Phantasmagoria - Chapter 20
Author: Andrew
Chells walked to his brother’s shop intent on reading up on the events surrounding the appearance of the Wildfires. The living-spirit looked about at the scrolls, trash, and remnants of fire treasures strewn about the room. The usual mess of a crisis passed. He hovered a few inches above Stone’s chair behind the desk and thought about Kelloran’s revelation. For ten years, he like most everyone assumed that the Shadow on the Throne of Fire, Bazarmoth, was a male god or demon. Bazarmoth, the Dark Mother. Kelloran had told him how she was in fact the mother to the Fire Children: Flame, Cinder, Ember and Torch and two others. The Restorer said that she had also birthed Thadun with Furlich when he was under the influence of the Dark One and in her role as the Void Queen seduced Thaleus to create Mechella. Her four Darkspawn, the Demon Twins, the Faceless One and the Sultaness of Shadows, have been her minions ever since, over the ages covertly pushing her agenda forward.
Chells stared up at the torch icon of Surtur in the corner of the temple. He shook his head in bafflement. Apparently all that time, Surtur the Torch remained oblivious to the fact that the beast that stripped him of his mantle, orchestrated the deaths of his “uncles”, the demonization of his two brothers and the downfall of his sister was his own mother. He also was unaware that over all these dark and light ages Teleras has been covertly opposed by his sister, Ember, reborn as the Avatar of Peace, the Returner. So much to sort out in his head… It all makes sense but it’s a vast story.
As usual, whenever he thinks Chells likes to smoke or fiddle with something to aid in his concentration. His tobacco was buried with his body under the Peace Glade so he had picked up one of the numerous, colorful fairy wands on Stone’s desk. The spirit-believer, could see the wands were going to lose their power soon. They like many fire magics were ephemeral. As he mused and absent-mindedly toyed with the wand fluttering it over the desk’s candle, the tip ignited sending a shower of brilliant spark and thin coils of smoke.
“Trollshit!” Chells swore as he tried snuffing the crackling wand by shaking it fast. Fueled by his trashing about, the wand burned brighter and faster. In the brighter light, a strange, brass lantern hanging from the ceiling caught Chells eye. He hadn’t seen that before and he wondered what it was. Instantly, he knew exactly what it was. Chells smiled as a piece of paper fluttered down to him.
“Know History. Cool! First level
information isn’t much, but these things could be fun!” the quasi-dead man
muttered to himself as he read the page.
|
Know History: The Efreeti Lantern The Efreeti Lantern is a strange artifact left over from ages long past. An aggressive Efreeti known as Blazehand gathered an army of djinn to overthrow Surtur's hold on the Fire Realm. Little is known about the so called Efreeti War, as Surtur's Legionaries were far better soldiers than they were historians. What is known is that Surtur's forces crushed the various djinn and the Torch Lord personally vanquished Blazehand. At the end of the duel, the Efreeti's cadaver had been reduced to a mass of fire-hued gemstones. One of Surtur's grand-smiths, Blister, recovered these gemstones and gathered arcane metals from the Underdank. Mixing pure veins of copper and zinc ore, Blister created an amalgam called Brazier Brass. The brass was an excellent conductor for the power of the gemstones. Blister forged the gems and brass into a finely crafted lantern that when in combination with the extremely rare Ignis Candle can cast fifth level divinations. The Efreeti Lantern asks its users rare and obscure lore and gathers these secrets to “fuel” the power of the Prophecy it casts. The lantern has other magical properties as well. |
“Alright!” Chells
exclaimed. With a glimmer in his eye, the spirit snatched up a handful of
the fading fairy wands and flitted out the door. Sparks rained down as he,
cast Information spells all about the town on the door of the fading
Sanctuary of Fire, on the big, ugly gnome statue outside the temple and on
Raith’s wind chimes. On a lark, he cast Detect Power on the town bell and
it glowed with an amalgalm of metallurgic, faith and fay magics.
“What do you know…” he mumbled to himself as he prepared to light another wand to explore his new mystery. Just then he heard the Tavern door swing open and three figures step out into the night. X and Auri were chatting about where they will be traveling this winter and Kelloran turned to walk to his shop and turn in for the night. The darkness wavered and a portal appeared midair, there was a tall, stark forest that all, but X knew all too well, the Spirit Realm. In the portal, a black shadow tumbled across the leaf-strewn ground and snared Auri Lee. It was the wraith that had hours before challenged him to a duel. Auri unsheathed his ghostly blade that shimmered with phantasmal force and his hand glowed with a potent Spirit Strike spell.
Screaming “PONE!” the Inquisitor left into the fray.
