It had been several months since
the world saw magic this great in scope and power. Now it comes
again, but this time it is from an enemy that remains obtuse.
The skies continue to shift and
with them now the land itself has changed. Through some
understanding wholly alien to the Isparians the Virindi have
furthered their incursion by altering the very nature of the
wilderness. Creatures have been displaced and now inhabit areas
never before seen.
The Direlands have become a
place of woe and despair. It is here that the Virindi have laid
claim at last to the Obsidian Plains. They have driven away all
others save for their allies and those they mean to warp to
their own devices. Further to the north the Olthoi have been
found swarming the landscape once again, there have been pockets
of the Olthoi seen throughout Northern Osteth but this new
revelation cannot bode well for the Isparians.
In Zaikhal, a once trusted ally
has begun displaying some frightening and unnerving
characteristics. Diyas al-Yat has begun removing his head,
revealing an erupting column of portal energy from his
shoulders. This coupled with the arrival of the latest Virindi
shock troops, the Simulacra, leaves the fate of this ally as a
new mystery to be discovered.
In dungeons bearing the same
blood-red walls of their masters the Simulacra are preparing for
what can only be a final assault against the Children of Ispar.
These beings look like most Isparians in every way, yet their
deliberate way of speaking will lend the first shadow of doubt
to the cautious adventurer, and once they reveal their true
selves by removing their own heads, attack and do not relent.
These new troops afford those
adventurers strong enough to wrest victory from their tenacious
grasp with a new shield and helmet of great power. These can be
further enhanced with the addition of a strange gem found within
a final stronghold of the Simulacra. But those halls are filled
with beings of immense power and should be traveled only by the
most hearty of warriors.
The changes to the world have
had an unforeseen effect on the denizens of Dereth. While they
have been pulled from their climates and homes some of the
creatures have banded together under leaders of their respective
races. These leaders are different from their lesser cousins in
look and in power. Travelers should be wary when facing down one
of these new foes.
Autumn slowly begins to crawl
toward the Isparians but it appears the war is far from over.
Though the Virindi themselves have lightened their assaults this
latest maneuver is one that has changed the way that most
travel. This could be just a precursor to an even greater
change. The raiding parties of the Virindi death squads have
lightened but they still harangue the lonely travelers of the
world.
This is a time of weary battle
but the hearts of the people are strong and in the face of this
great terror they shall not fail. But what comes next from the
Virindi, and when?
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