The First Land Herald/452-10-04
| Article Number: 122 |
| Dateline: 452-10-04 |
| THE TRIALS OF ASILDU: A CHRONICLE OF CORRUPTION AND REDEMPTION Dear readers, I know that many of you have followed Asildu's story with a mixture of dread and fascination. What follows is more than just a chronicle of battles and betrayals: it is a tale of tragedy, hope, and perhaps -- redemption. We last saw Asildu in the Crossing in a transformed state, with a misshapen crag of a face as he summoned a company of drakes to attack the city (See FLH article from 450-09-05). After refusing to return the kidnapped five, he was struck down by Ezerak and Saragos. Since then, much has changed, and much remains uncertain. Let me take you through the trials that have tested us all, and show you why Asildu's fate may yet hold a key to our own. ~ A Dire Warning at Kaerna ~ A few weeks after the Hollow Eve Festival, a Zoluren Community Forum meeting was disrupted by Asildu, who issued a chilling gweth message summoning adventurers to the south gate of Kaerna, supposedly to learn the end we have brought upon ourselves. Upon arrival, Asildu launched into accusations, denouncing adventurers for reckless sorcery usage, accusing us of labeling him a liar and murdering him. (It was hard not to feel a pang of sorrow for him.) Claiming that the Heralds had granted him the power to provide the proof we so desired to see, he then created a spire made of flowing stone and vines. We ascended the structure to a wide circular platform composed of bizarre writhing vines and flowing stone, where we were afforded a view of the Heralds gazing ominously down at us with a look of abject disgust and fury. Asildu warned that a brief window remained during which the Heralds might choose to spare some of us, should we show some intelligence and cease our sorcerous ways. He claimed that we were mistaken on several points: the Immortals were not as powerful as we believed, the Immortals will not necessarily protect us, we did not have the right to destroy the world as we seemed to think, and our understanding of the world was limited and incomplete. Asildu then attacked, demonstrating new powers, including instantaneous self-healing and a powerful staff slam that knocked everyone to the ground. The prolonged fight finally ended when Lileath landed a decisive strike with her estoc that pierced his heart. After Asildu's death, drakes swarmed the spire, setting everyone on fire. The assault was relentless, and there were many casualties to the sheer number of drakes. Amid the chaos, Casari's bardic magic proved invaluable, calming the drakes and helping to mitigate the onslaught. After polishing off the last of our foes, the spire disappeared and we found ourselves back on the ground outside Kaerna. ~ The Path Darkens ~ Following this confrontation, Asildu's campaign of aggression continued, marked by a series of escalating attacks and chilling pronouncements: - Several days after the Kaerna incident, Asildu returned to the gweth to declare we knew nothing about him and never cared about him and misjudged him. Oh, and we're going to die soon. He claimed he'd have the last laugh, leaving many, including this reporter, feeling a mix of pity and despair for his seemingly irredeemable state. - A few days after that, a large swarm of drakes amassed to the west of the Crossing, hovering above the mountains to the west of the clans and slowly made their way towards the city. When they finally crested the city walls, the mass of flying bodies darkened the sky, blotting out the sunrise, and leaving the streets in darkness. Asildu appeared, reiterating his grievances of being misjudged and wrongly accused, as his drakes unleashed their assault. This proved to be a lengthy, protracted, and very challenging battle with many casualties as clusters of drakes repeatedly set everyone in the area on fire, and there was hardly enough time to heal them all before the next volley. Eventually Asildu withdrew, declaring via the gweth that the remaining drakes were a gift from the Heralds. It took us multiple anlas to finally clear the streets of the Crossing. - A month or so later, Asildu once again interrupted another Zoluren Community Forum meeting. He brazenly asserted over the gweth that we were meeting to "discuss our surrender" and sent us a "gift" to aid in our capitulation. The gift, of course, was heraldic drakes in the Crossing. After securing the city, we managed to complete the meeting. - Weeks later, Asildu launched a full-scale drake offensive across multiple cities, going from Therenborough to Riverhaven to the Crossing. He sounded the same laments about being ignored and targeted since his arrival. Notably, he appeared much stronger than before, and we struggled to defeat him. He remarked that he felt bad that we were trying so hard, to which I suggested he let us land a few hits if it was making him feel bad, and he surprisingly accepted. I was informed that Sir Madigan struck the final blow. ~ Asildu Reappears ~ A few months later, Asildu was heard making confused inquiries over the gweth about Miraena's whereabouts. We found him at Gaethrend's Court, playing Albreda's Balm, but suffering from significant memory loss of the past several months. Despite his disorientation, he offered those present a direct, profound, and painful experience of his connection with the Heralds, a sensation that stunned us and brought us to our knees. This startling demonstration sparked discussion among the group about the possibility of severing Asildu's connection with the Heralds. However, before any plans could be solidified, Asildu was abruptly torn upward into the air, suspended for a moment. His head lolled back, eyes rolling upward as his mouth erupted in a scream. Splayed outward, his hands reached as if grasping invisible strings. In a voice not his own, he incanted, "The Heralds demand unwavering submission." His head rolled forward impossibly, as if not limited by the movement of his neck, and twisted to the side, and in a moment, he dissolved into the sunlight cascading through the panes of glass above -- a scream of agony shattering the peaceful music that had kept the place still. He was gone. ~ The Heralds' Warning ~ Some weeks after that, in the midst of a Zoluren Defense maneuvering drill, a cluster of drakes attacked, setting fire to our group. Asildu appeared on the back of an armored drake, dismounting with a look of sheer anguish on his face. Taking advantage of the commotion, he began a soft humming that increased in volume, punctuated by glottal stops. The strong notes of Albreda's Balm fell from his lips, and the anguish faded from his face. In a moment of clarity, he pivoted, sprinting away to the northeast, abandoning the drakes to their fate at our hands. We followed him to a dense thicket in the Zaulfung, where he expressed hope that the stones that guarded the swamp might also offer him some measure of protection. Within this precarious sanctuary, Asildu shed light on his harrowing connection to the Heralds, how it began through his own research and study. He hypothesized that certain artifacts may have had some residual energy in them and led to his corruption. A sense of regret permeated his words as he confessed that he did not want to be what he had become, even if it meant giving up his life's studies. We did not have the chance to discuss much before hundreds of audible cracks occurred simultaneously beneath the shroud of the overgrowth. Asildu's body contorted at impossible angles as each bone in his body shattered in unison, twisting into a garish approximation of what was only moments before a human body. Asildu emitted a piercing wail as he was reduced to an unrecognizable bloody pile of meat and shattered bone on the ground before us in a single moment. Arterial spray filled the area, dousing each of us with droplets of Asildu's blood. Before we could react, the pile of gore lifted into the air, stretching into a tableau of torture, animated by some impossible force to still pulse with life from a still-beating heart that forced a shower of blood to descend from the mangled carcass. The only cohesion in the flesh formed the outline of a face, presumably so that Asildu's agonizing screams could fill the area. The screams ceased -- though the hideous mass continued to ripple with heartbeats and breaths indicating it still lived in some nightmarish form, allowing what remained of the face to deliver a message in a monotone recitation. A voice that was not Asildu's called out: "This is the last warning. You, and every person whom has ever known you or loved you, will suffer agony that is indescribable, if you defy the will of the Heralds. Your existences will be erased from memory as motes of dust, forgotten as an age of fools that pollute the very magic you were given the chance to use, while you and all you love suffer torment for the rest of eternity. You will cease using Sorcery now or you will suffer an endless nightmare that you cannot begin to fathom. Asildu cannot save you. Your Gods cannot save you. Turn away from Sorcery NOW. Abandon your Gods. Tempt him one more time, and Asildu will be the first to demonstrate the fate that each of you -- and those you love -- will receive." At that, the mangled body was torn apart mid-air, as if beset by a pack of invisible vultures. No recognizable part of Asildu remained before us. We were left with only a lingering memory of the brutality of the Heralds -- the droplets of still-wet blood that coated our clothing -- as Asildu's song faded. ~ Searching for Salvation ~ Having witnessed Asildu's profound anguish and torture firsthand, and recognizing his pitiable state, we made many efforts to sever his connection with the Heralds. Saragos and myself convened a meeting, joined by Unaka, to discuss possible strategies. Avrenka proposed that, since Asildu mentioned studying Herald artifacts at the onset of his journey, perhaps locating and destroying these items could disrupt his bond. Saragos, meanwhile, given his hypothesis that as the Heralds reside on the Plane of Abiding, suggested hiding Asildu on another plane, such as at the Planar Observatory or the Zengmodaleth, might offer sanctuary. Consequently, a group of Rangers and other adventurers gathered in a secluded glade within the Endrus Forest to attempt to beseech Elanthia itself for more answers regarding wild magic. The Rangers in the group received a vision: "I saw three figures walking the land," Lexxa said. "They took what they wanted, cared for what they chose, leaving behind artifacts. As volcanoes erupted and storms raged, they smiled-drawing strength from the sun, stars, and earth. In their wake, new life and deep chasms formed. But then something shifted. The land darkened-clouded by stagnant waters and still air. These three avoided those places. Storms grew fierce, and lightning carved jagged crystals into the sky. Earthquakes shattered mountains, and a wave destroyed a fragile reef. A golden haze appeared. The three drew power from it and released it. It began shaping the land-and stirring the stagnant places. Mana sparked, embers flew, and some still regions awakened. Starfire raked the sky as the golden haze spread into the seas and forests. Some places began to thrive, others perished. And through it all, the three continued-unmoved, following their own plans. Then, the vision ended." ~ The Hunt for Heraldic Artifacts ~ Some months later, during another Zoluren Community Forum meeting, Asildu was heard on the gweth seeking a safe place. I asked him where he was so that we could help him, and he told us that he was in a shack outside of Kaerna Village, though he feared he did not have much time. We told him about our ideas to help him from our previous meeting, one being to break his links with the artifacts that established his connection with the Heralds, and the other was to hide him on another plane. Asildu confirmed that nowhere was safe and they were able to see him anywhere, but was intrigued by the artifact theory. He indicated that rather than any artifact in particular leading to the change, it was a collection of artifacts over time. He said he would have to think on where the artifacts were located, as his memory was hazy. As he began to grow more nervous about being discovered by the Heralds, we left him alone to think. Several months later, the Rangers attempted once again to beseech Elanthia, this time to reveal the locations of the Herald artifacts that Asildu had mentioned. Despite Elanthia remaining silent, Asildu himself recalled details about a powerful relic. Acting on his clues, a group of adventurers set out, leading them to a strange crack in the mountain along the ice road to Hibarnhvidar. "We set out to find it," Lexxa explained. "The journey split us apart, but we found each other again beneath the ice road, beyond Shard. We discovered an ancient tunnel beneath the ice road, called the Null Chamber. There, we discovered a strange bell. We studied it -- I died trying to examine the inscriptions on it. Then we made the hasty choice to destroy it." Casari added, "Asildu said he felt something around when we destroyed it, but he wasn't able to meet us again yet." Several months later, Asildu was heard making normal conversation over the gweth about the rainy weather and visiting Liani's Heaven in Shard. Upon meeting him there, we saw that he looked markedly improved, looking more human than before. He attributed this change to the recent destruction of the Herald artifact we discovered and was optimistic that our plan might work. Still, he remained cautious, would not stay long, and continued playing the Balm that has seemed to soothe him from the Heralds' influence. He explained that the artifact was a weapon of significant power and that our destruction of it prevented the Heralds from wielding it against us or the Immortals in the coming fight. He had to leave before long but promised he would be in touch again when he had more to share. ~ The Hunt for a Second Artifact ~ Several weeks later, Asildu was once again heard over the gweth, remarking that the Rest of Ages Inn was quite charming. We found him there with more information about another item of interest. He recalled it being farther away on an island and quite high up with a view of the sea, with seabirds flying around and a danger that was somehow familiar to him. He asked us to discuss aloud in hopes it would jog his memory. After discussing among the group (Casari, Couri, Ezerak, Maraisel, Ollythander, Qetu, Tirost, Zynell, and myself), with feedback from Asildu, we traveled to the Pivilho Volcano on Reshalia, home of the gale drakes. Along a cliff edge, we found a narrow crack leading into an ancient cave. At the bottom of the cave, we discovered a floating steel knife inscribed with a thin line of symbols written in a tight script. Casari, a Bard, evoked a vision in the area of the three Heralds constructing the artifact together. Pushing the knife, I heard whispers of a seed that grows to rot, a land composed of fire, the snarling fury that resides in the core of the sun. A second push brought whispers of instructions to unmake, promises that are threats, bargains where everyone loses. A third push revealed whispers of three vines spreading across the land, a cable composed of three strands woven together, a fire slowly burning a spiral of mirror-like material. Finally, we managed to shove it off one of the pincers, breaking it. Asildu confirmed via gweth that he felt better once again. ~ The Path Ahead ~ Some days later, Asildu reappeared at the Rest of Ages Inn, looking markedly more human-like than before, a positive change that he attributed to the recent destruction of the second Heraldic artifact. He confirmed that the artifact was a "knife with the ability to cut through anything and everything, including reality." Its destruction, he reiterated, had significantly weakened the Heralds' capabilities and lessened his own connection to them. He also noted that breaking these artifacts was now easier as the Heralds are currently weakened and distracted. "The destruction of the last artifact helped spur another memory in the back of my mind," he said. "It's not clear enough yet for me to be able to provide directions, but I think it will be very soon. I'm devoting my time to recalling it through the fog." He emphasized that destroying these artifacts not only aids him but also helps the Immortals, and concluded by expressing gratitude for the lack of hostility and promising to return when he had more to share, stressing that our time is short before the final battle. As Asildu regains more of himself with each artifact destroyed, his fragmented memories become vital clues in a race against time. The path forward remains fraught with danger, yet the hope of a weakened enemy and the potential for a unified front, even with an uneasy ally, offers a glimmer of victory in the looming conflict. With hope, Illiya |
| Real Date: Unknown Date |
| Subject(s): Wild Magic |
| Author(s): Illiya |