Gorlen Blackhammer - Journal Entry #400
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Hello Journal,
It’s me once again Gorlen. It’s been too long since I have put ink to these pages, yet somehow after all this time away puttering around the deep manaverse, getting my arse handed to me [he sits up cranks his back, settles back into his journal dipping his quill into the ink well]. Gorlen begins to settle in with a familiar feeling……He somehow has begun to draw a deep familiarity in being back in V’Ral and the manaverse, the smells, the sounds, the people mulling about even the tactile feel of you as well journal.
Ahh, the deep-manaverse, ohh that needs to be unpacked, but I’m afraid this entry isn’t going to be about that, at least not entirely, you see for me to tell my story I probably need to start at the end. I don’t know how but somehow the deep-manaverse knew, it ultimately dumped me out into an empty field not far from a sea town called Ashinport, in all, the town really wasn’t all that special the fishing was plentiful, regular sea trade, healthy lumber business and despite the rocky soil the crops grew here. Quiet town really, except one night a truly unholy horrific storm rolled in and between the heavy clouds, relentless rain, and the endless lightning everyone took shelter in the Dragon’s Last Call a local inn that was obviously the sturdiest building in all of the towns save for the magic tower, 30 miles inland. It was too far for the towns folk to make it there; many strange things have been happening there over the years and nobody in town likes to visit there.
You see the tower used to be a school of magic, called the Osadronia Academy of Magic, up until about 100 years ago, it shuttered its entrances mysteriously after a large earthquake shook the area and no one has been seen entering or leaving the place since. From what I have learned about the Academy it was a political and economic powerhouse for the region, with all sorts of powerful faculty and an extensive library its reputation on the continent was without question. Apprentices flocked to the school to learn magic, with a continuous stream of merchants looking for discounted magic items keeping the school’s coffers impressively full. Overtime the school’s success sadly also brought about the attention and envy of rival wizards.
In the end, an earthquake had befallen the region, shaking the tower to the point of opening a vulnerability in the Academy’s defense for a pack of drow wizards led by an exiled drow archmage called Veinald. This drow had been refused by Osadronia many years ago, it was learned their nefarious purpose was to ultimately gain access to the vaults and not further the cause of magic. The quartermaster Remphar banished them after discovering Veinald’s plans. Since then, Remphar has faced several small magical skirmishes with the Drow seeking revenge, but nothing before planned at this level.
Veinald and his cabal of drow wizards crawled thru the caverns beneath the school. Veinald was there for one purpose and one purpose only, to retrieve a magic relic that resides within the Academy’s vaults called the Tapestry of the Eternities. Upon breaching the tower, the Drow let loose a prepared volley of magic that took out most of the academy’s professors. Many of the faculty had grown too complacent over hundreds of years the school had been open, never having been attacked or challenged in a frontal assault like this. Alas, many of the academy’s professors ultimately proved to be poor defenders of the school. Anyone that survived quickly admitted defeat, a remaining white-beard professor somehow managed to repel their initial volley of magic and still survived. He remembered the contingencies they cast upon the tower years and years ago and activated the school’s failsafe defenses. The school immediately went into lockdown, designed to contain the invaders, and keep out the looters.
Veinald’s victory was short, he retained control over portions of the school but possessed insufficient force to acquire the Tapestry. The artifact offered Veinald, the chance to return from drow exile, and rule his home city. Veinald was able during the initial calamity to slay the school’s quartermaster and he did loot the vault key, but what he didn’t know is the vault required two keys and a password (which he still doesn’t know about), to open the vault.
My theory is the school saw to many years of prosperity, going unchallenged, and we all know the Lady of Fate will have her due. Because just hours after the fall of Osadronia, an aboleth named Keres moves into the caverns beneath the school and lays a clutch of eggs, with plans to lay more. Though it’s going to be many years before the brood becomes strong enough to hold up the academy, Keres plans to use the Tapestry to expand its influence beyond the school, but to the entire region.
About a week after Veinald’s attack, a rakshasa named Tijnit try’s entering the school also in search of the Tapestry. Surprised by all the competition, his initial approach thru the caverns failed against the aboleth, taking heavy losses. Tijnit found a way to enter the academy thru the top of one of its towers. Eventually, Tijnit would gain control over several areas within the school, he also lacks the keys, and the password to gain access to the vault, and bypass its defenses.
Lastly, a pair of wizards Nomas and Moyra, survived the school’s downfall and fight to keep Veinald, Tinjit, and the Aboleth out of the vaults. Together they can repel them, but neither was powerful enough to drive them out.
In the end, what fate each invader befell is unknown, and it’s unknown if the vaults containing the Tapestry of Eternities are even still intact.
At least that was its original history, you see I was tossed out near this Osadronia Acadamy of Magic six centuries ago, after encountering a source of pure magical intelligence inside the deep-mana ethereal plane. It hurled me back to the prime material plane, into a different time, into an empty field where the Academy is to be built. It took me a while to get a sense of it, but I realize now that the intelligence I found needed me to open this school, to avoid the folly of its original history, and to ensure the home of what would become the Tapestry of Eternities resting place will be safe. So that is what I did, while it may feel like I have been gone a few weeks journal., I assure you I have been here for much longer.
As to how the Tapestry of Eternities came into being, that story will have to be told over mana wine another time.
Clearly, I’m not going to be able to open this school as Gorlen is such a low level, and if I do it as the ‘other guy’ he will draw too much attention. It looks like, I will need a new ‘identity’, and somehow introduce him without drawing any suspicion. Over the history of Osadronia I took many different persona’s one was the Wizard Ador who became known by the sages as the designer, and father of the Osadronia Acadamy, my latest persona is the quartermaster Remphar. In much of the lore Ador is talked about but many sages believe he wasn’t the only one that built the Academy and that such as school was beyond the Wizard Ador’s resources.
As time marched on those questions and the concerns of Ador actually building the academy faded from memory. Eventually, as in all things Ador passed of old age, but not before handing the reigns over to Remphar. Yes, journal I realize it is very rather odd to pass an inheritance to yourself, but one must keep up appearances. For hundreds of years now the school had been open Remphar was the only being with access to the vault. As time progressed, he entrusted access to the vault to a scarce few.
The course of history has now changed, the earthquake did happen, but with a subtle nudge by Gorlen to Sorvani about a renegade Drow Archwizard, and some not-so-subtle hints to The Fallen Legion (ok they weren’t hints they all found a map the next morning after some heavy drinking, stuck to their forehead saying step (1) go here, (2) kill, (3) loot treasure). The drow threat never struck post-earthquake. Additionally, the new design of the tower didn’t breach its active defenses during the earthquake and can self-mend, so the Aboleth looking for a place to nest moved on. Now from the previous history, too long of a period of prosperity makes the school complacent, so now I try and ensure to periodically steer or summon monsters toward the school to keep the faculty and students on their toes. The Rakshasa didn’t know what hit him when he caught up with the school.
Having now been in the manaverse a long time now, and if my theory about the deep-mana ethereal plane is a quasi-intellect of vast magical knowledge. I then suspect it is steering me toward a purpose, to save the Tapestry, maybe the school…and to return to the deep-mana ethereal plane, to what end I’m not sure. I do know that now the school has been put on a different path the Tapestry awakens when I lay eyes upon it (regardless of what persona I view it with, which is somewhat troubling). Unfortunately, the soup of pictures and letters the Tapestry shares still doesn’t make sense. When I do view the Tapestry, it does sound strange, but I get the feeling I must return to the deep-mana ethereal plane.
The school is still in operation today, the sages love to press Remphar on a strange etching they found on the outer vault wall, which was built to protect the Tapestry and contained an inscription ‘To Self, I copied your vault design, hope I did it justice”. Usually, Remphar just shrugs when asked about it and says, “You’re going to have to ask Self about that”.
Ok that’s enough Journal…time for a break, going to wander down to the drunken Ogre it’s been ~700 years since I’ve had a sip of some Bloodweiser.
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“Go here, kill, loot treasure ??”
“Somebody is clearly mistaking us for hobo murderers
We are here to fornicate, not mutilate ! Silly gnome, your lack of ale must have damaged your memory helm’s cooling systems…”*** hits Replay ***
“Aha… yes indeed, he is even calling us the Fallen Legion - who have yet to even visit the Manaverse. Here, let me just slide a tentacle in your ear - i’m sure we can sort out your scrambled memories !”
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Servant thinks that Gorlen needs a new prime material plane connection.
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@daermadm said in Gorlen Blackhammer - Journal Entry #400:
Servant thinks that Gorlen needs a new prime material plane connection.
WOW… Varalla must really be smacking the Turd around for him to call himself Servant now
(then again, we know how racist the Cloud can be, so i shouldn’t be surprised…lol) -
@dwarf said in Gorlen Blackhammer - Journal Entry #400:
@daermadm said in Gorlen Blackhammer - Journal Entry #400:
Servant thinks that Gorlen needs a new prime material plane connection.
WOW… Varalla must really be smacking the Turd around for him to call himself Servant now
(then again, we know how racist the Cloud can be, so i shouldn’t be surprised…lol)yeah voice to text and auto correct killed me on that one…
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@dwarf said in Gorlen Blackhammer - Journal Entry #400:
“Somebody is clearly mistaking us for hobo murderers We are here to fornicate, not mutilate !
No, no … only Dregnoth is here to fornicate, the rest of us have made peace with hobo murdering, and we all know the Fallen Legion are all about the swing shovel first, and questions later… the only difference is their leader likes to give lengthy speeches right before the hobo murdering begins.
