Just add thickener...
Prologue Saykoo wanders into a bar carrying a bloody severed head, Lucky tosses her a change purse, then gives her the task of killing the thieves who are stealing from a boat in the port of Aefina. She takes a ride from a chatty farmer, befriends a lonely sailor, claiming she is waiting to talk to a sailor who is the secret fiancee of her sister, who moved with her from the Trobian Archipelago, where her father was a farmer, to Ir Alatha. The lonely sailor invites her for dinner at a tavern, she claims to need to wait for her sisters suitor, then she will join him. She settles in behind some crates one boat from the ship being stolen from, sees people picking through boxes and barrels late at night and kills the two of them with her blowgun, grabbing things off the bodies and returning to Lucky in Ir Alatha. Genesis Saykoo gets another job from Lucky,
this time to rid an island of shakaarya.
She gets hit on by a man in the tavern, then runs into Ombra, whom she
ignores. Ombra follows her out yelling
for her to wait because he had a vison that he needed to talk to her. Seeing the old man yelling for the suspicious
looking female to wait, Jarakeh, having just stepped out of the academy of
illusions, freezes Saykoo with an illusion of time. Eenkho, seeing her frozen and the commotion
following her, now also including two of lucky’s guards coming with a message,
grabs her coinpurse and bolts. One guard
makes towards him, while the other continues towards saykoo, who awakes to see
a confused Ombra standing immediately next to her. She shrugs him off again and runs into the
crowd. The guard, assuming Jarakeh and
Ombra are associates of Saykoo, says that lucky needs to give them something
else. They head back in to the tavern to
hear of the job and are told they will receive the money for it if they do
the job instead. They also receive a map
and a note of passage for three people.
Stepping back out they catch sight of Eenkho slinking away from the
guard in the marketplace. Heading
towards him, he raises a khirka (a weapon somewhat like a crossbow) and fires, piercing the face of the guard
following him. Jarakeh places a time
illusion on him as he retrieves his arrows and they confront him about stealing
the purse. He denies but they point out
the obviousness of it and tell him he could make much much more money if he
assists them with a small job. They know neither of them has much skill or experience in combat and Eenkho seems to have no problem with it. Saykoo
walks into the temple of the aygeema of the life cycle, Tehsh. Tehsh rises from a swirling vortex suspended
between a shattered egg and a tomb and speaks to Saykoo. Tehsh assures saykoo that she is beginning to
understand the way of the life cycle but that she has killed too many, unbalancing her stream of the life cycle. Glimpses of several of Saykoo’s kills are
seen in the reflections in Tehsh’s eyes and fins and the vortex around it. Suddenly Tehsh transforms into the last thief
Saykoo killed and screams at her. Then
Tehsh pulls back into the vortex and as only a protruding hand shows a glimpse
of Ombra walking around cautiously, then leapt upon by several shakaarya and
torn to pieces. “This must not happen,”
explains Tehsh, “Make it so. Life is a
cycle. Death is only part. Make it so.”
Tehsh transforms back into the thief and reaches for Saykoo, then
touches the altar in front of its vortex and a small orb appears. Tehsh screams again and pulls back into the
vortex. Saykoo retrieves the orb (a bewa) and leaves. Everyone arrives in the port of Aefina. Eenkho goes off to the right into a row of buildings, Ombra goes forward to the docks to find the ship and Jarakeh goes left into an open market to ask around about a place to stay. Saykoo shows up as Ombra finds the ship Equity and they both convince the captain to give them an extra ticket in exchange for getting the crazy watchman Blind Barto down from the crows nest. Ombra wanders back to the market, finds Jarakeh and the two head to a cheap inn above a raucous sea tavern (where Saykoo dined with the sailor earlier). The next morning Ombra and Jarakeh head to the Equity in the commotion of everyone loading. Eenkho shows up just as the ship is about to leave. He heads to the quartermaster and buys some rope, lamp oil, food, and a flint-like lighter. The captain lets the four take a lifeboat to the island. Once in the boat, Ombra and Jarakeh row while the other two sit in the back and eye each other up, each trying to out trick the other as Eenkho uses Saykoo’s own money to try to buy poison that Saykoo refuses to make at a deadly dose. As they approach the island a scream is heard and an object flies off the cliff above them. It is the bloody lower half of a body. They sail around looking for safe harbor and make a landing, hauling out and camouflaging the boat. They see ruins in a mountain at the center of the island and attempt to lure out shakhaarya using a small fire and food left on the ground. A hunched over creature in a tattered cloak heads over and begins picking up the food. Saykoo and Eenkho open fire with blowgun and khirka. The creature turns out to be an old man rather than a shakaar and has two old scraps of parchment on him. Ombra himself appears to have written one of them, which shows some sort of odd device and some random musings, the other appears to be a map of some of the ruins, which are referred to as the tombs of Demeth. Ombra picks up the tarsi (soul orb), Jarahkeh feels very bad about killing the old man, but they decide to continue with the plan. They sneak to the edge of the ruins, where Saykoo and Ombra go in one door while Jarakeh and Eenkho go in the other. Eenkho looks around, concealed by one of Jarakeh’s illusions and finds ancient statues and various large domed rooms caving in. He eventually find a narrow choke point in one tunnel and just beyond a cave of sleeping shakaarya. Hauling a few bodies found in the ruins along with that of the old man, the four having rejoined, create a pile of bodies marked with an ominous twisted symbol of the life cycle Aygeema Tehsh, sitting in front of a roaring fire, out of which Jarakeh projects the image of a twisted and angry version of Tehsh. Hearing noises from behind the other three go to investigate, killing a couple shakaarya who had come out the adjoining tunnel. Eenkho and Saykoo each kill a couple but more come, Saykoo tries to sneak up on one but is thrown back. Ombra yells “Doom!” and hurls his staff at one missing badly but causing a cave-in which blocks any more from coming from that direction. They draw more ominous markings near a statue of Tehsh, while Saykoo, somewhat sadistically mutilates the bodies of the shakaarya and marks them as well. They hurry back to the boat and wait for the ship to pick them up. A brief storm batters the ship on its way back. Back in Ir Alatha the group gets a small cut of the pay up front and splits up. Ombra heads to a blacksmith to purchase a sword then back to his friend Pem's small cottage and shop. Pem is a middle age widower and glassblower who found Ombra's tarsi in a field and brought him to be resurrected. Eenkho gets a scope fashioned for his khirka from a blacksmith and a gemcutter. Jarakeh buys some cave salt and a linen satchel and finds a small job herding pegiya and a hostel to stay at. Eenkho is introduced to the marksman academy, where his scope is fit to his khirka and goes to talk to Shah, the aygeema of air, in order to begin training at the academy. Shah shows him visions of feeling the wind as he shoots his khirka and gives him four bewaya as a sign of its blessing. These Eenkho brings to the academy to continue his training. Jarakeh takes a job from lucky along with Eenkho killing rat-birds in an infested warehouse, then goes, at the request of the League of Free Trade (for whom Lucky works), to the island of Teres with some diplomats to search out good trade harbors. Ombra follows him at a distance but is none too subtle and is discovered once on board the ship. Exodus The two are paired with several others on a secretive mission to sneak out of the capital city of Tidoshan and locate any possible in-routes to trade with the extremely closed off island of Teres, the last major island not part of the the Council of Dafsomet. During a large gala put on to entertain the large group of diplomats, the group sneaks out following a traditional Terathi pit fight in the Tower of The Collective in the center of the city. The group is lead by a high priest named Sanjitha, who teaches at the academies of illusion and priesthood. Jarakeh and Sanjitha discuss illusions, the nature of magic, their connections with the Aygeemya, and the history of Teres. They charter a fisherman to take them downstream to a sea port called Azot. There they discover that the ports are even more tightly controlled than expected but upon leaving, stumble upon a small black market meeting. The underground markets are prevalent in Teres due to the control on imports, but for the same reason are very poorly supplied. They venture on to another village upstream to see one of the storehouses for the underground market and there Jarakeh befriends a local farmer turned trader. They discuss the transport of materials and realize the benefit of the rare flying Ralitanya. the trader and his brothers have domesticated one, which Jarakeh goes to see in the man's barn. Jarakeh and Sanjitha set up a few contacts locally and return to Ir Alatha to begin the creation of secret trade supply deposits. Sanjitha tells Jarakeh that he will be in touch. On return, the Jarakeh and Ombra run into Eenkho again. Conversation ensues regarding what to do about the tarsi of the old man killed on the island of the tombs of Demeth. The Garden of Gadweh The group decides to resurrect the old man, who enthusiastically greets Ombra, whose notes he had been carrying. Ombra, remembering so little of his past, is unable to decipher much of the cryptic scribbles. The old man insists they accompany him back to the island for a "reward beyond [their] dreams". The mercenary Khoolan was hired as extra protection for the Shakhaarya infested caves. The six head back to Aefina, where the book passage aboard the Equity again. On board they are introduced to the preening swordsman Gumbfree, on his way to the "Festival of Fashion", whom they ignore for the remainder of the journey. The Equity sets at anchor, allowing the five to head in to the island. Several shakhaarya are killed as the group moves further into the caves to large shakhaarya nesting area. After scaring out many of them and killing the rest, the group progresses to a deep chasm. Eenkho edges his way around while the rest hold on to a rope tied around his waist. Saykoo looks at Eenkho then drops the rope, growling at the others to do the same. She demands the return of her coinpurse that she is certain Eenkho had stolen earlier. The group reacts with complete shock to such a brazen move at such a dangerous juncture. She is talked out of dropping Eenkho, but is thereafter seen by him as as much of a liability as she is a help. Descending to a lower level the group navigates through the winding cave passages, although the old man breaks his leg in the process, and across an underground river till they arrive at a cliff face before them covered in strange vines. The vines attack anyone who attempts to climb up, unless they climb one at a time. Past a narrow bridge over a deep hole they find a sprawling garden, very well manicured, with clay pots and urns scattered throughout. A statue of the life cycle Aygeema Tehsh decorates the center, eldritch designs cover earthen spirals, and a cloaked figure wreathed in leaves and covered with vine-like tattoos glides to the group. It introduces itself as Gadweh, and begins to tell a story. Many years ago, Gadweh was greatly favored by Tehsh and was given a wish. Gadweh requested that it its (ancient Gadweh is well covered with vines, cloaked, and therefor gender is unidentifiable) gardens, any who came would find what they desired most. The wish was granted and Gadweh's gardens began to grow miraculous plants and many came to see them. Word began to spread of the strange effects of the garden, and because of their twisted desires, some of the granted wishes had terrible consequences. Also, many began to kill each other to get into the garden first. In fear of the things Gadweh was seeing, it left the city and hid in the caves of this island, which were rich in life cycle energy. Gadweh cautiously asks the group what they would most desire. During this speech, the swordsman Gumbfree, who was hiking across the island, stumbles into a sinkhole, and is dragged by vines into the garden. Saykoo asks only for seeds or herbs and poisons, in order to grow a garden of her own and develop her herbalist skills. Ombra asks to know how he died, and Gadweh laughs. He points Ombra to a random vase and Ombra peers inside, then laughs loudly. The old man, hobbling on his broken leg, asks for relief from his pain. Gadweh motions to another clay pot, and upon reaching it, the old man is torn to pieces by thorny vines. Jarakeh asks for nothing, but is given a bag filled with small glass-like beads. Upon pulling one out it transformed into a piki (a tiny long-tailed hummingbird) and flew off. Gadweh cryptically tells him that the bag contains "potential". Gumbfree, frustrated by the halt to his journey to find a cape that better matches his armor, decides he wants to be less concerned with his physical appearances. Gadweh points to a large urn nearby and Gumbfree pulls out a set of stockings and sandals to wear, causing several of the other to chuckle. Eenkho approaches Gadweh in awe of the display of such power and whispers that he only wishes to know about his parents. Gadweh looks at him and asks if he is certain, as it will surely bring more pain that not knowing. Eenkho assures Gadweh that he does indeed want to know. Small sprouts of plants shoot from the ground near their feet, forming a map recognizable as the island of Ebioth, a savage island to the far south populated mostly by superstitious tribes that want little to do with more developed society. Eenkho graciously thanks Gadweh, who explains that Tehsh, the Aygeema of the life cycle works through Gadweh and thus it is Tehsh who should be thanked. During the night, Eenkho wakes and makes his way to the statue of Tehsh. In the darkness, the spirals surrounding and swirling across the statue seem to be slowly moving. Eenkho lays an offering of coins and food before the statue, dedicating himself to Tehsh. In the morning, Gadweh gives everyone a small parcel wrapped in leaves containing a yitali, the soulstone of an elemental sprite. When grasped with several fingers and focused upon, the sprite appears from the stone. The group quickly heads back to the waiting boat, which is about to leave. Sins of The Father Back in Ir Alatha, Eenkho is consumed with newfound fervor and zeal after having discovered hope for finding his never known family and witnessing for the first time some of the power of the Aygeemya. He makes a visit to the temple complex, talking to and leaving a small offering each of the Aygeemya. He asks forgiveness from Shah, the Aygeema of air, whom he had been dedicated to since childhood, for changing his allegiance. Shah dismisses it and tells Eenkho that his destiny already lies with Tehsh anyway, and that Tehsh is expecting him. Entering the temple of the Life Cycle last, Eenkho reiterates his prayers on the island and re-dyes his dorsal crest gray in dedication to Tehsh. Preparing to head immediately to Ebioth, Eenkho runs into Ombra coming out of the Temple Complex, who decides to join him. From inside the temple of Fire, the fire elementalist and prophet of Zihth, Lektalis, sees the two of them talking and instantly has a vision of fire raining down from the sky, an outstretched hand casting necromantic spells, a woman crying out in grief, and himself walking with Eenkho and Ombra. He approaches Zihth's altar inquiringly. In an explosion of flames, Zihth appears and explains that Lektalis is to help Eenkho get back his father's soul orb and that a great affront to the Aygeema has taken place. Lektalis is to help right it and is given a paper bearing marks of passage to Ebioth. He leaves the temple, approaches the two, and seeing the free marks of passage, Eenkho pragmatically obliges. The journey takes them to the outpost of Mephistele, the most developed Tarabolis Protectorate outpost on the island. Ombra and Lektalis go to find a place to stay for the approaching evening while Eenkho searches for any clue to his family's whereabouts. Knowing only the name of his mother, Elathno, he combs through old census data in the records center of the fort. The two prophets find converted longhouse and storage bunker converted into spartan guest accommodations and book a room for the night as well as purchasing a map of the islands terrain in the market area. Eenkho returns with the news that his mother was part of a cult that had an encampment in the central part of the island. After a long meditation over the water in the washbasin, Ombra sees the water turn sideways and a map of the island appears highlighting a place near a river tributary and the foot of the mountains. The group agrees to head there in the morning and falls asleep. Eenkho however awakens and leaves for the night, sneaking out of the outpost and stealing a small boat. He paddles down the river under the full moon for several hours until he sees a line of cloaked figures immersed to their chests all across the river. They are chanting softly and do not respond to his yells to move. He attempts to then run one over which causes several of them to swamp his boat. Ombra and Lektalis awaken with it still dark and rush off after Eenkho. In a fury Lektalis literally "trailblazes" by conjuring flames and burning through the brush straight towards the spot on the map that had seen. Eenkho wakes to find himself tied up and surrounded by several figures in the same blue cloaked robes as he had seen in the river. They tell him that the council will decide what to do with him in the morning. An elderly lady comes and explains that she will be caring for him until the council can decide his fate. The two prophets stumble upon more of the blue-robed figures chanting around a circle. Recognizing the chant as an archaic version of a similar chant in the Kushi Telioth, Lektalis joins in and responds in kind to the greetings of the figures. They are taken to Eenkho who is in the hut of the old woman who he has discovered to be his mother, Elathno. She explains that Eenkho's father, Halis, was the dakthay, meaning bearer or carrier or weilder, of an artifact called the Tannet Pearl, which was the central focus of worship for the cult. The pearl is supposedly the most flawless and beautiful object in the world and any who look at it for more than a glance begin to care about nearly nothing else. One of the other members of the cult, Melkanath, was jealous of Halis and brought claims of abuse of power against him. The trial was brought before a wandering court that judged matters of great esteem called a Meeari Tribunal. The tribunal presents the case before the Aygeemya themselves in rituals and asks for divine judgement if the defendant is guilty. One of Melkanath's assistants, an illusionist had created images of Halis using the pearl for gain in the mind of several locals that were called before the court. At the end, another assistant, an elementalist, rained fire upon Halis which everyone assumed to be divine judgement. Enraged at hearing this and angered that his mother did nothing, Eenkho prepares to go murder Melkanath is his tent while it is still dark. Lektalis holds him back explaining that he should be confronted before the council in the morning and told that it is the will of Zihth that he step down and turn over the soulstone of Halis. Each argues quite fervently for some time, and finally Eenkho agrees to wait till the meeting, however he will give his father's killer but a single chance and after that will attack and that Lektalis and Ombra better help him. Morning comes, the council convenes with the entire cult gathered for morning rites on a large circle of fallen stone overlooking a small lake. Melkanath is arrogant, sneering and insulting Eenkho for his impudence in coming and even suggesting that he, Melkanath, the Dakthay of the Tannet Pearl, would do wrong. He suggests that a Meeari Tribunal should be the only one to judge him and that they would not find him "guilty as they did the fool and heretic Halis". At that Eenkho snaps and draws his weapon Ombra had hidden for him. Melkanath just laughs and the council stands up in disapproval. Lektalis steps forward and sternly states that Zihth demands the return of Halis's soulstone, as well as explaining Melkanath's treachery. The crowd is now confused and the council divided with several commanding each other to step down. Eenkho uses this to take a shot and fighting ensues. Several council members and onlookers are quickly slain, but Melkanath is a powerful necromancer and raises their corpses, becoming more powerful. Lektalis and Melkanath's elementalist begin to duel each other, flames flying everywhere as Eenkho fights off Melkanath's corpse minions and Ombra uses his powers to improve both of their skills, prophesying their success. Eventually everyone is slain save Melkanath's illusionist, highly trained in keeping himself vanished and appearing only to take shots at the three. Ombra is the only one who can see him, having trained in resisting illusions, and after giving up trying to direct his companions attacks, channels a prophecy of doom into his staff and hurls it into the invisible attacker. Ombra and Lektalis gather the soulstones of the fallen to be brought back and judged by the Aygeemya, including Melkanath, whose tarsi is eventually passed into the flames of Zihth himself, obliterating it forever. Eenkho is first to the corpse though and takes his father's tarsi and the Tannet Pearl. They meet Elathno back at the outpost at Mephistele, where Eenkho gives her Halis's soulstone and tells her that he wants little to do with her, but that he may find her again someday. The three travelers head back to Ir Alatha. The Prophecy CampaignOf Prophecies and Pirates Back in Ir Alatha, Jarakeh has been looking for work since his and Ombra's return from Teres. Lucky explains a problem that the League of Free Trade is having in moving anything more than a box or two of wool. Its seems that nearly all of the wool on the market has been bought up and the few trade ships the league has sent out to markets loaded with wool have been raided and ransacked. The northern islands seem to have the highest demand, the least wool, and the most incidents of piracy. Jarakeh spends hours in Ir Alatha's Great Library combing through for any possible references to wool, the histories of the now sparsely populated northern regions, and any combinations or correlation of the two. He notes that in some of the documentation of caravan trades from the peak of some of the northern cities, wool is highly demanded by the followers of a religious mystic called the Kushi'Aweh. He seemed to have been the first to be able to tap into the elemental powers of the Aygeemya and eventually won the support and loyalty of Arenethka, heir to the throne of the mighty city state of Nekthet. Investigating further, Jarakeh studies a woven bark flag long held to be the one carried by the Kushi'Aweh and Arenethka in their conquest of marauding northern tribes, and one of few surviving artifacts from so long ago. Not knowing it had not been touched for generations, Jarakeh's probing revealed a small tear, inside of which was a cryptic poem. Scholars of all sorts were brought in to analyze the great find and it was revealed to be the original of a prophecy attributed to the Kushi'Aweh in the holiest scroll, the Kushi'Telioth. Jarakeh takes notes of all this and shares much of it with Ombra and Eenkho on their return. They decide to smuggle themselves, dressed as pirates, inside crates of wool to be shipped northward in an attempt to infiltrate the raiders. A long journey and a few too many bugs later, the vessel is hijacked and their crates are taken ashore. Sneaking out and killing the guard, the three pose as new recruits to the drunken corsairs. Secretly killing off the only non-drunk pirate who is trying to out them, they take their place in the pirate camp for a short time. Ombra has a vision of a large wooden key with reed pipes for teeth, and soon finds it in the treasure of the buccaneer's tower. The three volunteer to help transport the stolen cargo to a buyer to learn what they can. Once meeting the well-dressed buyer and loading the cargo, they are outed by the captain who seems to have known they were spies all along, and are sold to the wool buying gentleman. On board the man's large vessel, they are treated quite well, although still manacled. Invited to dinner with the man, Jarakeh uses his illusionist skills to stay hidden and the other two are hauled to be questioned by the gentleman. In his quarters and around a great feast, they meet his liaison, a large turbaned and heavily tattooed man. The group confronts the two, and plies their advantage as Jarakeh appears to hold weapons to the two. The gentleman says a little but is silenced by the turbaned man. When they threaten to kill the gentleman, the turbaned man seems to care little, even urging them on. He then begins to summon flames around himself, threatening to bring down the entire vessel. A well placed shot from Eenkho's newly tuned up khirka, and empowered by Ombra's prophetic skills, sends the turbaned man to the floor. Cutting off the finger of the gentleman, they continue to press him for information. He explains that a group of soldiers is gathering in the north and snatching up any wool they can for an secret expedition northward. He explains that there are spies for several different groups on board the ship, and that if the death of the turbaned man is discovered they will all be killed. He promises the group safe passage to place of their choice, but that they must continue to appear as though captives. They are escorted to a brig in the belly of the ship and thrown in with a hunched figure in the back. Jarakeh uses one of the orbs from the bag given him by Gadweh and the man's finger is miraculously healed. The figure in the cell reveals herself to be Saykoo and she holds a key to the cell, but she refuses to say how she got there. Vekhtoris The ship soon appears to come to a standstill and there is much commotion above the decks. Two quite heavily armored soldiers descend to the brig, escorting a looming man in similar but even more elaborate armor. He introduces himself as Lord Commander Melkath of the Eseldron (causing Eenkho to shudder at the similarity of the name to his father's betrayer). It seems the Eseldron are a group of elite members of the Tarabolis Protectorate secretly gathered in times of great emergencies. Melkath will say little except that the Arch Prophet Zakkai has gone missing, and that they are to report to Zakkai stand in, the high prohetess Lohsin, as well as to the armory and quartermaster to equip whatever they might need. The pragmatic group eagerly snatches up several pieces of high quality armor and weaponry, if only to re-sell much of it later. They meet with Lohsin, who is rather open about her disapproval of Zakkai's wanderings since he is such a high position, but claims that he must be found at all costs. She then predicts her own death in the events leading up to finding Zakkai. The group and army marches northward until they reach the ruins of Nekthet. In the distance of the deserted fallen rooftops and crumbling statuary, countless members of a nomadic tribal warband rush towards the army. The Eseldron charge and in the chaos, Lohsin urges the group to head for cover. They duck into the entranceway of a ruin as she urges her mount at full speed towards the attackers. Lightning crackles around her and pure energy surges from her hands, eyes, and mouth, as a flood of raiders pull her down from her mount. The group is not just in any ruin, however, they are standing at the entrance to a tomb, the tomb of Arenethka, liege of the Kushi'Aweh and Greatking of Nekthet. Venturing inside, they see many petroglyphs and murals covering the walls detailing the life and glory of Arenethka. Most interesting to them are a painting of the Arenethka as a young prince with the Kushi'aweh who is coming from a group of tall gaunt figures with oval heads and only eyes, and a fresco of a ring of the Aygeemya fading into each other showing twelve vaguely recognizable shapes. Evading several traps, they come to a sealed door. Ombra uses the flutekey he found in the pirate's base, playing on its pipes. The door opens revealing a rounded square room with a strange altar. The key is placed in the altar and the room expands to a boundless expanse immediately. The ceiling shoots upwards beyond view, the floor drops out to a bottomless chasm, leaving them floating, and the outer walls shoot away from the group at a dizzying speed. Lines appear blurringly above the altar and eventually the form of an unknown Aygeema appears. speaking in three voices at once, it explains that it is actually three Aygeemya, Nekhsus, Apehks, and Vertekhs. They are the triplet Aygeemya of the three spacial dimensions, and must appear in the exact same place to be fully comprehended by mortal minds. They explain that there are other Aygeemya besides those known by the Alathaya. These Aygeemya had restrained most of their powers for an age to allow the Alathaya race to fully develop. Even the known Aygeemya limited the flow of their own energies into the world by locking down the major portal of that energy into Alatha, their Eyes. By using the ancient fluteky, the group had open this Eye, called Vekhtoris, or the Eye of Space. This corresponded with other world events showing the beginning of the fulfilling several prophecies, including the Kushi'aweh's that they had found. The Aygeemya explain that the archprophet Zakkai is being held by the forces in charge of keeping Cryosara, the Eye of Ice, closed. Ice is however, an unfamiliar term to the Alathaya, so the Aygeemya explain it as extreme coldness that causes many things to crystallize, especially water. The group is then transported by the Aygeemya to a frozen ice field just outside of Cryosara. Cryosara Rising in front of them is a huge spire of ice splitting house-sized shattered orbs at its base. A halo of ice floats above its crest. The partially cold-blooded Alathaya shiver in the coldest region they have ever been in, donning their heavy wool cloaks. Making their way towards the tower, several strange beings run towards them. The creatures are bipedal, wrapped in layers of cloth strips, with long skirts, and wield blades and sickles of ice. Their faces appear somewhat like the image from the tomb, oval heads with large eyes and brows, but these also have a huge horn of ice protruding from their foreheads. Throwing every spell, arrow, poisoned blade, or anything damaging at them, the group obliterates two of the three and downs the third. They approach the wounded creature hesitantly. It screams at them in an unknown language until Eenkho knocks it out. Ombra has a second of deja vu seeing the creature laying on the snow and reaches for it. Touching it makes his hand almost go numb in pain and the creature melts away into the snow. Jarakeh remarks that the creature was screaming but had no visible mouth. The group moves as quickly as possible to the frozen lake now in view surrounding the spire. more to come
Aeolan In which the group is commissioned by Zakkai to gather powerstones from the other Eyes, travels to Milotho unlocking the Eye of Air, and meets and witnesses the death of the Lorekeeper. coming soon Terror At Terrakhan In which the group befriends the loner farmer turned earth elementalist Dogen, uncovers a horrible plague of moss zombies, and opens the Eye of Earth. coming soon Solarii In which the group meets Lumhast the brash young swordsman, are attacked by a group of raiders that turn out to be only defending their territory, and opens the Eye of Light. coming soon The Treachery of Telia In which the group opens the Eye of the Life Cycle, uncover a way to combat the moss plague, are betrayed by a member of their party, take part in a sea battle, are captured by the Terathi navy, and are eventually avenged. coming soon Return of the Remnant In which the group seeks to discover Telia's motivations, witness the arrival of members of the ancient Remnant species, and assist them by sneaking into a villa to destroy an ancient evil. coming soon In The Sunken City Ombra, Saykoo, Jarakeh, and Eenkho (in the guise of the ArchProphet Zakkai) have just arrived in the city of Anubeth on the island of Sadina, after helping guard a caravan from Ir Alatha. Anubeth is hardly a welcoming place however. The city sits over a bay composed entirely of rotting wharves, docks, and piers built over top of older sections of the same and crumbled pilings. Seabirds circle overhead, the reek of fish, spice, and smoke permeates everything. Seedy pubs, warehouse, shipping depots, smoke-filled tea houses, fish shops, and a market stalls seem to make up most of the buildings in town. The populace is about the same, dirty beggers, grimy fishermen, sleazy merchants, dark-browed cultists, rough sailers, a blood stained butcher hauling fly-swarmed bags, a few worn out looking prostitutes. And the water. Most of the city seems to be about ankle deep in water that flows slowly in from the bay, and you're hoping this is the high tide. Jarakeh's antagonistic older brother Nod and his father (who refuses to speak with Jarakeh for leaving the family pottery business) are in town with the merchant caravan the group escorted, as is the caravan's enterprising leader Delton. Eenkho and Saykoo have each had attempts to pickpocket them in the mere two hours in the city so far. Saykoo taking note of the local custom of darkened brow ridges, decides to get some tattoo work done of her own. A grizzled ex-prophet named Bahn recognizes Zakkai (Eenkho) and tells him that a Remnant boy had been asking all over town about him the day before. The few Remnant seen thus far have all been ambassadors calling themselves Harbingers, so a Remnant youth seems significant. Bahn explains that he saw the boy surrounded and grabbed by a group who are part of the Jaadin, whom he explains a little about. He frequents one of their tea houses and is going to try to discover the location of the boy and rendezvous with the group at the tea house in a few hours. Meanwhile, the sun is beginning to set and the seedy town's shadows are growing by the minute. The group heads for the teahouse where there are to meet Bahn. The building is an ornate building with a domed center roof and tapestries hanging from the ceilings. Purple smoke drifts in waves across various side rooms and a immense statue of a layirdee sits on its haunches flanked by large flaming braziers illuminating a table full of platters of different herbs and leaves. After his own journey, the warrior prophet Lektalis walks into the teahouse searching for Ombra and Zakkai. After a brief confusion, Eenkho reveals his true identity as Saykoo decides to explore the other rooms. She pokes her head into a back room. Seeing a group of dark-browed Jaadin, she steps in, hoping her new darkened brows will put them at ease some. She claims to be from a parish of Jaadin on the other side of the island and asks about the Remnant boy. The seatll the group oed men stand up menacingly and walk towards her, weapons drawn. She backs out into Bahn, coming to tell the group the location of the boy. The rest of the group pretends to not be affiliated with her and walk out of the bar, but Lektalis comes to her aid, insisting that as a prophet of Zihth, he will escort her to a shrine to make a sacrifice and amends. Outside, the group splits up as Nod comes demanding to talk to Jarakeh, and Delton shows up telling Eenkho that he is being hunted. Those four head to the inn the caravan is staying at while Ombra, Lektalis, and Saykoo make their way to the warehouse the boy is being stored in. On their way they meet up with Mallac, a young demiurge sent by Eenkho to help out in his stead. Mallac makes his way to the rooftop, where he resumes work on a large project he has been working on, a greater golem. The other three burst into the door, taking out the guards, but Saykoo takes a club to the head and is knocked out. The two prophets clear much of the rest of the warehouse but happen upon the Jaadin boss from the warehouse, wielding a large magical axe dripping with water energies. On the roof, Mallac has now finished his creation and sends the living statue smashing through the center of the roof, destroying a group of alchemists in a center room. The boss seems unphased by Lektalis' barrage of fireballs and slices deep into the fire prophet's shoulder. As the boss turns on Ombra, the golem smashes through the wall, flattening the boss. Mallac enters, and he and Ombra head to a cellar room, leaving the two incapacitated members. Underground, the two plus the golem kill a huge water snake, but find it guarding a riddle locked crate which they are unable to figure out how to open. Upstairs, Saykoo wakes up first, looting all she can find in the abandoned warehouse. As Lektalis recovers, he heads down to help open the crate. Mallac, however has set multiple traps on the stairs back up. After releasing the boy, Mallac has his golem grab the boy and holds him hostage so as to claim the full reward promised him by Zakkai for himself. After a brief argument, Lektalis is incensed and attacks anyway as Mallac runs up the stairs, where he is attacked by Saykoo, who overheard from the top of the stairs. Ombra is befuddled by the whole thing and follows Mallac up, seeing him in combat with Saykoo. He blasts both of them with fire and brimstone and walks out of the building confused. Lektalis burns away the traps on the stairs and ascends, taking the soulstone of the Remnant boy, who was killed in the raining fire of Ombra's blast, and leaves with Saykoo. The two head to find Eenkho/Zakkai and Jarakeh, but after waking the patrons of the inn, find them both missing. They head to the docks to catch a boat back to ir Alatha and hopefully some security and sense or at least to the temples and other Remnant. Ombra eventually wanders back in and follows Mallac as they search for Zakkai, Jarakeh, Saykoo, or Lektalis. They head back to the inn, find no one there and head to the docks. They stumble upon a smuggler who believes they are there to unload a few boxes of cargo skimmed from a shipment of alchemical herbs for the Jaadin. Mallac's golem unloads the cargo quickly and they receive a few boxes in trade for the golem. Unable to find Lektalis or Saykoo, they discuss how neither really had anything against the group. Mallac states that he just wanted the reward, which Ombra tells him never really existed. They catch a boat back to Ir Alatha, as Ombra is chastised by a stern Wee and told that he needs to find Jarakeh. Jarakeh, after a brief frustrating conversation with his father and brother, overhears a plot to capture the archprophet. He steps out and finds Eenkho, who is becoming frustrated at his inability to remove the illusion on him. The two sneak through the city, trying to escape the gangs of Jaadin searching for him. Through some illusions of Jarakeh's and a little violence from Eenkho, the two don Jaadin guises and take a ship back to Ir Alatha. In the process of checking the body of one of their attackers, however, Jarakeh picks up a note that Eenkho unwittingly drops. It details a plan for Eenkho to meet Zakkai, raising Jarakeh's suspicion of Eenkho as Eenkho had told him Zakkai was dead. With one eye open, the third pair head back to Ir Alatha. Interlude in Ir Alatha In Ir Alatha, a group of armed guards and a retinue from the Temple Conglomerate intercept Mallac and Ombra as they arrive. Ombra is chastised further by Wee for attacking his comrades, while Mallac is made to swear piously to follow Shah, the aygeema of air, as well as taking a solemn vow before him to never again attack his compatriots. Saykoo, Lektalis, and Mallac help out Lucky by putting down a group of mutineers and pirates who took over a League merchant vessel. This helps establish some degree of trust between Lektalis and Mallac. Lektalis has the Remnant boy resurrected and explains the situation that happened to the Harbingers. They explain the boy is out of their control. He talks to the boy (named Nofo) who tells them that his master, an independent Remnant exile named Todan, was sent to find the cohorts that the archprophet Zakkai had commissioned to fulfill the openings of all the eyes and fulfillment of several prophecies. Todan is there as well. Having heard of Nofo's death, he came to Ir Alatha to seek out the Academy of Prophecy. (There he found Eenkho (as Zakkai) returning. Eenkho, in turn finds some unrest with the academy of prophecy due to his lack of leadership and constant absence. The high prophetess Lohsin is in the process of being commissioned for leadership of the Academy "to allow Zakkai the freedom he needs to go on his journeys." Additionally, Eenkho's mother Elathno has come into town seeking him out. It seems that after resurrecting her husband Halis, who was dead for twenty years, he spurned her as an old maid and ran off with a younger woman. Also he is seeking the return of the the Tannet Pearl for his own possession and has a number of followers culled from his old cult. Eenkho decides he had best head out of town, speaks out against Lohsin's renunciation of his leadership, and journeys south with his scorned and furious mother.) Seeing such chaos at the Academy, the grizzled Todan reluctantly turns to the only other option he sees in Ir Alatha, the Remnant harbingers. There he finds Nofo resurrected. Todan explains that he was hired by a powerful Remnant sage named Charomir. He was supposed to fetch the group Zakkai promised he would send to open the eyes (Charomir was in contact with the actual Zakkai when he was being held near Cryosara). Charomir told him to bring them to Vekhtoris, where they will be transported north to Remnant lands and then to journey to his home. Ombra, back in the temple of water, is given a tattered and decayed scroll, found by the group the Temple Conglomerate sent north to investigate Remnant lands, that bears his name. It details his findings roughly four hundred years prior, uncovering information about the eyes and ideas on how to open them as well as a note on the existence of other remnant besides the standard six, specifically "one of coldness whose eye is in the north". It reveals an ancient curse on Ombra stating that he must not be present at the opening of the last Eye or it would awaken a 12 year plague. It also has a rubbing in an odd language now recognizable as hightongue. Jarakeh heads to the Desert Oasis where he finds Saykoo and Mallac reveling after their mission for Lucky, along with a huge rock-armored Alathay named Larth. Mallac iand Larth are introduced to Jarakeh and Mallac
The Test Of Time Upon the arrival of Lektalis, Todan, and Nofo, the group takes a caravan from Ir Alatha to Aefina, then boards a ship taking them to the Ephsheray Wastes. An hour from the ruins of Nekthet, the group sees smoke in the distance. Saykoo scouts ahead | Ideally this will all be written out as though a story, but for now, this rough form will suffice. Links are provided with descriptions for places, characters, creatures, items, and organizations when I have them. Also note Role Playing Characters |
