Lore:Vastarie

Vastarie
Vastarie circa 2E 582
Race	Altmer	Gender	Female
Undeath		2nd Era
Appears in		ESO, Legends

"The magical art of reanimating and communing with the dead. Most people find its coercive aspects abhorrent—I certainly wouldn't argue with that. Necromancy doesn't have to include thralldom."
—Vastarie

Vastarie, also known as the Witch of Azurah, is an Altmer Lich notable for her study of souls, the results which were a great boon to the dark arts of Necromancy. Prior to becoming a necromancer, she studied on Artaeum alongside other notable Psijic Monks, such as Vanus Galerion and Mannimarco. She is believed to be the first to discover how to use Sigil Geodes to bind spirits, and personally brought the first black soul gems to Tamriel after opening a portal to Coldharbour.

When Mannimarco first left Artaeum to form the Worm Cult, she and her future husband Telacar initially followed suit, eager to research soul magic more in-depth and support their friend. Soon however, Vastarie fled the Worm Cult when she realized the extent of Mannimarco's obsession with power. Eventually, she was forced to leave her husband as well, after the death of their son led him down a similar path.

Vastarie is a fervent worshipper of the Daedric Prince Azura. Sometime after her falling out with Vanus, she achieved lichdom and dedicated herself to serving Azura.

History

In the early Second Era, a conflict would arise within the Psijic Order between the legends Vanus Galerion and Mannimarco over the study of Necromancy, which was subsequently banned by the Order. Vastarie left the Order alongside Mannimarco, joining the Worm Cult to further research the art of Necromancy.

Vastarie researched how to delay the release of a soul upon death, and looked for a vessel to accomplish such a task. Mannimarco and Vastarie looked to Coldharbour, the realm of the Daedric Prince of domination, Molag Bal. Vastarie, seeking to impress a mage named Telacar, volunteered to descend into Coldharbour, and recovered vessels known as black soul gems. She would eventually fine-tune it to create the first Sigil Geode, but conflict between Mannimarco and Vastarie would arise, as Vastarie sought to use the new discovery for more ethical purposes. She and Telacar, who she had since married, escaped into Valenwood where they would settle.

Eventually, she and Telacar would have a child named Calion, but his unfortunate death would tear them both apart. Telacar became obsessed with restoring Calion so that one day they would reunite as a family. He prevented Calion's spirit from moving on to the next life so that he may be bound to the flesh of a flesh atronach. When Telacar finished his research, he presented the flesh atronach to Vastarie, which horrified her. Vastarie saw Calion's spirit as nothing but an animated shade; a pale imitation of her son, and spurned it. She also wished for what was left of Calion to pass to the next world. She ripped Calion's spirit from the husk and bound Telacar to the ruins so that he may reflect on the error of his ways for what she planned to be a decade.

Vastarie then left the ruins to wander Nirn, searching for an answer to a question that troubled her soul. She would eventually return to Valenwood, and founded a school to train mages above the sealed Ayleid Ruins of Laeloria. There, they sought to further perfect the Sigil Geode. Their research eventually bore fruit. By applying a Sigil Geode at the moment of death, a soul could be suspended within its depths. Vastarie contacted Vanus Galerion of the Mages Guild to report her findings, but the findings left him disgusted. When he left, some of Vastarie's students decided to pack up and leave with him.

Vastarie then shifted her focus to another topic: the ruins the school is built upon. She had discovered Ayleid tablets speaking of a Daedric herald named Irrai. Curious, she summoned the daedra, revealing a Winged Twilight that claimed to be a servant of Azura. The ruins were revealed to once be dedicated to the Daedric Prince Molag Bal, even serving as a bridge to Coldharbour. They were sealed by a priestess of Azura named Culanwe, who was eventually imprisoned within its depths. Eventually, Vastarie sought to free Culanwae and embarked into the ruin's depths, never to be seen again.

In reality, Irrai was a servant of Molag Bal, who lured Culanwe and Vastarie into Coldharbour's embrace. Vastarie would be trapped there for ninety-seven years. While trapped, she was unable to free her husband, who was still sealed within the ruins of her former home. Telacar would expire, and his prison became known as the Ossuary of Telacar. Circa 2E 582, an adventurer discovered the Ossuary of Telacar and was rumored to have either helped free Calion's spirit, or aided Talecar with binding Calion's spirit into a flesh atronach. The adventurer then discovered the ruins of Laeloria and was sent by Azura to enter the ruins, who then freed Culanwe from her torment. Vastarie was rumored to also have been freed. Other accounts contradict this and state that Vastarie remained trapped underneath the ruins.

Azura subsequently sent Vastarie to the Ashen Scar in Anequina to investigate a disturbance in the area. A Khajiit named Malizaz had come upon one of phylacteries of a dro-m'Athra lich named Arum-Khal, and attempted to claim it for himself. Instead, his soul was sent to Arum-Khal's realm, where the lich tore it to pieces. Arum-Khal then used the remnants to awaken his body, enabling him to return to Tamriel and visit death and horror upon the entirety of Elsweyr. By summoning the various spirits bound to the place, Vastarie and the Vestige learned of the danger posed by Arum-Khal's return. They were given the Moonlight Blade by the spirits, which was returned to pristine condition through the absorption of undead souls in the canyon below. By defeating Arum-Khal's shades in battle before they could flee back to his realm, Azura's champions were able to smash many of Arum-Khal's phylacteries before facing his physical form in battle. Once defeated, Arum-Khal once again fled to the safety of his realm, but this time he was followed by the spirits of Shando-ri and the Vestige, who destroyed the lich.

Notes

• ^	Sotha Sil's discovery of Black Soul Gems predates Vastarie's findings, though he accomplished his through reverse engineering regular Soul Gems, while Vastarie obtained hers in Coldharbour.

  • If you factor in the Clockwork City's isolation, along with Sotha Sil's reclusiveness, this finding would best be viewed through the concept of multiple discovery.

Gallery

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  Vastarie's depiction in Legends