The First Land Herald/439-09-18
| Article Number: 67 |
| Dateline: 439-09-18 |
| VOIDGAZER CULTISTS INVADE, ANDRESHLEW CALLS OUT WARNING Tonight, I heard a voice silent these past four years, that of Speaker Kolanem, the Merelew delegate of House Deladriel. He cried out over the gwethdesuan network, warning the Crossing to be on guard, saying, "The cult approach from sea, they seek death! Prepare for fight!" Shortly thereafter, the town was swarming with Merelew, only they were unlike any I had seen before. Their faces were eyeless, smooth scales flowing over their sockets, and their hands were painted a deep, starry black. They were also most certainly hostile. I will describe in detail the different varieties I was able to note: - Voidgazer Scorpion Kisser -- Not known to cast spells, they had a small hagfish floating near them (though I could not discern what this did). They threw sea-scorpions at us. - Voidgazer Rifter -- Cast Partial Displacement and Demrris' Resolve. These summoned ripplegates to what could only be a kraken, allowing giant tentacles to sweep through the area. Perhaps most dangerously, they also crushed bloodfire shells in order to create menacing red whirlpools that periodically damaged everyone in the vicinity. - Voidgazer Sacrificial Acolyte -- Not known to cast spells, but upon death they appeared to trigger a blood rite that acted as a protection spell on all the fellow Voidgazers in an area. - Voidgazer Death Cultist -- Not known to cast spells, these were very stealthy and drank squid ink only to spit it at us. I was not able to confirm, but I heard rumors that this ink caused blindness if it hit directly on the face. - Voidgazer Deep Priest/Priestess -- Cast Divine Guidance, Malediction, and Chill Spirit. Summoned the Essence of the Depths, which I will get to later. Saragos and I were fortunate enough to find Sir Madigan and Dantia, and we formed up. Dantia did a stunning job of keeping us alive as we waded through street after street plagued by the ominous red whirlpools, which continually drained and damaged us. Our tactic was to try to move at the edges, finding areas free of whirlpools to clear as much as we could before more pools were summoned or, eerily, moved in on their own. After some time working slowly at the problem, we encountered something entirely new: an Essence of the Depths. I can only describe it as a being of pure Void, an absence in the shape of a Kaldaroid figure, though Gor'Tog in height and with long, slender arms and legs. Several fragments of different types floated in a semicircle around it, and I recalled from an ancient, waterlogged book I once read that the Essence manifests these because it is unable to sustain the entirety of itself in a singular form, and each corresponds to a means of surviving on this Plane: polished, hardened, flowing, icy, fiery, and electrified. [A sketch is included of the Essence of the Depths, the pure black ink used on its form clearly penned over several times, to the point of making a slight indentation on the page. The fragments float almost fancifully around it, exuding wisps of broken lines and dripping grey smoke, as if searing a brand through a fragile glass pane. Strange, no-color fumes appear to billow about the silhouette, like waves of heat distortion blown in a strong wind.] In time, I learned that the Essences were summoned sometimes when the deep priests noticed us approaching their dead. They cried out, "You shall not defile our dead!" and then, snarling, directed a torrent of darkness into the corpse, melting it into spinning, inky smoke that formed a flat, empty disc, from which the void-black Essence would emerge. Importantly, the fragments appeared to protect the Essence from damage. Saragos noted that his lightning bolts were useless at first, the spell matrices falling into the forms of the fiery and electrified fragments. Once a fiery fragment was destroyed in combat, he told me, Tirost took note and began casting fiery spells, which were able to damage the Essence. Eventually, we cleared the city of the threat and retired from fighting for the night. I did hear, however, that the Merelew call for our aid once again. Those with ecospheres can summon ripplegates and use them to visit Ceryaen, who will tell you more. May Drogor embrace those who care for His depths, and may we feast with our Merelew allies once more. Navesi Daerthon |
| Real Date: 10/28/21 |
| Subject(s): bloodfire shell House Deladriel Kolanem Merelew ripplegate Void Voidgazer |
| Author(s): Navesi |