Mayong Mistmoore - Background Lore

Lord Mayong Mistmoore The vampire known as Mayong Mistmoore has been a powerful figure in Norrath since the dawn of time. He is ageless and not much is known of his origins. He reveals himself to a select few; even his closest guardians and advisors seldom meet with the reclusive vampire in person. Nothing frightens or threatens Mayong. He has the ability to destroy armies, capture legendary creatures as his slaves or devour their life force. He can predict events before they happen, which allows him to thwart even the most foolproof attacks because he knows exactly when, where, and how they will occur. Mayong is vain, sophisticated, cool and calculating. He is both incredibly powerful and a genius with several lifetimes worth of arcane and historical knowledge. He is confident, perhaps to a fault, but in his lifetime there has been little evidence to disprove his omnipotence.

Mayong is difficult to impress. He has seen the entirety of Norrath several times over. During his life he has watched civilizations rise and fall, seen races born and destroyed, and he bore witness to the gods meddling with mankind. Magical artifacts, gold, and jewels hold no value to him. The lifespan of a mortal is a fleeting moment compared to his immortality. Those that live to serve him are seen as tools. He is jaded.

What he does appreciate is perfection and beauty. He respects those few mortals that ascend to greatness during their brief lifetimes. He is attracted to beauty, especially his own, which is tragically ironic because he cannot see his own reflection. Mayong seeks reaffirmation of his might and beauty by those who are both fascinated with him and worthy of his time.

Every few hundred years, an exceptional individual, a hero, emerges that takes notice of Mayong. (Or perhaps the reverse is true; Mayong takes notice of those heroes and provides them clues of his existence and whereabouts.) The heroes follow the trail of clues, learning everything they can about the vampire lord - where to find him and how to defeat him.

This attention fuels Mayong's ego. He derives great satisfaction from knowing that the world's greatest protagonists would deign to learn everything about him and eventually attempt to face him in his lair. An accomplished hero is welcomed in Mayong's home more than anyone else. He delights in playing cat and mouse games – toying with his opponents and forcing them to endure his traps, tests, and trials before finally facing them.

Those that face Mayong always fail. The lucky ones die, the others become restless spirits, animated mindless undead, or vampires themselves. They are all trophies and monuments to Mayong's power.

Mayong's relationships in the past have been vague, though it is accepted he has taken many mistresses in his life. One mistress was Tserrina Syl`Tor who was engaged to marry Mayong Mistmoore. Knowing Mayong's hatred of the dragons of the Ring of Scale, she gave him one of the greatest gifts he had known -- the first ever dragon lich she called, unimaginatively, the Dracoliche. She presented the dracoliche as a gift to Mayong on their wedding night. Fearing that he would share the responsibility for its creation and therefore any retribution of the gods, he left her at the altar. Tserrina was furious. She slew her entire wedding party, destroyed any signs of her betrothed, and now sulks in the Tower of Frozen Shadow.

He now keeps the Wailing Sisters at his side -- Althea, Brenda, and Christine. Each of these three girls was a beautiful mortal leading a mundane life until Mayong discovered them. Fascinated by their looks, he coerced them into joining him. In the beginning they were kept close, but over time Mayong's interest waned and they became faceless vampires in his thrall, but always appear close to him.

Mayong's Existence in Norrath

Mayong's presence in Norrath has been noted all throughout history, but he is seldom in the same place for long. In the recent past, he had been out of sight for a very long time -- rumored to have retreated to the underground of Norrath, commonly referred to as the "underfoot."

Until Dreadspire Keep was recently discovered, throughout recorded time Mayong was most commonly associated with Castle Mistmoore, a grand and opulent mansion he created on the continent of Faydwer. His home there is thick with vampires, undead and summoned servants, some of them being Teir'Dal with whom he felt an affinity. He often used those dark elves to create more Drachnids -- a half dark elf, half spider creature that proved a rather remarkable guardian. In the past three years, however, Mayong's name has been heard more and more often.

When the Wayfarers Brotherhood discovered Mistmoore's Catacombs three years ago, a whole new underworld was discovered that was previously unknown. The number of Mayong's vampires and their complexity was far beyond what any had suspected.

Time and again in history, Mayong is described as collector, researcher, experimenter, and historian and often in the vilest of ways. Even so, the vampires of his castle refuse to accept that their home and existence amounted to nothing more than a whim of their father -- an experiment. Their existence proved many things to Mayong, including his ability to create fear among the people of Norrath, even if they never saw him.

Mayong's Recent Ambitions

The rumors of Mayong residing in the underfoot in recent past were indeed correct. Although it remains unclear when and why Mayong first ventured into Underfoot, it is assumed that he spent many years living in the caverns before he made his presence known. Roughly three hundred years ago, scouts from the Shiliskin Empire -- a race of underworld dwellers -- began returning with desiccated basilisk corpses and reports of the first drachnid sightings -- half spider, half dark elf creatures created by Mistmoore. A few patrols even reported being approached by a charming Shiliskin who greeted them warmly, engaged them in lengthy conversation, and then suddenly disappeared back into the darkness before he could be questioned as to his purpose for traveling alone in the wilderness. This Shiliskin was Mayong traveling in a guise in order to learn about his neighbors in the darkness.

In the last two hundred years, Mayong truly began to make his presence felt openly in Darkhollow. His first task was to amass servants and allies in Darkhollow, which he did with ease. The two clans of werewolves in Darkhollow were his first targets. Mayong was able to appeal to the Shadowmanes clan's intellect and greed and convinced them to join forces with him in exchange for some luxuries afforded to surfaces dwellers.

There was also a great dragon named Drandune living in Darkhollow which Mayong simply could not abide by. All dragons were reviled by Mayong. He managed to sneak into the weakened Drandune's lair and bit the dragon while it was sleeping. After Drandune's death and Mayong's offer to the Shadowmanes, he was able to make room in the Wyrmtail Rocks for his drachnid followers who began building an expansive hive while Mayong and his loyal following of werewolves began construction of Dreadspire Keep.

With the Shadowmanes and the Agents of Mistmoore -- the Drachnids -- in control of the western half of the Lake of Korlach West, Mayong's forces began construction of both the present day drachnid hive as well as Dreadspire Keep -- an elaborate gothic masterpiece built into a spire within the great cavern itself. For centuries, Mayong collected knowledge and artifacts that allowed him to learn the path to godhood. That path would include the unwitting involvement of Norrathians.

He set the bait for Norrathians, beckoning them to visit his home. They did indeed follow the trail he left and when they finally reached him and cut him down, they released the enchantment Mayong created and he ascended into the ethereal realm.

From there, Mayong invaded the Plane of Music and made it his own, turning it to the Theater of Blood. Still unsatisfied as a demi-god, Mayong once again used Norrathians to open a path to the planes of the greater gods -- particularly the Plane of Sun. Now, with access to the Plane of Sun, Mayong hopes to defeat its ruler, Solusek Ro, so that he may darken the skies of Norrath altogether.

Vampires in Mistmoore Catacombs

There are four large scale divisions within the ranks of the catacomb vampires. Each division represents a level of hierarchy within the vampire social system. In turn, each of these tiers is further divided into occupational castes that have influence on one another.

The Progeny:
These vampires claim to be direct descendents from Mayong himself. This does not mean that they were made by him. Instead, these vampires trace the transfer of blood from maker to made much as mundane royal houses would track the lineage of a king. They are, in essence, the great noble family of vampires.

• The Trueborn: This is the elite amongst the elite, the vampires who claim to have tasted Mayong's immortal blood firsthand. Their inherent powers are immense, honed by centuries of use and an instinct that descends from the master himself. Though few in number, they are the hands that guide unlife within the catacombs.
• The Scions: The term "Scion" is made relative here by the vampires' ancient age. These are the most recent converts to the vampiric nobility; the ones still flush with memory of a mortal life. The Young also include a few of the much older breed that have refused to turn fully to the immortal life. They still retain the sensibilities and appetites they had in life. Because of this, they are looked down on by other Children and are often found in the company of would-be, still-living victims.

The Loyals:
These are the servants of the Children, the retainers, skilled-servants and guardians. They are far less powerful individually than the Children, having been imbued with only a fraction of the immortal essence. Because of this they rely far more on learned skills than their gifted powers.

• The Stewards: Tasked with both the service and guidance of the Children, these vampires are in many cases much older than the masters they serve. They range in duty from hand servants to advisors though the occupations themselves are usually mundane. The Stewards never forget they serve both the day to day function of the catacombs and the greater purposes Mistmoore himself pursues. As such, they are unafraid to cull the disloyal they find.
• The Bloodguard: As the name implies, these vampires protect the catacombs. But instead of life and limb, they guard the red river of immortality that flows through the vampires of the catacombs. Sometimes this may mean destroying interlopers who would slay evil. Other times it means tracking down the disloyal or escaped vampires. It is the blood and its power, not the individuals, which these severe warriors and assassins protect.

The Sustainers:
The Sustainers occupations are, in general, to keep the catacombs maintained and protected. For some reason, there are disputes among them even though they perform different functions.

• The Crimson Cabal: The blood magic of the catacombs is a closely guarded secret. A select group of Loyals made up of only caster classes works with the collected magical knowledge of the world, finding new uses and better defenses against mortal magic. Tasked with both protecting the Children from the holy magics of mortal priests and twisting the black rites of the evil gods, the Cabal is a zealous sub-sect, willing to do whatever it must to gain an upper hand in the vampires' constant struggle for survival.
• The Harvesters: The large number of undead in service in the catacombs requires an immense amount of attention and effort. Because of this, an entire branch of the Loyals is dedicated to the creation, maintenance and management of these forces. An inner circle of ancient vampire necromancers runs the group, sending out minions to pillage any available crypt or graveyard. Supported by a subset of shadow knights dedicated to the defilement of any holy place, the Harvesters are the second most numerous of the Loyals and are the most likely to first make any mortal contact.

The Orphans:
These are the outcasts and exiled. Some are true Children of Mistmoore, but most are criminals, bastards (in the vampire sense of the word) or the cursed. They lack the rigid social structure found in the other tiers, relying instead on brute strength or cunning to gather what forces they can to themselves for protection from the true heirs of the catacombs.

Unlike the more coherent forces named above, the Orphans run in packs and groups. As such, their subdivisions run more along tribal or clan lines than the functional lines of the Children and Loyals.

• Savagefang: So named because simple vampirism does not suffice, this feral group of Orphans devours victims whole, feeding on even the marrow in their bones. Lead by whatever Orphan is strongest at the time, they range through the outer catacombs and twists, every hungry, ever searching.
• Nightrage: Lead by an Orphan of true power, these vampires and their undead minions seek to rival the established order within the catacombs. Their rebellion, however, is one of slow conversion rather than direct conflict. They are the cannibals of the vampire nation, feeding only on the flesh of other vampires.

Join the Mayong Mistmoore Lore discussion on the forums.