Eschaton Experiment

The Eschaton Experiment was originally conceived by Dion de Vermiis and considered to be an exercise in intellect. During the Burning Times, the Ashtani and Theran cabals gathered under the direction of Ezekial to perform the experiment in hopes of combating the increased persecution and outright slaughter of occultic practitioners by the Church. At the apex of the ritual, after all had gathered and committed their personal karma toward the endeavour, both Ezekial and the experiment were lost. Deemed a failure, the experiment left the occultists both leaderless and powerless, and a schism developed between the remaining members. Lord Luxsyth quickly preyed upon the occultists' fears of the imminent danger presented by the Church and gathered as many occultists as he could to his side to research Necromancy for his mother, Belladona. Those who remained loyal and waited for Ezekial's return became the Keepers of the Fountainhead. Luxsyth quickly enacted his own pogrom to consolidate power, eradicating the other faction and sparing only those dedicated to his and his mother's vision of escaping death.

Finally, after many years of believing the experiment to be a complete failure, the modern Occultists Guild, with the help of Eris, was able to retrieve Ezekial from the timestream and finish the great Eschaton work started by Dion. Casting off the corruption of Luxsyth's legacy, the Occultists returned to Occultism with the completion of the Eschaton. Members of the guild who wished to continue practicing Necromancy were cast out of the guild, becoming Outcasts.