In the Path of Chaos and Despair

In the Path of Chaos ~

In ages long before, Takhisis did convince Paladine and Gilean to forge a world in which the star-spirits which lingered about them might have a place where the spirits could thrive and have purpose. Her intention of course was to enslave the star-spirits to herself, but the intercession of the other gods would not allow her to bend all creatures to her will.

And so together the three, along with Reorx and his forge, did create the world. Yet Chaos, the great god who had existed before the Three, grew angry at this action. He viewed himself as the father of all, and was furious with his god children in their rebellion against him.

To throw the world into even greater Chaos and thus spite his children and their 'plaything' that was the world, he created beings upon it that might punish the other creations. And thus the dragons were born of this vengeance.

Yet again Takhisis thwarted the God of Chaos now known as the “Father of Everything and Nothing” and took the dragons of Chaos for her own, perverting them into her service.

Chaos truly had not punished his 'children' in what they had wrought.. and thus did he bide his time until there came mortals foolish enough to seek his favor, believing that they could harness the power of Chaos for their own..



And thus came two Rangers of the Green, White Knight, and Dark Souled Mage.. to put an end to these designs.

Part I
The One Ring

The sun was sitting mid way in the sky to indicate late morning, that would be if the skies around Tantalon were not obscured by the foul presence of the Black Dragon army and the mist rising from the surrounding swamp. The young Templar stood out in the haze and dim, he always did, stealth was not a strong suit for him. Cautiously he approached the outskirts of Tantalon, he was not there to spy, merely to remove the bugbear menace in the surrounding area and became too close. A sixth sense in the back of his head told him to abandon that course and turn back, which he heeded. As he made his way down the trail a ruin that seemed buried by the swamp seemed almost to call to him. Great danger and evil and a great presence of good and light intermingled and drew him on, like a siren call. His curiosity won the battle to resist the urge to explore this place and he turned to enter the swamp. The forest was thick and the swamp hazardous to traverse, but still he pressed on. Using his sword, Damien cut through underbrush and branches that opposed his movement; it seemed as if the very swamp was trying to keep him from continuing. Steady movement forward was soon halted as a lizard creature jumped from out of the tree over his head, axe in hand. The creature had no intention of diplomacy, and the battle quickly commenced. It seemed an ancient creature, feral, primitive, and brutal. It slashed at Damien, who had a time trying to parry the barrage of attacks, and return blows. The creature fought with tooth, claw, and axe, but despite its great size and strength, it was eventually felled.

The swamp continued on, just as the feeling, almost as a voice, in his head told him to press forward. Over the sounds of his boots splashing through the marsh and his sword cutting through underbrush, Damien heard the sounds of metal on metal, followed by a woman calling on her god. Hurrying forward and into a clearing, Damien’s eyes met with a Solamnic Knight on the ground barely breathing, looking up at a Draconian, ready to make the killing blow. Another man may have merely run for it at that point, and many might consider Damien a fool for his next action, but he could do no other. Stepping forward, Damien confronted the beast. Ready to commit the killing blow on his target, the creature turned its head towards him and snarled a threat, telling him not to get involved. Turning back to the wounded woman, the Draconian thrust its sword through the Knight, her body wreathing upwards a moment, before falling lifeless again. Potions were quickly drunk and a vow made to destroy the beast, Damien then charged the creature full on. It was over quickly. Not even a challenge for the Draconian, Damien’s blade struck the creature’s armor, without even piercing it. The monster Slashed downward, cutting through plate metal, and into Damien’s body. He crumbled to the ground, helplessly looking up at the monster, trying to blink the blood from his eyes, his breathing becoming shallow. As consciousness waned, the last thing he saw was a bright light and a surprised look on the Monster’s face, before it died. His eyes slowly closed as he could hold on no longer.

A bright light gently woke him. As his eyes opened he noticed that he felt no pain. Turning his head from side to side, he quickly found that he was no longer in the swamp, but on the floor inside a building. He quickly pushed himself to rest on his elbows, where he was laying before three women, priestess’ of Mishakal. They informed him of what had occurred and that he was now within a temple of Mishakal within the same swamp. They told him that he had been saved, that the Draconian had been slain, and that the knight had gone on, as they were not able to save her in time. With his questions answered, Damien was thanked for his attempt and sacrifice to help one of the Knighthood, and given freedom to go as he wished. While exiting a Silver Dragon watching over the door turned and greeted him. While conversing, Damien discovered that this dragon had been the one that had saved his life in the swamp. Wishing to return the favor, Damien eagerly asked if there was a way to repay the Silver, to which he was directed back to the Priestess’. The Templar returned to the previous room and asked three women how he could repay them for his life. He was told of a Prophecy of Hope, one that relied on a ring worn by the Knight that had perished to the Draconian. The ring was given to Damien with instructions to travel to Thelgaard to find the last remaining relative of the Knight, on that “Did not bear the name or blood, but bore the true name and blood”. He was to find this person to proceed with the prophecy. Little of what he was told made sense to him, but they encouraged him to proceed and that it would become apparent as he perused his goal. Damien immediately left and made haste towards Thelgaard.

His goal was set, Thelgaard. Damien knew little of what to expect, how to go about it, and being ill prepared for the venture he was to undertake, he made his way to Palanthas and to the temple of Paladine to seek guidance. Speaking with the High Priest, Damien was told the history of the Knighthood. His story told of the death and disappearances of the leadership, that the ring he bore would restore hope to the nation. As the story concluded a scout entered the temple to report that the Black Dragon army was invading the town of Solace and that help was needed. A tough choice befell Damien at that moment, help defend the town from the Dragon Army or push forward for the greater good? Given his divine calling, Damien quickly prepared himself and began his journey south to Thelgaard. It weighed heavy on his heart to do so, but he placed his faith in those that would stand up in defense of the town, and made his way through the lawless and rugged roads towards Thelgaard.

Bandits and highwaymen were thick on the road, men with one goal; stop the progress of the ring bearer. Over the hum of battle, Damien could hear the call of the bandit leaders to “Kill the messenger!” “That bounty is as good as ours!”. How these men knew of what he carried and what his task was, he did not know, but it only enforced the importance of his task and that he complete it at any cost. The bandits were only the beginning, as he progressed along the road, Damien was intercepted by several Black Talon Assassins. They demanded the ring and his life, neither of which Damien was willing to part with. Among the bodies of the bandits and Black Fangs were letters of bounty for his head offered by the Black Dragon army. How this bounty was issued so quickly and how they knew of his goal was beyond the knowledge of Damien, but the amount must have been great, to draw so many to the road to attempt to intercept him.

Approaching the Solamnic held fortress outside of Portsmith, Damien was greeted by one of the Knighthood, who informed him that the fort had recently been the victim of an attack by the Black Dragon Army. The attackers were trying to kill one they referred to as “The Messenger”. The size of the attack was suicidal against the fortifications and presence of the Knighthood, but it showed the desperation of those working to halt Damien from his task. The last stretch of road was a dangerous as it had been, filled with bandits and Black Talons that wished his death, until he set foot at the base of the great fortress Thelgaard.

Part III
The Ritual is the Thing

Upon entering the Keep at Thelgaard, Damien was met by the Lord Knight, who escorted him into the upper section of the Hall. Damien inquired with the Lord Knight if the owner of the ring was present, to which he was instructed that it was to be delivered to the Lady Anastasia, who had left to find reverie and had not been heard of in some time. The Prophecy of Hope for Solamnia was then told by the Lord Knight. That someone wished to release the Demon Prince, Despair, into the world. Releasing this creature of chaos would undo the very order that held together the world as everyone knew it. The creature had been unleashed once before, but was defeated and banished by Lady Anastasia in a time past, if it were to be released again, it must be defeated and banished again, unless the one who wished it released was defeated prior to performing the ritual. The next step for Damien was to locate Anastasia (Who would be searching for him, now that he had the ring) and find and stop the one attempting to release the demon.

While traveling the land, Damien found himself in the Dwarven settlement of Hill Home. While approaching the docks area he was surprised to see a Knight urgently seeking him. She informed him that the Lord Knight of Thelgaard had sent word and handed him a scroll case with a letter enclosed. The letter spoke of the research of white robed mages into the Hope Prophecy. The letter told that Anastasia had gone to live with the monks of Majere, The ring he bore was a “key”, The he should seek out a companion with a dark soul and heart of fire and ice, that he must face an opponent that was once defeated by the High Justice (The Demon Despair), and that the ritual to release Despair would be performed during the phase of the three moons known as “The Night of the Eye”. The end of the letter was slashed and contained blood. As to why, Damien was unsure, at the time. The Knight informed him that four letters had been sent; three of the messengers had been intercepted and killed before reaching Damien. As he rolled up the letter and returned it to the scroll case, an acid covered arrow shot through the air and into the throat of the Knight, nearly beheading her. The Black Talons had arrived to attempt to end the prophecy once again. During the conflict, a black robed mage that Damien had meet earlier, named Veluthil, arrived at the scene of the battle. The two where sorely outnumbered and outmatched, and were forced to flee onto a nearby ship that hastily set sail from port and to safety.

The two later docked at New Port, and in the inn, discussed the prophecy. Damien learned that she was the child of parents known as “Fire” and “Ice”, and that during the Night of the Eye magi would increase in power, powerful enough even to summon a great demon as, Despair. Veluthil was a renegade hunter for the Tower, it seemed obvious as to why she seemed to be the one spoken of in the letter, as only a renegade would be foolish enough to tamper with a creature that could undo the very magic that mages lived on. Armed with what little information they had, the two set off to discover more on who would perform such a risky ritual, and how they could stop them.


Sorry for dominating this thread so much. Thanks for reading along and letting me tell the intro into the Prophecy. Everyone feel free to post your characters reactions and participation in the event!

Black silk trimmed in violet fluttered upon the air in a whispering tease, and the common populace stopped to stare for a moment at the sight of a shining knight walking companionably beside the black robed wizardess.

A slight grin curled her lip as they walked through the city, and he escorted her to a quiet location where they might speak of what had been revealed unto them this far.

The shining knight passed her the scroll-case for review, watching her face to measure expression as she perused the contents of this 'prophecy' that had been forseen by those of the white robes. The extended formalities of the knighthood seemed excessive for a letter of such urgency, especially one that had gotten four messengers killed to deliver, and she skipped ahead of those paragraphs to the more interesting tidbits.

“...you must have a companion who is a dark soul with a heart of fire and ice...” A slight sigh passed her lips, there was no mistake of the matter she was the one this prophecy required. She wanted to complain, but with-held until she could read the last of the missive.

“...within the next phase of the Three Moons upon the night of the eye, the demon Despair will be released...”

She stopped reading, and looked up as her nose crinkled slightly in thought. The Night of the Eye was significant to those of the Moons more than all others. That such was mentioned as a night of importance, indicated very clearly that they were dealing with a spellcaster.

Her mind spun rapidly, thinking over the things she had seen and learned about Despair in the course of her time spent in the space 'between' the realms. History opened itself before her, filtering through her mind in a rapid succession one after the other.

A demon sent forth to crush the voice of hope, banished by a champion.. she exhaled lightly at the thought. Such a beast would undo everything. It was clear then, why the prophecy had led the knight to her. The release of Despair would be an anathema to all the Tower and Magi stood for, the release of Despair would mark the caster of the magic a Renegade before the eyes of men and gods. The release of Despair would destroy all things which those in the world valued, regardless of their belief or affiliation. This was a threat to all.

And only she.. had the necessary training to bring a Renegade of this level of power to punishment before the ritual was completed and the demon freed from the bindings which held it. The Huntress of the Tower.. was released.