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)
Turmoil engulfs Dereth as the temperature drops and snows are falling everwhere. In northern Osteth, the great explorer Geoffrey Tremblant and his party have gone missing. Could the two events be related? To make matters even worse, during this time of celebration, strange magic have brought even the playful snowmen to life.
Dark Thaw - Snowreap, 11 P.Y. (Jan '00)
With the destruction of the Great Work in the depths of Frore, the snows have begun to melt. But new creatures have begun to appear on the landscape. They appear to be crystal fragments, the remains of the Great Work. What power have the adventurers unleashed upon Dereth?
Shadows of the Past - Coldeve, 11 P.Y. (Feb '00)
The reappearance of an ancient Empyrean structure, the Obsidian Span, became the first shadow of the past to intrude on Isparian life on Dereth. Soon adventurers discovered the process that Lord Atlan used to design weapons in the Shadow Wars, but would they be powerful enough to tip the scales against the dark shadow that loomed in the skies?
Darkness Ascendant - Wintersebb, 11 P.Y. (Mar '00)
Enormous living spires erupted from the ground and three dark presences returned to Dereth in Wintersebb. More terrifying was the abduction and interrogation of random adventurers into the depths of the spires. These abductees returned with rumors of the impending destruction of an Isparian town.
Thorns of the Hopeslayer - Morningthaw, 11 P.Y. (Apr '00)
It became apparant to all that the Shadows intended a war against the Isparians as waves of invasion struck many outlying towns and outposts in Dereth. The face of the dark presences was revealed as adventurers confronted the Shadow Generals Ler Rhan and Black Ferah within the spires themselves.
Heroes' Respite - Solclaim, 11 P.Y. (May '00)
After the fierce battles of the previous month, the shadow armies retreated for a time, allowing the citizens of Dereth a much needed respite. With such peace bold settlers made their way westward into the Direlands to found a new settlement named Ayan Baqur.
The Paths of Destruction - Seedsow, 11 P.Y. (Jun '00)
While the Shadows remained in retreat, the Shadow Spires began moving across the landscape. This movement caused a flux in portal space that brought with it new and more fearsome creatures to the already deadly landscape of Dereth.
To Raise a Banner of Flame - Leafdawning, 11 P.Y. (Jul '00)
Two emmissaries arrived in Dereth at the behest of their mistress, the mysterious "Lady of Aerlinthe." Only the most seasoned veterans could make the journey to this small island that contained the remains of a once thriving Yalain port. All that remained of the port town was a residue of volcanic ash and a city populated by the undead. As volcanoes reawakened and fire elementals erupted across various parts of Dereth, adventurers feverishly attempted to unravel the mysteries surrounding Aerlinthe.
Taste of Twilight - Verdantine, 11 P.Y. (Aug '00)
Amid a host of magical and culinary discoveries, The Mistrees of Aerlinthe, the ancient Dericost witch, Aerfalle, was finally confronted in her home and the twisted secret history of Aerlinthe was revealed. Many of the discoveries within Aerfalle's Keep contained ill omens of the Dericost's future plans, but also suggested that they may prove to be allies in the war against the Shadows.
Twilight's Gleaming - Thistledown, 11 P.Y. (Sep '00)
With the dawning of Thistledown, came a reminder of the Shadows presence in Dereth. Heroes grown complacent by the seeming inactivity of the Shadows were shocked to find two towns, Tufa and Arwic, lay in rubble, destroyed by the powers of these Thorns of the Hopeslayer. In the wake of this destruction came confrontations between the Shadows, Dericost, and the Isparians in the depths of vaults that contained several of the remaining soul stones that kept Bael'Zharon at bay. These stones were destroyed and the return of the Servant crept ever closer.
Hollow Victory - Harvestgain, 11 P.Y. (Oct '00)
Efforts to recover from the losses of the previous month were made through participation in harvest celebrations, masquerades, and feasting. This time of merriment was punctuated with continued terrors as animate scarecrows stalked the countryside apparantly due to the experimentation of the increasingly active Virindi who had established several new fortresses in the Direlands complete with fearsome new Hollow Minions.
Should the Stars Fall - Leafcull, 11 P.Y. (Nov '00)
With the celebratory festivals of the previous month winding to a close, Derethian adventurers grew restless and exploration of the land they now claimed as a home began in earnest with the discovery of new portals to an archipelago to the south east. On these isles, two settlements of Isparians were found full of people who were not even aware that the olthoi occupation had ended a decade ago. The citizens of Kryst and MacNiall's freehold were as shocked to discover that Dereth was now a free island as the Derethians were to find these refugees of a past they were only beginning to put behind them.
The Vesayen Isles, as the citizens of Kryst had dubbed them, while offering a refuge from the olthoi for its citizens were not without their own dangers though. The fauna that also made its home on the isles was familiar, consisting of sharks, mosswarts, wasps, and armordillos seen on the larger island, but these were dangerously strong new breeds. Less familiar predators also stalked the isles, the swamp dwelling moarsmen, the strange tentacled masses called the slithis, and the living idols worshipped by the religiously-oriented mosswarts that called the isles their home.
The evidence of this religious practice made the previous month's discoveries of the journals of the missing explorer Sir Candeth Martine seem even more important to understanding these creatures hostile to the Isparians. Martine's journals had hinted both at a stronger organizational hierarchy within the mosswarts than had previously been understood as well as a possible religious war building between the mosswarts and their cousins the banderlings. On these new isles, such a possibility grew more complex as it became apparant that this war may have divided the mosswarts against one another. Some adventurers even reported meeting a possible renegade mosswart called Rumuba who sought the aid of the humans in his study of the animate idols worshipped by his brethern. Other adventurers investigating the mosswart hideouts and strongholds throughout the archipelago also found more evidence of the missing Candeth Martine. His latest journal was a nearly incomprehensible narrative of his latest travails and hinted at dealings between the Mosswarts and the Virindi.
These investigations were interrupted by more dire events though. With the discovery of an ancient Empyrean cathedral on the southeasternmost isle of the archipelago (said to have been the home of the "heretical" Adjanite Order), also came the discovery of the center of the undead's defensive operations in their war against Bael'Zharon. Powerful adventurers discovered the general of the undead forces, the Sand King Anadil, and destroyed the creature. The journal they recovered spoke of the location of the remaining soul stone that entrapped the Hope Slayer. It contained information both about gaining access to this Shard of the Herald as well as how the path to the Shard had been corrupted by the Shadows.
The path had been altered to only allow access to the stone by the minions of Bael'Zharon himself. This meant that those who wished to reach the crystal could do so only by bowing at the altar of Bael'Zharon, eschewing the protections from their fellows afforded by Asheron. While such a display of obeisance to the Herald may have been distasteful to those who opposed his release, it did offer the very real possibility of defending the shard from those Isparians who would, out of their own dedication to the Hope Slayer or their own ignorance or greed, might seek to destroy the stone.
Many monarchs hailing from Thistledown organized just such a defense. The initial success of this defense of the soul stone frustrated the Hope Slayer whose influence on the world while dampened had grown stronger with the destruction of the first five pieces of his prison. Compounding that frustration was the subversion that Bael'Zharon himself had attempted in Coldeve within the ranks of the Isparians themselves. He had tested several monarchs at the time, rewarding them with a shadow stone if they successfully ran a gauntlet of his design. Only two monarchs suceeded, Blackthorn and Vidorian, and were declared Dark Masters, swearing an oath to return a favor to their dark benefactor. With the unexpectedly successful defense of the Thistledown Shard of the Herald, Bael'Zharon desperate to be free, called upon these "errant servants" to break the defense.
Attacks led by Nightwolf of Leafcull, Cig of Harvestgain, Crystal Fox of Frostfell, Gusto King of Morningthaw, and Khao of Solclaim finally succeeded and the demonic creature imprisoned for 3,000 years emerged from his prison. The Isparians scrambled to destroy the beast they had released, but the power possessed by this creature was beyond any they had seen before. The Hope Slayer was content to bide his time for the remainder of the month, destroying any adventurer brave or foolhardy enough to venture within his lair. As the bodies of the most powerful Isparians in the land piled up around him, Bael'Zharon feasted on their power and his now unrestrained rage grew.
The Child of Daralet - Frostfell, 11 P.Y. (Dec '00)
The return of the Hopeslayer could be witnessed in the scarred landscape and blood red waters of the island of Dereth. The skies too bled crimson and the sun was blotted out. Even the fearsome creatures of Dereth were effected by these environmental changes as water golems were tainted by the reddened waters surrounding the island.
Within this frightening environment though new arrivals to Dereth were greeted by Mikeal Alayne's Society, which dissemenated information to Isparians first coming to this dangerous new home. In addition, the Society rewarded such new arrivals with useful equipment and weapons in exchange for their help in delivering messages for the Society.
Such weaponry would be useful as cities around Dereth were no longer peaceful. The Hopeslayer emerged from his lair early in the month, stalking the land and challenging adventurers to try to best him. Bael'Zharon slew all that challenged him, raining meteoric rocks and even cows from the sky, but those who reacted favorably to the Herald of the Great Master were rewarded with powerful magics not seen before by the Isparian peoples.
Bael'Zharon's reign of terror was cut short though by the reappearance of Asheron on Dereth. The reclusive mage visited with monarchs that had refused Bael'Zharon's call to become Dark Masters earlier in the year. Fafrhd of Thistledown and Killean of Morningthaw were told to rally their vassals for a coming confronatation with Bael'Zharon. Elsya Strathelar was also seen by many adventurers. Again, the archer spoke of the need for preparation and of three artifacts--the skull, the heart,and the singularity--that might turn the tide of battle against the seemingly invincible Hopeslayer.
Asheron then appeared to stop Bael'Zharon's rampage. The wizard tried to reason with the creature but to no avail and soon the two were locked in a powerful magical duel that raged across Osteth and its outer environs. The duel served to distract the Hopeslayer though and soon a messenger appeared called the Chosen of Asheron with a missive detailing the properties of the artifacts spoken of by Elysa and how they might be combined to sap the strength of Bael'Zharon.
Adventurers plunged into new dungeons beneath the sands of the A'mun desert, in the Northern mountains, and in the heart of the Obsidian Plains. These adventurers found that these dungeons required the combined efforts of seasoned veterans and rawer recruits to successfully penetrate them. There they found the artifacts and passed them on to the veteran warriors, magicians, and archers of Dereth to combine.
The newly created Sepulchur proved to indeed weaken Bael'Zharon who retreated once more to a lair beneath the earth. There adventurers confronted the weakened but nevertheless still powerful creature. After a number of failures in the twisted living chambers of the Hopeslayer, the heroes of Dereth finally quelled Bael'Zharon's fury, banishing him to the Darkness.
The future of Dereth is now uncertain. The Empyrean remain in an unknown hiding place, Isin Dule after aiding Asheron in locating one of the artifacts also removed with his followers to an unknown location, the wizard Asheron returned to his retreat away from Osteth, and now the shadows of the Empyrean legacy that had hung over Dereth for the past year seemed to have been banished. With trepidation, the Isparian refugees bloodied but not defeated waited for the hush that would come as peace seemed to settle across Dereth.