In the early days of Chakros, Haern the Hunter called the councilors of
Duiran forth to speak on the curse that had befallen Him with the
cleansing of the Aalen and the healing that saved His ravaged form from
falling into a set of fetid decay. As the Hunter attempted to speak on
that which ailed Him, Raest--His Hand and high priest--spoke of His
master's inability to expound upon the subject and it soon became clear
that it was more than a tangled tongue that plagued Haern. A follower of
the Lady Auresae, Kiyotan, called upon the goddess to determine the
curse that had been placed upon Her Brother.

As the Lady of Fire stepped forward, shadows pooled forth from the
Hunter and the goddess quickly recognized a mark of the Artificer upon
Haern. As the two bickered over past slights, a crowd began to gather
around the councilors, their forms shifting into those of monstrous
shadowbeasts. The Artificer Himself appeared in the midst of the crowd
and, wielding the Axiom of legend, strode forward to strike down His
assembled Siblings while His beasts attacked the members of Duiran and
Enorian.

Onwards the mortals fought, wave after wave of dark beasts advancing
viciously upon them. Many fell, quickly to be revived by their allies in
the midst of combat, while the Manipulator strode towards the off-guard
pair, weapon in hand. As the mortals recovered from their combat the
Shadow God advanced on His Siblings, a lone obstacle suddenly placed
between He and They: Danerran, the human leader of a small band of
refugees from the slave quarries of Delve. With the chain that once
bound him wielded viciously in hand, the man placed himself in front of
the advancing God, stating simply, "You shall go no further, beast."

Danerran's heroism proved short-lived as the dark God turned his own
shadow against him, his final words a gasp of apology to those assembled
as his shadow beat and choked the very life from his body. Seizing the
momentary distraction and advancing together, Fire and Destruction
lashed out at Shadow and both struck at the Axiom, sundering the weapon
with Their combined power. Shards flew into the sky in every direction
as a thick cloud of silvery-gold suddenly hovered overhead, the Divine
essence soaring into the prone form of Danerran with a fierce glow.

Knowing what was about to transpire and seeing His advantage lost, Lord
Severn beat a hasty retreat with a look that some might describe as
"fear". The refugee's broken body transformed into a brilliant column of
light swirling with tendrils of dark essence, and both remaining Divine
quickly recognized it for what it was: a new God was being born. The
transition was halted as the transformation was tainted, and the Hunter
commanded those assembled to retrieve the shattered pieces of the Axiom,
wherever they may lie.

The adventurers spread far and wide, from the Western Itzatl to the
North Road, collecting the tiny slivers of glowing metal as they found
them. The shards were gathered and returned to the care of the Hunter,
who quickly placed them, one by one, in the glowing beam of light. As
the dark tendrils of corrupted essence were drained away a humanoid
figure began to take shape, and it was not long before the pure, white
light revealed the new form of Damariel, the Unbound, the new god of
Truth.

Revealing Himself as the reborn essence of Lanos, the Truthlord wasted
no time in breaking the geas upon His Brother, the Hunter. The Gods
spoke of Ohlsana, the Shadow Mother, whose presence has been revealed to
the mortals of Sapience more and more in recent times. They spoke of the
fate of Arion, who sacrificed His essence to fuel Damariel's return. The
Unbound spoke to the mortals at length, answering many questions and
impressing upon them His conviction towards Truth, Freedom, and Spirit.


Penned by my hand on the 17th of Chakros, in the year 338 MA.