The following documents were recovered in-game at the event.
You can read Chapters I-VI here and Chapters VII-XII here.
Chapter XIII: A Dream of Scars
Even following Verine and T’Rer’s collusion to keep knowledge secreted away, Mortals flourished under the Pantheon. Just as the Dynasty itself had bloomed from a seed, Mortal families came into tremendous power, wealth, and fame. Though the Gods continued to walk among their followers, over time, Mortal civilization–if nominally in supplication to the Gods–took on its own worth and significance. Nepheris, Beodhen, and Kasamei looked on proudly, remarking that Mortal life was the true victory of the Blood War.
T’Rer, however, found himself unable to enjoy such accomplishment. Mortal power made him uneasy and all the more uneasy following Steramestei’s revelation.
The Star Lady rarely visited personally with the King of the Gods. She found him dull and chose to spend her time with those that titillated her senses. However, something had come to her attention that she thought worthy of illumination.
The Star Lady refused to visit T’Rer at his capital, instead inviting him to hers at the Brightwater Isles. T’Rer assented and, perhaps despite himself, was moved by the beauty of Steramestei’s Devout haven. The Star Lady’s monasteries, built into the cliffs of the Brightwater beaches, were alabaster spirals that climbed elegantly into the clouds. Soft music and generous laughter echoed through their halls, which were perfumed by coastal flowers and the gentle brine of the waves. Every evening, Steramestei’s Devout, dressed in their bright finery, came to the shoreline to track the stars upon the glassy sea.
“Nowhere in Circadia,” Steramestei touted as she escorted T’Rer through her capital, “is the sea so smooth.” The winking smile she offered suggested that there was still a corner of the sea which belonged wholly to the sky.
Steramestei offered the King of the Gods the seat of honor in her throne room. Though a lutist strummed for him songs of his parents, and Steramestei served him the wine of Horizon, T’Rer found little comfort. Perhaps he sensed the buzzing nerves of the Star Lady–despite her beauty, she seemed particularly wild-eyed. T’Rer noted that she too had aged.
With little introduction, Steramestei stated flatly that she had had a dream. A terrible one.
She spoke in near riddles of a place of twisting dark where creatures and plants too vibrant for shadow grew. At times wondrous and at times horrific, the labyrinth of sounds warped and weaved, pulling all voyagers into its depths. To exist in such depths, she shuddered, was to lose equally Divinity and Mortality. When T’Rer asked her to expound, she refused.
She then spoke further that, while the underground landscape bubbled unseen, it had started to touch Circadia. “There are wounds like scars in our Realm,” she explained, “and they fester with the pus of this place.”
T’Rer asked her if what she said was merely a dream and, affronted, she assured him it was not. She explained that, immediately after her dream, she had traveled with her Devout to a place she refused to disclose. There, she had seen a tremendous gash in the earth–it hissed forward hideous creatures that, while struck down by her Devout, were nonetheless formidable.
These Scars, she assured, would be the beginning of the end if they were not closed.
Chapter XIV: The Abyss
T’Rer took Steramestei’s warning seriously. Leaving the Brightwater Isles, he called Beodhen and Nepheris to his capital, T’Zane. He explained Steramestei’s dream and her excursion to the area.
Immediately, the High Priests of T’Rer, Nepheris, and Beodhen were rallied to conduct their own exploration of Steramestei’s Scars. Initial reconnaissance revealed that such strange gashes in the landscape were not only true but in greater number than Steramestei and her Devout might have guessed.
Immediate efforts began to reconcile the Scars. Nepheris, after discussing such matters with Kasamei and Steramestei, termed the subterranean world “the Abyss.” He charged his Devout with studying it and tracking its growth. To Nepheris’s interest, while the Scars did not grow, their creatures became more volatile and bold. In only a few years’ time, the Mortals living near the Scars found themselves in constant danger of Abyssal creatures.
In response to this, T’Rer charged Beodhen and his Devout with fighting such creatures. Beodhen called into allyship Mynair and Hyrnedhna: a formidable alliance, they worked with their respective Devout to combat the growing numbers of Abyssal creatures–beasts they came to know as “the Corruption.”
T’Rer might have followed Steramestei’s advice and worked to close the Scars. However, he was focused instead on what Mortals might think: in an effort to quell fear, T’Rer set his armies to patrolling the areas near the Abyssal Scars. Entire towns were relocated, and entry into the Scars was forbidden. For trespassers, punishment was swift and increasingly violent.
However, despite T’Rer’s efforts to keep Mortals away from the Scars, the creatures that spewed forth from them continued to increase. While T’Rer could mostly conceal the Abyss from Mortal knowledge, he could not prevent the deaths that came from encounters with the Abyss itself.
Perhaps luckily for T’Rer, another constituency made themselves known.
Tiny creatures arrived near the Scars. Numbering in the thousands, the strange creatures engaged in a musical prayer that, seemingly, started to close the wounds. The creatures, who called themselves Toto, refused to answer to any Mortal or God, stating only that they were “friends of the Sisters” come to heal the world’s wounds.
Mortal attention was fixed mostly on the chaotic danger the Scars prevented. All the same, some Mortals still took the time to look out to the sea. Sometimes, these Mortals were rewarded with sightings of monstrous creatures, larger than any Mortal building, hurtling through the far-off waves. Such Mortals wondered is these sightings were little more than illusion and, worried they might be deemed foolish, kept things to themselves.
Chapter XV: The Song of Ten Thousand Voices
Slowly, the Toto worked tirelessly at the Scars. Without interruption, they quietly hummed, chattered, and even danced before the Scars. Those few Devout of the Sisters allowed to watch their labor reported little other than, without doubt, the tiny creatures–through great effort–were able to close small pockets of the fractured earth. However, the Toto seemed frustrated with their progress and, in the late Spring of 250 Sela, called forth a great change.
According to Lyr’Avanyth Aspera, great grandson of High Priest Lyr’sterym Aspera, the Toto joined together in a great song that echoed with the strength of ten thousand voices. Singing in layers of united harmony, the Toto sang in the ancient language. Many generations removed from Horizon’s Voice, Lyr’Avanyth and his compatriots could only make sense of some of the words. However, they heard without doubt that the Toto called to the Great Sea for help.
As soon as the sweet, strange song ended, the air began to shift. Tremors, originating in the quaking sea, rippled across the shaking earth. The Totos once more united their voices, chanting “Pau! Pau! Pau!” as if encouraging an unseen force to their side.
As the Toto chanted in ever-growing sound, the pit of the Brightwater Tides rumbled terribly. From the westernmost sea, a chasm of churning foam, at least a half-mile wide, opened. The creatures of the sea–even great whales and sharks–were sucked into a vortex, which spun and spun until it shot forth a tremendous geyser of water. It is said, for an instant, all of Circadia grew dark as Death’s own shadows.
As light returned, any who might have survived the terrible tides would have seen a strange sight: the very parting of the Brightwater Sea. And into this channel stepped the first of the Titans: the Beast of Earth, Nedh’kaja.
The Great Mammoth proceeded from its resting place in the sea, heading for the western shore. As it marched forward so too did the sea close behind it, her gasping creatures returned to the brine.
The Great Mammoth followed the beacons of Starfall and, finally reaching the sands, lifted its massive head in warning. From Starfall, it lifted its tremendous feet and, with each step, craters formed in the land. From these craters, thousands of tiny plants sprouted as if infused with the very elixir of creation.
The towering Beast lumbered eastward from Starfall. Any Mortal who fell into its singular path fell to its mighty trunk or terrible gait. The stalwart defenders of Aylee’s Watch saw the Beast march in advance of its arrival–well-prepared, they evacuated the watchtower and a hundred or so Mortals were spared death. Not so lucky were the ardent Scholars of Sages’ Ascent: caught scribbling in their parchment, most of the students and teachers were laid to waste by the advancing Beast. It is said some three thousand Mortals were fatally caught as Nedh’kaja made its way to Grand Scar.
But once at Grand Scar, among the Toto and Steramestei’s Devout, the Beast of Earth performed wondrous work. With a single trumpeting cry and stamp of its forefeet, the Beast closed the Grand Scar. Swinging its trunk with abandon, it ended the lives of any Abyssal creatures that remained.
The Toto cheered as their Devout companions, in awe and terror, fell to their knees.
For a year and a day, the Beast of Earth stood upon the Grand Scar, seemingly assuring it would not re-open. However, the Toto were not yet done with their work.
After a year and two days had passed, the Toto once more began their song. This time their songs, sung in unison by Toto across Circadia, heralded not one but three more Beasts.
From the waters of the South, Ner’kaje, the Beast of Water. As it marched, it closed three Scars. Some thousand Mortals fell.
From the tides of the East, Pyri’kaji, the Beast of Fire. As it crawled, it closed four Scars. Some two thousand Mortals fell.
From the waves of the North, Sela’kaj, the Beast of Air. As it flew, it all but closed the final five Scars. Some five hundred Mortals fell.
As the wounds of the Abyss healed, some Mortals rejoiced. Many more cowered in fear and anger. They beseeched the Gods who had been either powerless or unwilling to halt the Reign of Titans.
Chapter XVI: Fallen, Unforgiven
Of all the Pantheon’s Devout, those of Beodhen, Steramestei, Hyrnedhna, and Mynair responded to the Beasts with the most calm. Indeed, Steramestei’s Devout had suffered little loss. While some had been caught in the Beasts’ grim march, many more had received Revelation of their coming. They knew to stand aside as the Beasts arrived, lest they be caught in fire, storm, landslide, or flood.
The Devout of the Wild Goddesses and Beodhen had not survived as surely, but, nonetheless, they mirrored their Gods. They received the workings of the Beast as a necessary cataclysm no different than a hungry wolf or a devastating hurricane. Some even began to worship the Beasts alongside their chosen Patron.
Perhaps because of their followers, Beodhen, Steramestei, Mynair, and Hyrnedhna advocated for the Beasts before the rest of the Pantheon. Nepheris’s Devout, afterall, demanded recompense for their sundered cities and lost fellows; similarly, Kasamei and her worshippers could barely shepherd the numbers of suddenly dead. T’Rer and his Devout, in nearly equal volume, stated the Reign of Titans an atrocity: never before had Mortal lives fallen in such numbers.
With ferocity, T’Rer condemned the Beasts, deeming them irregular Monsters who might usurp the world of Mortal and God. To his side flocked the Fallen Goddess Verine; aided by her High Priest, Verine condemned the loss of life, much of which had happened in the southern hills of Vyr’Vera.
Buoyed by Verine’s support, T’Rer thunderously decreed that the Beasts must be slain outright. Kasamei said nothing in affirmation but acknowledged that the loss of Mortal life had been terrific. Nepheris, if quietly, assented that no Mortal trust in the Gods would exist if the Beasts were allowed to live on.
Once more, T’Rer proclaimed the Reign of Titans to be of catastrophic consequence for Mortals.
At this moment, Steramestei sneered, her eyes turned bright with the cold heat of her own stars. Snarling, she responded, “The Scars of the Abyss have claimed life in greater frequency every day. Allowed to persist, they have only continued to grow. And you have done nothing.”
As T’Rer started to speak, Verine interjected, laughing acidly, “None of the Scars threatened life in nearly the same magnitude as these Beasts. They should be slaughtered as our Lord commands.”
Nepheris shuddered as his aunt spoke. He glanced towards his brother and saw Beodhen had grown pale.
“Dare you raise your voice to me?” Steramestei turned on the Jealous God, her tone deadly soft. “You understand, Vaer’ine, you are Fallen. Fallen as the Rotten One. You assume a place here much as your Father, Le’neris, assumed his right to slaughter his fellow Gods.”
Verine said nothing, nor did T’Rer. Steramestei continued, “Know, Vaer’ine, unloved princess, once a God, that every one of your own will know heartbreak and will have only you to blame. Of this, I am sure.”
Steramestei turned to T’Rer. “While I honor you as King of the Gods, this pitiful child fails to honor me. Were I less mindful of the consequence, I would seek out your sister as my hired assassin. She would slit Vaer’ine’s throat gladly.”
At this moment, Nepheris stepped forward to speak, but Beodhen interjected.
“We have a plan, my King,” and Beodhen explained that he, Steramestei, and the Wild Goddesses might lure the Beasts back to the Seas.
T’Rer turned to the young God, as if seeing him truly for the first time. As Beodhen detailed how he and Steramestei might harness the power of the stars, a chill rippled through the King of the Gods. Were he a more sure King, he might have commended the son of Faeris’lyr. But, like his sister, his mind turned only with thoughts of doubt and betrayal.
T’Rer raised his hand, interrupting Beodhen. “Please, Beodhen, that is enough.” T’Rer sighed heavily, “I understand that you, she,” he gestured at Steramestei, “and the Wild Ones feel affinity for these creatures. But this cannot stand. Your brother is right: the Mortals have suffered greatly–the bond between us will fail should we let the Beasts live.”
Nepheris stepped forward, clarifying, “My lord King, that is hardly what I meant–it was merely a thought,” but it was too late. T’Rer made his decree that the Beasts would die.
Chapter XVII: The Snake’s Return
That T’Rer’s decree would be accepted by the Star Lady and the Wild Ones was, of course, impossible. As soon as T’Rer affirmed that the Beasts be slain, Steramestei retreated, in white hot rage, to her strange capital on the Brightwater Isles. This surprised no one. What was surprising, however, was that her sister, Kasamei, did not follow. Beodhen, however, did.
For a year and a day, Beodhen made his home in the Brightwater Isles. Later, Steramestei would come to resent the refinement Faeris’lyr’s youngest son learned under her tutelage, but for a time she flourished with company.
Attended by Mynair and Hyrnedhna, Beodhen and Steramestei worked in earnest secret to execute a plan that might spare Beasts and Mortals alike.
At this time, T’Rer decreed War on the Beasts. Aided by heart-weary Kasamei and dutiful Nepheris, the King of the Gods began a campaign of unsurpassed scope. Verine, enjoying little in the way of contest, eagerly worked amongst her Devout to gather support for T’Rer. As long as T’Rer promised to leave Beodhen out of his violence, Verine offered her alliance.
When T’Rer asked on which creature he might set his sights, Verine, without hesitation, encouraged him to Sela’kaj, the Beast of Air, the Great Moth, and Steramestei’s favorite.
T’Rer’s assent began the steps towards his fall.
Once more, Verine noticed not the snake at their heels.
Chapter XVIII: An Accord
The Schemer, T’Zyri, sat deep in thought with her shadows and swarms. She was not troubled by the march to war above her, nor had she been troubled by the deaths of Mortals. Her attention had been given, instead, to ideas much darker.
Still. That T’Rer had faltered, allowing four of his Pantheon to drift, stung in her brain.
Steramestei and Beodhen, given to the Beasts, had fallen in Mortal regard. This troubled her very little. However, Verine’s return to power felt sour. All the more sour as Verine, cloying and fawning, clung to her brother’s side.
Even though the Schemer was consumed with her own musings, she nevertheless saw this as an unusual opportunity to make her allegiances known–an opportunity that might pass as swiftly as the Mortals above her had fallen.
T’Zyri whispered to her swarms, particularly the moths. She ordered that the Swarm of Moths bring both the Star Lady and the Golden Prince to her court of shadows.
T’Zyri waited.
Not at all was the Schemer surprised when Steramestei refused her invitation–indeed, the Star Lady, unlike her Twin, was terrified of the deepest dark in which T’Zyri thrived. Afterall, it was nothing like the Shadow of the heavens.
However, Beodhen came to her call. Unnerved by the Shadows, the Golden Prince flinched like a nervous animal. Nevertheless, when the Schemer greeted him–ringed only in candles–Beodhen, for the first time, truly saw T’Zyri.
He surprised himself that he found her unusually beautiful, her face smooth and deadly in the dark.
Beodhen bowed, and T’Zyri offered him no leave to rise.
However, she listened carefully to his plan.
He and Steramestei, melting together the light of stars and the radiance of sun as it rises past Horizon, had created something that would lure away the Beasts.
In such a plan, T’Zyri saw foolishness, but so too did she see genius. And power.
“And you will cast this light upon the Mortal sky, leading these Beasts back to their rests?” she asked.
Beodhen nodded.
“You expect creatures older than you or I to be courted by the mundane darkness of night?”
Beodhen said nothing, as he had not considered this. T’Zyri lost herself in thought for a moment and, consulting with deeper shadows still, made an offer.
“The Hedonist Prince and I will offer you our shadows. On the night you wish to throw into the sky this…” she paused, “Aurora–on that night, the two of us will cast deepest shadow across the Mortal Realm. Only your lights will be seen.”
Beodhen was stunned that the Schemer might so quickly and easily offer him such assistance. He was stunned all the more that, long after he left her throne, he could not stop thinking of her figure’s own shadow, cast against the wall.
Somewhere, two voices joined in unkind laughter.
Zealot Larp 