Conquerors of the Planes

Conquerers of the Planes

Gamemaster: Archmage

Relevant Characters

Rhiannon
Tassi Wells
Holden
Edwyrd
Sen
Ode Sparrowmoon

NPCs

Jack Hawthorne
Hakaril Silvar
Ardam Elmine
Melchoir
Yavvil Ocht
Mikhail Une

Logs

Forum-side recruitment
Cthulobster
Ode and Tassi after the revolution
Regulan Spa CIRP

Summary

Hakaril Silvar summoned several adventurers to his office in the castle by means of flyers or, in Tassi Wells' case, by personal request. The problem was relatively minor: some seriously-displaced monsters cropping up in farm country some distance away.

The origin of the displacement was a portal in the frozen northern areas of Igala. The portal seemed to be sucking astral energy from Gaera to... well, someplace else. Upon closer investigation, the portal led to a facility on the plane of Regulus.

The natives had someone there who could speak a variety of Elvish, and so the party was able to discover to some extent what was going on. The plane suffered from shortages of astral energy due to the activities of a race of azure-skinned elves called Electerians. The Electerians consumed astral energy by breathing, and their technology ran on it, expended it beyond replenishing.

In order to fight a war against a race of religious fanatics known only as the Altarians, the Electerians had to seek out other sources of astral energy. They also had an enemy on their other flank: The Shakari. A race of near-human Druids living in the dwindling wilderness, the Shakari hated the Electerians for wasting the mana resources of their plane. They also hated the Altarians for being imperialist fanatical madmen.

So the Electerians looked for new resources. Because the only living things they found on Gaera were large giant-eating frost worms roaming the tundra, they assumed it was an uninhabited plane and, as a result, fair game for harvesting.

The party had a choice between starting a war over Gaera's astral plane, or finding the Electerians another solution so that they could quit leeching mana of their own volition. To that end, the party investigated the Altarians to see what the other party to the conflict could be like. In the meantime, the Electerians sent a delegation to Gaera to engage in negotiations with Hakaril Silvar. The key point in the negotiations is that the Electerians are not interested in engaging in full-scale war with the Gaerans; if anything, the electerian position is that they are being victimized by destructive Shakari terrorists and Altairian fascists.

The Altarians were a race of, at least superficially, Celestials. They had wings at least. What was odd was that they had a number of wings that seemingly related to their status. White wings and hair were slightly superior to black wings and hair, and the more wings an Altarian had, the closer they were to God. In essence, "Two Wings Good, Four Wings Better." The number of wings an Altarian has are allegedly correlated to its actions in a past life. Merit gained one wings and therefore status in one's next life. Misdeeds meant demotion.

The party's informant was a blackwinged Altarian named Mikhail Une. He expressed sadness that they were even further from Altaire than he was, and was the only Altarian who would even acknowledge them. The Altarians allegedly had a duty from their god to take custody of the plane, taking it under their control. It was why they were created.

He mentions that there is some talk of very powerful artifacts that could be used to turn the tide of the war, ancient relics buried out of reach of the common man. However, he also notes that most of these artifacts would not be associated with Altair, and as a result, that their use would be considered heretical.

There was supposedly a tomb to the northwest that belonged to an Electerian warrior so respected on the battlefield for his strength and courage that even his enemies were unable to slander him. Supposedly, he fought in the pseudo-mythological “Last War of the Tyrants” that took place over a thousand years prior. Makhail-Une heard some altairian soldiers discussing a possible investigation of the tomb, suggesting that the artifacts could be there.

When the party arrived at the tomb of the legendary warrior, they found that it had been disturbed. Worse still, they lost a party member to the hazards of the tomb. Edwyrd was killed in battle, and when Tassi attempted later to resurrect him, her goddess forbade it. Armed with the knowledge that these artifacts existed and may well be in the hands of one of the parties to this conflict, the party returned to the Altarian capital.

They discussed using polymorphing magic to infiltrate Altarian society and learn more. Meanwhile, over breakfast, they overheard a discussion of the rumors of “rebellion among the chosen.” Supposedly, an “unauthorized” altairian settlement was slowly growing in the north. Upon locating and visiting this settlement, they were welcomed with the same indifference they met in the city. However, they were met there by Mikhail.

According to this charismatic new leader, Altair has abandoned his children and has turned a blind eye to their devotion. No longer is he interested in protecting and guiding his people. This has attracted mostly the lower members of society, a large number of whom are willing to die for their new leader without further justification. The leader in question is Yavvil Ocht, a powerful being who is apparently a cleric of Altair; he also claims that there are other sources aside from Altair from which power can be drawn and that these sources are less interested in enforcing petty classist structure and more willing to reward devotion. Enter the "prolealtarian revolution."

According to Makhail-Une, Yavvil-Ocht's current mission for him and other altairians is to trek just a bit further north to the Algol Mountains, where Yavvil has seen visions that a great weapon is being stored.

The party also sought out the Shakari. From them they learned that the plane's plant life was capable of replenishing the mana spent by the Electerians, but their rampant industrialization was destroying this resource and, rather than changing their behavior, the Electerians were apparently expanding to other planes to squander their resources as well. The Shakari were not pleased with anyone at this point.

In progress. -Kai 20:57, 23 December 2006 (PST)