Tales &Legends / Forgotten stories

accumulated knowledge
forgotten stories
Tome 15
collected and edited
by entho'mere the alchemist
recorded by Sharp Beak & Dim Wing

Dedicated to the Sun & the Moon, the Brains & the Muscles,
the Big Heads, the Tiny People, the Salty Folks, the Lore Hungry,
those who draw & and those who design, the Robots & the Fast Typers,
the Trolls of the woods & internets alike, Meme & Anime Lovers,
4am Shit-posters, the Great Plex, Diets & Alcohol, Matt Mercer,
myself, and everything that makes the Kabouter club whole.

Powered by the Gods & the Heroes of Lumina and Tyr
who shaped the world the way they did.
Recorded by Dim Wing & Sharp Beak in Western Tower
from the tales told by Entho'Mere the Alchemist,
Orus the Bard, and Baqqan the Weirdo.
Book binding by Talking Paper salon in Solstice.
Art commissioned to Tengu Arts guild
in Silver Mountains led by Michelle the Magnificent,
and Art Courtesy FCIT in Mirage.

codex. .......................11
Averdon .............................................12
Augustus Mendenhall .........................13
Birrafirth .......................................... 14
Book of names ....................................15
Bor pact .............................................16
Cult of the Blue Flame ........................17
Desert gnomes.....................................18
Dragon-Born......................................19
Dwarves ........................................... 20
Eastern alliance ..................................21
Eternals ............................................ 22
Fizzlewick ..........................................23
Flame Tongue .................................... 24
Foggy Hills .........................................25
Furlkos the Blue Flamed .................... 26
Genasi .............................................. 27
Giants .............................................. 28
Goblins ............................................. 29
Gorganos ............................................30
Halflings ............................................31
Humans .............................................32
Ice Maidens ........................................33
Kobolds ............................................. 34
Lion-folk ............................................35
Matthew ............................................36
Maximilian Livingstone ......................38
Minotaurs ..........................................39
Minto the Godslayer .......................... 40
Mushroom forest ................................ 43
Norud ...............................................44
Order of Bosa .................................... 45
Order of Gorganos ............................. 46
Orus ................................................. 47
Qurio ............................................... 48
Salim - Gnomish Cartographer........... 49
The Stag ............................................50
Tieflings .............................................51
Rock gnomes .......................................52
Wall of Oblivion ................................53
stories. ......................55
Furlkos the Blue-Flamed also known as
Ignis the Son of Gorganos ....................56
The Pussy & The Pillow ..................... 70
9 •

10 •

Part 1.
codex.
11 •

c Averdon c
he beautiful capital of Lumina could be recognised
from afar by its nine towers rising high up in the sky. Each
tower belonged to one of the guilds, which ruled the city.
There is word of a legend that claims Averdon and four
of its spiralling towers were raised into the sky as parts of
Lumina ascended into the heavens. These parts of Averdon now make
up the core cluster and its surrounding, Northern, Easter, Southern, and
Western tower where the Owlmen
reside and collect their
knowledge.
3
12 •

c augustus mendenhall — the Bronze Baron c
human baron who was the first noble man to be
raised as an undead. He used
to reside at Dunstead Castle†
but when the castle got attacked
by a Dwarven army his
Court Necromancer Maximillian put a spell
on him to be raised from the dead 2 years into
the future when all danger has passed. Due to
the spell being unrefined, the king woke up
200 years later instead and forgot all of his
past however. However, he was one of the first
Dunstead Castle
— a castle on the North-
West of Lumina. Now
stands in ruins with
the memory of its history
depicted on its walls.
Also known as
the Livingstone Castle.
raised who got to keep their personality allowing him to remember his
past with Maximilian’s help and thus gain an ambition to retake his family
castle. Maximilian aided him by raising an undead army and retaking
the castle, after which Maximilian renamed the castle into Livingstone
Castle and used it as a base of his further
operations whereas the thread
of Augustus got
lost.
3
13 •

c Birrafirth c
ountain hold of Birrafirth is the predominant home
of the Rock Gnomes†. Its walls
are thick and its gates thicker. It
is a real mountain side fortress
that is tough to crack however
the Gnomes of Birrafirth do not only sit idly
rock gnomes —
read more about them
on page 52.
inside their walls as their settlement also sprawls outwards where they
trade with other surrounding
civilizations.
3
14 •

c Book of names c
he book of names is the one book that has the name
of all demons from every demi-plane out there. The one
that controls the book, controls a sizeable and relentless
army of demons and other
hell spawns that will fight
for them without question. In name it is a
well-known artifact amongst powerful warlocks
of whom many seek the power of the
book to aid them in fulfilling their agenda.
Entho’mere, Varis, Maya, Baqqan, and
Nodin were notified of the existence of this
book after their adventures underneath
Agidowa and inside Qurio. Here they fought of countless of swarms
of bug like demons called Mezzoloth who all were summoned using
the Book of Names. It was not until they met Maximilian’s spirit
who explained them who had the book and what purpose it served.
A powerful Yuan-Ti Warlock named Thueban held control over the
book as he wanted to use it to subdue the world to his rule. Thueban
was defeated but at a great cost as only Entho survived the encounter
with him. The book was last seen in Entho’mere’s possession
who held control over the demonic swarms of the demi-planes
until the book somehow
was lost once
again.
3
15 •

c Bor pact c
ed by a goblin fire mage Fizzlewick†
the Bor pact was
an independent union of goblins
other comparable
creatures.
3
Feaselwick —
read more about him
on page 23.
16 •

c Cult of the Blue Flame c
he Cult of the Blue Flame was started by Furlkos†,
a Fire Genasi† who gained his power due to a bond with an
extraordinary powerful artefact,
The Flame Tongue†. Believing
that his race, the Fire Genasi,
were above the other mortal races that roamed
the known world he gathered more and more
followers as he raised the banner of racial purity
and superiority. When the greatest necromancer
of the Old World Maximillian† broke
the border between Lumina and Hell, the Cult
of the Blue Flame grew quickly as undead
Fire Genasi now unified under their banner
as well. As a result of this undead following
a symbol was created specifically for them, a
black skull wreathed in blue flame. The cult’s
base was hidden in the Lost Lands where they
burned the earth so much that nothing could
ever grow there
again.
3
Furlkos — read more
about him on page 26.
Genasi —
read more about them
on page 27.
Flame Tongue —
read more about it
on page 24.
Maximilian —
read more about him
on page 38.
17 •

c Desert gnomes c
ock gnomes that got cursed by the goddess Ivris for
disrespecting their agreement. She cursed all the Gnomes
to be blinded by daylight and in return gave them sight
only in darkness. No longer being able to live within normal
daylight society they fled to the desserts where they
hid underground. As time passed the inventive Gnomes created goggles
that allowed them to regain part of their vision in daylight as to not be
depended on darkness
for their
sight.
3
18 •

c Dragon-Born c
roud people from the Far East Kingdom of Esrestead.
The Dragonborn live in a
very closed off society. Those
who travelled far and reached
the capital of the DragonBorn,
Draaqir†, told the stories about its citizens as
Draaqir — is located
on the far the South
East of Lumina.
a proud but reclusive race, strong and tough warriors between six and
seven feet tall, who are able to breath elemental
energy depending on their
heritage.
3
19 •

c Dwarves c
here are two types of Dwarves in Lumina, those
that dwell in the mountains and those that dwell in the
hills. The Dwarves that dwell in the mountains often
mingled with the other mountain inhabitants such as the
Gnomes of Birrafirth and the Earth Genasi of Hammerkeep.
Although the mountain Dwarves were not the most common of
the Dwarves in Lumina. Whenever someone would encounter a Dwarf
it was more likely that they were a Dwarf of the Badland clans, who
dwell in the hills in the West. These Badland Dwarves replaced an ancient
Human Kingdom that they laid to waste in a great war. With no
humans to rule, the Badland Dwarves took their still standing castles
and fortifications above ground and made them their homes. From
these fortresses they ruled the land better known as the Badlands
with at their head a renowned
Royal Dwarven
Family.
3
20 •

c Eastern alliance c
he eastern Alliance was formed to resist the
growing power of the Cult of the Blue Flame. The
members of it were: The Horned Serpents, Merchants
of the Waste, Order of Bosa, Ice Maidens, and
the Kingdom of
Esrestead.
3
21 •

c Eternals c
nce Maximilian† opened the passage between the
world of the living and Hell, all the souls of the deceased
flooded back into the world of the living. Those who could
find their bodies became Eternals,
or the undead. Those who
could not became ghosts and apparitions.
They cannot die unless killed. They worship
Maximilian as their God and live in the Below
Maximilian — read
more about him
on page 38.
after the world got risen up. If a part of the body of an Eternal decomposes
it gets replaced with a wooden or metal part. One can find completely
wooden or metal constructs in the Below as long as there is one piece of
their initial body that the soul can latch onto. Eternals use the new bodies
falling from the Floating islands as a place
to store the souls of those whose
bodies decomposed
entirely.
3
22 •

c Fizzlewick c
oblin fire mage and leader of the Bor pact.
Fizzlewick was known for being a pyromaniac as well as
supposedly burning down several buildings in different
towns and villages. Some of the more known incidents occured
in Thuggan, or Thieves’ Narrow, where he disguised
himself as a mad Dwarven shopkeeper who sold exotic magical items. Here
he tricked travellers into buying his merchandise for a while until the city
was attacked and he revealed his true form. Fizzlewick tried to add more
fuel to the fire and burn the city from the inside as it was attacked from
the outside but before he could a Halfling
adventurer lobbed a javelin at him
which forced him
to retreat.
3
23 •

c Flame Tongue c
eapon of extraordinary
power bound to Furlkos†, the
leader of the Cult of the Blue
Flame†. This blade is engulfed
in flames whenever it is held by
a powerful person, but only the
heritage of an owner can possibly
colour the flames. This
magical artifact gave
the name to the
cult.
3
Furlkos —
read more about him
on page 26.
Cult of the Blue
Flame — read more
about it on page 17.
24 •

c Foggy Hills c
ome to the giants† these hills are covered in magical
fog that never clears
to protect the giants
from being hunted by
dwarves who brought giants
to near-extinction by killing them
for sport. The fog was created by the
leader of the Ice Maidens Maggye† as an
attempt to save the giants from total
extinction.
3
maggye — read more about
her on page 33.
giants — read more about
them on page 28.
25 •

furlkos'es
life story is told fully
on page 56.
c Furlkos the Blue Flamed c
ire Genasi that deserted the Order of Gorganos after
burning down a forest and losing his companions on
a mission. Where the hairs and fiery higlights of his fellow
Genasi were orange like a burning fire he sported blue
flames instead. On his journeys he encountered a group
of adventurers with whom he travelled and together they attempted to
attack Bo'Gat who sent them to Hell. There Furlkos found a weapon
which he referred to as the Flame Tongue. Later in his travels he found
out that the sword could ignite with blue flames in his hands. After an
audience with Lumina his beliefs were questioned that Gorganos was not
a God but just a fire giant. After Gorganos’ death at the hands of Minto,
Furlkos established a new cult out of his followers claiming that Fire Genasi
were the purest race and thus they were obliged to purify this world
of all that was unclean. Ignis the Son of Gorganos was the
given name to Furlkos after he created the Cult of the Blue
Flame. He was thought to be the son of Gorganos due to his
possession of extreme fire elemental affinity. His following
grew as his ideas radicalised. After Maximillian let all the
souls out from Hell back to the mortal world, Furlkos got many undead
followers who could be recognised by their skulls being engulfed in blue
flames. The Cult of the Blue Flame scorched their surroundings to such
a degree that nothing could ever grow there again. During the final
battle of the great war with the Eastern Alliance on the outskirts Qurio,
Furlkos and his cult were winning as he killed his former friend from the
adventuring party Maggye and realised that he had gone too far. He allowed
himself to get captured and have his weapon taken away from him.
He was trialed for his crimes and sentenced to be locked away in a mountain
vault for eternity where he was guarded day and night by Dwarves.
3
26 •

c Genasi c
enasi are a humanoid race with
an elemental ancestry. There are four
sub-races known related to the four major
elements: water, fire, earth, and air.
Fire and Earth Genasi used to
form the Order of
Gorganos†.
3
Order of Gorganos
— read more about it
on page 46.
27 •

c Giants c
iants of the Old World roamed the Badlands† to the
north where the Badland dwarves ruled from Dunstead
Castle. Giants were rarely found anywhere else and most
of them were hill and mountain giants. There were records
of Goliaths, a sub species of more humanoid like half-giants
that also roamed the Old World but it is not clear where exactly they
came from. Within the Badlands the giants were never numerous as the
Dwarves of the Badlands made a sport out of hunting and killing any kind
of Giant as some sort of coming of age ritual. Many Giants perished as this
became more of a tradition until it was barely possible
to find any Giants in the Badlands unless you
Badlands — are located
on the North-West of Lumina. got lucky. At this point killing a Giant was more of
a prestigious accomplishment as it was rare to do so.
Some of the last Giants that remained in the Badlands were finally found
out by an army of Badland Dwarves but as the Dwarves moved in to attack,
they were halted by a little Heroic Gnome who had proclaimed to defend
the last Giants in name of her deceased Goliath husband. This Hero was
Maggye and with her she brought eight other heroes that fought off wave
after wave of Badland Dwarves until their army was shattered and broken.
The remainder of the Giants sided with the nine heroes and laid siege to
Dunstead castle together with Maximillian and his army of the dead. Here
the giants proved to be of much use as they lobbed large boulders at the
walls which soon crumbled as Minto, the Brave led the charge through the
breach. This event in history was one of the latest events that recorded
the Badland Giants to be involved in anything. A millennium later a
group of adventurers stumbled upon markings within ruins that depicted
this epic battle which included the Giants of the Badlands. Some say it was
their last hurrah before they too perished.
3
28 •

c Goblins c
ittle creatures that are usually not taken into account
which could be considered a mistake for they may
be weak individually but together they can become a force
to be reckoned
with.
3
29 •

c Gorganos c
ire giant that claimed that he created the
first continent in Lumina. Also known as the leader
of the Order of
Gorganos.
3
30 •

c Halflings c
alflings of the old world were not so numerous
and spread out across the world as some races. Most of
them were concentrated bogs and swamps in the Southlands
where they built a settlement named Murkwell. The
Halflings mastered their terrain and had adapted to their
surroundings very well as they build inside and around
large trees and roots that sprawled throughout the swamps.
They built their settlements and outposts up high on stilts
so swamp water and ground predators could not reach
them. Indirectly this method of building also proved to
goblins — read
more about them
on page 29.
be useful in fending of any attackers which occasionally would happen as
Goblins† and Orcs entered the swamps in search for loot. Even though
the Halflings might seem simple and uncivilized given the area they chose
to settle in, they had a structure of different Halfling clans that all took up
different roles within their community. Living so secluded from most major
civilizations the Halflings had few dealings with outsiders except for
the occasional trading at Wailer’s Point. Given their solitary existence
however, the Halflings were a proud and curious folk and it was not uncommon
for them to go out into the world and explore or seek adventure
for themselves beyond the Borders
of their capital town of
Murkwell.
3
31 •

c Humans c
umans are lively and very adaptable
friendly folk that live in — is located
Merthington
the city of Merthington†. Whereas on the South-West
they not blessed with a greater life of Averdon.
span like some other races, they
are very quick learners and are always seeking for glory
to immortalise their
names.
3
32 •

c Ice Maidens c
ce Maidens were a group of expertly trained female
fighters under the command of Maggye the gnome. She
had an affinity for ice magic and her spear was ice cold
to the touch and could freeze friend or foe at an instant.
Maggye set up this band of warriors that later joined in on
the fight against the Son of Gorganos, and Maggye’s old friend Furlkos.
Furlkos betrayed and killed Maggye and her Ice Maidens disbanded
as most were killed
during the
war.
3
33 •

c Kobolds c
hese small draconic island dwellers are the lesser
cousins of the mighty dragonBorn†. They live in small
and primitive communities that had
almost no dealings with the outside
world until the new continent was
discovered and travellers from far and wide sailed
the vast seas to reach it and built outposts on the
dragonBorn —
read more about them
on page 19.
many tiny islands for weary sailors to rest. Soon the small islanders were
sucked into the business of the civilized world and their reasonably
tranquil lives were uprooted and pulled into
the maelstrom of
society.
3
34 •

c Lion-folk c
n the sprawling islands of Hellenia† where tyrants
ruled there were the Lion-Folk. A strong willed and fierce
race of feline warriors that lived by their
own rules and who would bow to no tyrant.
As the tyrants were subdued one by one the
time of a free Lion-Folk came closer to an end. Their ancestral
grounds engulfed in war as the armies of the Hellenian
tyrant who vanquished all others pushed them back until every
Lion-Folk was put in chains. Most of them were forced to do hard labour
in quarries and mines while others were thrown into arenas to serve as
local entertainment for the populace where they fought to the dead in the
hope of obtaining a freedom
that would never
come.
3
prince of helenia
— read more about him
on the page 35.
35 •

c Matthew c
Thuggan — is located
on the North-West
of Averdon.
Burrova — is located
on the East of Averdon.
atthew was a Halfling from the swamps of Murkwell
who had interests in anything natural and unnatural that he
could use for his alchemical concoctions. As most Halflings
he grew up inside the swamps of Murkwell where there are
plenty of alchemical sources to be found however this was not
enough for him and Matthew set out on a journey to become what he, in his
eyes, was destined to be, the greatest alchemist the known world had ever seen.
On his journey he crossed with several other adventurers which he
tagged along with for quite a while. He was good at getting in arguments
with most of the other members of the party as he always questioned
everything and everyone with the everlasting question of ‘why?’.
Matthew’s main rivalry was the one with Orus†, as he always interrupted
Orus’ adventures with the ladies which would, due to Matthew,
end in disaster leaving a bitter after taste in Orus’ beak everytime.
In the town of Thuggan†, or Thieves Narrow, Matthew laid the foundation
of what would later become the Alchemist’s
Guild. He set up a small shop where
apprentice alchemists would gather and
could learn from him and each other. But
time was short and the guild had only been
briefly established before Matthew set out
with his companions on another adventure.
The crew travelled towards Hammerkeep
through the mining town of Burrova† where Matthew drugged a child as
he tried to once again ruin Orus’ moment with the ladies. The child started
panicking and running around as all he could see was spiders everywhere.
Matthew quickly left the town with his companions to travel through the
mountains where they found an illusionary inn that was owned by an old
wizard. Our keen hero Matthew was the only one that saw through the
36 •

norud — read
more about him
on page 44.
Orus — read
more about him
on page 47.
illusion but he failed at getting the attention of his friends. After he finally
managed to get the wizard’s attention he could think of only one thing to
do and he decided to shank the old man out of nowhere. In a feat of rage
the wizard turn all four companions into chicken but due to severe ineptitude
Norud† turned into a chicken permanently. A moment
for Matthew and his concoctions to shine! Without
further ado Matthew started brewing a serum that would
relieve Norud of this polymorph curse. Thinking it was a
good idea to add Gryphon’s feathers to the potion he mixed
them in and fed Norud the chicken this potion who then
turned into a large and majestic gryphon. Matthew did
cure Norud as now at least he was not a chicken anymore.
After several other adventures with his party the four decided
to split up, with Matthew focussing on teaching alchemy to his pupils
in Thuggan and later Averdon. He managed to become a well renowned
and powerful alchemist who’s work often had odd side effects to say the least.
He managed to find the solution to eternal life but subsequently this turned
him into a potion. As he lived on for at least a thousand years, which is well
beyond the lifespan of any Halfling, he survived the great cataclysm that torn
the world asunder. He lived in a tower that floated around in the sky. Here
he remained within an alchemical lab with little interactions until a band
of heroes found him. Amongst them was an owlman who was keen to learn
more about a potion of eternal life and turning oneself liquid, however time
cut their sharing of knowledge short as they had to throw liquid Matthew
out of a window into the below so he would not fall into the wrong hands.
As far as we known that is the last thing that was ever recorded of
Matthew. Whether he splattered all over the ground in the below and
died right there or somehow survived remains a mystery to everyone.
3
37 •

c Maximilian Livingstone c
orn as a human of noble origin he faced a mortal
disease at a very young age which could not be cured by
regular means. The thirst for life pushed him to search for
a cure beyond the known and traditional means of medicine,
including the dark arts of necromancy. He became
the greatest necromancer of his time, made a career as a court necromancer
first in the provinces and then in the capital, eventually occupying one
of the guild’s towers in Averdon and becoming one of the
9 most influential people in Lumina. He raised himself undead
and released all the souls of the dead back to the world
of the living by linking the two together. This event broke
the balance of the world, so the Gods had to lift parts of
the world up in the sky leaving the rest of the land for the undead to live
separately from the
living.
3
Maximilian's
life story is told fully
on the page 54.
38 •

c Minotaurs c
irates and traders from
the town of Perlshaw† these
horned beasts have always been
known for knowing their way
Perlshaw — is located
on the North-East
of Averdon.
around a ship, making good deals through the art of speech
or the art of
war.
3
39 •

Hammerkeep — is
located on the North-
East of Averdon.
c Minto the Godslayer c
The Story of the Death of Gorganos†, how a god was
killed. Deep below the streets of Hammerkeep†, within
the molten core of the mountain, resided a god amongst
man, Gorganos the fire giant. Norud† the deserter had returned
to his order after he was recalled to come and help
deal with troubles in the city he grew up in. Arriving in Hammerkeep his
friends Matthew†, Minto†, and Orus† were put on trial and sentenced
to venture into the mountain to sort out what was going on there. Norud
was to go with them and be their guide as well as their supervisor to
make sure they would not try to run and actually fulfil the task they were
sentenced to accomplish. It did not take long before the four heroes
stumbled upon Fire Genasi† cultists that revered Gorganos, the god under
the mountain and as they ventured deeper inside it became clear how
big all of this actually was. Many cultists and fire elementals guarded the
fiery depths of Hammerkeep including a giant stone gate of a size none
of the heroes had ever seen before. After the four heroes were captured
and managed to escape again they slipped through the
massive stone gate, who opened at given intervals, what
followed was a staircase that seemed to go down to the
heart of the mountain. On their way down they had an
epic fight with an elemental being during which Matthew,
as usual, casted a spell that severely hampered the party instead of being
helpful. The elemental was destroyed and banished to the plane of fire
but left behind his otherworldly hammer which Minto procured and slid
down the stairs all the way to the bottom. After a journey of several
hours long the party arrived in the heart chamber of the mountain
where they encountered two Fire Genasi. An argument erupted between
40 •

the party and the Fire Genasi after which Gorganos woke up from his
slumber. The Fiery god stood up from his pit of lava and uttered the
words ‘you… will… be… judged!!!’ after which a battle
of epic proportions was unleashed upon the world. Minto
started duelling one of the Fire Genasi whom he slammed
into the ground with the massive elemental hammer after
which the Genasi almost instantly died. The rest were
still busy fighting the remaining Genasi as Minto stepped
forward to go head to head with the god of fire himself.
Gorganos punished the little Halfling again and again but
he seemed near immortal as he kept taking hit after hit.
When Minto finally took a final massive hit from Gorganos
the room fell silent as Minto laid motionless on the
floor underneath Gorganos’ hammer. It seemed it was
over for Minto until a spark of life entered him once again
and he stood up with renewed vigor. The party, who had
joined the fight against Gorganos now as well, surrounded
the God and as the situation seemed dire for Gorganos he,
as a last ditch effort, tried collapsing the cave on top of our
heroes. Just as they al thought this would be their end Galdar
the Minotaur bounty hunter arrived and used his powerful
magic to fend of the falling boulders. Gorganos tried
getting away via the stairs as the room filled with boulders
Matthew —
read more about him
on page 36.
norud — read
more about him
on page 44.
Orus — read
more about him
on page 47.
Gorganos —
read more about him
on page 30.
Genasi — read
more about them
on page 9.
and lava but Minto was not done with him yet. The very elemental force
of the place fused with Minto as he raged one last time and grew larger
and larger until he almost was the same size as Gorganos himself. The
now giant Halfling hit the God of Fire one last time crushing him under
the weight of the elemental hammer Minto had been using all this time.
As Gorganos died the eruptions within the cave became worse and worse
41 •

and Galdar almost perished right after his heroic rescue action but the
heroes managed to save him just on time. The five of them made it to the
prison block of the caves where they managed to escape via a side passage.
They slid down the mountain with Minto the Giant, sprinting down the
mountain side, Orus using the hot air of the lava to float up and glide
down the mountain side, and Norud boarding down the mountain on his
shield while holding Matthew over his shoulder. As they made it to safety
they saw Hammerkeep being engulfed by the eruptions, almost no one
survived… To this day there are rumours that the Halfling
Minto absorbed some of the powers of
Gorganos on that very
day.
3
42 •

c mushroom forest c
nder the ground of the city of Qurio there is an
ancient mushroom forest. Here lives the Sovereign Mushroom,
king of all mushrooms who came to life due to
growing on the soil where the bodies of countless powerful
magic users had died many years ago. The Mushroom king,
was the first mushroom that became sentient but his legacy is rapidly
spreading due to the ability of his children to move on their legs
and creating new mushroom
forests across the
world.
3
43 •

c Norud c
arth Genasi paladin who created the Genasi order of
BOSA to protect Lumina against the Cult of the Blue Flame.
He used to travel with the leader of the cult Furlkos and
believed he knew him well enough to stop him. He is also
known for giving Maximilian Livingstone his first necromancy
book which allowed him to survive and become
the leader of the
Eternals.
3
44 •

c Order of Bosa c
aladin order that was created to eliminate the Cult
of the Blue Flame. This order was once
part of the Eastern
Alliance.
3
45 •

c Order of Gorganos c
ilitary organisation created by a fire giant named
Gorganos used to maintain order in the world. The recruits
were taken from Fire and Earth Genasi creating a system
of two factions: offense and defence. Fire Genasi of that
order believed that Offense was the most important aspect
of combat, whereas Earth Genasi claimed that defence was the most important.
The Order ruled by one simple rule: Terrain and Nature can be
altered as long as it keeps its original function. They believed that any
chaotic force can be tamed by equal power. Thus their battle cry was:
‘Order through Power. Unity through
force.’
3
46 •

c Orus c
arakocra bard from Aaqa who is a co-inventor
of the new business idea: Brothel &
Breakfast. Together with his companions
he set up the first ever establishment
to follow this model named
the Pussy & the
Pillow.
3
orus' business
success story is told
fully on page 70.
47 •

c Qurio c
merchant city welcoming
to all with an eye for enterprise
and a knack for business and
commerce. The city of Qurio†
was predominantly of human
nature but as event unfurled
the city came to be known as
the capital of the Eastern alliance
and housed many different
races for the time
being.
3
Qurio — is located
to the East of Averdon
on the main continent
of Lumina.
48 •

c Salim - Gnomish Cartographer c
reator of the map of Lumina and the gnome responsible
for disrespecting the deal with Ivris which resulted in
the curse placed on his people. There are rumours that he
was granted an extremely long life to watch his race suffer
and that he was lifted together with the New World so he
might still be
alive.
3
49 •

c The Stag c
od of nature and balance. He looks like a humanoid
stag and he was the God that created the New World
together with the most powerful
magic users of
Lumina.
3
50 •

c Tieflings c
oming from the island of Ivris they were mostly
the followers of Xylon the God of Trickery. After the
rumours of their demonic ancestry many Tieflings have
been abducted by mages of the
wizard capital at Mirstone† to
serve as living test subjects for Arcane experiments.
When the New World was created
by the Gods, the race of Tieflings were left
behind entirely in the Below, making Tiefling kind
very rare in the New
World.
3
Mirstone is located
on the South-West
of Averdon.
gottem!
51 •

c Rock gnomes c
ock Gnomes are known for being keen inventors and
inventing all kinds of apparatuses that are renowned and
much wanted around the wealthier places of the old world.
As a result many of their outgoing
trade revolves around
the tinkered creations they produce as well
as raw materials from the mountains itself.
Of course flourishing trade also attracts lesser
wanted visitors such as Orc raiders whom
Birrafirth —
is located on the South
of Averdon, read more
about it on page 14.
the Gnomes had difficulty dealing with for very long as their small statures
did not help them much in fighting the much larger and stronger
Orcs. It was not until they started employing mercenaries from Saevar to
fight of Orc raids and protect their Borders that the people of Birrafirth†
could mind their daily business without much meddle from the outside
world. As a result of this trade in services and daily dealings the shrewd
Rock Gnomes grew fond of their savage and barbaric Saevarian allies as
they formed a natural bond with each other over time. Birrafirth prospered
for a long time under the protection of their allies until the great
war of fire with the Son of Gorganos sparked and they retreated behind
their thick mountain walls and secluded
themselves from the
world.
3
52 •

c Wall of Oblivion c
ig layer of thundering clouds separating the old
World from the New World. The creator of the wall was
one of the magic users who helped the Gods to raise the
world up named Joakim. He was a storm cleric and he
poured his life essence in the clouds sworn to protect the
Border between the worlds. If a living body falls through the Wall it is
very likely for it to be struck by very powerful lightning. There are also
rumours that there is a giant serpent
living in these
clouds.
3
53 •

54 •

Part 11.
stories.
55 •

Furlkos the blue-flamed
also known as
ignis the son of gorganos
have spend so much time at the Order
of Gorganos, training myself to be ready
for the future. It has been quite some time
ever since I took the vows and joined the
order but it is finally
time for me to show
them what I am worth
for the next mission I
will venture on, I will be
in command of the lot. From this moment on I
can start rising through the ranks of the order and
achieve something for myself. The job itself is
nothing special as we are tasked to go hunt down
several bandits that used the forest as a base of
operations to strike from. Those pesky bandits
56 •

won’t know what hit them after we are done with them! We will
show them our true power. • We were strolling through the dark
forest and could barely see anything as too
much light would give away our positions.
At some point we thought we were on the
bandit’s trail as we tracked them down
through some of the hidden paths in the
underbrush. The forward tracker gestured
to me that their hideout would be close.
At that exact moment I heard something
coming from the dark forest and everyone
froze in place, a moment of silence followed
by the sound of something all too
familiar and all too dangerous, the twang
of a crossbow releasing a deadly bolt.
Without warning several bolts hit their
marks and Flare and Boros immediately
fell to the ground lifeless, dead. How could I have been so stupid!
We walked right into their trap like lambs to the slaughter and I
was the one in command… I was the one to… blame. Several bandits
revealed themselves from the dark thicket and charged at what
remained of our group. I felt a fiery rage well up from deep down
below, I had felt anger before but this was something anchored
into my soul. Blind rage took a hold of me as I slaughtered those
that had wronged me, fires danced around me and arced from my
body as our very surroundings caught fire. • As the last of the
bandits fell and the fires died down I managed to calm myself and
perceive the damage that had been done. The once lush forest had
turned into a plain of ash and charcoal with not a single living
57 •

eing in sight, not even my companions. All of them had fallen
and I failed to uphold the honour of my order by severely altering
nature. I realised I could not return to the order after what had
transpired here. I failed what was asked of me and brought shame
to the order of Gorganos. I had to leave this place for once and for,
my only option was to desert from the order and not look back.
Roaming the land leaving the order behind
I travelled south into the realms of
men. Here I was arrested and detained
for no valid reason whatsoever and held
captive near Wailer’s Point. • As I spent
several days inside the prison I came across
several fellow prisoners that I could get along
with. It was a welcome change of pace after
having been on the road all by myself for a
while. Several days we had been stuck in the
same cell and so we ended up sharing names
and other simple niceties. They were an odd
collection of bodies consisting of an elderly gnome named Maggye, a
misshapen Elf who didn’t speak much, a sinister Tiefling who called
himself Aranakas, and a fellow made of bone and not much more who
introduced himself as Augustus Mendenhall also known as Bronze Baron.
No clue what my fate would be sitting in this godsforsaken cell until
one day we all were addressed by a godly being claiming to be Ivris the
goddess of illusions. She granted us a way out for some of us to fulfil a
destiny. • With the divine assistance of the goddess of illusions we freed
ourselves from our chains and were kept in the shadows no longer. We
broke free and I quickly armed myself taking the fight to our captors
and the rest followed foot. The garrison had been caught off guard as we
58 •

fought our way to the outside world. Standing atop the ruins of our
former prison after showing a great feat of teamwork we all decided to
band together for the time being as we set
our sights on the south, Murkwell and its
surrounding swamps. • Never before did I
have many personal dealings with any others
beyond the Fire and Earth Genasi of the two
orders and so travelling with this varied began
to teach me their ways and customs. I
remained doubtful of them but when we arrived
in the swamps and encountered a massive
Slaad named Bo’Gat much of my appreciation
for others sank through the floor as
Aranakas could not keep his hands to himself
deciding he would steal from the Slaad who clearly was a potent magic
user. Bo’Gat banished us from the world of the living as we all took a
one way trip directly into the plane of hell. • As we entered the plane
of death, another divine being revealed herself to us with this time
it being Lumina, the very goddess of the continent. Surely an honour
to meet such a powerful being. It was
here that Lumina uttered false premises
to me, telling me that Gorganos is not a
real god and that my entire race is being
kept on a leash by a fire giant. I did not
take her words for granted but something
deep down started eating at my
conscience, gnawing away every day always
rationalising that it might not be
true, but why would a god lie to me?
59 •

One thing was certain, I had to find
out whether she was speaking the truth
or not. As the
questions churned
around in my head
Lumina provided
us with a task that
would allow us to
return to the world
of the living, by
killing a demon.
• Travelling along
the paths we stumbled
upon a small
town where strangely
enough another
skeletal man, similar to Augustus remained.
One that went by the name of
Maximilian and seemed to even know
Augustus from a lifelong lost to the passing
of time. Maximilian called him the
“Bronze Baron” and explained he could
travel to hell and back. He thought he
would never see Augustus again and was
happy to see him once more and offered
us his help. • As we crossed the vast
planes of hell a great battlefield laid
strewn in front of us or so it seemed.
As if a battle had raged on here many
60 •

decades ago but was never cleaned up and all of the remains were
right there. We waded through the carnage as something caught
my eye, a sword that seemed to be in perfect condition
while everything around it seemed to have
been long forgotten and ruined. Something pulled
me towards it I cannot explain what it was but it
was as if it beckoned me to pull it from the very
ground and wield it as mine. The sword itself felt
familiar to me as if it had been a long lost heirloom
that had always been a part of me ever before. After
the battlefield was located a strange forest with
kobolds hiding inside it. As we nearly exited the
forest I accidentally sparked a fire by walking into
a branch and the forest caught fire. Unable to do
much against the raging flames we watched it burn
down and those inside were burnt alive. Somehow
burning down this forest felt kind of good to me, to see those
flames devour the trees. • We continued our journey to seek out this
demon who would serve as our way back from hell and we stumbled
upon a crossing we had to get past. Everyone made it across but lost in
thought of what Lumina had said earlier I lost my footing and dropped
down into the river of souls and at that moment a demon appeared.
Striking down at us from above we were in a tough spot as we fought
back against the hellish being. It seemed futile just as the skeletal man
that Augustus had met with earlier appeared and banished the demon to
another plane of existence. We thanked him for his aid and continued
to seek out our target. As time passed Augustus got upset with Aranakas
as he was once again tricking and fooling around. To stop him from
causing trouble Maggye accidentally broke his legs by trying to grab
61 •

him. Without second thought Augustus picked him up and threw him
into a pit where Aranakas would be doomed to suffer for an eternity.
After out our arduous journey we finally met with the demon that we
were tasked to rid this plane off so that we may return to the world of
the living. A great battle followed foot but we managed to slay it right
there and then and before I knew it I woke up in the swamps of Murkwell
with myself in one piece once again. As I looked myself over I noticed
that the sword I picked up had transferred to this plane as well.
Everyone of my companions, except Aranakas, had returned to this
world as well and then it came to me once again. Did Lumina speak the
truth? Was Gorganos no god at all? The truth hast to be revealed.
• Making our way back up north out of the swamps we arrived at Wailer’s
Point once again where we managed to get on board of a ship that
would sail us to Mirstone, here Augustus would meet up with Maximilian
and I decided to travel with them for the time being. As we set sail
and started crossing the see between Murkwell and Mirstone we were
62 •

attacked by invisible creatures at sea and one of the ships crew members
fell overboard. Augustus jumped after him to save the man and managed
to help him back on-board via the anchor but Augustus
himself sank to the bottom of the sea and had to
walk to Mirstone. At least it would be no problem as he
did not have to breath anyway. • Halfway across the sea
a ship was sighted and I asked to close in on them as I
spotted Fire Genasi on the deck. I had to know what they
were doing out here so far from home. As I set foot on the
other ship I found myself a predominant Fire Genasi
crew, a group of deserters at that. Their captain’s name
was Sizzle and I asked him what they were doing out here
so far away from the boundaries they usually operate
within. The answers I got were simple and short: Hammerkeep
had fallen through a terrible cataclysm, and
Gorganos had been killed. Like a flash of lightning it
went through my head, all that Lumina said must have been true. Gorganos
not a god, all that I strived for had been a lie all this time. Sizzle
looked to my side and noticed the Flame Tongue I carried with me and
he asked me if he could Borrow it. I complied to him and handed it
over. He thoughtfully inspected it and was truly in awe as what he was
holding was indeed a Flame Tongue. Without effort he lit up the blade
as if he knew how to control it and asked me to join his crew and raid
the coast. Had he no honour in him? Why resort to such lowly existence?
I slowly filled with rage and recalled the burning blade back to me.
As I grasped it firmly my personal fire and the flame of the blade lit up
with a bright blue flame. Without hesitation I struck down the captain
and the rest of the crew did not dare attack as instead they revered me
for my now blue flames. • Together with the remaining crew I set off to
63 •

Mirstone where I reunited with the others, even Augustus had made it
by walking across the sea-floor. Before meeting Maximilian once more I
tasked my newly acquired followers to spread the true word about Gorganos
and about me the blue flame. Those who seek answers can join us
in our quest. • Within Mirstone I found out about the true powers of
Maximilian and his power to raise the dead, and his wish to reunite
every deceased soul with the world of the living where they can live in
harmony once and for all. It was here that I learned of a long lost Fire
Genasi temple, our supposed origin hidden deep down south in the lost
lands, but first we offered to help Maximilian and Augustus reclaim
what was once theirs. • We set out to the Badlands towards Dunstead
castle where Augustus used to reign from all those years ago with Maximilian
by his side. On our way there we encountered a dwarf who held
an egg of great value. I heeded him not, however our elven friend decided
the egg should be his and attacked the dwarf on his own nearly dying
in the process. I decided to not intervene up until the Dwarf wanted to
deal the final blow. I drew my Flame Tongue and parried the blow to
prevent needless bloodshed but only because we might need the Elf on
our quest later on. The attack came in swift
and hard and I suffered a great injury as a
result and the Elf was to blame for it! • As
we entered the Badlands we encountered an
angry giant, one of the last obstacles before
we would reach Dunstead and could fulfil
this quest and obtain Maximilian’s gratitude.
During the fight my Flame Tongue once
again wreathed itself in flames as I landed
blow after blow on the giant but I had to
make distance as the giant swung at me. I
64 •

threw my blade at him and as I recalled it as I had done many times
before I made a mistake and cut of my own hand. Filled with never
ending rage once again the Flame Tongue lit up as I felt I had gained
control over this weapon at last. Now they would see that it is all their
fault and theirs alone! Missing a hand I felt I had to do something to
regain it and through sacrificing some of my fire magic I managed to
replace my hand with one made of pure flame. • Maximilian tasked us
to defend the last of the Hill giants so they in return would help us lay
siege to Dunstead castle for our victory. For this another group of travellers
was gathered amongst them, the slayer of Gorganos himself. A tiny
being and absolutely worthless to say the least. If he truly was the one
who struck down my former god than I am glad I do not have to devote
myself to him any longer. • With the help of giants we stormed the
castle and broke the Dwarven army inside of its walls. Augustus and
Maximilian remained and I quickly parted ways to travel south once
more to reunite myself with the crew I had sent off. The time had come
time to build an empire for the Fire Genasi, a place where all those without
purpose could band together. Due to the help of my first followers
my fame ran before me and I came to be known as “The Blue-Flamed”.
• As my following grew I remembered the rumours of the long lost Fire
Genasi temple in the Lost Lands but after
many years of searching we never truly managed
to find them. Instead we stumbled upon
several ancient ruins and I lied to all who followed
me that these were in fact the ancient
remnants of our past. • We abided our time
as we grew larger and larger and raided the
south-lands from all of its riches. Nothing
was left in our wake of destruction. Never
65 •

had I heard anything from those I travelled with for so long until on one
the very sky seemed to tear open and the dead were once again reunited
with the living. Maximilian had pulled of his scheme
and I knew it was up to me to gather all those that had
died before us to swear fealty to our cause, no… to me!
Their one true leader! As the Genasi of the realm of the
living and the dead joined forces I knew it was time to
start the great plan and purge the world of all others for
once and for all. With all our force we started the Crusade
of Purifying flames as we ravaged through out the
realm, once again burning everything around us. Those
that opposed us would meet flame and sword and perish
in our wake! • A pesky alliance was created to oppose
us, but all resistance would be futile. My army could not
be stopped by any army anymore. We clashed in the desert
sands outside of Qurio and soon they all fell to our superior might!
Not even all the armies and mercenaries in the world could stop us. At
the forefront of the fighting I struck down brave soul after brave soul
who sought me out to once and for all end this madness until a familiar
face turned up. Maggye the small elderly gnome had come to oppose
me?! All powerful me was not going to be stopped so easily! She put up
a fierce fight but in done before so long ago, but there was no feeling of
euphoria this time, only pure grief and suffering. • Cut off from my
forces and in a state of apathy I was surrounded by alliance forces. Another
familiar face appeared, Norud the paladin. He took hold of the
Flame Tongue and brought it far out of my reach so I would never be
able to repeat what I had started here. Leaderless and zealous my armies
were crushed and I myself was taken prisoner and sentenced to be hidden
away under the mountain for eternity so I could rot away like Gor-
66 •

ganos had before me. • The feeling of apathy remained with me for
days, weeks, months, years, up until I lost count for how long I had been
chained in these vaults. I felt empty and purposeless once
again they might as well not have chained me up as there
was no will left in me to carry on anyway. • Under these
mountains my mind rotted away, my sense of time lost to
the ages, my perception destroyed through lack of stimulation.
This lasted for who knows how long as I remained
underneath the mountain undisturbed until I was forgotten
by those that had buried me here long ago. • Under
these mountains my mind rotted away, my sense of time
lost to the ages, my perception destroyed through lack of
stimulation. This lasted for who knows how long as I remained
underneath the mountain undisturbed until I was forgotten by
those that had buried me here long ago. Forgotten and found again by
those that dwell in the mountains their minds poisoned by my presence
they left their holds or went insane and
died in the very halls they once called their
home, a power below the mountain. • It
seems that my shackles have been loosened
after all these years. Is it really true or is my
weakened mind just playing tricks on me
after millennia in solitude and silence?
Have I gone crazy after all or
is salvation at
hand?
3
67 •

68 •

69 •

the pussy & the pillow
wner of the Pussy & the Pillow orus
the awesome as he calls himself calmly
finishes his morning coffee as we approach
his table in this early hour for this
establishment. He looks stunning and
fresh as usual leaving us taken aback by
his blessing of an incredibly melodic voice
as he warmly greets us. a busy man that
he running such a successful franchise he
kindly requests us to proceed to the questions for this issue of
‘averdon times’. without further ado let's proceed to the exciting
read that his answers certainly are.
70 •

idea & Development
Where did the idea for the Pussy & the Pillow come from?
My group and I were offered the opportunity to buy some property
and out of impulse we bought it. We did not really have an idea
what to do with it at first, but of course I came up with the brilliant
idea of combining three needs for any traveller: Companionship,
a warm bed and breakfast. And thus, the P&P was Born.
How did you make investors interested?
What was your financial model?
Because we property was paid off immediately,
we only had to finance the first
round of salaries before the revenue of the
establishment kicked in. Our group was
fortunate enough to have that first round
of investment on hand at that time. For
us it was a gamble, of course, but I felt
confident that our investments would pay
off in the end.
Are your taverns introvert-friendly?
We try to cater to the demands of everyone.
All our courtesans are trained to read the wishes of our client
even if they have a hard time expressing them. They can let the
client set the pace or if they read that the client has a hard time
71 •

taking control, they will work with the client to make sure they
have a great time.
What is prohibited in your establishment?
Our core values were set from the getgo:
Courtship is something someone does
out their own will and pleasure. So, our
ladies, and guys, of the night set the rules.
Besides the obvious, like unprotected intercourse,
weapons in the room or drug
use, there is not much that is strictly prohibited
unless it is a personal rule from
one of our courtesans.
What specialties
do your employees
have?
How explicit can I be in your gazette? We
have a lady who can (redacted) with a ripe
(redacted) while (redacted), and that is just
the tip of the iceberg.
What kind of innovation do you use in your
business?
Our innovation comes from the philosophy that our courtesans
are in charge. They are the ones making new hires, decorating the
rooms, setting the rules for customers.
72 •

How do you get people excited about P&P?
We rely heavily on word of mouth and occasionally we
hire a venue or tavern and use it as a pop-up brothel so
to speak. We also run a loyalty program: Returning customers
can make reservations with their favourite courtesan
and if they collect enough golden stamps they can
be treated to a deluxe package for the price of a normal
package.
How do you deal with competition?
Fuck the competition.
Figuratively speaking obviously.
We make sure our courtesans
are happy and healthy. Have
you seen the ladies at the Moan
Shack?! They don’t seem very
happy. How do you expect them
to give you a good time if they
are miserable themselves? We
hate to see forced courtship and
we try to give those poor souls a
roof for a few days, we provide
food and medicine as well. It’s a
win-win: we put our competition
in a bad spot, and we save a soul.
73 •

Running a successful business
How do you spend time running a business?
My time spent at the P&P is mostly taken
up by meetings with the leads of their respective
department to go over any wishes
or investments.
What do you enjoy the most about your
work? What is your personal favourite service?
I make it a personal rule that I do not get high of my own supply,
if you know what I mean.
Is your work taking a toll on your physical and emotional well-being?
Oh, very much the opposite. Have you seen those
male courtesans? They are in tip top shape and they
would put me to shame if I let my body whither in
any way. They keep me reminded and are friendly
enough to give me tips as well. As for emotional or
physic well-being… (Orus pauses, seemingly thinking
about something), I’ve never been better…
How do you award and motivate your staff?
We are a family here. You can imagine that for some
that choose this line of work, out of their own will,
74 •

their bond with their family might not always be the same as it was
before. We offer counselling to those who need it. In the end, we
want to offer a workplace where people can be who they are. Even
if that someone is a nymphomaniac.
The future
Is there anything in the near future of P&P
that you are excited about?
We are planning to completely renovate
our existing location in Solstice and I will
give you a scoop as well, because you have
been so kind to me in this interview. We
are currently in talks to open a P&P in
Al-Jafer.
What are your goals for the next 10 years?
While being an entrepreneur is great, I do
miss adventuring quite a bit. I used to
have this group of friends who I did amazing
things with. I might retire early and
pick up where I left off in that regard.
75 •

Personality
Being nominated an entrepreneur of the year by the Traders guild of
Solstice is not a small deal, how did you feel?
Finally, we are talking about me. Yes, it is
about damn time I get nominated. Frankly,
it is a disgrace it hasn’t happened before.
To be honest though, I do not give
a rat’s ass about awards, but I should have
won it ages ago.
What character trades and personal history
made it possible for you to become entrepreneur?
Why could you create something
arguably nobody else could?
I’ve always had a way with words, I guess.
As a bard, you learn how to make people
listen to you, add a little flair to your stories
or embellish some facts to make them
work in your favour.
Your stunning looks don’t go unnoticed. Could you give some style tips
for starting entrepreneurs?
Ah, thank you for noticing, you are not bad looking yourself. My
greatest tip is: treat yourself like you treat your business. You are
76 •

part of your brand. If you walk into a tavern and the chef is
a slobby sweaty mess you would lose your appetite, right?
Present yourself in a way you want people
to perceive your
business as
well.
77 •

78 •

79 •

80 •

81 •

82 •

83 •

84 •

85 •

87 •

89 •

accumulated knowledge
Tales and Legends
Tome 27
collected and edited
by entho'mere the alchemist
recorded by Sharp Beak & Dim Wing

Dedicated to a great Dungeon Master Niek Corstjens
and to our wonderful friends who have gifted us with many happy
hours of forgetting that we are boring adults.

Part 1.
The portraits of those first who went through
extra materials.
the wall of oblivion and returned. may their
names forever stay in the Owlmen history.
Portraits were commissioned to Tengu Arts guild
in Silver Mountains by Entho'mere the Alchemist
for his latest study volume.
6 •

7 •
Laurence Sullivan

Entho’Mere
8 •

9 •
Flynn Sizemore

Aderyn
10 •

11 •
Reverence

Rodas Korudon
12 •

Akka

Based on the world created by Niek Corstjens
for Dungeons & Dragons games.
Written by Laszlo G. Pieper & Natalia Agafonova.
With contributions by Mitchel Alberts,
Yoram van de Vall, and Randy Schouten.
Designed by Natalia Agafonova.
www.talkingpaper.nl
Images by Tengu Arts, and Clipart courtesy FCIT.
www.tenguarts.com
www.etc.usf.edu/clipart

codex ....................... 25
Agidowa ............................................27
Al-Jafer .............................................28
Armour of Gorganos ...........................29
Barnabus Blastwind .......................... 30
Black Needle ..................................... 31
Bo'Gat — Creator of the Slaad ........... 32
Book of Names .................................. 33
Broxmore ..........................................34
Cloud Dwarves ................................. 35
Core..................................................36
Desert Gnomes .................................. 37
Dragon-born .....................................38
Elves ................................................. 39
Flame Tongue ....................................40
Floating Islands .................................41
Galeb Duhr ......................................42
Genasi ..............................................43
Goblins ............................................ 44
Coven ...............................................45
Harmattan Straits .............................46
Maximilian Livingstone .....................47
Minotaurs .........................................48
Mirage ..............................................49
Mushroom Forest ............................... 50
Norud ................................................51
Owlmen............................................ 52
Prince of Hellenia .............................. 53
Qurio ............................................... 54
Solstice ...............................................55
Slaad ................................................ 57
Song-birds ......................................... 58
Thueban ........................................... 59
Tieflings ............................................60
Reaper .............................................. 61
Wall of Oblivion ................................62
Wyvern-born ..................................... 63
stories .................. 65
Elves and Magic ................................66
Maximilian Livingstone .....................72
23 •

24 •

Part 1.
codex.
25 •

26 •

c Agidowa c
his magnificent dwarven capital sits atop the Silver
Mountains and holds the seat of power of the Cloud
Dwarvess† from which lady
Thenmida Agidowan leads her
people. The city is protected by
a layer of clouds that only a Cloud Dwarf can
disperse or traverse and after that large stone
Cloud Dwarves —
read more about them
on page 35.
doors bar the entry to the city before one can enter and see the large
spacious halls that lie beyond the outer walls. Rumors say that this
ancient city was built upon the remnants of a city within the mountain,
an ancient city that held captive an
unyielding force for
centuries.
3
27 •

c Al-Jafer c
Desert Gnomes —
read more about them
on page 37.
l-Jafer is a vast capital-city
where the Desert Gnomes†
have started a sprawling settlement
of trade and splendour.
Many exotic goods, including Gnomish inventions,
are traded here with locals and travelling merchants. The entire
city was built in a canyon so the Gnomes do not have to suffer day
light while they tinker away and
drive trade with
outsiders.
3
28 •

c Armour of Gorganos c
long time ago an expedition of Owlmen† archaeologists
accompanied by an Elf† set out to learn more about
the continental Cores of Tyr. As they started excavating
the land to look for clues about the Cores they instead
stumbled upon something much larger,
a dark secret hidden beneath the very earthen crust. The
excavation unearthed a massive armour far too large for
any existing creature to ever wear and make use of. They
halted their research of the Cores and started looking for
answers to who or what could have worn this armour. As
they kept on searching for clues, several pieces were found
that made up an entire set. A helmet, a breastplate, greaves,
and vambraces all made of a near black metal that seemed
almost not from this world. No clear answer was to be found amongst
the excavations, no bones, no other remains, just an armour as if it had
been placed there. Although one thing seemed certain to
the archaeologists, this armour would only
fit a Giant of a
man.
3
Owlmen — read
more about them
on page 52.
elves — read
more about them
on page 39.
29 •

c Barnabus Blastwind c
n ancient dwarven wizard
that claims the Cloud
dwarves† came from Below
the Mountain and used to live
in the underground city and do
mining.
3
CLOUD DWARVES —
read more about them
on page 35.
30 •

c Black Needle c
powerful dagger-like artifact of unknown origin
made of black obsidian. It was known to ‘whisper’ to
Ivywood — an island
on the South-West
of the Tyr Core.
its owners and drive them
mad. The last known owner
who got possessed by the
artifact was the Mayor of Ivywood†. With
the help of the Black Needle he supposedly
drained the Core of the island of all its power and then used the
dagger to kill his only daughter just before he was driven mad by it.
The draining of the islands power Core resulted in it falling from
the sky and through the wall
of oblivion into
the below.
3
31 •

c Bo'Gat — creator of the Slaad c
druid so powerful that he could send an entire
adventuring party straight to hell. He is known and revered
for managing to find a way to produce Slaad from
a Spawning stone. By doing so he became
the God of the
Slaad.
3
32 •

c Book of names c
he book of names is the one book that has the name of
all demons from every demi-plane out there. The one that
controls the book, controls a sizeable and relentless army
of demons and other hell spawns that will fight for them
without question.
In name it is a well-known artifact
amongst powerful warlocks
of whom many seek the power of
the book to aid them in fulfilling
their agenda. Entho’mere, Varis,
Maya, Baqqan, and Nodin were
notified of the existence of this
book after their adventures underneath
Agidowa and inside Qurio. Here they fought of countless of
swarms of bug like demons called Mezzoloth who all were summoned
using the Book of Names. It was not until they met Maximilian’s spirit
who explained them who had the book and what purpose it served.
A powerful Yuan-Ti Warlock named Thueban held control over the
book as he wanted to use it to subdue the world to his rule. Thueban
was defeated but at a great cost as only Entho survived the encounter
with him. The book was last seen in Entho’mere’s possession
who held control over the demonic swarms of the demi-planes
until the book somehow
was lost once
again.
3
33 •

c Broxmore c
country and a continent part of
which, Ivywood, fell down in one of
the Tyr time-lines as the result of the
island’s Core being drained of its
power.
3
Broxmore —
a continent on
the South-West
of the Tyr Core.
34 •

c Cloud dwarves c
loud dwarves live on the so called Silver Mountain
continent† in the city of Agidowa. Most of them
follow the Goat God but some follow other animalistic
gods such as the Bear. They despise the underground
and never go below the ground surface. They are ruled
by Queen Themida Agidowan. Dwarves are known for their welcoming
and cheerful nature, any traveller is always welcome in Agidowa. Entry
the Silver Mountains
continent —
is located on the North
of the Core.
to the mountain-top city is obstructed by
the elements and large structures made out
of stone including a set of massive doors.
The city itself is guarded by a huge marble
Galeb Duhr that goes by the name Turwe,
whose head resembles an amalgam of
books and scrolls. The Dwarves possess great knowledge hidden behind
the walls of their archives, where only
very few are allowed
entrance.
3
35 •

c Core c
he floating islands are rotating around the magical
Core that is so strong in arcana that nobody but Owlmen
skilled in arcana wearing special
protection can come close to it.
The information about the Core
is secluded deep in the Owlmen archives and the
only commonly known facts are that the Cores
Wall of Oblivion
— read more about it
on page 62.
of each island are connected to the main Core, thus if the main Core will
go missing or gets drained of its magical powers the world will fall into
the Wall of Oblivion†. The Core creates powerful winds that allow the
flying-folk and the air-ships to move only in one direction –
counter-clockwise and from
the center to the
outskirts.
3
36 •

c Desert gnomes c
he only gnomes known in
the world live in the desserts
of the Harmattan Straits†
where it is so dry and hot
Harmattan Straits
— are located to the East
of the Core.
that nothing can ever grow there. Accomplished tinkerers,
they are cursed to never see in sunlight without protective
goggles.
3
37 •

c Dragon-born c
egendary race which has probably never existed. It
is generally believed in Wyvernborn†
society that they are cursed
descendants of the Dragon-born
race, and one day they can become
Dragon-born ‘again’. Despite having no
Wyvern-born —
read more about them
on page 63.
proof, this powerful mythology leads hundreds of Wyvern-born to seek
for ways to increase their powers and size risking their
lives every day until they either make
headway or perish in
the attempts of
doing
so.
3
38 •

c Elves c
lves of Tyr are of a hardy and adventurous breed
with a pinch of pride. They are unlikely to settle as they
are firm believers that the free spirit should not be contained
between four static walls, a floor, and a roof. The
Elves formed different clans that roam the wilds and live of
the land wherever they decide to set up their camp
for the time being. Due to their nomadic lifestyle
they developed a keen sense for surviving in harsh
conditions and traversing terrain that most common
folk would deem far too dangerous to cross.
mirage —
read more about it
on page 49.
They are known to distrust others and in particular the Miragians†.
Grief was was caused by Miragian raids that killed many Tyrian Elves and
even wiped out several clans. This led to animosity between the Elves and
Miragians who often will give no quarter to each other under any circumstance.
Even though the Tyrian Elves mostly keep to themselves due to
their innate pride and distrust of strangers they sometimes venture near
cities and villages in order to trade exotic goods with locals. Most of the
large cities within Tyr that are not on the continent of Mirage are bound
to have Elves in them, either for trade, or to skulk in the dark for
whatever purpose
necessary.
3
39 •

c Flame Tongue c
ysterious artefact of extraordinary power that was
sealed off in a Pyramid in the
deserts of Al-Jafer† where the
weapon was guarded by some
eternal entity for hundreds of
years. Rumours are that it can ignite when
held by an accomplished warrior possessing
Al-Jafer — is a
city located within
the Harmattan Straits
on the East of the Core.
some elemental affinity. Some say that the artifact has been stolen by
an Owlman artificer, Entho’Mere,
but nobody dares to go in
the pyramid to
check.
3
40 •

c Floating Islands c
ystem of the islands floats in the air by the means of
magic, provided by the main Core in the centre of the islands
complex. Each of the islands has a smaller Core within
itself that keeps the islands afloat. These smaller Cores are
linked to the main Core that resides in
the centre of
Tyr.
3
41 •

c Galeb Duhr c
uardians of islands and their magical Cores, these
ancient creatures live as long as their arcana connection
with the Core stays strong. To fulfil their guardian duties,
GalebDuhr are granted extreme magical powers
scaling up with the size of an island. According to Owlman
research, Galeb Duhr can survive without connection to the Core
but they get expelled from their service and thus their life loses meaning
as they are designed to protect their island. However, such cases
are extremely rare as there is no known way to unbind a Galeb Duhr
from its Core. There are four types of Galeb Duhr known to this day:
made up of different materials: Rock,
Crystal, Sand, and
Marble.
3
42 •

c Genasi c
enasi are a humanoid race with an elemental ancestry.
There are four sub-races known related to the four major
elements: water, fire,
earth, and
air.
3
43 •

c Goblins c
ittle creatures that are usually not taken into account
which could be considered a mistake for they may
be weak individually but together they can
become a force to be reckoned
with.
3
44 •

c Coven c
oven consisting of powerful hags and their hagspawns
located in the Miragian†
countryside. Their goal is mirage — read more
to gain power within the Miragian
government through poli-
about it on page 49.
tics and take down their enemy, the king of Mirage. The coven is led by
the three sisters: The Maiden,
the Mother, and the
Crone.
3
45 •

c Harmattan Straits c
esert continent where nothing can ever grow as if
the land was completely burned.
3
46 •

c Maximilian Livingstone c
od of death. 3
Maximilian's
life story is told fully
on page 72.
47 •

c Minotaurs c
ir ships and piracy are their two favourite
things to do. 3
48 •

c Mirage c
ostly living on the continent of Mirage, humans are
a very racist race that generally believes to be supreme to
others. They are so hateful to other races that their army
has a special witch-hunt department
where soldiers are trained to
slay beasts and non-humans. There were several
major witch-hunts on elves and other races and
countless smaller ones. In the capital of Mirage,
Mirage — is
located on the West
of the Core.
Flemont, sits the king of Mirage who is believed to be an immortal god.
Miragians pray to nobody but their God King but Owlmen research has
shown that every life span of a human the king disappears and reappears
about twenty years later. The king’s reappearance usually leads to major
political changes as if someone else was put in charge. The Miragian
society is very militarised and known for advancement in the art of war
and what surrounds that. Outstanding examples of fine Miragian weaponry
would be battle air
ships and fire
arms.
3
49 •

c mushroom forest c
nder the ground of the city of Al-Jafer there is an
ancient mushroom forest. Here lives the Sovereign Mushroom,
king of all the mushrooms who is believed to be the
first ever sentient mushroom that ever developed thought
and could speak the common tongue. Through spores the
mushroom network covers the whole world of Tyr and allows the Sovereign’s
offspring to gather and share information. Standing in the centre
of all the connections, the Mushroom King might be one of the most
knowledgeable beings the
world has ever
known.
3
50 •

c Norud c
ystical creature guarding the Flame Tongue from
outsiders hidden within the Pyramid in Al-Jafer.
3
51 •

c Owlmen c
roficient with arcana and knowledge Owlmen are
the chroniclers of Tyr. They spend their days in study and
collecting new knowledge. Many Owlmen travel around
the world to gather more information, but those who stay at
home live in the four towers around the central Core. Each
tower focuses its research on one of the world’s parts. The Nothern Tower
is focused on the Silver Mountains, the Eastern Tower collects data about
Harmattan Straits and Bog of Alagus, the Southern Tower is focused
on Broxmore, and the Western
Tower is studying
Mirage.
3
52 •

c Prince of Hellenia c
eep underneath the sands roamed a large rat,
Whose real character was assumed to be long dead,
Reduced to a lurking thief,
Who felt no remorse nor grief,
Only fear made him upset.
When the contract was found,
And learned to whom he was bound,
They uttered his real name,
Besmirched with great shame,
As the rat turned from creature to a man once crowned.
3
53 •

c Qurio c
mpty city located on the
bottom of the Harmattan
Straits facing the Wall of
Oblivion†. The only way to get
there is through the pyramid
of Al-Jafer and the Mushroom
forest†. One can only traverse
there by flying or by climbing
and using ropes. The only
living creatures there are the
Galeb Duhr† who live in
a cave and cannot
leave
it.
3
Galeb Duhr — read
more about them
on page 42.
Mushroom forest
— read more about it
on the page 39.
Wall of Oblivion
— read more about it
on page 62.
54 •

c Solstice c
olstice is one of the capital Human settlements of
the world of Tyr and the capital of Broxmore. The city is
divided into three islands. The Crescent Isle, the Gibbous
Isle and the Full Isle. Each of these islads holds different
layers of society ranging from the richest and most influential
to the poorest and insignificant people. The different isles create
a very visual border between the classes of Solstice as the lower isles are
poverty ridden criminal breeding grounds, where you have to watch your
every step or fall prey to get swindled, mugged or otherwise involved in
any criminality. While on the other hand the isle where all the rich people
live is as safe and clean as can be. The way this is kept this way is by
not letting your average joe inside of the higher isles at any times, so the
rich can always look down on the poor and the poor will always look up
and see what they’ll never have. Solstice is not governed by a king or
any single person at all, instead it’s a republic governed by the Court of
Nine, the nine masters each representing their houses. Houses function as
ministries and deal with their associated part of ruling the realm. Some of
the known houses are those of Law, Culture, Knowledge, War, Resources,
and Trade. The House of Culture involves anything concerning the fine
arts of painting, theatre, music and much more that has to do with the
fine arts. The House of Knowledge deals with all flows of knowledge
that come into and flow out of the city. They want to keep control over
what information is shared with outsiders and obtain more knowledge
in the long run to advance their civilization and learn from the past with
a perspective on the future. The Trading House has an emphasis on
everything concerning money and goods that come in and go out of the
city. Where there is money there is power and as a result the rich mer-
55 •

chants of the city have much to say within politics as well. The House of
Law and House of Resources function accordingly to their names and
prefer to stay in the shade of other houses while increasing the riches of
the city. The House of War is effectively an order of Paladins that swear
fealty to Solstice. They protect the borders of Solstice and enforce law on
the streets and every important governmental building. Once they were
led by Vandal Felton, a renowned Paladin who would live to see Solstice
expanded across the known world but after losing his family he jumped
into the abyss never to be seen again. He supposedly was responsible for
trying to set up the Lizardfolk of Rahuuz in order to have a reason to
expand eastwards in the name of Solstice. House of Law and House of
Resources function accordingly to their names and prefer to stay in the
shade of other houses while increasing
the riches of the
city.
3
56 •

c Slaad c
rog-like humanoids populate the Bog of Alagus and
hold The Spawning Stone as their capital. They are not
born to this world as humans are but instead their spores
are infested into humanoids
with the help of the Spawning
Stone allowing the baby to grow on its victim
and feast upon it after hatching. Slaad are
Bo'Gat — read more
about him on page 32.
known to have three skin colours defining their strengths and weaknesses:
Blue Slaad are prime magic users, Green Slaad have the best connection
with nature, and Red Slaad are accomplished warriors. The colour gets
defined by the victim that gets infected. Lately, however, the their reproduction
method has stopped working and thus the Slaad get fewer in
numbers every day without being able to reproduce.They look to their
god Bo'Gat† for aid and deliverance before they all perish into the annals
of Owlmen written
history.
3
57 •

c Song-birds c
nown to be great bards those
Bird-Folk live on the Phoenix Isle†
and entice travellers with their flamboyant,
sassy
behaviour.
3
Phoenix Isle — is
located on the South-
West of the Core.
58 •

c Thueban c
uan-Ti Warlock who spent his
life collecting all pieces of Maximillian’s
Soulstone scattered
across Tyr in various artefacts such
as the Black Needle†. He succeeded
in his life time work to become more powerful
through abducting Maximilian’s† soul and
feeding of its magic, but soon after he got killed
Black Needle —
read more about it
on page 31.
Maximilian —
read more about him
on page 47.
by Varis and Entho’mere’s adventuring party, resulting in death of all but
Entho’mere.
3
59 •

c Tieflings c
ieflings are a rare race with no home town or clear
ancestry. Legends say that they are related to demons but
no proof has been
found.
3
60 •

c Reaper c
fter the Stag and the most powerful magic users of
Lumina raised parts of the Old World up and separated the
two worlds with the Wall of Oblivion,
they created the Reaper – a creature
who had no will of its own and
was bound to hunt down anybody who knew anything
about the Below. Knowledge of the below
Owlman — read
more about them
on page 52.
was to be kept secret as well as all the knowledge of undead creatures and
necromancy. Owlman† alchemist Entho’mere uncovered a big part of the
secrets about the Below, named Lumina and when the Reaper came for
him, Entho’s travelling companion Varis killed him breaking the forbid
dance for the knowledge. Most of it, however, has
been lost to the
ages.
3
61 •

c Wall of Oblivion c
ig layer of thundering clouds below tyr. No one
knows what lies underneath these restless clouds thus it is
considered the end of the world.
3
62 •

c Wyvern-born c
he crag has several layers of social standing and
privilege decided by the leading Wyverns. The leader of the
Crag is the Great Wyvern — an ancient Wyvern like no
other, who is not actually a Wyvern, however a Wyvernborn
that lived a relatively long time. While the Wyvern-
Born with strong genes and great influence settle towards the safe centre,
weaker packs are pushed outwards to harsher weather and beasts alike.
The struggle of power is never-ending however, as the Great Wyverns
themselves feel responsible for their minions, so do the greater packs feel
responsible for the weaker packs. Each pack consists of a Wyvern at the
head, with one or more Broodmothers having responsibility over day-today
matters. All packs answer to a singular Great Wyvern, leader of the
Crag. The Wyvern-Born hatched from a Broodmother are automatically
considered part of the aforementioned Broodmother's pack. Each Broodmother
might have their own unique morals or traits, usually born from
either their preferred trinkets or genes. Packs can range from 20 to over a
100 in numbers. In order to reinforce a pack's position within the Crag,
they sometimes give themselves a family name of sorts. There are several
types of privileged members of Crag society known to the scribes. Sky
Darkeners are known for their huge pack size and sharp eyes. The name
is derived from their mass use of crude archers. Court of Ilhazze are the
most powerful of magic casters within the Crag. Drogon’s Fury are the
warriors of larger than usual size. Infighting is not unusual, for all want to
prove they are the strongest. The strongest is the Broodmother’s personal
guard, a great honour indeed. The Sky Carvers are wyvern-born with
smaller bodies yet larger wings, this pack is known for being more covert
than other packs, gliding through the air silently with their large wings.
3
63 •

64 •

Part 11.
stories.
65 •

elves and magic
Research paper by Entho'Mere the Owlman
have never really considered asking
questions about elves and magic previously
because there is so much to learn from this
world, but now that I have an incentive
to study it given the current
circumstances I started reading
back several books about elves and
their incapability of casting magic.
I now have a willing test subject who
wants to discover magical powers within elves as well so I am starting
this journal to track the progress I make.
Day 1: Yesterday an Elf and a Half-Elf arrived at the Core. They
seemed well travelled and were looking for help in researching why
Elves, and sometimes Half-Elves, are incapable of casting any magic. No
66 •

one was willing to assist them in finding their answers and devote time to
such a topic, which possibly had to do with them the Half-Elf being quite
loud and obnoxious. That aside I offered my help as I saw opportunity to
turn my findings into another research paper
if we proved successful. • They are currently
residing in the guest quarters of my home and
we will start the research tomorrow, first thing
in the morning.
Day 2: I asked Varis for a demonstration of
his martial skills as he proclaimed to be a sure
shot with the bow, and was able to wield a
blade with finesse even though he is blind,
which of course I tested and I can scientifically
assure myself and the
world that the Elf is indeed
blind. • Without much effort he hit the mark
repeatedly with great accuracy without the use of his
sight which is remarkable to see to say the least. After
he proved to not be a fraud I sat down with him and
asked him why exactly he was looking for the power
to use magic and he pulled out a book about ancient
archery techniques that tapped into the arcane. We
came to an agreement that he and his Half-Elf sister,
Maya, would remain here for as long as needed and
in exchange they would help me run the place and
allow me to study their practice fights. • I am very
happy for this opportunity but I will see how long I
will be able to handle Maya, as she seems to make a
mess everywhere she goes.
67 •

Day 79: According to the book Varis handed me a while
back the user has to performing certain breathing and
movement techniques which are hard to translate to a
blind man to say the least… With the help of Maya, to
my great surprise, we managed to teach Varis these and
well I am not getting any arcane readings yet, but he is
determined to keep on going.
Day 124: I read up one alchemical concoctions that enhance
magical capabilities within living creatures. It
worked on Woodscrape as his mage hand was able to lift significantly larger
objects after consuming a potion of sorts. We tried the same oneVaris
and I mamanged to get some faint magical readings but other than that
no effect. Perhaps the readings were just magic essence shining through
from the potion inside of his stomach. • On a side note, Maya threw a
tantrum and trashed part of my personal library, luckily Varis managed to
calm her down and we’ve now set her up with a personal trainer as well so
she won’t bother us as much… damn child!
Day 348: I have created a device that channels
magical energy into a person, we did several
test runs to make sure the dosage would
not be too high. The plan is to have Varis be
a conduit of arcane which hopefully would
spark magical powers hidden deep inside of
the Elven race and thus his body.
Day 364: We have tried the arcane conduit
technique several times and by combining
68 •

this together with the techniques from the
book Varis managed to conjure up several arcane
arrows out of seemingly thin air. • Some
of them pierced right through everything,
while some he could bend around corners,
or would explode on impact even! Today was
quite the breakthrough, knowing that all of
this is indeed possible, however a magical
spark has yet to be found.
Day 1084: This morning Varis and Maya came
to me and proclaimed they had to continue
their journey once again. Varis thanked me for
my service and hospitality and with much effort he also managed to get
some words of thanks out of Maya. • After a lot of testing we came to the
conclusion that magical powers were not going to appear out of nowhere
for Varis so we decided to put it on hold for now. I managed to document
a lot on the matter and perhaps it will come in handy in the future. • I
surely will miss that grumpy Elf it was a real pleasure working with him. I
think we really grew to become friends, yes! I believe we did.
Till then my friend!
69 •

day 5912: Years later we met again and I have witnessed
the most incredible thing: Varis successfully
used magic to start a fire. I must run several whenever
tests whenever I can and investigate this phenomenon
further. I shall proceed without further
hesitation!
day 5925: Varis used magic in combat to shoot arcane
arrows thus becoming the first Elf known to Owlmen being
able to cast magic! Hoot, I am excited! Maya has proven to be
proficient with Arcana too despite my solemn belief in her only being
proficient with obnoxious and annoying behaviour. Perhaps, I
should call my next study paper 'The influence of the annoying
traits of character on the magical abilities'.
day 6153: Varis and Maya died today protecting the world from
the great evil named Thueban. This puts an end to my studies of
Elven and Half-Elven magic as I am certain that those two were the
only people capable of it. Today I lost not only the subjects to my
studies but two of my closest friends. Nothing can be changed now,
my grief is immense.
Purposelessly wondering why he is still alive,
useless to the point of being unable to save those he loved
70 •

day 6160: Loud, obnoxious, annoying as
a mosquito swarm, pointy ears, human posture,
shooting magic as easily as her irritatingly
stupid jokes... For the love of Science, I cannot
believe I have found another Half-Elf magic-user!
For further information on this Aderyn
specimen refer to tome 17 of my studies called
'The influence of the annoying traits
of character on the magical abilities
of the Half-Elves'.
Reunited with his curiosity
and love for Science
71 •

maximilian livingstone
n the old world stood a timeless estate
owned by the Livingstone family who
were influential nobles that lived off to
the North of Averdon. Amidst the walled
Livingstone estate my family lived and
I was born, a boy who was aptly named
Maximilian, what a wonderful name. I
spent most of my time living within the
safety of the estate, having little dealings
with the outside world as children often do. An ordinary life of
nobility was plotted out for me until one day I fell terribly ill while
playing outside. Some of the servants picked up my slumped over
body and brought me inside the manor and put me in bed where I
slowly recovered and the family waited for a doctor to arrive from
the capital to examine my worsening condition. • Every possible
72 •

and known medical treatment was performed on me only for them
to find out there was no cure to the disease. My parents were grieve
struck and I felt impaired by this news, why me? It was not fair
why exactly I would befall something as dire as this. No exact time
could be given to me but it was certain, I would not
grow old. • As I grew up I more often suffered episodes
from this... illness, episodes that made me feel
weak and frail and resulted in my bedridden existence
more often than a young man would like to be. This
sorry state of living ate away at me, at my very being
and soul. I was so young! I had brilliant ideas to change
this world, to make it a better place and all I could do
was throw all of them away, sit in this small stupid
mansion in the middle of nowhere waiting for my last
breath to come. I grew more bitter and irritable by the
day as I sneered at servants and family alike if they
ever so slightly crossed my path the wrong way. I wished I would
die sooner to end this daily torture of knowing that my dying day
is right around the corner. • Unable to come to peace with such
fate and spending much time indoors and not being able to go
outside and experience the world I knew so little about, I desperately
started looking for a way to outlive this wretched curse of a
life. Many books were bought in name of my seemingly futile research
as not a single cure could be found for what he had. I had
lost hope up until the arrival of four peculiar travellers crossed
paths with me. Norud, a paladin from Hammerkeep, accompanied
by two Halflings and a Birdman from the east stepped into the estate
and were led inside by one of the servants. • It soon became
clear these travellers did not merely wander into our estate as they
73 •

specifically requested an audience with me of all people. As always,
my ignorant mother opened the door to tell me there were guests
specifically for me. A large earthen man entered the room followed
by a smaller Birdman and an
even smaller Halfling. I
sneered at my mother and
told her to go away as she left
in a hurry. Then Norud came
closer and started asking
about the undead and a black
book of some sorts. I never
heard of the likes of such dark
material but it intrigued me
up until Norud got too close
and agitated me with too
many questions. I drew a
knife from under the sheets
but the bird saw my intentions
as he quickly pushed
Norud aside and out of the
window and as he pushed him
a book fell out of his sash on
top of the bed, a black book.
• I was breathing heavily and
looked around only to see the
guests all having left already in a hurry. I stumbled to the window
and looked outside, no Norud lying on the ground underneath the
window. It all felt so strange almost like a dream, as if they never
were there but the book was still there lying on top of the bed
74 •

sheets. I felt the book pulling me towards it almost commanding
me to open it as if mesmerized by magic I crawled back in bed and
made sure no one was around before I
opened it. What I discovered was pages of
dark arts, of necromancy and the art of
sustaining life beyond death, life beyond…
expiration. Finally! A moment of
fairness and justice in my dire situation!
Perhaps this held the answers to all of the
questions I had been asking for so many
years, this could be my ticket out of this
misery and into the world. I could not help but feel eerie about
these travellers coming in here and disappearing into thin air but it
mattered not as I found myself a future, one where I might live the
way it was intended. Years later I figured out that the person who
saved my life was me myself, to no surprise to yours truly due as
nobody else could have mastered such an ingenius plan. My older
self left the very same book in my then long forsaken house and set
a time travelling trap allowing those travellers to fall there and deliver
the book to me. But let's get back to the story... • On the
days I felt strong enough to go out of the
house I went into the cellar behind our
manor to start learning more about the
arts of Necromancy. First I read the basics
but quickly I began with live experiments
on critters brought to me by the servants.
Many perished in horrible ways as the
magical powers seemed… uncontrollable. It was horrible to watch
at first, their suffering and their lifeless bodies suddenly so small
75 •

and useless, turning from living and breathing beings with desires
and intentions into the piles of rotting flesh. Shocked by this horrible
sight, I nearly gave up but the
was no stronger feeling in me than
the will to survive, the need to go
on. I simply could not allow death
to do the same to me! My ideas, my
feelings, me life was too precious to
be eaten by worms and mixed with
dirt. That day I decided that if I am
destined to die, I shall do so trying
to conquer Death, attempting to become
its equal if not its master. As I
felt my time was growing short, I
needed to find something more suiting
to test on, something a bit more
resembling of me a man of flesh and
blood. • I thought long about how
to get my hands on larger test subjects
but could not think of a clear way until the answers came
walking right into my arms. One of the chamber maids had gone
into the cellar and stole a medallion that was of the utmost importance
to my work so I made sure she would be pay for her crime
and be useful for my experiments rather than uselessly rot away in
a dungeon. So I asked her to come down one evening and as she
entered I sat her down to talk to her about what she had taken
from me. as I spoke I got more and more angry and irritated by her
whipping and begging for her pitiful life so I swore right there and
then I would take something valuable from her and in a rush of
76 •

fury I slit her throat and watched her bleed out struck by what I
have just done. It was… much easier than expected to take the life
of another, perhaps it was because I knew I would bring her back?
Or so I thought. • I took preparations for this eventful moment
and made sure everything was perfect as it might be the only shot
I have at ever trying this on another human. I spoke the incantation
and weaved the magic and for a moment there was silence and
it seemingly had not worked. I was about to drop on my knees
from despair as the lifeless body of the girl started to slowly move
and rise up on her feet. It was a magnificent sight to behold and I
had not been more happy for a long time after seeing her lifeless
body re-join the world of the living, however my celebration was
short-lived as she remained unresponsive to anything I asked of
her. She just remained standing there up until she had enough and
started flailing around nearly knocking me off my feet. I panicked
as it seemed my lab was in danger of getting smashed or discovered
by other servants who would be alerted by the noise. I opened the
book to use a reversal spell and as it fired off the girl fell over, and
once again remained lifeless on the floor of the cellar. Stood there
I watched down on her for a moment realizing how far I’d come, I
could not give up now could I? Witnessing the death of a human
was even more threatening than animal death. Her face turned into
a leather mask of horror she looked so helpless and small like a doll
forgotten by a child. Everything she could have accomplished,
could have felt and thought was now thrown away forever by one
move of the blade. There is no times when human weakness is
shown as clearly as in death. I could never bare the humiliation of
looking so weak, the mere thought of all my life being for nothing.
Still shuddering from what had transpired earlier I was ever deter-
77 •

mined to continue my research and find a way to save myself. •
Many moons passed as I picked off the servants… one… by… one.
First the stable keeper’s boy, then the gardener,
and so on. Every face distorted by fear and pain
reminded me of my motivation to keep going. My
beautiful noble face was not made to look like
that. Long did it take them to find these servants
had not left the estate or got lost, but were being
utilized for my necromantic experiments. The spells seemed to become
more and more stable and the dead would even obey my
commands at times. Of course my mastery of the
dark could not go unnoticed for ever I was found
out. They came to my lab and were too weak and
scared to understand my reasoning, they simply
could not hear my arguments blankly staring at the
pile of dead bodies. Feeling lonely and misunderstood
by my own family in a flash of anger I took the lives of those
that remained. All at once… my father… my mother… my sister.
I did not grieve for them as they did not want to join me in my
immortality and thus they would be dead relatively soon
anyway, so they simply had to die sooner for my work to
go on. • Many days I spent exerting myself to my full
extent as I felt it all was within reach! A cure to my disease
was right there at the tips of my fingers. It nearly was the
death of me as I pushed myself ever onwards up until I
had a breakthrough, a way to cleanse a body of all harm but there
was a catch, it meant I had to die and come back somehow. This I
feared the most ever and I retreated to my chambers for several
days pondering on my next course of actions. What if I would not
78 •

e able to reanimate myself? What if I end up like the hand-maiden
and become a raging husk of my true form? What if I
just stay dead… then all this was for naught. • It was on
my fifth day of pondering that I went to look through the
remaining supplies of the estate, who were rapidly dwindling
as there was no one to restock them. I
reluctantly rationed my meal for that day
and as I crawled underneath my bedsheets I
fell in an uneasy sleep. I dreamed of my potential
success I could have and startled wide awake. Determination
filled every bone in my body as I got out
of bed and paced down the stairs and into my lab in the middle of
the night. • I opened the black book and carefully examined the
spell of reanimating oneself one last time before committing myself
to it. There was a brief hesitation in my actions but I steeled
myself and thought it was now or never. Tomorrow I will
walk out of here a changed man! • A ritual was to be performed
and I drew the six symbols all intersected by a large
circle on the floor and retraced all lines multiple times to
make sure they were correct. A candle was lit on top of
every symbol and I took one last deep breath and looked at
the embalmed corpses of my family and servants that were
stowed away throughout the lab. Lying down with my back
on the floor and my eyes at the ceiling I clasped the medallion
and slowly uttered the incantation as the circle around
me started to glow and drain the life out of me. I wanted to
fight this horrific sensation but all energy was sapped out of my
body as I felt something cutting itself loose from me. I started to
float up and out of my body and as I looked back I saw myself, now
79 •

motionless in the middle of the circle and yet I was myself? I had
taken on the form of my own soul and watched myself die as bright
green energy seeped into my body from the individual symbols of
the circle. One by one the
symbols poured their energy
into my body and left to snuff
out their candle as if looking
at a countdown. Number six…
five… four… three.. two…
and as number one was about
the fulfil its cycle two ethereal
hands grabbed my soul and
pulled me back into my body.
My eyes opened wide and my
breath uncontrolled I sat up
and looked at my hands. Did
it work? Was I cured? I certainly
felt greater than ever before.
I got up and seemingly all frailty had left my body at an instant,
I felt like a renewed me and immediately opened the hatch
of the cellar and climbed out of there to inhale the a nightly breeze.
No coughing blood, no weak legs, I must be cured. I cheered into
the night as I had never done before with no around to hear. •
With nothing grounding me to this dead estate I packed my things
and set out south to go into the world. There was nothing for me
here anymore and curiosity made me want to further possibilities
of this fine art of Necromancy. • Being limited in what I could
bring with me I had to find a way to sustain myself in this world
that had opened up to me just now. I set out to find myself a place
80 •

where I could practice my arts and live in comfort. It wasn’t long
before I crossed the Badlands and came across a large fortress that
stood there amidst the hilly landscape. The fort was owned by humans
so getting in there was not an issue for me. I boldly requested
an audience with the lord of the castle and was granted this request.
Several guards escorted me to a banquet hall where the lord
was seated. He was introduced to me as Augustus Mendenhall, the
Bronze Baron of the Badlands. He and I got a long quite well and
I must say it helped that he was rather gullible. I spoke to him in
riddles and secrecy as of not to raise awareness of the dark arts that
I was mastering. Intrigued by my stories of granting immortality
and curing disease he employed me as court Necromancer where I
would use my dark arts to assist him with my arts. I saw it as a…
small price to pay for the mastery of the arts. I helped Augustus
while I had room to study, I would dare say we even developed
somewhat of a friendship while I remained at Dunstead castle. All
was well up until those damned Dwarves
decided to come out of their hidey holes
and rue my plans for good. A great war
between the Bronze Baron and the Badland
Dwarves broke out with the final result
being an unwinnable siege of Dunstead.
Augustus and his knights fought
hard but there were too many Dwarves.
Retreat into the keep was inevitable and
the last remaining troops holed up inside
together with Augustus and yours truly. There was a way out or so
Augustus told but due to an injury he had suffered he requested me
to leave without him. I felt compassionate to help out a dying man
81 •

and came up with a plan. I snapped my fingers at two of the remaining
guards and told them to carry Augustus into the crypts
underneath the keep. We hurried ourselves down there as I told
Augustus I would help him overcome this evil, I would have him
come back from the dead as I did to myself many moons ago, with
a slight alteration to the spell that would revive after a delay. •
Seeing no way out Augustus agreed to my plan and I once again
drew the symbols inside one of the empty coffins that were standing
in the crypt, ready for deceased lords to be buried eternally. I
had to hurry as we could hear the Dwarves battering away at the
gates of the keep, short on time I finished drawing the symbols and
the two guards lifted Augustus into his coffin. He thanked me for
my service and I nodded in acceptance as I uttered the incantation
and the Bronze Baron was no more. I waited a brief moment to see
if the symbols would not extinguish as fast as they did for me.
When I realized the spell worked the lid was raised over the coffin
and I sealed it magically. Without second thought I sprinted towards
the hidden passages in the crypt that would lead me out of
the castle. With my most prized possession I traversed the dark
tunnels underneath Dunstead and made my way out into the hills
from where I saw, what had been my home for quite a while, the
castle lit up with fire and smoke. • Knowing that in two years
from now Augustus would rise up again, I set out down south to
remain safe so I could return and retrieve Augustus’ body in safety.
As I travelled south through the woods of Merthington I stumbled
upon a town where magical experimentation was the norm.
Mirstone was the name. Here I decided to settle for the time being
as I waited for Augustus to revive. During my service for the Bronze
Baron I earned enough coin and mastered my arts enough that I
82 •

could easily find myself a place in Mirstone to stay and study for
the time being. Once again I experimented further and raised all
sorts of corpses of different sizes, shapes, and races including the
rare and exotic Goliath people! • Two
years quickly passed as I strictly kept track
of time to make sure I would be back at
Dunstead to see if my spell had worked on
Augustus. Somewhere deep down inside I
cared for him a little but the big question
was if my altered spell had worked or not.
Travelling back north I made my way to
Dunstead, snuck in through the secret
passages which seemed to be compromised
by the current filthy Dwarven inhabitants,
ughh I cannot stand the likes of
those Badland Dwarves. As I was about to
enter the crypts I heard Dwarven tongue
being uttered, yet they sounded drunk as
usual. I abided my time and waited for
the voices to pass before I set foot in the
crypt where I left from two years ago. Not
much had changed apart from that large
keg of beer were stored here now and some of the coffins had been
moved around. I silently walked into the room where the Bronze
Baron was supposed to be but where his coffin was now was just an
empty stone altar. The coffin had been moved! I quickly looked
around to see if I could find the coffin that had my magical seal on
it but the coffin was not there anymore. Where could it be? At that
moment I heard footsteps shuffling down the stairs and I hid in the
83 •

shadows. A lone dwarf came down the stairs to tap a beer from one
of the kegs. In a split second I decided to jump him and threaten
answers out of him and so I
did. The startled dwarf almost
buckled over in fear as I raised
a spell in my hand and questioned
him about the missing
coffins. He immediately caved
and spoke how some of the
coffins had been thrown out
to make space for the beer
while others were sold to
make a profit as they seemingly
had valuables in them. I
could not believe my ears as I
sucked the life force out of the dwarf and raised him from death
directly after. Filled with rage I left the crypts and took my new
Dwarven servant with me back to Mirstone. • As time passed and
I started mastering the arts of the black book I questioned the
realms of the dead, where the spirits of the unliving roam and demons
linger. To know more about life after death I had to go there
and so I dabbled into travelling between the demi-plane of the living
and the dead which actually is rather simple if you are as talented
as me, Maximilian the great necromancer. • As the years
passed and people around me died of old age I seemingly kept on
going, my body became older and yet I did not feel myself getting
older. Years and years passed as my body slowly withered away but
my soul remained. The very flesh withered off my bones and all
that remained of me was a walking skeleton and a masterful mind,
84 •

I never lost my sense of fashion though. Not even death would top
me from looking fancy. For countless years, I am not sure how
many.. fifty? Two-hundred maybe? I am
not sure but it does not matter. I surpassed
the black book and returned it to
my original home as I now created my
very own necromantic spells and incantations,
yes all I needed for the whimsical
spells of that book was a mere flick of the
wrist or a snap of my finger. I could cast
them with my eyes closed. I do say life
does get a bit mundane and boring if you
are alive for so long which is a shame. It
felt almost like perfect timing when like
out of nowhere I caught a glimpse of Augustus once again, he
looked similar to me and had forgotten who he was all together. •
He told me how he just woke up not that long ago and I started
counting back and realized I set the spell to two-hundred years
instead of just two. I might be bright but hey even a great mind can
make a mistake while they are in a hurry. I never really accounted
for ever seeing Augustus back ever again but I did promise to help
him and so I did. Together with his... friends we took the fight to
the Dwarves at Dunstead as I raised the first army of the dead ever,
how exciting! My unstoppable horde of skeletal warriors laid siege
to the castle as I still let Augustus and his “heroic” friends do the
heavy lifting because I couldn’t be bothered. As the castle fell to us
I made sure to chase down the last of the Dwarven nobility that
had made their escape through the tunnels. With my horde of undead
I cut off all routes of escape and victory was within my grasp
85 •

as one of those filthy Dwarves jumped at me and pulled me into
the river. The king and his son managed to escape only just but at
least I wiped out most of their insignificant brethren. • As we remained
in Dunstead for a while, the heroes parted ways and Augustus
sat back on his seat in the keep of Dunstead castle. Augustus
thanked me for his service as
he did right before he died and
this time I thanked him right
back just before I dispelled the
spell that kept him together
and he fell apart in a miserable
pile of bones. It seemed that
Dunstead was in need of another
ruler, and what a coincidence
that I am here at this
opportune moment right? •
From the Badlands I expanded
my rule over the dead as I took
control over large parts of the
continent to the West of the mountains. As good and comfortable
as my seat of power was in Dunstead I felt like I needed an upgrade
and decided to go take a rightful place in the capital of Averdon so
I marched my hordes of the dead to its gates and took control of
the city, expelling those that seemed useless to me which happened
to be the lame druids. Now I had one of the spires of Averdon all
for myself and my people who now called themselves the Eternals.
• I have achieved a lot during my long and fruitful life but my
biggest dream was yet to be fulfilled. From the moment I succeeded
in bringing myself back to life I set out a bigger goal for myself:
86 •

to end all the grief in the world and to become a true master of
Death by undoing all of its horrible deeds. I wanted to end suffering
by reuniting all the living with their deceased loved ones and
vice versa. I felt that my life had a purpose and all the sacrifice I
had to make on my path was for the greater good after all. I had
outdone myself in creating an ambitious plan to make the world a
better place once more! There was only one solution to this and
that would be to pour open the gates of hell into the world of the
living, let all of the souls of the dead return to their bodies and
roam the earth but for that a most powerful magical source was
needed in order to do so. I looked through the great libraries of
Averdon and tasked my undead to help me find them but that did
not prove as useful as I had hoped. Nothing that I found seemed
powerful enough until I came up with the crazy idea of using my
own soul as a conduit of power to open the gates of hell. Would
that work? I did become quite powerful over all these years and
definitely am one of the most powerful magic users out there in
this world? But if I failed I would not only possibly end my life but
also would rob the world of such master mind as my own! On top
of that, all of the Eternals I have raised that enjoyed their lives now
might be gone as soon as my soul would get destroyed since there
would be no more magical power keeping them in this world. I
carefully weighed all the risks as I made my decision to try. After
all if I succeeded there would be much more happiness in this
world: no kid would fear deadly diseases like I did in my young
years, no mother would be mourning untimely death of her child,
no families would be broken by death of the loved ones, no wars
would happen as there would be no point in killing each other
anymore. I simply had to try and thus I sent out my undead hordes
87 •

to procure me a soulstone large enough to hold my power and ego.
The largest they could find really was what I tasked them with. •
After months of searching they returned with a large soul conduit
that I deemed worthy to use for my grand experiment of bringing
the living and the dead closer together. I had spent my time conjuring
up a spell that would allow me to transport myself into this
soulstone so that the two realms of the living and the dead may
join each other, a bit like an unholy marriage actually. • The spell
was cast and my corporeal body disappeared as I was transposed
inside of the conduit and I watched from the inside how hell
opened up and souls from every corner of the demi-plane reunited
itself with its former body if it remains could be found. If no remains
could be found they remained wandering
spirits amongst the living dead. It was
magnificent to behold and I surely would
have cried a tear of joy if I would still have
flesh and actually could cry, man it has been
at least a century since I cried what a weird
thought... • Trapped inside of the stone in
peace, not every living being agreed with me
and uniting the dead and the living once
again. Some weird alliance of druids, gods
and clerics weaved magic into the land to
create a new world far away from this hell. I
knew expelling those druids would come
and bite me in the boney ass one time. •
They weaved their elemental magic and large chunks of the land
raised up into the air and I definitely did not want to go up and
away from the paradise I had created but there was little I could
88 •

do. I was raised into the sky with the land as a large wall of clouds
and thunder closed underneath the land. Now I was trapped in this
here soulstone without being able to do anything, far
away from my fabled utopia and so I decided to
slumber and conjure up a plan to return to the world
below, my living hell. • One day as I remained in
slumber a sudden and severe pain sprung in the back
of my neck and skull, very odd and intriguing for
someone who has not really been feeling much for
centuries. I awoke from my slumber and found myself
in the dark and before I could collect myself another
pain tore through my ethereal body as copies
of my being were pulled outwards in different directions.
I started to shrink in size as it felt as if my soul was being
chopped into small pieces. The pain stopped but I felt drained,
near powerless and nowhere near how I felt all those years ago.
What had happened to me? Was this a side effect of transposing my
soul into this conduit or was someone or something tempering
with it. The pain stopped and in order to preserve my energy I
once again fell asleep only to wake up in the hands of a poor sod of
a human. He didn’t look too good really. Missing quite a few teeth,
seemingly malnourished, he looked at me with great interest but I
don’t think he could see me so I tried talking to him and immediately
his face changed into one of agony and fear. He was not having
a good time for certain, although he looked like he smelled bad
as well so if he’d pissed himself it wouldn’t have mattered anyway.
I kindly asked him where I was but the man just dropped me on
the ground and ran off in panic. Great first impression of this shit
world up in the skies I will tell you that. • I changed hands sever-
89 •

al times from this moment and all of those that held me were surprisingly
easy to manipulate and bend me to my will. Even though
I felt weakened after what had happened before I certainly
still had strength in me, now all I had to do was
use that strength in order to get back down to my world.
• As time passed I overheard scholars and politicians
talk about how their world stayed afloat and I saw that
as a ticket out! What if I manage to get someone to destroy
a Core and have the whole island fall down with
me! It is a win win, I get to go home and I can resurrect
those that fall to their death with me. • Shortly after I
was handed over to an important man, a mayor of some
sorts. It feels rather bad being presented to someone else
as a simple gift. The mayor was very keen on this gift
which I felt like was rather great, he held the soul stone
very often and admired its beauty which made me feel
good about myself, it’s always nice being admired by
someone. • I waited an apt amount of time before
striking until one day there was a festival. What better
moment to strike while everyone is surrounded by loud
celebrations? As the mayor separated himself from the crowd for a
brief moment I took my one chance. I enticed him to seek out the
Core as I could see its location through his mind. We set foot in
the Core chamber underneath the ground, and I have to say that it
seemed quite wonderful for druid magic I will give them that.
With no time to lose I ordered the mayor to stab the Core with the
black needle that was the soulstone and I did the rest of the work
draining it of its power from within the conduit. The Core quickly
destabilized as I guided our good old mayor out of the cave but as
90 •

we turned up outside a small rock creature got in our way and tried
to stop me. I saw no other solution but to have the mayor stab it,
and oddly enough it also was filled with
some kind of magic that I absorbed, leaving
behind only a small pile of rocks. •
The mayor hurried to the stables of the
village he governed as the very earth underneath
us started rumbling and falling
apart. There his terrified daughter was
hiding inside, scared of all the noise and
destruction that was going on. I made the
mayor comfort her and then quickly have
him take her life. A cruel act most would
say but a sacrifice I was willing to make,
besides I will reunite them after we get
down in the below anyway as a token of
my gratitude. I am such a benevolent ruler. • As my control over
the Mayor faded his heart immediately broke as he held the lifeless
body of his daughter in his arms. He dropped me as the doors
opened and some sort of Birdman entered the stables. Are those
loud bird people here as well that came to my house so long ago? I
hope not, they are very annoying. As the island started to collapse
and I felt myself nearing home I was picked up and caught off
guard as I was stowed away in a bag. My plan foiled I was outraged
as I was put on display in some sort of storage room once again.
Now what, when will I get a chance like this again! • Not much
later after I was stowed away in this dark room that same bird man
appeared and he actually seemed to resemble more of an owl. He
was accompanied by a large stone man, who oddly reminded me of
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someone but I could not put my finger on it exactly. And there was
another small bird which looked more like the annoying bird people
I remembered from before, a young human and a small flying
dragonborn? What is up with this world? What in hell’s name happened
up here? How long had I been asleep for this to happen? •
The five examined me and I got them good as I darkened the very
air around them and spoke up. I am not sure exactly what I said
back then but it sure got them good. Perhaps not the best course of
actions as I then rotted away in that damned storage for a while. I
once again slumbered to sit on conjuring up a new plan as I appeared
to be underground somehow. I don’t know how these things
keep happening to me but I seem to end up in these weird situations
all the time somehow. • Down in these caverns I managed to
free my soul from the stone, or what was left of it at least. Once
again I was free and I could move about and stretch my non-existent
ethereal legs. I know it sounds odd but believe me that even if
your legs are ethereal it is a real treat to stretch them once in a
while. Wondering how I ended up here I crossed paths with five
travellers of whom I recognized the Owlman once more, and his
small weak dragon friend that seemed like it should not be alive
really. • He now was accompanied by a nosey elf that either was
over confident and did not believe in eyesight or was actually
blind, I am not sure which of the two it was. And then there was a
Dwarven druid with him as well. What are the odds! I really had to
refrain myself from instantly killing him as I needed allies in order
to get down. They all seemed rather confused and so I cursed the
little dragon friend to die if they would not help me get down right
before I disappeared. The looks on their faces were priceless really.
They also were seemingly very confused about reanimating the
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dead for some reason, very strange if you ask me. • One day later
I felt they were not making enough progress and then I just found
them lounging about in a magical floating tower and so I decided
it was time for them to pay up. Just as I was about to punish their
insolence a secret admirer came knocking
on the door. He introduced himself as
Thueban a warlock of great power and
with greater admiration for my work. He
entered the room but not before I made
sure that the Owlman and his travelling
friends would remain invisible to Thueban.
The snake-like warlock was very
nice to me and hearing compliments
about my accomplishments for the first
time in a long while was like music to my
ear-holes. The foul serpent betrayed me
however and absorbed my soul essence
claiming I was weak and no longer needed
in this world. What a pathetic way to trick me like that, very
uncalled for. He absorbed part of my soul and it felt like this was
the true end to it all, being silenced by some second rank warlock
that thinks he is better than me. • I found myself surrounded by
darkness for a long time, it was similar to my slumber inside of the
soul conduit, however now I was wide awake and all I could do was
stare into the darkness for what seemed to be an eternity. Until I
felt a pull from beyond, it felt like what I had experienced all those
years ago when I resurrected myself for the first time ever. As if my
soul was pulled to a plane of existence once again, but how could
that be? Was it a delayed spell that I set off ages ago? Surely I would
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have remembered doing that. • The pulling sensation kept going
on until I was drawn away from the darkness and into the light. As
if I was reborn onto this world I crept out of the darkness and into
the plane of existence once again. I felt weak and feeble as I did
before yet alive… alive and well. I looked around me as I was surrounded
by kneeling and bowing undead of all shapes and sizes.
Was I back in the world that I created? I asked them if this was a
dream and one of them step forward and assured me it wasn’t as he
welcomed me back as their god of Undeath. • Much time and effort
was needed to get me back to my full potential but those that
brought me back into this world were ever determined to help me
achieve this once again for the greater good of the land I shaped a
millennium ago. Day in and day out rituals were conducted in order
to restore my former strength. I grew rather tired of sitting
around helplessly like a cynical and small child, in need of assistance
of those around him. One day as it was time for one of the
rituals again some of the followers were late and
started acting up strangely. It was rather weird as a
whole and it felt as if they were not from this world
at all. They seemed very much like they were from
the world I made however they did not expel an
aura of death as everyone does down here. Something
was amiss and I called them forth only to discover,
unmistakably, that these impostors were
from the world above! They travelled down and did
not die which means they also can go back up again
somehow? Perhaps this will allow me to breach into
that horrid world above after all? • For the very
least this should be interesting (a rare thing for
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someone who has lived for centuries and centuries) since I have not
had an alive worshipper as a God. How will this sack of half-elven
flesh be serving me? Why did she choose me? What will this Aderyn
girl be able to accomplish in my name in the Above? I surely
sense great potential and power in her as inferior as it it is to my
own of course. But she has the one thing I do not... an alive body
which grants her the entrance to places none of my great powers
do. I shall bless her with my power, teach her the art of necromancy
and with her hands I shall fix the mistakes that were made all
those years ago and bring back the
balance to this
world.
3
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