The Fourth Sending of Darkness - Monthly Summary
Asheron's Call - Leafcull, 10 P.Y. (Nov '99)
Nearly 11 years since the death of the Dereth Olthoi Queen, and after a long lull in Isparian arrivals, a great surge of new Aluvian, Gharu'ndim, and Sho adventurers were called from Ispar to Dereth by mysterious portals in their homelands.
Sudden Season - Frostfell, 10 P.Y. (Dec '99)
In the month known as Frostfell, the isle of Dereth was beset by a sudden freeze. As mages scrambled to explain the dropping temperatures, the snowline dipped down from the lofty peaks of the Lost Wish and Linvak mountain ranges, until the entire island was coated with several inches of snow. Even the Gharu'ndim, deep in the hot and barren A'mun desert, awoke one morn to find their stately brick courtyards blanketed with white. In Samsur, the Fountain of Musansayn froze solid. Tailors around Dereth quickly set to work creating warm robes that reflected the style of each of the heritage groups.
Somewhere in the wastes, the exploration party of Sir Joffre Tremblant fell afoul of dark forces. This legendary Knight of the Order of the Golden Flame had gone in search of a fabled lost city alluded to in certain Empyrean texts. At first, his party was presumed lost in the blinding snows. Intrepid bands followed his meandering path from Arwic to Stonehold, gathering clues to his final destination. Along the way, many assisted the aims of Lady Tallial of Neydisa Castle or those of her rival MacDugal in the Bandit Castle. Others grappled with the Hoary Mattekar, a ferocious mountain creature the size of a house. The hides of these creatures, when given to the skilled tradesmen of Dereth, were quickly turned into fine Mattekar Robes.
With the assistance of the scholars of Zaikhal, the search parties discovered the path to the mysterious underground city of Frore. Here the fate of the Tremblant Party stood revealed; the group had been slain and then turned into undead slaves by an ancient cult of Empyrean necromancers calling themselves the Gelidites. In the depths of the frozen hell of Frore, adventurers struggled through legions of undead sorcerers, who were lead by a council of three dark priests. These three, Ferundi, Frisander, and Fenngar by name, were slain at the gates of the city. In the deepest caverns, parties were brought up short by a cadre of Gelidite Lords lead by the powerful sorcerer Frisirth. The Gelidite necromancer controlled Sir Tremblant, who pleaded for death even as he was magically forced to defend his evil master.
When Tremblant was released from his misery and Frisirth defeated, the parties confronted a greater mystery -- a large, rotating crystal the Gelidites called The Great Work. This magical artifact had been discovered by Frisirth centuries before. Under the enchantments of the Gelidites, the Great Work sucked the heat from the earth, causing the snows that carpeted Dereth. When the explorers rushed to destroy it, the crystal defended itself with powerful magics. Many were slain, but in the end the Isparians prevailed. Abrim of Morningthaw chronicled the final battle against The Work in his tale Return to Frore, which became a bestseller at the capital towns of Cragstone, Hebian-to, and Zaikhal.
With the Great Work shattered, warmth began to seep back into the land. The exhausted and battered adventurers returned to their homes, to enjoy the blessings of the Solstice, Festival of Lights, and Night Feast holidays. During the celebrations, new culinary delights had been invented to delight the palate. Kakori of Thistledown made Carrot Cake, Dani the Crazed of Leafcull introduced Famous Pizza, Raszagal and Tassadar of Morningthaw created Hot Kimchi, and Firedemon of Thistledown baked the first Spiced Apple Pie. Bortin of Frostfell created Fruitcake, but he has since been forgiven, and is occasionally allowed back into town.
The remnants of the Gelidite cult were left in sorrow, their hopes dashed.
Dark Thaw - Snowreap, 11 P.Y. (Jan '00)
As heat seeped back into the earth snowlines receded. Patches of slush still dotted the landscape, but hints of green returned to most of the land. All was not well, however.
The enigmatic Shadows began to walk Dereth openly, harassing adventurers and making travel through remote areas a dangerous proposition. In addition, floating Crystal Fragments appeared. While originally thought to be pieces of the Gelidites' Great Work, the vast number of Fragments that soon swarmed across Dereth seemed to imply another origin.
Fortunately, the most learned mages of the land had taken to heart the dire prognostications of the recovered Gelidite scriptures. The Archmages Celdiseth, Fadsahil al-Tashbi, Nuhmudira, and Shoyanen Kenchu developed Master Mage Robes of fine quality, while they allowed their Apprentice Mage Robes to be sold by the local mages of various towns.
Non-mages were not left without fashionable attire, however, as the traditional warrior garb of Ispar began to appear in Dereth. Celdon, Amullian, and Koujia Armor became visible signs of a warrior's prowess.