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  1. Quests

The Call of Atropus: Twilight and Shadow

Completed
Campaign

Story Rewards/Consequences:

Shepherd of Fate and Shadow: Lucille was granted the power of an Avatar of Death, serving as a vessel for the power of the Raven Queen incarnate. She has felt the touch of shadow, and she has lived. She was not simply Lucille the cleric, she was the Lady of Fate, who for a time incarnates in the form of Lucille. Your body is a mere shell, a temporary vessel for the unthinkable might of a divine soul. As an avatar of death, you incarnated the death aspect of your deity. When you complete your true, final quest, the one of your soul's purpose, your current incarnation, your mortal form, is no longer needed. Your purpose is accomplished. The winds of oblivion sweep your body into nothingness, freeing your soul to return to its divine origin. You rejoin the deity, whose incarnation you once were, and resume your existence in the eternal. When Lucille dies for the final time, her body will crumble into ice and shadow, which will be carried away by cool wind from the East.

Starsinger: Lyndis Tinúviel gave up her life to save those that she loved most. She was consumed by the divine moonlight of Lady Lunar, the Daughter of the Night Sky, and her soul ascended into Arvanaith, where she will eternally walk with her goddess in the trails of twilight, between the Golden Hills and the Silver Streams. May she walk the earth again? Only the gods may say.

Dying Breath:
Due to Lyndis’ dying call, Nienor and Lucille Astora feel a warm comfort enter their souls.

-Nienor's Mental Stability Score increases to 8, and she loses vulnerability to psychic damage.

-While Lucille carries the Moonstone of Lyndis, she will never feel alone, and hope will always burn in her heart, even if her mind says otherwise. While she bears the stone, Lucille is not capable of despair.

Eternal Salute: Greyflag was unable to escape the clutches of the Lady of Winter. He was petrified into a statue of solid ice, in the Misbegotten Winter of the Raven Queen, at the edge of the Fields of the Dead, far to the East. He called for aid from his god, but another being, in an unknown void, far away, answered his call instead. He felt terror course through him, and with his face contorted in a look of fear, he stopped moving. This effect can only be reversed through Divine Intervention, or alternatively, by bringing Greyflag to a domain of the Summer Court in the Feywild. If he basks in the Summer Court’s warmth for at least 7 weeks, the ice will melt.

Times of Distress: Braum faced the unimaginable terrors of the void, and still he fought to save the life of another, whom he did not know. The light of Ilmater has strengthened his soul. An aura of warmth and peace surrounds him at all times, soothing his companions.



At dawn, hours prior to the Black Sun, Braum noticed shimmering purple lights to the Southeast of Hawthorne. He ventured towards the Eastern Horizon, and crossed the Winding Water, until he came to an area between the Eastern forests and the Fields of the Dead. Violet light seemed to hang low over a dark section of the forest, untouched by the rays of the approaching day. He did not see much in the gloom, a rolling fog appeared to disguise much of the landscape. His senses twitched at the sheer number of dead that he could sense from the eternal battlefield that lay next to him. The forest ahead seemed to beckon to him, as he felt a deep hesitation. a fear, run through him. Whatever was ahead, he knew that he had not felt such a fear before. Braum muttered a small short prayer to Ilmater before continuing into the unnatural light, saying "May his light guide those who have lost their way." He travelled into the shrouded woods, and soon became aware of the alien presence that surrounded him. The trees, as he continued further, were wilted, and from the decay, strange, fluorescent boils seemed to have sprouted. The air had a sickly odor, and ahead of him, a small clearing opened. From there, he could hear a strange chittering sound, like that of a mix between a termite and a piranha. Braum sensed an extremely malevolent and alien presence. As he entered the clearing, he clearly saw a strange, cloaked figure. It stood at the center of a dense fog. It radiated as entirely unknown to him, though he got the impression that he was entirely known to it. At its feet stood a large, obsidian sphere. It was smoking, and appeared to have formed a small crater in the ground. The creature turned to look at him. Piercing blue and purple light poured out of where its face should have been. It held a staff in its right hand, which seemed to distort the very air around it.

The creature stepped forward, the grass itself wilting in its presence, as it screamed an unnatural cry. Braum found himself assaulted on all sides, as it seemed the creature was capable of distorting reality itself. Braum began falling, as the creature had teleported him over 60 feet into the sky! Braum slammed into the ground with a thud, and he felt his mind become overwhelmed, as the creature pried into his thoughts.


Braum turned to the obsidian sphere. Whatever had crashed here, it clearly attracted the attention of this being. Or perhaps it created this being. He wasn’t sure. The bands of Ilmater on his hands hissed, as if they were being opposed by some sort of otherwordly force. He felt your Divine magic flow faster, trying to desperately keep his body from collapsing. Braum swung back with his Fulguris, and lightning surged through the creature, as it hissed in rage. It shuddered for a moment, but he noticed that the areas that he swung at seemed to have reformed, as the space that made up this creature shifted to compensate for the missing matter. Braum called on his divine power to mend the wounds on his body, his spirit compensating for his physical weakness. He consumed a series of alchemical potions, which granted him supernatural speed and strength. He levied a series of strikes against the creature, with varying effect. Just when Braum felt like he could perhaps hold his own, wisps of black and obsidian-shaded smoke began to coalesce from the meteorite, slowly forming a floating mass of darkness. The mass vaguely resembled an enormous floating creature. Dark wings rose from its sides. The cloaked creature that he had been fighting paused for a moment, and appears to bow, or almost kneel (if it were capable), as if it was honoring this new entity. It seemed to treat it with reverence. He felt that he was not only outmatched, but out of his element entirely. As it grew nearer, he felt the blood in his veins slow, he felt deathly ill and began to have trouble breathing. It was as if this creature was sucking the life right out of him. Braum’s bones begin to shake, as they fought against this entity of darkness and decay. As it drew close, the light from his divine aura dimmed, and went out. All light around this creature seemed to be sucked into it, as a vacuum does to matter. He discerned that this creature radiated an aura of undeath, stronger than any he had ever seen. He realized that nobody knew he was out here, and that if he should die, he might never be found.

Braum reeled back, speaking an oath aloud, “Fighting against some great abomination in your name, I see no better way to die. I ask but one thing my lord. Do not let this sacrifice be in vain.' He grabbed his amulet of Ilmater, granted by his lost love, and cast it into the sky, casting divine light upon it. Far away, though he did not know it, his light was seen. Braum noticed a creature come out of the treeline, wearing a white skull mask and brandishing a bow. The creature introduced himself as a fellow adventurer, named Greyflag, and began to try and get the entity's attention. Greyflag shouted out “come on, follow me!” and brandished what appeared to be some sort of explosive device. The being hissed at him, and Greyflag tried to speak to it in Abyssal, goading it to attack him. Braum quickly realized that Greyflag was in way over his head, and that a single gaze from this creature could end his life. He shouted for Greyflag to run, and stood protectively in front of him. Greyflag refused to escape, and instead fired one of his explosives at the shadowy mass, which seemed to have no effect. Greyflag turned to creature, and screamed at it, trying to draw its attention away from Braum. The creature turned towards Greyflag for just a moment, and darkness overcame him. Greyflag felt his body shut down. He turned deathly pale, and his eyes turned a sickly green color, as he collapsed to the ground and began dying. He gave Braum a final salute as he went down and the fireworks went off.

The cloaked creature then turned to Braum, and it swung its malformed staff twice, but Braum managed to deflect the blows with his shield. Braum realized that Greyflag’s only chance of survival would be to lead these creatures away from his unconscious body. Braum ran down a forest trail, trying to encourage the entities to follow. The cloaked creature seemed to howl, though it had no mouth with which to do so. The creature composed of darkness hurtled towards Braum, and then proceeded to gaze into Braum’s mind, and in return, and most unfortunately of all, he was compelled to gaze into its mind as well. He saw his lost love, Ariadne, dead at his hands. Her blood ran red on his blade. He saw himself, tied to posts in the underworld while vultures consumed him, for all eternity. Then he saw nothing. Nothing. And that perhaps was the most terrifying of all. The endless void that consumes everything. The vision ended, and Braum was sent reeling back in pain. Just then, as all hope began to fade, a flash of white light burst through the treetops. The dragon-winged sorcerer, Nienor, appeared with a crown of white stars upon her head, holding the hands of another woman. Nienor used her wings and launched forward, doing her best to drop Lucille on top of the creature of shadows, which Nienor recognized as an Angel of Decay. The Angel of Decay whirled around. As it looked at Lucille and Nienor, it seemed to hesitate a moment, in a way that it did not do with Braum or Greyflag. The hesitation was only momentary, however, as it shrieked again. The cloaked creature raised its staff and made its way over to the new arrivals. As it left, it blasted Greyflag’s body with a sphere of energy, which sent Greyflag’s dying remains through three trees, bringing them crashing to the ground. Greyflag struggled to his feet, and then collapsed again to the ground and resumed dying. The Angel of Decay unleashed a whirlwind of negative energy, blinding Nienor and severely injuring Braum and Lucille. Nienor’s eyes began to glow with radiant power, and she cured her blindness. Nienor then blasted the Angel of Decay repeatedly, unleashing divine and arcane power, sending it flying backwards. Braum looked around at the situation, and with the realization that help had truly come, he knew that he could not leave Greyflag to die. He ran through the forest, towards Greyflag’s dying body. He summoned all of his strength, and picked Greyflag up over his shoulder. While Braum was bleeding, his legs weak, he began to carry Greyflag out of the woods.


Lucille summoned mists to her hands, as long talons extended from her fingers. She slashed at the shadowy creature, ripping it apart. It seemed, however, that the shadows from Lucille’s hand helped to heal the creature, as it drew on the source of negative energy. The creature examined its current situation, and as it released an ethereal, shrill cry, the meteorite seemed to grow in size, as several large, and strange creatures, formed from the mist. The wretched mass of shadows gazed upon Nienor, and shattered her mind. Nienor remembered the Devas and their screams. She remembered feeling helpless in the shadows, and being controlled by them. Being their pawn. Their slave. Nienor’s eyes turned pure black. Nienor wore a smile that was not her own. Upon her arm, the wardings of Helm blazed, fighting desperately against the brand that once had claimed her. A strange entity, with long, scythe-like claws, emerged from the meteorite. It opened a mouth, filled with fangs the size of ice-picks. It charged at Lucille. It unleashed a hideous, unearthly howl that deafened Lucille. As it raised its claws, Lucille saw that they were nearly the length of her entire body. It lunged at Lucille, slashing her viciously, causing Lucille to shudder and scream in agony. It bit down on her throat, as it prepared to eviscerate what was left of Lucille. The cloaked figure hurled two beams of psychic malevolence at Braum, causing his mind to erupt in pain, as his vision went dark, and he collapsed to the ground, still trying to carry Greyflag away from harm’s way. From the skies, a winged moon elf soared into view. Muttering under her breath, she removed an ornate silver bow from her quiver hold, and nocked an arrow onto the string. She recited a short prayer to Sehanine Moonbow, saying "Sehanine Moonbow, my Lady Lunar, I am no cleric nor a paladin in your name, I swore not to hold this bow again but here I wield it again, please help me, guide my arrows to save my sister and daughter." A volley of arrows cascaded through the forest, felling squirrels who were unfortunate enough to get caught in the fire. Hundreds of arrows rain down, one landed an inch from Greyflag's left eye.

Nienor’s pitch black eyes seemed to shimmer. She stopped laughing, her mouth closed into a smile. An aura of violet fog surrounded her, claiming her as its own. Nienor looked down on all of those here and had a bit of a chuckle to herself. She looked over at the two bodies lying in the grass and thought about how flammable they could be. She could easily cremate them here and now. She then peered over at Lucille. The poor little cleric brought here by her to die at the hands of her sister. She could burn her with the same holy energy that the gods use to strike down those who stray down the one true path. She screamed in a voice that was not her own, "No. All of you will be dead soon. You are not worth my time.  I know who's the threat here... YOU'RE NOT SAFE FROM ME!!!!! HAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!" She quickly cast haste on herself and flew right towards the archer, while unleashing beams of energy at her. This time her white energy had a ball of blackness within it. From the meteorite, a pulse echoed out, sending an energy ripple across the entire area. Everyone who was still fighting felt immense pressure build inside their bodies and minds. Within a second, the pulse reversed, rapidly, as they felt their energy sapped and drained. Braum and Greyflag, in their fever dream states of unconsciousness, felt as if they were falling endlessly through time and space. An enormous creature crawled from the violet mist. It was hunched, with long, distended limbs. Where its face should have been was only an enormous mouth. It unhinged its jaw and opened its mouth until it was three feet in length. From its mouth, a cone of ethereal violet light hummed forth, suppressing and disrupting all magic within its reach. Nienor’s magic faltered, and she began to fall from the sky. Just before she hit the ground, her magic reactivated, protecting her from the impact just in time.

The creature trudged towards Lucille, who was in the clutches of the scythe-bladed being. It bit into Lucille, and her magical items flared for a moment, before they seemed to stop functioning entirely. Lucille’s very mind was under assault, as she felt her life essence being absorbed by the creature that was biting into her neck. The creature spoke directly into her mind, saying "You wish to know your fate? It is to be pulled into the endlessness of undeath, to serve the One who sees and knows. You will become what your so-called goddess hates, here and now." Lucille’s body began to give out, her very life force leaving her, as she began to slip into unconsciousness. Lucille's memories began to flow out of her, albeit slowly. She saw them as if she was reliving them, from the beginning until now. As she was held upon the clutches of the creature, her mind was more or less muddled, frayed, and becoming unwound to the point such  that the whites of her eyes were becoming reddened, crimson tears streaming down her face. Through gritted teeth, however, even as the memories from the past cycled through her mind as a cinematic record, she became withdrawn into herself for a brief instant. She remembered everything, and looked to the sphere of darkness that was engulfing her home, a temporary rift to the Plane of Shadow itself. She knew that great evil lurked in its depths, but so too, did her divine mother. Lucille spat out the blood that had pooled in her mouth, and she levied a challenge at the creature. "You can try to break me... and undeath is indeed the worst punishment that anyone would have to suffer... You wish to devour the last fragments of hope that I have left, and you intend to twist me into an abomination that my Queen would abhor above all else... WHY DON'T YOU TELL THAT TO HER YOURSELF!" As her challenge to this creature left her tongue, she saw it adjust itself slightly. She waited for a sign, for something to appear. As the moments ticked by, she began to wonder if the call for aid was heard, if the veil was too far away after all. Just as such a fear entered her mind, the temperature plummeted considerably, so quickly, in fact, that she could frost form on the trees. Her  breath was visible as it carried through the air like a dense fog. Dark clouds gathered above. The meteorite stopped smoldering, as it was covered with a thick layer of ice. Braum and Greyflag’s bodies were coated with snow, as the clouds above gave way to whipping winds and the first signs of a supernatural blizzard, a Thyrm’s Howl. In the distance, a tower of grey stone began to rise, and the peak of the Fortress of Memories came into view. From one of the towers, a small, dark figure could be seen, flying towards her. It was, in fact, the only movement, for all other creatures had seemingly frozen in time, as the clouds above had themselves halted.


The creature drew closer, revealing itself as the likeness of a jet-black raven, with eyes that were as dark as Nightfall Pearls. The Raven spoke into Lucille’s mind, asking what she had called upon it for. Lucille paused, contemplating. After a moment, she spoke, and begged of her goddess to grant her the ability to destroy the contemptible forces of undeath, to save the memories that make life worth living. She asked for the power to save the balance of all things, to preserve the cycle of life. The frost began to cover the edge of the Fields of the Dead. The Raven’s eyes twinkled like Onyx crystals, it spoke in Lucille’s head: “Lucille, you have proven yourself worthy to call yourself one of my children. The abominations here must be destroyed, you are correct, but it is you who will take their essence and plunge it into the voids beneath, from whence they came. I will grant you the form that I have only granted to one other. A form that will delay your death, delay the time until we walk the halls of memory again. It will delay the deaths of so many others. You shall wear my wings, and bear the title that causes trembling among mortals and fiends alike. You shall be known as an Avatar of Death. Of course, you know that my touch comes with a cost, are you willing to pay it, my daughter?"


As the shock left Lucille, she nodded slowly, and asked the price. The Raven spoke again, explaining the quest that Lucille would be called upon to undertake. That Lucille must travel to the lowest parts of the cosmos, until she found Gorguth, one of Orcus’ most trusted servants. She must kill him, and bring his weapons and possessions to the Fortress of Memory. Lucille agreed, the bond forged in the shadows of ice and the whisper of fate. Time began to resume, and the winter storm intensified, becoming the Divine presence of the Misbegotten Winter. Lucille’s eyes turned as black as graphite, and enormous, shadowy wings rose from her back. Golden light glowed from her holy symbol. Upon her left arm, just above the elbow, the symbol of a Raven, it's face turned to the side, burned into existence. She had been transformed, for a time, into an Avatar of Death itself.


She turned to the creature gripping her neck, an aura of menace and shadow emanating from her. She destroyed the fanged monstrosity with a swing of her claws. From the remaining violet mist, an enormous lumbering creature trudged through the heavy snow. It was monstrously large, and two hideous arms, the size of trees, extended like swirling cables from its sides. It pushed off the ground with tremendous force, and jumped into the air towards Nienor. It bound her, and she crumpled, unconscious and dying.

The Angel of Decay reared back, and its eyes flared with violet fire. It charged at Lyndis, unleashing a beam of horrific power. Lyndis tried to move, but she could not get out of its way. She felt her mind experience enormous pain, as she watched her life flash before her very eyes, but this time, it was in reverse. As the memories came to her, it felt as if they were erased as they passed by. Her mind seemed to have collapsed completely. Greyflag felt the ice and frost come over him, and he no longer felt the pain of death, as everything began to go numb. He called out to his god, but in a poor turn of fate, amid the presence of the gaze of an Elder Evil, it seemed his call was heard, but not by his god. By another being, whom he did not know, and who seemed to take great pleasure in his pain. His call was answered with a laugh from an entity that Greyflag found terrifying. A sick laugh that shook him to his core. The laugh of an entity who hated him. With terror in his heart, Greyflag turned to ice. Lyndis could barely remember how to use her bow, as she floated, confused, through the air. She saw her family and friends dying beneath her, the very earth becoming corrupted and wilting. Great pain seared her mind, and her soul ached with sorrow and despair. Through the clouds, a tiny ray of the fading moon, as it crest beneath the western sky, could be seen. This ray touched the cheek of Lyndis, and she experienced, for a brief moment, a small sense of clarity. Silver light touched the trees beneath her, and the wind calmed her mind, ended the effects of feeblemind. An enormous silver dragon emerged from the sky itself, and time again slowed. Lyndis kneeled before it in reverence. The dragon looked to her, and spoke in a melodic voice that only Lyndis could hear: “My blessed Starsinger, what great pain and sorrow you are in. For what have you called upon my name?” Lyndis pledged herself to Sehanine once more, and after a moment, she asked for the help to her family that she herself could not give, “I can't bear to see any of my family struck down, they may not be of blood but I would still consider them as such. I want to save them, no matter what the cost. Death eventually comes for all but, it is not yet their time.” The dragon was silent for a long while, but then it spoke, a sapphire twinkle in its eyes, "I can grant you what you ask. You can save them, Child of the Moon, for our presence is strong in this land. When your work is done, my child, you will come home. And we will walk together, in the eternal twilight of Arvanaith. I will ask you, one final time, do you truly seek the fullness of a covenant with me?” Lyndis nodded, and agreed to bind herself to the Lady of the Night, and part with the mortal realm once her work was done. Her eyes flared with silver flames. Upon her forehead, a symbol flashed into existence, a misty crescent above a full moon. Silvery white robes now decorated her, and mithral cords hung from Lyndis’ neck and waist. Her bow was transformed into one formed entirely of starlight and moonlight.. Runes, depicting constellations of the night sky, glimmered across its surface. The dragon disappeared into silver clouds of light. The trees of the forest began to uproot themselves, following the divine call of the mother of the Seldarine.

The cloaked figure flew towards Lyndis, and attempted to swing at her. As the creature entered the Aura of Moonlight, however, an enormous treant grabbed it, and ripped its staff from its hand. Lyndis fired a silver arrow, which flared with divine light. The arrow pierced the creature, and disintegrated it into nothing more than ash and dust. Lyndis flicked her hand, and swirling circles of gold and silver flame engulfed Braum and Nienor, sending them to safety. She then took one final shot, and destroyed the hulking figure that had been attacking Nienor. The Angel of Decay now found that it was the one who was outmatched, as a beam of starlight disintegrated the remains of the meteorite from whence it came. It swung at Lucille, but she evaded its strikes, the divine power of the Lady of Winter absorbing its essence. She clawed into its very form, and it began to dissipate. The shooting star that Lyndis had called upon earlier began to glow brighter, its form having nearly passed out of sight. Lyndis too, was shining brightly, the divine power starting to exceed her mortal body, as she began to fade from reality itself. Lyndis’ moonlight disintegrated the last remnants of the Angel of Decay. The sun appeared to stop its ascent in the East for a moment, as the clouds parted further, revealing the full light of the everpresent moon. The voice of the dragon entered Lyndis’ mind once more, saying "It is time, my daughter. It is time to come home, and walk the eternal trails of twilight. It is time to bathe in the light of the Golden Hills. It is time for you to rest, for your work is done. I am so very proud of you." Lyndis turned to Lucille, and embraced her, as the divine light consumed the remaining parts of her body. As Lyndis vanished into the blinding moonlight, a single tear coalesced and fell into Lucille’s hand, having been transformed into a moonstone. Divine light swirled around Lucille, as the symbol of a crescent moon burned with silver light onto her left arm. Lucille traced a path of destruction through the forest, finding the last of the abominations and crushing them beneath her talons, as the shadows swirled, and a second voice began to grow stronger. As she destroyed the last one, she felt a calmness, a clarity, come over her. The Raven Queen had left, and so had Lyndis. She was truly alone in the quietness of the winter wood. The winter storm dissipated, and the snow stopped falling. The ice, however, did not melt, and it will not melt for a long while. In the glade where the great beings were slain, where the highest sacrifices were made, where bonds were forged and families broken, a single beam of sunlight illuminated a patch of flowers. A silver and white rose glinted in the presence of the dawn, though there were none here to see it. A single raven landed next to the patch of flowers. It turned to look at them, as it tilted its head slightly, in a show of curiosity. The raven stayed near the flowers for a long while. It then turned back towards the West, and flew onward, on a journey none can follow.