Episode 87

#### **What war were the gods and angels fighting?**

* Information comes from a huge, extremely ancient, scroll. We're allowed access because the Head Loremaster set it aside for us.
	+ The war is called "The Trinity War". It was a war between the Infernal, the Heavenly Hosts, and the Abyssal Demons.
	+ Behind the Heavenly Hosts were the good-aligned gods.
	+ Behind the Infernal were the Nine Hells.
	+ The Demon Princes were behind the Abyss.
	+ The mortal that lived through that war were living through this unending battle, and it didn't calm down until after everyone got sealed behind the Divine Gate.

#### **Did Veg'zet betraying his allies for power make a difference?**

* Yes! It caused a huge swing in the balance of power into the favor of the Nine Hells.
* The Heavenly Hosts lost of the 3rd, 2nd, 5th, and 1st legions.
* They lost six angels (4 to being consumed by Abaddon)
* The good aligned gods had to retreat from several fronts and were put on their back foot for quite a while before they could recover.

#### **Are there any records of Abaddon losing his heart**

Angels are not created the same as humans, he never had a heart to begin with

#### **Why were Zahariel and Abaddon so bent on defying the gods**

Zahariel wanted to preemptively hit the Devils, and the Gods weren't backing her plans because they knew it wasn't going to go well. Zahariel still wanted to go through with her plan, but she needed the power to do it, aka ... the power of the legions. She needed the legions, but she didn't need the commanders of those legions. She knew they might not fall in line, but Abaddon was.

He was relatively easy to manipulate, but the problem there was he'd already been demoted, and he needed him to regain his power or her plans weren't going to work. So, Zahariel encouraged Abaddon to take the grace of the troublesome commanders and power back up through stolen wings. Result: their actions corrupted them and the corruption ate their grace alive.

The Devils were able to exploit the watered down grace of Abaddon and Zahariel, who Fell and, as a result, the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 5th legions were wiped out.

#### **Who was the first vessel for Veg'zet?**

* No record of the first vessel. The Vessels aren't considered important, by and large

#### **Does the vessel always die and he has to get a new one without the heart?**

* The vessel does eventually die and Veg'zet gets put into a different vessel through a ritual.
	+ Once the Vessel surrenders or dies, Veg'zet is fully released for as long as the vessel holds out
	+ The Unnamed Cult will show up at that point and kill Veg'zet.
	+ They will also try and take custody of him, and place him into an elven vessel, so his bouts of being "alive" are minimized.
	+ The Ebony Wings are very good at sticking close to him and they usually manage to spirit him off into a vessel of their choosing before the other Cult manages it
* The Heart would let Veg'zet transfer into the Heart instead of being up for grabs at each transition. He could then be placed into another Vessel with a lot more control and an easier transition.

#### **What is the Ebony Wing's chant/song?**

Feel No Pain

No Fear Until Our Dying Breath

On Ebony Wings Arrives Death

#### **What was the name of Vegzet's weapon?**

* Gllaberim. The name means “To Consume/Devour/Eat/Swallow/Demolish/Destroy”

### **Ingred's Questions**

#### **Why was there a heart in the bowels of the *Iron Jaw*?**

* No record of the *Iron Jaw*, specifically, but it's not the first time in history this sort of thing has been seen.
* Other boats have had hearts or some other object that made the vessel somewhat alive or granted them some measure of sentience/supernatural ability.
* It's the result of someone making an eldritch pact.
* There are also records of many other objects: barrels, pots, weapons, etc ...
* Of note, there's another ship called *Seizer* about 3000 years ago that very much resembles the *Iron Jaw*.
	+ It was both an airship and water ship.
	+ It had an eye, rather than a heart.
		- The eye could move around the ship
		- See for miles above and below the water
		- Had some sort of psychic link to the captain
	+ The captains were all very particular about crew conduct, including rituals.
	+ It was both a pirate ship and a naval ship - kept being stolen back and forth
	+ It eventually vanished during a voyage towards Annowyn in 1683 of the Exalted Era

#### **Meridian Pathways**

* Everyone has meridian pathways, but not everyone can access them for magical purposes

#### **Anything relating to Rutherford/Dr.Hanz**

* Rutherford is an all boys' school that teaches traditional medicine
* There are other schools that teach all genders, *Ingred*
* Rutherford did have a connection to the Tarlie family in the past
	+ the Tarlies would do exchanges there, intent on recruiting promising talent before they got too anti-magic
* No mention of Dr. Hanz has been recorded since his "death"

#### **The Aima Region**

* Ruled by High King Grent
* It has a lot of structure and law, borderline authoritarian
* It holds with no gods and magic is almost forbidden
* They are the only region that actively trades with goblins
	+ The native Aima goblins are significantly less feral than elsewhere
	+ They're considered productive members of society instead of menaces

### **Marisol's Questions**

#### **Recent conflicts between Yaro region and Iridien and Sidross- most notably the current situation but also interested to see if there might be a pattern \*3rd floor**

* Yaro started the current trouble.
	+ They declared there was a treaty breach and annexed a bunch of Sidross
	+ That bunch of Sidross was a lot of critically important farmland
	+ Sidross objected and sent out troops to keep the farmland so their people could continue eating
	+ Yaro sent troops because they still claimed it as theirs, objections be damned
* Irieden is saying that Yaro also broke a treaty with them in the Twin Lakes area
	+ The Twin Lakes are two lakes near the border, but they're actually one lake that's connected by a large underwater tunnel
	+ Irieden says that Yaro is smuggling people across the border though that tunnel, which is against some treaty
* The Asurion region is getting dragged into this mess because it has treaties with the Sidross region and decided that was the region they were backing
* Yaro's fighting a battle on three fronts

#### **Instances of history of entities being put inside of vessels, the process of how that occurs**

* This is actually really common. There are many many instances of an entity being sealed into a vessel.
* The process is different for each vessel, but it would take someone with great magical intelligence.
* General guidelines to creating a Sealed Entity:
	+ You need a vessel that’s strong enough not to explode or implode while containing the power
	+ A ritual specifically tailored for the entity that you are trying to contain
	+ You need the power to actually pull off the ritual

* Related: K isn’t special in that he has something ritually shoved into himself. There are a lot of people that either have or currently are walking around with something otherworldly shoved into them.
* If the vessel is living, there’s a chance for the thing to either go free or it dies with the vessel.
* In K's case, Veg'zet gets free.

#### **Ask lily to help search for Information about K's clan and ask K if he is okay with us looking into it first:**

* Nothing found, since this archive is only concerned with Gristol, and they're in Annowyn.
* We'd have to go to Annowyn for that information.

**What is the Heart that Veg'zet's minions are hunting for?**

* it's an artifact that will let Veg'zet have more control over the soul transfer when he body-hops.

#### **Info on the Yaro region, who rules it and basic information about the area, any info about goblins and the school if anything that Ingred went to. Past directors or religious connections (Marisol is feeling like a lot of there current problems are directly in that area)**

* that information would be in public records and not in the archives

#### **History on devils/tieflings having wings and any connection they might have to Veg'zet or the Blood King**

* Winged tieflings are definitely a thing, but there's no link between winged tieflings - or any other tieflings - and Veg'zet or the blood king

#### **Any mention on cults with primarily elvish membership the one cult that has maybe killing Ebony Wings that are wanting Vegzet to stay in K rather then unleash him (does the blood king have two cults following him???)**

* The Ebony Wings - the cult that follows Veg'zet.
	+ They're dedicated to keeping him in bodies that he can eventually take over and go on bloody rampages through the land.
	+ They also run interference with the unnamed cult.
* The Unnamed - a cult that doesn't have a public name, but opposes the Ebony wings. They deal with Veg'zet whenever he breaks free completely, and try to shove him into a chosen vessel of elven blood. That will keep him off the board for as long as possible, because elves live a long, long time.
	+ They show up to deal with Veg'zet every time he gets out
	+ The Ebony wings are also usually there with a new vessel prepped and ready to go
* The Bluepetal Clan - not a cult, but the other big player in this saga
	+ Orion was born into the Bluepetal Clan and was their leader for a time
	+ It was the mages of the Bluepetal Clan that helped him seal away Veg'zet
	+ The clan itself stepped away from any and all leadership positions after Orion's death/assassination
* The Immortalites/The Blood Droplets - a cult dedicated to Orion, who have an ultimate goal of bringing him back and continuing his bloody reign.
	+ They were mostly wiped out by the Bluepetal clan right after Orion's death. Some of them escaped and are still out there. They are ruthless and very dangerous.
	+ there doesn't seem to be any connection between them and the Ebony Wings.
	+ They were formed during the reign of Orion.
	+ They were also disavowed by the Bluepetal Clan, but not by the emperor. He found them useful.

#### **Artifacts connected to the Blood King**

* The Crown - a black crown with twisted spires. In battle, it looked like he held the heavens above his head.
	+ It hasn't been seen since after his death
	+ His children took charge of it, hid it somewhere, and went back to the Bluepetal clan

* The dagger of Sable Bluepetal
	+ Crafted to cut through any and all magic
	+ Sable used it to kill Orion, her husband. She was the only one he'd let close in his paranoia.
	+ Orion snapped back into himself at the very end, and apologized for his actions as the Blood King

#### **Information about the original or old altar to the immortal blood king**

* it's said the land of the Bluepetal clan has power

* no other altars are known about, maybe the Immortal Lights has one?

#### **Orion Bluepetal**

* Before the Madness
	+ Orion of the Shatter Step
	+ Demon Slayer
	+ The Grand Arcanist

* After the Madness
	+ The Blood King
	+ The Immortal Emperor
	+ The Immortal Blood King

* Orion was the grandnephew of the Head of the Bluepetal clan
* He was trained as a warrior in the Bluepetal Clan, and training others by age 15.
* He was named as head of the clan sometime after that
* He killed and sealed Veg'zet
* He destroyed a necropolis and the Carrion King that had raised it
* He added a lot of discoveries to the fields of magic
* He stopped the Feral Wars of Irieden
* After the Madness, he dragged everyone under his imperial crown by sheer power and blood
* He started the foundations of the royal alchemists and gathered artificers to begin the blending of science and magic
* He ruled for 500 years before his wife assassinated him.

### **Lily's Questions**

#### **Nexus**

* Nexus is an archon that was created by the gods almost from the beginning
	+ They bound fallen primordials with the energy of chaos to form Nexus
	+ Nexus was placed as the guard between the chaos planes, knowing chaos intimately as they are formed from it
	+ They reach out only when there's an elemental chaos lead
* They guard the Elemental Planes of Chaos
	+ the Elemental Planes of Chaos are the leftovers of creation
	+ They're raw elemental material existing in a state of chaos
	+ At the bottom of it all is the Abyss
* Servants of Nexus
	+ When Nexus needs to deal with a chaos seep, they send in one of their followers to deal with it or untether a grounding aspect of Nexus in the planes
	+ There have been others seen amidst elemental chaos in the past,
	+ Usually an individual with an unusual control of the elements shows up

* Current Elemental Breakthrouths (all showed up in the last 60'ish years)
	+ the Asurion region has the lava vents that housed the magma snails
	+ the Sidross region has a sinkhole that turned into a bubbling magma crater
	+ the Irieden region has a phenomenon too: a fire tornado that has appeared several times in what is now called the Charcoal Forest/Plain

#### **Information about the Ruby like the one they turned over - the screaming soul one - can do**

* The creature was called something that means "feared to death" or "eternal madness".
* The ruby itself is just a ruby.
	+ The rubies grow on the creature naturally, like a pearl in an oyster.
	+ The older the creature, the bigger the jewel.
	+ the biggest on record was the size of a soccer ball.
* The madness of the ruby will scramble your mind and is completely incurable short of death
	+ There is one possible spell that might be able to cure it; it's said to be able to rewrite reality
	+ The madness on the ruby can be dispelled relatively easily.
	+ Once dispelled, it's just a pretty jewel
* People have tried to use the rubies for nefarious purposes in the past, but haven't succeeded
	+ The ruby itself will try and lure you to touch it, and it will manage that eventually
* The rubies themselves are very coveted by nobles, royalty, archmages, etc ... because they're difficult to come by

#### **If there's a Heart and Blood Droplets then there are other body parts?**

* No. Not in relations to Orion or Vegzet, at least. The name of the Blood Droplets is in reference to Orion's propensity for bloodshed. He was the Blood King and they were his loyal cult.

#### **What is the herb in the Pradym region that Nikanen showed her?**

* it’s called Flying Silkweed. It only blooms once a year, for three months through the months of Clan, Song, and Earth. It is a fussy little asshole of a plant.
* By itself, it has properties of lightness. It can be used alchemically in Potions of Levitation. There have been cases where, if it’s distilled, or aged, it can be used for a flying potion.
* It has a complicated reaction to celestial essence/blood. Published research has added the extract of the flower to celestial blood - often something like unicorn blood - and it acts as a catalyst. Kind of like introducing diet coke and mentos. It hasn't been used on a living celestial being - since the no one is sure if the effect will burn through the being's celestial heritage and kill them, or if it will stabilize with a replicating source.
	+ Theoretically, it could extend the time of a flying potion or the natural flight ability of a celestial thing could be heightened.
	+ The enhancement could be permanent.

#### **What is known about the Carrion King?**

* it's not a person so much as it's a title. It falls to someone that is able to resurrect or build a necropolis.
	+ They themselves are semi-undead, but not quite liches.
* A Necropolis is a city of the undead that is under the complete control of the Carrion King.
	+ A Necropolis is either ritually built with an obscene number of dead bodies, or it's summoned from another place/time by sacrificing a lot of people.
	+ There's speculation the necropolis itself provides some sort of necrotic matter that the Carrion King can then mold and command over huge distances
		- It's able to raise undead without a body - summoning them from vats of necrotic sludge.
		- The Carrion King can modify the summoned undead and make designer versions. That's what we saw in Gristol.
	+ It’s only been managed twice on Gristol
		- The Dragon Riders had to come in and take care of it the first time.
		- Orion Bluepetal stopped the second one.
		- Both times, once the Carrion King was killed, the undead under their control disintegrated into the necrotic sludge from whence they came, or became normal zombies.

#### **Where is Solheim?**

* It's about a year's travel up to the North-North East of Gristol. Yes, that means they travelled all the way down the coast to get to Marcus' Island before enacting their plan. They skipped Pradym, the Storm Coast of Sidross, and Tyvia to come at Gristol from the south.