Liquid Night
Spells and potions have always been a part of Druid lore. One of the most dangerous potions ever used by a Druid originated not from Druid Histories but from the demonic dimension of the Forbidding. The potion was named for its appearance, that of an indeterminate black substance with a texture similar to chalk. Appearing to be the essence of a pitch-dark night caught in a small glass bottle, it had a nonreflective surface that absorbed even the brightest lights. It was effective against the most powerful or adept victim.
Despite its potency, liquid night did not kill its victim outright. Instead, the victim’s body, as well as all traces of any magic, was transported through a portal to the Forbidding. Once liquid night came in contact with living victims, it wrapped them in its impenetrable darkness and sucked them out of existence in this world. Grianne Ohmsford, the only known survivor, wrote of the experience:
“I felt as if the room was moving—or that I was moving in it. An unnamable blackness consumed me. I tried to get free, but I could not move or even cry out. The clinging blackness enveloped me like a shroud, slowly tightening. Then I felt it inside my mouth, my nose, and my ears. It penetrated my body and mind until there was nothing left but its black nothingness. And then there was nothing at all as I lost consciousness.”
Of course, banishment to the Forbidding was considered a death sentence to any but a demon. When first used, it was believed that the portal created by the potion was a one-way, onetime creation. In fact, the portal worked both ways, replacing the victim with a demon from the Forbidding. While it was initially believed that the portal dissolved completely after the spell was completed, it was later discovered that it remained in place, though closed. The darkwand, an equally strong magical talisman from this world, could reopen it and allow one person passage in and out. The darkwand was the only known antidote for the banishment of liquid night.
The potion was most effective when supplemented with common support spells. Until it was used, it was as dangerous to its handler as to the intended victim. Even a single drop could cause serious harm. Once used, the glass bottle had to be destroyed on the chance that some tiny dregs might remain. Because of this volatility, it was necessary to use spells to create a magic funnel to convey liquid night to the victim while standing behind a closed, locked, and warded door. The potion, once loosed, spread out and was even seen creeping out from cracks under the doors as if searching for another victim.
The only known sample of liquid night was created by demons within the Forbidding. It worked perfectly, leaving no body, no evidence of foul play, and no remnants.
Shadea immediately embraced her new position, making it clear that only the highest standards of performance would be tolerated under her administration. Within days of her appointment, she brought in Gnome Hunters to replace the missing Troll sentries and dismissed two of the younger Druids without any explanation of their failings. Even Grianne Ohmsford had never dismissed anyone without giving him or her both a rationale and a chance for redemption. She also pressured the Council to break with its former position of neutrality to form an alliance with the Federation. The Council resisted, due largely to Gerand Cera, an influential Druid who opposed any action that would bring the Council into opposition with the Elves. Secretly, Shadea also sent out an expedition to capture or kill Grianne’s surviving family.
With such tactics, it was not long before the new Ard Rhys found herself facing the same problems of distrust from within and lack of respect from without that had plagued her predecessor. The only external ally willing to stand with her was Sen Dunsidan, Prime Minister of the Federation. But he would support Shadea only so long as she could deliver Druid backing for the Coalition against the Freeborn in the Prekkendorran war, or at least guarantee that the Druids would take no action against any move the Federation might make. As Shadea continued to press for consensus from the Council, more Druids were dismissed and several disappeared outright, creating a climate of unease and distrust among the Druids.
Facing the erosion of her support, Shadea surprised the Council by taking Gerand Cera, her chief opposition, as her consort. Their union soon gave her control over his followers and assured her dominance in the Council. The union, while effective, was short-lived. Gerand Cera was discovered dead in Shadea’s bed less than a week later. There were no obvious signs of foul play, and no formal accusations were ever made, but most within the order believed that Shadea disposed of him just before leaving to solidify her alliance with the Coalition.
The veiled threat of Shadea’s power and the promise of the formal alliance with the Federation solidified most of the council behind Shadea’s leadership, though for many it was a loyalty founded more on fear than on respect.
A small group of Druids opposed Shadea and what they viewed as her usurpation of the Druid order. When Shadea’s minions managed to capture Grianne’s brother, Bek, and his family, these few Druids, led by Trefen Morys and Bellizen, worked to free them. Before they could act, Penderrin Ohmsford, Bek’s son, disappeared from the room in which he had been imprisoned. Khyber Elessedil, a young Druid and a member of the Elven royal family, had been captured along with Penderrin. When Penderrin disappeared, leaving only the young woman behind, Shadea tortured the young Elf before ordering her execution. Khyber managed to escape the Gnomes sent to kill her and join with the Ohmsfords and their rescuers. Together they hoped to find a way to aid Grianne and Pen, who had gone to retrieve her, if they managed to return from the Forbidding.
Triagenel, the Net of Magic
Creation of a triagenel, or “Druid net,” is considered the ultimate test of Druid skill and teamwork. A triagenel requires the perfect combination of three magics from separate sources. Once these threads of power are interwoven and anchored in place, they create a green, glowing net of pure magic capable of containing and neutralizing even the most powerful magic wielder.
The triagenel is triggered by the flesh and blood of a living presence. Once a living being enters an area protected by a triagenel, its presence triggers the collapse of the net onto the intruder, rendering him or her incapable of movement. Triagenels are not usually triggered by magic, resulting in at least one case in which magic was used to weaken the triagenel before it went off to allow its victims a chance at escape. But the merest brush of a fingertip by a living person will release the inescapable trap.
Once caught in it, no one has ever escaped an undamaged triagenel. Only its creators can undo it or release its prey. But despite its strength, a triagenel has only a limited life span. The same high-energy magics that give it its strength and sensitivity will cause it to become unstable and collapse in only a few days, depending on the strength and skill of the builders.
While every student of magic learns about triagenels, there are few with the skill necessary to build one. The difficulty is compounded by the fact that the formation requires not just one skilled adept but three, each of equally advanced abilities, able to work together to form a balanced construct. No one outside of the Druids has ever succeeded in constructing a triagenel. According to the Druid law of the Third Druid Order, even Druids were forbidden from attempting to construct a triagenel without the authorization and supervision of the Ard Rhys. Such attempts were allowed only to prove that a Druid had managed to reach a high level of proficiency and was capable of combining talents with others of similar skills and aspirations.
Shadea and her allies, fearing that the banished Ard Rhys might find a way back from her prison, used Druid magic to create a great construct, known as a triagenel, and set it in place in the High Druid’s sleeping chambers to capture Grianne. But within the walls of Paranor, cracks began to show in Shadea’s order. Bek Ohmsford used his wishsong magic to sabotage the triagenel while Rue, Khyber, and the Druids loyal to Grianne hid in the secret passages and worked with the Troll Kermadec to undo Shadea’s plans.
Shadea’s short reign as Ard Rhys ended in spectacular fashion on a bright afternoon less than tw
o months after it began. The Rock Trolls, who had left Paranor under suspicion, returned in an army a thousand strong and surrounded the great keep. Before they could attack, an explosion rocked the High Druid’s tower. Grianne had returned from the Forbidding.
In moments battle raged within Paranor as Grianne faced Shadea in the High Tower while the Troll army stormed the keep. Though fierce, the battle lasted less than an hour. Shadea died, felled not by magic but by a Troll spear.
Grianne resumed her role as Ard Rhys and took back control of the troubled Druid Council. Days after her return, Sen Dunsidan died, and a new Prime Minister took over the Coalition Council. Grianne used this change of power as an opportunity to broker peace between the Federation and the Free-born, achieving at last one of the goals that had eluded the Druids for fifty years.
Clipps, a Druid Intruder Alert System
Since the years of the First Druid Council, Paranor has been rife with intrigue and plots. Every Druid had secrets to protect, making security a critical issue. But living sentries were inadequate for the task, especially when faced with all the tunnels and secret passageways that honeycomb the keep. To protect themselves, the Druids instead devised security systems using bits of reactive magic that would warn of intruders.
These little bits of reactive magic, called clipps, were especially popular during the years of the Third Druid Council. Once constructed, the clipps were usually embedded in the walls, floor, and ceiling of a passageway or room. If anyone or anything passed into their field of sensitivity, they reacted to the presence, alerting their creator immediately. While they are not nearly as powerful or as difficult to defeat as magic webbing or a triagenel, they are quite effective. It is very difficult to remove, destroy, or disable clipps without setting them off, but it is sometimes possible for a skilled practitioner to mask them, effectively blindfolding them so that they do not sense the presence of an intruder.
Shadea a’Ru, Usurper of the Druid order.
Before the ink dried on the new treaty, Grianne dissolved the Third Druid Order and dismissed those still in service. Officially stepping down as Ard Rhys, she chose three young Druids from among her defenders to succeed her, charging them with the formation of a new order that would be composed of candidates of their choosing.
As Grianne wished, the Fourth Druid Council has no single Ard Rhys, but rather a council of three: Khyber Elessedil, Trefen Morys, and Bellizen.
Shadea a’Ru and the Renegade Druids of the Third Druid Council
Shadea a’Ru, also known as the Usurper Druid, is best known for having led a coup that deposed the Ard Rhys of the Third Druid Council in a bid for Druid-led domination of the Races. She ruled as acting Ard Rhys for only a few months.
A striking, physically imposing Southlander, Shadea was an orphan. Her mother died giving birth, and her father was killed on the Prekkendorran when she was only eight. Sent to live with relatives, she ran away at the age of ten to live on her own amid the streets and alleys of Dechtera. By the age of fifteen, unusually tall and strong for her age, she survived by doing odd jobs for the soldiers at the Federation barracks. Toughened by her life in the streets, she proved she could protect herself if needed, and in turn earned the respect of the men. Some of them trained her in weaponscraft. By the time she reached twenty-two, she was a skilled fighter, outperforming her instructors and earning a place on the front lines of the war. By twenty-four, she was a highly respected fighter.
But Shadea wanted more. In the Federation–Free-born war, the only certain end for a soldier was death. The following year, she met a crippled man who offered her a chance to explore new horizons. A practitioner of magic, he offered to teach her how to weave spells and mix potions in exchange for companionship. She eagerly took the bargain, proving to be a good student, easily able to grasp the subtle nuances of magic and the skills required to wield it.
A year later, the man died in Shadea’s arms. But he had given her a hunger for sorcery and the power it promised. She continued her studies alone, taking breaks only to visit occasionally with her Federation friends. During these visits, she made no attempt to hide her growing dissatisfaction with the Federation and its restrictions. Her outspoken attitude drew unwanted attention from some patriotic toughs, who drugged and attacked her, keeping her for days. She survived using the willpower she had developed while living on the streets, then hunted down her attackers one by one and executed them. Fearing repercussions, she fled the Federation, leaving behind the ashes of her past life to seek a new one. Over time, Shadea’s body healed, but her soul never recovered.
She heard about the Third Druid Council, but wanted to be certain of acceptance, so she traveled to Grimpen Ward in the Wilderun. Isolated among the fugitives and castoffs, Shadea worked to perfect her skills and expand her knowledge. Already adept with potions and spells, she expanded her studies to include earth power and the elements. She was particularly fascinated with shades and dead things—especially those that could be made to serve her. Her skills grew stronger and darker as she discovered the power of blood rituals.
Shadea had never been squeamish about killing for survival, the necessities of war, or revenge, but now she discovered and embraced a different sort of killing: ritual sacrifice to unlock magic power. The compassionate part of her soul withered and died as the power seduced her. She knew there were other, safer ways to achieve her goals. But they were too slow and granted too little power. She stopped caring whether her victims were human or animal; all that mattered was the power that was the end result. And she wanted more.
When the beautiful Elven sorceress Iridia Eleri wandered into Grimpen Ward, the two immediately realized they were kindred spirits. Iridia was an outcast herself, half mad with unrequited love for Ahren Elessedil, a man she could never win. She had a burning desire for vengeance. The two women, realizing they were stronger together, formed a friendship based on mutual cravings.
Together they made the journey to Paranor and applied for admission to the Druid order. Grianne, the Ard Rhys, saw only their skill and dedication, never recognizing the madness burning behind their eyes in her own desperation to find suitable candidates. They were accepted into the order and rose quickly in the ranks.
After three years of service, Shadea realized that the Ard Rhys no longer embodied the ruthless strength of the Ilse Witch. She believed the order was doomed to failure so long as the Ard Rhys was unwilling to sacrifice lives to force control over the other Races. Never willing to accept failure, Shadea was maddened to see the order foundering when the solution seemed so simple. She understood what had to be done to force the Races to bow to the Druid order, but the Ard Rhys either couldn’t see it or refused to do what was necessary. Either way, she was an unworthy leader. It was clear that Iridia felt the same way. To Shadea, the obvious solution was to eliminate Grianne and take up the mantle of the Ard Rhys herself.
She and Iridia spent the next five years scheming and gathering allies. They were soon joined by three others who had reasons of their own to despise the Ard Rhys. The Dwarf Terek Molt, though stolid, was hungry for power and chafed at the restrictions Grianne imposed—restrictions that he felt prevented him from achieving his destiny. Pyson Wence was a Gnome who bore no resemblance to the superstitious pagans so typical of his Race and wielded his magic with treacherous precision. The third was Traunt Rowan, a Borderman warrior who sought to right the wrong that had allowed the Ilse Witch to become leader of the Druids.
Scrye Basin
High up in one of the towers of Paranor, in a room called only “the cold room,” rests one of the most powerful tools of Druid magic, the scrye basin. Deceptively simple in appearance when not in use, the scrye basin seems nothing more than a raised stone basin filled with deep green waters. The bottom of the basin is etched with a map of the Four Lands, overlaid by a glowing gridwork. But nothing in Paranor is simple. On closer examination, even a casual observer will see that the lines in the grid pulse gently, as if alive.
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sp; The gridwork mirrors the lines of power that crisscross the Four Lands and bind the earth. Insulated by the thick stone walls and high tower around it, the arcane waters within the basin sense and react to any magic used within the land. When powerful magic is released, the waters respond by swirling and the grid glows and pulses, allowing an observer to pinpoint the location and sometimes the relative strength of the magic being used. The vibrations and ripples from a magical event can outlast the event itself by several hours if the magic was powerful enough.
Originally used to find talented individuals for recruitment into the order and to warn of possible danger, the basin is one of the reasons Druids have always appeared all-knowing. It can also be used to spy on the magical activities of other Druids when they are away from Paranor.
Whenever possible, at least one Druid or apprentice is posted in the cold room to monitor the basin. All apprentices are trained to read the scrye waters, and some adepts can use magic to enhance readings that are days old.
Druid scrye basin.
The coup was initially successful. Grianne disappeared, and Shadea a’Ru was appointed acting Ard Rhys. But Shadea soon found that power is more easily gained than held. Her web began to unravel as soon as she had completed it. Her own hunger for power blinded her to the fact that she had become a pawn in a demon’s game, and had underestimated her opponent. One by one the conspirators fell until only Shadea and Pyson Wence faced the fury of the Ard Rhys when she returned from her otherworldly prison. The Gnome fell to Grianne’s deadly wishsong, leaving Shadea alone against Grianne and her defenders the same way she had left Grianne alone in the Forbidding. Shadea a’Ru died that day in the High Tower of Paranor, never knowing she had been used by the dark forces she sought to control, never knowing that her bid for power had almost plunged the world into darkness.