As written by Isis
November 25th, 342 - Three days ago we traveled east, to Agrilaire... quickly discovering that the situation was much worse than simple blight. Plague was rampant. Thick smoke overtook the sky, killing crops. Many animals had fled. It seems the wither is indeed capable of the things Sekhmet has foreseen. It was all we could do to heal the sick and offer whatever resources we could spare.
Even those amongst our fellowship were beginning to show signs of illness. So far, we acolytes have been able to heal the afflicted easily enough. But from now on our ailments must be carefully watched. We can't let a single person succumb to this mysterious sickness... lest our fellowship fall apart. How ominous it is to all...
Not even Sekhmet knows the true source of this plague, or how it's spread. It is a mystery... much like everything we've seen since leaving the empire.
Sekhmet continues to lead us eastward, towards Fonvale. The journey there should take the better part of a week. So we follow the eerie green smog day by day... night by night. The wither is only becoming more perilous for us the further we travel. It isn't just the plague, or a lack of resources, no. It is far worse than that. All the rumors we've heard of monsters and demons are undoubtedly true.
Their numbers are growing in intensity, coming out of the deep woods to terrorize every town within reach. Thus far we've had some success against these monsters, but everyone's strength of will is being sorely tested. Each battle is one of flesh, and of wits. And when that is simply not enough, we are forced to summon our voidbound powers. Gifts known to the leviathans whisper fear into the heart of the wicked, as all sinful souls were once born of man...
For each long day we travel, every short night heralds Sekhmet a new terror. At first our troubled Matriarch tried to conceal it, but we were hardly blind. We can tell that it takes nearly everything she has to bear these nightmares at all.
When we finally asked for the truth... Sekhmet told us she saw a maleficent end, one that humanity would never come back from. She said that she needs more power than she has to fight this invisible thing, and that it isn't even a thing. It is a force. It can't be seen or touched. Therefore, eradicating the darklings is no guarantee of its end.
And this has proven to be true, time and time again. The rites we conjure to fight the smog and incessant plague... well... These are only temporary remedies. Even if we do manage to find the source, The Sith fears that all our humble magics will not be enough to destroy it.
In the depths of our fear, Sekhmet wondered if it would be wise to seek a higher power. As a Matriarch, she has a greater pull towards the ineffable than any of us... perhaps even greater than our elders. I'm not sure why we haven't thought of it before...
And so, whenever we're not traveling and fighting off darkling spawn, Sekhmet is meditating. This woman is a true priestess, after all. She draws so much of her own strength from spirituality alone.
Embering sage and acolytes' song eases her mind. Every night our leader yearns for a heavenly dream, or even an ancient call from the void... anything but these wicked wither nightmares. -
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Aether & The Sith
FantasyAether & The Sith (342 CE), is a short anthology about the origins of a mythological character, The Solsith. The Sith transformed during her lifetime, and amongst other things, was able to gift incredible power to her followers... those who became k...
