Year 65

Delerg has been completely transformed. No longer is it known as just that dismal swamp where the shadows make their home. It's literally been transformed into the land of shadows.

You called upon powers of Dendrin in one great ritual to forever cast a cloud of darkness over the area. Delerg is now a land of perpetual twilight. Most in Quala would not ever dare raise an army to invade it now even if they wanted to, for fear of the unnatural shadow magic that now pervades the place. Indeed the High Council of the Quala Freelands pay you tribute due their border touching Delerg. Since nobody even wants to visit Delerg anymore, you've established a smaller settlement in the Freelands for a few reasons. One being for potential recruits of which there are always a few that wish to join and another for those that have need of the shadows' services, which are still in demand.

Skog's tribes of Rask may very well overrun the magiocracy of northern Quala one day, but they definitely will never set one green foot into Delerg, but then ever since your actions in Rask you didn't have much concern about that happening anyway.

The svelk have all been run out of the immediate area. You've either hunted them all down, or they moved further east towards the Felkan Kingdom, which has begun to spread to the west in an attempt to establish order in the still chaotic Arat province.

Still despite Delerg's fearsome appearance and reputation now, there are still those that would prefer to address you directly…

"An emissary from the Nalin Empire on the Delerg border wants to see you. Says she has an offer that you'll find most enticing." Gannon tells you.
"Don't they all? Very well give her passage to approach the temple." You say wondering what this could be about.

The Nalin Empire is still the only major power nearby that you have not had a major effect on. It continues to be run by Warden Matron Brenda whose hatred for the shadows is quite well known. As your influence has steadily grown beyond Delerg relations between that government and your organization have grown in intensity. The Nalin Empire has made it quite clear that any shadow found within its borders or anyone enlisting the aid of shadows will be executed.

Still it doesn't keep you from having a few agents still there though information is still hard to come by. At least any meaningful information. Brenda is a private person and her citizens are all fairly loyal. You've only ever gotten a few people from there actually trying to hire you and that was only in the early years. You've had no contracts from there for maybe ten years or more and never any meeting from a formal member of the government there. So to get an emissary from there now? This is an odd day indeed.

When you find out this emissary is Tarna, your preoccupation dwindles a bit and focuses more on this meeting. Tarna is known to be Brenda's second in command and the one who enforces most of the laws of the land. When she arrives she looks like all the reports you've heard. Long brunette hair, swarthy skin, warrior type with a haughty air about her, etc. She travels only with a couple servant types who look scared shitless to even be in Delerg let alone the actual temple of Dendrin. Tarna though looks genuinely unimpressed and you don't even sense any fear in her. A state of combat readiness perhaps, but she'd be a damn fool not to feel that way…actually she's a damn fool as far as you're concerned seeing as she isn't afraid.

She should be.

Normally Talia would be with you to meet her, but Talia's currently meeting with Cyrus and Dravin in Quala to see if any of the potential shadow recruits are worthy. So you meet with Tarna privately.

"So what brings such a high ranking member of the Nalin Empire to Delerg? Has the Nalin Empire finally decided to lift its ban on shadows traveling through its domain?" you ask.
"Hardly, and I'm fairly certain the illegality of it doesn't stop you from doing so anyway. But I'm not here to make small talk with you fanatics, I'm here on a matter that I think you'll want to take."
"Do tell."
"It's about Warden Matron Brenda. She needs to be…removed."

A little surprising perhaps, but not really. You've heard that Tarna has shown signs of great ambition.

"Just like that eh? You wish for the death of your master so easily?"
"That old bitch is NOT my master…" she begins to say, but you interrupt.
"Yes she is. We ALL have a master in some way. I am master for example of all the shadows, but then Dendrin is master over all of us. Sometimes it is even natural to want to overthrow our masters…" you say with a very real double meaning, though Tarna isn't concerned with your own thoughts.
"Whatever, I didn't come here for your loony shadow philosophies. I came here to hire your people. I can promise you more than payment in the form of money, I can also promise you legality. Make it so it isn't an offense for shadows to enter Nalin or to hire them."
"Well, I suppose that would make things easier, and that's quite generous. However, I question why you would do such a thing. I mean what do you gain by letting us freely in your newly acquired country?"
"Safety and a powerful ally."
"Heh, don't think either of those terms have been ever used to describe the shadows, but I'm intrigued."
"You shadows are the most powerful organization in this part of the world. More powerful than some so called governments. Far more power than you should have actually, if I had been Brenda I would've sent an army to crush you long ago before you got too entrenched. I never understood how she could hate you so much yet never act directly towards you. She claims her actions are tempered with caution, but I say they are riddled with cowardice."
"Strong words…so how would putting you in charge benefit us? You just said you'd attempt to destroy us."
"Because I'm pragmatic and I see such a war would bring ruin to Nalin and I wish only to bring glory to it. For far too long the Nalin Empire has remained stagnant, still clutching on to the skeletal remains of the old Empire that Brenda served. It needs to grow and I intend to make it do just that. The shadows can help in this task. I believe I should want to call upon your services many times when usual tactics aren't enough in the future. And then there are those that may want to call upon you to stop me from achieving my goals. If we have an understanding, it can be profitable for you."

Sounds like Tarna really wants to be in charge. She gives you the price she's willing to pay and it certainly is reasonable, doesn't make you immediately agree to it though.

"So, you desire the shadows to serve as your government's personal assassins? We had an arrangement like that once before…I believe you know how that ended."
"No! This would be different! The shadows would remain completely independent. You could still worship your silly god and not answer to any government. I do not even wish to conquer Delerg, you can have this swampland. I just want the rest! Quala, Arat, Rask, even the Felkan Kingdom! And as I said the shadows would still have free reign to ply their trade anywhere in the glorious Empire of Nalin."

She's certainly confident and upfront about things, of course perhaps not too much since she is here attempting to hire you after all. You can certainly see an upside to such an arrangement. It also sounds like a lot of promises that might not be kept, however it isn't necessarily because Tarna's a liar. Her big plans may just fall flat due to arrogance. If so, it'll probably be better than her being successful and you'll have your foot already in the door to start gaining more of a presence in the Nalin Empire. There is always the fact you could just kill her if she attempts to betray you, the problem though is the Nalin Empire isn't like the many mini-states of Quala, or even the orc tribal alliance in Rask, it's a much larger unified entity. A war with them could get very costly though you've certainly faced bigger and you've got the resources.

A bigger concern for you is getting distracted with a war. Your growing obsession over the past few years is with wanting to somehow harness Dendrin's power independent of him. He's vaguely hinted at several times in the past that he isn't a real "god" just very powerful. What if you could do the same and somehow take his place? You've been trying to study all the old tomes you have in your possession over and over again in the hopes of finding something and you believe that you'll probably have to mix several complex incantations and rituals in order to even attempt such a thing. Most likely you'll have to study some non-shadow magic as well. You received some of those books back that Brenda snagged from the Derro lab when Flog gave those that were left behind at Evergloom to you, but you still haven't found quite what you're looking for in them.

Still, you're fairly certain the magiocracy of northern Quala probably has more books that you lost years ago when you had to flee General Ackerson's attack. Flog's already at war with them, it might be time to give him a little extra help again and forget about helping Tarna achieve her petty dreams entirely.

You decline her request

You've got other important things to concern yourself with; you don't have time to risk backing a potential wild card. When you decline to help her, she's surprised.

"What?! Are you serious? Since when do the shadows decline a contract?"
"Why does everyone assume we take everything? We only accept deals that would be in our favor and quite frankly dealing with you seems like it would be a losing game at best, so if that's all our business here…"

"But you would be destroying an enemy!"
"An enemy who as you just said is too cowardly to make a move against us. I think the status quo is working just fine right now. Now I suggest you leave before you make me angry."

Tarna stares at you for a moment and looks exasperated, but realizes there will be no convincing you.

"Fine! But remember this shadow. Brenda isn't going to be in charge forever and I will be taking power one day. You may find that declining to help me now was not a good idea. I will remember this shadow." She says and walks out of the room.

You sit there for a moment thinking, and then you get up to follow her. Just as she is storming out the front temple doors with her servants you hit her in the back with a small bolt of shadowfire, not enough to kill her, because you're not done with her yet.

Her servants attempt to run, but you tell the nearby shadows to dispose of them which they do so with ease and then drag Tarna's body towards you. She tries to pull her sword out, but her hand is stepped on by a shadow and then her sword taken away completely.

Despite all this, she remains defiant.

"Fool! You kill me and you'll have the entire might of Nalin on your head! You really think I won't be missed?"
"Not really. I know for a fact, you were on a mission to meet with the High Council of the Freelands before you came on this little detour. I mean come on; you came here to hire us to assassinate your master. You weren't going to report your sidetrip here. Even if you have co-conspirators back home, I doubt if any of them have the balls you do and they'll most likely keep quiet about your disappearance. Oh they may very well try to blame the shadows for your death, but I believe at worst, Brenda will assume you were killed by bandits in the wilderness of the Freelands."
"You assume much, shadow."
"Perhaps, but just to be safe, I'll keep you around for maybe a few months. Just in case a Nalin army does come sniffing around, then I can drag your ragged ass out in chains where you can fully admit you were plotting treachery to them first hand and prove that not only did we not act against the Nalin Empire, but in fact helped it…heh heh. Who knows? Maybe it'll even be a brand new era of peace between our two people."

Tarna is starting to break at this point, she's starting to realize that she has vastly overstepped her bounds.

"You…you really think they'll believe that? You really think I would admit it?"
"Oh yes, because IF they do arrive, you'll tell them everything and practically be begging them to execute you if only to end the nightmares you'll soon experience." you say and then move your face closer to hers. "I can sense your fear…funny how you should feel it only now when its too late. Take her away."

Nobody will come for her, you're sure of it. Now with that out of the way you can get back to your own plans.

Aggressively pursuing conflict with the magiocracy is probably going to be a violation of your agreement with them, but with Skog's help you don't see any need to worry. As for Skog, he's very much like his father in that he knows a good deal when it presents itself.

The shadows will follow as long as you tell them that Dendrin commands it. You'll get no dissent, that hasn't been a problem in quite some time.

You begin to make the preparations.

Year 66

"We've completely looted the magiocracy's treasury of their most prized magic items and tomes. Some of them are items we lost long ago, but most of it is stuff we've never seen before. Possibly old Empire." Glen tells you as he hands you a few books.
"Makes sense. Most of those mages running that place were ex-Empire after all. Well good, our mission was a success then. I trust the magiocracy is probably on its death knell?"
"It is Shadow Master. While it hasn't collapsed completely yet, I believe Skog's rabble is doing its best to make sure it stomps out."
"Good. Just bring in the rest of the stuff and we'll sort through it. That'll be all for now."

Glen nods and takes his leave. As you leaf through the pages of one of the books, Talia addresses you.

"When are we going to hold the ceremony for all those shadows lost in the service of Dendrin?"
"Huh? Oh, I dunno, soon I suppose. You can take care of those details." You say without looking up.
"…I will…but…"
"What?" you say starting to get annoyed.
"Well you could show a little more sympathy. I mean these brave shadows died. Our brothers and sisters died. They should at least be given the honor and respect they deserve."
"Talia, they died serving Dendrin. That's what they're SUPPOSED to do. By all means have the ceremony honoring the dead, but I have other living concerns that require immediate attention."
"And that's the other thing I've been wanting to speak to you about. I've noticed over the years, you have become obsessed with magic of all kinds. You pour over the old shadow tomes even more than I do. In fact I practically have to snatch them out of your hands if I need to look up something at times. You've also become much colder and distant. It's almost like you don't even care about any of us anymore and see us all as minions and henchmen. You talk about spreading fear to our enemies and how it is Dendrin's will, but is it absolutely necessary to treat your fellow shadows in the same manner?"
"Talia, I never treat you with anything other than respect and honor. You know that."
"For now, but I'm not talking about just me. I'm talking about everyone else. Look I know you're the chosen of Dendrin and you know his plan better than anyone, but have you become so far removed that you don't even feel a shred of empathy anymore? I mean remember Master Ebon? He cared for all of us…"
"He's also dead, so I don't see how following his example is going to get us anywhere the shadows need to be which is what I'm trying to accomplish. You say that I'm far removed from the rest, when in actuality I've been trying to keep my knowledge of my surroundings to damn near omnipotent level. I've kept the shadows thriving by implementing changes. Changes that Dendrin obviously agrees with, but what you don't realize, what none of you realize is that I'm trying to accomplish something that will establish shadow survival long after I've shuffled off this mortal realm."
"And what is that exactly? You mind at least telling me?"
"I'm talking about transcending."

Talia pauses and thinks she knows what you're talking about.

"Are…are you talking about performing the ritual of ascension?"

She's only partially right. You've read through the ritual and while you don't exactly understand all of it, you believe that you should only implement a large part of it. You do not believe it is the direction the shadows need to go and you are still seeking out a way to alter it to suit what you want to accomplish.

"I cannot give you an answer yet as I'm still working on the specifics, but rest assured you will be the first to know when I figure everything out. Just trust me as you would trust in Dendrin. Have I ever lead the shadows wrong? And if I was doing something wrong, would Dendrin not smite me?"

Once again invoking Dendrin's lack of action towards you manages to convince Talia that whatever you're planning it must be for the greater good of the shadows.

And you are, just not for Dendrin's sake.
Year 75

"Do you really believe you can separate yourself from me? You think that you can actually steal my power without consequence?" Dendrin asks.
"Yes, I have figured out a way and you will do nothing about it. You know why? Because you are a being of much power sure, but you and I know that you are no god and. More importantly we would not even be stealing any power from you, because I also know you are not even native to the shadow realm; you are merely using it as a source to act as a god. In my years of study, I have come to learn what you truly are and that is a Yequk, a whimsical being of the planes that loves to leech of the energy of a plane. Your kind also has a tendency to masquerade as gods or demons for amusement purposes and will bestow magic powers to those who believe in you or in my case, for the hell of it." You reply.

There is silence for a while, but eventually Dendrin speaks.

"Well done Eternal, I always thought I would manage to make you a believer though. I always thought that eventually you would come around, and for a while it looked it like you might, but ultimately you resisted. I suppose it's my own fault for not killing you immediately, but your potential for amusement value was too great to resist. However even with this knowledge do you really believe the shadows will survive without me granting them powers?"
"The shadows could directly draw upon the source of the shadow realm under the right circumstances. Circumstances that I have finally unlocked, all I need to do is perform the ritual."
"Well, it looks like you've got it all figured out Eternal. I just hope there aren't any unforeseen consequences to your plan…"
"Is that supposed to be a threat?"
"Perhaps, but not necessarily one from me because let's face it what would be the point? No, I believe your problem is of more mortal matters."
"The shadows will follow me in performing the ritual."
"Oh of that I have no doubt, you know why? Because you'll tell them what you've always told them, that it's my will that must be carried out! But tell me this Eternal, what is the point of this endeavor if I am most likely going to be worshipped anyway? Do you really believe that you can just expose the truth so easily? If you could, you would've done so long ago."
"No! Now is different, because I can actually do something about it. I can show the shadows that they don't need you to sustain their powers. That's the whole point of this."
"No, the whole point of this is I'm the only enemy that you've never been fully able to beat. You've denied me, you've ignored me, you've blatantly insulted me and you've even changed the religion to something that you prefer better…though I always agreed with what you did in that aspect. This whole thing is nothing more than an attempt to defeat me before you die of old age and it's a pointless endeavor based on your pride if you ask me."
"Well nobody asked you." you say starting to get angry.
"I genuinely don't understand what your problem is, because we've ALL benefited from this arrangement. You've even called on me for help in the past."
"Moments of weakness, I assure you."
"Yes, I'm sure seeing as you've been hung up on the whole instilling fear into everyone and no room for the weak type of thing for the past couple of decades. Your problem started when you started believing in your own rhetoric. YOU want to be the one that the shadows worship. YOU want to be the god of fear and shadows. You don't want to share any of the credit with me."
"And why should I? I'm the one whose really been guiding them all these years! You've done absolutely nothing! They'd all be fucking dead if you had your way! You even admitted as much. You've claimed on several occasions that you've been bored of the shadows for years and you've only taken a more direct interest in them recently because I came along."
"While all of that may be true, what you're forgetting is I've been guiding them a lot longer than you have. I gave them purpose for centuries! And what did you think other shadow masters were doing all those years? Twiddling their thumbs? No they were also guiding the shadows! You think you're not the only shadow master to have these sorts of feelings? You already know by Master Ebon's own dying admission that he never spoke to me and lied the whole time. You really think other shadow masters didn't have their own doubts of whether I was a god, or even existed? You're just the first one to figure out the entire truth and let the bitterness get to you. So by all means perform your little magic ritual and tap directly into the power of this shadow realm. I'm sure it'll be a success, but you will never be free of the religion tied to it. My name will always be attached to the shadows. Perhaps now more than ever, for a day may have soon come that I would've abandoned the shadows entirely and moved on to other things. On that day, they would've lost all their powers and undoubtedly the organization would've soon collapsed afterwards. Now? You're going to give them access to the power directly whether I'm here or not. Who do you think is going to still be worshipped? That's right."

"So I'll risk exposing the truth." You say in an attempt to continue to be defiant.
"Before or after the ritual? If its before, you're not even going to get a chance to complete it because you'll be strung up as a heretic or you'll be forced to kill them all. I doubt even your own mate would side with you even if she and possibly a few others might suspect you're right. Faith is a powerful thing and you know this. If it's after the ritual, you might have better success, but I doubt it. At best you'll end up getting utter chaos because you'll get rogue shadows that will see no reason to be part of the group anymore. Just think about those in the past that dared to oppose the status quo like Theo, Yvette or even Shade. Don't you think there will be MORE dissident types when they know there is absolutely no chance of them losing their powers now? The shadows will eventually splinter apart through selfishness. Of course perhaps you don't care, but I think you do care about the shadows more than you let on sometimes. If you didn't, you wouldn't be making such a grand effort of trying to free them from me."

You hate it when Dendrin makes good points and this time he's made several.

"I'm…not going to win this one am I?" you say.
"My advice? You'd be better off letting this one go. You're a mortal and have limitations. Enjoy what little time you have left. But it's your choice, and I've always believed that you work better without guidance, so do what you will."

You wake up from your mental ordeal and sit up placing your head within your hands trying to come to grips with your own short sightedness. It's almost enough to make you cry.

"What's wrong? You seem upset. Bad dream?" Talia asks when she sees you after rousing from her own sleep.
"No…I…no. I'm fine. Just still tired I guess."

You lay back down and Talia soon goes back to sleep. You're left wondering what you're going to do, but it all seems so pointless now no matter what you decide.

If you go ahead with the ritual anyway and expose the truth, you're going to face all the potential problems Dendrin mentioned. Of course you could just keep up the lie about Dendrin, but that seems to be defeating your original purpose.

You perform the ritual and tell the truth

The whole point of this is to free the shadows from the lie. They'll be pissed at first and there will probably be violence, but you see this will be for the best in the long run.

You get up and gather the books you've been studying and go over one more time this ritual you have planned. You don't even know if it'll even work, but you're fairly certain you haven't gotten any of the magic words or signs wrong.

You send a general announcement out that after all assassination missions have been completed, no more are to be given and that all shadows are to remain at the temple until the Ritual of Ascension is to be completed. (Which is what you've called it, because you're practically performing the same thing just with some of your own alterations)

Many of the shadows immediately cheer at the news, others aren't entirely sure what you're talking about which isn't surprising since the Ascension Ritual isn't common knowledge to the newer shadows. Still when you explain it, they all seem excited about the plan.

When the time comes you stand outside the temple in front of the several hundred shadows with their heads down in prayer. From the ones nearly as old as you to the ones that are barely out of the crib, all shadows are lending their own energy to your own in the effort of pulling off this historical moment.

Talia stands by your side as always. You look at her and wonder if you would've even come this far if you hadn't fallen in love with her. Lately you've been a bit distant with her, but you promise that'll change when this is all over.

"We are shadows! We have endured for centuries no matter what the struggles. From before the Empire and through it, and after it's inevitable demise. We will continue to thrive in the years to come. We feel we are ready for this power. I feel we are ready. This is the destiny of the shadows!" you say and then begin the incantations.

Most of your people recite what you say in unison while others stand at the far ends and chant supporting verses, which are essential to the ritual. Talia is also chanting yet another portion of it while making gestures with her hands to begin the first part of opening up the portal to Dendrin's realm. This part is almost like the initiation ritual, but of course much more complex and involved.

A large portal opens up above all of you and even with the sky already in perpetual darkness; it seems to get even darker. There is no wind or lightning or anything that most would connect with such a grand attempt altering reality. Instead, it just gets very dark and you start to feel a tingling numbness.

You begin to see some of the shadows fall to the ground. You don't know if they've died or just fainted. None of them are deterred though; they all continue to perform their parts for as long as they are able. This is like one of your personal encounters with Dendrin when you've slept, but instead everyone is experiencing it in the real world. You begin to feel all five of your senses becoming non-existent and the numbness is close to complete at this point.

Eventually you can't even see most of the shadows in front of you and you can hardly hear them anymore. Still you know you're on the right path, the blackness is engulfing everything. You briefly look over at Talia who is barely visible now. She continues to chant like a true believer that she's always been.

A few minutes pass and you soon can't hear anything except your own voice now and even that is very faint, though you can't be sure it's due to losing your hearing or your voice. Probably both. You look over one more time at Talia who you see start to teeter from exhaustion. You see her look over at you as well before you lose sight of her completely to the blackness.

You continue to silently chant while your mind fights the fatigue you're experiencing. It feels like you've been doing this forever, but you have to finish. You wonder what's happening to everyone else. You wonder if they're still alive. You wonder if Talia is still alive.

"Decided to go through with it after all eh? I thought you might." you hear inside your head. It's Dendrin, you can't talk to him though, you need to focus since you're going into the part of the ritual that you've created yourself with other non-shadow incantations.

"Eternal, are you sure this is even going to work? Perhaps you should stop before you continue any further."

And now you know that you've made the right decision. He's trying to talk you out it.

"Eternal, are you sure this is what you want?"

Of course it is. This is what will be for the best for the shadows. You've been their true master for over decades now. They would've ultimately been destroyed without you. When you're gone the shadows will fall prey to something else, whether it be from external forces or internal ones. Dendrin doesn't give a shit about them despite his fondness for you. By doing this, they'll always be strong and independent of him whether they know it or not.

You begin the finishing lines of the ritual.

"Very well, I can see you have made your decision."

With those last words you succumb to absolute numbness and pass out.

Hours later you awaken to Talia's face staring at you along with several other shadows.

"Thank Dendrin, he's still alive." You hear Gannon say.
"My love are you all right?" Talia asks.
Yes. Yes I'm fine, just a little disorientated. How is everything else? Did it work?"
"Well I suppose so. I mean we all feel a little different now. Some have expressed an increase in magical abilities. What exactly was the ritual supposed to do?" Talia asks.
"It was to make us more powerful and our shadow magic stronger." You say.
"You mean like make our link stronger to Dendrin?"
"More like the opposite."
"What do you mean?"

As you attempt to explain what you did and why you did it the reactions are varied but most are not positive. Some of them are in such a state of shock they don't know what to think. Others are angry to the point of saying you have damned them all in the eyes of Dendrin. Others are angrier that you were lying to them this whole time. Faith is a powerful thing and when you directly challenge it like you've just done, it tends to result in bad things.

Talia herself can't even look at you, she leaves your side as an angry mob of shadows begins to close in on you. You tell them all to back off before you're forced to destroy them, then you call them a bunch of ingrates that should be thankful for what you've done. This goes over about as well as can be expected.

You end up vaporizing several shadows to ash and wounding many severely before you're eventually mobbed and restrained. They don't even give you the dignity of stabbing you to death, one of the shadows smashes your head with a rock and you crumple to the ground feeling the countless kicks and punches to your body. Eventually you're beaten to a bloody pulp, but the shadows continue to torment your body in death by ripping it apart and throwing it to the Sul Monkeys.

The order of the shadows doesn't survive too much longer after your gruesome death. Most shadows are unable to come to grips with reality and commit suicide. The more cynical ones simply walk away and pursue new lives as independent "shadow wizards."

Some of the more fanatical ones descend into outright insanity and continue to worship Dendrin and commit increasingly bizarre and bloody acts in order to "regain his favor". Talia ends up leading a group like this for a while before she finally loses it completely and kills herself.

As for Dendrin he sticks around to watch the final death throes of the religion he once posed as a god for, and when it's finally over he moves on to new and more entertaining things.