A Confession and a Warning

Zen Mallowbrooks

Zen Mallowbrooks

Scholar
Fellow adventurers,

As many of you now know, for the past three months I have been possessed by the Wraith Lord. Under his control, this weekend I handed over the sword of Evoder, the priceless artifact that has now slain at least two Djinn, to the Wraith Lord himself. He has absorbed the magic from the sword and, empowered by it, slew Florna, Djinn of the biata. Though this is possibly the worst crime I committed, it is not nearly the only one. I cast necromancy, I poisoned nobles, I lied and altered the minds of others to cover my tracks.

Many of you may also know that I blame myself for these crimes and have offered me kind words to let me know I am not at fault due to my altered state of mind. I agree with the sentiment to a degree but I want to explain why it does not completely absolve me of my actions.

During my possession, I had two basic commands to guide my actions: first, avoid detection by any means necessary and second, cast necromancy if it furthered a goal. Beyond those commands, I had complete control over what I did and how I chose to accomplish it. The only other specific command I received was to deliver the sword and yet I still chose the worst possible actions to pursue without breaking my cover.

I chose to pursue these actions because doing so would be immediately obvious to the people closest to me, specifically my family. My children and my wife would know immediately that these actions were out of character for me and in order to avoid them detecting my possession I would have to avoid them all together. I chose the safety of my family over the safety of all of Evodia and the worst part is that I don't think I made the wrong decision.

I do not say tell you all this to garner sympathy or even to ease my conscience. If your response to this is to tell me that I am not at fault or that no one blames me, I do not want to hear it.

The reason I want you all to know this is to be able to spot these kinds of actions in others going forward. The Wraith Lord is more powerful than ever before and his possession cannot be detected on the spirit like the possessions of the lesser wraiths or his knights. We do not know what he is capable of now or even what his goals are. He has the power to slay the Djinn. He is more dangerous than any foe we gave faced in Evodia. Be wary and keep your friends and allies close. Be safe and be smart.

If anyone else has more information to share about him, please do so. The more knowledge we share, the more informed the decisions we take as a whole will be. This is our greatest strength and our greatest protection as adventurers and we should capitalize on it as much as possible.

Zenia Mallowbrooks
 
For starters, on a whim he was able to destroy all permanent circles of power in Evodia, so that level of power is unlike anything I've personally seen.

We tried to Conjure the Sword of Evodir, and he came with it and then did the deed shortly after.

-Cass
 
Zenia I know you are going through a lot at the moment so I won’t take up much of your time. I have the ask poison orchid is this person someone you still perusing or was this someone you were compelled to find when under the influence?
 
I can understand your suspicion given the circumstances however, Poison Orchid, who now goes by the moniker the Thorn of Ferrant, is indeed a criminal who spread malicious rumors regarding Serena Ferrant. There is no lie in that matter. He still needs to be brought to justice for his crimes, but I truly believe that the Wraith Lord is a far greater concern at the moment.

Zenia Mallowbrooks
Viscountess to Duke De'were
 
So its assumed we did not encounter this person at this gathering then?

Reflecting on the last market events we ended the undead problem in Yushen. Did that fix the Life Plain? Was there any other wins we achieved? Was the Hunt still considered a win?

Cassandra Malvern
Knight of the Western Duchy
Captain of Erabellan Militia
 
Cass,

The Thorn of Ferrant had a planned performance in Yushein, however I heard it was delayed due to unforseen circumstances. I still plan to take him in but the gathering was too crazy to do much else about it for me.

My understanding of the Eidolon we destroyed was that it was continuing the damage done to the Plane of Life and destroying it means that we can now begin to actually make progress on wiping out the pockets of chaos and treat it that way. It someone else has a greater understanding of the magic involved, please feel free to correct me.

Zenia Mallowbrooks
Viscountess to Duke De'were
 
Viscountess Zenia,
Your recognition of your own wrongdoing, even while possessed, speaks to the strength of your character. However, as you will be the first to admit, you have endangered the lives of all who live in Evodia. I cannot absolve you of this, nor can anyone, regardless of how they view you or your actions. But do not let your guilt lead you to despair, but instead resolve yourself to what, in my eyes, is the one thing which may atone for you: the final destruction of the Wraith Lord, and the restoration of peace and life to Evodia. And let all adventurers stand with you in this, not offering meaningless words, but fighting with their very lives against this hated foe. Let all adventurers know that by this they may show their kindness and mercy towards you.

But we may still be glad, if it is true, that the Plane of Life has been saved, and with it all Fortannis! If even such power as endangered the whole world might be destroyed, let us have hope and courage against this power which now threatens our realm.

~Nikephorus Goldcrest
 
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