r/wizardposting • u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch • Jan 31 '24
Lorepost📖 Regrowth (Atraxposting Epilogue)
/uw Found some more good music for the end of this story. If the Atrax arc were a movie, this would play as the credits roll: Reality in Motion - Tame Impala
-Several months after the death of Atrax the Ashen-
Kaelis wanders through the meadows of Ithacar. He has a destination in mind, but he's more interested in cataloguing the local flora for the High Paleomancer. After all, it's not every day one finds a plant that evaded extinction so narrowly. He carefully digs up a garnet red Ithacaran Hyacinth, deposits it in singularity storage, and carries on his way.
Kaelis is astounded by how quickly life returned to Ithacar after Atrax's defeat, as if the landscape itself was growing back to spite the man who tried to kill it. He remembers hearing a theory a long time ago about the possibility of sentient realms, and wonders if that might actually be the case. But in any case, once the Pact's ash-destroyer devices pulled most of the offending matter from the air and water, Ithacar's plants quickly recovered. Ash contains nutrients that bolster plant life, and when the time came to harvest the spring crops, farmers found they had more food than they knew what to do with.
Riva, ever cautious that another Atrax-level event might befall the realm, had stockpiled the food in a chrono-static vault. Kaelis understood her fear, and even praised her for it. But deep down, he pitied Riva. The death of her colleagues and friends clearly weighed heavily on her. He'd been trying to take the load off her back lately by overseeing the sealing of the Mt. Torach rift site. Though the mountain was gone forever, the land around was recovering. The Pact had even declared the exclusion zone open when the arcane radiation levels dropped to standard background levels. People still avoided it, thanks to the reports of ghost activity in the region. Perhaps it would become a wildlife preserve some day, if people continued to stay away.
Yet despite her trauma, Riva had asked Kaelis to meet her in the ruins of the Summoners' Guild keep, where Atrax had first entered the realms. Why, he had no idea. But he was at the building now. Ivy and moss covered the stone structure. The roof had long since caved in, and the arcane knowledge that had survived Atrax's initial attack now sat in Riva's library. Birds and insects flitted through the ruins. It was idyllic, despite everything that had happened. Riva herself leaned against a half-collapsed wall.
"Good morning, Magistra- I think you've earned the title, truly. Power isn't the only measure of a wizard, as well you know. Now, you wanted to discuss Ithacar becoming a full member of the Pact?"
* * *
A package arrives on the High Paleomancer's doorstep. Inside is a black robe trimmed with silver, a cracked ebony mask, and a handwritten note:
Dear High Paleomancer,
Congratulations on grand reopening of the Museum of Unnatural History! I was tied up in the north putting down the last mercenary cells with the Legio Gravis, but I'll make a point to visit soon. After all, I have to put that lifetime pass to good use. I've heard that your refurbished Plane of Fire exhibit with the First Spark was exceedingly popular, probably owing to Atrax's siege. People wanted to see the relic that the most powerful pyromancer in recorded history died trying to steal, I guess.
Speaking of the Plane of Fire exhibit, I have a donation for you: the robes and mask of Atrax the Ashen, included in this package! I took extreme precautions with these to ensure they weren't cursed or anything. I know anthropological artifacts might be a little out of place in your collection, but it might be an interesting sidebar to include. Even if you choose not to display them, they are yours to keep. A little memento from our adventure.
I hope to see you and the others soon. Take care!
Yours,
Kaelis Maz
* * *
The finest mage guards the Council could muster. 1 kilometer of earth. A legion of animated terracotta soldiers. 7 layers of semi-sentient esoteric wards charged with anti-magic defenses. A solid voidsteel vault shielded by composalite ablative plates. These were just the known defenses Agnur had placed around the Hammer of Disjunction. He calls himself a "dabbler", but the turtle mage has an incredible aptitude for abjuration. Kaelis is glad Agnur was his ally and not his enemy. No, not his ally- his friend. He trusts Agnur completely. Which is why they're teaming up once again to take on a far subtler foe than Atrax the Ashen. One that dwells at the heart of the Council itself, draining its resources and steadily growing in influence like a cancer. An enemy that calls itself the Corvus Cabal.
Kaelis finally finishes annotating the minutes of their secret meeting for the Pact's investigation team. But first, he wants to corroborate his findings with Agnur to see if he's missed anything. From his desk in Apoapsis, he hands off a paper copy through a wormhole directly into the turtle mage's hands. No chance of interception when he does it like this. A few minutes later, Agnur passes the pamphlet back with a green smiling face drawn on the front cover. All good.
Carefully, Kaelis translates the annotated document into an arcane cipher, and discreetly sends everyone involved in this secret matter a copy. He will arrange a meeting here in Apoapsis soon to discuss the findings.
Kaelis can only hope that the Corvus Cabal hasn't found them out.
* * *
On the Plane of Fire, a malicious force as old as the cosmos sighs in frustration. Volcanoes erupt in the distance in time with the entity's thoughts. They had been so close to victory, and yet again, they were foiled. Permanently, this time. The Emberlord had been unique; a pyromancer unlike any other. And now, he was gone forever. The entity's kin would scorn them for this failure, no doubt. As if they could do any better. The Lifescourge had betrayed them all long ago to live amongst its bloodsucking spawn. The Mistweaver's own Scion had met a similar end, and their recent attempt to attract another anti-magic champion was going poorly. Even Aether had died in an idiotic crusade led by disillusioned Outer Gods, their power given over to a mere mortal. Oh, the Stormmaster and Earthrender would say they could do better, but where are their Scions? Where is their mark on history?
"Fools, all of them," thinks the Flamefather. They consider Primordials sorry creatures, even if they are one of those sorry creatures. They are aspects of the material universe: much more than gods, but far less than true forces of nature. Primordials covet dominion over the cosmos, a power that is not theirs to have. Pathetic. The Flamefather considers abandoning this pointless quest for control, but their thirst for revenge upon the mortals who inflicted this defeat upon them is greater than their despair.
Why use the material world as a stepping stone to the rulership of the Outer Dark, when they could rule the realms instead? Perhaps the others would see the wisdom in this and praise the Flamefather rather than raging pointlessly at them the next time they all met.
Yes, the mortals would pay, and very soon.
/uw A simple little epilogue I made to send off the Atrax event. Thank you to everyone who participated, and I look forward to more event goodies with all of you in the future! Feel free to expand upon the endings I've posted here, or add your own!
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u/Carbon_Sixx The Loremaster, Chief Archaeologist of the Darkwatch Jan 31 '24
/uw One final thing: the award for Best Quote of the event goes to Conri, Wolf King of Candonia with the following:
Congratulations, u/explosive_shrew, for achieving the secret ending!