The setting’s great enemy: the Deceiver’s servants on earth, and the false prophet who leads them.
The Corrupted
Men, dwarves, and elves who were swayed by the Deceiver and lost their true selves, becoming twisted and terrible creatures. Defeated in the First Crusade, they persist in the dark corners of the world. Roving bands still plague The Badlands of southern Hazad.
The Arts of the Corrupted — magic taught by the Deceiver to the jealous and ambitious, which enslaves its users to him. Rooting out these Arts is the founding purpose of the Order of the Phoenix and the Eyes of the Order of the Eagle. See Magic and Casting Traditions for which magic is forbidden.
Iuz, the False Son
Appeared MCY 325 preaching new revelations, naming himself the Son of God and the Redeemer. Unmasked as the Deceiver’s servant and leader of the Corrupted; defeated in the Second Crusade (347) but never killed. He has now been a living threat for over 1,400 years.
- Built an Empire of the Corrupted in the harsh South mimicking the Kingdoms; nearly destroyed in the Third Crusade (1446) after the Great Betrayal, in which the Queen of Morrschatten joined him as consort.
- Exploited the Fourth Crusade to build a hidden northern stronghold, destroyed in the Fifth Crusade (1715).
- His empire, though weakened, still holds vast sparsely-populated territories south of The Holy City — it is said the far south is a land of eternal night where ice never melts. See Empire of Iuz.
Speculation
The Phoenix feared the Order of the Owl was Corrupted “due to, or related to” the three sanctums they uncovered. (S2) If the sanctums are the Deceiver’s work, this investigation runs straight toward Iuz’s domain of influence.