At the beginning of Verdantine,
shooting stars began to grace the heavens with increasing
frequency. Sages theorized this to be related to the mounting
activity of the Shadows, who had lain largely dormant since
their attacks in the month of Morningthaw.
Bizarre organic messengers taken from Shadows revealed they were
not monolithic after all. Rather, they seemed to be split into
three distinct factions. One group remained loyal to Bael'Zharon.
Another, alarmed by the Hopeslayer's blind rage and working to
keep him imprisoned, had sworn allegiance to his general Isin
Dule. The last faction was barely comprehensible. Loyal to
neither Bael'Zharon nor Dule, they obsessed over “opening the
ways” for something greater yet than even the dread Hopeslayer.
It is thought that the minions
of Bael'Zharon were responsible for the so-called “arenas”
that appeared at this time. The portals to these underground
complexes remained restricted to those who had sworn to serve
the Lord of Chaos. Reports of what lay within were hard to come
by, but those few willing to talk mentioned gladiatorial blood
sports fought between, and judged by, Bael'Zharon's human
servants. It was assumed that these arenas were built to hone
the prowess of the Hopeslayer's followers for the coming
struggle.
Meantime, the Dericost undead
mobilized at the behest of the Aerfalle, the powerful Lady of
Aerlinthe. Adventurers intercepted many messages between the
various factions of their society that spoke of gathering armies
and collecting intelligence. The Isparians seemed to have gained
an ally of sorts against the minions of Bael'Zharon, though
perhaps not one they would have chosen themselves. Whereas the
Shadows sought to absorb all life, the undead seemed intent upon
conquering the living after beating back “the enemy.” Things
seemed bleak for humanity no matter what the outcome of this
conflict.
In the midst of the alarming
news, reclusive mage Aliester the Loquacious discovered that
Shadowhunter Armor, crafted from magical gems, could be
“attuned” to the elemental properties of the gemstones
created by the Yalaini enchanter Lady Maila. Although the plates
of armor forged by master smiths were still of lesser quality
than those made before Hamud ibn Rafik's vicious attacks,
inserting any of the stones used in Lord Atlan's ancient weapons
could nevertheless enhance them.
Wanderers braving the untamed
wilds of the southern Direlands discovered that a clan of undead
had recently taken up residence within three towers along the
coast. After slaughtering all those within the towers, a passage
was found to a long-hidden underground temple complex, inhabited
by a long-lost cult of the undead. The slaying of their High
Acolyte yielded a rather distasteful reward. . . although
certain of Dereth's crafters found this object valuable, indeed.
The scholars of Zaikhal,
Cragstone, and Hebian-to announced that they sought additions
for the great libraries of those towns. Three winners were
selected from each heritage group. The Sho cleaned space on
their shelves for Ja'afar al-Saladin of Solclaim's "The
Emperor's Blade,” Loka Wu of Morningthaw's "Loka
Jii Learns to Hunt," and Nandesu Ka of Leafcull's
"Journal of Nandesu Ka.” Aluvians burned many
candles reading Vexorg of Thistledown's "The D00dz,”
Aytalya of Darktide's "Shadows of My Doubts,” and
Aragorn of Thistledown's "The Journals of Change"
late into the night. The Gharu'ndim pondered the words of Anjwar
al-Jaenth of Morningthaw's "Recalling The Calling,"
Ariq al-Binara of Frostfell's "Derethian Skies,"
and Ashgad of Thistledown's "Midnight Revelation."
Chocolate, a legendary delicacy
from old Ispar, was discovered in the grubby hands of mosswarts
and banderlings. Half-remembered tales of its delicious taste
and aroma lead to a massive hunt to replicate the lost recipes
of the human homeworld.
Khallayne and Raynie of
Thistledown provided chocolate milk. Rhiannon Morgana and
Touryan Kurigsun of Frostfell supplied chocolate cake. Betty
Crocker of Leafcull, one of the famous chefs of Cragstone Farms
Catering, created chocolate ice cream. Chen Kenichi of Frostfell,
part of the ill-starred adventuring troupe Vitae Rising,
produced the chocolate bar, known colloquially as the “Vitae
Bar.” Chen proudly noted that infamous beating-magnet Wi loved
his creation. Ho Chun and Theran Bakagin of Frostfell,
meanwhile, leavened the somewhat bitter Vitae Bar into a creamy
milk chocolate bar.
Aiyaan Shiefu of Leafcull, a
member of the Silver Citadel allegiance, whipped up Dereth's
first cup of hot mocha. Yakamura Shinji of Frostfell added ice
to mocha, resulting in a refreshing drink for a lazy summer
afternoon (assuming one can ever be found in Dereth). Atsushi
and Deckape of Morningthaw added cinnamon to Aiyaan's original
creation to create rich mocha. Elanwen of Harvestgain, with help
from Jenna, combined the work of all the various mocha brewers
into rich iced mocha.
Although most people focused on
chocolate, the residents of Holtburg, a town known for rampant
cattle mutilations, fried up a slab of Bessie MCMLXII and served
her on a bun, thus adding the “Holtburger” to Dereth's
dietary lexicon. In other news of culinary horror, a shadowy
figure known only as “The Sausage King of Dereth” skulked in
the darkest corners of Fort Tethana, combining all manner of
unsavory things into links of something that was almost, but not
quite, entirely unlike meat. He was last seen pulling on a pair
of steel-toed boots and wandering into the desert, muttering,
“Fools! I'll destroy them all!”
At the end of the month, an
oppressive silence fell over the hills and vales of Dereth. The
world held its breath, and wondered . .
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