Uthex Kathiasas
Uthex Kathiasas (? - 6521 Second Era) was a highly regarded Loremaster during the Wars of Dominion in the Shadow World history. As a Loremaster of Karilon, he was most likely Iylari. Uthex was one of the greatest researchers of his time, focused on finding ways of fighting the Dark Gods and the most powerful forces of the Unlife. He discovered what he interpreted to be a "new source of power", which he wished to give "physical form." His work was twisted into more perilous forms under the subtle influence of the forces of the Unlife. These were highly likely to have been members of The Dark Path, a contemporary neighboring theocracy of Kadaena. When Uthex had eventually gone mad, have succumbed to the dark power of the Unlife, his fellow Loremasters investigated fearing the worst.
Uthex had used his powerful influence to acquire control of what was thought to be a natural gateway to another plane of existence. This may have been through Bandur Etrevion, who had been recognized by the College of Karilon in the early years of the Wars of Dominion. When the Loremasters arrived Uthex had perverted hooded figures and fell beasts as minions. The Loremasters fought him and his minions, slaying him in a meteor swarm in what is now called the Broken Lands. The barren plain was laid waste with rocks. They removed what records they could, but were unable to destroy all of his experiments.
The Loremasters guarded the portal with Runes of Warding so only the powerful would be able to return to what was called the Man'Ta Pn'Tairken. This translates as the "Home of Broken Lore" in Iruaric, the ancient language of the Lords of Essaence, which was used to name some of the monsters and is found on the inscription at the entrance to the Dark Shrine. There was a hidden monastery founded to guard the portal, so that the forces of the Unlife would not be able to invade through it. Over the centuries these monks became increasingly isolated and lonely, and eventually succumbed to the very dark powers they had been dedicated to fight against. These monks were twisted and corrupted toward evil, and transformed themselves into monastic liches. Some haunt the monastery instead as spectral monks.
Behind the Scenes
The Uthex Kathiasas story is necessary to solve the puzzle to access the Jagged Plain from his workshop past the Misty Chamber. His creatures were most likely based on a class of non-demonic extraplanar entities from Rolemaster, which suggests the possibility of the forces of the Unlife making demons artificially out of the essence using the crystal dome. (The puzzle for turning it off no longer exists.) There is precedent for this in some of the older Shadow World source books. This may also relate to Purgatory in the old death mechanics. The Broken Lands is studied in depth in Research:The Broken Lands.
The Sheruvian Monastery was added to the Broken Lands several years later by a different GameMaster. There is seemingly no relation with the original story, except that the hooded figures work with the Sheruvian monks, who have learned how to summon the ki-lin and somehow conjure greater vruul. Uthex was retconned to be a Sage of the Order of Lorekeepers in the release event for Miracle (350).
See Also
- The Temple of Darkness Poem (1994)
- "The Broken Land" (1993)
- Iruaric
- "Kulthea Chronicle: Volume I, Issue V" - "Face to Face with Kygar", page 4 (1994)