The Rise of the New Singularity - Monthly Summary
Now In This Hush - Snowreap, 12 P.Y. (Jan '01)
Like the snows of winter, a hush fell across Dereth.
The Hopslayer banished to the Darkness, the Shadows also retreated from the face of the island. Even the powerful generals of the Shadow armies had removed to undisclosed locations. Isin Dule had retreated with his followers, while news of Ler Rhan was nonexistent. Adventurers that dared to return to the lair of Bael'Zharon found only Ferah holding vigil over her lord's remains. Those that fought the general found that Ilservian's remains still remained potent though. Bathing the Sword of Lost Light in the Hopeslayer's blood imbued the weapon with additional power.
But, not only those who dared the Sepluchur of Bael'Zharon found new ways to improve their weapons over the course of the month. The bandit MacNiall grew interested in acquiring the eyes of the Mosswarts' Idols. He sent those who would bring him these artifacts to his cousin MacDougal in the north for a reward. The bandit hilt given to adventurers by MacDugal proved to be an innovation popular with swordsmen and dagger fighters alike. The well balanced hilts allowed those skilled with blades to perform double and even triple strikes with ease.
It was not just those who used the blade that grew more powerful though. Rumors of a strange presence near Mount Esper was passed on by the Zharalim. The thing lay within a menhir ring and emanated visions of bloodshed to those who dared to approach it; it seemed to be the very essence of strife. Magicians of the school of the arm were attracted by its power and those that paid tribute to it were rewarded with magicks more powerful than any wielded by any Isparian before.
While these boons seemed to signal a hope in a new found security for the Isparian refugees on Dereth, observers of Dereth's less hospitable inhabitants noticed a number of unsettling occurences. The Tumeroks seemed to withdraw from the Direlands, while the Lugians pushed more heavily into the area. Likewise, the powerful undead who had once held a strong position in western Dereth were now weakened by heavy losses during the campaign against the Hopeslayer and also seemed to withdraw back towards the swamps. But, again, somewhat disturbingly, the Virindi seemed to fill the void left by the other creatures of Dereth. At one time these creatures primarily occupied the Obsidian Plains or their own underground installations. Now scouting parties of Virindi guarded by their powerful Tusker Guards and Slaves roamed widely across the landscape. A new Virindi installation even appeared within the A'mun Desert itself. The Isparians could only wonder at what these new neighbors' future goals and plans might be.
Lonely in the World - Coldeve, 12 P.Y. (Feb '01)
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.
Spring's Sorrows - Wintersebb, 12 P.Y. (Mar '01)
The final snows of winter melted and coinciding with this event came a number of changes to the fauna of Dereth. Clever crafters took advantage of the shedding of winter pelts and scales from Dereth's wildlife to craft new clothing and armor. Other crafters found that the use of ursuin teeth could create a new piercing mace.
Not all of the changes to the creatures of Dereth were so positive from the Isparian perspective though. Adventurers roaming the northern edge of the A'mun deserts discovered that many monuogas had recently taken to the art of spellcasting and stronger and faster types of mu-miyah were also reported. More frightening though were new creations of the Virindi. Bodiless dolls and twisted undead marionettes were sighted gliding across the sands, more evidence of the Virindi intrusion in the region.
Discovery of a text written during the final months of the recent Shadow Wars also brought many adventurers to the A'mun. Of particular interest to those trained in the arts of locksmithing, this text was written by a locksmith hired by the Dericost undead to work on a locking mechanism for a devices called mnemosynes. These mnemosynes had been designed by the Dericost to contain their memories and experiences out of a concern for the loss of their culture in the wake of their most recent conflict with the Hopeslayer. Adventurers found a collection site in the A'mun where locked or unlocked mnemosynes could be traded to the undead and their experience added to their own, enhancing their own skills and abilities with those of the undead. Others, perhaps less comfortable dealing directly with the undead, found several traders in Tufa eager to exchange new magical and mundane equipment for the mnemosynes.
Also of interest to locksmiths were the discovery of Virindi caches of weapons and equipment around the Western and Southern Direlands. Manipulating keys found on the corpses of some Virindi, the contents of those caches were confiscated by many Isparian adventurers.
While many revelled in this new found treasure, few questioned the purposes of this equipment being cached in the area. Likewise, the appearance of yet another Virindi in the town of Ayan Baqur, a black clad Executor, drew many adventurers seeking to test their mettle against this powerful new foe, while the purposes of this new aggressive figure to the town remained equally unclear.
Clarity came with shocking force in the middle of the month. Late one evening a Virindi Observer also appeared in the midst of the thriving settlement, claiming to somehow be holding some "renegade" force of Virindi at bay. When the observer was dispatched, his claims proved true as waves of Virindi attackers descended on the town. Chaos ensued and while the founder and local nobleman of Ayan Baqur, Jaleh al-Thani, was able to flee to safety in the swamps outside town, the location of the other residents of town was unclear. Other Virindi arrived apparantly loyal to the faction represented by the Virindi Observer to replace the many vendors and crafters in the town much as Claude the Virindi had replaced the archmage of that town months before.
As this strange struggle unfolded and some adventurers attempted to battle the renegade forces of Virindi, others chose to investigate the disappearance of the townsfolk. Based on a tip from the Virindi replacement of the town drunk Ulgrim, adventurers soon located Jaleh al-Thani and with information from him located a Virindi installation called the Panopitcon. In the Panopticon, the servants and creations of the Virindi swarmed to protect the apparant leader of the attacking renegade forces, a Theoritician called Adirred that spoke of his desire to break through the "structuralism of the Singularity" with this current "experiment."
The destruction of Adirred brought with it the defeat of his forces in Ayan Baqur. Adventurers located the townsfolk imprisoned within the Panopticon, but the residents wandered aimlessly about their prison, babbling incoherently and suffering from some loss of self identity. And so, the town of Ayan Baqur remained populated by the Virindi doubles. This victory over one portion of the Virindi collective ringing somewhat hollowly in the face of the losses of the pioneering spirits that had braved the treacherous environment of the Direland to forge what had become one of the Isparians most successful efforts to civilize their new homeland.