Posted: Thu Jul 12, 2001 8:06 am
The Order of the Dark Flames gathered in the sitting room of their keep. Jenna tended a bright fire burning in the fireplace, warming the room on this cool, humid evening. The evening thunderstorm boomed and crackled outside, rain sheeting down over the countryside. Long into the evening they spoke, sharing what they had learned and sipping their coffees and mochas (most laced with Tia Maria).
Gwalchmai’s voice sounded loud over the distant white noise of the storm. “Let me see if I’ve got this right. We have two situations here, which may not be as separate as they first appeared. Our main concern is the Shadow Master. He seems to be planning something, something big and no doubt detrimental to the region, if not Faerun as a whole. Somehow, the Order of the Dark Flames have the power to stop him. This conclusion is elementary, given the lengths the Shadow Master has gone to separate and disrupt us. He sent Waverly to us first, to corrupt Anomen, whose good spirit was eventually separated and his body was inhabited by an evil force. Georgi was instrumental in preserving his good spirit, and we all helped, to one degree or another, to restore Anomen. But even though Anomen has now left us, the Shadow Master has continued to work against us.”
“The Shadow Master has worked against us on other fronts as well. Years ago in Kara-Tur, he killed Dragon Wench’s lover, Jerran, and imprisoned Jerran’s brother, Nippy. We freed Nippy, and he has learned to tap into some of the ancient powers once wielded by Jerran. The Shadow Master has attempted to subvert our own Jenna to evil, but she appears healed and whole again. He has sent hoards of monsters against us, including dopplegangers, I’m sorry to say. This guy has it in for us, but we still don’t know exactly what he has planned.”
“The Shadow Master’s plans also included destroying the reputation and lives of some of the local Paladin orders, most notably The Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart, but also the Order of the Black Rose. The Shadow Master’s army almost succeeded in decimating the Radiant Heart, but again, our involvement may have saved them, though we probably seriously pissed off at least one crafty little Gnome in the process.”
“I am coming to realize that the Shadow Master is also involved in our second problem as well. Apparently, our keep was originally constructed about 500 years ago for the ruler of a small theocratic realm devoted to Amaunator. The ruler was named Rai’ya, and her realm was happy, until a cleric of Moander, who called himself the Master of Shadows, began to corrupt her rule. Thanks to Vivien ‘channeling’ a conversation that occurred 500 years ago in the study that Dragon Wench found, we know that he was aided by her own husband, Ya’que, until he turned on the Shadow Master. The Shadow Master’s plans were failing, so I believe he killed Rai’ya and Ya’que as well, trying to make it look like a murder-suicide spawned from jealousy. But local lore does not discuss such a grisly end to their rule, so I think something happened after the murders to cover it up.”
“We know about the murders because Eldath gave a vision to Dragon Wench and myself in return for aid to Georgi, Loner, Thantor, Nippy, and Kramor during Anomen’s re-unification ritual. The vision showed Rai’ya, dead, in her treasury, which is now our dungeon. I think this started us on the path to solving this mystery, as a raven soon manifested itself to Kramor, which showed him a similar vision, but also showed him the cloaked figure that killed Rai’ya and how Ya’que was dominated during his own murder. This raven has now taken on the form of Rai’ya herself, but she seems to prefer stay in the ruins that Kramor found. Oddly, just as Rai’ya has taken physical form, so are the ruins beginning to rebuild themselves. There now stands a mausoleum, a great library, and a strange circular structure. Inside, we have found journals that tell us of the times leading up to Rai’ya and Ya’que’s murder, as well as tapestries and prophesies that appear to indicate that the Dark Flames may be the only ones who stand in the way of the Shadow Master’s ultimate plans.”
“I cannot think that these prophesies can apply only to us, as we now are. Prophesies of this sort are often many-layered. Something must have happened 500 years ago to stop the Shadow Master. I believe that there may have been an Order of the Dark Flames before ours. We know that Rai’ya had a son, named Perth, and that he in turn had twin daughters. These two women may have formed the core of the first Flames, though others were no doubt involved as well. It seems that Jenna is a descendant of Helena d’Perth, and Vivien may also be a descendant of Circe d’Perth. Others involved may have included Perth himself, Sir Rex (Perth’s teacher and the highest Paladin of that day), Perth’s wife, and even a seer named Hermanes, though likely poisoned by the Shadow Master, must have had family that could have been involved. Kramor appears to be a descendant of Sir Rex, since he can wear the armor that was tailored to suit only Rex.”
“There are, perhaps, more questions here than answers. I believe the skeleton lying in state in the mausoleum to be either that of Sir Rex, Perth, or Ya’que. The mausoleum and our own keep also hold other secrets, judging from the efforts somebody made to trap and seal various areas. I think that five spears may be a key to solving some of our questions, and some of us may know more about the history of this place than we once thought. Jenna, for example, has had closer contact with the Shadow Master, and may know more of his plans.”
Kramor spoke up at this point, “You’re right. I have remembered that one of the founders of the Order of the Radiant Heart was named Perth. Could it have been the same Perth?”
“Certainly,” Darkpoet said, “If I remember the story right, Perth was a convert from the worship of Amaunator to the worship of Helm. But, my question is, how can the ‘Master of Shadows’ of 500 years ago be the same ‘Shadow Master’ that threatens us now?”
Gwalchmai turned to face the fire, and his voice lowered, “Just as the Shadow Master escaped from us at the ruins of the temple at Ogre Falls, I caught sight of his face - his true face. He has a tattoo; a bar across his forehead, with a cross coming down the bridge of his nose. These are the markings of someone that my own Druidical sect fought years ago. During that encounter, the druids learned this evil man’s true name and nature. He is called Tetanus, and he is a cleric-lich. The rest of that story is far to long to tell here. Suffice it to say that Tetanus wanted an artifact of great power that is guarded by my Druidical order. Knowing this, I am sure of the connection between the cleric of Moander of 500 years ago, Tetanus, and the Shadow Master. Tetanus was probably involved in the destruction of the river goddess and her temple at Ogre Falls as well.”
Thantor spoke, cryptic as usual, “This might indicate why Mielikki has involved me in this conflict as well. She and Moander were mortal enemies, and if the Shadow Master carries any part of the essence of Moander, I’m sure that Mielikki wishes to see it destroyed.”
Gwalchmai turned to the group again, taking a long sip of his mocca, “So, does that about sum up what we know? Have I missed anything? Does anyone have anything they wish to add?”
[ 07-12-2001: Message edited by: Gwalchmai ]
Gwalchmai’s voice sounded loud over the distant white noise of the storm. “Let me see if I’ve got this right. We have two situations here, which may not be as separate as they first appeared. Our main concern is the Shadow Master. He seems to be planning something, something big and no doubt detrimental to the region, if not Faerun as a whole. Somehow, the Order of the Dark Flames have the power to stop him. This conclusion is elementary, given the lengths the Shadow Master has gone to separate and disrupt us. He sent Waverly to us first, to corrupt Anomen, whose good spirit was eventually separated and his body was inhabited by an evil force. Georgi was instrumental in preserving his good spirit, and we all helped, to one degree or another, to restore Anomen. But even though Anomen has now left us, the Shadow Master has continued to work against us.”
“The Shadow Master has worked against us on other fronts as well. Years ago in Kara-Tur, he killed Dragon Wench’s lover, Jerran, and imprisoned Jerran’s brother, Nippy. We freed Nippy, and he has learned to tap into some of the ancient powers once wielded by Jerran. The Shadow Master has attempted to subvert our own Jenna to evil, but she appears healed and whole again. He has sent hoards of monsters against us, including dopplegangers, I’m sorry to say. This guy has it in for us, but we still don’t know exactly what he has planned.”
“The Shadow Master’s plans also included destroying the reputation and lives of some of the local Paladin orders, most notably The Most Noble Order of the Radiant Heart, but also the Order of the Black Rose. The Shadow Master’s army almost succeeded in decimating the Radiant Heart, but again, our involvement may have saved them, though we probably seriously pissed off at least one crafty little Gnome in the process.”
“I am coming to realize that the Shadow Master is also involved in our second problem as well. Apparently, our keep was originally constructed about 500 years ago for the ruler of a small theocratic realm devoted to Amaunator. The ruler was named Rai’ya, and her realm was happy, until a cleric of Moander, who called himself the Master of Shadows, began to corrupt her rule. Thanks to Vivien ‘channeling’ a conversation that occurred 500 years ago in the study that Dragon Wench found, we know that he was aided by her own husband, Ya’que, until he turned on the Shadow Master. The Shadow Master’s plans were failing, so I believe he killed Rai’ya and Ya’que as well, trying to make it look like a murder-suicide spawned from jealousy. But local lore does not discuss such a grisly end to their rule, so I think something happened after the murders to cover it up.”
“We know about the murders because Eldath gave a vision to Dragon Wench and myself in return for aid to Georgi, Loner, Thantor, Nippy, and Kramor during Anomen’s re-unification ritual. The vision showed Rai’ya, dead, in her treasury, which is now our dungeon. I think this started us on the path to solving this mystery, as a raven soon manifested itself to Kramor, which showed him a similar vision, but also showed him the cloaked figure that killed Rai’ya and how Ya’que was dominated during his own murder. This raven has now taken on the form of Rai’ya herself, but she seems to prefer stay in the ruins that Kramor found. Oddly, just as Rai’ya has taken physical form, so are the ruins beginning to rebuild themselves. There now stands a mausoleum, a great library, and a strange circular structure. Inside, we have found journals that tell us of the times leading up to Rai’ya and Ya’que’s murder, as well as tapestries and prophesies that appear to indicate that the Dark Flames may be the only ones who stand in the way of the Shadow Master’s ultimate plans.”
“I cannot think that these prophesies can apply only to us, as we now are. Prophesies of this sort are often many-layered. Something must have happened 500 years ago to stop the Shadow Master. I believe that there may have been an Order of the Dark Flames before ours. We know that Rai’ya had a son, named Perth, and that he in turn had twin daughters. These two women may have formed the core of the first Flames, though others were no doubt involved as well. It seems that Jenna is a descendant of Helena d’Perth, and Vivien may also be a descendant of Circe d’Perth. Others involved may have included Perth himself, Sir Rex (Perth’s teacher and the highest Paladin of that day), Perth’s wife, and even a seer named Hermanes, though likely poisoned by the Shadow Master, must have had family that could have been involved. Kramor appears to be a descendant of Sir Rex, since he can wear the armor that was tailored to suit only Rex.”
“There are, perhaps, more questions here than answers. I believe the skeleton lying in state in the mausoleum to be either that of Sir Rex, Perth, or Ya’que. The mausoleum and our own keep also hold other secrets, judging from the efforts somebody made to trap and seal various areas. I think that five spears may be a key to solving some of our questions, and some of us may know more about the history of this place than we once thought. Jenna, for example, has had closer contact with the Shadow Master, and may know more of his plans.”
Kramor spoke up at this point, “You’re right. I have remembered that one of the founders of the Order of the Radiant Heart was named Perth. Could it have been the same Perth?”
“Certainly,” Darkpoet said, “If I remember the story right, Perth was a convert from the worship of Amaunator to the worship of Helm. But, my question is, how can the ‘Master of Shadows’ of 500 years ago be the same ‘Shadow Master’ that threatens us now?”
Gwalchmai turned to face the fire, and his voice lowered, “Just as the Shadow Master escaped from us at the ruins of the temple at Ogre Falls, I caught sight of his face - his true face. He has a tattoo; a bar across his forehead, with a cross coming down the bridge of his nose. These are the markings of someone that my own Druidical sect fought years ago. During that encounter, the druids learned this evil man’s true name and nature. He is called Tetanus, and he is a cleric-lich. The rest of that story is far to long to tell here. Suffice it to say that Tetanus wanted an artifact of great power that is guarded by my Druidical order. Knowing this, I am sure of the connection between the cleric of Moander of 500 years ago, Tetanus, and the Shadow Master. Tetanus was probably involved in the destruction of the river goddess and her temple at Ogre Falls as well.”
Thantor spoke, cryptic as usual, “This might indicate why Mielikki has involved me in this conflict as well. She and Moander were mortal enemies, and if the Shadow Master carries any part of the essence of Moander, I’m sure that Mielikki wishes to see it destroyed.”
Gwalchmai turned to the group again, taking a long sip of his mocca, “So, does that about sum up what we know? Have I missed anything? Does anyone have anything they wish to add?”
[ 07-12-2001: Message edited by: Gwalchmai ]
yep Guacamole they do