Skull Priest

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"Some people shun magic because of its destructive potential. We had our fair share of mystical heroes, mages using their arcane knowledge to defend the land. Of course, we also had a number of folk abusing it. The Skull Priests fit within the latter group, sadly."

―An unknown Okotan explaining the views and usage of magic to an unknown Toa.

Skull Priest
Group
Base	Various, scattered across Okoto
Leader	Fulgor(Formerly)
Group	Inactive - Majority of members imprisoned
Allies	Skull Army(Presumably)
Enemies	Okotans, Mask Makers

The Skull Priests are believed to be remnants of an ancient order of mages as well as a former ally to the Skull Army.

History

Beginnings

Not much is known about the Skull Priests. Legend says that they were once a part of an organization of mages, charged with studying and harnessing the mystical energies present on Okoto. They sent out enforcers to insure that none would misuse the arcane arts, keeping order between magic-users and those uninterested in using the arts. For the most part, they were neutral towards any political parties around, and usually avoid conflict.

This lifestyle became strained when a city nearby fell under siege by Skull Creatures. One of their mages, Fulgor, was a native of the settlement, and was dismayed when news of its fall reached him. He gathered a number of like-minded warlocks and launched an assault to reclaim the city. While he and his group succeeded, it created a rift between them and some of the other mages. One of the higher-ranking sages, Warmaster Frouz, took an interest in the young mage.

Years after the attack, another assault rocked the organization. This time, their headquarters was caught in the middle of a war between two political bodies. It was destroyed in the chaos, and the surviving members were forced to take shelter in some nearby caverns. Fulgor, outraged by this, set off to take matters into his own hands once again. He lead a small strike team of mages against the cities, this time backed by remnants of the Warmaster's platoon. While they successfully incapacitated many of the soldiers, a number of warlocks also lost their lives in the conflict. Desperate to end the fighting, Ydstur managed to combine her sorcery with technology she studied to create a device capable of disabling any instrument of war. Upon activating it, the machinery from both armies was rendered inoperable, and the parties were forced to make a truce between each other. While this act did bring about peace, it also fueled the tension already present within the organization. Frouz was forced to step down from his position in the council due to his then-controversial actions. After losing her love to the conflict, another mage by the name of "Mulos" drifted into their party. Ghulmia, Roinax, Zabolum, and Aevuom presumably joined afterwards.

Decades later, Fulgor and a few followers received reports of a massive surge of energy coming from deep below the island. He and a number of his followers ventured into a cavern occupied by Skull Creatures, many of them mutated to their shock. The tales claim that they an unidentified entity, whom the lesser Creatures worshiped and were transformed by. Intrigued by this discovery, Fulgor and his group began studying the being. Interested in obtaining a sample of its power, they concluded that worshiping it would insure the best results. Using the knowledge they gleaned from the entity, they began conducting a number of experiments in secret. As time when on, they began developing some manner of dark desires (heavily implied to be a result of corruption from constant contact with the being), to the point that they were willing to kidnap many life forms to further advance their studies and goals. Many more were recruited into their private guild, and fell before the same taint as they did (Prutela being one of these new recruits). This new generation later be dubbed Skull Mage.

Eventually, they became obsessed with drawing upon all of its power, believing themselves superior to their fellow wizards. Their actions were eventually discovered by the council, triggering a massive war between their supporters and the rest of the guild. The group of dark mages marched their way towards the guild's main headquarters and destroyed it, claiming the lives of many sorcerers. Those that survived went into hiding, some of them abandoning the arcane arts. Others became shamans to the local Tribes, passing their knowledge down to the Protectors. The rest would retreat into Skull Creature territory, eventually transforming themselves into liches with the forbidden knowledge they obtained.

Post-Transformation

Centuries after studying the strange entity, the Skull Priests grew tired of conducting experiments on it and its worshipers. They would split apart and scatter themselves across the island and beyond, each pursuing their own ambitions. However, they would often clash with other individuals and would eventually fall to them, along with other circumstances. Ghulmia was imprisoned by Fulgor after an attempted coup to assume his place as leader. Aevuom would disappear after entering a strange temple shifting in and out of the island's plane of existence. Mulos and Roinax were defeated and imprisoned by The Beastmaster and Umarak The Hunter, respectively. Zabolum, Fulgor, Ydstur, and Frouz would be hunted down and trapped within sarcophagi by an unknown faction consisting of Okotans (who were supposedly led by a surviving member of the guild the Priests defected from). Prutela was the last standing Skull Priest at that point, and returned to the island with an undead army of sea creatures to rescue his brethren. In the end, however, he too fell and was swiftly imprisoned. The sarcophagi containing them would be scattered across the island and beyond, never to be found. The Skull Sages scattered without their leadership, never to be seen again.

At some point in the past, one of their number -Ghulmia- was accidentally sent into the Shadow Realm and released from her prison. During the Masters' time on Okoto, it was rumored that Kulta the Skull Grinder found the location of other sarcophagi. However, wiry of their powers over the arcane arts, he posted guards to prevent anyone from releasing them. It was also said that Gali and Kivoda once discovered a tomb belonging to the Storm Caller, Prutela (though the two have declined to comment).

Sometime after the Uniters defeated Makuta, Ghulmia managed to escape the Shadow Realm and return to the island. She is believed to hunting the Masks of her brethren, with the intention of harnessing their dark powers. An Okotan shaman by the name of Kripta is attempting to found a new organization to oppose her, and believes that the key to preventing a potential return of the other Skull Priests is to summon new heroes.

Abilities and Traits

The biology of the Skull Priests is eerily similar to the warrior-class race of Spherus Magna. They possess a metallic skeletal structure, while possessing a great deal amount of organic material (albeit in a decaying state). The mechanical implants are still operational, despite their undead state. However, none of them appear to possess physical eyes anymore. Instead, they all use some glowing light or orb as a means of "seeing". The exact explanation for the is unknown, though theorized to be extensions of the Priests' souls.

All of the Skull Priests are skilled masters of the arcane arts, yet each specializes in a different field of magicks. One was said to have a great understanding of the Primary Elements of Okoto, yet another was more acute to Light. They all possess some degree of psychokinesis, such as levitation, telepathy, and telekinesis. Each had Masks of unique powers, ranging from transmutation to lycanthropy, among other abilities.

In spite of their impressive skill in magic, their metallic skeletal structure does seem to make them vulnerable to magnetic fields. According to legend, access to this power was what led to the defeat many of their members in the first place.

Known Members

• Aevuom, The Time-Lost.
• Frouz, the Warmaster.
• Fulgor, leader of the Skull Priests. He is often called "The Blighted Light".
• Ghulmia, The Deceiver
• Mulos, the Emerald Reaper.
• Prutela, the Stormcaller.
• Roinax, the Bringer of Ruin.
• Ydstur, the Star-Eater.
• Zabolum, the Dread of the Sands.

Trivia

• The Skull Priests were inspired by the Dragon Priests of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. They were also influenced by the Wizards of Destiny.
  • The organization they splintered from was in turn influenced by the Mages Guild of the former franchise.
• While the presumed number of Skull Priests is nine, some records indicate a tenth member existed. All that is known about this member, however, is the title: "Warden of the Abyss".
  • Most of the being's name is illegible, but an "r", "s", and a "t" are visible on the tablet recovered.
• The symbol for the organization was designed by Darkblade9.