Deceived - Part III

The Fyearikloa'i Rensh'a, or "Thinkers of the People" in the Common tongue, are proud to present "The Decieved," a trilogy dedicated to the infamous Mirror Wraith Prophecy and its subsequent effects on the Moon Mage guild.

Within lies an account of the events surrounding the release of the Sorceress Tezirah, her dangerous recapture, and what has transpired since the conclusion of the Mirror Wraith Prophecy. All of this brought to you first-hand by the brave Elf who lived through it all - Heritage Keeper Pathian Quindinar.

      Chapter I - Taramaine’s Folly
      Chapter II - Trapped
      Chapter III - An Unexpected Surprise
      Chapter IV - Tethia’s Rise to Power
      Chapter V - The Time Before the Time of Shadows

Chapter I - Taramaine’s Folly

A vision hit, strong and fierce, urging all to Taisgath. We were rapidly approaching a nexus in the web of fate, the very outcome of which would not only alter the future of the Moon Mage Guild, but the lives of all Elanthians. A large crowd began to gather at the towering obelisk near the center of the isle. Worry and excitement coursed through the area. Could it finally be over? The dreaded Deceiver device was finally in the safe hands of our Guildmaster Prime, Taramaine Ennis-Braun. Taramaine and the Y’Shai Inquisitor Stavro arrived, bringing with them the evil enchantment. Without wasting time, Taramaine called for the attention of all present.

The words he spoke are etched into my mind forever -

   "Since the death of the Council, I have been plagued by visions of a nightmare world...
    our world, overrun by shadowmasters and creatures of darkness. Tenebraelings, voidspawn,
    eviscerators...the mortal races fleeing before death incarnate."

   "This world will come to pass if that artifact is destroyed. I've learned that, now. That 
    was its purpose. The only way to ensure that this never comes to pass...we must make the 
    ultimate sacrifice."

And then...then he asked us to do something I never would have dreamed. Something I would have hoped against hope could be prevented. We were going to make the ultimate sacrifice. We were going to give up our gift of foresight.

He believed that activating the Deceiver would sever the Plane of Abiding from the Plane of Probability for all time. And so he did so. However, what the device did wasn’t exactly what Taramaine had expected. To everyone’s surprise, a swirling vortex opened up in front of us - its destination: The Plane of Probability.

Most everyone in Elanthia knows what transpired next. The Sorceress Tezirah herself emerged from the portal, cackling with glee. She had tricked us all, finally achieving her ultimate goal: freeing herself from the Void. We stared aghast at what Taramaine had done, but it soon became evident that he too was just a pawn in her game, manipulated just as easily as the others.

A fierce battle ensued with the students, Guildleaders, and Y’Shai all risking their lives. Both Taramaine and Stavros were struck down. Stavros, being a Y’Shai, was lost forever, his soul forfeited due to the process of his creation. Under direction of the newly released Demosel, who had herself just escaped, we attempted to push Tezirah back through the quickly closing portal. Through her shrieking and sorcery we managed to get her closer and closer, until one final shove...

Chapter II - Trapped

When I awoke, I found myself in a completely foreign place, shrouded in mist and darkness with shadowy shapes wreathing in and out of my field of vision. That’s when I saw her, sitting there, staring at me with cold contempt. Once our eyes locked, she let out a shrill cackle that still gives me goosebumps. I, of course, leapt to my feet, backed away, and frantically began pondering what spell might affect her. She just watched me at first, then began to speak. Apparently this predicament was all my fault; her plan would have succeeded had it not been for the students of the Moon Mage Guild. She was robbed yet again of her revenge. I, being the foolish hero - and not fully thinking through the situation - yelled right back at her. I asked her flatly why she didn’t just kill me. Tezirah simply smirked and told me that if she were going to be trapped in the plane for another few thousand years, she might as well have some company. At this point she tried to tempt me with promises of power. If I would help her escape she would make me a god. That was my turn to have a good laugh.

We exchanged a few more insults, when all of a sudden I heard a voice in the back of my head. It was my friend Cloudcrest sending me a Thoughtcast! He told me they were going to use an old clerical spell called Spirit Beacon on Taramaine’s body to see if I could focus a moonbeam onto the Plane of Abiding. It was now or never. I muttered a quick good luck charm and tried to focus a moonbeam on the location of Taramaine’s body. To my amazement, it worked, but Tezirah knew I was up to something. I had to act quickly. The Teleport spell was my only option. I started to prepare the spell as fast as I could. I told Tezirah that I hoped she would rot in that godforsaken place, crossed my fingers, and cast the spell.

Once I regained consciousness, I was met with the wild cheering and concerned faces of many dear friends. I had done it. Bested a Sorceress and saved the world all in one day. I breathed a sigh of relief, actually believing it was over. Looking back now, I wish that were the case.

Chapter III - An Unexpected Surprise

Time passed, and with it came the dissolution of our guild and the rise of the newly rediscovered sects. Months were spent trying to rebuild and move on. Most students gladly accepted the different teachings and new ways of life, while some of us have vowed to stay true to the roots of the guild and are working to restore it to what it once was.

While I had enjoyed the fame brought on by the victory at Taisgath, I still felt like something was unresolved. An almost constant nagging in the back of my skull. One lesson every Moon Mage needs to learn: Never ignore your intuition! I soon came to realize that this irritation was more than paranoia. One afternoon while at the Crossings' Empath Guild, I was seized with a vision. The image of a Shadowmaster appeared briefly out of the corner of my vision, then quickly faded away into darkness. Shadows crept across my eyes, my vision shifting to distant memories of swirling mists and shadowy figures. For a moment, I felt a hand on my shoulder, and my mind went dark. As quickly as it started, the image faded, leaving me feeling as though something of import was hiding within my memories, just out of reach. Something was definitely amiss.

On the advice of a good friend, I traveled back to what used to be my home on Aesry Surlaenis’a for some rest and relaxation. Unfortunately, this was not to be the case. Not long after my arrival I was abducted by a group of fanatics belonging to the Progeny of Tezirah. Their intentions were to make me pay for the crime I had committed against their Mistress - with my life. The group succeeded in overwhelming me and quickly knocked me unconscious.

When I came to my senses, I discovered they had transported me via moongate back to the Isle of Taisgath. I was to be sacrificed at the spot the device had been activated. Several times I tried to escape, either attempting to run or using the Refractive Field spell. Each time I was met with another Mental Blast and the darkness that soon followed.

The sacrifice had begun. The leader of the group began a prayer to Tezirah, stating his intent and the reason behind it. I sat, in a daze, watching as the bizarre ritual continued, and, to my astonishment, something begun to happen - shadows began to gather, twisting and dancing around the room until finally coming together in the nightmarish visage of a bat-winged skull. A voice echoed through the room; the infamous Sorceress had decided to communicate. She commanded the Tezirites to leave me be, as I had served my purpose and was of no more use. Puzzled by this, their leader questioned her. Tezirah indulged us all.

Somehow, through some sort of magic, Tezirah had managed to create a daughter and send her to the Plane of Abiding - a daughter who was in part mine. Her name, she told us, was Tethia, Tethia Queilsinar. As quickly as they formed, the shadows soon dissipated, leaving more chaos and confusion than before they arrived. I took advantage of my luck and slipped into invisibility, fleeing the area with my newfound knowledge and hoping what I had heard was just another deception. Sadly, I was mistaken.

Chapter IV - Tethia’s Rise to Power

Tethia. Still a puzzle to this day. I’ve tried my best to provide some sort of normalcy in her life, if such a thing is really even possible. How normal can a young girl be with no memories of a childhood, overnight celebrity, and the powers of a demi-god? I tried, along with many others. We are all still uncertain of how she will affect the future. I will attempt to give a brief summary of Tethia’s arrival and the events which have transpired around her, or, perhaps, because of her.

She was found wandering the streets of Shard. A complete vagabond. Whether she was searching out the Progeny of Tezirah, or whether they were just the first to find her is unclear. They did however, quickly take her in and begin schooling her in the ways of their sect. Her powers grew quickly, and all the while she was kept in the dark about her heritage and origins. It was months before I happened upon her. The Tezirites finally contacted me when they were ready to share with her what they knew. I traveled to Shard as fast as possible to meet my daughter. It was a lot to throw on her. Looking back, I realize this now. One day she was no one, the next, she was the heir to an infamous legacy. We should’ve acted slowly; instead, we told her everything. She was, of course, stunned and disbelieving at first, but as we pieced everything together, she began to understand, even if she couldn't fully accept. The months that followed were even harder for her. She was constantly hounded by the students of the Moon Mage Guild. They wanted to stare, and gawk, and question. They wanted to see the daughter of the legendary Sorceress for themselves. These annoyances were only the beginning of her troubles.

Not only had Tethia caught the attention of scholars and prophets everywhere, she had also become the target for the Shadow Masters. What business they have with her is still unclear. The most widely agreed upon conclusion is that, to seek revenge on Tezirah for her meddling on the Plane of Probability, they were going to target her daughter. They abducted Tethia, taking her with them to the Void. I was frantic, not knowing what to do. The only way I knew of to reach the plane, and possibly rescue her, was with a group prediction.

I gathered those willing to assist onto Taisgath, as I knew the connection there was strong, and it seemed the logical choice. Without wasting anymore time, we began the ritual. At first, we thought it had failed, but then without warning the temperature dropped, and the shadows began to gather. A rift of light opened in the midst of our circle, and from it, Tethia was thrown forth. She was terribly wounded, as if she had been tortured. We gathered her up and raced to Ratha to find help, unaware that the Shadow Masters were right behind us. We managed to make it to the docks before we were besieged by a full blown invasion. Luckily, with the aid of the townspeople, we were able to hold them off long enough to board a boat back to the Crossing, leaving the Shadow Masters behind us.

During all of this mayhem, Tethia still managed to be your average Moon Mage. She possessed no special abilities or powers, aside from an extraordinary ability to learn - a special knack, if you will. Unfortunately, this normalcy, too, would soon change. Tethia was to assume her mother’s powers. Again, the specifics of this transformation are still unclear. No one is certain if she acquired them, or if they were lying dormant within her, but we do know that she purposely "turned them on". The extent of Tethia’s powers aren’t known at this point either. She has keen foresight - knowing her fate, yet revealing nothing. She is able to raise herself and others from the dead, and she possesses knowledge of the manipulation of eldritch fire, a dark sorcery known only by a few remaining Dragon Priests. Tethia struggles with the power itself, fighting daily for her soul, trying to remain uncorrupted by the powerful magics.

Chapter V - The Time Before the Time of Shadows

Tethia’s tale is one wrought with hardship and pain. A child as young as she should never have to go through such an experience and, yet, the story isn’t over. Tethia has disappeared, and we have been left with yet another cryptic message.

The last time any of us ever saw Tethia was in Throne City. She was attempting to find a way into the council’s highly protected vaults, known as the Inner Sanctum. Not knowing her true motives, Ravennesque and I, being the first to the scene, decided to assist. The outer doors were protected by a magical lock. The doors required certain spells to be cast upon them in a particular order before they would open. After much trial and error, we managed to crack the combination. Now we had only to figure out a way into the Inner Sanctum itself. We tried many things, but to no avail, and were just about to give up when, to our surprise, the doors flew open. This peculiarity should’ve been a sign, but everyone was caught up in the moment. We ventured forth through the doors to find a room filled filled with artifacts and ancient tomes the likes of which we had never seen. The most interesting feature, however, was a pulsating moongate in the middle of the room surrounded by a gold ring etched into the floor. The moongate was warded; none of us could get near it. Suddenly, a change came over Tethia. She started laughing at us all and saying that we had performed as expected. She wasn’t acting at all like herself. Without warning she went through the moongate in pursuit of something. What it was she took, we still don’t know. When she emerged, some of the students tried to stop her, but she quickly struck them down and left.

Where she is now and what she is up to is yet another mystery. I believe she is currently under the possession of the Shadow Masters. I am certain that Tethia is not capable of such behavior on her own. This brings me to an enigmatic prophecy and vision brought to us by former council member Dothrein of the G’nar Pethians, who I had happened upon one evening in Riverhaven. He had very few things to say, but he managed to give a mysterious portent.

   "It is a Time before the Time of Shadows
   A day of reckoning
   A day as the nexus of possibility
   Rains down upon a world with eyes sealed." 

And with that he left. Not long after this meeting, Moon Mages far and wide were struck with a vision of the poor Prophet. We saw Dothrein hunched over some sort of book. He began to tremble as if sized with a vision of horror. Over his shoulder a swirling shadow of darkness began to rise and then he became obscured from our view.

Dothrein, too, has not been seen since that fateful day. We, the guild, are left with nothing but questions. Are the Shadow Masters trying break through to our plane? Is Tethia in league with them? What does Dothrein’s enigmatic prophecy mean? Could Tezirah be the source of these new events? All we do know is that the end of one Prophecy has heralded the beginning of yet another, and the Time of Shadows is approaching.

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