Adventure #4 - Worlds Collide

[reefwood]

Adventure #4 - Worlds Collide

What are we but star dust,
Spat out by Siberys,
Nurtured by Eberron,
Consumed by Khyber.

What are we but star dust,
Given life by Siberys,
Given shelter by Eberron,
Given death by Khyber.


What are we but star dust,
Children of Siberys,
Wardens of Eberron,
Thralls of Khyber.

-Gyzarra the Bronze, Silvertongue of the Crimson Bluffs, Watcher of the Azure Depths


[OOC: A quick cosmology lesson...

The world of Eberron is the Material Plane. In addition to the Astral Plane, Ethereal Plane, Shadow Plane, there are 13 additional planes that revolve around Eberron in the Astral Plane:

Daavani, the Perfect Order
Dal Quor, the Region of Dreams
Dolurrh, the Realm of the Dead
Fernia, the Sea of Fire
Irian, the Eternal Day
Kythri, the Churning Chaos
Lamannia, the Twilight Forest
Mabar, the Endless Night
Risia, the Plain of Ice
Shavarath, the Battleground
Syrania, the Azure Sky
Thelanis, the Fairie Court
Xoriat, the Realm of Madness

These planes normally move closer and further to Eberron over time at varying speeds and times. When a plane is Coterminous, it is easier to travel between the two, and traits of the plane may bleed over more strongly into Eberron. When a plane is Waxing or Waning, its traits have no special affect on Eberron. When a plane is Remote, it is almost impossible to reach and the affect of its traits on Eberron may be weakened.

Additionally, certain locales in the world maintain a special link to specific planes at all times. These locales are called Manifest Zones. For example, Sharn - the City of Towers - sits within a Manifest Zone linked to the plane of Syrania, the Azure Sky. This enhances spells that allow levitation and flight, helps keep the tremendously tall towers standing, provides the backbone for aerial transportation, and keeps the neighborhood of Skyway floating above it all.]

[reefwood]

POST SCRIPT

The world remains. Though, it is forever changed. In the brief moments that all the planes were coterminous, the ground shook, seas swelled, volcanoes erupted, shadows grew longer, the dead rose, nightmares came to life, and all manner of creatures spilled onto Eberron. Luckily, the bleeding was staunched quickly, but it may be some time before the totality of any long lasting repercussions are seen and felt and fully understood.

One apparent and seemingly permanent fixture is the half-mile inter-planar rift outside Davendale. The common observer may see it as just another of the many bizarre and deadly phenomena in the Mournland. Orpas, however, is able to come away with a deeper understanding. The rift continues to function as a portal to other planes. Albeit, a tremendously unstable and violent portal. It may be impossible to determine where it leads at any particular moment, but Lamannia (the Twilight Forest) will most likely be the destination more often than not since it is now forever coterminous with Eberron. It could even lead to the location where Xoriat (the Realm of Madness) would have been in the Astral Plane had it not been destroyed by Razel. Although, surviving the cataclysmic energies and gravitational forces within the rift would make it extremely difficult for anything to survive the journey.

The mist conceals the rift from sight, but its thundering cacophony carries far. It does not take too long for a warforged patrol to appear. Kaaz is able to single-handedly dispatch them without difficulty, but a much larger force is not far behind. Razel lays down spells and Orpas summons creature to keep the approaching army busy and confused, and the trio escapes unseen.


[OOC: More posts to come, which will be at least somewhat influenced by player actions. The second post will cover the next year or two, followed by one about the coming decades, and probably a final post jumping ahead one century. Maybe some behind-the-scenes revealing too.]

[reefwood]

EPILOGUE I

1,086 YK - 2,006 YK (90 - 110 yrs after the Last War)

The turmoil and destruction caused by the unprecedented planar conjunction was felt by most across Eberron. However, the world was saved and in short order. Few knew the extent of the doom which could have continued or understood that the universe would never be the same, and once the immediate repercussions were handled, many carried on more or less as they had before that moment...

The warforged armies commanded by the Lord of Blades made significant gains in eastern Aundair. Meanwhile, the western half of the crumbling nation welcomed support from druid sects of the Eldeen Reaches. Most notably the Gatekeepers who - no longer needing to protect the seals keeping Xoriat at bay - were determined to quash this increasing threat to life.

A stalemate between Darguun and Zilargo was broken in favor of the goblinoids when the Emerald Claw marched to their aid. The order claimed it was time for the gnomes to finally share their arcane secrets with the world. Support from Karrnath followed soon after. Elemental armaments of war delivered devastating losses to the invaders, but their numbers were too great. In a desperate attempt to save Trolanport, the gnomes used powerful magic to shift their capital city into the Shadow Plane, which in turn shifted the corresponding portion of the Shadow Plane onto Eberron. The remaining gnomes retreated west into the Howling Peaks and the thick forests south of the mountains.

Breland, already having lost its western lands to Droaam, saw its eastern spur fall to the chaos around it - fiendish lycanthrophes spilling from the Wildblood Weredoms, undead Karrnathi soldiers marching through to war against Zilargo, and goblinoid raiding parties out of Darguun. One of the most notable losses was the colony of New Cyre and the last heir to the throne of old Cyre. Additionally, House Merrix breaks the age old compact of dragonmarked house neutrality by laying claim to Sharn and its surrounding farmland, and it is enforced with an army of constructs led by a new breed of warforged.

The Great Crag at the heart of Droaam was destroyed in a volcanic eruption of epic proportion when the planes became coterminous, and also lost were the three hags who ruled the nation. Enough fear and structure had been put in place over the past century to keep their machinations moving forward. Even without them. For a time. Some knew no other way, some thought their disappearance was only temporary, some believed they still directed events from beyond the grave. However, cracks have formed below the surface as old quarrels reignite, generals and warlords squabble over priorities, powerful exiles given refuge by the hags maneuver to inherit their rule, and even forces of good have begun to take root and carve out enclaves.

The failed second War of the Mark not only united the goblinoids while dividing the houses, but it also sparked a movement bringing together those with aberrant marks. No longer fearing potential persecution from an allied establishment, aberrant marked individuals from all common races formed mixed coalitions. These took different forms with varying goals, but over time, those which thrived provided their services at no cost for the betterment of all. A very different approach than the self-serving economic aims of the dragonmarked houses.

The influence of Lamannia - the realm of raw and wild nature unbounded - over the decades has been obvious to those who know its power. Forests and fields scarred by war recovered quickly. Crops and livestock produced record yields, which proved vital in feeding the many refugees fleeing war. Wild beasts have also grown more plentiful and alien beings native to Lamannia have appeared more often in this world. Furthermore, the descendants of lycanthropes who fled to Lamannia to escape persecution during the Silver Flame inquisition, have returned to Eberron and seek to cleanse the Wildblood Weredoms of the fiendish scourge that has ravished their kin in this world.