Obsidian Cabalists

The Obsidian Cabalists are ancient sorcerers of the Obsidian Order who have prolonged their lives through twisted use of magic. These horrible entities worship the eight anti-virtues and seek to fulfill the Dire Prophecies by laying siege to the towns of Novia. They wield unique vile artifacts that players who are able to defeat them may be able to loot. Those artifacts include unique hoods and weapons for each cabalist as well as the robes, from which special patterns can be extracted. For example, the Dastardly Vile Sword that Nefario the Obsidian Cabalist carries into a town siege is almost impossible to get.

Town Sieges occur according to Celestial Mechanics. As the eight cabalist related orbital bodies pass through the twelve Virtue Constellations in the sky representing the virtues, the Cabalist(s) whose orbital body are in front of a given constellation join a siege that is set upon any towns that contain any Devotionals associated to that Virtue.

The 8 Obsidian Cabalists
 
 * Dolus: The Cabalist of Deceit who causes confusion in the ranks, whose symbol is the Two Faces of Deceit. Related orbital body:
 * Temna: The Cabalist of Despise who turns allies against each other, whose symbol is the Torn Heart. Related orbital body:
 * Nefario: The Cabalist of Dastard (Cowardice) who strikes terror into those who dare oppose him, whose symbol is the Raised Arms of Capitulation. Related orbital body:
 * Nefas: The Cabalist of Injustice who causes enemies to beg for mercy, whose symbol is Imbalance. Related orbital body:
 * Avara: The Cabalist of Punishment who inflicts huge amounts of damage that lingers for long amounts of time, whose symbol is the Flail. Related orbital body:
 * Indigno: The Cabalist of Dishonor who generates large clouds of poisonous gas, whose symbol is the Poisoned Chalice. Related orbital body:
 * Corpus: The Cabalist of Carnality who forces opponents to “disrobe”, therefore losing all their defensive protection, whose symbol is Intercourse. Related orbital body:
 * Fastus: The Cabalist of Vanity who mesmerizes opponents, whose symbol is the Vortex of Self Absorption. Related orbital body:

Tracking Cabalists
One then uses the Moondial more easily and accurately now by merely standing beside the Moondial facing the planet at its center, visually aligning yourself with the constellation representing a Devotional within the town you’re interested in, and seeing which moons fall within that sector slice that angles in from the sector edges on either side of the constellation toward the center of the world… The Cabalists representing the antivirtues of those moons should be attacking any city bearing that particular Devotional at that time.

Lore

 * After the fall of the Obsidian Empire, as had been foretold in the Dire Prophesy of the Obsidian Eye, the last remnants of their sorcerous Cabal made the decision that, if the world could not be theirs under Obsidian Dominion, then it should come to a "perfect" end as indicated by the Prophesy... Interestingly enough, they recognized that the edicts and might of the Obsidian Empire had not been enough to stop its fall. Instead, as the Prophesy seemed to hint at, the Sword of Midras and its link to the Principles and Virtues has something to do with this eventual "twilight of the world"... it’s important to realize that, like most prophesies, the Dire Prophesy could be interpreted in many ways… The currently known, fairly short set of verses that the prophesy consists of, are believed to be filled with meaning beyond the runes in which they are written, and could be interpreted as indicating an end to Obsidian rule, and the beginning of a new age,…OR could be interpreted as the end of the world itself… The remnant Cabalists seem to believe the latter, and seeking to bring this about, seem to think this can be achieved by twisting the Virtues, venerating the Anti-Virtues, and laying siege to those who display devotion to the pristine Virtues.... With the help of their remnant re-shaped abominations, their mindless slaves, and their undead servants, the Cabalists firmly believe that where the Obsidian Empire failed, they will succeed,...and that their terrible bloodshed will eventually bring about the end of all life and the world itself, "until only the night remains" (as it says at the end of the known portion of the Dire Prophesy)...


 * The Cabalists no longer have faith in these ideologies, since they didn’t prevent their Empire from falling. The Cabalists truly are ancient and powerful sorcerers who were once member of the Obsidian Cabal… The Cabalists don't want allies now, they want only slaves to their will... Their cultist minions have essentially been indoctrinated into the Cabalists’ ways as either mindless servants or slaves whose free will has been utterly subjugated by fear and oppression, and whose only actions are the demands of their masters...

Trivia
were added in Release 40.