Their resistance however was futile. The Nemesis sent huge blasts from the sky as well as swift burning explosions of death from the ground to the disciples. Upon reaching the main chamber, the Nemesis quickly disposed of the King and Queen, excited to pry open their minds for the wealth of knowledge in it.







Using the same process he implemented on the breeder dragon, the Nemesis gained flashes of memories much more than the previous dragon. It was an awesome sight to behold, seeing the history and construction of Sleeth the day it was taken by the dragons from the mortals of Aetheria. The Nemesis dug deeper however, till the point where he saw the wyrmling memories of the King. Drakmarr was a witness to the transformation of dragon to a dracolich. The Nemesis saw the entire process evolve, from the imbibing of the magic to the dragon consuming his own flesh to complete his transformation. Drakmarr also witnessed the dracolich's betrayal of its master, as well as the slaughter of his living kin. Drakmarr flew and flew, escaping the horror that had occured until he was able to join up with a pack... and the rest being history.

The Nemesis had learned a lot from this. It seems exhausting, but he saw that there was a possibility of reversing the process of the dracolich transformation, although it would only kill it. But the knowledge was fruitful, thought the Nemesis. And on this day onwards, the Nemesis draws closer to the mystery of Hierarch Primus.

Someday we will meet. And not only will I spill your blood, but make a nice addition of your soul to my collection.