The First Land Herald/434-06-25

Article Number: 30

Dateline: 434-06-25

APPARENT TEMPORAL DISTURBANCES CONTINUE Barely over four months ago, the five provinces felt an anomalous, chaotic energy, which was followed by a Gorbesh attack on the outskirts of the Crossing.  Portals opened, letting invaders through, along with shouts of, "V has opened the way, gather your people and prepa--."  A similar attack occurred weeks later in Therengia, and we have also had reports since from witnesses of S'lai attacks and Elpalzi, dressed and behaving as those who served Sorrow.  Coincidentally, around the same time as the first invasion, adventurers discovered a Temporal Pocket, manned by the laconic "Timekeeper" Veralos.  We at the Herald have been investigating his claims in a possible connection to these invasions (see the Herald article from 434-03-30).  He says he has established an "anchor into the past," which may explain how these forces, so similar to those seen decades ago, have appeared again so suddenly. Mazrian recently led three Town Hall meetings in order to keep folks abreast of these recent activities and, lately, to discuss the discovery of a new clue: a mysterious tome.  About two months ago, adventurers began to find pieces of an unreadable book, and they are exchanging components and assembling the collections.  These pieces were found amongst the few bits of treasure collected by hostile creatures of all sorts.  A singed page, a crumpled page, a front cover, a broken spine, and a bloodlock are needed to complete each book. Reconstructed books are titled "Defense against Feral Manifestations," by "V."  Given that both the red-swirled orb that leads to Veralos's Temporal Pocket and the medals obtained by traversing the paths there both are marked "V," we now suspect the book's "V" and Veralos are one and the same.  Mazrian informed those assembled at the second meeting that the book is Feral in nature.  His reasoning, we learned later, was that he found that each mana user is able to detect within it their own type of mana as part of a chaotic mix, and it is a mixture of the four mana types together that makes an artifact Feral.  The book cannot be invoked by Barbarians or other non-magic users.  Various theories were passed around as to what exactly it might do. Mazrian offered to invoke the book's power, despite its Feral makeup.  Encouraged by others, he did so, a weapon in hand, but something about the weapon interfered and clouded his senses.  Suspecting that the blessing upon his weapon may have caused the interference, he tried again with an unblessed weapon.  This time, he could sense a chaotic mixture of mana types bursting forth from the book, manifesting in tiny, crackling arcs of Feral blasts.  He experienced a lurching sensation and a wave of dizziness as the energies began to channel into his weapon, then both the tome and the weapon reached searing levels of heat, the tome bursting into flame and the weapon dropping from his grasp.  His head and neck were burned in the blast. Mazrian later confirmed that his newly infused weapon was able to strip away the powerful Temporal Eddy spell that protects the Gorbesh invaders so thoroughly.  Thus the weapon became an effective tool for those not able to use Rend, Ward Break, or Dispel to remove the problematic spell. [IMPORTANT: The actions and viewpoints of Mazrian do not reflect those of the First Land Herald.  The Herald maintains that Sorcery and sorcerous casting are both dangerous and invoke the disapproval of the gods.  Feral sorcery is particularly volatile and unpredictable.  We recommend serious caution when handling any Feral or sorcerous artifact such as the tome and encourage pursuing other solutions instead.] Of some note, Lord Liev Denesal attended one of the meetings, passing on the thoughts of the Zoluren royal family: "We're still assessing.  The Prince has no desire to throw people into the unknown, and right now this is an unknown of quantitative proportions."  He added that they have informed the various provincial leaders, but he encouraged adventurers to reach out to their provincial connections, saying, "Sometimes it means more coming from you." At the second meeting, Mazrian stated that he believed there was a pattern to the invasions, and he (correctly) suspected the next would come just after the gathering -- in fact, he has been timing meetings to occur just before invasions.  If this pattern continues, the next invasion will occur soon after his next planned meeting (OOC: Monday, May 18, 8pm EDT, Crossing Town Hall). As far as tactics are concerned, Mazrian advised that everyone should be prepared and stick together.  Importantly, the first blast from a Battle Sphere will harm the chest, and the second will kill if the chest is not healed in between, so it is wise for anyone injured in the chest to seek immediate aid.  Saragos also reported that remaining in hiding or invisibility keeps the spheres from attacking you, and the spheres eventually shatter or move away, so it is possible to wait them out or sneak away.  See the Herald article of 434-03-30 for more suggestions. At the end of the second meeting, something quite unexpected occurred.  A swirling wind gathered, and a ripple of distorted space writhed through the area.  The ripple unfurled into an open rent, and a temporal anomaly coalesced, scattering bizarre, delayed reflections tinged with reverse rainbows throughout the area.  The anomaly shattered into evaporating fragments. This rift opened five more times, each revealing a different version of Veralos's visage: an oval face with overly large, almond-shaped, midnight-black eyes.  At first he was peering in surprise, then he appeared with a long white beard, dark eyes wrinkled and tired.  The third time, he was youthful and clean-shaven.  The fourth, he had a long, jagged scar across his brow and left eye.  During the final appearance, he shouted in concern, perhaps warning. Two more tears appeared, but they showed nothing but darkness.  Strange sounds were heard around the area during the first instance, followed in the second by a fleeting whisper that hissed across unfathomable distances, "it's an anchor!"   Mazrian mentioned, "I did invite him.  It appears, well, something has answered."  Navesi asked him how the invitation was made, and he clarified that he left a note at the feet of Veralos in the Time Pocket.  There was much speculation over where and when Veralos could be communicating from, although it was obvious from his different ages that it happened at different points in his lifetime. Disturbingly, after the latest meeting, we heard numerous gweth reports from various individuals that the Gorbesh had taken up residence in their old forts.  We were able to confirm the continued presence of Gorbesh well after the invasion at the forts near Dirge, Langenfirth, and Shard, the only three we are currently aware of. In closing, if you haven’t attended the Town Hall meetings, and you have any information on the current wave of attacks, Veralos, or the tomes, we call on you to come forward.  One theme has been clear: the current state of events is something we must work together on, as a community and across provincial lines. Sincerely, Shaylynne Kendialahle and Navesi Daerthon Assistant Reporter and Editor-in-Chief, respectively, of the First Land Herald

Real Date: Unknown Date

Subject(s): Battle Sphere Belirendrick IV Crossing Elpalzi Feral Magic Gorbesh Gorbesh Fortress Liev Mazrian S'lai Sorcery Sorrow Temporal Eddy Temporal Pocket Therengia Veralos Zoluren

Author(s): Shaylynne Navesi