The Apotheosis Of Azariah

A boy who was left fatherless as a young child and a social outcast, Azariah grew up lonely and had to harden up fast. When his home was destroyed by the Ruk Shol, Azariah had nothing left- so when he was captured by the Zamunsol, he gave little resistance. In his new home in the enclave, Azariah nursed a burning hatred for the Ruk Shol and the chance to strike back at them. The more he studied the world and saw its corruption and depressed state, the more he felt a burning desire to see them wiped out utterly.

Nevertheless, his rage was personal and seated deeply within himself- it did not manifest as angry outbursts, but as a kind of quiet determination to press himself to the edge of his ability, and even more so the opportunity to use this ability. When he left the Zamunsol enclave, he cared for their agenda of unity and desired to see it through, but nevertheless lived in a mental state bordering on nihilism. He only desired that he would slaughter as many foes as possible before he himself died, a desire reflected in his reckless two-bladed fighting style that left him open to attack for the chance of shedding more blood.

It took time and the death and mysterious resurrection of a life-long friend for him to realize that there was more to life than fighting, that life had a value greater than death. He remained a risk taker and a ferocious combatant, no longer because he cared not if he died, or that he wished to destroy more, but rather because he came to the conclusion that nothing great can be achieved without passion or risk.

In a moment of crisis when all seemed lost, he took a risk in implanting within his left hand the seed of a tree that gives life, and sealed the wound with a kiss of flames. In that moment, Azariah became an entirely new being in every sense. His shift in perspective and the addition of the seed changed the way he thought and perceived things; the divine magic that held the world together and which was woven into things began to rise out of the things which he had normally studied in a mundane manner. When he fought, he began to feel in an abstract sense ways in which he could defy the reality he once knew so well and do things which seemed impossible. His fervor began to take on a more mystic quality as it was no longer the might of his arm that guided his weapons, but the wisdom and discernment brought about by his change in understanding. He had, in that sense, transcended the need for physical attunement, because he began to become attuned with that which superseded the physical realm yet cleaved so close to it. In time, he would no longer need the seed, because his mind will have been totally transformed into a place of nearly complete understanding through experience. He would become a planter, sowing the seeds of his revelation into the world and removing weeds of darkness that would choke them out as he went.

Naeshuza Lives

After awaking from their strange dream, the heroes arise and continue to press on towards Naeshuza to discover its fate. Along the way, they find a dead soldier holding up a large piece of amethyst in the swamp. The soldier, now a skeleton, bears livery similar to that on the others found, but when Azariah asks the King if he knows of any excursions that were sent this way, he says that there were but could not guess their purpose without a more precise date estimate.

The heroes pause in their arduous journey to see that the city of Naeshuza is still lit, and filled with a cautious hope began to approach. On the way, Azariah asks the King about Elias and Lord Eram, and the King is able to tell them little beyond what they already knew; that Lord Eram was an ambitious noble, and that Elias was a powerful leader of the secret police of Naeshuza. The heroes also discuss their collective dream, and after Abel, Andreas and Azariah discuss the issue further, they conclude that it would be best to focus on Naeshuza and their current issues before moving on to find this place over the mountains. Azariah remarks that Borad-El is near mountains anyway, and that it may be those mountains which they must cross to find what they seek.

As they approach the city, Azariah asks the King if there are secret entrances, and indeed there is one in the eastern wall, opposite the main gate to the west. They take this pathway through the wall and Soren stumbles across a trinket in the dark. Abel recovers it, finding that it is a bronze coin that features the same crest on the seal in the dream that covers the great machine underground. The coin has the lingering arcane mark of Elias' illusory magic.

Approaching the Urash trees, they discover Dakkon and Lord Hilchiah to be alive and well- with a cry of relief, the heroes find Naeshuza to be still in the hands of those loyal to the king, thanks to the timely intervention of the Zamunsol who came from the very enclave many of the heroes were raised in. Abel, Nobo'ru and Azariah's mentors are all there, and they are well met by the adventurers and thanked personally by the King for their intervention. The Zamunsol single-handedly slaughtered hundreds of Ruk Shol. Mishnor reacts to the presence of the Zamunsol with well concealed delight, but Soren and Abel perceive through his straight face. Feasting ensues as the city, greatly diminished in population celebrates the victory over the Ruk-Shol and honors the dead. The Ruk Shol are piled up and burned in the streets.

The party makes plans to raid the Knights of Gahazi stronghold in the Mage's District and Lord Eram's estate. However, Andreas fails to convince the King that celebrations can wait, and so the heroes take some hours to celebrate with the King's court and talk to the Zamunsol.

Nobo'ru mentions the destruction of Keydar, whom his master said was more of an opportunist than anything else. They say that there are others of his kind far more evil and that the Zentilig more often than not are allies to the Ruk Shol. Abel asks his mentor about the magics of Elias and his mentor tells him that, “Illusions that are most potent give you the false impression that you are moving or doing something, and when you try and break from it, there is an overload that causes you to fall unconscious.” Abel showed his mentor the coin, and as his mentor examined the coin he sighed, “I had hoped that they had been destroyed many years ago.” The symbol is revealed to be the symbol of The Prince, the one who united the Zamunsol, Humans, Dragons and Fey many ages ago. However, he was a fake, and it was his deception that lead to the failure of the fight against the Ruk-Shol. Abel's mentor seems to recognize the powerful transfiguration magic on Mishnor and later admits the possibility that Mishnor may be a dragon.


After a few hours, the heroes go to the Knights of Gahazi stronghold. Upon examining it more closely, Abel's mentor determines that the door to the stronghold is actually a teleportation portal. They go through, and begin to search the place, finding no other entrances. There are torn up notes which Abel makes whole that talk about Elias planning the coup de'tat. The entire place has been hastily, if sloppily cleaned out. Andreas proposes using the place as a base, but the one problem raised is that there could be other doors which teleport to the location. Azariah offers to use an ability of his to discover exactly where their location is, as it is clear they are some distance underground. After laying a hand on Andreas and concentrating for a moment, Azariah bids Andreas to walk through the door. Azariah is able to immediately determine what direction and how far away Andreas is, which helps them to determine that the stronghold is many feet below ground just west of the Urash tree grove. Once they determine the location, they move on to Lord Eram's house.

Arriving at Lord Eram's manor, they find a similar situation of someone trying to get stuff and leave in a hurry. Going through the manor, they find torn up letters in the study which, when made whole, tell a similar tale to Elias' torn letters. However, these ones mention voices telling Eram that they would be helping in some way. Lord Eram has a wine decanter that seems to pour an infinite amount of wine. There is a bread drawer with a bread loaf that replenishes itself. We find some very valuable art objects. Azariah finds in Lord Eram's desk a false bottom. He pulls out another coin, the same as the one which was found near the eastern entrance with Elias' magical fingerprints on it. In the manor, Nobo'ru hears someone inside and pursues the person, who turns out to be Isabelle Eram, Lord Eram's daughter. She locks herself in a room, and has to be convinced to open the door- there are dead servants and Ruk-Shol everywhere in the house. Andreas manages to get her to open the door, and Azariah and Nobo'ru leave him alone with her to break to her the bad news that her father is a traitor. Isabelle is distraught by this shocking revelation, and Andreas comforts her in her grief, providing a shoulder for her to weep upon. After a few minutes have gone by and Isabelle has pulled herself together, Andreas orders for guards to move in and secure the manor.

The heroes head towards the castle and don't have to get too close to see the effects of the Ruk Shol attack. There are huge holes in the walls and the place is completely trashed. There are tons of art objects, sculptures and whatnot broken and shattered. There are many Ruk Shol corpses inside, and a lot of them have various art objects and valuables and such things clutched in their cold hands. There isn't anything out of the ordinary here except that a place containing great objects of historical and artistic value is a shadow of its former glory. Andreas personally thanks Lord Bahirim for his patience and asks Lord Bahirim to teach him the finer ways of combat on horseback. As the city carries out the grim business of cleaning up after the attack, the heroes barter, buy and sell what they can and equip themselves for the battles ahead, a hard won victory under their belts.

Not Quite a Nightmare, Not Quite a Dream

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After wading further through the swamp, the intrepid heroes arrive at a patch of firm ground and being exhausted from the grueling trek through the mire, decide to stop and rest.

Meaning to sit down and stop only briefly so as to maintain their projected time of arrival to the capital city of Naeshuza. After only a few minutes, however, a deep slumber falls suddenly and unexpectedly on the whole party. Within a few minutes they are dreaming, upon waking and mentioning it, they find that they all have had the same dream, a notable coincidence to say the least.

In the dream, the perspective is removed, almost omniscient, as the party sees themselves from an aerial perspective asleep on the swampy knoll. Quickly the view moves up, higher and higher above the ground until the view is completely obscured by clouds. Zooming through the clouds for some time, they unexpectedly brighten and emerging through the clouds, the dream shows a bright world with light that is temporarily blinding.

Approaching the surface, the first visible features of the terrain are a few mountain peaks and what looks to be sand that stretches as far as the eye can see in every direction. Closer still and there are four mountains equidistant from each other and resembling the four points of a compass. Closer still and the barren, sandy surface zooms into view. Suddenly beneath the surface of the sand there is a long open shaft, similar to a mine shaft, but MUCH wider. There are pipes, gears, steam, and all sorts of industrial-looking mechanisms. Deeper, deeper weaving through miles and miles and MILES of pipes.

Suddenly, the motion stops in a vast open chamber. In the center of the chamber is a machine unlike anything seen before. It is a vast metal circle with many helixes within each other, all spinning in various directions at a velocity so fast that it appears to be one big insubstantial blur of a sphere.

So startled by the sight are the heroes, that the dream ends abruptly as they each stir themselves from sleep and awaken suddenly.