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LetumLux
 
PostPosted: Sun, Aug 02 2015, 12:41 PM 

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Joined: 31 May 2007
Location: Amia IKEA

Handed over to the librarians of Cordor one night is more of a collection of accounts than a typical treatise. Pages that were clearly separate at one point and authored by different people at different times have been joined into the same spine of a sturdy cover, with ample room for more additions to be woven in.

  Transcript of the public forum

Ahsra:
    I am going to start at the beginning, because I think that is the least-known part of what has happened... These things I will say took place over a year ago, at the beginning of Nightal. On the third day, there was a 'popping' sound that was quiet, but heard all across the island. All other sounds briefly became muted in that moment. All fires within sight flickered with blue light, then returned to their normal state. Those who were wielders of magic, those with heritage from other planes, were said to have all had a vision and were shown a location that was determined to be on the coast, in Bendir Bay. Many went, and found an entity that was empty to magic. Seven blue fires hovering in the air, that could not be seen by the magic that was attempted on it; no divination revealed anything more than what was there. It was said that those who tried to see the lore of the fires instead saw their own, as if it had been reflected back at them. Many tried to interact with the Fires in different ways. They spoke at it, tried to touch it, tried to Weave magic on it, nothing affected it and it did not seem to affect anyone else in turn, except for when the fires began to fill the throats of people. One at a time, they moved toward a person, seemingly at random. These blue fires entered into the throats of several people. ... Ryrik of the Three Thunders. Tuomas of Kohlingen. Emilie now of the Branded Phoenix. Ulrik of Kohlingen arrived with one already in his throat. As did a man by the name of Gwrtheryn. An elven woman of name unknown to me, and maybe others that I do not know about, also had the fires enter into them. The fires were described as being cold in feeling, and they did not permit magic to happen. The magical markings on Tuomas' throat did not glow or awaken while the fire was within it.

    The fires continued to separate and enter people until only a few were left, then the remaining ones blinked out, one at a time. Those present were made unsettled by this, and attempted many things. Some tried to use disjunction magic. Nothing happened to the fires. A rift-blade was used at them, and it instead was sucked into itself; the fires untouched. Eventually, the fires all vanished of their own accord, and nothing seemed to happen. People dispersed...

    It is called a 'Black Blade of Disaster'. It is... a magic that makes a rift shaped like a blade, it can kill with a touch. It sends parts of a thing to other places. If I were to guess, they were trying to use it to sever the fires from their connection to this place, but I am not certain. What I have described at Bendir Bay is gathered from others; I was not present, myself.

    Later in the day, Mathus was approached by a man who called himself Hawk, who asked for his help. Hawk was planning to go to the Mystran Grove in the middle of the Forest of Despair, thinking that there may be a connection between the blue fires and the magic eating entities that used to dwell there. Hawk, Emilie who was mentioned earlier, a man named Tracer, and Mathus all went to that place. They took off their magical items and put them into a bag, and stayed close to Mathus as they entered into the ruins of the Grove. Mathus surrounded them in his Aura of the Weave Equilibrium, which suppresses magic. It seemed to mute the 'scent' of the magical things they were carrying, and the Magic Eaters ignored them as they approached. Emilie with the blue fire in her throat, handed her magical things to Hawk and then stepped out of the Aura to see what the Magic Eaters would do. It seemed to ignore her, perhaps because the blue fire was stopping any magic within her. I am not certain of that. When she stepped out, Tracer and Hawk described the area as becoming slightly less blue, and more in focus. As if a 'fog' had been lifted. Not everyone saw this. These things seem to affect individual perceptions, depending on the tenacity of a person's will in that moment. Mathus tried to speak with the Magic Eater, talking to it in the manner of meaning beyond words...

    There had been a faint 'buzzing' noise coming from the Magic Eater, and it stopped when he spoke to it, and came closer. It seemed to grow brighter, and more blue. He asked it questions about its state, though it did not respond. It glowed brighter, and more blue, and the surface of it appeared to be shifting somehow. There was another 'pop' sound like before, and a point of blue fire broke away from the surface of the Magic Eater, moving around it like an Ioun rock. The creature itself did not seem harmed or changed, or even notice this. I think that it is likely that the fire had been inside the Magic Eater in much the same way that it had been in the others, but of this I cannot say for certain. Emilie felt something when this happened, a very cold sensation, and the blue flame within her throat glowed more brightly.

    There was another 'pop', followed by others, and more Magic Eaters approached. They gathered around Mathus within his aura, though they did not attack. The first Magic Eater glowed even brighter, and then the fire circling about it stopped, and floated above it. That fire flickered, and then disappeared, and then all of the Magic Eaters began to blue blue as well. They all came closer to Mathus, and Emilie's throat became very painful to look at from how bright it was, the blue fire within it coming out and joining with the Magic Eaters.

    There was a vivid blue flash in the sky, as if a sheet of the fire had coated the sky. It happened for a moment, then vanished. I have heard that it was seen all across the island. Where they were, seven radiant points of fire were hovering, like at Bendir Bay. Emilie collapsed, and became unconscious for a time, but seemed otherwise unharmed. The Seven Immaculate Fires approached the edge of Mathus' Aura, and extended a tendril of flame from the closest fire, as if touching the border of the Aura. As it made contact, Mathus felt an immense presence at the edge of his mind, and it encompassed him entirely, as if he were a tiny glass bubble floating in an ocean. There was no pressure, no pain, and no intrusion; merely surrounded. Emilie began to awaken at this time. The Magic Eaters gathered around began to... fray at their edges and their glow faded. The tendril of flame pressed in further, and Mathus tried to refuse it, of the thought that it might be harming the Magic Eaters. He tried to force it back out of his Aura. He felt the presence around him press slightly, and the Aura ceased to be. Magic returned.

    The Magic Eaters dispersed, seeming to have no interest despite the magical things they could smell again. Mathus asked the Seven Immaculate Fires what they are. They stopped moving when he did, and there was a sense of its presence upon his will.

    He saw images in his mind as it felt to pass across. A vast field, stretching as far as he could see, the grass made of thick, coarse hair. The vision shifted, and he saw a forest of beautiful trees made of a gleaming silver metal, dotted with blue and purple points of light in their metallic bark. The images changed again, and he saw a sky of bleached bone, dotted with point of pitch blackness instead of stars. Then, a perfectly formed tower of seamless and pure blue stone. It glowed atop a mountain of white rock, and surrounding the summit of it were seven pillars of blue fire. The vision shifted again, to nothing. No light, no sound, no feeling of temperature, of time or of space. Nothing but a pure, immaculate emptiness and the presence of Mathus within it, devoid of his physical body. An unknowable amount of time passed, and in the vision, a crack appeared across the 'surface' of the nothingness. It spread slowly, leaking light, sound, and time from the breach.

    An unknowable amount of time passed, and in the vision, a crack appeared across the 'surface' of the nothingness. It spread slowly, leaking light, sound, and time from the breach. Mathus could see a vague form around him as his mind was encased by his own body, time flowing around him again. He remained in the nothingness, watching the cracks spread and break the void. He suddenly felt the immense presence surround him again. Seven points of beautiful fire burst from his body.They spread out from the vast nothingness and touched against the cracks, trying to force them to close. They tried, and then faltered in their attempt to preserve the perfect void. The cracks grew again, and Mathus felt the presence touch against his mind in a way that was pleading. Mathus chose to help, and as he did so, in the vision, the presence washed over him and he was engulfed by the vastness of it. The fires consumed his body, and then spread out across the nothing.

    They pushed back the cracks, and the empty void was immaculate again. The vision ended, and Mathus collapsed. The fires entered into his body and resided within him like a sleeping presence. All of the fires that were there collected into him, though they no longer communicated for some time. That was the first day.

    What questions does anyone have before I continue.

Almare :
    Is it presently known, which power did direct Immaculate Fires to Prime Material of Abeir-Toril, and what was it's agenda?

Ahsra :
    No. What I can offer is that from what we saw, it seems to be an entity or power all of its own. What we know of its agenda was what it showed to Mathus, and what they spoke of together here in this place.

Avadon :
    What would you call the plane that Mathus was shown in this vision?

Ahsra :
    It is not known to me how to came here in the first place, or why.

Mathus :
    The answer to that question is not part of this discussion, and I need to warn you all that context is not fact. All we want to do here is provide the unfiltered truth, objectively as far as we know it. Anything else, conjecture built on top of this, is not a good idea.

Ahsra :
    I do not know. The obelisks in Actand, if one stands near to them, makes the sky appear white with black stars, as they did in the vision.

Aurelius :
    It may not have been a physical place, but rather a communication of concepts.

Kat :
    It is the sky of the Far Realms.

Mathus :
    For instance, there will be a heavy implication later on that the Fires did have a malevolent agenda, but there was never any direct evidence to support that. There is too much we don't know.

Kurchin :
    Does it look like what is seen in the skies of Wharftown? And presumable West Cordor and Guldorand as well?

Sana :
    Discordant Truth and the far realms and all that is malevolent now.

Avadon:
    It may be prudent to move on with the story, so that the connections between this Discordant Truth and the Quintessence might become known.

Ahsra :
    At this point, the Discordant Truth had not yet arrived. The Seven Immaculate Fires led to the Discordant Truth, led to the Quintessence. I will continue. This happened at the end of Nightal. Mathus came to this Monastery and tried to communicate with the presence again. It had been inert during this time, unresponsive to his attempts to communicate with it again, as if slumbering. He asked, and then told it to answer as it was a guest within his body. It finally stirred, as if curious, and tried to impress itself upon his mind, and they decided how to proceed between them. Within Mathus' mind, they went to a place of deep, black nothingness, with the presence of a mother surrounding. Without cares of the outside world, and full of potential; a place that Mathus felt most comfortable.

    A blue fire had taken the form of a woman dressed in blue robes of simple design. Her hair was black and shoulder-length, her eyes lit with the points of blue fire. She called herself the Light of the Center. He asked what she, what they are, but the Light of the Center could not answer it well. She said that they were unused to constraints like language, and that how they had communicated before was much as a metaphor.

    The Light of the Center asked about the nature of the Existence, about the Prime Material. She said that the planes were each infinitely large, had infinite potential, but they begin and they end. There may be an infinite number of planes, but they also begin and end. That these infinite planes overlap in places and this weakens the 'structure' enough that they allow passage between them. She said that though the planes are infinite and endless, yet have an end, they encompass everything, there are also things outside of them. I think that she may have been referencing the Far Realms here, but I cannot say for certain. She said that entities such as the Illithid, the Beholders, and things of that anti-nature came from beyond, and that they did as well. The Light of the Center said that they did not need Mathus; that he was currently the most interesting thing to occupy themselves with at the time. That they had lost interest in the others quickly.

    They were interested in experiencing things, and wanted to experience more. That Mathus welcomed them in, twice, where all others had resisted, intrigued them. Mathus asked about the vision, about the plea for help within it. The Light of the Center said that she had not been present for that; I think that she did not actually exist in that form until she appeared to speak with Mathus, like a sliver cut from a whole tree, she was only a tiny aspect. She said that they must have had a reason to show him what they did, but that she did not know it. She likened herself to a blade of grass in a vast field; a part of it, but unable to know the whole field.

    A single manifestation of the greater whole; each separate and a part of that greater whole at the same time. She said that she could not go back to the whole to get the answers for his questions because she would not return in a similar state to how she was then. They spoke more. Time passed. The Light of the Center was eventually able to return to Mathus many days later with clearer instructions; things for us to collect and do if we still wished to help them, though the Light of the Center said that she did not know what it would do; only that it was what the whole agreed needed to be done. We gathered the things that they asked for; essences of opposing planes. Mathus and I have agreed to not say the exact details of the ritual right now so that it cannot be repeated by those who do not intend to help. We collected these things and brought them to Frozenfar, to a place that was not near others, because we did not know what would happen when we completed the ritual, and we wanted to be able to try and contain it, or lead it away from people. The Light of the Center said that it was the right thing to do, though she could not say what would happen, and that it was what they needed.

    We performed the ritual. The Seven Immaculate Fires came out of Mathus and hovered over the parts of the ritual. The rote was done, and the air felt thicker, and the Fires each moved until they were between the things we had collected, and the portals that were opened behind them. A vast torrent of blue fire engulfed them as the rite was finished. The Fires burnt upward, then abruptly vanished. The items were all burnt into a thin, white powder. There was a moment of nothing that changed, the air still silent and thick. Then suddenly, the air felt thinner. Color faded out of view and everything became more grey and transparent. All around us, there was a low buzzing in the air, as if a huge swarm of flies had taken to the sky. It was quiet at first, and quickly grew louder.

    I did not see it myself, but Mathus described his vision warping and twisting, as if his sense of things... of spatial relation was skewed. His surroundings seemed to change in impossible ways, forming confusing and abstract visuals. To me, things remained solid and normal. I saw a tiny point of grey form above the center of the ritual circle. It was entirely without feature, and seemed somehow inherently wrong, like it did not belong. When Mathus saw it after his vision had cleared, he said it looked the same, but that it was fascinating and had not felt wrong to him. For a while, nothing seemed to happen. The point of grey hovered in the air; the snow that fell did not touch it, but vanished when it almost contacted it. There was suddenly a sound of metal grinding against stone, and a long, thick blade seemed to force its way out of the point of grey, extending as being being pressed through. It stopped half way, then cut down. There was a wave of vast, mental pressure as it happened. Mathus fell unconscious. I did not. The point had become a grey line now, the sword still protruding through the breach.

    The line warped as the Discordant Truth stepped from it, holding the sword. He looked human with the silver veins. He reached down and took a hold of the base of the grey line, and drew it up like it was a strange seam, until it was a dot again. Then he plucked it out of the air and put it into a pocket of his jacket as if it were just a thing. The buzzing sound had stopped at some point. We spoke, and he said his name. He said that he did not know what the point of the ritual had been, that he had not been aware of any ritual in particular. That he knew what it did, but not that it was to happen. The Discordant Truth said that he was not the result of the ritual, but a byproduct of it. The result, he said, was the Grey Breach. The dot of grey that had first appeared. He described it as a fundamental breach in the planar fabric.

    That it was made by one of 'us', in his words, expending its existence to form it. We asked more questions. He said that the grey dot was not the 'soul' of anything, because we had thought it might have been the remnants of the Seven Immaculate Fires. More importantly to this, he said that he knew exactly why he was here, and that it was because 'we' found the breach first. When he said 'we', he patted the hilt of his sword. He said that he couldn't cross before, and had no inclination to break through, but that had changed now. He said that the it was not likely they the ritual had been meant for him specifically to pass through, only that the breach be formed. He said that prior to his passing through he had no knowledge of the situation, and that if it were not his nature to know, he would have likely been ignorant of our world as well.

    We spoke more of things, and he showed us that he could make the dot into a line, and reached into it. He pulled out a wet worm covered in segmented, silvery plates of metal with many tiny, grasping legs like pincers. He said that it was not something that he grabbed for, but what was wanted to come out when he reached.

    It was some while later that we saw the Discordant Truth again. We had been training ourselves against the Illithid and were at the last chamber with the community-brain. He appeared and withdrew one of the worms and put it into the fluid of the brain's pool. To see what would happen, he said, and cause a change. Some while later from that, Illithid and then people were found with the silvery worms inside them, but I do not know as much about this. Tuomas of Kohlingen knew more, and did not share much of what he knew.

    Others will have to be asked about that, I cannot offer more. Some while after that, the Discordant Truth came to me and asked if I would help him to make an area devoid of magic in Actand, and I agreed because it is a thing that Mathus and I hoped to do on our own. At the time, the Discordant Truth had not shown himself to be actively malicious to antithetical to us. Only disregarding of things in the way that many people from this plane are like. The Discordant Truth seemed to have been working together or ... parallel to an entity that I think had been called The Hunter, who had been tracking down people with heritage from other planes.

Kat :
    The Hunter of Nomads.

Ahsra :
    The purpose of the void of magic, he had said, was to help with the damage that the constant warring between the beings of the Lower Planes and the Higher Planes had been engaged in, in Actand. That all of the travel between had weakened the fabric between their worlds and ours and was harming ours. Making a rift through Actand that would spread and damage our world.

Sana :
    He is also the reason outsiders are 'removed' from Actand when they come to the obelisk.

Ahsra :
    It seemed that it would serve two goals; to give us a place free of magic, and to mend the damage done by the fiendish and the celestial beings. We collected the things for this ritual and tried to keep the 'nomad' people away from the Hunter of them without drawing much attention to it, so that more would not die. Mathus and I left the island before the ritual could be done. We had been ready and waiting for the Discordant Truth to tell us when he was ready. There was things that I needed to do for myself on the mainland, so we left to do those.

Kat :
    How long before the Bastion disappeared was this?

Ahsra :
    When we returned, many months had passed, and there was the Quintessence and the Illithids who had been changed by it were gone somehow. The Bastion was now-
    I could not say, that happened while we were not here. I will tell you what the Discordant Truth said. I spoke to him again recently.

    Sana and I went to Actand, to one of the Obelisks and I asked if he would come speak. He did. I asked what he was doing in Actand; he said that he was cultivating a new form of life, a thing that is partially sentient, alive while simultaneously not. That it was an experiment for seeing if a place can live in a manner similar to that of a creature. He said that he did not intend to moderate its behaviour, when I asked what he would do if the ... place-creature became destructive. Only that he would observe. I asked about the Quintessence, and he said that is the catalyst that have the land its life.

    I asked of the infesting of people. He said that it changes people into a form 'that is suited to existence in a state similar to that of the Far Realms'. When I asked if he was doing this to see what would happen, as seemed to be his answer for most things, he said no; that he was doing it because that is what 'should' be done. He said that he had done a great deal of traveling and observation since arriving, and he concluded that our form of existence is limited; stagnant. That our form, functions, and experienced do very little to distinguish us from one another. That our capacity for change, growth, and variety is permanently unfulfilled, and that he finds this abhorrent.

    I do not agree with any of those things he said. I asked him about the choice, to allow those who wanted to be as he wanted to take in the Quintessence of their will, and leave the rest alone. He said that he had come here without intentions, and that he was doing this as a 'gift'. I asked of the ritual to create a place void of magic, and he said that he was still interested in this happening. That things from the Far Realm, like the things in the caves below Cordor's farm lands, change what they are exposed to... we said some more things, then Sana and I left.

    She and I spoke, and I agreed that I would not be helping the Discordant Truth make the void of magic, because it may make it more difficult for us to remove him from our home if we do that first. Other things I have heard are that there are more Grey Breaches now. That one has become a mirror, or a reflective pool. That is what I know.

Kat :
    It is a mirror, literally.

Tee :
    What if the Discordant Truth learns that you don't wish to help him in that endeavor? Will he be angered by that?

Ahsra :
    I would invite those who know things to say these things now.

Unknown :
    So why not make preparation to remove such?

Tee :
    What are we doing to remove him? Do we know how?

Almare :
    I would like to ask if anyone of present knows of relation of Silver Blades to the affair, if any.

Kat :
    It is often impossible to overcome a foe, unless you know what they intend. I would say that is certain in this case.

Unknown :
    Where was the mirror found and what was done with it?

Sana :
    We know his intention.

Alanna :
    The thing that contains the ritual that will remove Truth and the Quintessence is called the Codex Anathema. No one seems to know where to find that- and Truth endeavors to destroy it.

Cory :
    Do we know of any weakness he might have so we can focus on killing him?

Sana :
    What of the mirror, the breach? It is what brought him here, it is what he has brought Quintessence and other silvery beings through to our prime.

Kat :
    The mirror was created by Truth. He sacrificed one that had been harboring the Quintessence for over a year, and used the quantity to create a stable gateway to the Far Realms. He is in possession of the mirror.

Mathus :
    I am... focusing all of my efforts on learning how to command portals such as the one I created to bring him here.

Kat :
    The mirror did not bring him here.

Alanna :
    Ahsra, Mathus- have either of you heard of the Codex?

Mathus :
    No, this is the first I've heard of it.

Ahsra :
    I asked the Discordant Truth about the Codex. He said that he did not know where it was, and that he intended to read it and then likely discard it. Beyond that, I do not know anything about it. Only the name.

Alanna :
    He was briefly allied with Amon- in return for distracting the island with the Quintessence and probably targeting some key people working against the Arcanum, Amon was going to retrieve and destroy the Codex.

Kat :
    I was speaking to Sana. She asked about the mirror and portal that brought Truth here. I was clarifying, the Mirror did not bring him here, he created the mirror.

Alanna :
    He claimed it was what Truth wanted above everything.

Sana :
    What of the initial breach then?

Kat :
    From what we learned here, today, the initial breach was caused by these two and their ritual.

Ahsra :
    I had wondered how they were connected. It seemed as if the events were parallel somehow, but I did not know if it was passive or active. Is Amon dead now?

Sana :
    Rather, has it progressed, where is it, the like.

Kat :
    There are more than one now, and the mirror is portable, so it can be anywhere, Truth desires for it to be.

Sana :
    The breach was also portable, and from your description is essentially the same as the mirror.

Kat :
    It could very well be the mirror itself, Sana.

Unknown :
    I guess that means its time to break a mirror.

Almare :
    Could you add anything on topics of Silver Blades and Hunter of Nomads?

Mathus :
    Regardless, they all need to be eliminated, and Truth needs to be shoved back through it first.

Kat :
    From what I have seen, Truth uses the mirror as a sort of focal point to open a gateway which allows other entities from the Far Realms to enter ours.... However... He doesn't need it to cut his way through for his own travel.

Sana :
    You think the sacrificed person fueled an expansion of the breach?

Cory :
    Why does he need to be shoved into it? Why can't we just stab him to death and that be the end of it?

Mathus :
    Because he isn't like us. He's not a flesh and blood being, he's a concept. He is what our minds can comprehend the Discordant Truth looks like. Subjective opinion.

Kurchin :
    Though I did hear from a Salandran healer that the Quintessence reacts to sonic energy... though.. I don't believe she's tested her theory on a patient yet.

Almare :
    ...And the Hunter of Nomads?

Kat :
    The Hunter of Nomads is an entity like Truth. They have both completed whatever transformation the Quintessence was supposed to make.

Almare :
    Are Hunter's motives for extraction of quintessence known?

Mathus :
    Who is looking for the Codex now, Alanna? Do you know?

Alanna :
    I'm not sure, Mathus. Sana had mentioned it in the past- the only other I knew was Amon, and he is dead.

Sana :
    Last I heard it could be in Mulhorand, or wherever that place be.

Alanna :
    Where did you hear that?

Alanna :
    I would have probably heard if Amon came into possession of it- but I cannot say that with certainty.

Sana :
    Why is the book necessary, and if it is what have we pooled of it? It could be a goose chase, no one even knows if it exists.

Alanna :
    At current all I know is that Truth wanted it destroyed- badly enough to enter into a deal with a blood mage for.

Mathus :
    I've been manipulated one too many times by Truth, in my humble opinion, to trust anything else he has to say. Not because he's wrong, but because its what he wants. For all we know recovering it and utilizing it would be the final piece of the puzzle that Truth needs to accomplish his goals.

Almare :
    In one or another form, compendium of alienist lore is bound to exist. It's likely that knowledge within will be beneficial for this cause.

Alanna :
    I don't know anyone who knows enough information about it to scry for it- and likely a scrying wouldn't yield useful results, even if we did.

Mathus :
    What it boils down to here is that we don't believe keeping discussion about this behind closed doors does us any favors.

Kurchin :
    All those capable of casting spells here... does anyone not know about the Cerulean sign? Or how to cast it?

Tukson :
    I've found it in a few libraries around the island, but did not note it particularly...

Kurchin :
    To cast it, first, encircle the patient in a circle of freshly cut grass, it's a tie to nature. Next, gather abjurative energy, much like how a dispel would be cast, only don't release it, just gather it. Then, trace the symbol in the air with a finger. As an alternative to the grass, you can cut your finger and use a drop of blood to fuel the spell, but I don't know if that will work for those of planar origin. Five castings are what's needed to cure most patients, though it is a painful process. Be warned though, if someone is infected again, the cure will likely kill them.

Mathus :
    For what it's worth, I am sorry for my part in so much pain and death. I don't take full responsibility for what Truth has done, but I will say my best intentions are no recompense for the dead. There was nothing about the Immaculate Fires, or even Truth, at first, that seemed antithetical to our existence here. They were inquisitive, and interacted with us as we would with a beast in the field, gradually realizing that we were capable of much more intellectual interaction.

    I have a suggestion - for the sake of the open forum, but so as to allow us to spread out and continue doing what we need to do with the time we have, I say any further communication on this matter be sent to Mr. Devers so he can transcribe it for the rest of us to see.

Tukson :
    The Cerulean Sign is a sigil that is repugnant to the Far Realm and aberrations, there's a magical rite to invoke it's power. Over the ages, the rite has been adapted to both divine and arcane variations...

Sana :
    And what about scrolls, can they be scribed to a scroll for us paper wizards?

Kurchin :
    I'm afraid not. Nor wands. But, a priest can inscribe the sign in a glyph of warding.

Sana :
    As far as information on the Quintessence orbs goes I can give physical attributes, they fluctuate between 100-200 meters in diameter, and between 500 and 1000 meters above the ground. They have a mile wide distortive influence.

Alanna :
    Explain "distortive"?

Unknown :
    Any difference between the edge and epicenter of the effect range?

Sana :
    If you look to the sky beneath their influence, the sky is unnatural, constellations and visuals that are not natural. Within the influence there is also hallucinatory experiences.. Things at the corner of your vision that cannot be viewed, though I question if it is a hallucination or merely a product of the antithesis they have shown.

Tukson :
    I will see if I can't dig up the proper invocations and rituals to invoke the Sign properly, to add to the record. The Sign itself is a mere fanciful symbol without them.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

An attached sheet wrote:
{included is a picture of the Cerulean Sign as well as arcane and divine invocations of the ritual}


Transcribed by Namer Tukson Devers of Cordor

Image



Dec 3-4, 2012 wrote:
Nightal 3-4


Mathus and Ahsra of the New Moon wrote:
A faint 'pop!' sound echoed quietly through the air.
Other sounds seemed to cease for the briefest moment.
All open flames flickered with blue light, then returned to normal.

The Seven Immaculate Fires appear along the coast of Bendir Bay. At this point, blue fires have appeared in the throats of some individuals. Those known to have had them are Ulrik of Kohlingen and one by the name of Gwrtheryn.

At Bendir Bay, many gathered to investigate the Seven Immaculate Fires. Some heard the sound and found it, some had a vision. Ryrik of the Three Thunders, Tuomas of Kohlingen, Emilie of the Branded Phoenix, an elf woman of name unknown, have blue flames enter into their throats.


Dec 27-28, 2012 wrote:
Nightal 27 - 28


Mathus and Ahsra of the New Moon wrote:
The vision Mathus saw when communicating with the Seven Immaculate Fires within the ruins of Mystra’s Grove:

I saw vast field stretching as far as the eye can see. The grass was strands of thick, coarse hair. It shifted to a forest of beautiful trees, made of gleaming silver metal, dotted with blue and purple points of light in their metallic bark. It shifted to a sky of bleached bone, dotted with points of darkness in place of stars. It shifted to a perfectly formed tower of blue stone, seamless and pure, glowing and standing on a mountain of white rock. Surrounding the summit were seven pillars of blue fire…

There was nothing. No light, no sound, no presence or feeling of hot or cold, of time or space. It felt as though there was nothing but pure emptiness and myself, though I could not feel any physical body.

After an indecipherable amount of time, I saw a crack appear across the surface of nothing. The crack begins to slowly spread, leaking light, sound and time. I could see a vague form around me as my mind slowly encased my own body, and I could feel as time begins to flow again. I remained in the nothingness, watching as the cracks spread and break the void.

Abruptly, I felt the immense presence surround my mind again. Seven points of beautiful fire burst from my body, spreading out across the vast nothingness and touched against the cracks, trying to force them shut. I sensed the presence try and then begin to falter, as it struggled to preserve the void. The cracks grew again, and the presence touched my mind in a way that felt like it was pleading.

I tried to join with the presence to help it, and it washed over me instantly, engulfing my mind entirely in its vastness. The fire consumed my body and flared across entirety of the nothingness. The cracks were pushed back and the void was repaired. It was an empty, perfect void again.



  Treatment of Quintessence Infection

Hello friends,

I write this as an update to my previous release of information detailing my experiments and efforts in the cure to the silvery infection known as Quintessence. Please share this and post it for your authorities, clergy, spellcasters, public, etcetera, as you see fit.

Index:
1) Observations on the Quintessence
2) The Cerulean Sign
3) Warnings
4) Invoking the Sign
5) Glyph of Cerulean Warding



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ 1) Observations on the Quintessence ~~

Quintessence can be detected easily in two ways. A Detect Magic spell should reveal it's presence, but universally reliable is carefully taking a blood sample, which if the individual is infected will reveal the obvious presence of a silvery liquid in the blood.
There are other symptoms as well which can indicate that an individual might be infected. These include:

- Hearing high-pitched buzzing noises.
- Hearing voices speaking in an unintelligible tongue.
- Seeing objects appear to move unnaturally from one point to another.
- Seeing creatures just out of view that vanish when looked at.
- Food tasting strongly of salt or acidity.
- The smell of lightning in the air.


The Quintessence seems to have some sort of intelligence to it, particularly as it seems to assert some will over an infected person as the infection becomes more severe. Stronger hallucinations, fear of the Cerulean sign, fear of being cured, and resignation to fate or death.

If you think you might be infected, suffering any of the above symptoms, seek help immediately and do all you can to avoid physical contact with anyone. It's recommended to wear a full robe to aid in preventing this.

Do all you can to avoid physical harm to yourself if you become infected. Any damage to your body will be healed by the quintessence, but by the quintessence repairing your body by replacing it with itself. This is not an advantage to be praised or embraced as some superior ability of regeneration. The quintessence will consume any individual who does not get it treated and particularly if they rely heavily on it to heal them.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ 2) The Cerulean Sign ~~
Image

The cerulean sign is a symbol that embodies the purity of the natural world, and as such it is anathema to aberrations.
Just the very sight of this symbol can cause repulsion from aberrations and has been noted to repel, make nervous, or scare individuals who are infected with the Quintessence.
Further research is being done on how to magically imbue this symbol and create wards against the Quintessence, but we have not yet found success.
Magically casting this symbol however is easily done by spell casters of virtually any type, be it druid, cleric, wizard, bard, or paladin. When invoking the symbol magically, it will pull and destroy amounts of Quintessence from an infected person's body. Details on this will be given on this in the invoking section.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ 3) Warnings ~~

- In later stages of infection, it's possible to contract the infection by contact with the skin of someone who's infected. Wear thick gloves.

- Attempting to cure someone who has already been infected and cured once is highly dangerous and potentially fatal. The body may be so badly damaged that the individual may also not be easily resurrected. Extreme caution is begged if attempting to cure a re-infected individual. Always ask before you cure someone if they've been cured before!

- Use extreme caution when attempting to cure anyone with a significant level of infection. I would detail significant as ⅜ the individual's blood. Anything greater than this could be potentially fatal. Regeneration spells and restorations do not aid greatly as the quintessence resurges as well. Thankfully, indications are that someone who might perish as a result of this should still be able to be resurrected once all remaining quintessence is removed. (Though potentially not if it's their second time being infected!)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ 4) Invoking the Sign ~~

Invoking the Cerulean Sign is the first and primary step in curing most individuals. Please remember the previous warning though on attempting to cure someone who has been re-infected.

Curing someone by invoking the sign may require multiple attempts depending on the level of infection. If an individual is significantly infected, the sign alone may not work, and may require a more powerful version, which is detailed in the Glyph section.

The spell is an evocation in which you create a circle of a natural element on the ground, such as grass, and trace in the air in the form of the cerulean sign. As you complete the spell with an outward gesture, the cerulean sign will light up in a glowing blue rune, a flash of light, and create spectral leaves that fall down around the target, pulling amounts of quintessence from their body.

Once you begin the process, you should be committed to finishing it. Not completing the process and leaving any amount of quintessence in the body could result in the quintessence resurging to the same state it was in before, or potentially worse. As such, if you believe you've completed the cure, you should check the individual with a detect magic spell or by checking a sample of their blood.

It's recommended that to do this properly, you seek a demonstration by someone capable of casting an invocation of the Cerulean Sign. I will happily demonstrate this personally to anyone that comes to see me.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~ 5) Glyph of Cerulean Warding ~~

The Glyph of Cerulean Warding is a spell only able to be cast (currently) by clerics. It combines the invocation of the Cerulean sign with a Glyph of Warding spell, which most clerics should be familiar with.

Most of the time, a single casting and activation of the glyph is sufficient enough to cure someone. Depending on their level of infection, it may weaken them or knock them unconscious.
If the infection is severe, it will definitely knock the individual unconscious, but should not kill them, however it may not clear out all the quintessence either.
If this occurs, a second casting of the glyph will be necessary as otherwise the quintessence will likely resurge, but be warned that there is a serious risk of death for the infected. If it is their first infection though, they should hopefully be brought back to life with a resurrection spell. Due to this risk though, only experienced healers should attempt this.

Casting the spell:

- Use the natural element (such as grass) to encircle the casting area.
- Begin the casting of "Invoke the Cerulean Sign", but instead of drawing the sigil in the air, cast it upon the ground, using a small amount of powdered diamond.
- Instead of finishing the spell with the outward gesture, finish by completing a casting of a Glyph of Warding, setting the trigger to activate upon the entry of any aberration.
- When focusing the trigger of the spell, focus the action to push outward upon the sigil as well to complete the original Cerulean sign spell.

If successful, the result will be a brilliant display of blue and green energy erupting from the glyph and coming down on whatever activated it, engulfing them in a spectral tree, breaking apart into a flurry of leaves which will fade away, taking most or all the Quintessence with it.

Aside from the Glyph being able to cure heavily infected individuals where the base sign won't, it can also be useful to ward and protect sensitive areas, like gates or entrances to homes. Once the spell is triggered, it will need to be reset again and as such is not permanent, but still very useful in early detection and protection.
Please be warned though to avoid using the Glyph on publically trafficked areas due to the risk of engulfing someone infected for a second time, which could be fatal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Unicorn's blessings to you all, my friends. I can be reached at the Salandran temple if I can offer further help or answer questions.

Keep hope and take strength from faith, family, and friends. We will get through this crisis with determination and joy in our hearts.

Evander


  A Successful Method of Quintessence Removal

      You will need:

    • Two hundred cubic crates approximately three feet to a side, coated with beeswax or other natural sealant to prevent leaks.
    • Enough sonic magic, spells or effects to cover an area the size of the sphere for at least 10 minutes and possibly as long as half an hour (Evocation spells, ascetic Ki Shout techniques, Bardic Song, the keening of creatures or forms with particularly loud voices such as harpies or the like, very loud instruments).
    • Two hundred castings of the spell "Invoke the Cerulean Sign," whether by hand or from scrolls, or any combination thereof.
    • A plan for the temporary evacuation of your town to another nearby area while the sphere is brought down and put into the crates (this will take about 10-30 minutes).

    Once these components are in place, I advise the following steps be taken in order. I do not know what will happen if they are not followed as described.

    1. Move all non-essential personnel to a safe distance as per your evacuation plan.
    2. Clear the area directly underneath the sphere as much as possible. When it comes down it will land with the force of a house of its size made of solid stone, and shatter into many small pieces. Keep this in mind when preparing the area.
    3. Direct very loud sound toward the sphere. It should solidify and become grey before cracking and losing its buoyancy. It should fall to the ground and shatter into many small pieces.
    4. Continue to direct loud sound toward the pieces for as long as is necessary to retrieve all of the chunks and fragments and place them in the prepared boxes. It is absolutely critical that the noise continue during this time, as the Quintessence is only inert when exposed to great noise. If the sound ceases, it will become liquid, infectious and volatile once more within a very short time.
    5. If there is more shattered material than you have boxes to contain it, you may use plain dirt to mix with the pieces on a 1-to-1 ratio. When the Quintessence liquifies, the dirt will render it inert (it will retain its grey coloration and will not become silver again).
    6. Use castings of Invoke the Cerulean Sign to banish the material of each box, individually. Any amount of Quintessence greater than that of a single crate will resist the spell and cause it to fail, but if it is cast on individual boxes at a time this will work.


    Mathus of the New Moon, Apostle of the Void




 
      
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