Session 45

**Session 45 of the Eden campaign** took place August 29 (In Erideon noon 15 September to evening/night 15 September).

## Summary

The Suspects travel to the Royal Palace in Roulan to perform at the princess's (Karine d'Istiniac) coming-of-age ball. While there, they meet several distinguished persons. Asutali becomes a Headmaster at the Athenaeum; Ulfgar discussed politics with Hjartarson; Huron plans retribution with Kyrie Vareauna, and JoJo ascertains that there is something unusual about Karine. During their performance, however, the Red Realms invade the Nexus through a portal directly over Roulan, throwing the suspects' search for the phylactery at the palace, and Huron's quest for answers, into disarray. As the suspects fight Numitor, an ancient red dragon from the Red Realms, dozens of other dragons, along with their warriors -- ranging from thralls to wild animals to many diverse humanoids -- invade the Nexus. The Red Dread annihilates Laurence II Istiniac, the leader of the Aldian Parliament, and the Prime Minister, destroying the New Monarchy's political leadership, as well as severely damaging Kyrie Vareauna, the Lord Lautrec, and many others of Aldia's military leadership, destroying the New Monarchy's central command structure. The Suspects heroically defeat Numitor and his henchmen, led by Ulfgar's heroics and Asutali, Huron, and JoJo's powerful support, earning the moniker of *Dragonslayer*. As the Suspects try to save as many Aldians as they can -- along with a cryptic conversation with the Grand Inquisitor -- they are forced to seek shelter in the King's Plaza as the invasion continues devastating the jewel of Aldia. Meanwhile, Ulfgar rushes the deceased Hjartarson to the Frostview for recovery, and after regaining their strength courtesy of the tavern's healers, both men sally forth in defense of Roulan.

## The Suspects' Thoughts thus far

### Ulfgar's Observations

**The Nature of the Dragons and Corrupt**

The first point to be considered is whether the Draconic and Abyssal beings were the creators, Gods, or created, gods. Ulfgar believes that they would have had to be created at some point, and that they were the first beings in the universe. Ulfgar has some speculations about who the God is, but he believes telling the rest of the party it is a man behind a screen rolling dice is too far fetched. The Draconic and Abyssal roles as gods seems to be reinforced by their creation and power over smaller planes of existence. This seems to suggest that they were made to rule over things as their base instinct is to assert dominance over their own plane and exert their will over the mortals.

**Interactions with Mortals**

There is also a difference that is noted in how they interact with the mortals they encounter. Assuming it is not in a state of aggression, where both sides so far have killed those who oppose them, the Dragons seem to interact with Mortal souls in a better way than the Abyssians. The Dragons take the soul to their own plane, which corresponds to how the person had behaved and "aligned" themselves as a mortal. The nature of the soul also does not change as the inhabitants of those areas are seen in their mortal form, and the plane the dragons rule over seem to be a paradise to the mortal. However, the Abyss either consumes the soul or corrupts it to a point that it cannot be recovered. As mortals are killed by dragons they simply die, but the corrupt beings transform them. Ulfgar has not seen the corrupt beings in their plane, I think Asutali kept this a secret when she went to the astral plane, so he would only think they are consumed and corrupted to these forms. Ulfgar is unsure what the source of the transformation is, but the creatures all end up looking the same, which suggests there is some common flawed/evil attribute to all of the mortals. The abyssal beings also are able to grant power to kill dragons given the sacrifice of a certain amount of souls presumably. Again, this consumption of souls for power is opposed to the dragons, who seem to have wanted power only for themselves with the exception of Logarius.

**Logarius's plan**

Although Ulfgar is unsure of what Logarius ultimately aimed to accomplish, he seemed to want to achieve some fundamental balance between these two opposed forces and unite all of the planes. Logarius did this as he was giving away power, which means he would not have wanted to rule over all the unified planes, but he believed that they could peacefully coexist given no group upset this fundamental balance. He may have made this by giving out his own power to others to ensure no one individual could be so powerful as to rule over all the planes, but Ulfgar thinks there is another way to keep the balance equal. The channeling crystals seem to unite the planes in a way that they may have originally been created to be. There are 5 crystals, in cardinal positions. North being good, green, South being evil, red, East being chaotic, purple, and West being lawful, platinum. Once activated these presumably will unite the planes or restore some fundamental balance that will allow all beings to coexist peacefully. Ulfgar's theory is that the central beacon represents the absence of some virtue or belief, which would represent the abyss. The abyss could just be basic animal like instincts that are not good or evil rather just there. Activating this beacon could unite the nexus with the abyss, but the cost could be one's life. Ulfgar thinks this could have been why Logarius ultimately died given it was over this central position he was defeated.

**Conclusion**

Ulfgar thinks that in order to restore a primal balance in the planes all beacons must be activated. Logarius seems to have died either before achieving this goal or he did achieve it and other Logarius could have undone this balance. The corruption seems to consume the souls of those afflicted by it, while the dragons seem to create planes that are paradises according to the soul's leanings.

Ulfgar will ascend to Godhood. Rip Moradin.

### Asutali's Hypothesis

**Souls and the Abyss**

The collective souls of all mortals - past, present, and future - are one of the catalysts of this conflict. Souls, to the best of my understanding, originate in the Abyss in some form or fasion, live their days on the Nexus, and end up somewhere in some sort of afterlife - be it the Firmament, one of the outer planes, or trapped in some container on the Nexus. Beyond this, I can't even speculate upon the cycle of a soul. However, despite the fact this arrangement has persisted for untold millenia, the Abyss grew unhappy with it, or perhaps it never was. The Abyss doesn't want to give up its souls, and currently seeks to return its lost souls to itself via the corruption. Contact with a being from the Abyss unlocks something within the soul itself, causing the victim to revert, quite violently by our standards, to the prior state it held in the Abyss. Ironically, the only way to hold the Abyss back or to use it is by using souls themselves. In this regard, the High Inquisitors of the White Covenant may have bargained with the Abyss, exchanging some of the church's illicit "pigments" for some sort of service.

**Dragons and the Planes**

In contrast with the Abyss, the dragons care little for the souls of mortals, seemingly driven by lust for power and dominion. The dragons want to claim the Nexus as a stepping stone, so they can use it to vault themselves towards domination of the multiverse in some form. Some of the dragons may prefer to collect and shepard mortals beneath them, but the soul itself is not intrinsically valuable to the dragons. If left to their own devices, after they conquer as much of the Nexus as they want to, the dragons of the various planes will turn to fight each other, as they struggle to gain footholds in foreign planes in their bid for dominance. Here, the beacons of Erideon may offer some small respite to the Nexus. If they do, in fact, function as we have been led to believe, activating them all should allow the dragons to bypass the Nexus, or at least remove the need to conquer it before invading the other planes. The resulting chaos should stall the dragon invasions, leaving the Nexus to prepare itself for later conflicts if it so chose.

**Logarius**

This is where things get the foggiest, as much of the evidence is highly contradictory or has been erased at some point in history. From what it seems, Logarius opposed the Abyss and was the only dragon able to stand against it, according to Nicola von Stavenger, the mission of the Athenaeum, and the High Inquisitor himself. As for the other dragons and planes, it seems like the title "Great Conquerer" fit well, as he used the planar portals at Shihen Ahen to conquer the outer planes to some extent at the height of his power. Unlike the other dragons, however, Logarius did not seek power and domination; rather, he sought peace among his kin. He divided his power into the dragonstones, rather than consolidating it like a true tyrant, and shared it with his lieutenants and allies, presumably dragons from many of the outer planes. He even set up the safeguards to prevent anyone from once again wielding the power he once held. However, his kin did not want this peace imposed upon them, and as Logarius divided his power, his enemies built theirs up, allowing them to attack and defeat the conquerer.

**Loose Ends**

* Logarius the White: our draconic friend was much like his predecessor in some ways, but had a much different endgame, of which I know little at this point in time. The white dragon was, after all this time, still building up his power to commence his plans, whatever they were. It is almost certain the the white dragon commissioned the device at the top of the Golden Tower of Tzand, and it was built to establish contact with the Abyss, using the souls of the living dwarves as payment, much like how the Aldian church used its pigments. To what end he did this, however, I do not know.
* The Dragonstones: These colorful stones, as well as their cyan-colored counterparts, remain mostly a mystery to me. Beyond the labels of morality applied to them from time immemorial, and the effects their use has had on my companions, I have been unable to glean much knowlege from these gems. It almost seems as if they act on their own whims, and each variety has its own personality of sorts. I have witnessed this ambivalence in my own limited experimentation, in the stones' interaction with items mundane and magical, and in their interaction with each other. Firstly, the Dragonstones and material things: if there is a pattern here, I fail to see it. One spellbook interfaces with the stones, another does not. One wand does, but another staff does not. One ring does, but another amulet does not. This nonsense even applies to the stones interacting with themselves, or in this case, the channeling crystal: a purple stone placed against the northern beacon is absorbed, while a green stone placed against the southern beacon is reverted back into the form of a mortal. Are the green stones we know even true Dragonstones? Ignoring all this, I still have yet to even see and recognize one of the red Dragonstones. Admittedly, there are many variables here I have not yet been able to control for, but for now, answers elude me.
* The beacons: There are five beacons, compared to the four varieties of Dragonstone. Does this mean there is a fifth variety Dragonstone? Or is the plain cyan crystal significant in some way? The central beacon appears to have some sort of special significance out of the lot, and I will have to investigate it, as well as the remaining east and west beacons, in the future. Beyond these beacons, how did so many channeling crystals come to be at the top of the Golden Tower of Tzand? Were they created from the beacons, much like my miniature crystals? Or is there some other source in the Nexus, or beyond?
* Other extraplanars in the Nexus, from prior to the invasion: what is the explanation here? Did they act alone, or were they scouts into the Nexus for their Draconic masters? Or was it something else entirely?

**Conclusion**

All in all, this is mostly just speculation, based primarily on rumors and lost whispers of truth. I don't know what the correct course of action is, or if one such course even exists. Past this battle we find on our hands, I need to spend time at the Athenaeum to gather my new resources. Following that, I want to visit the remaining beacons, if they still exist. Outside of Shihen Ahen, I think the beacons contain our best chance of survival.

## Quests

### Ongoing

* **The Frequent Suspects II (Huron):** Await further instructions from Kyrie Vareauna, who will be made general on Sept 3. In the meantime, gather the resources you will require to infiltrate the Royal Palace. Quest is temporarily suspended.
* **The City of Tears (Everyone):** Find and explore the mysterious city of Aldenburgh, now known to be the ancient Serpentfolk city of Shihen Ahen, where ancient lore claims that the Great Conqueror first stepped foot into the "unknown." Now known to be a demiplane, only accessed via the phylactery in the Royal Palace. Shihen Ahen is one of the locations where many important events in history transpired, and may be critical to understanding what exactly the Vessels are.
* **The Legacy of the Great Ones (Everyone):** Find information of Neia's whereabouts from the Hellborn in the Netherworld. Two phylacteries can be used to access this plane: one in the Royal Palace, and one somewhere in Freienthal. Neia might be able to help you glean more information about your status as a vessel for a draconic soul.

### Character

* **Blood and Mead (Ulfgar):** Investigate the Frostview. Join the Iceball tourney with the Thunderbeards, possibly recruiting other Suspects to that end.
* **Hey, that's my stuff! (Iago and Huron):** Get your stuff back and confront Prospero about his relationship with the White Covenant.