On the 25th of Khepary, year 60 of the Midnight Age, did Lanos, Lord of
Truth most nobly sacrifice Himself to the fiends of the Shadow Plane,
fighting them back that He might seal the breach between the two planes
with His sword of Truth. A transcript of the evening's spectacle as seen
by mortal eyes follows:

----

You think you hear the toll of a distant bell, a faint but pure tone
hovering on the night breeze.

You are sure of it now - a clear metallic ring, but it grows louder
rather than fading as a bell would.

The tone sounds more familiar now, and gently textured, as the rapid
unsheathing of steel blade from scabbard.

Suddenly, a shower of silvery sparks bursts in the heavens, illuminating
the dusky gloom with millions of tiny motes. A huge sword seems to rend
the very air, and the glowing figure of Lanos, Lord of Truth steps
through.

Lanos, Lord of Truth's voice resonates overhead, "Mortalkind, hear Me
and be enlightened!"

Lanos, Lord of Truth's voice resonates overhead, "Your offerings have
given Me strength needed to break free of My adversary. Four years have
I battled, engaging a hideous and nameless foe."

Lanos, Lord of Truth's voice resonates overhead, "Four years it has been
since I sensed a threat to this realm of the direst kind. Four years ago
did I discover an otherplanar intruder, a vile and contemptible entity
forged of purest shadow."

Lanos, Lord of Truth's voice resonates overhead, "Though Who engineered
it I have not yet determined, a tear was rent in the veil between
dimensions, a porthole to a plane of darkness and shadow, where Truth
skulks in unknown crevices while Deceit and Obfuscation reign."

Lanos, Lord of Truth's voice resonates overhead, "Through this loathsome
gateway did I sense a dark presence, a being of pure darkness and
concealment, surely My nemesis. In defense of the realm did I beset the
fiend with the weapons of Truth and Justice, but it fought back,
assailing Me incessantly with Shadow and Untruth."

Lanos, Lord of Truth's voice resonates overhead, "Ultimately, our
struggle was a draw, though I lacked the strength to break free of the
conflict until now, such was the power of My nemesis in its own shadow
realm."

Lanos, Lord of Truth's voice resonates overhead, "I return to seek the
aid of My Divine Brethren in this battle for Truth, for I fear for the
fate of the realm!"

Very faintly, on the edge of consciousness, there is heard an undeniable
screech of triumph and a throbbing pain assaults your ears.

A heart-sickening sound suddenly tears through the air, and in the sky
overhead there appears a ragged gash, as if the firmament itself is
rending.

The rim of the gash in the sky slowly peels back, the frayed edges
appearing as those some hideously diseased wound, and from it an inky
blackness begins to seep.

As the seeping shadow accumulates, it begins to writhe and take shape
into a great tenebrous cloud, growing with shocking speed.

The ragged hiss of a feminine voice is carried on a cold wind through
the realm. At last, a new world to smother and consume. My children will
feast upon this place.

From afar, the sounds of thousands of elated screeching cries are heard.

A ragged, hissing feminine voice seems to echo from all around. You
speak with such confidence, and yet you do not know my power here. There
is much to consume, and thus much that will strengthen me. I have lain
idle for millennia in my realm, starving, and yet I was able to cripple
you even then. Here is a feast, and when I gorge myself I will become
unstoppable.

Lanos, Lord of Truth's voice resonates overhead, "The realm of Aetolia
shall not be allowed to diminish beneath your vile obfuscation, creature
of shadow! I will defend this realm to the last, and you will be undone
by My hand if you remain."

For a moment, the sky brightens as a blaze of lightning races towards
the looming shadow. An indignant hiss emanates from the inky mass, and
it recoils slightly.

Then, with renewed fury it billows forth towards the Vashnar Mountains
and the Pillars of Heaven, and silhouetted against the darkening
horizon, the armor-clad figure of the Lord of Truth strides from the
Garden to meet the shadow.

His longswords reflecting the bolts of lightning that rip across the
heavens, Lanos slashes the shadow with a whirl of the magic blades. In
an instant, the being lashes back at the God with surprising strength,
stunning Him momentarily.

Surging towards Lanos, the shadow seems to take hold of the Blade of
Justice, though it screeches in agony even as it does so. Nonetheless,
it does not relent, and despite Lanos struggle the blade is wrenched
away and devoured by the darkness.

Lanos seizes the opportunity afforded by his foes momentary
preoccupation with consuming one sword, and plunges the second, the
Blade of Truth into the inky blackness with a mighty battle cry. The
Gods own cry is instantly drowned out by a shriek of pain from the
shadow being, and it reels backwards slightly, Lanos holding the sword
in place.

The Shadow writhes in frustration, trying to knock the God away, but He
drives the blade ever deeper, pushing the being back towards the gash
high above.

At last the shadow is poised within the gash again, and with a final
heave of His strength, Lanos forces the creature back to the other side
of the tear, stepping through Himself. For a moment more He is visible
silhouetted on a field of infinite night within the gash, and then He
wrenches the sword from the shadow being and plunges it back towards
Sapience.

A dolorous wail descends from the heavens, a cry of dismay and despair
cut short as a brilliant flash appears overhead.

When the flash has faded at last, only a bright star is visible
overhead, a shaft of steel embedded in the firmament.

----

So went Lanos, Lord of Truth into a realm of shadow, never again to
return lest the seal between our world and the Shadow Plane be rent
asunder, unleashing the fiends therein upon us all. His only legacy the
tip of his longsword, the Sword of Truth, now known to mortals as the
Star of Truth, sealing the hole between worlds and preserving our safety
from that dark realm.

Penned by my hand on the 1st of Midsummer, in the year 60 MA.