The First Land Herald/449-10-24

Article Number: 90

Dateline: 449-10-24

WILD MAGIC PREDICTIONS REVEAL DARK FUTURE In light of the recent wild magic phenomena, Court Mage Miskton Ramahk called for volunteers who had been exposed to significant amounts of wild magic to gather at the Gorbesh Fortress Practice Yard, south of Shard, in order to perform a prediction experiment. Moon Mage Vaerek also assisted in performing a couple of the predictions. In total, a series of eleven visions were revealed during the experiment, performed on the following volunteer subjects: Kethrai, Yvela, Tirost, Saragos, Crobin, Allye, Mother Jaelia, Kerennya, Ciarelle, Ayrell, and Navesi. Notably, Miskton reported this as a significantly higher number of visions than are normally received within such a short timeframe. Additionally, the visions themselves were preceded by an unusual sensation that he described as "an odd feeling." First, here is a breakdown of the visions experienced during this experiment: ~ Vision 1: After a moment, Miskton smelled pine and felt the need to wipe sawdust from his hands. A wooden box rested in his hands, as yet unpolished, but expertly assembled with precise dovetails. Opposing pine and oak made for a striking contrast, and the lid appeared as a fractional gap interrupting the grain. Before his eyes, the box appeared to shift, and became a smoothly interlocked orb. As he blinked, the vision faded, and the box disappeared. ~ Vision 2: After a moment, burning pitch stung Miskton’s eyes and the sky shattered, dripping reflective shards of rainbowed light. The visionist watched this strange skyfall, mesmerized by the tumbling images of the sky and land spinning in every direction. As he watched, the pieces picked up speed and began to slam into the ground, exploding into crystalline fire and evaporating. Gaps in the sky writhed with bulges of nothingness, and suddenly, one of the shards sliced his cheek! He gasped in surprise as crystal erupted along his face, covering his eyes, his vision skewing wildly. The vision faded, and everything returned to normal. ~ Vision 3: A bell was struck in the distance, an odd tone with several harmonics. Vaerek felt himself yanked forward, falling to his knees, and when he looked up, a large hexagonal bell etched in strange symbols hovered in the air before him. The bell was struck, and he was buffeted backward by the deafening sound. The vision faded, and he wobbled uncertainty. ~ Vision 4: Miskton’s hands itched, and he clapped them together in irritation. The feeling persisted, and he could not shake the sense of something left unfinished -- an orlog assembled but missing a final component. For some reason he was confident that while something was missing, the whole was operational. And he pondered this certainty, the stars began to howl, and the sensation passed. ~ Vision 5: Acrid smoke wafted past Miskton, and he turned around finding himself face to face with the woman in the wide-brimmed hat, her cataract eyes staring at him as she grinned a cruel half grin around a lit cigarillo. "This isn't my doing," she said, "Though I'm almost jealous at the scale. But it's calling itself Liraxes, eh? Curious choice. Well, we'll see where this lands." The smoke stung his eyes, and as he coughed, she vanished without a trace. ~ Vision 6: A rumble passed underfoot, and Miskton cocked his head, straining to hear. A sound not unlike sizzling oil rushed by again. He knelt, touching the ground gingerly, and felt it through his fingertips, the churn of hundreds of feet churning along. The ground erupted, and he fell, fell into a mass of appendages and digging claws, hearing the whispered word "Liraxes" echoing all around. Suddenly the feeling faded, and he looked around in confusion. ~ Vision 7: The ground heaved, and a chunk of stone thrusted upward, grinding loudly. Several strange symbols burned into the sheer face of rock, and reassembled themselves into the letters "L", "I", and "R". The stone suddenly collapsed into a pile of rubble, the pieces vibrating slightly. Miskton blinked, and the vision faded. ~ Vision 8: Miskton found himself surrounded by calm waters, a gentle sea breeze barely stirring the air. A trio of fish, one black as night, another blood red, the third a light blue, swirled circles around his feet. He looked down and found himself smiling at the three, seemingly unafraid. A fourth fish, pure white, swam in the distance, and the vision faded. ~ Vision 9: Vaerek stood before a cliff, looking down into a swirling maelstrom crackling with purple lightning. Echoes violently tore at the air around him, and he stepped back in fear. Far above, a slug-like creature drifted down, extending several tentacles and reaching for him. Suddenly, a lance of blinding light skewered the horizon, piercing the floating slug, which erupted into black slime as it fell into the storm below. A deafening explosion forced him to cover his ears, and the vision faded. ~ Vision 10: PAIN! Talons and barbs twisted along Miskton’s insides and he gasped in sudden, almost absurd agony! His whole body tensed, and he turned slightly, finding himself face to face with a hooded figure. A blinding rainbowed light tore from the figure's hood, and he made out a massive maw screaming "LIRAXES ASSERTS ITSELF!" before everything went white. He blinked, and his vision returned to normal, the pain receding. ~ Vision 11: Everything wavered, and Miskton felt wildly disoriented. He found himself looking down an endless hallway filled with featureless doors. One of the doors opened, and an old woman emerged, closing the door behind her. She turned to him and waved a hand in irritation, and called out in a firm but reasoned tone, "Alright, enough, you've pushed your luck enough! Go, before they take note!" She opened the door to step through, and he caught a glimpse of kaleidoscopic lights, swirling galaxies, and found his mind pulled forward. The door shut, and locked, and the vision faded. After the final prediction, an odd feeling passed over everyone present, but it quickly faded and everything once again felt normal. Some time after the initial experiment, Miskton hosted a Visions Meeting at which he discussed the visions in greater depth and provided more background and insight. The most concerning element was the repeated mention of "Liraxes," the name we first encountered during a group journey to the Planar Observatory. (See FLH article from 449-10-23.) To briefly recap, in an attempt to see if the Planar Telescope would show anything unusual or give any clues to the origins of the wild magic phenomena, I traveled with a group of brave adventurers through the Astral Plane to the Planar Observatory. The Telescope itself did not seem to show anything out of the ordinary, but while traveling in the Astral Plane we heard the word "Liraxes," which was eventually expanded to a phrase: "Liraxes assembles itself." The new visions from the experiment contained the message that "LIRAXES ASSERTS ITSELF," suggesting a growing threat. Other than the mentions of Liraxes, the vision of the cigarillo-smoking woman was of particular concern. A recurring vision character, she is known for offering commentary on disasters, and even she seemed genuinely surprised by the scale of what is now unfolding. Despite the unsettling nature of some of the visions, Miskton remained cautiously optimistic. "I'm pleased with the outcome of the experiment, even if it does still leave us with many questions," he said. "We seem to have achieved the goal of receiving visions largely related to the wild magic phenomena, and they have given us much to think on, including more about this 'Liraxes' that was mentioned during the Planar Observatory expedition. It is my hope that as more information is uncovered, we will be able to use the clues found here to help with the current situation." While the visions offer more questions than answers, they provide crucial leads for further investigation. Stay tuned for updates as we explore these cryptic messages and work to understand the nature of what appears to be a growing threat known as Liraxes. Until then, Illiya Assistant Reporter for the First Land Herald

Real Date: Unknown Date

Subject(s): Astrology Gorbesh Fortress Ilithi Liraxes Lunar Magic Moon Mage Prediction Shard Visions Wild Magic

Author(s): Illiya