If there’s one thing the different religions of Khorvaire agree upon, it’s that death sucks. The Sovereign Host is the most fatalistic: when you die, your soul goes to Dolurrh (the plane of the dead), there to remain for eternity and waste away. If you’re really unlucky, you’ll get eaten by the Keeper (god of Death, one of the Dark Six) on the way there. The Dark Six offer one avenue of escape: if you obey the gods (generally as interpreted by their priests, conveniently enough) you’ll get snatched by the Keeper - but not to be eaten, but to be sent to a paradise beyond the known multiverse. Similarly, the Silver Flame claims that the souls of the faithful will merge with the Flame instead of going to Dolurrh - but that’s still pretty much a loss of identity, which many people find unattractive.
But there’s one faith that says “Dolurrh sucks, and any creators who made such a place, or gods who continue to let it exist, are clearly not worthy of my time, let alone my worship!” That faith is the Blood of Vol, and the faithful are called Seekers.
With roots dating back to the elven exodus from Xen'drik and settling of Aerenal, the Blood of Vol believe that true divinity comes from within, and false gods are trying to usurp your divinity for their own fell purposes. Only by looking to the power that comes from within, coursing through your blood, can you achieve true power and possibly even immortality.
The intelligent undead (primarily vampires, mummies, and the occasional lich) have a special place within the faith. On one hand, they have broken free of the curse of death, which is cause for admiration and reverence - but since they no longer have life or blood of their own, they can never achieve true perfection. In effect, they are considered to have received a “sideways promotion” to a dead-end position - they’re better off than most, but they’ll never get to the top.
The Blood of Vol allied with Karrnath during the Last War, providing the nation secrets of the faith that allowed them to field powerful and semi-intelligent, yet mass-produced, undead (known as Karrnathi Skeletons and Karrnathi Zombies - in game terms, they’re more powerful than regular skeletons and zombies, but no match for even mid-level adventurers). The faith also offered the help of its militant arm, the Order of the Emerald Claw. However, 40-50 years ago (approximately at the middle point of the war), the Karrnathi Crown renounced it as the national religion and outlawed the Order of the Emerald Claw - but still, many Seekers hold positions in the government, and Karrnath’s necromancers still use Blood of Vol procedures to create more Karrnathi undead.
In Breland and Aundair, the Blood of Vol is tolerated but disliked, particularly in light of the aid the faith rendered to Karrnath during the war. In Thrane, it is outlawed but generally not outright persecuted.
Ironically, if PCs are looking to pay a priest for magical services, they will likely have greater luck with a Seeker than a Vassal (follower of the Sovereign Host) or a Purified (follower of the Silver Flame). Vassal and Purified clerics both see their magic as gifts from things greater than themselves, and thus something to use judiciously, in service of that greater power. Seeker clerics on the other hand see their magic as coming the Divinity Within, and are therefore more likely to allow it to be used for their own purposes.
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