Book of Bone and Ebony

erased even this, leaving the Seventh Legion the sole
custodians of this military legacy. But the First and Forsaken
Lion remembers, and he dreams of commanding
that power again.
The core of this dream lies half completed in its
Underworld hangar near the Deathlord’s citadel. It has
no counterpart among the living or in history, but hearkens
back to the elegant designs of the First Age. The
prized Juggernaut of the Mask of Winters stretches three
times its length, but the Final Maelstrom still dwarfs the
flagships of Lookshy to insignificance. Its hull is glossy
black as if grown from organic obsidian, the hollowed
carapace of a behemoth that stumbled into the Underworld
through some shadowland ages past and died
forgotten. To that ovoid, insectile shell, the Deathlord
has affixed vast struts and plating of jade and soulsteel,
building according to inauspicious geomantic principles
that should allow the vessel to tap the power of the
Underworld — even within Creation. The First and
Forsaken Lion has spared no expense to import components
from the living world and incorporate only those
elements of the Underworld that can endure the light of
115
CHAPTER FOUR • CREATIONS OF BONE
THE GRAVEST THREAT
Much is made of the Mask of Winters’ invasion of Thorns. For those who are even aware of the event (news
does not travel across Creation all that efficiently), the Mask of Winters is the only one of his kind, and if he’s
not the only one, surely he’s the most powerful. Regrettably, they are wrong.
There are only a handful of truly great, truly epic generals in all of Creation or beyond. Fewer still of these
command forces capable of fulfilling their commander’s vision. The First and Forsaken Lion, the oldest of the
Deathlords, is one of these. Armed with immortality, mastery of necromancy and unmatched martial prowess,
this Deathlord’s hunger for power and vengeance has assembled one of the mightiest and most terrifying battle
forces the Underworld has ever seen.
The First and Forsaken Lion is megalomaniacal and arrogant, a dread tyrant who even dared to challenge
his masters once. Like all of his ilk, he is insane, but his insanity does not in the least diminish his cold genius.
Unlike some of the other Deathlords, the Lion has little of the showman about him. He does not simply capitalize
on a few spectacular necromantic marvels (a charge he often levels at the Mask of Winters). On the contrary,
in addition to his armies, he has assembled a vast and highly integrated force of necromantic war machines
supported by legions of ghosts skilled in combat Arcanoi, siege engine repair and necrosurgery.
His tactics are not the children’s swarm tactics of the Realm’s degraded Dragon-Blooded, neither does he
stoop to using the glorified guerilla tactics popular among Creation’s ragtag Exalted warlords. The First and
Forsaken Lion is a general from the First Age, intimately familiar with the details of military science. He is a
scientific general, and only the Seventh Legion can match his stores of magical weaponry, but not for long. With
every passing year, the irreplaceable arsenals of Lookshy dwindle. Meanwhile, the General of the Legion
Sanguinary only grows in might.
Despite being the most ancient of the Deathlords, the First and Forsaken Lion remains unknown in Creation
only because his Malfean lord has relegated him, for whatever reason, to the Thousand, far from the nearest
shadowland and farther still from the nearest useful shadowland. The Lion is entertaining several different
schemes for ripping his way into Creation, most of which include making his own shadowland.
For the moment, the First and Forsaken Lion trains his ghostly armies, plots his strategies and bides his time.
He has options. He can afford to be patient. When he does make his move, his deeds will be far more infamous
across the face of Creation than anything the Mask of Winters has ever done.
the Unconquered Sun and remain solid outside the lands
of the dead. The enormity and complexity of this task has
slowed the construction effort to a crawl.
The First and Forsaken Lion commissioned the
Final Maelstrom nearly a century ago, and he did not
anticipate completion for several more decades. Of late,
he has grown more optimistic, using the skills and power
of his deathknights to hasten the project. The Deathlord
now believes he can finish within nine years, perhaps
less. He has learned much watching the Mask of Winters
and his clumsy use of Juggernaut. When the Final
Maelstrom flies at last, bristling with spires of pyre flame
lances and entropic implosion bows, its master will not
depend upon the ship as a crutch. First and foremost, the
earth will shake beneath the warstriders and terrible
machines of his army, while the dead of the Legion
Sanguinary conscript to their ranks through unrelenting
massacre. The Final Maelstrom is only a piece of the
First and Forsaken Lion’s strategy, but it is a significant
piece. For now, it remains a secret, even from the other
Deathlords, a surprise he will unveil in due time to the
collective horror of all.