Erlomel d’Tharashk (male daelkyr half-blood telepath 12; see page 37 of Magic of Eberron) was born with a dreadful physical deformity and displayed signs of mental instability in youth. Rejected by his family and unable to hold a position within the House, his behavior grew more and more erratic until he left the Shadow Marches for Sharn. There he has been living in the undercity for some time.
Using the benefits of his own lesser Mark of Finding, the libraries of Margrave University, and human agents who came under his control, he studied the history of the city, hoping to find clues that would lead to ancient sources of power. He learned all he could about the Closed Circle of wizardry, which had been destroyed for its blasphemous study in 641 YK, and became convinced the wizards had still had a base in Sharn. He eventually located a ruined complex in the slum district of Khyber’s Gate, so buried beneath the rubble of later generations that its existence was completely hidden.
All the arcane laboratories had been smashed—the Pure Flame crusaders had burned every foul tome they could find, then cleansed the spot with a hallow spell. But in their zeal, they had overlooked a trove of research notes, stored in an extraplanar vault. The wizards were long dead, but Erlomel used his psionic detection abilities to glimpse the past and discern the secret of opening the vault. At present, he is absorbing as much of their forbidden knowledge as he can. To that end, he founded the Mourning Circle so that he would have a steady supply of experimental subjects and willing soldiers.
Erlomel styles himself both high priest and incarnation of the Dragon Below, having bonded with a shadow sibling (Magic of Eberron 156) as a result of his tainted ancestry. His word is law, but most often that “word” is a psionic command. He has also been attempting to create breed leeches (Magic of Eberron 154) to transform his female cultists into the mothers of daelkyr halfbloods, but the research notes are garbled, slowing his progress.
A handful of favored servants (in reality, thralls) act as Mourning Circle underpriests. These followers have been “blessed” with symbionts by their high priest. There are currently four, each of whom is responsible for directing specific cult activities: Bronwen Sor’ilah (female human sorcerer 7) selects subjects for experimentation and sports a spellwurm; Antonin d’Tharashk (male human rogue 5/spymaster 3; see page 76 of Complete Adventurer) manages intelligence-gathering, assisted by his tongueworm; Ghaarsh’t (male half-orc barbarian 2/fighter 3) is in charge of recruitment and discipline, and wears a crawling gauntlet; and Severin vil Orandor (male human cleric 6), who maintains the temple proper and conducts rituals, benefits from a tentacle whip.
Most of Erlomel’s followers are shattered refugees from Cyre, to whom the crazed worship of the Dragon Below provides some comfort in lives gone mad. They believe that a new future awaits within the underworld and do not question the strange tasks set them by their master. This human flotsam drifts unnoticed in the slums of Sharn’s undercity, the eyes and ears of Erlomel and his recruiting agents. The Mourning Circle observes two major holidays, both anniversaries: that of the Closed Circle’s destruction and that of its rediscovery by Erlomel. The date of destruction is marked with songs of lamentation. Cultists carry lit candles to the temple and stand in a circle, then extinguish the lights to represent the loss of the wizards’ knowledge. Flagellation is featured. In contrast, the ceremony of rediscovery is a joyous, even hedonistic festival. On this day, worthy followers receive grafts and symbionts, and new members are welcomed into the cult. The high priest himself leads songs of praise and hope for the glorious future.