Ularith

Ularith was an ancient ruined temple complex established by a death sect of the ancient Netherese Empire. The lost temple stood amid the sands of Anauroch in north Faerûn and served as a portal hub for the sect.

"Thy hour is done, mortals. No man may walk the streets of Ularith and live to tell the tale."

- The Lich-Lord of Ularith

Description
Ularith was a mysterious ruin, too small to be a town and too big to be a keep. The ex-scholar who explored the ruins, Belgin Dree, of the Utter East, was able to translate the surviving Netherese writings that covered Ularith. He believed that Ularith was a large temple complex dedicated to death, or to be more precise – the undeath.

A typical portal led to an interior of an ancient crypt located somewhere far from Anauroch and the site of the ancient empire. The tomb found underneath the Palace in Eldrinpar, in the Utter East, was hidden deep in the older parts of the structure. The Palace rose surrounding the Netherese tomb, first build-up by the local Mar humans and later expanded by the Ffolk colonists of the Five Kingdoms. A knowledgeable stonemason or a dwarf could notice the difference in carving and materials used as they approached the tomb. The interior was accessible via great double doors of stone that were operated via mechanical valves. The crypt room was beautifully decorated with images, banners, urns, and walls carved in basrelief and held seven statues on each side, encircling a sarcophagus in the middle, carved in the beautiful likeness of its inhabitant. The statues depicted bare-chested warrior humans dressed in sandals and sophisticated high headdresses.

Each of these crypts held a portal, surrounded by Netherese glyphs that were activated with a certain portal key, usually a verbal password. All portals led to corresponding rune-carved arches in the sand-drowning ruins of Ularith and provided a two-way magical passage for the members of the death sect. Despite being derelict, the Ularith consisted of numerous structures erected around one main temple. The complex had the main courtyard decorated with rows of crumbling pillars.

Even though some of the Netherese crypts were robbed and destroyed, the portals remained active. Some of the crypt locations included Doegan in the Utter East, Undermountain, Chessenta, Cormanthor, Menzoberranzan, Mulhorand, Myth Drannor, and many others. The tomb in the Undermountain was ravaged, robbed and desecrated by the late-14 century DR. It stood by the Lake Stygian, not far from the city of Skullport.

Defenses
Long past the collapse of Netheril, Ularith was guarded by undead servants of the cult. An extremely powerful lich-lord stood guard over the ruins, raising his servants and creating sandstorms to kill intruders and desecrators. The lich wore ancient bronze armor and wielded a glave of green flames. The undead was highly intelligent and communicated with its victims via telepathy and wielded instantly deadly magics, such as the dreaded finger of death. For one reason or the other, the lich was more active at nights, sending armies of desiccated mummies and skeleton warriors to destroy intruders. The lich-lord was zealous guardian but was intelligent and could be negotiated with.

History
The ruins of Ularith were discovered in the when a group of adventurers dived into a portal that led from the Utter East to the sands of Anauroch. Belgin Dree, Jacob, Miltiades of Phlan and Nargin "Rings" Olnblade pursued the greater doppelganger who wore the guise of Eidola of Neverwinter. After the group was separated by a sandstorm, risen dead, and the chase, Belgin was able to use magic to translate the writings on the walls. Using his study of the arcane and the ancient Netheril, he theorized that the ruins and the portal network were created by a sect that aimed to preserve aging lords and guide them into the unlife. Each of the lords received a well-hidden far-away tomb, connected to the main temple by a gate. He theorized that these lords defied their rulers by organizing the sect. The death priests, turned undead, were tasked with guarding the desert temple from all. It was unknown if the Netherese lords were still in the state of undeath by the late 14 century or when and if they were to awaken.

As the group remained in the ruins until nightfall, they were confronted by the lich-lord. Paladin Miltiades challenged the undead priest to try and claim his soul, which the lich was unsuccessful at. Miltiades was unaffected by death magics as he himself was still dead, in a sense. He was brought to life after serving his god Tyr as a death knight for almost a thousand years. His living form still possessed arcane defenses of a death knight. Impressed with the paladin, lich gave the adventurers time till morning to leave the forbidden site.

Rumors & Legends

 * A dwarven mercenary Nargin "Rings" Olnblade noticed the similarity in architecture between the ancient Netherese tomb and long-abandoned Mar ruins in the Utter East.

Appearances

 * Novels
 * ''Easy Betrayals