Campaign 3, Arc 4: The Pursuit of the Enlightened Council

## The Pursuit of the Enlightened Council

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***The Enlightened Pursuit Arc***, or ***The** **Pursuit of the Enlightened Council***, is the fourth arc of DiceVersa's *Heiliger Krieg* campaign and is the first arc of the *Despair's Rule Saga*. It saw *Filii Impiorum* travel across the *Zemnian Empire* in order to stop the *Enlightened Council of the Veil Breakers* and bring an end to the *War of Ash & Faith*.

The Enlightened Pursuit Arc began on June 4th, 2023 with the players beginning at level 10, and ended on October 20th, 2023. The events of the campaign have taken place between **13th Selutikure, 6E 36** and **3rd Frokure, 6E 36**.

The fourth arc is broken down into fifteen sessions.

## The Sessions:

### Session #37: "The Amnesiac Mines"

Awakening from darkness, Biri finds herself holding an old pickaxe in a dark cave system. Looking around confused, Biri finds other miners surrounding her, all mining in unison. Biri attempts to speak with these miners, however, when she tries they just ignore her. Biri then notices that the miners are wearing collars around their necks that have a glowing yellow gem embedded into them. Unable to help the miners, Biri decides to search around the cave system believing that her friends must be here as well.

Biri travels down the cave until she eventually ends up in a large area with other cave systems connected to it. With no other choice, Biri travels down the cave systems one by one looking for her allies. This eventually leads her to Garret, who similar to the other miners, ignores Biri's questions as if he was in some sort of trance. Biri then attempts to remove Garret's collar, but then suddenly finds herself being thrown into Garret's Mindscape. Biri wakes up at the City of Vanna, the capital of the Unified Kingdom of the Freldan Isles. Confused on how she got there, Biri decides to look around starting with a tavern named Lady's Arm. Entering the tavern, Biri finds herself in the middle of a massive party, with everyone she knows having the time of their lives. Biri immediately spots Garret and confronts him, asking him how did they get there and what happen after they were captured by the Veil Breakers. Garret looks at her confused, asking if Biri is okay and eventually explaining that the war was prevented. Suddenly, Riros and Merlin then appear completely wasted asking if Biri wants a drink as well. At first Biri goes for it, but after a moment of thought, decides to decline their offer. Garret with surprising clarity then questions Riros actions, remembering that Riros doesn't like to drink. This moment of unusualness causes Garret to listen to Biri, with both of them deciding to exit the tavern in order to talk privately. Outside, Biri points out how they have no memory of escaping from the Veil Breakers which causes Garret to begin questioning the validity of this "world". Suddenly once again, Riros enters the conversation, passive-aggressively asking Garret to drink more. When Garret declines, suddenly the world begins to shift. Riros, wearing a face of malice, begins to blame the two for causing the war and getting him killed. Afterward, the world shatters, causing Garret and Biri to fall into darkness.

Biri awakens once again, finding herself a damp cell with a single window covered by bars. In the cell, she sees a young boy with long greasy black hair and is clearly malnourished. Suddenly a door opens behind her, turning around, she sees a pig of a man with a flat face and scars across his chin. The man then grabs the boy, screaming that the only reason he's still alive is because they haven't gotten the ransom they've wanted, Biri then realizes that the boy she's looking at is none other than Garret. The man then begins to hit Garret, slamming him into the floor and beating him bloody. Biri attempts to stop the man, but she just phases right through him. The man continues, deciding to unsheathe his knife to stab Garret. But before the knife meets its mark, Garret suddenly scream out in fury. Garret intercepts the knife with his hand. The blade pierces through his palm, but before the man could even react, Garret grabs on to the hilt of the knife, ripping it from the man's hand. Garret then spins the knife around and stabs the man straight through the throat. The man falls to the ground, gasping for life. Garret then pulls out the blade and begins to stab the man again and again, covering himself in the man's blood. With a final scream, Garret stabs the man once again, the world the fades away bringing Biri back to darkness.

Biri's vision returns as she rips the collar off of Garret's neck, Garret now fully conscious, questions what they hell just happened. After confirming what they saw, they decided to look for Zamiel. Continuing where Biri left off, they eventually find Zamiel in a similar situation that Garret was in. Knowing what to expect, both Biri and Garret attempt to remove his collar, and soon find themselves fading into darkness. Awakening in the City of Ostagar, Biri and Garret begin to look around for Zamiel, deciding to start at the Castle. Entering the Castle, the two make their way to the dinning room, where they see Zamiel, Cora, Riros, Tailor Breakdance, Dr. Johnathan Busttown, Philip, and blonde dwarf with short hair sitting along the very inconvenient 50-foot "X"-shaped table. The group seems to be arguing over star shaped sandwiches, which Biri and Garret quickly interrupt by picking Zamiel up and carrying him out of the room. The three rushing out of the Castle with the other chasing them, Zamiel sadly losing his bag of star shaped sandwiches before being dropped into the ocean by Biri and Garret. Similar to before, the world then shatters.

Biri and Garret find themselves in a city on fire, seeing Zamiel as Izlema looking down at a set of bodies covered in blood. The two quickly come to the realization that the bodies were Izlema's and Zamiel's family. Izlema screams out in rage before the group awakens in the caves. Confused on the events that just happened, the three decide to move on making their way back to the large area. Filii Impiorum then sees a craved out staircase leading up, deciding that there's no better option, the group makes their way to the next floor.

Arriving on the next floor, they spot a figure attempting to speak with one of the minors, Biri walks up and places her hand on the figure's shoulder trying to start a conversation. Instead the figure turns around and immediately fires an explosion of green energy that slams into the wall next to Zamiel. The figure, who the group quickly realizes is a dark-skinned woman, quickly realizes that the three are not guards and then apologizes. The woman introduces herself as Ofni and explains that she's a Satyr looking for a friend, she also mentions that she's surprised that the group was able to free themselves, considering that she had no luck in saving anyone else. The group questions this, guessing that they were only able to save people they know, they then reveal that they are enemies of the Veil Breakers. After hearing this, Ofni decides to help the group escape.

Escaping the mine, Ofni reveals to the group that a year and a half has passed since the declaration of the War. Realizing their behind on information, they attempt to contact their gods in hopes of learning more, however, only Lubo responds. Lubo explains that the Betrayer Gods have waged war on the Divines and that the armies of Oblivion and the Divine Step are consumed in battle. Lubo explains that the Divines are unable to help the group and that they alone will have to find the Veil Breakers. Knowing the stakes, Filii Impiorum mounts their horses and begins making their way to the nearest settlement.

### Session #38: "Garret's OTHER Greatest Plan"

Picking up three hours later, the group finds themselves on the outskirts of a village. Before they even attempt to walk in however, Ofni suddenly pulls them to the side of the road. Ofni explains that in the almost two years since the declaration of the War, the people of the Empire have gotten a bit more paranoid. She explains that it would be best for the group to lay low and not do anything stupid. Ofni then explains that she'll be watching from above before transforming into a bird and disappearing.

With one solid objective, Biri, Garret, and Zamiel, disguise themselves and make they way towards the main gate of the village but are immediately by two guards speaking Zemnian. With only Zamiel able to understand them, Zamiel decides to play diplomat and try to persuade the guards to let them through. Before Zamiel can speak however, the guards ask for their paper. Realizing they couldn't make fake ones in time, Zamiel lies, saying that he, Garret (Who was disguised as Hatsune Miku), and Biri were traders that got ambushed by bandits, which caused them to lose their papers. The guards show some sympathy, but sadly tell the three that without papers they can't get in. The three then make their way back to the side of the road where they try and brain storm ideas on how to get in without a fight.

Without warning, a malicious glee flares in Garret/Miku's eye. Garret/Miku then pulls out his knife Redemption and stabs himself in the chest. The Greatest Plan had returned. Falling down the hill, Zamiel quickly chases after him pretending that the bandits had come for revenge. Biri runs off into the forest pretending to be a fleeing bandit. The guards let Garret and Zamiel in, leading them to the village's infirmary, where the doctors quickly drop everything they're doing in order to help Garret/Miku.

Meanwhile, Biri runs through the forest before being surprised by Ofni, who questions what they hell she just saw. After a long explanation, Ofni decides to polymorph Biri into a bird in order for her to enter the village. Now a bird, Biri flies into the village and transforms back into her normal form. She then quickly dawns a cloak after seeing wanted posters for the members of Filii Impiorum. Biri makes her way to the others, sneaking into the infirmary after seeing the doctors leaving. There, she meets up with Zamiel and Garret, with Ofni arriving shortly after. The four then make their way to the nearby tavern, where they get two rooms and decide to call it a night.

### Session #39: "Divide & Conquer"

Deciding to divide the rooms by gender, Garret and Zamiel enter their room and decide to discuss Zamiel's long [REDACTED]. Meanwhile, Biri and Ofni head into the other room and get ready to sleep. As they get ready, Biri notices that Ofni is troubled by something and is clearly trying to hide it. Biri asks if she's okay which she responds by saying she's fine. Ofni then admits that there is something wrong, but she's not ready to explain it yet. She then reassures Biri that she'll be fine. Biri, overhearing Garret leaving his room after seeing Zamiel's [REDACTED], decides to head on down to the bar and talk with him. Arriving there, Biri finds Garret disguised as Hatsune Miku completely plastered and decides that he's had enough to drink, taking him back to his room before falling asleep.

A few hours later, Zamiel finds himself waking up early. Realizing he can't sleep, he decides to read a book. As he to put the book down ready to try and sleep once more, he suddenly hears a metallic crash from outside. Looking outside, Zamiel notices Ofni making her way around the patrols of Imperial Crusaders. Deciding to follow her, Zamiel makes his way outside and sneaks around the guards. Zamiel then watches as Ofni climbs over the village wall and makes her way into the nearby forest. Following her, Zamiel eventually finds himself in an open clearing about a quarter of a mile away from the village. In the center of the clearing, he sees Ofni sitting on a rotting oak tree with her back facing him. Ofni then talks to herself, explaining that she needs the group to trust her and yes she doesn't know how to explain everything. After hearing this, Zamiel decides to speak with her, but as soon as Zamiel speaks Ofni suddenly jumps forward in surprise. Zamiel questions her, asking if she was okay. Unlike before, Ofni begins to open up.

Ofni explains her past, explaining that she's from a town called Everlare. Zamiel immediately is confused, never hearing of Everlare. Ofni explains that the town was destroyed during the Purge, as it only worshipped the Divine Goddess of Nature Varidi. After the Purge, Ofni found herself traveling to the nearby city of Redcliffe, but she explains that the world suddenly felt empty and pointless. She wanted justice, justice for her family and home that were torn away just because some noble thought they were disgusting. That's when she learned of the Veil Breakers. The Veil Breakers began to shout out these same beliefs, explaining to their followers that they would make the Empire burn for all the sins it unleashed onto its own people. Realizing their shared beliefs, Ofni joined them. Ofni then goes on to explain that she did some terrible things, things she isn't proud of. She clarifies that she did those things in order to both make the Empire suffer and also to advance her rank within the Veil Breakers. She describes how she snuck into one of the meetings of the Enlightened Council simply because she wanted to help lead the group that would bring the Empire to justice.

Zamiel confused, asks what the Enlightened Council is. To which, Ofni explains that the Council are the leaders of the Veil Breakers. There are seven of them in total, with the Shepherd leading them all. Ofni then explains that while she eavesdropped on the conversation, she learned that the Veil Breakers were working with the Empire and the they were the ones that pushed for the Purge in the first place. Realizing that she had been helping her enemy instead of fighting it, Ofni left the group and eventually ran into Filii Impiorum. After hearing all of this, and relating to Ofni's loss of family, Zamiel tries say something that could hopefully help her. However, before he can say anything, Ofni sighs and apologizes for dropping all of this on him. Zamiel quickly says that she's all right and that friends listen to each other when times are tough. Noticing that the sun is coming up, Ofni suggests that the two make their way back before the morning comes.

Waking up in the morning, the group decides their next move. Ofni explains everything she knows about their enemy, and informing the group of the members of the Enlightened Council. Those being: The Shepherd, The Whisper, The Dragon, The Scholar, The Lion, The Snake, and The Bull. Ofni then suggests that they should focus on the Dragon, Lion, and Bull first as the others would be more difficult to find. Unsure who to start on first, the group decides to have Ofni use her Scrying spell on Riros in order to know if he's alive. She attempts it, and finds herself in the village of Cyira. A disguised Riros then meets up with the Mythwriters who question if Riros has had any news on Filii Impiorum's whereabout's which he explains that he doesn't. After the spell ends, the group decides to make their way to Cyira by traveling along the edge of the Zemnian Ocean, concluding that the beast of the Forgotten Forest would be better than the entire army of the Zemnian Empire.

Traveling in the recently vored Battle Cart® (Don't asked, blame Chester), Filii Impiorum makes their way west-by-southwest, eventually stopping for some rest. That night, Ofni tries scrying on the Dragon. She finds herself in Linberg, in an old dining room where she sees a cloaked Goliath with a wicked great sword that seems to freeze the ground it touches. Assuming him to be the Dragon, Ofni notices that in front of the Dragon are a noble couple with a younger human man wearing a black metallic mask and cloak behind them. The Dragon explains that the couple are behind on payment and that they need to cough up the money now. The nobleman begs for a week to get the coin, which the Dragon calms him down by saying that he wouldn't kill him. The Dragon then points at the man behind the couple, and then says that he will. The masked man then unsheathes a great sword that looks exactly like the Hammer of Dawn MK. II, and kills the two nobles.

As soon as the vision ends, Biri storms off into the woods punching every tree in her way. As she travels through the woods, she eventually finds herself at the edge of the Zemnian Ocean. Taking the moment in, she sits down a questions what she can down, asking Lubo for help. Suddenly, Lubo appears in front of her and explains that this is the sign she was waiting for. Lubo explains that a temple is on an island in the middle of the ocean, and that Biri may learn something that can improve her strength. Biri returns to the group as they talk strategy, she then interrupts them, explaining that she needs to go off on her own for a little bit. Before she leaves, Ofni hands her a stone and explains that it acts like a communicator and says that if anything goes wrong they contact her and vice versa. Biri nods and makes her way back to the beach, as she does she grabs the trees she knocked down and makes a raft. She then hops onto the raft and set sail, not knowing how long it will take.

### Session #40: "Dangerous Dinosaurs / First Day Troubles"

Early the next morning, Biri washes up on the shores of the island before she passes out due to exhaustion. Waking up a few hours later, Biri finds herself in a guest bedroom. Confused, Biri begins to get up and look around only to be interrupted by two monks, one an Elven woman in her late teens and the other an older Human woman in her late forties. The Elf introduces herself as Grace Bronzelight and then introduces the woman as the High Curator of the Order of the Tamed Beast; Safian Lothun. The High Curator then welcomes Biri to the Temple, questioning her on why she was here. Biri explains to the two that she was there to get stronger and improve her skill, the High Curator accepts this reasoning and asks Grace to give Biri a tour of the Temple.

On the tour, Biri familiarizes herself with the Temple, learning of the Courtyard, the Dinning Hall, the Dorms, and lastly the Obstacle Courses. Wanting to see what she can do on the fly, Grace has Biri run through the Novice Obstacle Course, which Biri nails in only two attempts. Afterward, Biri is called to meet with the High Curator in her office, once arriving, the High Curator explains that she has been assigned an Archivist to train her and that she'll meet them after lunch. Once lunch comes, Biri makes her way to the Dining Hall. Biri quickly notices another Dragonborn and decides to go sit with them. The 6 foot 6 inch tall Blue Dragonborn introduces himself as Expositor Tiberinus Lorgar and questions Biri on why she is here, mentioning that there are not many Dragonborn outside of the Freldan Isles. Biri explains that she is an adventurer and that she came here to get stronger, which causes Tiberinus to smile and say that she's in the right place. The two then go on to talk about their homeland, with Biri mentioning that she's from the Dasmafear Clan but not mentioning that she herself is a Dasmafear. Tiberinus explains that he's from the Edhaz-Mullu but that his family left Frelda shortly after he was born.

After lunch, Biri heads to the beach to meet up with her Archivist. Once arriving, she notices Grace standing next to a male human with a sour expression. Grace introduces Biri to Archivist Nel Pyreless which causes the Archivist to look at Biri with disgust. Archivist Nel then forces Biri through torture masked as training, pushing her physical limits and just overall being a jackass. During this training, Biri is forced to run around the island four times. On the fourth lap, she suddenly stops and notices an abandoned looking fortress on the opposite side of the island from the Temple. At first she plans on going in, but suddenly the voice of her uncle Lubo tells her to continue forward and that the "time wasn't right". Making her way back to the Temple, Biri eventually crashes for the night.

The next morning, the rest of Filii Impiorum continue on their journey through the edge of the Forgotten Forest. The group decides to continue on the mission of stoping the Veil Breakers regardless of what Biri said. They then decide to have Ofni use Scrying on Merlin to see if they can get his assistance in their quest, but sadly it doesn't work out as Merlin resist the spell. The group continues forward, with Garret mentioning how the Forgotten Forest isn't as terrifying as Ofni had made it out to be. Suddenly both Zamiel and Garret notices movement in the brush, deciding to continue forward still, the two prepare for battle whilst Ofni takes a nap in order to scry again. As the move, they watch as the movement stops. They keep moving, eventually deciding that whatever was following them had back off. As if right on cue, suddenly two Dire Wolves jumped out of the brush and attacked the two. Zamiel and Garret fought the beast off, leading them to run away. As they ran however, the two notices vibrations throughout the earth. Suddenly from the trees a large lizard gobbles up one of the dire wolves. Since the three have a common enemy, Garret shouts at the wolf to get in the Battle Cart®, which it happily does. The giant lizard monster then begins to attack the cart, rolling it over to its side. Quick to think after just being woken up, Ofni cast Confusion on the creature which causes it to stop completely. With a moment of calm, Garret decides to hop out of the cart and draw the creature before then helping Ofni and Zamiel lift the Battle Cart® back onto its wheels. The three then quickly leave the scene, leaving the lizard to eventually nap out of it and question where its meal went.

After escaping from that creature, Garret decides that they should name it. Zamiel offers up the Draconic word "Rex" meaning King, while Garret offers up the Nkéian word "Tyrannosaurus" meaning tyrant lizard. The two then decided to put the words together, naming the creature the King of the Tyrant Lizards or Tyrannosaurus Rex.

That night, Biri finds herself about to crash in her dorm once again when she is suddenly summoned by the High Curator once more. Tried and a little annoyed, Biri makes her way back to the High Curator's office. Once entering, the High Curator questions Biri on her feeling with the training so far, mentioning that Archivist Nel is a jackass but his methods work. The High Curator then explains that she has a test for Biri and asks her to do one simple thing. Hit her. As hard as Biri can. Biri tries too, but is suddenly flipped over the High Curator's shoulder and thrown straight into her desk. The High Curator then tells her once again, hit her as hard as she can. Biri tries again this time tapping into her rage but a similar result plays out, this then causes her to attempt to use Archivist Nel's method of "focusing regardless of paid". However, this just leaves Biri open to the High Curator's attack. Biri suddenly feels herself flashback through all of her memories, after arriving back in the present, the High Curator suddenly asks if she'll fail this test like she failed to save her son. Biri snaps, completely throwing out her reasoning and just attacking, however, even with the overwhelming force the High Curator simply dodges and counters her. The High Curator then goes on, shouting at Biri that all she's ever done is failed to save people, mentioning how she failed to prevent Riros' death and that he has been clearly hiding his trauma from the group. She also mentions Odysseus and his condition, explaining that she's seen conditions like it before and that he's dying slowly all because Biri couldn't save him.

Biri keeps getting thrown to the floor with the High Curator constantly demanding for her to land a single punch. Biri can barely stand before she's shoved into the group again. The High Curator then scoffs at her and demands that she leave the Temple with whatever dignity she has left. Unable to stand, the voice of Maxwell begins to haunt her asking why she is still fighting. Biri explains to the voice that she's fighting because she has to, because she refuses to lose someone else, because she won't lose another family, never again. The voice then suddenly begins to empower her, telling her to get back up and keep fighting. Biri slowly rises, blood dripping from her snout. With a heavy breath she stands. The High Curator scoffs at her, asking if this is her second wind or her dying gasp. Biri ignores it, and pushes forward. The attacks still won't land, but she doesn't care. Hit after hit after hit, she keeps standing, fighting with everything. The High Curator then asks the same question, "Why are you fighting?" Biri doesn't answer with word, she answers with fury, a swell of power fills her gut, a spark of perseverance pushing her forward. In a single punch a bright silver light explodes from Biri's fist as she lands a punch right on the High Curator's face. An explosion of energy sends the High Curator flying out her office window. Before she falls to her death she's quickly grabs the window's edge before pulling herself up. The two fall to the ground exhausted, the High Curator then agrees to help Biri obtain that power, no matter the cost.

### Session #41: "Fortuitous Encounter / Draconic History: 101"

After agreeing to help Biri obtain new power, High Curator Safian exhaustedly stands up and makes her way over to a hidden wine cabinet. Pulling out two bottles, she passes one over to Biri before completely chugging the other one. Biri does the same, letting the alcohol dull the pain if only a little. After finishing their drinks, Safian mentions how the power the Biri is seeking may already be within her grasp. Biri questions this, causing Safian to explain that it is not strength that Biri lacks, but control. Safian explains that Biri has used her rage as an amplifier but uses it in a way that brings exhaustion and can easily be over powered by an equal force. Safian then goes on to question Biri on the silver light she saw exploding when Biri hit her. Biri explains that she doesn't know what it was and that she didn't really notice it until Safian pointed it out. Safian ponders this, suggesting that the sliver power may be from Biri's past. Biri points out her Silver Drachma, asking if it could be related. Safian doesn't have an answer, simply suggesting that they pick back up in the morning. Before leaving, Safian suddenly stops Biri. Safian mentions that she knows who she is and that the Empire and deemed her a war criminal. Safian explains that the Order of the Tamed Beast is independent from the Empire's rulings so Biri shouldn't be afraid of revealing her identity, with that, Biri heads back to her dorm room. Once entering, Biri grabs the Communication Stone and contacts Filii Impiorum.

Meanwhile, hours after escaping the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Filii Impiorum find themselves traveling quietly through the night. Suddenly the Comm Stone begins to glow and vibrate, causing Garret to grab it. The light from the stone projects a 2D screen that Garret's points to one of the walls of the Cart, as the screen comes alive the group is suddenly met face to face with Biri. The two sides share their stories, afterward Garret and Ofni explain that they're making their way to hopefully take out the Bull, which causes Biri to get a bit annoyed. Garret however points out that they are at war and that they can't just wait to take on the Veil Breakers and the Enlightened Council. Biri eventually understands and warns the group to be careful. Afterward, the two sides say their farewells before the Comm Stone powers down. Now in the silence of the Cart, and with Ofni resting while Zamiel is driving, Garret decides to talk to his newly added companion; Ruffles the Dire Wolf. Garret notices that Ruffles can seemingly understand Common, however, he speaks a different language known as Rufflese. Garret begins to decipher the language, knowing that one day he'll be able to speak with his doggy.

Early the next morning, Biri wakes up and finds herself completely sore. She slowly makes her way to the Courtyard, where she begins to spar with High Curator Safian. During the spar, Safian explains that Biri must learn to control her anger and release it at the appropriate time, she then demonstrates this by using the most powerful move a Monk of the Tamed Beast can use; the One-Inch Punch. Immediately Biri collapses to the floor before being beat senselessly. After waking up, Safian sends Biri out to find Expositor Tiberinus and gain his insight on Biri's gift. Biri makes her way to the Expositor's office, where she sits down and questions him on the history of the Draconic Clans.

Tiberinus explains that the Draconic Clans were created by the Dragon survivors of the Great Dragon Purge. The Great Dragon Purge was a period in Nordinic history where Dragons were hunted down to near extinction within the Realm of Nordin. By the start of the Great Collapse, only five Dragons remained, those being: Hidnai the Gifted One, Tucan the Sky-Slicer, Eratian the Redeemer, Edhaz-Mullu the Giver of Life, and Dasmafear the Silver Serpent. They collectively were known as the Eldest Five, and that they remained hidden during the Great Collapse. After the Resurgence, the Eldest Five made their way west to the Freldan Isles and eventually settled in the Dragon Peaks. Afterward, the decided to create a new race to symbolize a new beginning, this led to the creation of the Dragonborn race, however to do this they had to sacrifice their life force and pass on. Biri questions this, pointing out the fact that there are still Dragons and that she fought and killed one. Tiberinus explains that there were Dragon in Nkéi as well as Nordin, every giant lizard that breaths an element and is generally feared is descended from Nkéi while every Dragonborn is descended from the Eldest Five. Tiberinus then goes on to explain that in some legends the Eldest Five worried for the safety of the Dragonborn with threats like Humanity and the Tieflings also being present on the island, so they gifted a single family with a unique power that would assist them in their time of need. The gifted families would then take on the name of their benefactor as their surname and would rule over then newly established clans. Realizing what Tiberinus is saying, Biri questions the connection of her Silver Drachma to this ancient gift. Tiberinus hypothesis' that the Drachma merely conduit for the power within Biri and that it might be able to be used to tap into that power once again. Renewed with vigor, Biri leaves Tiberinus' Office, ready to open a new floodgate of strength.

Meanwhile, Filii Impiorum awakes and continues on their journey. Garret and Ofni come to an agreement to scry on the Bull next as they mostly understand where the others are. Using the spell, the two see that the Bull and a Halfling woman are in a forest very similar to the Forgotten Forest. The woman seems to be searching for something while the Bull seems to want to leave as soon as possible. The vision then ends and the two begin to question if they could run into them in the near future. As time passes by silence once again fills the Cart, Ofni then asks Garret for help on a hypothetical situation. Ofni asks what if you wanted to tell someone something but your to afraid to do it as it could ruin your friendship with them but their eventually going to find out so you just sit there screaming in silence as its a lose-lose situation. Garret immediately presses her on it, questioning what crimes she's done. Ofni defends herself, but does a poor job at it, eventually telling Garret that she'll explain later.

A few hours pass before Zamiel suddenly speaks up, telling Garret that he wants to see whatever he's seeing. Garret looks out into the forest and sees a temporary wooden fort sitting directly in front of them, blocking their way forward. Quick to think, the group move the cart over to the trees to hopefully hide it. The group then splits up, with Ofni scouting from above as a bird, Zamiel remaining in the cart just in case, and Garret sneaking on in to the fort to find out what's happening. Entering the fort, Garret sees a bunch of commoners digging away. Garret turns invisible and makes his way further in, allowing him to see that they are digging up a Foreclaimer Vault, similar to the one where they found the Archipelago Lost Light and lost Mace. Seeing a command tent, Garret sneakily enters and finds himself overhearing a conversation between the Bull and the Halfling woman from the scrying spell. The two talk about how they believe Filii Impiorum is still trapped in the Amnesiac Mines and that they must hurry up with the excavation. Hearing all he needs and deciding that the three of them could take these guys on, Garret heads back out to the excavation site and begins to manipulate the commoners into attacking each other. After starting a fight, Garret makes his way back to Zamiel and calls down Ofni, the three then make their way into the fort ready for a fight.

As soon as they enter, the Bull locks eyes with them. Before they fight, the Bull reveals Zamiel and Garret that Ofni had been lying to them. He explains that Ofni hadn't left the Veil Breakers long ago but very recently and that she is the reason the Biri's son Maxwell is alive today. Not caring for his boast, Garret cuts him off explaining that he doesn't really give a shit. Annoyed, the Bull unsheathes his great sword and the two sides ready for battle.

### Session #42: "The Bull’s Labyrinth"

The two sides stand at an impasse. Tension slowly building as they both ready themselves for the oncoming fight. Then suddenly, the tension is broken by the Bull, who stabs his great sword into the ground and begins to cast a spell. Blue magical energy admits from the ground, forming into smoke before circling the two group like a vortex. Filii Impiorum suddenly feels themselves lift off the ground and fall back down in a brief moment, similar to the feeling of teleportation. The group then finds themselves in a black void with blue light emanating from the horizon, the floor being made of metal colored like stone. Before they can even question what happened, they feel a rumbling from beneath the ground. Zamiel and Garret quickly jump to the left, and watch as large metallic walls suddenly shoot upwards into the sky. The walls separate the three adventures and seem to only give them one path forward. Realizing they're in a maze, the three individually make their way forward, hoping to escape and find their allies.

Garret immediately attempts to climb the wall, only for it to shock him as soon as he makes contact. Garret then finds himself at many crossroads, questioning if the maze might be altering itself to impede their progress. But after checking his starting point and realizing nothing had changed, he decides to go with the tried and truth mention of hugging the left wall until he escapes. As he makes his way forward, dodging traps and checking walls to see if there are any secret passage ways, he eventually sets off a trap but notices it didn't cause anything to happen. Immediately skeptical, Garret attempts to step off the platform but finds that he can't. Every attempt to get off of it seems to teleport him back to the point that he stepped on the platform. Stuck, Garret begins looking for any way to get off the platform.

Meanwhile, Zamiel finds himself in a similar situation. As he travels through the labyrinth, he travels down many passageways and only finds traps. Beginning to question if the labyrinth is creating an endless turning left loop, Zamiel searches for a right turn and is surprised by one which immediately leads to a dead end. Zamiel decides to check the dead end, ignoring the three other times the dead ends almost kill him with traps. As he checks the wall, he feels himself getting teleported. Deciding to check out the other side, Zamiel is teleported deeper into the labyrinth and continues forward. Deciding to skip the extra passageways tethering off of the main one, Zamiel eventually find himself in a 30-by-50 foot room filled with natural flowing smoke. Not seeing any new passageway, Zamiel begins to question his next move when he is suddenly interrupted by a voice. From the smoke, the Bull appears, revealing himself to be the origin of the voice. Zamiel prepares for battle, but the Bull stops him by telling him he's only there to speak.

The Bull reveals to Zamiel that he is the great-grandson of Ranmin Stonegift, the man that betrayed Izlema and killed him. He then begins to ask moral and philosophical questions to Zamiel, asking questions like "How much wrong can a person do before they can't be forgiven?" or "Does he believe that he and his group are the good guys?" Zamiel answers by explaining that a person's situation must be know before they can receive judgement and that he himself is not worthy to judge as he has done bad things in the name of his love ones safety, also explaining that he doesn't see Filii Impiorum as the good guys in the story, nor does he see them as the bad guys and vice versa with the Veil Breakers, that both group believe in what their doing and have reasons for it. The Bull then smiles, not viciously or wickedly, but with relief. He then leaves, giving Zamiel one last phrase of advice. *"The line between light and dark is so very thin, make sure you know what side you're on."* Before he then vanishes into the smoke, with the smoke then dissipating soon after. Once the smoke clears, Zamiel sees a new passageway leading forward. He starts forwards, but then notices a level on the wall next to him that wasn't there before. Noticing that it seems to be active, Zamiel decides to flip it. Nothing happens, which causes Zamiel to just shrug and continue forward.

Zamiel makes his way down the long hallway, thinking on the words of the Bull, before he suddenly arrives at a crossroads. Right before he can make a decision however, he suddenly hears the sound of hooves clicking against metal. Ofni then comes rushing from the left hall and notices Zamiel, she screams at him to run before continuing down the right hall. Zamiel starts to question but is immediately interrupted by the feeling of vibrations and the sound of something big. Zamiel quickly flows behind Ofni, making their way down another long hallway whilst being chased by what looks to be another Dinosaur. The creature is similar in size and shape as the T-Rex, however, it's scales are bright white, arms are much longer, and it seemed to be drooling a blue liquid that burnt the floor as soon as it touched it. As they ran, Zamiel noticed that the maze had a ceiling for the first time and that it was rapidly descending upon them. Zamiel and Ofni reach the end of the hallway just as the ceiling crashes down on the Dinosaurs, sending an explosion of blood hurling down the hallway and covering the two in it. Zamiel attempts to speak with Ofni, but finds her completely shellshocked staring at the now newly created bloodstained wall. Zamiel then grabs her shoulder, which cause her to snap out of it. Ofni then gives her side of the story, explaining that she had been fighting monster the entire time. Once Zamiel explains that all he did was walk forward and that was about it, Ofni passes by him, muttering something about favoritism.

Back with Garret, who had attempted everything from using the spell Misty Step to trying to rip the platform right from under him with a crowbar, Garret suddenly notices the platform raise back to its original state. Concluding that it was the crowbar's doing, Garret triumphantly continues forward. Arriving at another crossroads between going left or straight, Garret continues trusting in his mention and heads left. He is immediately stopped when he dodges out of the way of Ofni. Realizing that they have reunited, the group share their prospectives and concludes that forwards is the last option. Making their way forwards, Filii Impiorum finds themselves in a ruined church, with statues of gods they don't recognize craved into the walls on either side of them. Standing at the other end of the church on top of a podium is the Bull, who wait for the group to approach. Seeing them together, the Bull asks if they are ready. Zamiel attempts to reason with the Bull, questioning why they have to fight. The Bull simply sighs and unsheathes his weapon. Once again, the two groups find themselves at a stand-off. This time though, there won't be any spells to delay the inevitable. The battle begins, and it's clear that the Bull isn't messing around. Zamiel blinds him with the Light spell, allowing him and Garret to attack him without worry of his retaliation. However, even without his sight, the Bull is able to land a few blows. But in the end, he was outnumbered and eventually defeated. Zamiel swept his legs out from under him before razing his "Big Betsy" to smash his head in. Before landing the final blow, the Bull smiles at Zamiel once again, still with no malice in his face. The Bull's head is then caved in, and the first member of the Enlightened Council is marked off.

After searching the body, Garret and Zamiel comment that Ofni will be telling them the full story, which she promises to do once they get out of the labyrinth. As if on cue, the blue smoke swirls around them once more, and the group finds themselves back in the Forgotten Forest seemingly only a few moments after their battle began. Witnessing the ruins of the fort, the group notices a halfling woman crawling away from the brunt ashes of the command tent. Garret quickly grabs the woman and ties her up, with Ofni soon revealing that the Halfling is the Scholar. Garret and Zamiel then begin to question her while Ofni gets the cart ready.

The two learn that the plan of the Veil Breakers is not only to destroy the world but everything, complete omnicide, and then rebuild the world from ground up. In their minds, they are causing one big massive disaster that the next world will be able to learn from. Confused, the two begin to question the Scholar on why she can morally support this, but the Scholar cuts them off explaining that she doesn't think morally, but logically. To her, it's more logically to follow the Shepherd's plan as the overall sin amount will be far less than the sin amount of the current world were it to continue, explaining that the current world has infinite sin if left unchecked. Garret and Zamiel argue with this philosophy, but the Scholar cuts them off again by explaining that they're wasting their time by arguing about her philosophy instead of gaining useful information. The two refocus, and ask what their plan is exactly. The Scholar reveals that they plan ascend the Shepherd into godhood, confused Garret questions how, and the Scholar reveals that they plan to use the Light or more commonly known as Excalibur. The Scholar quickly mentions that Excalibur is only part of the process, but before she can continue she is cut off by an arrow flying into her head. Garret and Zamiel look behind them and see a woman with a bow an arrow in the trees. Before they can move, they watch as the woman smashes a crystal and disappear in a blue light. Connecting the dots, the two agree that the woman must have been the Lion and that she was sent to silence the Scholar. The two then quickly make their way back to the cart, explaining to Ofni what happened. They decide to leave the body behind as they questioned if the Scholar's soul would even be willing to be brought back to life. With two of the Enlightened Council down and five remaining, Filii Impiorum hops back onto the Battle Cart® and continues forward into the depths of the Forgotten Forest.

### Session #43: "Druid's Truth / Imperial Ambush"

Three days after the Battle of the Labyrinth, Filii Impiorum continues on their journey. However, awkward silence hangs over the group after the revelations revealed by The Scholar. Zamiel, deciding to finally break the silence, asks Ofni to explain her entire story and to tell the truth. Not wanting to make anything worse, Ofni explains that most of what she had told Zamiel was true. She originally came from Everlare, which was destroyed during the Purge. She joined the Veil Breakers soon after wanting to gain revenge against the Empire. However, she lied about how long she had been separated from the group. Instead of it being five years, it had only been a few months. Ofni explained that she lied to the others because she didn't want them to think she was working with the Veil Breakers as a spy.

Garret, now entering the conversation, questions why both The Bull and The Scholar seemed to know Ofni. Ofni explains that the Veil Breakers don't just let anyone join, they test them and a majority of those that do get in are only minor members, used as henchmen among other things. When Ofni joined The Shepherd noticed that she had the ability to use magic, but not only that, she had a gift that nobody else had. Ofni explains that she's what is known as a Fate-Weaver, an entity that can see the strands of fate & destiny and manipulate them. Ofni explains that only three Fate-Weaver's have ever existed, those being the Titan Lord of Time, Nimway, and herself. She clarifies that Fate-Weaver's work within a hierarchy, with her powers being overshadowed by Nimway's. For example, Ofni can't manipulate an interpretation of the Prophecy of the Twilight's End as it was created by a being with a higher power. However, she does have the power to manipulate events to lead a higher being to make their own manipulation.

She explains that she was the one that manipulated the creation of the Prophecy, her Fate-Weaving allowed Garret and Biri to survive the shipwreck and lead them to meeting Zamiel. Confused, Garret questions why Nimway couldn't just manipulate the prophecy herself. Ofni explains that Fate-Weaving has rules and that its best used through a mortal. She explains that mortals are the only beings that are able to change their fate & destiny, and that other creatures such as the Gods can't. Because of this, while Nimway can create a prophecy, she can't change it as only mortals can find the interpretation. She explains that this reasoning is why the Ancient Celestials feared the mortals, as they could alter their fates and the fates of the Gods on a whim.

Meanwhile at the Temple of the Tamed Beast, Biri continues her training with High Curator Safian. Safian notes that the silver power Biri used has become dormant once more, she then concludes that tapping into the trauma of Biri's past might activate it as it did before. Understanding, Biri gives Safian permission to delve into her memories.

Biri finds herself taken back 33 years, back to the capital city of the Dasmafear Clan; Orin. With it being nearly a year after the events of the Twilight Cycle, Biri finds herself being brought to the Court, the manor of the High Chief. The Young Biri is obliviously confused and paranoid, believing that she must have been caught for being the daughter of the previous High Chief; Xolocke Dasmafear. Eventually, Biri is escorted by some guards to the main hall of the Court where she meets High Chief Bulatros Xadrom and a dwarf named Formal Emberheart. Biri overhears High Chief Xadrom and Formal arguing about her, Xadrom clearly seems concerned that Xolocke had a daughter while Formal informs him that she isn't a threat. As soon as Biri enters the hall, Xadrom makes his exit, allowing Biri and Formal to speak. Formal offers to take Biri with him to the city of New Tintagel, which Biri eventually accepts.

The vision changes to Biri and Formal training, in which Formal defeats Biri seemingly without trying. After their training session, Biri heads off on her first job as a mercenary. Formal tells her to be safe and stay focused. Biri soon arrives at a village south of the Dragon Peaks. There, she finds the village completely on fire due to the act of some bandits who are celebrating their victory. Biri fights and kills the bandits, but before she leaves she finds out that one baby had survived the bandits raid, the baby's mother tells Biri that the boy's name is Maxwell and asks her to take care of him before dying.

The vision then changes to Biri and Maxwell training, but is soon interrupted when Formal enters and offers Biri another job. Maxwell, angered by the fact that Biri was ready to leave in a moments notice after only spending a little time with him, runs off. Formal warns Biri that she must spend time with Maxwell, going as far as to offer Biri money, but Biri declines. The vision then changes to Maxwell's death, with Biri reliving the moment for a second time before finally the vision ends returning both Biri and Safian to the present.

As the two return to the present suddenly the Temple is attacked by the Imperial Crusaders. Biri with the help of Safian, Tiberinus, and Grace Bronzelight, is able to escape. With the use of Tiberinus' magical dragon familiar, Biri heads towards the rest of Filii Impiorum.

Meanwhile, Filii Impiorum arrives on the outskirts of the village of Fellkav, when they suddenly notice a giant glowing blue dragon appear in the sky. When it lands, they suddenly notice that Biri is the one who dismounts from it. The two sides unite once again and begin to exchange stories. At the end of the exchange, Ofni stops everyone and reveals to Biri that she was the one that resurrected Maxwell. In a moment, Biri almost kills Ofni but is slightly calmed down by Garret. Biri heads into the cart, clearly enraged at Ofni. Ofni sadly sits up in the front of the cart with Zamiel, commenting on how she once again only caused pain.

### Session #44: "Failed Reunion"

Filii Impiorum makes their way into the village of Fellkav with tensions still high. However, they don't stay long as they realize they are close to Cyira, which means they are close to finding Riros and the Mythwriters. Making haste, they travel to the village of Cyira only to find it completely abandoned by the looks of it. They travel into the hideout that they saw in Ofni's scrying spell finding it similarly abandoned expect for a single journal.

The journal belonged to Riros which seemingly detailed part of his journey after the declaration of the War. Riros explains how he met up with the Mythwriters and how they began to work together in order to hopefully find Filii Impiorum and end the war. Riros then goes on to explain how they noticed the Imperial Crusaders being called to a fortress within the Berksönee Woodland, and with no other leads the Mythwriters had decided to go check it out.

Filii Impiorum, now in a similar situation, prepares to head to the fortress in order to finally meet up with Riros. As they leave the hideout, the group finds out that their Battle Cart® had been spotted by two Imperial Crusaders and that they were inspecting it. Filii Impiorum quickly dispatched the two guards but sadly couldn’t stop them from shooting a flare. Realizing that trouble was beginning to surround them, the group quickly packed up and made their way towards the fortress.

### Session #45: "The Raid of the Fortress"

Once arriving at the outskirts of the fortress, the group decides to plan a raid. Biri and Zamiel would attack from above, thanks to Zamiel's wings, while Garret and Ofni would go below though the sewers. As the two broken off and made their way into the fortress, Ofni confines in Garret, questioning if she did the right thing by telling Biri the truth. Garret reassures her that it was the right decision, and that even if Biri never trusted Ofni again it would work out in the long run; Ofni thanks Garret and the two press onward.

Eventually, they arrive inside the fortress. Garret quickly puts on a disguise while Ofni uses her magic to turn invisible. Garret makes his way upwards eventually finding the prison cells, which are being guarded by two soldiers. As Garret listens to the soldiers he suddenly hears the familiar voice of Riros Fullbrew giving the soldiers short and quick answers to their questions. Garret reveals himself to guards and attempts to deceive them into believing that he's a captain and that he must speak with the prisoner in private. The deception works, but the soldiers refuse to let the prisoner go alone with him. With no other option, Garret quickly dispatches the two by shoving Shawshank & Redemption into their jaws, killing them instantly.

Meanwhile, Biri and Zamiel make their way above the fortress. Biri drops down, slaughtering soldiers left and right. Zamiel then completely topples the tower in the center of the fortress using his divine smite. Biri and Zamiel then slowly make their way around the fortress, killing any who stand in their way. Back with Garret, Garret frees Riros from his cell, notices how horrible he looks. Ofni then appears, filling Garret and Riros in on what's happening above. The three then make their way up the remains of the tower in order to meet up with the others. The group reunites, with Riros explaining how he was separated from the Mythwriters and didn't know where they were. Ofni offers to scry on them in order to find them, which the others agree on doing.

Ofni scrys on the Mythwriters, finding them trapped in a cage beneath an area with the sounds of a crowd cheering for death. The Mythwriters seem to be questioning their ability to survive but suddenly, Riros speaks up in the cell with them and reaffirms that they will survive. The group quickly realizes that the Riros present with them is a fake, but it's too late. Fake Riros suddenly stabs Biri in the chest with a poison knife before quickly running back down into the fortress. Filii Impiorum chases after the imposter, but are unable to catch them once they jump down into a cave system that seemingly runs for miles. With no other choice, the group journeys into the depth of the caves with their goal once again out of reach.