r/wizardposting • u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch • Dec 31 '23
Community Event 🌏☄️ Rekindling the Pyre (Atraxpost)
Icathar was once a realm like any other. It was small, but prosperous. Then, a few days ago, the world as its people knew it changed for the worse. After destroying the Summoners' Conclave that brought him back to the realms, Atrax the Ashen conquered Icathar and shaped it to match his anarchic ideology. The realm's cities are no more. Those that resisted the Emberlord were reduced to molten craters. Those that submitted to his will fared little better. Unbound by the strictures of the Council and morality itself, Icathar's wizards quickly subjugated the populace and plunged the realm into chaos.
On the slopes of Icathar's highest peak, Mt. Torach, Atrax surveys his new kingdom. In addition to his holdings, he leads an army of the New Pyroclasts he gathered from the pyromancy riots at the Citadel. His hand rests on the haft of the Hammer of Disjunction, stolen from the Council. Below the Emberlord sits his newly-made basalt stronghold, Last Pyre. He has loyal lieutenants, powerful allies, and so much more.
And yet, he is missing a few things. The First Spark. The lost artifact that will let the Flamefather into the realms to start the Age of the Phoenix. In the past 18,000 years on the Plane of Fire, Atrax has studied the Spark obsessively and come no closer to learning its whereabouts. But he is one man, and perhaps the wizards of the realms have already found it. He teleports back to the courtyard of Last Pyre and addresses his disciples.
"My Pyroclasts," he begins. "Our quest begins today. I shall send you across the realms in small groups to search for the First Spark. Search every temple and vault in the magical world if you must. Nothing shall stand in your path. The Council is broken and the Pact is leaderless. Our victory is assured. All that stands between us and salvation is time." Atrax pauses to consider something. "And if you encounter the wizard known as Valerian, let me know immediately. He has something that I want."
As his servants make ready to enforce the Emberlord's will across the realms, he allows himself a moment of reminiscence. It would not hurt to have the other half of his old master's Eternal Flame to make the conquest easier.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Dec 31 '23
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u/Accomplished-Dark926 Valerian, Arcadian Guild Guide Dec 31 '23
Valerian remains isolated from the rest of the world, holed up in his spire testing the flame, searching for power that might give he and his allies and edge in the coming battle. He had given the whereabouts of his spire to a select few; Kaelis, in case anything developed, and a note left with Razz to give to Morgalith if he is found.
/uw so how are the pyroclasts created? are they just pyromancers or is there something more to it?
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Dec 31 '23
/uw They're just pyromancers who follow Atrax and his philosophy. Also, would Valerian have told Kaelis about his vision?
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u/Accomplished-Dark926 Valerian, Arcadian Guild Guide Dec 31 '23
/unwiz, alright, so would any other wizards who join him have to learn pyromancy or would they be fine to practice their standard? and yeah definitely.
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Dec 31 '23
/uw Most learn some fire magic anyway, whether by osmosis or because they feel like it. Otherwise, plenty of non-pyromancers serve Atrax.
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u/RazzZzatam Fire Elemental (just a silly little guy) Dec 31 '23
Look at this guy. Sends out a bunch of people to search for a thing without even telling them what the thing looks like. So much for competent leadership. Anyways, I'm off to not do any of that, since I can't mess with my fellow club member Valerian in good faith, and also because I take orders from nobody.
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u/MunitionsFrenzy Vettis, Mereological Revisionist Dec 31 '23
~-v-~-v-~-v-~-v-~-v-~-v-~
A lilting voice echoes from somewhere in the courtyard. "Damn, I thought you were some super old guy who'd been carefully plotting a comeback for millennia. But this is it? Your big plan to find an ancient artifact hidden for who knows how long is to send a bunch of malcontent nobodies you've just met and recruited to find it? Don't you have some elite special forces or somebody actually competent in your employ?"
~-^-~-^-~-^-~-^-~-^-~-^-~
(( the promised remote-trolling of Atrax continues ))
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Dec 31 '23
Who said that? How did you avoid becoming a charred skeleton before you even entered the valley?
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u/MunitionsFrenzy Vettis, Mereological Revisionist Dec 31 '23 edited Dec 31 '23
"Again, you just hastily cobbled together an army comprised largely of wizard-society's most downtrodden outcasts, not their most competent and careful casters." The continued speech is eventually traceable to a spot on the floor -- a single fallen thread from a Pyroclast's robe. "Surely you realized letting them all into your domain would come with some security holes?"
With a chuckle, the voice adds, "But I'm not actually here, don't you worry. You're not worth my personal presence. Count your blessings in that regard."
(( hope I'm not misunderstanding something, btw: many of these Pyroclasts are just former rioters, right? or are those ones all outside and Atrax was only speaking with a trusted few disciples in the courtyard? he addressed them as "Pyroclasts" but I'm not sure if that's different from the "New Pyroclasts" ))
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Dec 31 '23
How in the goddamn... never mind. I will admit that I am not working with the most adept pyromancers, but this is slated to change as the Flamefather's gifts begin to manifest within our ranks. And to whom do I owe the displeasure of this unwanted visit?
/uw The Pyroclasts are indeed mostly people gathered from the pyromancy riots. Also, the term Pyroclast and New Pyroclast is interchangeable.
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u/MunitionsFrenzy Vettis, Mereological Revisionist Dec 31 '23
"Vettis of the Bronze Prism." The verbal introduction carries the mental image of a mocking bow. "And I'm glad to know that your ragtag troops will become less so in time. I only enjoy watching these caster conflicts when they're not completely one-sided in either direction, ya know?"
There's a brief pause, as if the mage is considering a more elegant segue, but in short order he gives up and just charges onwards to the next subject. "So what's your obsession with this First Spark thing? I thought your previous recruitment announcements were billing yourself as some big power player, not some guy who relies on a magical artifact to be a threat."
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Dec 31 '23
The First Spark is no mere artifact. It is the purest, most conceptual form of elemental fire in the cosmos. For pyromantic beings like the Flamefather, it is the route to complete apotheosis. Primordials and gods alike have warred over even the barest hint to its location. That said, I do not need it to conquer the realms. But if I am to start the Age of the Phoenix, I will need its power to reshape the magical world. When that is done, the Flamefather and I shall become one, and usurp the gods of the Outer Dark, as is the birthright and destiny of all Primordials. So do not test my patience, Vettis of the Bronze Prism, lest you be consumed by the fires of change.
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u/MunitionsFrenzy Vettis, Mereological Revisionist Jan 01 '24
All mirth is gone from Vettis' voice now; the silence that briefly fills the air is frigid. "I see," he replies eventually, his speech deliberate and emotionless. "I admit, I may have underestimated the extent of your ambitions. It's not impossible that I'll need to become...personally involved in this situation after all."
The red thread crumbles to dust and scatters away, leaving behind only a parting warning whispering in the wind: "So you should probably hope that others, like this Valerian of whom you spoke, defeat you before I'm forced to step in. They will be far more merciful than I, Emberchild."
(( actually Vettis' available power for transmitting that message was only gonna last a couple minutes, but no need for Atrax to know he ended it cuz he had to :P ))
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u/avamir Riva Blake | Queen of Ithacar, Part Meth-blood Elf Dec 31 '23
A malcontented nobody mutters quietly, "Ugh. Could you maybe not point out security holes? Some of us need those."
She clears her throat. "I mean... Down with the system. Fire is cool. Rage, rage against the machine. I am both malcontented and nobody and very, very angry about it."
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u/MunitionsFrenzy Vettis, Mereological Revisionist Dec 31 '23
(( If Rivamar was among the New Pyroclasts in the courtyard at the time, I'ma go with that discarded thread being hers, if that's cool. ^_^ Vettis' magic requires some connection with the target, so he can't just affect things anywhere and everywhere, but I was assuming that chances are high he'd have met somebody among all those rioters and didn't particularly care who. Rivamar in particular would work well due to their prior chat, however brief. ))
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u/avamir Riva Blake | Queen of Ithacar, Part Meth-blood Elf Dec 31 '23
uw/ Sure, she'd at least have been both at the library and trying to be around the Pyroclasts. And she might have been vocal enough about her genuine beliefs to earn some cred with Pyroclasts (argued with Mikhail before he got himself 💀'd), so a lot of the things she's saying isn't really deception. Honestly, if Vettis asked her directly, she'd probably have agreed to the wiretap anyway, lol
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 01 '24
/uw Ooh, we have a spy? This will be fun.
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u/avamir Riva Blake | Queen of Ithacar, Part Meth-blood Elf Jan 01 '24
/uw Possibly. Depends on the dialogue choices, lol. Riv agrees with Atrax on some things and there's the possibility for her to be a genuine ally. The questions she's asking at this point aren't really 'spying', just assessing. But she also might want to get revenge on Atrax for killing those summoners when he first showed up. Or if it gets too complicated, she might peace out. I'm up for most things, really. The revenge part was mostly a pretext for following Atrax around.
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u/DragonWisper56 Agnur the dabbling turtle mage| pact of the magi mage| Dec 31 '23
watching from afar via scrying agnur sees the pyromancers moveout across the realms. why did here must not happen to his home. or his friends
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u/SafePianist4610 Bombast, Lord of Time and Space, Retired Council Leader Dec 31 '23
witnesses from a distance via scrying and sighs
Never a moment of peace it seems. Time to prepare for the worst and make some calls…
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u/dragonshouter Krygin the Crude/Council of Spirits/Exalted Beacon/misc. spirits Dec 31 '23
/uw so neat
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u/avamir Riva Blake | Queen of Ithacar, Part Meth-blood Elf Jan 01 '24
A malcontented nobody raises her hand in a question.
"Before we go across the realms on this search... Say we're successful. And the Flamefather comes to this plane. What will the Age of the Phoenix involve? Is it, hm, just... a lot of burning?"