The First Land Herald/449-10-33

Article Number: 92

Dateline: 449-10-33

DISASTER STRIKES, NAVESI AND OTHERS ABDUCTED We begin today’s report with heavy hearts. Our esteemed editor, Navesi, has been kidnapped, along with four other adventurers. Rest assured, we are actively investigating the circumstances and motive surrounding their abduction and will keep you informed of more details as soon as we have them. Despite this tragic event, the Herald remains committed to its duty to inform the public. We understand the importance of keeping you updated on the evolving situation, including the escalating Wild Magic crisis. As Navesi would have insisted, the show must go on. We will continue to bring you the latest news as it develops, in the hopes that disseminating information will aid in their safe return. Ongoing Wild Magic Efforts As we continue to grapple with the effects of wild magic, various attempts to understand and counter its influence have yielded mixed results. Ayrell's diplomatic overtures to the Dragon Priests and investigations of the Zaulfung Stones failed to provide definitive answers. Saragos and Navesi's experiments using Othersight, while succeeding in proving the viability of Othersight as a methodology, failed to provide answers about wild magic. Meanwhile, although we were able to confirm the status of the Bulwark from an inquiry with Commodore Khoheke, he did not know what could be behind it all. (See FLH article from 449-10-29.) In short: Nobody else has any idea what is going on either, it seems. Vigil for Meraud A solemn vigil was held recently at the Crossing High Temple in honor of Meraud. Led by Mother Jaelia, the community gathered to pray and pay respects to the god of magic. As the vigil unfolded, a divine interruption occurred and the Clerics present suddenly received a vision. According to Jaelia, her vision faded into a sea of golden light. She saw a campfire in a clearing freshly cut in the center of a thick brambles. A lavender blossom grew despite the unsuitable rocky ground. A Gor'Tog carefully cleared branches from the growth and placed them on the fire, before looking upward to the open night sky. She felt the warmth of her devotion swell. As the scene faded, her vision returned to normal. In the immediate aftermath, the vision sparked discussion and contemplation among the vigil attendees, as we pondered its meaning and implications. Jaelia cautioned, "While all visions can have influence from different sources and one should be wise in their conjecture of exact meanings and what is or is not the will of the Immortals, it is important to recognize the significance of these events, and to remember for all individuals to continue their ongoing devotion and praise to the Immortals. Building a path where a relationship is two-sided takes work in advance and ongoing tending, not just when one needs it. Just as we do with mortals who matter to us." Magical Research Experiments at Arhat's Tower A few days after the vigil, as part of a continued effort to try to discern the source of wild magic, Navesi, Saragos, and Ayrell hosted a series of magical experiments at Arhat's Tower, inviting all who possessed a scientific curiosity to come and assist. The gathering began with some light discussion about wild magic theories. Then, Navesi announced that three experiments were planned. First, Navesi led an exercise in getting close to one another. She instructed us to stand next to someone with a different attunement than ourselves and to cast our own native magic freely. No unusual effects were observed, so after this we moved on to the second experiment. For the second experiment, we all joined Ayrell and tried to harness as many streams of mana as we could. Despite the collective focus of the group, no anomalous phenomena were detected. Unfortunately, the process resulted in significant nerve damage to the participants, necessitating a healing and recovery period before further testing could commence. After everyone was healthy once again, we joined Saragos in researching wild magic together. We had not been researching for long before a swirling vortex of light spun through the area, followed by an intense flash of heat, causing our bodies to erupt into pyres of roaring red and orange flames that sucked all of the energy of the heatwave into them. A faint whine cycled upward, and everything felt momentarily lighter. Thin hair-like strands rose from the ground, and I felt the distant gaze of something, or someone, burning into my mind. Everything flickered. My vision warped, and my hand occupied several places simultaneously. The odd hair-like strands continued rising upward. The whine cycled faster, and a wild pressure began to build up behind my eyes. A quiet voice simply said, "Unacceptable." My mind recoiled and shattered, and I fell to the ground. The black threads suddenly froze in place, hovering all around me. I heard a soft snap, and Ayrell, Dantia, Navesi, Mazrian, and Miskton disappeared, leaving only empty space where they once stood. The sphere suddenly froze, collapsing into a single point, and exploded. The no-color flash blinded me, and time seemed to slow in the moments leading to the shockwave of an explosion reaching me. I had no time to think, no time to blink, but an eternity to observe. The pressure behind my eyes subsided, and my vision cleared. Time resumed as normal, and I found myself in a null prison along with all of the other people gathered in the tower, minus the five who disappeared. We were trapped in an endless expanse of nothingness radiating with overpowering magical energy that suspended our bodies with no sense of purchase or direction. The air was still and silent. There was no sense of the passage of time in that place, and without any perception of space, we lost all bearing on the fundamental concepts of existence. We were unable to speak, or act, or cast magic, but we could still whisper and send thoughts over the gweth. The only apparent exit was a rapidly collapsing rift. Upon looking at the rift, the vortex of energy swirled with fragments of conjured crystal. Sparks of lightning radiated from its surface, and a faint melodic hum echoed from within. Streaks of flame briefly flared into view, as did formless masses of earth and twisting vines. It rapidly narrowed as I looked at it, and I believed I did not have long before it was closed. The rift, and the prison surrounding me, radiated with phenomenal qualities of Life, Lunar, and Elemental mana as far as I could perceive. There appeared to be no beginning and no end to the place. The influence of each stream of mana was distinct and unmixed, yet ever present in such a volume that you could barely discern independent types. Upon focusing on the rift, the rift mirrored that energy, and appeared to be a vortex of each stream of mana that composed the place. I attempted to escape through the rift, but was held back by a variety of phenomena. With each attempt, I was bound by razor edged shadows, conjured crystal lattice, tendrils of fire and stone, or a mass of red and purple vines. Once I simply could not muster the willpower to move any part of my body. With each attempt, the rift continued closing with alarming speed and I estimated that I did not have long to escape before being trapped there for eternity. After some time, the sphere suddenly froze and then collapsed into a single point. A no-color flash blinded me as the sphere disintegrated into countless black threads that scattered across the area, and the following explosion knocked me off my feet, tearing my flesh and breaking my bones. The pulse of energy swept back, and through the ringing in my ears, I heard screaming all around me. The pressure behind my eyes subsided, and my vision cleared. The strange, hair-like strands began to descend, returning to the ground. The cyclical whine slowed and faded, and the sensation of weightlessness disappeared. The world stabilized, and the distant gaze that burned into my mind retreated. A pulse of energy rippled outward, and I found myself on the ground back in Arhat's Tower, together with all who had been trapped with me, save the five who disappeared first. We were all injured and bleeding, so I and other Empaths first helped heal the wounded. After everyone was healed again, we tried to find our missing friends. They could not be located by Moon Mages or familiars. For a short time, we could reach them with personal gweth messages, but we did not receive any response. Saragos was briefly able to see Navesi using his spousal connection and affirmed that the five were together and seemed to be in a null prison similar to the one we had just been trapped in. Saragos attempted to weave Aether to open a portal around the remains of whatever rift had been there. He asked the other Warrior Mages to stand in a circle and draw aether from the fissure and feed it to him in long, stable treads, while the Bardess Casari guided his wand hand. As Saragos continued to weave, suddenly the pulse of energy swept forward again, and I felt the slightest crush of the devastatingly oppressive weight once again. A voice spoke, "Enough. We demand silence for one minute." And magic was gone again. It may have been a whole minute, but it felt like longer. Then the pulse of energy swept back again, and the oppressive weight receded. After that discussion ensued about how to proceed, as we attempted to put together what clues we had. Saragos led the elementalists in a second attempt at weaving a rift, while Nawain led a round of impromptu prayers to Meraud. At the same time, the rest of us tried to figure out how to rescue our friends. Vaerek proposed a period of magical silence, which we enacted for five roisaen. We also attempted another round of wild magic research, hoping to recreate the conditions that led to their disappearance. Finally, based on a recurring Moon Mage vision shared by Vaerek, I led a search party to Throne City. Unfortunately, none of those efforts yielded any results. As a last resort, Saragos began drafting a letter to Daervlan eth’Riel, the Lord of the Void, who was known to communicate with the Heralds. Saragos explained the situation. "They've taken my wife, and my friends. I suspect, but have not confirmed that the Heralds are behind the kidnapping. I -- we -- are going to get them back, no matter the cost. They will not be abandoned to the Void. Those who kidnapped them are always watching, and can react to what we say, so be careful with your words or writing. I will call for help when the moment is right. I hope all who care for them will heed the call." Mountain Lord Ezerak, whose wife is also among the missing, has pledged his steadfast support. "The disappearance of these brilliant minds is a great loss in this time of danger. I will not rest until Lady Ayrell and the rest are found and returned safely, and whoever -- or WHATever -- is behind the kidnapping of my wife is brought to justice." Exhausted but resolute, the group decided to rest and recuperate before resuming our search. Rest assured, we will not give up hope of finding Navesi and the others until they are found. In the meantime, we will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available. With unwavering determination, Illiya Assistant Reporter of the First Land Herald

Real Date: Unknown Date

Subject(s): Wild Magic

Author(s): Illiya