Much of the history of our lands is based on the Unlife, and the war it has waged against us since the dawn of our recollection (and beyond). However, history has become a neglected subject by the citizens of our world, so some clarification is in order at this point.
Most importantly, just what is the Unlife? The most common mis-conception around is that the Unlife and the undead are the same thing; this could not be further from the truth. Although few scholars agree on specifics concerning the Unlife, all recognize that it is more prevalent than the undead, with far more malicious and ambitious plans for us. Whereas the undead often suit themselves with haunting a location, the Unlife activly pusue the destruction and consumption of all life. However, this is not to say that the undead are not related to the Unlife; it is a commonly believed theory among Elanthian scholars that the undead, along with Luukos, are servants or "tools" of the Unlife. Many contest this theory on the basis that the Unlife is not sentient enough to use tools, instead it merely devours all, including the undead and even Luukos, were the chance to arise. The author of this text believes that both of these are equally valid, but combine to form a more coherent picture of the Unlife; it is sentient enough to employ tools such as the undead and the Arkati, but it would devour them in an instant if there were nothing else to consume. Enough of what the Unlife isn't, however; let's look at what people believed during the ICE age:

"The Unlife feeds on destruction, upon the deaths of individuals and societies with equal fervour. It is a thirst unquenched and unslakable. Indeed, the more it consumes, the more it seems to require. It has no source, but it is everywhere, waiting for a tool to open the door and allow it to enter. "

- Part I: The Unlife of Kulthea

by Lord Maruko Ashimine

"...We cleared the summit and it was as Kirin had said: ahead of us lay a wide vale, filled with the green of growing things. Sunlight warmed us and reflected off of a long lake ahead. But, scattered across the valley were dark patches which raced across the rolling hills, sliding like ethereal snakes. They were only shadows cast by clouds under the sun, but they gave me a feeling of menace; of malignant purpose. Even as I pondered this, one of the dark patches rose up the hillside and covered us. The sun went out, and I have never been so afraid before or since. We were in the presence of the Unlife."

-From the Visions of Andraax

Nomikos Library, Jaiman

Sadly, very little was discussed during the ICE age as to the origins of the Unlife, and we are left to determain this for ourselves. As noted above by Maruko, the Unlife exists outside of our world, and seeks a means to enter it. The author believes that the undead are one such portal; the souls of these unfortunate individuals are somehow able to breach the veil to the Unlife, and a small amount of the Unlife's power is able to cross into our world, thus animating the corpse into an undead. As would be imagined, Lorminstra is greatly in opposition to the Unlife, as it prevents souls from receiving her rest.

Voln.
The ICE age is, of course, over, and with it we were left to re-write much of our history. The Unlife are caught inbetween; although certain GMs have stated that it no longer exists, references to it are still found throughout the lands. Many have suggested that a proper replacement for the Unlife would be "Chaos." However, this term is lacking in several respects, most notably the connotation of intelligence. The Unlife of the ICE age was a malevolent force dedicated to consuming all life. Chaos is simply the absence or slow degredation of order; entrophy, if you will. Needless to say, the undead are hardly fit to be powered by Chaos, nor does Luukos seem to serve Chaos--it's just not dark enough.
One notable group relating to the Unlife is, of course, Voln. Dedicated to the release of the undead, the monks of Voln teach initiates about Despana, and how she is believed to have introduced the undead to the lands (see Origins). Many in Voln have taken the next step in the service of Lorminstra, and are seeking ways to destroy the Unlife and its presence in the lands. This effort is greatly hindered, however, by the secrecy in which the Unlife works, and the social stigma which has recently arisen regarding such people as 'fanatics' or 'zealots.'

Dhe'nar.
The Dhe'nar, as one might imagine, have had a long and involved history with the forces of the Unlife, usually as tools towards a greater purpose.  For more information regarding them, please refer to the tale of the Stareater, as transcribed by Highlord Starsnuffer.

The Vvrael.
No one is absolutely sure what the Vvrael are, only that they are alien to our plane of existance. Sentient anti-mana, anti-life, they have often been described as. They first gained access to our world shortly after the battle of Maelsyve, through a tear in the Veil caused by Daephron Illian. As told by Merlock Hamburgian:

"Weeks, months, and possibly years passed by as Illian researched various methods to release daemons from beneath the veil. One fateful day, Illian discovered the truth. Daephron Illian had set up a private workshop beneath the caverns in Rhoska-Tor, and there he worked alone. Alone, his search for power finally came to a halt when one day he discovered the key. Combining new found knowledge with ancient lore, Illian gestured menacingly. In an instant Illian knew something had gone drastically wrong.
Instead of releasing the lesser daemons of the Ur-Daemon, as Illian had hoped, he released something far more terrifying. In his attempts to pierce the veil, Illian summoned the Vvrael -- collective sentient anti-mana."

-From "The Vvrael"

by Lord Merlock Hamburgian

"WE SHALL CONSUME YOU"

-Heard from the Skies during the first massive Vvrael invasion

4/15/98

"...AH SWEET TERATE...YOU HAVE COME TO FEED US...BRING THE SOULS TO US NOW...OPEN THE RIFT WIDER OUR PRECIOUS ONE...
"...FEED US...FEED US...TERATE...OPEN THE RIFT WIDER...
"...FEED US...FEED US...
"...WE HUNGER FOR THE SOULS...
"...THE RIFT...OPEN IT NOW...BE DONE WITH THE HUMAN...JOIN US...
"...KILL THEM ALL...NOW...WE MUST CONSUME...
"...OPEN THE RIFT..."

-Heard from the skies during the breaching of the Shrine

4/26/98

"All this ended with the coming of the Ur-Daemons. Now believed to be extra-dimensional intelligent creatures, the Ur-Daemons somehow opened a portal to Elanthia approximately 100,000 years ago. They fed on mana, both that contained in the land's natural mana foci and that bound around all life."

-The History of Elanthia

by GM Mhorigan Parnell

There are few theories regarding the origins of the Unlife, and none are currently held in common belief by the majority of the lands. However, there are many older myths which feature creatures or forces which seem to greatly resemble the Unlife in one form or another.
The earliest of these legends is that of the Empress Kadaena. This story is rather archaic, and has been ignored in recent times by most scholars, who have concentrated instead on the Drakes. However, as most of our current mythos is recorded by dwarves, we should always consider that the older legends have at least a grain of truth to them, and were most likely the origins of our more modern histories.

Kadaena.

In the earliest of the ICE age recordings, the whole of Kulthea--and several other star systems--was controlled by a powerful race of magic users. So powerful were they, in fact, that they began shaping the world with their magicks to fit their ideals.
Of this race, there were two predominant factions; one lead by a being known as Utha, the other by the being refered to in most scholarly works as the Empress Kadaena (the current name for Kadaena is Gosaena).
For many centuries these factions operated without each other's knowledge, until Kadaena's powers became so great that she began altering the very world. The following is an excerp from the ICE age histories of this time:

"After thousands of years, Kadaena and her followers developed the power to shape the land, and they began to modify their environment as they saw fit. It was not long before this came to the attention of Utha, for Kadaena's idea of a fit environment was a land tortured by earthquakes and cut by rivers of lava."

-From "The Shadow World Timeline"

First Era

"Soon the young mannish peoples were presented with choices: They were offered great knowledge by these new cults, more than the Loremasters were willing to impart.
Some sevants of the Unlife impersonated the Loremasters, gaining the confidence and trust of the naive cultures in this way."

-From "The Shadow World Timeline"

Second Era

As was noted in Maruko's "The Unlife of Kulthea" (see ICE age concepts), the Unlife is "waiting for a tool to open the door and allow it to enter." The obvious meaning of this is that the Unlife exists outside our plane of reference, much as the Vvrael and Ur-Daemons do.
There are many references in the archaic histories to a home plane for the Unlife, known simply as the Iron Wind. More information regarding this will be posted, once further research is concluded

Despana.

Perhaps the most influencial person to have lived in the past hundred millenia was Despana. Even to this day, no one is entirely sure who or what she was, though several theories have been put forward regarding this.
To begin, Despana is believed by many to have been the first to open the door to the Unlife, approximatly 20,000 years ago, which corrosponds to the dates given for the arrival of the Unlife in the ICE age histories (see The Interregnum). The earliest known reference to the coming of Despana is found among the lore of the Dhe'nar, in a prophesy given by Noi'sho'rah, the spiritual founder of the Dhe'nar:

"Noi'sho'rah, disgusted with his own people, raised his hands to the heavens and darkness filled the room. All eyes were blinded and only the voice of Noi'sho'rah could be heard as he prophesied for his people.
"Know you that if the elven nations fall, if you fail to follow the true way, the dead themselves shall rise up against you. There shall come one with more power than has ever been wielded and she shall lay your nations to waste. You shall stand helpless before her, your own petty bickering paving the way for her to take even the mightiest of your cities. Her touch shall be felt for generations and you shall never again rise to the power you had before her arrival."

-From "The History of the Dhe'nar"

There are many reasons for pledging one's self to the Unlife, and entering into its service; ignorance, a sense of rebellion (sadly common among the youth), and--most importantly--power. Ignorance is the rarest of these three, usually found in the young and idealistic who have allowed themselves to be tricked into thinking that they are serving a different master. Often, cults dedicated to the Unlife that are seeking new membership will greatly disguise their intents; instead claiming to be of the Light, or seekers or knowledge, until they are satisfied that the poor fool in completely in their thrall, at which point they spring the bad news on him. The second common reason is also found among the youth, but usually only in those that have fooled themselves into thinking that they are "dark" or "evil," and thereby seek give their souls away, in hopes of becoming powerful channels for the Unlife. Little do these people realize how little the Unlife cares for them. The final--and sadly most common--reason that people serve the Unlife is for the power that it offers them, powers that are often greater than any they might find elsewhere. There is no denying that the shortest and quickest path to power is through Darkness, and often it is the minions of Darkness who are quickest to pledge ever more of themselves away:

"Through the surviving followers of Kadaena, who for long years licked thier wounds in hidden places, the Unlife found it's instruments. These souls, desperate for power, for even a shadow of the strength they once had, eagerly accepted the offers of energy from the Unlife and grew strong in dark places, gathering to themselves minions of many types and creating others to suit their needs."

-The Unlife of Kulthea

Lord Maruko Ashimine

Origin of the Cults.

The first recorded instance of service to the Unlife comes from the ICE age histories, approximatly 20,000 years ago, immediatly after the Unlife appeared in the lands. This date corresponds to the arrival of Despana in the modern histories, and it is not unreasonable to believe that Despana herself was the first servant of the Unlife.

The predominant reason that the people of this age pledged themselves to the Unlife was the power that it offered; the Unlife had no reason for secrecy as of yet, and therefore didn't bother disguising its intentions. As noted in the excerpt above, the first cults were populated by the followers of Kadaena. These twisted souls had enjoyed much power under her reign, and were desperate to have even a shred of it returned to them. And it was returned to them, as completely as they could have hoped for. However, it came with a price; rather than simple servitude, which Kadaena had been satisfied with, the Unlife was hungry, it wanted souls. Normally this would have been a problem, but the former followers of Kadaena had been so thoroughly corrupted that their souls meant little to them. Or perhaps they still cherished their souls, but felt that they could forswear their oaths before death, and realize salvation.

Despite having sold their souls, the servants of the Unlife still felt a need for companionship, which they were quite obviously unable to find among the general population. Instead, they formed cults with others who had joined the Unlife, and together began plotting to further their own goals. It should be mentioned at this point that the larger portion of the membership in these cults continue to work towards their own goals, and prefer not to think about where their soul is going after they die.

The best account we have of the formation of these cults is in the story of Bandur Etrevion, as related in the next section. 

Bandur Etrevion.

The tale of Bandur Etrevion begins several decades before his birth, with the coming of the Unlife to Elanthia. Shortly after the Unlife's arrival many power-hungry individuals threw their lot in with it, in exchange for the quick power it provided. However, the powers of good and righteousness were still powerful, and shortly after the Unlife had cemented itself in the lands, the Wars of Dominion began.

The Wars of Dominion were the most cataclysmic to have occurred on Elanthia since the war between Kadaena and Utha (Or the Drakes and Ur-Daemons, depending on which history you prefer). The Unlife and its minions were insatiable and destroyed everything within their path; it was all the Loremasters could do to hold them off. It was during the early years of the War that Bandur and Kestrel Etrevion were born.

Like many humans of the time, the brothers realized that the quickest way to power was by joining the Unlife. Kestrel Etrevion was the stronger of the two, and with the Unlife's aid he became a powerful warrior and general, while his brother used the knowledge of the Unlife to further his sorcerous arts. The two grew quickly in fame and fortune during the Wars, and eventually Kestrel came to be rewarded with a small parcel of land along Darkstone Bay (the current location of Wehnimer's Landing). Kestrel led a small but wealthy kingdom for several years there, but eventually became restless, and took off again on extended campaigns of war.

Without Kestrel to keep him in check, Bandur Etrevion sank further and further into the grip of the Unlife. His days were filled with the pursuit of more arcane and forbidden knowledge, while his nights were tormented by dreams of the Unlife. It was during this period that he wrote his famous book "Servants of the Shadow: Power through Thralldom." This book, which detailed the power that the Unlife had given him, was available at the library of Biblia several centuries ago, but was apparently stolen at some point.

As the years progressed, the lands slowly sank into decay as the Unlife exerted its influence through Bandur. Law and order quickly disintegrated, corruption was rampant, and the worst of the lands grew more depraved. Several small cults grew up during this period, rumored to be pledged to the Unlife. Eventually, things became so bad that Bandur was unable to continue with his research without constant interruptions. Taking a break from his studies Bandur ruthlessly crushed these small cults, established a powerful central seat of government, and enforced the law with a well paid and highly disciplined military that answered only to him. Finally, after the last resistance to his rule had been eradicated, Bandur established a large, government sponsored Cult dedicated to the Unlife, which everyone was encouraged to join.

At this point, a bit should be said about the Cult that Bandur formed. From the histories of the lands:

"Early in his servitude to the Unlife, Bandur had pledged to the Empress Gosaena, the first Lord of Liabo, to follow the ways of the Unlife. He turned his own bondage to her into the state cult, which he called The Dark Path. Followers of The Dark Path engaged in many heinous ritual practices beneath a genteel facade of prayer, meditations, contemplation, and the cultivation of physical perfection. They were ostentatious in their many devotions, carrying long rosaries of modwir beads and reciting out loud the Iylarian phrase "Gosaena Throk Farok." True followers of the cult of Gosaena who recited the phrase with great fervor and dedication were promised everlasting existence by Bandur, and after death were then transformed into various levels of undead creatures."

-The Legend of Necropolis of Etrevion

Kelfour's Edition Volume 3 Issue 11, by

Simutronics, Gira Gavilan, Editor-in-chief.

Servants of the Shadow.
Of minor interest to historians is the book that Bandur wrote, "Servants of the Shadow: Power through Thralldom." This book was actually written several years before Bandur formed the state-run cult dedicated to the Unlife, but the principles therein continue to be used by that cult to this day. Rumor has it that Bandur is buried with a copy of this book, as well as several other favorite possessions.

Little is known of the specifics of this book, save to high-ranking members of the cult. This is probably best, as the type of knowledge contained in that book is probably best left untouched.

Cults in the Landing.

Little can be safely said regarding these cults so this section will be kept short. Even the existance of such a cult is highly disputed, though evidence abounds that quite a large portion of the population counts itself in the membership. Like most servants of the Unlife, these people would continue to work towards their own ends while they live, prefering not to think about the deal they have made signing away their soul.

Only two things can be safely said regarding these people. First, because of the holiness of the sight, members of such a cult are unable to approach the dais in Lorminstra's temple, in the Landing. Also, certain undead are proof against attack from these members, as the Unlife apparently does not want them destroying its other tools.

"The Unlife of Kulthea" Lord Maruko Ashimine, Kelfour Edition, Vol., 3, No. 9, February 1993.

"The Visions of Andraax", from "The Unlife of Kulthea" Lord Maruko Ashimine, Kelfour Edition, Vol., 3, No. 9, February 1993.

"The Stareater" Highlord Starsnuffer Sunslayer, The Far Side of Blackmoone.

"The Vvrael" Lord Merlock Hamburgian, the College, Laurana's Lair.

"The History of Elanthia" GM Mhorigan Parnell, Official Simutronics Documentation.

"The Shadow World Timeline" The Shadow World Atlas (Website defunct, refer to published version).

"The History of the Dhe'nar" The Far Side of Blackmoone.

"The Legend of Necropolis of Etrevion" Kelfour's Edition Volume 3 Issue 11, copyrighted by Simutronics, Gina Gavilan, Editor-in-chief.

All terms are copyrighted by their respective authors, be they ICE, Simutronics, or the sources mentioned in the reference section