Severed Fates Lore

While only five years had passed in the lives of those who had been swept up in the convergence, a thousand years had gone by on Aeromeos. To those who were outworlders on Thuria, returning home meant that they discovered most of what they had known previously drastically changed. Kingdoms rose and fell within that period, some prominent societies now in hiding and others who were unknown now ruling.

In Elandria during the thousand years, an unseen puppetmaster ruled. Centuries prior, Archmage Veremund, thought dead after a public burning, was secretly resurrected as a lich by his followers.

In the years that followed, the sect was also committed to undeath and continued to serve their master, six in total. Their names were hidden well within the archives of the decimated manuscripts left in Gyndra’s library at the Academy. Veremund and his cult led from the shadows, sowing distrust for those who stepped onto their soil from Thuria.

Without the Archmage Gyndra, the Mage Academy was absorbed under the Templar banner as Holstaf declared himself the Regent of Elandria. Formerly a scribe, Khali was assigned the rank of Knight Commander and oversaw the organization and rebuilding of the capital city. 

Incidents involving the cultists arose, including a bizarre chase through the underground sewers that ended up with one of them revealing Veremund’s presence under the moniker of ‘The Hand Below’. Shortly after, they were turned into dust when their neck collars flared to life with dark magic. Mentions of a strange temple underground were discovered, and when the freeholders located the place, the first world seed was already missing. Veremund’s minions had gotten to it before they had. And while confirmation has yet to be seen, it is thought that the almost immediate subsequent collapse of the Underdark’s network of tunnels in Elandria happened as a result.

Rumors abound, pointing blame at the ‘new invaders’ from Thuria for bringing corruption to Aeromeos. Freeholders band together and continue to seek out cultists, which lead them to clues about a dark lair.

This dungeon-like chamber, a necromancer looms over new victims, inscribing dark magics into them for some unknown reason. The freeholders infiltrated and freed a few victims after this Master of Secrets steps through a portal and disappears. Tracking the necromancer to his secluded estate, they interrupted another enslavement. A fierce battle ensued, ending with the necromancer's defeat and the rescue of a young man. Among the necromancer's possessions, they found notes and a list of names, many matching those of missing persons.

Among the items found was a reference to a second temple deep in the jungle. In hopes of finding the second world seed, the freeholders set off. Though a perilous journey, they fought many large snakes and then worked together to unlock a runic puzzle that opened a passage into the fey wilds. They located the second seed and secured it from Veremund and his nefarious plan.

As they left this pocket of the Fae Wilds, the freeholders were verbally accosted by a madman who made references and braggadocious claims of himself and his cohorts. It was at first unclear whether this ‘Master of Illusions’ was a true believer or not, but the cad easily mentioned the “Master of Whispers’ and her husband ‘War.’ This fact alone gave the group reasons to delve deeper and unearth the whereabouts of these others.

A few weeks later, the group infiltrates the home of ‘The Master of Whispers’ and her husband only to find Illusion instead of War. It ends with a face off at the tail end of a screaming match between the two in which Illusion showed himself to be sulky over having been a third wheel since they were young. Taking advantage of the situation, the freeholders attacked and prevailed. War arrived to find his ransacked home and his wife's corpse. He swore vengeance against the Freeholders.

War, fueled by grief and aided by the Master of Shadows, unleashed devastating attacks across Elandria. Graveyards were desecrated, freeholds destroyed, and even strongholds damaged. However, War sustained injuries in several clashes, forcing him into hiding after Shadows' destruction.

Elandrians remain vigilant, rebuilding after War's rampage. They unite, fearing his return, while the third world seed stays hidden.

Recent reports regarding the Regent have been confirmed, as War attacked a retinue of his soldiers, Holstaf fled; the only remnant left was a left boot with the foot still intact.

Prelude:

Long ago in a world called Aeromeos, an Elven King named Theron ruled peacefully for five hundred years. Turmoil broke out in the kingdom when one of his men, Archmagus Veremund, gathered followers in secret and unleashed a spell plague upon the lands of Elandria. It pitted neighbor against neighbor and raised up groups of men named Templars to hunt mages. One of his apprentices, Gyndra, worked with the King and these others to break Veremund’s hold and lead to his death. In the days that followed, trust and peace should have reigned but did not. And that is because of an event that came to be known as the convergence.

The convergence appeared magical in origin and mysteriously took people from this world into that of another; by portal, storm, or mists, people were transported into the Savage Wilds on Thuria. Given that there was no explanation at the time, the Templars who had been left behind and those who were now stuck in foreign lands without a way home blamed the new Archmage Gyndra, despite her innocence in this matter. In the years that followed, Theron went insane due to the sheer magnitude of the situation..

Season 1: Trial by Fire

In the Savage Wilds, life went by as it always did, until the day that rumors of strange happenings began. Some saw portals that spit out people, others found survivors who washed ashore or fell from the skies; many of those who were found were of races and species that had never before been recorded in history. They spoke in strange tongues and were regarded with suspicion, scorn, and prejudice.

After being thrust into Thuria herself, Archmage Gyndra began to gather Outworlders under the banner of the Academy to shelter and protect them from hatred, discrimination, slavery, and sacrifice. The Templar that had been transported to Thuria through the convergence, under the rule of a self-appointed dwarf named Holstaf, continued to hound the mages, appointing themselves as watchdogs even on foreign soil. 

The local Sultan of Murun, the largest city in the Wilds, erected a shanty town outside the city walls and welcomed the newcomers, although his agenda was sketchy at best. Later, when people began to disappear, the Sultan and the Setites were suspected, although the Templars scrutinized the Mages.

In a gesture of good faith, Archmage Gyndra took it upon herself to open the academy to any who wished to visit or seek an opportunity to study while also including Knight-Commander Holstaf. During this gesture of unity, a massive, blighted, walking tree emerged from a portal, attacking the city. The citizens united to destroy it, but its spores spread rapidly across the Wilds, causing widespread fungal outbreaks.

As the blight intensified, an ancient dragon named Chonus appeared. A young woman befriended the dragon, earning a golden scale that could summon him. A politician attempted to steal the scale, then later rejected it as "tainted."  A Drowess among the group eventually located Chonus. Despite many attempts to manipulate him, Chonus only offered aid to those who presented him with genuine gifts of the heart.

With Chonus's help, the people produced saltpeter from lime and dung, spreading it across the blighted areas. Chonus then used his dragonfire to scorch the infected land, while the citizens fought off fungal minions. A second, larger blighted tree-like giant arose to challenge Chonus and the others, but they defeated it after a difficult battle. 

Season 2: Through the Eyes of  Chaos

Months were spent rebuilding and reconstructing areas devastated by the dragon’s fire, but the efforts were successful because the blight had been stricken from the land. The Templars insist on relocating themselves and the academy which later led to the dwarf confronting the mage, leaving the people divided, and him storming off in a rage. Signs of strain and unrest became evident to all; rumors were circulated that cast blame. Meanwhile, mages began to disappear. 

“Clues” that were acquired by Holstaf led to the mention of a dark tower in the desert that was sealed away by a magical barrier. The group that finally broke through this enchantment fought an army of demonic minions to reach the summit where disagreements arose. Some wished to blow it up while others argued about transcribing the runes for study. In this place, the bodies of some of the outworlders who had gone missing were found. One man demanded control of the recovered items, sparking dissent within his clan and the group of adventurers. Three of them began translating the runes but the politically ambitious one refused to share information. He was defied, one of his clan members sharing the translations with the other freeholds. Later, the Templars rebuff the man’s attempt at claiming the southern Atol of the Wilds as his own.

Later at the dark tower, a ritual is attempted and a creature named Savona appears, claiming to be responsible for the convergence. Her account cited a battle with an Eldritch being in which her powers went bonkers and her essence was shattered into shards she needed to restore herself. The freeholders seek these pieces, while pursued by the Demon Sultan, who was discovered to be the Sultan of Murun and wanted them for himself. 

A strange device is found that hints at predicting convergence events within weeks of accuracy, it does so once, but is hidden away so that it is not stolen. The academy reports that they intend to work on a portal to return home, but nothing comes of it. After the discovery and infiltration of Archmage Gyndra’s workshop, random notes point at another location after information on the inability to create a portal is revealed. A journal outlines the intention to duplicate parts of Aeromeos in a mad rant that made no sense; the fear of being hunted had pushed Gyndra, who expended more magic than she should have, and with no viable means of ridding herself of corruption, the Archmage simply began to lose her mind. 

Upon arrival, our adventurers discover that Gyndra has managed to trap Savona to use her chaotic powers and the remaining shard to rectify things according to her plan. Rather than aspiring to reason or speak with the crazed Archmage, they choose to interrupt and kill her. After her defeat, Savona is freed and consumes her final shard which results in a transformation. In the blink of an eye, the final convergence occurs and transports people back to Aeromeos. This act includes a handful of people from Thuria and although still random, it returns exactly as many as it had taken from Aeromeos in the first place.