The battle of Windy Bluff was almost upon us and we needed to prepare. Cassio called upon our fire God Surtur for help. He denied us, I believe he did not deem the foes worthy enough of his attention. However he did tell us the God of death, Nerull, is the driving force behind the dread horde. I am not sure what to make of this news, but the Magestry must be made aware. As long as we survive to pass the news on.
We were concerned this attack was a faint and the real battle would be held elsewhere. Yet we were determined to annihilate the horde and preserve Windy Bluff and the artifact.
On the eve of battle, an unnatural fog rolled over the city and the battle field. I was able to clear much of it with my control over the weather. However my reach only goes so far. After some time we saw the dread horde emerge from the distant fog.
In preparation I called forth my fire spirit, which has taken the form of Surtur. I close my eyes and remember that Garnet is well worth the sacrifice I have made.
The next thing I knew a horde of Shambling zombies followed by the dread horde soldiers appear out of the fog. Apparently this was only to be the first wave of their attack. The gift of fire Surtur had given me made quick work of the zombies. The soldiers were heartier but we made decently quick work of them as well. As we learned, to a fault, nothing, but fire worked to hurt these creatures. We were finally victorious only to see another mob of the living dead emerge from the fog.
We now knew what we had to do and how to damage and kill these monsters. I unleashed a storm of pure fire, which rained down from sky on the living dead. The zombies turned to scorched ash and I severely weakened the dread horde soldiers and wizards. This was a huge success. I unleashed a second storm of fire which burned away the rest of the zombies. However to our dismay it seemed to roll off the dread horde with no effect.
These abominations of wizards hit incredibly hard and almost killed my prescious Garnet! A fire awakened in my belly, that I didn't even know existed. Small flames licked over my skin and blazed in my eyes. I screamed for Garnet to fall back, which he did. In my rage I reversed gravity around several of the creatures. Unfortunately Cassio went up with them, but continued to battle. We realize these wizards had cast an anti magic field and their concentration must be destroyed. Otherwise my flames were useless.
It was up to Ci and Cassio to destroy the concentration of the wizards. Which they did with a ferociousness I've not seen before. Once again my fire was effective and I seared them to the bones.
Amon was knocked unconscious and they imprisoned Cassio in a force cage so his healing was useless. Thankfully Ci was able to revive Amon. Amon was weak but I could tell by his eyes the fight had not left him.
We had been badly battered and another wave of zombies came from the other side and attacked the city. There was not much we could do, they were too far away. They were vicious and furious and crashed through to the walls quickly. We were overwhelmed and badly damaged and all seemed to be lost. Then I felt it. It was like a hum all along my body. Power. Major God-like power and in a blink of an eye white light washed over us all. The zombies were destroyed in an instant. To our surprise the dread horde was still standing. We then put a firey end to the rest of them. Amon told us he believed it was The Yellow who sacrificed herself to save Windy Bluff by using the artifact.
In the distance we saw this hulking form emerge from the fog. This beast was enormous, with the head of a crocodile. It was carrying a giant staff and followed by several small floating figures. I remember thinking that we are doomed. There was no way we could win against these creatures.
We didn't have long to decide what to do. The creatures were barring down upon us. Do we run? Then what was this all for? Do we stay and fight? Which was clearly suicide. Ci and Cassio were insistent on staying and fighting until the end. What good would it do for all of us to die when there was still work to be done? I tried to convince them, but they refused to listen. We didn't have time to keep arguing and through our bickering.....
Amon spoke.
His voice was meek but determined. "The dread horde was not undead, but abborations" he said. "This is why they did not fall when The Yellow used the artifact." He then said something which made me close my eyes and my heart stop. "I will use the artifact" he said. "Amon" we said "it will be suicide and what if it doesnt work?" He had to have faith he told us and he knew this was our only chance ot saving Windy Bluff and the artifact.
What do you say to your friend when he prepares to sacrifice himself for the greater good? A man who you have known for so long. A simple hermit Warlock who through divine grace turned into a divine Cleric. A man who you've fought side by side with many times over. Tears streamed down my face and I took his hands in mine and kissed them. Goodbye Amon. There is no amount of Thanks we can give you for the sacrifice you are about to make. All we can give is time.
We needed to get Amon to the artifact as quickly as possible. Cassio offered his Cassio le'stead to take Amon with Haste. We watch him fly away and turn back to the threat ahead of us.
The Giant creature let out a deafening roar and slams us with a fireball. He then held his staff to the sky and it began vibrate and glowing blue. The battle ensued and was a complete blur. We were losing and losing badly. Then out of nowhere I felt it again. The hum of power through my body and a blue light emanated over everything. The creatures were all ripped apart and turned to dust and ash.
He had done it.
Amon had done it, saved us all. He will forever be remembered as a Hero. I will light a special blue flame for him in my Grove that will burn eternal. He shall never be forgotten for the sacrifice he made that day.
If we live that long, that is. As we returned to collect our fallen and The yellow. An unnatural storm rumbled overhead. It became increasingly more violent as the minutes progressed. As our gaze turns to the horizon the sea level began to swell and rise. Next thing we see is a giant mass of tentacles emerge writhing from the water......
Ember Elthana
Things The Player Characters Know About Ember
Ember is 5'9", with long wild white hair, she is slender, with golden green eyes, and she dresses more like a ranger than a Druid. She is slightly stand offish, but will always give a helping hand whenever and wherever it's needed. When she is not doing the tasks that are assigned to the initiates, she will most likely be found with her nose in a book studying. You can see a horrific torment in her eyes when you can catch a glimpse of them, but that isn't often.
Ember's Detailed History
DM Note: This is Ember's detailed backstory, as player characters you would not likely know much of this, but as players you might be interested in seeing all of Dana's efforts :)
Forty years ago, under an ominous sky, the first blood moon in 1,000 years shined down its red glow for the birth of a baby girl, Ember. She was a half-breed, the product of a very unlikely love affair between a Moon Elf ranger named Merialeth Elthana, and a Long Tooth Shifter named Asher of the Youlumene clan. A love union between Moon-Elves and Shifters was forbidden between such creatures so Merialeth and Asher vowed to live a nomadic life in the forest. Not long after they began their life together, Merialeth was ripe with baby, and on the Red Octavia Night, Ember was born. Ember was a sweet child connected to nature and the creatures of the forest. And so the three, Merialeth, Asher, and Ember, lived their solitary life without issue in the forest, only venturing to nearby towns as needed. Ember, however, never enjoyed this; she didn't understand the people in the cities and upon entering these various towns and villages she could not wait until she was back in the forest where she belonged.
Ember was a mix of both her parents but looked far more like her mother, especially with her mother's golden green eyes; however, she did have her father's wild white hair and tenacious spirit. Unfortunately, shifting seemed to pass her by. As Ember approached her twenty-third birthday with great disappointment, it seeme she was still unable to shift like her father, Little did the family know this peacefulness would soon come to a violent end. Many centuries ago a curse was made upon half-blood shifters born under the blood moon—the reason why is long lost—but it is said that the change is violent, bloody, and "when the wolf awakes they will crave death, flesh, and blood." The last half-breed was born so long ago that the details of the curse had been lost giving way to only legend… this is why Asher had no warning of what was about to happen to his sweet daughter.
Ember's change happened quickly and violently, the sky was dark with a new moon. Where she once stood now loomed a massive, drooling and snarling white wolf, her teeth bared, her red eyes glowing as the blood moon did the night of her birth. The glowing red eyes immediately alarmed Asher, for in a normal shifting the eyes stayed the same as in the host's regular form. This wolf, however, had a taste for death, and before either parent could move or speak, Embers' new enormous white body pounced and toppled them, ripping out throats, spraying blood in all directions. The wolf was pleased with herself as she walked away from the motionless bodies. She did not kill for sustenance or survival; she killed for the thrill of death and the taste of flesh and blood. Ember moved on through the forest destroying any and all creatures she encountered that night. As the sun rose, she violently shifted back to her true form; the pain of the transformation was unbearable physically and emotionally. And when she woke she had remembered it all, everything, every detail of what she had done. The pain of this was unbearable, her parents were gone and it was all her fault, not to mention the other innocent souls she destroyed. How would she survive this torment? She felt she deserved to die. So she laid paralyzed and motionless for days, wasting away dying the slow tedious death she felt she deserved.
Laying in waste, praying for death, Ember thought on her parents. She remembered her mother telling her of a very powerful Elven druid named Thasitalia Penthana who lived deep in the forest; Ember thought she might be powerful enough to help her from the pain. She dragged herself up and started her journey to Thasitalia knowing she needed to get there before the next new moon, before the demon wolf made another appearance and she would add more devastation to the torment that is in her mind. Once Ember reached the Druid, Thasitalia, she could feel the power flowing off the stoic elf just by being in her presence and knew her decision to come here was the right one. Thasitalia was 6 feet tall with cobalt blue hair, alabaster skin, and the same golden green eyes as Ember. It was clear to Thasitalia that this half-elf had the rare moon-elf blood in her, which intrigued Thasitalia since she was moon-elf as well. She agreed to preform a ritual to contain the wolf demon inside of her forever, however, the horrors of her night as the wolf would not be so easily removed. Ember was deeply thankful to Thasitalia, and decided her path was clear: she would dedicate her life to Thasitalia and the ways of the Druids.
For seventeen years Ember studied the ways of the Druid under the guidance of Thasitalia. And for seventeen years the memories of the night the demon wolf murdered her parents haunted her days and dreams, never giving her a moment of peace. She relentlessly pushed through the trauma and dove into her studies and druidic life. And after seventeen years it was decided that now was the time for Ember to expand her knowledge at the magistry like Thasitalia had done long before her. Ember was none too pleased about leaving her life deep in the forest, but knew her master had her reasons for everything; it was all a part of a larger plan to make her a great Druid. Now, is the time for her to leave her teacher and for her new journey to begin
Dragon Metals, Colors, and Gems affinities
| Metal | Gem | Color |
|---|---|---|
| Brass | Amber | ??? |
| Platinum | Crystal | White |
| Iron | Onyx | Black |
| Copper | Emerald / Jade | Green |
| Steel | Sapphire | Blue |
| Silver | ??? | Gray |
| Bronze | Ruby | Red |
| Gold | Topaz | Brown |
| ??? | Amethyst | ??? |