Heart of Dolon

## The Heart of Dolon

A Heart of Sorrowful Power

> "*Borne of Dolon's madness and grief was an unimaginably strong battery. It was a heart of such sorrowful power that it could give life to even the Great Colossus*"
> ― Excerpt from "The Heart of Dolon"
>
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**The Heart of Dolon** is an incredibly powerful relic created by the ancient Dwarves, the Dvergr. It was devised during the War of Relias' Bane as a power source for The Great Colossus, a super-weapon intended to destroy the Eladrin. The Colossus was massive and immensely strong, to the point it was believed invincible, but the Dvergr could find no reliable source of power for the behemoth. Following the Battle of Knogon, in which his sons Hlothar and Feim were slain, High King Dolon III was consumed by sadness and rage. This coalesced into a madness which consumed Dolon and his thirst for revenge upon the Eladrin was unmatched. Determined to see them destroyed, he permitted Klanussus to rip out his own heart to be used as a power source. The divine blood which ran through Dolon's veins, remnants of the god Dumathoin, were enough to power The Colossus. Yet Dolon's madness also drove the machine insane and it was uncontrollable by the Dvergr, killing as many of them as it did Eladrin. Eventually an alliance between Dolon's nephew, the new High King Hirnnim, and Crown Prince Relias of the Eladrin, managed to tear the Heart from The Colossus at great cost. It was locked away in a vault under Harken and intended to be lost forever. In 1432 the Heart was uncovered and control over it sparked a war in Nentir. This conflict, and the Heart itself, is the centerpiece of A Heart of Sorrowful Power.

# History of the Heart

## The War of Relias' Bane

The origins of the Heart of Dolon date back to the War of Relias' Bane. The war marked the end of the Age of Peace between the Dvergr and Eladrin, sending the two into a bloody power struggle of ever increasing proportions. As the severity mounted and the Dvergr came to realize they were not winning, their High King Dolon III contracted the master engineer Klanussus to create a superweapon that could conclusively win the war. Klanussus drew upon multiple Sacred Technologies abandoned on Tasyurai from the Dawn War to create his masterpiece: The Colossus. Despite its immense potential, Klanussus could not find a battery of significant strength to power his creation.

## Creation of The Heart

Thus The Colossus remained incomplete until the Battle of Knogon. There the Eladrin won a major victory and even slew the Dvergr princes Hlothar and Feim, Dolon's sons. Possessed by an insatiable drive for vengeance, Dolon grew ever more grief-stricken and wrathful as the war continued to fail to provide retribution on the Eladrin. Eventually he was so consumed by madness that Dolon offered his own heart to Klanussus as a battery. The Dvergr kings were all decedents for the former god Dumathoin, and none possessed a more pure bloodline than the High Kings. The divine power within Dolon's heart was sufficient enough to awaken The Colossus, likely also activating the ancient Dawn War technologies that were designed to be controlled by the gods.

Although Klanussus initially opposed his king's self sacrifice, he was eventually convinced by the mad Dolon. Klanussus wove intricate metal into the heart, transforming it into a marvel of clockwork which would continue to beat eternal. He then inlaid the heart to the chest of The Colossus and gave it life. Yet Klanussus did not factor one thing into his plan, that the dead king's fury still pumped inside the heart to the same extent as the divine power. Upon awakening, The Colossus rampaged out of control. Klanussus was first to be slain as the mountainside ruptured and the titan broke free. Soon both the city Hamdorn and its Eladrin besiegers were wiped out.

## Battle of The Colossus

Destruction rained on both the Eladrin and Dvergr armies, with the Eladrin King Rasgalarath among those killed. Both sides, faced with possible annihilation by the unstoppable mountain-sized machine, made a truce. Dolon's nephew Hirnnim had assumed the position of High King and was approached by the presumptive Eladrin heir, Relias. Although Relias had inadvertently sparked the war by stealing a silver necklace from Inverness, the horrors that resulted from his actions had wizened the young prince and he now sought a level of repentance by allying with the Dvergr to destroy their doom. While Hirnnim did not forget the many transgressions of the Eladrin, he recognized that Dolon's unfettered search for vengeance was what led to their current predicament and begrudgingly agreed to the alliance.

Relias and Hirnnim quickly realized they could not destroy The Colossus by force of arms and instead determined the only way to defeat it would be to rip the Heart of Dolon from its chest. Many lives were lost in this endeavor, but it eventually succeeded and The Colossus was disabled. Its body was buried in the depths of Mount Flastoven.

## Sealing of The Heart

Once the Heart of Dolon had been separated from The Colossus, it was sent to be locked away. The point where the vault to contain it was constructed remained a long kept secret until the 1400s AON, when it was discovered under Harken. Within the vault the Heart was locked beneath a series of wards concocted by the most powerful Dvergr and Eladrin ritual casters. The spell was so powerful that the only way to disable it and retrieve the Heart was through a specially crafted magical key that was produced at the time of the incantations. Only this single key could unlock the vault's protections and allow the Heart to be taken. Possession of the Key was never made known and it too was hidden away.

In addition to the physical protections placed on the Heart of Dolon, a wider spell was also set to help prevent anyone from trying to acquire it. All information regarding the existence of The Heart and its history was obscured by the wards so that it would be illegible. The minds of those who constructed the vault and preformed the ritual were wiped so no information regarding it could slip out. Thus under such precautions the Heart and the terrible power it possessed were forgotten for thousands of years....

# Campaign Appearances

## Rediscovery

The rediscovery of the Heart of Dolon is a central plot point in the campaign A Heart of Sorrowful Power. The name of the campaign is even a reference to this. The exact circumstances which led to the rediscovery of the Heart of Dolon are unclear. Scurrio the Mouse Prince claims to have first uncovered the secret vault under Harken and spread what information he uncovered about the Heart to cause others to open the vault for him unknowingly. Kopu Keiku successfully deciphered one of the books on the Heart of Dolon to both learn of its origins and eventually determine the vault's location. Rob Boss also somehow learnt of the Heart and its power. The Party uncovered one of the cursed Heart of Dolon books in the High Library. Velbard the Wizard helped break the curse and decipher the book for them, giving The Party insight into the motivations of their enemies. Notably Zander Taxe also discovered Relias' Bane in the Marldowne Caves, which was what led The Party to the book in the first place.

## The Bloodreavers' Search

The New Nerathian Empire, and the Bloodreavers before it, sought after the Key to the Heart of Dolon. They used their considerable manpower and reach in Nentir but were unable to find it. Their search for the Key was prompted by Rob Boss, who apparently supported the Bloodreavers in part to use them to locate the Key. Much of this was unknown, and The Party only learned of it after obtaining papers from the Red Thegn Pirates instructing them to send the Key to Emperor Krand should it be discovered. Despite their efforts, the New Empire was destroyed before they could locate the Key. It is unknown if the Bloodreavers knew of the vault in Harken, as they were in contact with a Goblin clan unknowingly living in the upper entrance to the vault.

## House Pyrostar's Search

Kopu Keiku's incursion into the Nentir Vale was for the sole reason to find the Key and acquire the Heart of Dolon. This information was only known among the upper echelon of House Pyrostar and Kopu's direct followers. It was Viscount Sansho's operation around Ferrelroost which finally located the Key. Kopu Keiku planned to use Heart to reawaken The Colossus and instigate the start of a new age in Nerath. This was ostensibly to bring an end to the various conflicts of the region, particularly the blood feud between House Pyrostar and House Arcticstar. House Pyrostar was never able to utilize the Key on account of it being stolen by Domitian the Ninth Hand and Kopu being slain shortly after. In spite of their widespread defeat, Hotto Sosu took over command of the remaining forces and continued in attempts to acquire the Heart. Hotto Sosu's motivations differed greatly from his father's, desiring to use the Heart and Colossus to destroy House Artcticstar and the Dancing Spirits, in direct opposition to the original goal. Because of this the Shichimi Clan revolted against Hotto and supported the Alliance of Hammerfast.

## The Exalted and The Key

Domitian the Ninth Hand stole the Key from House Pyrostar, apparently without having knowledge of its true importance. He did know of the Heart and that the Key would allow one to retrieve it, but considered both equally valuable as artifacts of beauty tainted by their existence on the otherwise "gross and uncivilized" Tasyurai. He was later revealed to be working with his sister Celine to acquire the Heart as a power source for a device that would transport them back to Hestavar. Although they briefly succeeded, the Exalted were quickly attacked by Mice of Ghimmer, who overwhelmed them and stole the Heart. After this the Exalted were apprehended by the Alliance of Hammerfast and their forces neutralized.

## The Mice and The Vault

Scurrio and the Mouse Kingdom apparently uncovered the vault of the Heart long before any other faction. Despite determining the existence of the Heart and the potential one would have with it, they had no means to enter the vault. For this reason the mice intentionally spread information about it in the hopes that some other faction would open the vault. According to their plan the mice would then attack and take the Heart for themselves. The plan ultimately failed when Rob Boss was the first to reach the Heart and easily overpowered the mice. After regrouping, Scurrio returned and successfully stole the Heart from the Exalted of Erathis in Alton, only to lose it to The Party during the battle of Ghimmer Peak. Suffering major losses in the battle, including that of The Mouse King, the mice were incapable of continuing their plots and they retreated. It is notable that many of the factions searching for the Heart may have been doing so as a result of the information disseminated by the mice.

## Rob Boss' Search

It is unknown where Bob Ross learned of the Heart and its potential combined with The Colossus. It is most likely that he did not learn of it from the mice, as Rob Boss already knew of the Heart when he first appeared in Tasyurai atop Thunderspire. Bob Ross's original motivations were the attempts to 'paint' a better world, having seen both the beauty of the Feywild and the ugly realty of life on Tasyurai. Rob Boss believed that with the Colossus as a 'giant paintbrush' he could forcibly reshape the world like a painting, making it as perfect and beautiful as his artwork. After getting hold of the Key and opening the vault, Rob Boss was the first to take the Heart. However, he was unable to bypass the Deep Gates of Dir Simafl and thus reach The Colossus. In the meantime The Party, in conjunction with the Hammerguard, Exalted of Erathis, Shichimi Clan, and Rat Kingdom, stormed Rob Boss's hideout in Naerlast and stole the Heart (although the Exalted quickly made off with it). After relocating the Dunmer-Lake, Rob Boss continued to plot and build his forces. He eventually attacked Hammerfast, capturing Joseph Runebrok but failing to take the Heart from Archibald Mk.II. With Joseph Bob Ross learned the path past the Deep Gate through the Ruptured Mountain, but he was defeated by The Party before being able to use this information.

It is later revealed that the evil 'Rob Boss' persona that Bob Ross had created in his search for the Heart had gained sentience and survived the battle with the Party. This corrupted vestige had been implanted into the Heart itself during the attack on Hammerfast, taking control of the Archibald MK.II and steering it to The Colossus. Rob Boss succeeded in awakening the Colossus and using his power to corrupt it, intent now in truly molding the world into a vile hellscape described as 'beautiful' by the Dark Lord. However the spirit of Archibald still present in the Heart, combined with the valiant efforts of The Party, destroyed the awakened colossus. The Heart now resides trapped in its locked inner compartments deep below Mount Flastoven.

## Archibald Mk II

Gillbob the Tinkerer, the Tor Clan, and the Cult of Mechanus came to take interest in the Heart of Dolon as well, but for differing reasons than most others. They planned to use the Heart to construct a living automaton of Archibald Torsson, known as Archibald Mk.II. Vincens Elprath initially envisions using The Heart as a power source to advance the City of Hammerfast into the future but later supports the Archibald Mk. II plan, adding in the practical use of Archibald Mk II as a permanent steward over the Heart and method of tracking its location. Both groups tasked The Party within retrieving the Heart to keep it safe from those with more evil intentions. In truth Vincens was secretly working for Rob Boss and planned to merely hand the Heart over to the Dark Lord once The Party acquired it. Though Vincens was thwarted, ironically his false plan was still put into motion with Archibald Mk.II becoming living steward over the Heart. Unfortunately Rob Boss would ultimately corrupt the Archibald Mk.II and remove the Heart from it. In the end the plan still succeeded, as the spirit of Archibald fought Rob Boss for control of The Colossus, allowing it to be defeated.

## House Eveningfall

House Eveningfall was officially tasked with guarding knowledge of the Heart from those who would exploit it for their own gain. However the house was nearly entirely wiped out by Rob Boss, preventing them from interfering with his plans. This also paved the way for many factions to learn of the Heart uncontested and sparked the war for its control. Ezrath Eveningfall was the last surviving member of the house and set out with the duty of defeating Rob Boss and all others claiming the Heart so as to restore it to the rightful stewardship under him and his house. After witnessing the events of the war Ezrath eventually decided it was better if the Heart was destroyed. He convinced The Party and the Tor Clan of this course, but ultimately failed due to the unforeseen corruption of Archibald Mk.II by Rob Boss.

## The Party's Search

The Party sought the Key and the Heart for various reasons. These range from personal vendettas against Rob Boss to being contracted by Lady Clodese to do so. In all cases their motivation was primarily to prevent other factions from using the Heart, which led them on a path of destroying it or at least stopping it from falling into others' hands. The Party came close to acquiring the Heart twice, once in the Vault where they were slightly outpaced by Rob Boss, and again in Naerlast where it was quickly stolen by the Exalted of Erathis. The Party later aided the Exalted in nearly escaping Tasyurai with the Heart at Alton, only to be foiled again by the Mice of Ghimmer, who then stole it. Following their arduous journey The Party finally managed to get their hands on the Heart again after prying it from the mice as Ghimmer Peak.

Once in control of The Heart, The Party was nearly deceived by and lost control of it to Vincens Elprath. However they managed to uncover his treachery and defeat him just in time. They then proceeded to accept the implementation of the Archibald Mk.II plan to keep the Heart safe. Following the Battle of Dunmer-Lake they were convinced by Ezrath Eveningfall that the best course of action would be to destroy the Heart once and for all, preventing the threat of the Colossus from ever being able to materialize. Yet before this could be done Rob Boss corrupted Archibald's body which escaped to Dir Simafl to awaken The Colossus. Although they failed to stop the awakening, The Party fought their way to the core of the Colossus where the Heart was stored. There they did battle against the vestige of Rob Boss controlling the Heart, allowing Archibald to gain control over it long enough to destroy the Colossus. With its defeat the Heart was swallowed by the mountain and trapped in the broken core of the Colossus to be locked away forever.

# Factions and Individuals Searching for The Heart

This is a following list of known factions and individuals who have known about the Heart's existence and attempted to acquire it.

* Rob Boss - Wanted the Heart to establish a "beautiful" future. Nearly succeeded before The Colossus was destroyed.
* New Nerathian Empire - Wanted to give Rob Boss the Key. They were defeated.
* The Party - Wanted to destroy the Heart or keep it in the right hands. Ultimately victorious.
* Fallcrest Army - Wanted the Heart in order to preserve that status quo and prevent enemies from using it.
* House Pyrostar - Wanted to use The Colossus to start a new age 'utopia'. Their remaining forces became divided on the execution of this goal.
* Exalted of Erathis - Wanted to use the Heart to return to Hestavar and remove it from Tasyurai. Their plan failed.
* Mouse Kingdom - Wanted to use The Colossus to become overlords of the Nentir Vale. They were defeated.
* Cult of Mechanus and Tor Clan - Wanted the Heart for Archibald Mk.II and to varying degrees as a power source. They succeeded in the goal initially before the Archibald.Mk II was compromised.
* Ezrath Eveningfall - Believed stewardship of the Heart was his by birthright but later decided to destroy it. Failed in his own goals but content with the ultimate outcome.

# Related Entities

## The Key

This was a magic-fused key forged during the ritual which locked the Heart of Dolon within the vault under Harken. It was shaped like a triangular prism with a bit on the end and runes of power inscribed in the metal. The entrance to the vault contained a magical keyhole for The Key and another one was located atop the spherical container for the Heart of Dolon. The Key was the hardest to locate piece within the puzzle required to retrieve the Heart.

## The Heart of Dolon (Book)

A very limited number of books were created with outlined the true story of the War of Relias' Bane. The books contain the creation of the Heart, the Colossus, and the ensuing destruction. While the books do not directly convey the locations of the Key and the vault, they do describe how the vault was protected and how it could be reopened. Kopu Keiku also proved that some of the information within the book could be used to determine the vault's location. All copies of the book were cursed with magic so their text was illegible, although there are ways around this. At least two copies of the book are known to exist. One was in the High Library and another in Kopu Keiku's personal collection. A third or fourth copy of the book might exist as evidenced by some other factions having knowledge of its contents.

## The Vault of Dolon's Heart

This vault located under Harken was built by Relias and Hirnnim specifically to contain the Heart. It was magically sealed in a ritual so powerful that only the associated Key could unlock it. The vault also conatined a number of other security measures such as Automaton guards, a door requiring Eladrin and Dwarven blood to open, and door requiring Relias' Bane to be opened. The lowest depths of the vault contained the chamber holding the Heart of Dolon and the ritual which bound it. The vault has since been breached by Rob Boss and the Heart removed from it.

## The Colossus

Created by Klanussus the Metalweaver from Dawn War era Sacred Technologies, The Colossus is a mountain sized automaton of incredible power. It is said to be invincible and posses ancient powers beyond its simple massive size and strength. The Colossus was designed to be powered by the Heart of Dolon and no known other power source can sustain it. It is currently completely ruined, buried under Mount Flastoven, after having been briefly reawakened and then destroyed.