Race: Tieflings (dominant), Humans (minority)
Government: Arcane Oligarchy
Theme: Demonology, planar breaches, forbidden knowledge, arcane supremacy
The Ashkara Covenant was founded by exiled arcanists, demonologists, and warlocks cast out from more orthodox magical societies during the early Second Era. Branded heretics and criminals by celestial and druidic orders alike, these outcasts gathered in desolate lands where the barriers between planes were thin—and there, they thrived.
The Covenant believes that moral restraint is a lie imposed by the fearful. To them, demons, devils, and extraplanar entities are not evils to be shunned, but forces to be studied, bargained with, and bound. Power is the ultimate truth, and knowledge—no matter how corrupting—is sacred.
Ashkara represents magic unchained, a faction that rejects divine authority, natural balance, and mortal law in favor of arcane domination through controlled damnation.
The Ashkara Covenant was founded by exiled arcanists, demonologists, and warlocks cast out from orthodox magical and religious societies during the early Second Era. Branded heretics by the Luminara Concord and hunted by the Solarian Imperium, these outcasts fled to desolate regions where the barriers between planes were thin—and where forbidden power could be studied without restraint.
Under the rise of Archmagus Zhal’kareth the Veiled Flame, these scattered cult-cities and summoner enclaves unified into a single magocracy. The Covenant believes that moral restraint is a lie imposed by the fearful. To them, demons and extraplanar entities are not evils to be shunned, but forces to be understood, bargained with, and bound.
Power is the ultimate truth, and knowledge—no matter how corrupting—is sacred. The Covenant rejects divine authority, natural balance, and mortal law, believing that mastery of the abyss is both inevitable and necessary. Ashkara represents magic unchained: enlightenment through controlled damnation.
The Ashkara Covenant is ruled by an elite arcane hierarchy centered on absolute magical capability.
Key elements of governance:
The First Seat of the Veiled Flame
Held by Archmagus Zhal’kareth the Veiled Flame, First Speaker of the Covenant
Supreme authority over planar policy, breach doctrine, and long-term strategy
Legitimacy derives solely from his ability to control infernal forces
Should he lose that control, his rule would end immediately
The Covenant Conclave
Inner ruling body composed of Ashkara’s most powerful figures
Includes:
Zhal’kareth (planar supremacy)
Matron Seris Vael (summoning circles and ritual law)
Inquisitor Threxus Bloodsigil (enforcement and terror)
Oracle Nyxara of the Shattered Veil (prophecy and convergence timing)
Lord Kael Morvayne (diplomacy and foreign manipulation)
Decisions are made through arcane compacts, threats, and leverage rather than consensus
Ritual Dominions
Arcane city-states built around major summoning nexuses
Governed by warlock-lieutenants appointed by Seris Vael
Civil authority exists only to support ritual stability
Populations are evaluated by magical usefulness, not loyalty
There is no concept of citizenship within the Covenant. All individuals exist solely by arcane value—and that value is constantly reassessed.
The Ashkara Covenant does not field a conventional army. Its military force is a fusion of summoned entities, empowered spellcasters, and terror-based enforcement.
The Bound Host
Demons, devils, and outsiders bound through sigils and soul-pacts
Deployed as shock forces or guardians of ritual sites
Control is maintained through layered bindings; failure results in catastrophic devastation
Warlock Cohorts
Mortal spellcasters empowered by infernal patrons
Organized into cabals rather than regiments
Specialize in planar disruption, curses, corruption, and psychological warfare
Directed primarily by Matron Seris Vael
The Bloodsigil Inquisition
Elite enforcers under Inquisitor Threxus Bloodsigil
Suppress dissent, eliminate failed summoners, and hunt defectors
Trials are contractual and absolute, often ending in soul-forfeiture
Planar Sentinels
Guardians assigned to active breaches and summoning nexuses
Often permanently altered by prolonged extraplanar exposure
Serve as both defenders and containment failsafes
The Veiled Chain
Covert intelligence and manipulation network
Overseen by Threxus Bloodsigil and Lord Kael Morvayne
Conducts espionage, blackmail, assassinations, and secret diplomacy
Maintains clandestine ties with the Umbra Dominion
Allied with:
Umbra Dominion – Shared pursuit of forbidden magic and rejection of celestial authority
The Hollow Crown – Exchange of necromantic and soul-binding knowledge
At War with:
Luminara Concord – Religious crusades against demonology
Crystal Caliphate – Crystal theft, corruption, and planar contamination
The Ashkara Covenant sees war as experimentation on a grand scale. Every conflict is a chance to test new bindings, new horrors, and new ways to rewrite the laws of reality.