Session 29: Days End

We played again last Sunday and the group decided to deal with the issue of Ashura. Ashura is a Primordial, a Lord of Law and one of the Creators of the World. He was killed millennia ago by the recently returned Warlord Reptos. Unfortunately for him it is not normally possible to kill a Primordial. Its body might be destroyed but its spirit lives on. Reptos sacrificed hundreds of his Magi to imprison the spirit of Ashura in the Plaza of Dead Gods.

Thousands of years later our heroes disturbed those bindings in their first ever adventure. His spirit freed, Ashura fled to the Shrouded Oasis where his children, the Kireshi, worked to resurrect him. Unfortunately they lacked the artefacts which held his soul together (the PC’s having made off with them) and the resurrection went wrong. Ashura returned but now as a creature of the void, determined to suck all life out of creation.

However, before dealing with this little wrinkle the group take the opportunity to quiz the Library. They learn a great many things; the origin story of humanity; the reason the Beast pursues them across realities; the status of the Primordials; the nature of places such as the Shrouded Oasis; the nature of the True Dragons; the source of the weapons they wield; the weakness of Reptos as a proto Primordial and the existence of a weapon of mass destruction capable of permanently destroying a Primordial amongst other things. Before the can quiz it further however fate intervenes.

Scene 1: Help me Obi Wan

The images the Library is showing them shimmer and change. They are receiving a sending from the witch Sybelle, a member of Artemis’s clan who he has had little time for in the past. “We are under attack, Ashura moves against us, I am sending you the pattern for our location, help us Artemis, you are our only hope.”

The group acts quickly and the Library is able to dispatch them to the portal location provided. They find themselves in a large cavern in one of the great mountain strongholds of the Pashtun desert people. An explosion rocks the structure and rubble rains down from above. Sybelle is there and explains that Ashura has raised his new Empire and dispatched his child, the Black Sun and the hosts of Kireshi corrupted by his return against them. He plans to sweep across the continent and exterminate all life. The group immediately move to help hold off the attackers while the people flee through the underground tunnels to the Citadel, the strongest of the mountain fortresses.

Azhanti takes to the air leading a wing of Wyvern riders against the elemental spirits enslaved by Ashura. He draws them away from the battle giving the defenders precious time and from his vantage point he can see the oncoming death. Ashura has raised a vast wall of sand which stretches hundreds of feet in the air and crosses from horizon to horizon. The spirits of the desert have been aroused and the wall is death for any enemy of Ashura to attempt to cross. It is also moving towards them. Azhanti tries to gather aid against them calling on the local spirits but they reject his advances, he once worked with them but spurned them some time ago and they have not forgotten.

Morn meanwhile takes his place at the forefront of the battle. He leaps down onto the narrow span of rock leading to the main gates and shatters it with his Hammer, sending Kireshi soldiers crashing to their deaths. Artemis moves through the battle directing their archers and unleashing various traps set up by his people to protect their homes.

However it is not enough. The armies of the Kireshi vastly outnumber them and they are pushed further and further back into the mountain until an avalanche of sand is unleashed against the invaders burying them in the tunnels. Azhanti follows up from behind sending howling winds ripping through the invaders. His armies beaten back the Black Sun takes to the field personally. The ground blackens and crumbles at his approach and the sand melts into glass and shatters.

The Pashtun flee into the tunnels while our heroes wait the coming of a God. As he enters the chamber where they wait the air begins to scorch. The ground breaks open and the burning skeletons of ancient Pashtun pull themselves out of the sand while in the background a huge salamander noble armed with a mighty bow slithers into view.

The Black Sun charges Morn, the impact sends shockwaves through the room and flames erupt all around them. Morn staggers almost overcome by the first charge, only just saved by the strength that runs through his Hammer. Artemis seeks distance but struggles to get out of range of the burning aura and Azhanti’s healing powers are put to the test. The Salamander is quickly dispatched and the skeletons prove to be little hindrance even as they arise again and again. The Black Sun however is another matter. Highly resistant to damage his very presence causes flesh to burn however our heroes are mortals no longer.

They withstand his assault and counterattack. Morn drives him back out of the room and Artemis moves into position. Time seems to slow to a crawl as he draws back the bow and lets arrow after arrow fly, each striking some vulnerable spot and delivering terrible wounds. Overcome the Black Sun slumps, defeated. Standing over him Artemis delivers a final message, “Tell Ashura that I am coming for him” as he ends his life.

Scene 2: You can't choose your family

Their commander defeated the Kirteshi host withdraws behind the great Wall and the group makes its way to the Citadel, the Pashtun fortress where the five great clans have gathered. They quickly learn that not all is well. The people are not united; the Clan Chiefs argue and squabble amongst each other; the young warriors have lost respect for their leaders; the Elders have retreated into the deep caverns for reasons they refuse to disclose; Sybelle is condemned to death for breaking the Clan Chiefs edict not to contact him and his sister is here advocating for an alliance with the Arkhosian Empire.

Leaving Artemis to solve his local problems Azhanti and Morn set off to pursue their own agendas. Morn returns briefly to the City of Kings. Arriving late at night he finds it a hive of activity, the slave army is rebuilding the City and the skies are patrolled by the Taken, Reptos’s flying carpet riding Magi. Morn however has other matters of concern, he has come here to right a very old wrong. He heads towards one of the Cabals towers, one time home of Althea who the group assassinated early on in their career. In that tower they once found an Angel captured by Cabal sorcery. Fearing trickery they left it where it was but now Morn returns to release it, shattering the chains with his Hammer. As it flies into the night sky it gives thanks for its release although what the consequences of this act might be few can say.

Meanwhile Azhanti spends his time with a small group of Kireshi refugees who have been given sanctuary in the Citadel. Not all Kireshi have fallen under Ashura’s influence and many who have resisted him have come here to aid their human allies. They have not been treated well and many among the Pashtun call for them to be expelled or killed as the enemy.

Azhanti moves among them healing their afflictions and bringing them word of a new hope, a new future which he is creating in their lifetime. They flock to hear him speak, a divine Avatar walking among them. After several days of teaching and working he invests some of them as his first non Dragonborn clerics. It seems that the Church of Azhanti will be an all encompassing faith.

While this is going on Artemis spends his time talking to the Clan Leaders. His own clan supports him but the others are reticent. Some favour alliance with the Dragonborn, others just want revenge for the harm they have suffered. He clashes briefly with his sister Kallista but can’t seem to bring himself to simply impose his will on his people. He can see the logic of an alliance with the Dragonborn, his people are threatened on one side by Ashura and the other by Reptos. The only allies they have are him and his friends and several of the Clan Chiefs seem to think they cannot rely on him which annoys him no end. He does however decide to save Sybelle, simply removing her from her cell and informing the Clan Chiefs that she is under his protection.

Scene 3: the Water of Life

Before he can meet the Chiefs in Council however he is called for by the Elders. It is time for the Tournament of the Great Hunt to be concluded. Three challengers have been chosen, Artemis who slew Sopias; Kubolta of the Hashashin, the assassin who slew Shraal the Lord of Entropy and Captain Strom who Artemis killed in the belly of the Kraken but who has returned from death itself.

Artemis is lead into the darkness where the Elders wait for him. Sitting at the head of their circle is the shaman Udun who they met long ago and who pointed them towards the dwarves. He face is familiar and it’s almost as if he has always been in his life somewhere. The challenge he sets is simple, the Hunters must find the last remaining Spirit of Water which took refuge from the Taken in the deepest caverns when Ashura was slain by Reptos. They must return with that spirit and thereby restore the Court of the Spirits of the Desert to equilibrium. Only one of them may return.

The three set off in different directions. It quickly becomes apparent that the tunnels twist and turn on each other in confusing ways but Artemis is prepared for this. He begins to sniff out the scent of water in the air but as he heads further down Kubolta strikes. The two clash and the assassin is left to bleed out on the bare rocks. The tunnels lead to a huge cavern with a narrow bridge across. Below lies a lake of magma and lurking within is the body of an enormous Dragon, hundreds of yards long. A True Dragon, kin to those who created the Dragonborn. He manages to make his way across without disturbing the creature.

Reaching the other side he finds himself trapped in an ancient maze but such obstacles are far beyond him now. He navigates it with ease but finds Strom waiting for him. The Captain remembers their previous encounter and seeks to delay him so that he can win the race but it is not to be. Coming back from death it seems is a onetime thing for him and he will not see the light of day again.

The maze ends at a door forged from silver and covered in intricate runes. A few deft adjustments and the probing of some tools flicks it open with barely a moment’s thought and he finds himself in a vast lightless cavern. Before him is a lake of perfectly still dark water and in the centre sits a pedestal above which floats an orb of water. He slips quietly into the cool dark lake and, making barely a ripple, manages to cross the expanse without troubling the denizens which lurk in its depths. Placing his hand on the orb he finds himself suddenly transported elsewhere.

He is flying above a lush verdant forest. It is night and thick clouds obscure the stars. Four dark figures mounted on flying carpets pursue a watery spirit across the sky as it makes for the looming mountain. Artemis realises he has travelled into the past. Not far away Reptos battles with Ashura waiting for midnight when he will be at his weakest while here the Taken seek to destroy the spirit of water on which the Kirteshi’s forest home depends. He moves quickly to intercept them, arrows flying out of the darkness. First one then two of the Magi tumble from the sky but the others are rapidly closing. If they reach the spirit before it can seek the safety of the mountain then it will be destroyed and the Desert Court will be permanently unbalanced. The third Magi falls to Artemis but the fourth seems much more adept in the air. A black clawed hand reaches out to grasp the creature and put an end to its kind once and for all when Artemis blows him out of the sky. With a brief look back of thanks the spirit dives into the mountain there to wait and heal and grow over the course of millennia.

Artemis wakes up as if from a sudden dream. He is back in the cave but it is filled with sound and light and movement. The Spirits of the Desert are whole once again and, complete, they have thrown off the influence of their corrupted father. In the skies above the Citadel a miracle begins to grow, something which has not happened in the desert for a very long time. Rain clouds boil up out of the mountain and spread southwards across the desert. The parched land is soaked and bursts into life and as the rains reach the wall of sand it collapses. Cheers are heard all through the Citadel as the Pashtun people have reason to hope for the first time in a long while.

Scene 4: Why wont you just die!

Artemis heads quickly to the Council of Clan Chiefs. As he arrives Kallista is there trying to salvage something for her master the Emperor but he cuts her off listing all of the alliances the group has forged. Those combined with his new status of Master of the Hunt ensures the Chiefs fall into line. Kallista makes a break for it recognising that the group is unlikely to respect her personal privacy. Morn tries to stun her with the Hammer but she dances away only to be caught by the backswing. As she hurtles across the floor Artemis snatches the bracelet from her wrist which would have allowed her to teleport away but she is not without resources. She dives out of a window plunging down the face of the mountain but Azhanti follows her. Unfortunately unused to his new wings she slips from his claws and disappears into the night to return later to seek her revenge.

The celebrations go on long into the night and out in the desert Ashura broods. He withdraws his armies into the Shrouded Oasis and spins powerful illusions around it to conceal it from his enemies. His child, the Black Sun, is returned from the Void and set to guard those few paths which remain through his deadly illusions. In the Citadel our heroes are left to think how one kills a Primordial. Sopias died at their hands but he was chained, weakened and perhaps even sought death, Ashura will be a very different prospect.

*cut scene*

In the City of Sarind on the southern coast of the continent of Frigia trumpets begin to blare. Soldiers rush to man the walls as the slave army of Sopias emerges from the many open portals in the fields surrounding the City. The herald appears once more clothed in gold demanding their surrender. She is answered by a hail of arrows which are reduced to cinders before they even come close.

The slave army surges forward but as they do so another horn is raised. All along the walls Arkhosian Sardukar step into position. The lost legion, trapped here when the alliance with the Lokarnos failed have joined forces with the Humans to oppose the Tyrant Reptos. Only time will tell if they can hold or if they will become a footnote in history.

*cut scene*

In the Western Province of the Arkhosian Empire lies the Nightwyrm Fortress. Once the home of a powerful dream dragon of lust and greed it has for many years served as protection for the main pass between the Empires eastern and western provinces. Now it is flooded with refugees escaping the horrors of the advancing army of Amaan, lead by the Lich Lord Dust. Black clouds have blotted out the sun for days, protecting his army of cannibalistic ghouls and vampires from the effects of the sun. They cannot hold out for long and each one that succumbs is yet another soldier raised to fight for the enemy. Anxiously Humans and Dragonborn alike look to the skies hoping to see the arrival of the Dragon Wings which might yet save them.

*cut scene*

In the Palace of Reptos, Warlord, Tyrant and would be Emperor of all the World an emaciated figure is dragged into the Throne room by two of the Taken. “We found him hiding amongst the refuse my Lord. His powers are gone with the death of his God, would you have us slay him?”

“No, I may yet find a use for him, it is a fitting end for Hu’maa, High Priest of Sopias, to join my Taken.”