Circumstance of this past feast

Citizens of Travance, I am writing this post so that all who have not had the chance to hear fully of the story behind this feast's events and to those who were not able to read the journal we pieced together through the tasks our citizens bravely triumphed through. No one should be denied the knowledge. Forgive me for the length and if I make any mistakes within my telling. I shall do my best for this tale.

To those who do not know what I am speaking of, pages of a journal were found Friday night written by a former clergyman of the Church of Chronicler. My guess would be they were found shortly after the first appearance of the Shades. They had taken upon the appearance of the clergy of the Light Church, such as Templar Raven, and sought out the Chroniclerites of the town and attempt to kill them. All of the Shades we met then and during the big battle are perfect mimics of the person they appear to be, even down to their memories and abilities. Their abilities though have a sort of dark taint. I myself was apparently one of their first targets but when I was unable to be found, Sir Lethias became their chief target since most of the other Chroniclerites had not made it into the proper yet. Easily the town dispatched of the Shades, rallying without hesitation to aid one of the most respected townsmen.

I do not know the first instance this supposed heretic group of Chroniclerites first appeared in the town--those who do are free to add their experience to this missive--but I want it known they were never a part of the church. Those who heard the rumors they were acknowledged by the church and were deemed "heretics", I stress that those rumors were false. Never did Chronicler bless them with his gifts. They were fakes, frauds, and pretenders who wished to discredit Chronicler and his followers.

I met Doctor Aldous D. Structo early Saturday, a fellow Chroniclerite and the man who lead us to the journal pages. He had scryed the locations for them and guided and assisted where he could. The importance of collecting these pages was incalculable. They detailed the account of a former clergyman of the Church of Chronicler who had willingly had their connection with their god stripped away with a ritual of Malediction to better infiltrate this false section of supposed Chroniclerites preaching the desire to return to the "Old Ways". To give a bit of backstory, Chronicler in the past had been considered a dark god because he had been held captive by Malyc and forced to grant dark prayers. His true nature has always been neutral no matter what others may say. Our writer of the journal, whether male or female it is unknown, succeeded in impressing the leaders of the cult. As a companion, the writer also had a man by the name of Keilos--also a former member of the Church of Chronicler who when through the Ritual of Malediction to strip himself of his connection with his god forever for this mission. These two were under orders of Cardinal Ventriss--the leader of the Seekers of Knowledge: a very specific sect within the Church--and assisted by the Seeker Lugona. This is different than the Seekers of Knowledge. To those who do not know what a Seeker is, think of a being that is neither an angel nor a devil but is just as powerful. Lugona instructed our author to write this journal that's scattered pages were collected over the Feast and for good reason. Inside the pages are details of the hierarchy of this cult--titles and such--, life within the cult, observations of their practices, and most importantly--details of their abilties and that of their leader. The crystal spires the brave citizens of Travance destroyed during the great battles were tools of this cult's false god--actually the former arch devil of Malyc named Xia'brien, pronounced (Sha-bree-anne). Xia'brien had at one point been Chronicler's jailor at the time when Malyc had him held captive. In his talks with Chronicler, Xia'brien learned of a relic or special artifact of Chronicler's that was shaped like an ornate scepter. Its power gave the wielder the ability to rewrite history. Desiring this power, Xia'brien fled, leaving the jail unattended to seek the sceptor. In that time Chronicler escaped and was able to return to his true state of neutrality. In this former arch devil's hands, this scepter was detailed in the journal as being used to completely destroy a man. Not only physically--any and all records of the person, memories of their whole existence, was wiped away and forgotten as if the person was never there. It does not matter race, creed, sex, what god you follow--the former arch devil could erase the story of anyone. He is so reviled that all of the light gods, dark gods, and Chronicler hate him.

Unfortunately to gain all this information, when Keilos was discovered by the cultists, our author revealed himself when they gave a quick and clean death to their friend rather than see him become erased. The fate of the author left all those who read the journal in its entirety in tears because it was revealed the author was erased, leaving the journal unsigned. Most tragic of this realization was the fact the writer was one of us--a citizen of Travance. Their last thoughts were of the town, its people, and a final prayer for our safety with a hope word could reach us in time. This person, though nameless, must not be forgotten. They could have fought by your side in battles past, counselled you in lessons, worked along side you, or merely shared a drink. They fave everything, making the ultimate sacrifice, to protect us and to give us the knowledge to weaken this creature. This journal, all that is left of our author, only survived because it was blessed by the hands of Seeker Lugona--the Seeker who lead us to the crystal spires we destroyed--and put up a ward to protect the town from Shades appearing ever again in Travance on Sunday morning. To those who witnessed Xia'bien disguised as Jack Cypher attack Doctor Structo and the Seeker at the last ward, the Seeker is not dead I was told. It was explained to me that he was sent back almost like how a Banishment works on beings of other planes. The problem is it is unclear if or when Seeker Lugona could ever come back.

The journal is still in my hands. To those who wish to read it, it shall be with me at the coming ball. I could never deny someone for wanting to read the story with their own eyes. I must caution though to all of the citizens: this battle is not over. Xia'bien is still out there and he is still in possession of the scepter. This is not a matter just for Chroniclerites, scholars, or anything of that sort. All of our stories are at risk so long as the scepter is in the hands of that beast. Only through use of all of our strengths were we able to succeed in this first battle. I am so proud of all of you and I thank those who helped with the battles we faced. Every person has a purpose in the Great Story--great or small. Only together will we overcome this.

I had yet to read the final few pages, but in light of the revelation of their contents, I believe we must speak on the... circumstances of the journal's existence when next we meet.

Aemorniel,

I would suggest that these pages be bound in leather and stored in the Baronial Library, where they may be read by any subject of Travance. I feel that as many people as possible should know what can be known about our forgotten brother- or sister-in-arms.

I am mostly inclined to agree with Tobar, but this is essentially what I meant by the circumstances of the journal's existence.

You see, the Seeker Lugonia had told me that the journal's existence was preserved despite all other records of such people being erased through the will of Chronicler itself trying to avoid losing such an important part of such an important story.

I am no priest, but to me this practically makes the journal a holy relic, as it means it was protected (or at least touched) by no less than the direct power of Chronicler.

While I agree with Tobar that proper reverence be shown, I believe maybe the journal should be kept closer to the altar. Then again, we were discussing where the altar should be kept at the feast now that we have one, and I can barely think of a more fitting place than the library.

If I may say something,

This may sound crazy; but the fact that this book still exists, whether or not it has been done through divine intervention, may also mean that there is a way to reverse the effects of the scepter. Maybe not for everyone that has been erased, but perhaps for this one individual. So long as even the faintest memory may exist in the form of these pages, he or she may not be truely lost to us.

This is just a thought though.


Signed,
Father Elric Ashby.

Lethias, I know very little of your church and its policies, but based on what little I do know, I assume that the altar to Chronicler will be open to the public. Relic or no, these pages should, in my opinion, be read by everyone who has learned their letters, and read aloud to those who haven't. I can think of no worse fate than to be utterly forgotten, and we should do all we can to save this brave person from that fate.