The Epicenter of Truth

I write this in the arcane halls of Theobold’s mansion. There has been a lot read, a lot learned, and a lot gained in the knowledge base of Vrianna.
 

The Truth Behind The Know-How

When we first saw them, Vrianna’s halls were the pinnacle of all libraries: a massive index with miles and miles of bookshelves. For each soul on the plane material, a glowing book filled a spot on a shelf. If we so wanted, we could simply access the life experience and memories of all living things.
 
The Mind Texts of Vrianna. And the difficulty of reading them – much less physical access – depended on whose text we wanted access to. There was also some aspect to these texts a la scrying: by reading one’s text, we could make them aware of our presence.
 
In the center of Vrianna’s hall stood a great lectern. It held some tome of shift pages, practically a ream of countless pages. Our understanding was that it would direct us to all other books in Vrianna’s index.
 
And as the God of True Knowledge had indicated, we had only a day to access knowledge. So we set to work:
 

The Gremorie Unshifting

Murg took the hardest step first it seemed, finding and fighting aspects of the gremorie in order to access its true-text. There he saw the gremorie and the infinite multitude of faces and identities it had become throughout its existence. This brought Murg to Excellion’s High Council, and the first reveal: members of the Arcadian Inquisition were simply copies of the gremorie.
 
This meant, then, that Venomheart’s tribe had been destroyed by the gremorie(s) fifty years before we had met him, and that string alone was set in motion by Asmodeus’ chosen.
 
But! Though the gremorie had spun that thread, the Vanguard of Veradin had severed its “thread of prophecy” and ended that tragedy. Murg was left with the haunting echo:
 
“Fate will simply yield to the strongest.”
 


 

The Existence of Excanerix

My research was more hands-on. I sought Excanerix and the existence of the draco-lich, and learned much:
 
Understandably, draco-liches surpass humanoid liches in nearly every way, and importantly retain their weaknesses to the divine and radiant damage. And still dragons, any anti-dragon armaments would retain their powers as well.
 
Excanerix itself has a multifunctional breath weapon of normal dragons, though is able to switch between fire, ice, and the debilitating breath of the gold dragon it once was.
 
There was a recording of Merranel’s army and king standing against Excanerix long ago. The only things of note there was the effective use of physical force – rather than magic, as Excanerix is a brutal counter-wizard. This, other than Excanerix’s last sighting a thousand years ago, was all that exists outside of rumors.
 
 

Princely Endeavors

Dannerick investigated the prince involved, Henryk (as well as his involvement in Eschaton).
 
He verified that Prince Henryk was the one who gave into his bloodlust, and his father the king of Eschaton had no practical ability to dissuade Henryk from his wants. Henryk descended to the catacombs of Eschaton one night, and there purported met Excanerix.
 

From One Binding

From Vrianna’s texts on Henryk’s memories, Dannerick learned that Excanerix offered Henryk alliance: the draco-lich’s power in return for cooperation.
 
Together, they had manipulated Alain Garalend into causing the chaos of Hallowfen – the captain’s manipulation of Hallowfen’s peoples was a shadowy cover that unearthed the elves’ Tree of Magic.
 
This, of course, gave Henryk and Excanerix the knowledge of the current weapon of Eschaton, but importantly also revealed secrets that led to Eschaton’s current angimagical soldiers. Dannerick learned that those weapons are made using sentients as a core, a need Eschaton gleefully fulfills with prisoners of war, traitors, and ill-fated folk.
 
When the late king of Eschaton discovered his changed son’s plans, Henryk turned on his father and killed him (and assumed the throne).
 
A more recent memory (and one more important), Dannerick learned that Excanerix either instructed Henrik or connived with him to not just march on Bezia but to delay the brunt of the attack. Henryk has no understanding of the why, only that Excanerix sees it to be a necessary step to victory.
 
It was around this time that Henryk began to display the ability of an aspect of Asmodeus and the Grand Liar’s herald. Combined with Excanerix’s literally well of evil, the pair seem mad and bent on destruction.
 

To Bind Another

So I pledged myself to Vrianna.
 
Their truth walks with me, and through me we were given instruction to speak to Dispater about the true name of Asmodeus.
 
This requires us to enter the plane of devils and seek the Lord of Dis in his Iron City.
 


 

Guilds Within Guilds

Somewhat selfishly – though still thoroughly prudent – Dannerick first accessed the mind texts of each member belonging to his guild. Arsene, Goddess to Thieves, protected those texts herself; thankfully there were no turncoats in that dark pool.
 
He was able to make contact and speak with Chester, one of Dannerick’s Five Fingers and a barkeep in Hallowfen. Dannerick gave order for his guild to abandon current plans and instead focus on locating the gremorie coupled with infiltrating Eschaton for as much indirect control as possible.
 
Chester relayed that uprisings have not been uncommon among the nonhumans of Eschaton, though they have thus far gone unnoticed by (now) King Henryk. There is word that some defectors from Eschaton have made their way to the Bezian front lines and have joined our forces, some days out from there.
 
In the southern Black Range too, there is a coalition of nonhumans – mostly goblins, bugbears, and orcs – that wish to found settlement independent of all others. Led by the unknown Gobmeister, there are hints that they seek a nation-state of some kind united by the beliefs of Abadar: “fair and honest transactors, come ye all”.
 
 

At Large

From Chester, we learned that Yu Gin is still travelling on his international tour. Most recently, he had planned to visit Niveron but had some knowledge of its (then) imminent destruction (by the weapon). We assume that information came from within his Dune Guard.
 
Currently, Yu Gin is in Veradin and advocating for the refugees from Port Derrin. His stance is against Eschaton, calling it a “war of liberation” with troops stationed at the southern Eschatonian border. Yu Gin will not move his men until he has the agreement of the international court of approval.
 

A Heated Topic

On the topic of the hells, Abadar called Murg to commune with Aphrael, one of His Most High Auditors.
 
The two spoke. Dispater’s Iron City is a place of fear, ruled by the archdevil by keeping all shrouded in paranoia and loathing. Aphrael made his way to Dis up through the river Stygia, using a ritual to shroud Abadar’s chosen in holy protections of the most high.
 
Murg may be able to learn this protection…
 
…but another solution could be found in the politics of the Nine Hells. Glasya, of the sixth circle and archdevil of Malbolge, is both Asmodeus’ daughter by blood and his greatest enemy. For a price, she is within the scope of “allies” who could make entrance to Dis for the vanguard.
 
In order to contact her, we would need to seek the Erinyes – the judges of the Nine Hells – though it cannot be forgotten that they are favored by Dispater and will not hold to the truth.
 

Mindless

At recommendation by Dannerick, we sought out an engineer working under King Henryk. Annamir had a hand in the construction of the antimagic soldiers, and through his memories I could see how the magic is made (or, rather, destroyed):
 
The engineers of Eschaton have a special chamber built, where The Endless is summoned. Once that being is constrained, they further trap, compress, and suppress The Endless until its form becomes physical – similar to a marble of voidless force.
 
This bead of void-force powers a gigantic machine in Eschaton, one that is clearly made of mythicite and adamantine. If I can get access to it, I can fashion my tools to destroy the cabling. This would overload the core and destroy this machine. Whether this machine controls the soldiers or weapon (or something else), it is a solution to a future problem.
 
The problem, though, is that this machine resides in Excanerix’s lair below Castle Eschaton in an arcane laboratory.
 

The Hierarchy of the Damned

Reconvening with Murg, we reviewed what we could on the inhabitants of the Nine Hells.
 
It is important to note that, according to the divine themselves, wielding a true name will allow a creature to utterly destroy another – including the divine and the damned.
 
When it comes to devils, they bind themselves via contract to other devils, the archdevils. Slaying or banishing the archdevil via a truename will destroy those bound underneath the archdevil.
 
Lastly, the chosen of Asmodeus – Hendryk, Eschatonians, and perhaps more – cannot peer across the planes. Spells like demiplane and plane shift then have more offensive and defensive use than we might otherwise reason.
 

Furthering the Elements

Milo was able to speak with Princess Helenara, a mermaind the vanguard saved in Ibrithil while dealing with Lawrence Hornraven’s twists of reality. He learned of a way to access the aquan plane and primordial of water.
 
The barbarian still holds to his heart that he must best each of the primordials in trail by combat; winning the primal of water would all Milo a path to Mount Junama where the remaining primals would meet him: as they would respect his power and capability.
 
To do this, we would need to sail east of Bezia through the Ocean Spines, the watery maze of storms and sorcery. After this ordeal, we then have to find the mythical Boatman of the Waves in the bright blue expanse of ocean, who will then lead us to the underwater seat of the primal of water.
 
The best captain we know is Betiriel, the drow captain docked in Hallowfen.
 

Wizard Speak

Rather than seek anyone out himself, Theo was contacted by the mind text of M’Crush directly. He saw the birth of the tortle a thousand years ago, and the path he took to arcane power and adventure. Once again, Theo and M’Crush relived the destruction of the first group he travelled with as they fought to contain Kevirial, the mythic tarrasque. M’Crush died alongside the rest in that conflict – but so did Kevirial.
 
Eros and Stygia together resurrected the ancient mage, out of sheet curiosity. The catch? M’Crush’s price was immortality: he is unable to die entirely.
 
And so the tortle wizard was lost to time. Hundreds of years passed of begging and wandering before M’Crush met Nord, and that friendship renewed each of them in turn. We know from Dannerick’s accounts how that story bled into our current experience.
 
In a final, solemn note M’Crush gave Theo the key to decipher his spellbook. Inside, pages and pages contacted a fraction, a third of a spell: the mythical and long-lost wish.
 



 

Gifts Wrought True

As we reconvened, we (literally) counted our blessings:
Vrianna granted Murg a White Eye of theirs, allowing him to audit gremorie copies at close range.
With my sworn oath, I carry Vrianna’s ability to wield truth as a shield and as a weapon.
 


 
Our sights are now set on Asmodeus and his heralds, most of whom reside in the Bladelands during the current conflict.
 
As for Bezia, we equally can take on that front: attack while Excanerix holds his own forces at bay.
 
Milo needs the favor of each primordial, with the next across the seas to the east.
 
The nonhumans in uprising, especially Gobmeister’s new Goblonia, is another avenue for allies we can pursue.
 


 
Theobald has access to Excanerix’s demi-plane, even though it is hidden deep within the Sea of Souls. We could access it now, but it is not likely we would succeed.