Editing Midnight: the SHADOW KILLERS Campaign SPOILER PAGE

::  The Priest of Shadow is chagrined that his dark master has not exposed the coiling serpents in the Order’s midst, but dares not ask for aid in this matter for fear of appearing weak. Rumors among the Devout speculate that the Cabal is led by a council of the most ancient legates, greater legates long ensconced in undeath, and some even suggest that '''Beirial''' himself guides this inner circle from the depths of some black crypt. If the order’s founding father does indeed still walk upon Aryth, he has not been seen in two and a half thousand years, and '''his tomb lies empty not far from the ruins of Bandilrin'''. The crumbling monastery and its attendant catacombs are haunted by hordes of the Shunned Mother tribe and by twisted spirits and foul demons summoned by a dark and nameless force that has been master in the birthplace of the Order of Shadow for over a century. Sunulael suspects that Beirial does still exist and worse, has formed an alliance with his greatest rival, Ardherin, Sorcerer of Shadow.  <br> <br> Since its beginnings in the First Age at the remote monastery of Bandilrin, the Order of Shadow has spread like a poisonous cloud through the lands of Eredane: in its touch was corruption and where it passed suffering and death followed. During the First Age, the legates, led by Beirial the Betrayer, marshaled their forces in the secret places of the Highhorn Mountains and desolate wastes of the Northern Marches. They explored new vistas of power granted by the returning strength of their dark god, and their ranks were swollen with those who felt the call of evil in their blighted souls and followed its siren song into the north. In the war that ended the age, Izrador’s legates wielded his divine might to terrifying effect and the lands were scorched and defiled by black magics. Yet despite his dark power, their god was defeated at the Battle of Three Kingdoms and the order was fractured, the survivors fleeing into the hinterlands to rebuild their strength.

::  '''Beirial''':  It is rumored that the original founder of the Order of Shadow lairs in the ruins of Bandilrin as a lich. Ardherin believes that the first legate would make an excellent ally against Sunulael, and so has dispatched a contingent of powerful agents to scour Bandilrin and contact any Trapped or Lost there in an attempt to locate Beirial. Information leading to Beirial’s exact location would be strongly rewarded, and if contact can be made with the ancient priest, there are few prices Ardherin would not pay to bring the lich into his fold.

** [[Midnight RPG - Chapter 22.111]]:  Eranon finds the gift from Messiah: ''It has long been tradition amongst the dragons of Aryth to offer a piece of themselves to their closest lovers and friends. This fragment is not so much physical as spiritual, taken directly from that portion of the creature’s essence that ties it to the individuals that it trusts and cares for the most. Once given, this intangible token cannot be taken back, and it prevents the dragon who has bestowed it from directly harming the recipient.''

:: '''A scorched earth policy''' is a military tactic which involves destroying anything that might be useful to the enemy while advancing through or withdrawing from an area. Apparently a translation of the Chinese phrase jiao tu (焦土 jiāotǔ), the term refers to the practice of burning crops to deny the enemy food sources, although it is by no means limited to food stocks, and can include shelter, transportation, communications and industrial resources, which are often of equal or greater military value in modern warfare, as modern armies generally carry their own food supplies. The practice may be carried out by an army in enemy territory, or by an army in its own home territory. It is often confused with the term "slash-and-burn," however, that is not a military tactic but rather an agricultural technique. It may overlap with, but is not the same as, punitive destruction of an enemy's resources, which is done for strategic rather than tactical reasons.

* Kursu is Courtier for “Lightning”. This ancient weapon was brought to Eredane during the Sarcosan invasion in the early years of the Second Age. The original pommel, a globe of Pellurian star crystal, was smashed when its then wielder, one of the generals leading the war against Erethor, was assassinated by Elven mages in 318 S.A. The sword was later reforged and formally returned by the Elves as part of the alliance with the newly formed Kingdom of Erenland.

* 3rd level: Lightning Path: 1/day the wielder may call Kursu to her as a free action, causing the sword to instantly move into the wielder’s hand at lightning speed or if the wielder has no hand free, fall at the wielder’s feet in her square. Kursu must be within 30’ of the wielder and not held or wielded by anyone and a clear (not necessarily straight) path must exist to the wielder, or the call attempt fails.

* 13th level: Glorious Lightning: Upon command for up to 5 rounds per day, Kursu is sheathed in bright, crackling lightning that sheds light equivalent to that of a daylight spell and grants a +1 morale bonus to attack rolls, weapon damage rolls and will saves to all allies within 30’. Glorious Lightning can not be used while Veil of Lightning is active and vice versa. Once the Glorious Lightning ability is unlocked, the concealment bonus conferred by Veil of Lightning increases to 50%.  

In particular, I’m quite interested in the idea that Izrador's fall to Aryth and his deception of the Gods is not and has never been what it appears to be. Rather, I see it as the old fey gods cutting their losses and casting out the black sheep of the family. Aryth is Izrador's prison, and while the veil is his own work and his own idea, it is not for his benefit (and it is not for his gain). <br> Having just re-read the divine comedy, i find this idea incredibly appealing. The players really are on their own, since the gods have no intention of ever returning to Aryth. At an extreme, the fey gods are in fact the player's enemy, since they are ultimately responsible for the war. <br>I also wanted to address why Izrador has not pursued the genocide of mankind: Mankind is not Izrador's enemy, the fey are. As a nod to Grial's back story, he really does intend to eradicate the fey by taking advantage of the Orcs hatred of their distant cousins to perpetuate genocide. Izrador believes that the fey are the only thing sustaining the power of the old gods, so if he can destroy the fey races he will cripple them more completely than he believes he already has. Once he breaches the veil, the elder gods will be easy prey. <br>But this isn't his ends, merely a means. More than anything else, Izrador wants to return to heaven (again, back to the divine comedy); to do this, he needs an army that the fey gods do not control. The humans are the only non-fey sentient race on Aryth. This is why the church of the shadow is dominated by humans, and why he has not sought to eradicate mankind ... it is also likely to be why he has not waged war on the rest of Aryth. <br> <br>Izrador needs mankind to storm heaven. <br> <br> So this is the quandary I intend to throw my players: Izrador doesn't want to rule Aryth, he doesn't even want to be there. In fact, Izrador wants to elevate the entire human race. Izrador might also not have begun evil (at least he doesn't think so), just arrogant and powerful, but it's been a long and subtle trip downhill. He wants out, and he will leave once the fey are destroyed. If the players want an ultimate end to the war, they have the option to help Izrador discover a way to pierce the veil. <br>  <br>Really, once you think about it, it might not be such a hard sell. The fey were toast to begin with. Human expansion and aggression, combined with a low birth rate would seal their fate. Even without the war, the fey wouldn't have had much time left. They are (in Izrador's opinion) the fractured and degenerate remains of the final creation of the gods that abandoned Aryth to shadow and flame. Remember, we're not just talking elves and dwarves here, but also the Orcs. No matter what their birth rate is, the Orcs cannot sustain the kind of losses the elves and dwarves are inflicting. <br>

Humans are, by contrast, the natural product of Aryth. Humans evolved on the planet and it is their birthright. Once Izrador retakes heaven, he will leave Aryth to its proper owners. No more gods, no more elder races keeping secrets from you like condescending parents, and no more war. <br> <br>It's the classic deal with the devil: everything you want, but in return you must turn against [the] God[s]. This of course, assumes that the party is entirely human. <br> <br>This line of discourse may be Izrador's most potent logical tool for enslaving humans to his will as Legates for their entire lives. If the goal of the dark god is to breach the Veil and regain the heavens, who wouldn't support him? Doesn’t the world suffer so in its isolation? Wouldn't it be better to support an attempt to regain the heavens for the world, even if that attempt is being led by a being of evil? <br> <br>I'd certainly agree that Izrador has no real interest in ruling Aryth, and that all his energies are focused on breaching the Veil and gaining freedom. I'd also agree that the Sundering was a form of damage control, and as such arguably an act of extreme callousness by Aryth's deities, who certainly would NOT want to see the PCs breach the Veil, even to beg intervention and redemption for Aryth. In fact, destroying the Grand Mirror or otherwise delaying the Shadow's plans for a century or so is about all the PCs can do in such a scenario, since the only beings capable of freeing Midnight from the Shadow are likely the gods, who have a strong interest against doing so. <br>In fact, I may allow the PCs to discover this on the verge of implementing a potentially successful scheme to breach the Veil and look for help in the heavens. The solar Anuviel may track them down and tell them why the Veil is really there, and why it, as a truly selfless servant of good, has accepted its imprisonment as a small price to pay for keeping the Dark God chained. The PCs will then have to face a new level of despair. (Of course, I'll be letting them off the hook in a different way, but they'll have to destroy the world to do it!) <br> <br> It seems to me a great spin from the Shadow. It pits the humans against the fey. It justifies the means for a questionable end. It's exactly the kind of thing the voices of shadow will be shouting in the streets of Baden's Bluff and every where else they go. Perfect!

The air is heavy and still, bringing no relief from the oppressive heat.  Overhead, the clouds dip low and are menacingly dark, filtering out most of the sun’s life giving light.  What little solid ground there is, is covered in marsh grass or the tangled roots of cypress and mangrove trees.  Carefully picking their way across the morass is a small well-armed group that bears signs of recent combat.

“Eoawan, Tani’s not going to be able to go much farther and that hunting party can’t be more than a few hours behind us.”

The leader of the group, a slight dark haired warrior turns toward the rest of the group, “Just a little further and we’ll be safe.  They won’t be able to pursue us once we get to the next hummock.  Keep moving; it’s not far.”

The party pushes forward toward a small hill, dominated by an ancient cypress tree.  With effort they climb the hill and collapse at the base of the tree.  While the other warriors rest, the leader Eoawan hacks at branches and vines that cover two small stone pillars, pitted and cracked with age.  With the excitement clear in his voice, he says, “It’s here, just as they said, our path to sanctuary.”

The statement draws stares from the other warriors and one stands to get a closer look.  “What path, there’s only water as far as I can see.  We’re trapped if that hunting party finds our trail, which is likely.  The wargs will have Tani’s scent from his blood. “

A slight smile appears on Eoawan’s face, “we aren’t trapped. Our distant ancestors left us a priceless gift, a path to sanctuary.” The Danasil places his hands over matching symbols on the two pillars and whispers words in a language that is strange but stirs memories buried deep in the other Danasil.

Eowan, clearly weak, turns to his warriors.  “We have to move quickly, raising the road took far more from me that I thought and it wanted more.  I don’t know how long it will stay above water.  By the time the hunting party gets here we and the road will be long gone.”

The Old Road is the remnants of the eldethar roads that crossed much of the Erethor and parts of Eredane.  In past ages, before the coming of the modern fey, when the swamp began to expand, the eldethar built the rune enchanted pillars that could lift the road up from the swamp and provide safe passage. The runes require a key phrase in ancient eldethar and at least 12 spell points.  The amount of spell points expended determines how long the road remains above water.  Most of the old eldethar roads have not survived the ravages of the centuries, but a few are used by the fey to access isolated portions of the Druid’s Swamp.