Discord
Changelog
Chaos. Insanity. Revenge.
The Day of the Purge.
It was a day she had waited 15 long years for. Now, the temples of Umberlee and Loviatar in southern Bezantur were nothing but piles of smoldering rubble for their high priestess’ close association with the former tharchion Aznar Thrul.
Narfel, the thoroughly evil leader of the Bezantur Assassins guild, had served his final purpose well - tortured and conveniently pushed into a meeting of Red Wizards and their allies just before succumbing to his wounds and rising as a Dread Wraith. And the feared and powerful Eternal Flame Mythalanir of Bezantur’s Flaming Brazier had met his appropriate end - well deserved, she thought, for the role he had played in bringing Thrul to power.
Even the tattooist had not been forgotten. She now lay beneath the smoking remains of her parlor - dead before it burned to the ground around her.
It had been a good day.
----------------------------
It started as a simple fire as the blood red sun rose in the east. The calls of ‘Fire’ spread throughout southern Bezantur as people awoke to flames licking at the lower levels of the Tattooist parlor there. Rhuna the Dark had long been well known by the populace, and a favored tattooist of many Red Wizards - even Aznar Thrul himself. Unfortunately, even the efforts of Tharchioness Melody Singer, down from Tyraturos, were not enough to save her or her parlor. Help arrived only in time to be attacked by strange monks screaming ‘Death to the sycophant!’.
Within the hour, the building had burned to the ground under a magnificent blaze.
The crowd gathered around the tattooist included a number of notables and many newer arrivals to the city - Tharchioness Melody Singer, Avrora, Arnd Dohon, Ardin Riley, Zacho Lyonsen, Ichabod, Maurice Chevellier II, and Zach Newman.
It wasn’t long before they were alerted to the calls of fire from the east by the docks, and rushed to the now-blazing Temple of Umberlee. Attacked once more by monks screaming something about ‘sycophants’, the party fought their way through the flames and attackers, only to find the priests within had all been slaughtered. With the structure collapsing around them, they retreated out of the building and watched it burn, trying to figure out what was going on.
Some blamed other temples - the temple of Cyric, the Flaming Brazier, and others... And then, like a bad dream, more shouts were heard from the north as flames could be seen dancing from the roof of the massive Loviatar’s Manor. The crowd rushed there, joined now by Heirarch Kessa Sepret, this time fighting not only the crazed monks but also fire elementals and fire traps. Inside they found the priests of Loviatar fighting for their lives, but were unable to fight through the smoke, flames, and enemies in time to save them. As with the temple of Umberlee - Loviatar's Manor burned to the ground - never again to hold anymore sadistic parties like those Thrul had favored there.
The crowd, now concerned that the destruction so far had something to do with the Flaming Brazier, made their way to the temple of Kossuth. There, a smiling Mari Agneh came strolling down the street to meet them. As was apparent to all involved, she did not seem in her right mind, and demanded the priests of the temple gathered with the crowd - Rhona, Sevik Ascand, and Aze Tam meet with her. Mari gathered Captain Azura to escort her and allowed Melody and Kessa to attend due to their positions.
In the Central Citadel, she demanded the members of the temple kill their leader and replace him with one among them. She gave them a 10 day ultimatum and skipped out of the room, bidding Azura to follow. As they left, she privately informed Azura to rally her troops for an attack on the Flaming Brazier in ten days.
----------------------------
As dusk approached later in the day and the burning husks of the temples died down, an impromptu meeting in the Red Trident included many of the most powerful Red Wizards and faction leadership found within and around Bezantur - Zulkir Maurin Greyhand, Rhona, Ihsahn, Azel, Heirarch Kessa Sepret, Betram Anders, and Aze Tam. As they were discussing a course of action to deal with the threats facing Bezantur, the bloodied and tortured form of Narfel was thrown through the door of their meeting room. Eyes and tongue removed, with the word SYCOPHANT carved into his forehead, he died moments later only to rise as a wraith.
Deciding it was time to act, the powerful crowd made its way to the Central Citadel and demanded an audience with Mari. Shabella appeared informing them that Mari appeared to have disappeared, and her agents were out searching for her after having become ‘even worse’ than she had imagined.
The mob, led by Zulkir Maurin, entered the upper level of the Citadel using the key his fellow evoker Ihsahn possessed, and proceeded to dispatch two powerful Vampires in the entry hall. Strangely though, no other resistance was to be found. As they made their way through the chambers, they finally came to the tharchioness bedchambers, and there found the body of Eternal Flame Mythalanir, throat slit from ear-to-ear with an unsigned bloodied parchment pinned to him that simply stated “If it is war you want, it is war you shall have.”
----------------------------
Mari’s allies had stood observing the new Red Wizard apprentice Betram Anders, in the Sea Wolf Inn through the massive crystal ball in the second level of the Citadel, listening to the discussion of the Red Wizards and tharchioness surrounding him shortly after her encounter with them in the Citadel
“They think *I* did all of this! They mean to betray me,” screamed Mari, balling her hands into fists.
“Well of course they do, my dear,” replied Malythist coolly “We expected they would. Now all that they need is that little extra nudge to send this situation into a zulkir-level catastrophe.” He looked behind him at the man in the red robes. “Well, Eternal Flame Klanak Famouth, it’s time for you to eliminate your rival, since it appears our dear tharchioness wasn’t convincing enough to have others do it. I’m sure he won’t refuse your invitation as the nominal ‘head of the faith’, and we now need him eliminated.”
“Finally - it is long past time that bastard die. The *true* center of the Kossuthan faith in Thay -The Burning House of Tyraturos- shall again be the unquestioned center once again. But you just remember our deal,” stated Klanak succinctly as he turned to leave.
Shabella the Pale, guildmistress of the powerful Thieves Guild of Bezantur, stepped out of the shadows as he left. “Serene is already moving what remains of Narfel into position. She will act once I confirm we have Mythalanir here.”
She then turned to Mari and stated “You need to leave with Malythist and head to Eltabbar before Klanak returns with Mythalanir. I have already sent word ahead and your allies are expecting you. Your city will be safe...enough, and your triumphant return with reinforcements will be well received when you return.”
Mari blankly looked at Shabella and nodded looking down at her feet. “Just make sure Mythalanir suffers before he dies. As he watched me suffer.”
----------------------------
That evening, the single candle to illuminate her desk in the temple of Mask sputtered low, casting dancing shadows across the small room.
“Yes, I lied convincingly enough,” Shabella nodded “I only wish that Mari had not told Kessa of her ‘allies’ and knowing about how she received her robes. Should they pick up that Mari is not acting alone, our plans could be in jeopardy.”
“However, I don’t believe they suspected my involvement with our tharchioness’ state...yet. Our informants even say that many in the mob want to put Ihsahn’s name forward as tharchion to replace Mari.”
“Good,” replied the hooded figure “Very good. The Purge has those concerned with Bezantur up in arms, just as we wanted. Your concerns are noted, although evokers led by their zulkir practically storming the Citadel was a particularly nice touch even I had not hoped for. Now the rumors that the evokers are trying to cement their hold on Bezantur by naming a Red Wizard, and not just a noble to replace Mari. There is no way Tam will not lend support to Mari now. Especially since he and his allies voted to put her on the tharchion’s seat. They will most certainly see this as a direct assault on their authority, despite her...condition.”
“How you can be sure Tam will dance to your tune?” replied Shabella sourly “He’s the most powerful -and cunning- zulkir in Thay. What if he just kills her, or doesn’t lend his support as you think he will?”
Victor stepped forward into the candlelight “Trust me Shabella, I know the lich well. While it’s not a certainty he will, there is more in motion here than just the chaos we’ve created in Bezantur. He’ll use this as a further distraction so he can complete his plans of ultimate rulership over Thay.”
“And when those plans fall apart -again-,” Victor hissed as he pulled back into the shadows “There will be war.”
The Day of the Purge.
It was a day she had waited 15 long years for. Now, the temples of Umberlee and Loviatar in southern Bezantur were nothing but piles of smoldering rubble for their high priestess’ close association with the former tharchion Aznar Thrul.
Narfel, the thoroughly evil leader of the Bezantur Assassins guild, had served his final purpose well - tortured and conveniently pushed into a meeting of Red Wizards and their allies just before succumbing to his wounds and rising as a Dread Wraith. And the feared and powerful Eternal Flame Mythalanir of Bezantur’s Flaming Brazier had met his appropriate end - well deserved, she thought, for the role he had played in bringing Thrul to power.
Even the tattooist had not been forgotten. She now lay beneath the smoking remains of her parlor - dead before it burned to the ground around her.
It had been a good day.
----------------------------
It started as a simple fire as the blood red sun rose in the east. The calls of ‘Fire’ spread throughout southern Bezantur as people awoke to flames licking at the lower levels of the Tattooist parlor there. Rhuna the Dark had long been well known by the populace, and a favored tattooist of many Red Wizards - even Aznar Thrul himself. Unfortunately, even the efforts of Tharchioness Melody Singer, down from Tyraturos, were not enough to save her or her parlor. Help arrived only in time to be attacked by strange monks screaming ‘Death to the sycophant!’.
Within the hour, the building had burned to the ground under a magnificent blaze.
The crowd gathered around the tattooist included a number of notables and many newer arrivals to the city - Tharchioness Melody Singer, Avrora, Arnd Dohon, Ardin Riley, Zacho Lyonsen, Ichabod, Maurice Chevellier II, and Zach Newman.
It wasn’t long before they were alerted to the calls of fire from the east by the docks, and rushed to the now-blazing Temple of Umberlee. Attacked once more by monks screaming something about ‘sycophants’, the party fought their way through the flames and attackers, only to find the priests within had all been slaughtered. With the structure collapsing around them, they retreated out of the building and watched it burn, trying to figure out what was going on.
Some blamed other temples - the temple of Cyric, the Flaming Brazier, and others... And then, like a bad dream, more shouts were heard from the north as flames could be seen dancing from the roof of the massive Loviatar’s Manor. The crowd rushed there, joined now by Heirarch Kessa Sepret, this time fighting not only the crazed monks but also fire elementals and fire traps. Inside they found the priests of Loviatar fighting for their lives, but were unable to fight through the smoke, flames, and enemies in time to save them. As with the temple of Umberlee - Loviatar's Manor burned to the ground - never again to hold anymore sadistic parties like those Thrul had favored there.
The crowd, now concerned that the destruction so far had something to do with the Flaming Brazier, made their way to the temple of Kossuth. There, a smiling Mari Agneh came strolling down the street to meet them. As was apparent to all involved, she did not seem in her right mind, and demanded the priests of the temple gathered with the crowd - Rhona, Sevik Ascand, and Aze Tam meet with her. Mari gathered Captain Azura to escort her and allowed Melody and Kessa to attend due to their positions.
In the Central Citadel, she demanded the members of the temple kill their leader and replace him with one among them. She gave them a 10 day ultimatum and skipped out of the room, bidding Azura to follow. As they left, she privately informed Azura to rally her troops for an attack on the Flaming Brazier in ten days.
----------------------------
As dusk approached later in the day and the burning husks of the temples died down, an impromptu meeting in the Red Trident included many of the most powerful Red Wizards and faction leadership found within and around Bezantur - Zulkir Maurin Greyhand, Rhona, Ihsahn, Azel, Heirarch Kessa Sepret, Betram Anders, and Aze Tam. As they were discussing a course of action to deal with the threats facing Bezantur, the bloodied and tortured form of Narfel was thrown through the door of their meeting room. Eyes and tongue removed, with the word SYCOPHANT carved into his forehead, he died moments later only to rise as a wraith.
Deciding it was time to act, the powerful crowd made its way to the Central Citadel and demanded an audience with Mari. Shabella appeared informing them that Mari appeared to have disappeared, and her agents were out searching for her after having become ‘even worse’ than she had imagined.
The mob, led by Zulkir Maurin, entered the upper level of the Citadel using the key his fellow evoker Ihsahn possessed, and proceeded to dispatch two powerful Vampires in the entry hall. Strangely though, no other resistance was to be found. As they made their way through the chambers, they finally came to the tharchioness bedchambers, and there found the body of Eternal Flame Mythalanir, throat slit from ear-to-ear with an unsigned bloodied parchment pinned to him that simply stated “If it is war you want, it is war you shall have.”
----------------------------
Mari’s allies had stood observing the new Red Wizard apprentice Betram Anders, in the Sea Wolf Inn through the massive crystal ball in the second level of the Citadel, listening to the discussion of the Red Wizards and tharchioness surrounding him shortly after her encounter with them in the Citadel
“They think *I* did all of this! They mean to betray me,” screamed Mari, balling her hands into fists.
“Well of course they do, my dear,” replied Malythist coolly “We expected they would. Now all that they need is that little extra nudge to send this situation into a zulkir-level catastrophe.” He looked behind him at the man in the red robes. “Well, Eternal Flame Klanak Famouth, it’s time for you to eliminate your rival, since it appears our dear tharchioness wasn’t convincing enough to have others do it. I’m sure he won’t refuse your invitation as the nominal ‘head of the faith’, and we now need him eliminated.”
“Finally - it is long past time that bastard die. The *true* center of the Kossuthan faith in Thay -The Burning House of Tyraturos- shall again be the unquestioned center once again. But you just remember our deal,” stated Klanak succinctly as he turned to leave.
Shabella the Pale, guildmistress of the powerful Thieves Guild of Bezantur, stepped out of the shadows as he left. “Serene is already moving what remains of Narfel into position. She will act once I confirm we have Mythalanir here.”
She then turned to Mari and stated “You need to leave with Malythist and head to Eltabbar before Klanak returns with Mythalanir. I have already sent word ahead and your allies are expecting you. Your city will be safe...enough, and your triumphant return with reinforcements will be well received when you return.”
Mari blankly looked at Shabella and nodded looking down at her feet. “Just make sure Mythalanir suffers before he dies. As he watched me suffer.”
----------------------------
That evening, the single candle to illuminate her desk in the temple of Mask sputtered low, casting dancing shadows across the small room.
“Yes, I lied convincingly enough,” Shabella nodded “I only wish that Mari had not told Kessa of her ‘allies’ and knowing about how she received her robes. Should they pick up that Mari is not acting alone, our plans could be in jeopardy.”
“However, I don’t believe they suspected my involvement with our tharchioness’ state...yet. Our informants even say that many in the mob want to put Ihsahn’s name forward as tharchion to replace Mari.”
“Good,” replied the hooded figure “Very good. The Purge has those concerned with Bezantur up in arms, just as we wanted. Your concerns are noted, although evokers led by their zulkir practically storming the Citadel was a particularly nice touch even I had not hoped for. Now the rumors that the evokers are trying to cement their hold on Bezantur by naming a Red Wizard, and not just a noble to replace Mari. There is no way Tam will not lend support to Mari now. Especially since he and his allies voted to put her on the tharchion’s seat. They will most certainly see this as a direct assault on their authority, despite her...condition.”
“How you can be sure Tam will dance to your tune?” replied Shabella sourly “He’s the most powerful -and cunning- zulkir in Thay. What if he just kills her, or doesn’t lend his support as you think he will?”
Victor stepped forward into the candlelight “Trust me Shabella, I know the lich well. While it’s not a certainty he will, there is more in motion here than just the chaos we’ve created in Bezantur. He’ll use this as a further distraction so he can complete his plans of ultimate rulership over Thay.”
“And when those plans fall apart -again-,” Victor hissed as he pulled back into the shadows “There will be war.”