The Conclave

Vlaakith, the Lich Queen of Nioningel, has convened a conclave in her orrery and fortress on the isles south of Tawic. Her ogre-mage emissaries scoured the lands for tribal representatives who were teleported to the goblin-controlled port to be ferried over. The fortress is considered impenetrable as powerful magic guards its secrets to the extent that not even her closest magicians are able to advance directly to the structure.

Such a meeting is unprecedented. Rumors and conjectures swirled among the crowds of representatives as they made their way up through the tower interior.

It is through this process, the members of the party met. By happenstance, the group ended up in the same queue to receive the lich queen's branding and after passing through the maze of stations, found themselves standing shoulder to shoulder, waiting for the lich queen to appear and inform the crowd for the reasons behind not only the meeting but for the branding as well. Why was this required?