Foreword by Haliveris Halvorson
The tale you are about to read has all but slipped from the consciousness of Avanté, relegated to whispers and fragments long buried by the shifting sands of time. As a scholar, it is my duty to seek out the truths that the world has forgotten, even when those truths are shrouded in mystery, fear, and ancient power. The story of Empuratus, the Prime Hexen of Nightmares, and the valiant race of Chiaerians who opposed it is one such truth, a legend so distant and otherworldly that it has nearly faded from existence. Yet, the echoes of this conflict can still be felt in the fabric of our world, in the places where the boundaries between light and shadow, life and death, blur.
What follows is a reconstruction of this ancient war—an account not easily found in any singular text, but pieced together from forgotten relics, scattered texts, and faint memories passed down through generations. It is not a story of mere mortals and gods, but of forces that transcended both, and a sacrifice so profound that its effects may yet ripple through the ages.
In the farthest reaches of memory, when the realms of existence had yet to fully settle from the catastrophic collision of worlds known as the Convergence, there is a tale that echoes faintly through the annals of Avanté. It is a tale not oft spoken, nor easily found, as though it has been purposely erased from the pages of history. I, being a seeker of forgotten truths, have sought the wisps of knowledge that swirl in the lost corners of libraries, and the faint whispers left on ancient stone. What follows is a piece of what I have managed to glean, though I am certain much remains hidden, perhaps even beyond the scope of mortal comprehension.
The Coming of Empuratus: The Prime Hexen of Nightmares
In the turbulent era following the Convergence, when the threads of different worlds were still binding, and the gods were disoriented by the merger of realms, a malevolent force slipped through the cracks. This being, known by many names across countless dimensions, is most often referred to as Empuratus—the Prime Hexen of Nightmares. A being whose presence was enough to twist reality itself, turning dreams to nightmares, and pulling terror from the deepest recesses of mortal minds.
Empuratus had waged a war in its own realm—one against the gods. In that world, it had devoured divine power, corrupted the fabric of creation, and bent mortals to its will. By the time it crossed into Avanté, it was more than a mere deity—it was the embodiment of primal fear, of horrors that dwell in the darkest corners of the soul.
No gods stood in its way when it arrived in Avanté. The gods of this new world had diminished influence, shackled by the rules of the Convergence, unable to marshal their strength to stand against the Prime Hexen. And so, Empuratus began to spread its influence across the land, seeding nightmares into the hearts of the people, turning their darkest fears against them, and conjuring legions of twisted abominations, born from shadow and terror.
The Chiaerians: The Last Hope
In the face of this onslaught, the mortal races of Avanté were helpless. No steel nor spell could touch the shadowy form of Empuratus, and its dark legions swept across the land, leaving ruin in their wake. That is when the legends speak of a race long forgotten, who rose from obscurity to meet this ancient evil—the Chiaerians.
What little is known about the Chiaerians has been pieced together from fragments of ancient texts, each contradicting or clarifying the next. Some say they were from a world that collided with Avanté in the Convergence, others whisper that they were one of the original races of this world, an ancient and forgotten people who had lived in secret, keeping the balance between light and shadow.
The most remarkable feature of the Chiaerians, beyond their legendary prowess in battle, was their nature as twins. Always born in pairs, the Chiaerians were said to be two halves of one soul, bound by an unbreakable bond. This bond gave them the ability to act in perfect unison, as if they shared thoughts and movements. But in times of greatest need, they possessed a far more extraordinary gift—the power to fuse into a single being, an unstoppable force of nature. This fusion, known as the Unity, was a transformation that imbued them with near-godlike strength, though it came at a great cost, leaving them weak and vulnerable afterward. This was a last resort, a power not to be invoked lightly.
It is said that when Empuratus emerged, twisting the world into an ever-deepening nightmare, the Chiaerians knew that they were the only ones who could stand against such darkness. How they came to this decision, how they rallied the scattered forces of Avanté to fight by their side—this remains shrouded in mystery. But there are surviving records of the war that followed, a battle of attrition and desperation that raged across the land for years.
The War of Nightmares
The war against Empuratus and its nightmarish legions was unlike any the world had seen before, or since. The Prime Hexen corrupted entire regions, turning the very landscape into a twisted reflection of its own dark will. Forests withered into gnarled, haunted groves; rivers ran black with despair; cities crumbled under the weight of their own people's fear. Those who fell in battle did not find peace—they were consumed by Empuratus, their souls twisted and reformed into new terrors to stalk the night.
But the Chiaerians, with their mastery of the Unity and their connection to both life and death, held the line. Their ability to merge and unmerge in battle allowed them to fight with an unpredictability that stymied even the Prime Hexen's forces. When they fused, they became avatars of elemental power—fire, storm, and earth given form—able to hold off the tides of shadow for a time.
The mortal races of Avanté, realizing that this was a battle for survival itself, rallied around the Chiaerians. Dwarves, elves, humans, and all others set aside their differences to face the greater threat. The battles were bloody, and hope seemed a distant dream, but still, they fought, pushing Empuratus back step by step.
The Final Confrontation
In the end, the war culminated in a final, cataclysmic battle—one that has been passed down through fragmented oral tradition and half-erased records. This battle was fought in the very heart of darkness, where Empuratus had created a seat of power, a place where nightmares became reality, and the veil between life and death was thinnest.
The Chiaerians, knowing that they could not win this war through conventional means, invoked the Unity one last time. They fused into a form that burned with the brilliance of a thousand suns, a beacon of hope that cut through the darkness like a blade of light. But Empuratus was no ordinary foe—it was a god-killer, and even the Unity of the Chiaerians could not destroy it outright.
The legends tell that in that final moment, the Chiaerians made a sacrifice. They bound their very souls to the essence of Empuratus, dragging it down with them into the void. With a final strike, they shattered both their own bodies and the Prime Hexen, scattering the nightmare being across the winds of time and space.
Yet, the cost was terrible. The Chiaerians were lost—extinguished from history, their people never to be seen again. The few survivors of the war returned to their homes, broken but victorious. Over time, the memory of the Chiaerians and their battle with Empuratus faded into legend, then into myth, and finally, into obscurity. Only the faintest traces remain, buried in ancient texts, whispered by those who still believe.
The Legacy of the Battle
What, then, is the legacy of this forgotten war? Some say the Chiaerians still live on, not as flesh and blood, but as spirits who guide the lost through the veil of the living and the dead. Others believe that Empuratus was not truly destroyed, merely scattered, and that its essence lingers, waiting to coalesce once again. A few scholars argue that the Chiaerians' sacrifice altered the very fabric of magic in Avanté, giving rise to the strange, unpredictable nature of the Feywild Crossroads and other places where the boundaries between worlds blur.
To most, however, the battle of Empuratus and the Chiaerians is but a footnote in history—a tale that is no longer relevant, no longer important in the age of new gods and new heroes. But for those who seek the truth, the war against the Prime Hexen remains a cautionary tale, a reminder that there are powers older and darker than even the gods of Avanté, and that the price of peace is never truly paid.
Perhaps one day, Empuratus shall return. And when it does, will there be another Chiaerian to stand in its way?
Closing Remarks by Haliveris Halvorson
Though the Chiaerians and their struggle against Empuratus have all but vanished from the records of history, their sacrifice is one that cannot, and should not, be forgotten. In an era where darkness threatened to engulf Avanté, they stood as a final bulwark, wielding powers beyond comprehension and paying the ultimate price for peace. Whether they exist now only in legend, or as lingering spirits in the unseen corners of our world, their legacy remains a poignant reminder of the cost of survival.
As for Empuratus, its defeat is shrouded in as much uncertainty as its origin. Was it truly vanquished, or simply scattered, waiting to return when the time is right? The Prime Hexen’s essence may still lurk in the forgotten recesses of Avanté, and the question remains: if it should return, will we have the strength to stand against it once more? For now, we can only hope that history does not repeat itself, and that another Chiaerian will rise when the time comes. Until then, we must remember the price they paid, and the fragile peace we enjoy as a result.
Scholar Haliveris Halvorson, Seeker of Forgotten Histories
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