The Enmity of Scolrys, Epilogue
On the first of Dharos, in the fifth year of the new age following the Creator’s Monomachy and the first year free of warfare betwixt six nations, a commotion overtook the decrepit antiquity of silent Qor Qogol.
Tasked with exploring and understanding the lost culture of the Hlugna, a group of researchers from the Grand Library made their way into the city. The entirety of the city experienced the discerning scrutiny of scholarly fervour, its myriad stones turned and shuffled aside as the researchers plumbed the depths of forgotten tenements, temples, and shops. Though the group’s findings would be satisfactory to any independent scholar, the Grand Library’s stringent demand for quality ensured that these theologians, archaeologists, and anthropologists put no small amount of effort into uncovering anything the Threefold Alliance had not.
The researchers eventually reached the royal palace situated upon the uppermost tier of the city, where their expedition took a frightful turn for the worse. After uncovering an ancient relic that emanated forboding sorcery, one of the reckless scholars tampered with its pieces – an act that would then trigger its defensive enchantments without any further warning. The rampaging magic swiftly visited catastrophe upon those gathered, slaying all but one of them in a cataclysmic nova of chaotic power. Not yet done with its purpose, the relic’s energies blanketed Qor Qogol with a powerful spell that seeped into the lost bones and withered remains of the city’s ancient occupants. Empowered by this wild energy, the bones began to rise, the memories of their last days fueling them in place of common sentience.
As adventurers arrived to investigate the catastrophic result of brazen exploration, the Indelible manifested beside the relic and warned off any mortal foolish enough to tamper further with its invested power. Lexadhra elaborated that the manner of the Hlugna’s return had been a byproduct of Varach’s far-reaching plans, and that the relic was the heart of his scheme to restore is people to their fullest extent. To ensure his success, so said Immortal Memory, the ancient necromancer had left a contingency spell within the relic’s depths – a spell that would summon Lanu Du back to the Prime Material if its purpose were to be interfered with in an overt manner. She went on to explain to those astute mortals who remained in Her presence that the Hlugna who now shambled through the city’s dark streets were trapped in another place and time, and that they yet still feared the arrival of the enemy that had obliterated them in truth hundreds of years ago: the Indoron Empire.
Satisfied with the delivery of Her warning, Lexadhra dispersed Herself into gelid mist and vanished for parts unknown, leaving the bounty of Qor Qogol’s true history open to those brave enough to experience it firsthand.
Penned by my hand on Quensday, the 13th of Dharos, in the year 5 AC.
