Asheron's Call Back Story
Asheron's Call has one of the most fully-developed back-stories of any game on the market. You're really missing out if you haven't read at least the most basic lore! A quick caveat - I am a lore junkie myself, so this page is probably going to be pretty long... I am going to try to keep the first paragraph short and to the point, but beyond that, watch out for digressions! I have also included some of my own conjectures which seem fitting enough to me, but with which you might disagree upon reading the original sources.
You are an Isparian - a humanoid from the planet Ispar. We all now inhabit the island of Dereth of the world Auberean - a distant realm whose former inhabitants, the Empyrean, were driven into hiding by our nemesis, the Olthoi. All of us were drawn here by Asheron, the last of the Empyrean here. Through his magic, he opened magical portals in Ispar in the hopes we could defeat the Olthoi and help him to reclaim his world. The first portals opened about thirty years ago, when the Olthoi still ruled Dereth without question. Many Isparians were enslaved by the Olthoi, but some, led by Thorsten Cragstone and Elysa Strathelar, fought back. Asheron aided the resistance, and with their help, the Olthoi Queen of Dereth was slain, but at the cost of Thorsten's life. 15 years have passed and Elysa is now our queen. Various factions of Isparians and other alien races have fought over the vacuum of power left by the Olthoi's defeat...
The Empyrean
Auberean's original inhabitants are knows as the Empyrean. They look quite similar to Isparians, but they are quite a bit larger in stature, have a more potent innate magical ability, and live roughly ten times as long. There is actually some evidence that indicates that the Empyrean themselves are not native to Auberean either, coming here tens of thousands of years ago for some long-forgotten reason. Their most ancient tomes of half-forgotten knowledge speak of an epic struggle between gods of Good and Evil that resulted in Evil being banished into the core of the world. Perhaps the Empyrean themselves were brought here to guard the Evil?
The most ancient inhabitants of our island Dereth were the Falatacot. The Falatacot were a matriarchal society ruled by priestesses who can best be described as Blood Witches. They worshipped the 'Old Ones', who seem to be monstrously large entities that lived in the swamps of Dereth. They used their own blood (the more evil cults used the blood of sacrificial victims) to fuel their magic, especially for prophecy. The more evil Falatacot used their magicks to create servants (the Sclavi, Moarsmen, and possibly the Burun!) and to transform themselves into undead. During the height of the Falatacot rule, probably 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, Dereth was much warmer and was more tropical and swampy than it is now, but at some point, the climate cooled significantly and Dereth became too cold for the Falatacot. It seems that many of the Falatacot crossed over the seas to the south, but some of the Matrons 'went to sleep' in their temples, only to be awoken just recently.
The Falatacot ended up in the lands of the Dericost, the second of the four major groups of Empyrean. They lived in a vast continent far from Dereth and ruled over a substantial percent of Auberean's populous. The rulers of the Dericost took the Falatacot in, but they were most interested in the potent magic the Falatacot possessed, especially their rites of undeath. From that point on, the leadership of the Dericost were ageless undead, ruling through puppets so that the general public was unaware of the true seat of power. With their new-found power, Dericost expanded its borders consistently for quite some time. However, the leadership of the undead suffered a schism at some point and the undead divided themselves into two factions: the Latzimestal, the Lords of the World, and the Filinuvekta, the Winds from the Darkness. The Winds were the true source of power, but preferred to rule through deceit and treachery and in the end, the most powerful Winds - His Eternal Splendor (possibly the first Dericost undead Geraine), Lady Aerfalle, and Lord Rytheran - left Dericost and came to Dereth. The Lords were more aggressive and preferred to rule though force instead. They pushed for Dericost's expansion, using a tribe of barbarians called the Sand Kings as their army. The most worthy Sand Kings became undead too - powerful Mu-Miyah such as Anadil. Their empire swelled for 5000 years until it came into contact with the Yalain and the Haebrous.
The Yalain lived in an archipelago off the coast of the Dericost's continent and the Haebrous's homeland remains somewhat of a mystery. These two people were attacked by the Dericost and joined forces to resist the onslaught of undead Dericost armies. The war between the two groups lasted a millennium. How the Yalain/Haebrous alliance managed to beat back the wave of undead is unclear at best, but it seems the alliance viewed the Dericost invaders as an abomination that needed to be destroyed or a crime against nature that needed to be cleansed. Perhaps the Yalain/Haebrous armies were more skilled in the ways of the blade and with magic as well, but that would be difficult to prove. In the end, after 1000 years, the Yalain and Haebrous army stood on the Gelid plateau - the heart of the Dericost Empire, ready to finally end the war. A great battle ensued and many heroes and villains were made that day. The battle itself, it turns out, was really a diversion! During the fighting, Jailne, the King of the Haebrous and Alaidain, the Empress of the Yalain, snuck into halls of Sarvien, the true ruler of the Dericost. Both Jailne and Sarvien died, but Alaidain survived and the armies of the Dericost fell into disarray, allowing the Yalain/Haebrous army to finally win the war. The undead Dericost fled and most went into hiding throughout the world. A great many fled to Dereth, including the Steward of the Lords and the leaders of the Sand Kings.
The Yalain and Haebrous merged into one empire after the defeat of Sarvien, ushering in a new age of peace and prosperity for all of the known world. Although there were sporadic purges of undead, the Yalain ruled over Auberean without incident for several millennia. About 4000 years ago though, a period of darkness known as the Black Rains began. These were dark times and fear spread across the Yalain Empire and acts of pure hatred were committed against the Dericost. The Black Rain eventually ended and it was around this time that Asheron was born.
The Hopeslayer
Shortly after the Black Rains ended, odd reports began to trickle out of the heart of the old Dericost empire. During the Black Rains, a Dericost man named Ilservian Palacost watched his son die from starvation because the Yalaini rulers of the area refused to share their food out of fear and the latent hatred the Yalain had for the Dericost. Ilservian went mad, seeking out a way to avenge his son's death against the Yalain. He went out into the countryside, searching for a way to destroy everything he hated and blamed for his son's death, and Hatred and Destruction is exactly what he found.
At some point after the Black Rains ended, the children of the town of Daralet where Ilservian lived began to disappear. The Yalain leader of the town sent a request for help to the Yalain Emperor, Caerlin. Caerlin dispatched a vast army led by Asheron's father, Lord Atlan of Knorr. When the army arrived at Daralet, they found nothing but a ghost town and an unnatural mist clinging to the bowl of a nearby valley. They set camp for the night and at some point during the night, a great army of blackness arose from the night and attacked the encampment. Of the thousands in Lord Atlan's army, only Atlan's squire survived and her mind was horribly warped by the evil she witnessed. Over the course of a few years, the Shadow Horde of Ilservian, now transformed into a living demon the Yalain called Bael'Zharon (the Hopeslayer), conquered all of the Dericost continent. The war stopped for some hundreds of years, but the Hopeslayer's rage could not be quelled until the Yalain were completely annihilated. The shadow armies defeated the Yalain at every turn, forcing them from the Haebrous lands (where Caerlin was struck down with the 'Soulburn Plague' - the magical process of turning a living Empyrean into a Shadow), then from the Yalain archipelago, and ultimately forced back to the last speck of free land - to our home, Dereth.
Throughout the war, Asheron and 5 of the most potent mages of the Yalain worked to find a weakness in the Hopeslayer's forces. Not until Caerlin was afflicted with the Soulburn Plague did they find the answer - a massive crystalline construct of planar energy. If the Hopeslayer came into contact with the crystal, his essence would be sucked into it and as long as the crystal was intact, he would be sealed away from the world. Since the crystal would emit massive amounts of energy, the Council of Five hoped the Hopeslayer would be so engrossed with its power that he would fall into their trap. The Council eventually relocated to the Jailne Lyceum in the heart of what is today the Obsidian Plains. The Hopeslayer's army, fresh from conquering the last of the Yalain islands, arrived in Dereth before the crystal was complete, but unbeknownst to the Yalain, the Dericost undead had fielded an army on Dereth's shores. The undead and the Shadows fought for three days to give the Council time to complete their work. As soon as the final spell was in place, the Hopeslayer felt drawn to the crystal prison. He assaulted the Lyceum where the Council and Asheron were and as he entered the chamber where the crystal was housed, the Council activated the device, sucking the Hopeslayer inside. Such was the power of the spell that the Lyceum and everything within several miles were utterly destroyed and the landscape was fused into the Obsidian Plains we know today. The crystal prison itself exploded into six shards and those shards flew away from the explosion. The Yalain later found 5 of the 6 shards and locked them away in hidden vaults. Only Asheron survived because of the powerful magic her mother used to protect his life at the cost of her own. The vast Shadow Army faded away into nothingness and the most destructive war in Yalain history came to an end.
The Empyrean Flee
Over the next 1500 years or so, peace returned to the Yalain with nothing but internal political intrigue causing trouble for the Seabourne Empire. The most important change in this period was Asheron's discovery of Portal Magic. This invention allowed easy transportation throughout Auberean and eventually exploration of alien worlds, including our own. About two hundred years ago, a combination of an overzealous religious leader, an easily-influenced Emperor, and an envious brother combined forces against Asheron. Asheron and his protégé, Delacim, explored the homeworld of the Olthoi, the vile insectoid scourge. Delacim's brother Gaerlan persuaded the Emperor to continue their efforts into the Olthoi homeworld, ultimately resulting in Delacim's death. Delacim's death drove Gaerlan to blame Asheron and conspire to have the Olthoi kill Asheron. Gaerlan and the Emperor forced Asheron to bring back the Ancient Olthoi Queen to Auberean against Asheron's better judgment. At the same time, Nali Valind began a crusade to convert all of Auberean to his faith. The Nali's crusade weakened the Yalain so that when the Ancient Queen attacked, the Yalain could not resist the hordes. After fighting a losing battle for 150 years or so, the Yalain were again forced back to their last redoubt - Dereth. At this point, Asheron cast a mighty spell that sent the remaining population of Empyrean into Portal Space until the Olthoi could be defeated. This magical spell also opened randomly opened portals to the worlds Asheron had visited, including our own.
Enter the Isparians
At some point - at least several hundred years after the last Empyrean fled Auberean - Humanity began to arrive in Dereth. For the first 15 years or so, only the Aluvians arrived in Dereth, probably because the Empyreans had the most contact with the Aluvian society. Most of the new arrivals were immediately enslaved by the Olthoi, but some people managed to escape. Most notable among these were Elysa and Thorsten. These rebels against the Olthoi made their home on the Isle of Tears and ultimately encountered Asheron. Asheron gave Elysa a potent poison that should destroy the Olthoi Queen who lived in Dereth. Thorsten and Elysa, along with several other warriors, archers, and mages, fought their way into the lair of Dereth's queen. Thorsten was killed in the battle, but Elysa managed to slay the queen with a poisoned arrow. Without the leadership of the Queen, the Olthoi fell into disarray and retreated into their hives. Humanity celebrated their freedom, establishing the Aluvian capital of Cragstone in Thorsten's honor. As soon as the Queen was defeated, the first of the Lifestones appeared.
After the Queen's death, the Ghuru'ndim and Sho people began to arrive in Dereth. Their arrival was fortuitous, as the Tumeroks quickly moved to fill the vacuum of power left by the Olthoi. Over the next ten years, Tumerok raiders attacked Osteth off and on, but by the end of our first decade of freedom, the Isparian realm was fortified strongly enough so that raids were the exception rather than the rule.
The Fourth Sending into Darkness
In the tenth year of our freedom, winter came far too early and snows covered the desert. An expedition led by Sir Joffre Tremblant set out into the northern mountains to find the source of the cold, rumored to be a lost city of Empyreans. That party was lost and parties of other adventurers set out to find out what happened to the expedition, only to find the Lost City of Frore. In the depths of Frore, adventurers found hordes of undead Gelidites, a Dericost cult devoted to freezing the rest of the world so that only Dericost undead could survive. Tremblant was there too, twisted into an undead as well. The leaders of the Gelidite cult and Tremblant himself were killed, only to reveal the source of the cold - a massive crystal shard spinning silently. Adventurers eventually destroyed the crystal and heat returned to the world.
Snow melted in the desert, but a new danger arose - Shadows and smaller crystal shards appeared across the landscape. As winter wore into spring, the Generals of the Shadow armies appeared, organized armies, and attacked Isparian towns. The Generals dropped shards of a key and that key opened a gate in a facility later discovered to be the place where the Council of Five constructed Bael'Zharon's crystal prison. Deep in the core of the Nexus was a second crystal shard, which adventurers also destroyed. The Shadow armies fled for the time being, giving Isparians a few months' rest. During this time, undead emissaries opened portals to Aerlinthe island for us.
As fall arrived, the Shadows launched a new assault against Osteth, managing to destroy the towns of Arwic and Tufa. Only through the efforts of some mysterious adventurers (most likely Elysa and Asheron himself!) was a simultaneous attack on Cragstone repelled. Adventurers discovered three more crystal shards hidden away in dangerous dungeons, one of which were guarded by renegade Shadows, one by Dericost undead, and one was the site of a battle between loyal Shadows and Undead. Isparians swung the tide of the battle in each of the three dungeons, destroying the three shards. About this time, Isparian scholars began to uncover evidence that the crystals were remnants of Bael'Zharon's prison and that only one remained. Should that final shard be destroyed, the power containing the Hopeslayer would fade, freeing him!
Winter crept in and a portal opened to a new chain of islands called the Vesayans, off the southeast coast of Dereth. Aside from two Isparian settlements, vast armies of Undead and Shadows were encamped on the islands. Ultimately, adventurers defeated the leaders of the Shadows and the Undead, discovering fragments of a key. That key opened a chest within Sanctuary, the remains of a temple of Adjanates - a good group of priestesses who followed Adja, one of the Council of Five. The chest contained a portal gem that led to the sixth and final Crystal Shard. Isparians flooded into the last chamber, some defending the shard and some seeking to release the Hopeslayer. Unfortunately, the shard was destroyed and Bael'Zharon was set loose upon the world. The Hopeslayer's power was too great for any Isparian to combat, but Asheron once again appeared, asking for three relics that had the power to sap the Hopeslayer's power - the skull or Ilservian's son, a Heart of Shadow, and a Virindi artifact (a shard of the Singularity). Asheron's spell drove the Hopeslayer back into his hidden lair and Isparians followed him inside. After pitched battles that lasted for days, the mightiest of Isparians including our own monarch defeated the Hopeslayer, sending him into the Abyss once more.
Hollow Victories
Only a brief time of peace followed the defeat of the Hopeslayer. Evidently, when Isparian adventures took a piece of the Shard of the Singularity, they corrupted the Virindi Directors who resided in the Chakron Flux. The Directors began to show signs of individuality and a desire to break free from the Quiddity - the Virindi collective. One Virindi in particular - Aerbax - desired to break away from the Collective and made overtures toward the Renegade Tumeroks and Lugians. Virindi invaded Ayan Baqar too, replacing the Isparian inhabitants of the town for almost a month. Eventually, a portal to the Renegade Virindi home - the Singularity Caul, a small island off of the southwest shore of Dereth - opened. In response, Tumeroks armed with Virindi-made weapons assaulted the Isparian capitals. Ultimately, a Virindi Director appeared in Zaikhal speaking of a way to stop the Virindi renegades. Adventurers found materials necessary to storm the renegade's fortress and kill Levistras, leader of the Directors.
Aerbax survived. He had experimented on the various living beings of Dereth, including a human named Martine. Martine was altered, made extremely powerful but very insane. Loyal Virindi were dispatched to destroy him, along with all the other creations of the Directors. He survived only through Asheron's intervention, but Asheron's benevolence was repaid with malice. Martine plotted with Isparian bandits to assassinate Queen Elysa, only to be thwarted. As adventurers investigated further, it became evident that Martine had help from some kind of elemental force. At the same time as the elemental foe became apparent, the leader of the Arcanum, Nuhmudira, went missing. Nuhmudira was responsible for creating our housing and adding the cantrip level of spells, but she turned to dark magic to fuel her innovations. She was eventually found, deep inside an Empyrean prison. Isparians were given the option of either forgiving her crimes or condemning her to a slow and painful death.
Martine finally attacked in May, slaughtering Isparians en masse. Elysa and Asheron appeared several times, trying to calm the people, but in the end, Martine critically injured Asheron. A great floating citadel also appeared, home to the elemental forces and their leader, the rogue Empyrean Gaerlan. As it turns out, Gaerlan used Martine as his puppet to settle a feud with Asheron, who he blamed for the death of his brother. Gaerlan sent his elemental armies all over the countryside, but Isparians countered by destroying Gaerlan's crystal cores, which granted him his power. Martine retreated to his underground lair, where Isparians managed to persuade him to fight against Gaerlan. The two battled atop Gaerlan's citadel, ultimately resulting in the destruction of the citadel and most likely, Martine's death. His body was never found, though...
Taking advantage of Gaerlan's momentary weakness, Isparians attacked the remains of Gaerlan's citadel, destroying the remaining crystal cores and allowing a final battle to be joined. After an epic battle, Isparians managed to kill Gaerlan, but before he died, Nuhmudira appeared, trapping him within a phylactery. Evidently, Nuhmudira's mettling with Falatacot tomes had awoken a sect of Sclavi who freed her from Gaerlan's trap. Gaerlan's final act was to summon a malevolent entity known as the Harbinger. It was supposed to enter Nuhmudira's body after her prison drained her soul away, but that was not to be. Isparians have been attacking the Harbinger off and on for the last couple years, in an attempt to return the entity to the mana stream deep within the planet.
Shortly after Gaerlan's defeat, portals appeared to Aphus Lassel, home of the elusive Tusker King Bobo. Adventurers eventually found his lair and discovered him to be an intelligent being, created by the renegade Virindi Aerbax. Adventurers defeated Bobo's champion, ending the Tusker threat.
An Ancient Threat
After a time of relative peace, Nuhmudira's Arcanum managed to find a way to Asheron's old home, the Lyceum of Knorr. Adventurers explored the Lyceum, only to discover that the first Olthoi Queen on Auberean was held in the halls at one point. Unfortunately, all the activity in Knorr awoke the Olthoi on the mainland of Auberean, resulting in increased activity in the smaller hives of Dereth. Portals to Asheron's Island off the coast of Eastham opened and Asheron explained to all of Dereth that the Ancient Olthoi Queen was awake and heading to Osteth to kill Asheron and everything else on Osteth. New hives appeared, complete with young Queens and their Matrons. Isparians managed to destroy most of their nests, but not before the Ancient Queen tunneled under Dereth.
Nuhmudira appeared, posing as Dereth's savior. She called on Isparians to poison the Olthoi Horde's food supplies to weaken the Queen, which required the help of the Dericost again. Once their food was poisoned, the Olthoi retreated back underground, but the threat remained. Nuhmudira forced open a portal into the Ancient Queen's lair, but she was impervious to damage and dissolved attackers in a heartbeat. Nuhmudira came up with a plan to defeat the Queen and called for three powerful artifacts, one from the Virindi, one from the Shadows, and one from a previously unknown sect of Falatacot. Her spell worked by forcing her awareness onto the Ancient Queen, merging their two minds in a way. With Nuhmudira's Rite complete, Isparians defeated the Ancient Queen, forcing her to retreat and seal her tunnels. Nuhmudira disappeared shortly after the Ancient Queen's defeat, but her mind seemed greatly changed by the experience.
Awakening and Invasion
Unfortunately for Dereth's citizens, Nuhmudira's Rite awoke a new danger. By raiding the Falatacot sect, Isparians awoke the guardians of the more nefarious Falatacot crypts. The Sclavi became more aggressive, but they were the least of Dereth's problems. Deep in the Blackmire Swamp, a ripple of magic swept across Dereth, awakening the Falatacot and opening portals on a distant world known as Bur. An invasion of creatures known as Burun began. Seizing upon the new arrivals, the Renegade Lugians and Tumeroks sought to ally with the Burun and destroy the Tumerok - Lugian - Isparian alliance. For a time, the alliance held, but Isparians attacked and killed some of the Renegade leadership. About the same time, more Burun, this time huge, hulking creatures, arrived in Dereth. The first wave of Burun cast off their allies and the two waves of Burun fought together against everything that came into their paths. Five temples opened and deep inside the fifth, a force of Burun smashed through deep into the temple, seeking to activate a dormant portal beacon. Adventurers defeated the Guruk Gorefiend who led the attack, but some of the more stupid Isparians broke down the final barrier and activated the beacon. Their foolishness was rewarded with a quick dead, courtesy of the first of the 6 Burun Kings, Reeshan. More followed, seeking to defeat the King, but his magic was far too powerful to overcome.
Reluctantly, Queen Elysa sought out Nuhmudira, in the hope that she would be able help fight the Kukuur. Nuhmudira helped by imbuing weapons crafted by Elyna's master smiths to be especially effective against the Burun. However, her help alone was not enough to defeat the Burun. Reeshan delved deeper into the temple he invaded and began to summon the other 5 Kukuur to Dereth. However, Reeshan must have been overzealous in his desecration of the Falatacot temple, as ghosts referring to themselves as 'Watchers of the Dead' appeared at each temple the Burun kings invaded. Their power sapped the Kukuurs' power and allowed Isparians to invade the inner sanctums of each temple. Each king - Reeshan, Kiree, Broodu, Keerik, Rehir, and Browerk - appeared and were quickly defeated. The Burun threat remained, although their power was substantially diminished.
Viamontian Incursion
After a brief respite, ill news began to filter in to Queen Elysa. Three Lugian artisans appeared in the remaining Nexus towns, offering their aid in exchange for Forge Essence, a magical substance from three Virindi installations. They built crafting forges and then disappeared. Lord Kresovus, leader of the Tukal Lugians, knew nothing of these Lugians and feared the worst. His fears were realized when a force of Lugians attacked Linvak Tukal - a force of exact Doppelgangers! They were driven off, but not before they took several Lugians prisoner and made off with Kresovus's Mattekar Balor. Adventurers tracked them down and found the same three Lugians who built the Crafting Forges deep inside their fortress. Balor was nowhere to be found, however. The same Lugians then assaulted the Queen's Storehouse with the aid of the Virindi and their minions. Shortly thereafter, a sole Viamontian appeared in the commons of Rithwic, babbling incoherently. He was Carlo di Cenza, squire of the Viamontian rebellion. While he could say nothing of any use, raids of Viamontian Knights and monsters called Eaters began appearing in various places. All the raids were easily driven off, but the Viamontian threat was real.
The Viamontians also came to Dereth through portals - some were rebels against King Varicci fleeing their deaths and some were loyalists hunting down the rebels. Either way, they all found themselves on a series of islands called the Halaetan Islands, off the northwest coast of Dereth. The islands were a dangerous place, haunted by Eaters, deranged Fiun, and murderous Ruschk. They established cities but found a great magical barrier preventing their departure from the islands to the mainland of Dereth. King Varicci began to pacify the islands using his knights, who had been magically altered into lumbering, mindless giants. He sought to domesticate the Eaters for use in his armies and he persecuted the sane Fiun, who allied themselves with the Rebels. Eventually the King's mages discovered how to shatter the magical barrier and allow the invasion of the mainland to begin.
At first, the incursions were small, as if the King were testing the waters. He even tried to bribe the garrison of Fort Tethana to defeect, although his diplomatic efforts seemed to be ineffective. Late one night, however, a massive force of Viamontian Knights and Eaters appeared in the three Isparian towns on Marae Lassel. Before the locals knew what was happening, the Knights had crushed any opposition and began repeatedly killing the locals at their lifestones. The towns quickly surrendered and now the Viamontians are solidly in charge of the south of Marae Lassel. A small group of resistance fighters calling themselves Carenzi are putting up a valiant resistance, but their numbers are too small to make any meaningful difference. Elsewhere, reports that Viamontian Knights patrolled the hills around Stonehold have been confirmed, scaring the locals in that town.
The Viamontians made their first assault on the mainland of Dereth during the Festival season, striking hard in Glendon Wood. Betrayed by one of the town's Scriveners, hordes of Viamontian Knights and Eaters poured into the town, destroying much of it and blockading the roads leading into the town. The Militia in Glendon Wood fared better than those on Marae, but they were hopelessly outnumbered. After two weeks of siege, Antius Blackmoor, Queen Elysa's Seneschal, led an attack on the headquarters of the commander of the invasion force. There, King Varicci's true intentions became clear - the entire assault was an elaborate ploy to lure Blackmoor into a trap. The commander of the invasion force turned out to be Kurth, the former commander of Fort Tethana who had been turned into a lumbering Viamontian Knight. Kurth wielded a horrific weapon made from a material known as Shade Iron that slayed Antius in a single stroke and killed him in such a way that bypassed the Lifestones. Fortunately, the weapon was destroyed when it killed Antius, but the Viamontians may have an entire arsenal ready to destroy our forces permanently. Queen Elysa has changed her tactics to include guerilla combat, which is being undertaken by an elite force of Aluvians called The Whispering Blade. This outfit, and the adventurers who have offered their aide, have struck repeatedly at the Viamontians' efforts to produce more Severance Blades from Shade Iron. So far, their attacks seem to be working - no more Severance Blades have claimed lives among the Queen's followers. To oppose the Whispering Blade, King Varicci summoned forth his elite order known as the Rossu Morta. Between the Silyun rebels and the Whispering Blade operatives, the Rossu Morta is stretched pretty thin and have been less than effective.
The Grael Rebellion
During the lull before the Viamontian invasion of Marae, the Queen's scholars and scouts uncovered a connection between the Shadow Lugians and the Cult of the Raven Hand, a twisted order devoted to the darkness. The Cult had been known to be converting normal Isparians into Shadows in their base on Marae Lassel, but lately a large number of Cultists including 4 Archons of the order left on a trek to the Singularity Caul. They fortified a ruined castle in the northern reaches and began working on an ancient artifact. Adventurers attacked the Cultists, recovering fragments of what appeared to be a seal to a device much like the Fenmalain, Caulnalain, and Shendolain Gates. After storming the Nightmare Gate, they found the High Archon of the cultists and the shattered remains of an Obsidian Gem, similar to the Soul Crystals used to imprison the Hopeslayer. The High Archon's notes revealed that the Cult planned on releasing a Shadow Monster once known as Grael.
Grael was a Ruschk warrior who lived ages ago, when the Falatacot still lived in Dereth and long before the Millenium War between the Dericost and the Yalain / Haebrous alliance. Grael lived in a tribe on the northern fringes of Haebrous territory and was captured by the Haebrous as they expanded northwards into Ruschk land. Grael was forced to fight in the Haebrous gladiatorial games but he ultimately forged an alliance among the other gladiators, who then went on a rampage across the city. Ultimately, the Haebrous put down the rebellion, but Grael survived somehow. He called upon the same dark forces that made Ilservian into the Hopeslayer, twisting him into a truly powerful form. The Dericost managed to capture him in much the same way the Yalain captured the Hopeslayer, but the Dericost sought to use him as a weapon against their enemies, not hide him away forever.
Shortly after the invasion of Marae, a strong earthquake shook the northeastern reaches of Osteth - a vast island emerged from the ocean! A grievously injured Lugian appeared in Ayan Baqar, asking hearty souls to help him in his quest to reach the new island. That quest took the willing to visit four crystals, each of which imprisoned the soul of one of Grael's followers. After a grueling quest, adventurers activated the Watcher of the Deep, a Falatacot relic guarding the island. The Watcher summoned the Leviathan, a massive Remoran, to protect the island. The Leviathan sent many an Isparian to his lifestone, but ultimately the Isparians prevailed. A portal to the new island, Vissidal Isle, appeared where the Leviathan fell. This island is home to vicious creatures and a band of intelligent Mosswarts. They say they owe their intelligence to an Isparian Shaman they call Angry Grandfather. Who could that be and what does Grael have to do with this?
First Strike
Tensions between the Viamontians and New Aluvia came to a head over Fort Tethana shortly after Antius's death. Both factions fielded armies and marched them toward the fort and those armies met a force of local renegade Tumeroks in the hills north of Tethana. While the armies' generals parlayed prior to battle, a massive explosion or shadowy energy ripped through the massed forces. Many soldiers died outright but many more were subverted by the Darkness. The newly-created Shadow Army still occupies the crater formed from the explosion, waiting for some unknown signal to advance. With their armies gone, Queen Elysa and King Varicci have avoided open conflict, although the Rossu Morta and the Whispering Blade still spar against each other behind the scenes. Both factions quickly and quietly expanded their ranks to make up for the fall of the two armies. Both sides opened their treasure vaults, offering weapons brought from Ispar - the legendary Silveran Runed weapons.
Deep beneath Varicci's castle in Sanamar, Count Dardante, chief Vizier for the king, continued his dark research into the darkness and into Grael. In a move of amazing foolishness, the Count and his Rossu Morta operatives even opened relations with the Raven Hand cultists. Both factions sought to free Grael, but instead of worshipping him as the Cultists plan, Dardante sought to use Grael's power for his own aims. When the rite to awaken Grael was ready to be performed, the Rossu Morta double-crossed the Cultists, but it was too late. Grael's awakening had begun and no force on Dereth could stop it. Sketchy reports indicate that the leader of the Raven Hand and Count Dardante himself journeyed to the deep place where Grael awoke. Everyone but Dardante was subverted into darkness (perhaps exactly what they wanted...?). Exactly what became of Dardante is unclear for now, but we know for sure that he was not destroyed and that he is far more dangerous now than he was before.
Shortly thereafter, a dark omen appeared in the Singularity Caul - a Shadow Spire. Upon closer examination, the Spire was unearthed by Isin Dule, the Shadow General who had betrayed the Hopeslayer during the Fourth Sending. Dule's motives have always been separate from the rest of the Shadows and fortunately for Dereth, he did not want Grael to be freed. He and his faction offered their aid to the Isparians seeking to defeat Grael by opening a path to a dark crystal deep beneath a lost Falatacot temple. That crystal was the source of a powerful spell that kept Grael's home island safely hidden beneath the waves. The crystal was shattered and the slow process of returning the island to the top of the sea began. Meanwhile, Grael's shadow armies began to raid the towns of Dereth where the old Shadow Spires once rose. Ultimately, Grael's forces struck Asheron's Island in an attempt to remove our most powerful ally. With help from brave (and a bit foolish) Isparians, Asheron's defenses held, but Asheron himself was nowhere to be found. He left word that he had gone in search of something essential and would be back shortly.
Grael's attack on Asheron's island gave the Whispering Blade and Rossu Morta a chance to catch their breath and join forces. This new combined front organized attacks against crucial leaders of Grael's forces all over Dereth. Those leaders held the keys to finding the source of Grael's power - three pillars sustaining his form. With those pillars gone, Grael split into three forms that embodied his power. Less experienced Isparians attacked and defeated his Ruschk form, those of moderate ability destroyed his Shadow aspect, and the most experienced took on his Mukkir form. Victory would not have been possible without help from Isin Dule, the Dericost, and the Falatacot, who aided by binding Grael's form and keeping him from rampaging over the countryside. Grael was by no means destroyed but he was at least contained for now.
Old Enemies Return
The calm after Grael's defeat did not last long. While the Festival started, reports from the mightiest of Dereth's warriors came back saying that a new group of Isparians had taken over the best hunting grounds and that these people would attack and kill other Isparians on sight. Those Isparians who defeated these foes found only golden throwing stars on their bodies. Only a scant few Sho recognized the stars as adornments of the Tanada Clan, a disgraced group of Nanjou Shou-Jen (AKA Ninjas). The Tanada were unpredictable in Ispar and few knew what to expect of them in Dereth, except that they posed a threat to anyone who was brazen enough to cross their path.
While some Isparians sought more clues about the Tanada presence, others began to hear rumors that the Falatacot were stirring in the swamps of Dereth. Some Falatacot were calling their thralls, the Sclavi and the Burun, back into their service and fortifying their hidden lairs. More disturbing were rumors about an undead calling itself the Soul Hunter. It carried orders directing it to track down Asheron himself. Following other rumors, Isparians also tracked down a lost library that the Falatacot had recently fortified. Deep inside was a new letter from the Matriarch of Blood, One of Three, who evidently is one of the most powerful and ancient of the Falatacot. That note directed her followers to set a trap for Asheron so that the Falatacot might use his blood to clear Dereth of their enemies and revert it to how it was before they went to sleep. Isparians uncovered further information that Asheron had in fact left Auberean to go to Bur, the homeworld of the Burun, accompanied to Torgluuk.
Under the assumption that Asheron must be in trouble to have been gone so long, Prince Borelean sought to open a stable portal to Bur so that adventurous Isparians might help track him down. Despite a desperate attack from the Falatacot, the Prince succeeded and waves of Isparians entered the friendly Ruuk city of Kor-Gursha to help find Torgluuk and Asheron. This city was home to Ruuk Burun who rebelled against the Burun Kukuur and were constantly harassed by Guruk forces from below. The residents confirmed that Torgluuk and Asheron had indeed been there, intent on removing some Falatacot taint from Bur, but had not returned in months. As winter's snows began to ebb away, word reached Kor-Gursha that Isparians had successfully broken through the Falatacot barriers and freed Torgluuk and broken many of the bonds holding Asheron!
Enhancement
With the crisis on Bur over, things briefly calmed down across most of Dereth. With the return of Spring came dark omens. A new Tanada stronghold appeared on the Southern Landbridge, but unlike the previous academies, this one was overrun by Virindi and twisted Tanada ninjas. A series of disappearances quickly followed, including Claude the Virindi in Ayan Baqar, the Aun Town Crier in Timaru, and even the Drudge Robber by the rock west of Holtburg. The only clues were shreds of blue cloth found at each crime scene.
It didn't take long to figure out who was responsible. Shortly after the kidnappings, rumors began to circulate about powerful creatures organizing their brethren to attack the Isparian settlements. Only the Drudges were truly successful. They quickly built a well-defended fort west of Cragstone and launched frequent but rather irrelevant raids on the city. A little investigation revealed the Drudge leader was a radically altered Drudge named Bonecrunch, who used to be the missing Drudge Robber from Holtburg. An altered Banderling and Mosswart also showed up, but were not nearly as successful in organizing their fellow creatures, thanks to intervention from Queen Elysa's forces. The Virindi alliance with the Tanada, the alterations to the lesser species across Dereth, and the blue cloths left at each crime scene all seem to point toward the long-silent Aerbax as the culprit.
Aerbax's machinations took an even more sinister tone as the summer wore on. His targets turned from the lesser creatures of Dereth to some of the island's most dangerous foes. A new portal appeared in the Black Death Catacombs, home to the late Olthoi Queen of Dereth. Outside it were corpses of a dozen Tanada ninjas. It was not much longer before a new twisted breed of Olthoi appeared, the Paradox-touched Olthoi. Initially only grubs and nymphs roamed the Olthoi North, but within a month, adults appeared and overran a valley in the southwest corner of the Olthoi North. These adults were controlled by the Paradox-touched Queen, a horrific construct controlled to some degree by Aerbax. Although hardy Isparians have defeated her repeatedly, she keeps coming back. Simultaneously, Bobo the Tusker King mysteriously fell ill and a surprisingly intelligent Tusker named Mudmouth seized power. Although Tusker Minions loyal to Bobo managed to heal him and drive Mudmouth out, their efforts were too late to prevent Mudmouth, who was actually a Virindi agent in disguise, from creating Dark Bobo, a mighty doppelganger who briefly ran amok on the mainland. Mudmouth and Dark Bobo were both driven into hiding, but the sheer number of allies Aerbax was fielding was becoming intimidating.
Aerbax's long-term agenda began to come to fruition shortly after the rise of the Paradox Queen and Dark Bobo. His old alliance with the Shadow General Ler Rhan on Singularity Caul produced the first of a terrible new breed of Shadows, the Prodigal Shadow Child. At the same time, Aerbax's goal of gaining control of Gaerlan's Harbinger finally succeeded to some degree. Both the Prodigal Shadow Child and the Dark Harbinger were not ready to attack Dereth by the time Isparians found their lairs and destroyed them, but like the Paradox Queen, they were too strong to be destroyed entirely. Claude the Virindi Mage of Ayan Baqur also returned out of the blue, but he came back as a shadow-touched Virindi. His 'podmate' Leopold the Mask Maker and an Aun Shaman helped stalwart adventurers enter Claude's mind and find out what happened to him, only to uncover Aerbax's dark influence yet again.
As winter began to descend on Dereth, even more of Aerbax's sinister plots appeared, but like before, Isparians managed to interfere just before his plans came to fruition. Aerbax's early attempt at making a prodigal Tumerok was successful, but the resulting creation wanted nothing to do with Aerbax or anyone else, so he sequestered himself in a fortress near Ayan. The Shadowy doppelganger of the Lugian Kresovus finally came to an end as well, when Isparians freed the real Kresovus and dispatched his replacement deep underneath the fortress of Linvak Tukal. Kresovus's pet Mattekar Balor seemed to have met with a grisly Virindi-altered fate, leaving nothing but his hide behind. Isparians also managed to uncover the lab Aerbax was using to create a prodigal Isparian, the master of one of the Tanada clans named Ryukai Hiro. In a moment of ludicity, Ryukai asked to be destroyed rather than become one of Aerbax's puppets, which is exactly what happened. By the end of the festival season, it looked as if Aerbax had altered just about every species on Dereth, but he appeared to be waiting for something.
Aerbax launched his assault on Dereth in a subtle way befitting a master manipulator. His plan was to undermine the memories and confidence of his greatest rivals, Asheron and Queen Elysa, with the goal of making the Isparians docile and unable to resist his Prodigal Children. He struck at Asheron's memory of the Sundering, Queen Elysa's memory of defeating the Olthoi Queen, and the collective memory of the Hopeslayer's Defeat, creating Quiddity Seeds to project his false nightmares. Those seeds turned out to be Aerbax's undoing. Stalwart adventurers shattered the hold the seeds had and brought back traces of Aerbax's meddling in the form of unique Quiddity Ingots. Although their use was initially unclear, Aerbax must have sensed the risk, building a massive floating castle above his lair in the Obsidian Crater. Once cleansed of his foul influence, the Quiddity Ingots unlocked the source of his power in the Crater, allowing Isparians to overload his twisted power source. With the path open and some help from Asheron, adventurers stormed his castle and destroyed Aerbax. Perhaps destroyed is too strong a word for Dereth... what remained after Aerbax's defeat was his shadow, subverted by the darkness he served. Whatever happened to his Virindi self remains a mystery.
Blighted Dreams
With the threat from Aerbax neutralized, Isparians could now turn their attention to the machinations of Lord Rytheran, the Dericost master of the Mage Academy, who had been missing for some time. His handiwork had corrupted a Dericost graveyard in the Direlands, disturbing the sleep of House Mhoire, a Dericost noble house that resisted the necromancy of the Dericost throne. Rytheran had twisted the graveyard using the Book of Ebihil, a powerful artifact with a mind of its own, said to have the power to destroy the world. The Mhoire Graveyard had been little more than a distraction during the Grael and Aerbax crises, so Isparians paid it little regard, except when they needed the useful items the Mhoire Smith could provide. However, after Aerbax's fall, it had become apparent that Rytheran, who remained near the Graveyard to monitor his progress, had fled to an unknown sanctum. A powerful yet fickle new force had taken over the Graveyard - the Jester of the Mhoire Court, a traitorous creature who betrayed his house for the promise of great power from Rytheran. Once his complicity had been revealed, the Jester was ordered imprisoned forever, since his power had become far more than Lord Mhoire could otherwise contain. In typical Isparian fashion though, adventurers broke into the Jester's Prison and freed him at the bequest of his lost love, Laylana. Power and isolation had driven the Jester mad (if he wasn't mad to begin with), but fortunately, he seemed to be remorseful for what had befallen his house and spent his time in the Graveyard.
Meanwhile, Rytheran's actions in the Mhoire Graveyard appeared to have repercussions across the island. New packs of Moarsmen appeared at newly risen temples at the ocean's edge around Dereth. Investigation by the Queen's council and confirmed by the ravings of the Jester revealed that these new Moarsmen were servants of an Old One calling itself the Blighted Dreamer. The Dericost and Falatacot remnants in Dereth were evidently also aware of the Blighted Dreamer's awakening, although its purpose in Dereth was at the time unclear. Nevertheless, new secret societies formed amongst the Isparians to meet the coming threat. The Radiant Blood, led by Nuhmudira, sought to use the Falatacot magic she had learned to free Dereth of the influence of all Empyrean presence, especially Asheron's. The Eldrytch Web was formed to bring back the Dericost rule over Dereth, led from the shadows by an unknown leader (possibly Rytheran or His Eternal Splendor himself). The Celestial Hand, led by Ben Ten, aimed to use its power to restore the Yalaini to Dereth, bringing the light back to Auberean. The three factions seemed doomed to conflict...