Runelords

This article covers the runelords of ancient Thassilon. For modern practitioners of rune magic who refer to themselves as runelords, see rune magic.

The seven runelords of Thassilon each ruled their own realm in the centuries before Earthfall. Each runelord was a powerful wizard tied to a particular aspect of sin magic.

Origin and history

Thassilon was founded in -6530 AR by First King Xin who had been exiled from his homeland of Azlant for promoting heretical beliefs. As the empire grew beyond the bounds of Xin's ability to control, both militarily and administratively, he appointed powerful wizards as governors to oversee his lands. The mightiest of these were the runelords, seven of the most skilled (and power-hungry) wizards in Thassilon, if not all of Golarion. In -6420 AR, the runelords assassinated Xin and subjugated those loyal to him—including his own son, who became a puppet emperor—while each plotted within his or her own lands to become ruler of all Thassilon.

The seven virtues of rule (generosity, love, humility, temperance, charity, kindness, and zeal), passed down from the goddess Lissala and First King Xin himself, were seen as the benefits of power, and each of the runelords was drawn towards one of the seven. Over the course of time the runelords corrupted these into what modern scholars understand to be the "great sins of the soul," abandoning the positive aspects and embracing the negative connotations of each (greed, lust, boastful pride, gluttony, envy, wrath, and sloth) as the rewards of rule.

Each of the seven rulers specialized in a single school of rune magic and possessed a mighty Alara'quin, or Seven Weapons of Rule, which were polearms crafted by Xin that not only served them in battle but also became symbols of their rule. At Thassilon's peak, each runelord also forged a powerful sword in the Runeforge and imbued it with their associated school of magic. Collectively known as the Alara'hai, or Seven Swords of Conviction, these swords were to be wielded by their runelord's chosen champion.

The runelords of Thassilon

A visual timeline of when all the runelords ruled.

The runelords forged alliances with dragons and enslaved giants by using secrets of rune and glyph magic stolen from the alghollthus in their efforts to increase their own power. With their enslaved giant armies, the wizards of Thassilon built massive tombs, enormous magical constructs, and staggering monuments that survive today, mute testimonies of a mysterious age long past.

At the time of Earthfall, the following runelords were in power:

Alaznist, Runelord of Wrath Domain: Bakrakhan School of magic: Evocation Weapon of rule: Charred adamantine ranseur impaled with the skull of the first Runelord of Wrath Sword of conviction: Garvok, an exploding greatsword Span of rule: -5779 AR to -5293 AR (486 years)
Belimarius, Runelord of Envy Domain: Edasseril School of magic: Abjuration Weapon of rule: Ornate memory-stealing halberd of gold and dawnsilver Sword of conviction: Tannaris, a dispelling bastard sword Span of rule: -5402 AR to -5293 AR (109 years)
Karzoug, Runelord of Greed Domain: Shalast School of magic: Transmutation Weapon of rule: Burning glaive studded with meteoric gemstones Sword of conviction: Chellan, a petrifying golden scimitar Span of rule: -5759 AR to -5293 AR (466 years)
Krune, Runelord of Sloth Domain: Haruka School of magic: Conjuration Weapon of rule: Dragon-tooth longspear that can move and attack of its own volition Sword of conviction: Shin-Tari, a short sword that can teleport those it strikes Span of rule: -5525 AR to -5293 AR (232 years)
Sorshen, Runelord of Lust Domain: Eurythnia School of magic: Enchantment Weapon of rule: Double-headed guisarme Sword of conviction: Asheia, a flaming longsword Span of rule: -6480 AR to -5293 AR (1,187 years)
Xanderghul, Runelord of Pride Domain: Cyrusian School of magic: Illusion Weapon of rule: Lucerne hammer made of an unknown type of skymetal Sword of conviction: Baraket, a rapier with an invisible blade Span of rule: -6480 AR to -5293 AR (1,187 years)
Zutha, Runelord of Gluttony Domain: Gastash School of magic: Necromancy Weapon of rule: Life-draining scythe of bone Sword of conviction: Ungarato, a falchion whose victims rise as undead Span of rule: -5642 AR to -5293 AR (349 years)

Former runelords

These seven runelords were the last to hold their titles, but only Sorshen and Xanderghul survived the betrayal of King Xin. Previous runelords died or fell to usurpers, including:

Runelords of Greed

Runelord	Span of reign
	Start	End	Length
Kaladurnae	-6480 AR	-6448 AR	32 years
Fethryr	-6448 AR	-6318 AR	130 years
Gimmel	-6318 AR	-6192 AR	126 years
Ligniya	-6192 AR	-6040 AR	152 years
Mazmiranna	-6040 AR	-5997 AR	43 years
Aethusa	-5997 AR	-5759 AR	135 years
Haphrama	-5862 AR	-5759 AR	103 years

Runelords of Gluttony

Runelord	Span of reign
	Start	End	Length
Kaliphesta	-6480 AR	-6258 AR	222 years
Atharend	-6258 AR	-6150 AR	108 years
Aethusa	-6150 AR	-5822 AR	328 years
Goparlis	-5822 AR	-5293 AR	180 years

Runelords of Envy

Runelord	Span of reign
	Start	End	Length
Naaft	-6480 AR	-6442 AR	38 years
Tannaris	-6442 AR	-6360 AR	82 years
Ivamura	-6360 AR	-6301 AR	59 years
Jurah	-6301 AR	-6150 AR	151 years
Chalsardra	-6150 AR	-5966 AR	184 years
Esedrea	-5966 AR	-5796 AR	170 years
Zarve	-5796 AR	-5696 AR	100 years
Desamelia	-5696 AR	-5489 AR	207 years
Phirandi	-5489 AR	-5402 AR	87 years

Runelords of Sloth

Runelord	Span of reign
	Start	End	Length
Xirie	-6480 AR	-6150 AR	330 years
Ilthyrius	-6150 AR	-6105 AR	45 years
Azeradni	-6105 AR	-6008 AR	97 years
Zalelet	-6008 AR	-5847 AR	161 years
Krenlith	-5847 AR	-5752 AR	95 years
Ivarinna	-5752 AR	-5525 AR	227 years

Runelords of Wrath

Runelord	Span of reign
	Start	End	Length
Alderpash	-6480 AR	-6266 AR	214 years
Angothane	-6266 AR	-6150 AR	116 years
Xiren	-6150 AR	-5905 AR	245 years
Thybidos	-5905 AR	-5779 AR	126 years

Slumber and awakening

Crystilan shatters in 4718 AR, introducing Xin-Edasseril to Varisia.

Thassilon met its end when the alghollthus called down Earthfall to destroy Azlant in -5293 AR. As the end drew near, the seven runelords retreated into the depths of their greatest monuments, put themselves into stasis, and tasked their minions to free them once the dangers have passed. Due to the sheer devastation of Earthfall, however, no one was left to awaken them and the runelords of Thassilon slumbered for nearly 10,000 years.

Alaznist, Karzoug, and Sorshen used their runewells to create demiplanes in which they sheltered through Earthfall and the devastation afterward. These runelords reawakened when their runewells were reactivated in the 48th century AR, beginning with Karzoug in 4702 AR, then Sorshen, then Alaznist in 4716 AR.

Karzoug was killed by adventurers as he began to fully remanifest in 4707 AR, and his soul was judged by Pharasma and eventually used as the weight of sin against which all other souls are judged by the High Justice of the Boneyard.

Krune trapped his own soul and entrusted the cult of Lissala to revive him, but the cult was decimated in Earthfall. He was not awakened until 4713 AR, and was then promptly killed by Pathfinders.

Zutha became a lich with the Gluttonous Tome serving as his phylactery. He divided the book into three parts to be reunited after Earthfall, but the Tome remained divided until Varian Jeggare reunited them in 4715 AR. Zutha rose but was subsequently defeated before he could fully recover.

Xanderghul retreated into a demiplane of his own design, which was intended to awaken him 100 years after Earthfall. However, agents of Belimarius attempting to repair her runewell after Earthfall triggered a trap that destroyed both them and Xanderghul's timer, trapping him within. He was killed by Alaznist after she reawakened but reborn into a simulacrum, then destroyed by adventurers in 4718 AR.

Belimarius, betrayed by Karzoug, was trapped outside of time in her city of Xin-Edasseril. The runelord and her city remained on Golarion, apparently encased within a sphere of crystal known as Crystilan until the sphere was shattered in 4718 AR. Sorshen meanwhile attempted to redeem herself after awakening and assisted the adventurers who defeated Alaznist.

Alaznist fully awakened when the kalavakus known as Castellan in Hollow Mountain was slain in 4716 AR. The next year, she learned the fates of the other runelords. With her rival Karzoug already dead, she turned her attention to destroying Xanderghul and acquired the Scepter of Ages, altered history, killed Xanderghul, and reshaped Avistan. Adventurers reversed her alterations and killed her ca. 4719 AR, and her soul was dragged to the Outer Rifts by qlippoth and demon lords.

Belimarius and Sorshen are the only known surviving runelords and now rule over separate adjacent nations in Avistan together called New Thassilon.

In culture

Thassilon, and the runelords' reign over it, left indelible marks across the Inner Sea region. The Shoanti quahs of Varisia all still tell stories about the runelords, but refer to them as a pantheon of deities called the Azghat who turned evil and needed to be destroyed. Thassilonian ruins across the region still contain artifacts, magic items, treasures, and creatures associated with or crafted by the runelords.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.