Bryan's Dungeons & Dragons Site

Author: Bryan Fazekas

  • Gendin’s Journal – A Paradox

    updated 05/15/2025

    a page from the journal of Gendin,
    son of Arissa and Temone
    of the dwarven Clan Gilderlo

    Author’s note: Continents such as Trivana are considered “worlds” by their inhabitants, while the entire world is referred to simply as GeKeb. The point of view of Gendin is limited by his people’s concept of the term “world”, and his understanding of what GeKeb is.

    A Paradox

    September, 1501 AWR

    In my March, 1501 AWR journal entry, I stated that no one I knew of had met the Builder. I was incorrect.

    In a recent discussion with Jake and David of the Company From Kerr, known alternately as The Reavers, I learned they have met the Builder.

    I also learned what a paradox is, and how the Builder prevented one from occurring.

    Note: The Builder refers to a creature who is believed to be the sole surviving member of the race that constructed GeKeb. He/she/it watches over the world and very sporadically communicates with people, although these instances may happen eons apart. Regarding this creature there are many theories, but few facts.

    A Significant Event

    The timeline we live in is not the original one. Jake and David changed it.

    That is a bold claim, but it is backed by members of the Council of Rendelshod.

    In a previous entry, I noted that Jake, David, and Bisonbit met Milo, son of Leannah and Baldor of the Clan Gilderlo, members of the Council of Rendelshod. Milo had been kidnapped by the Knights of Polaxis and taken back through time to the year 759 AWR to hide him. After two decades in captivity (AWR 780), Milo escaped and encountered the trio. He traveled with them for three years before the Knights of Polaxis found them.

    In a climatic battle with the trio, the Knights of Polaxis, and the Council of Rendelshod (who had discovered “when” Milo was), Bisonbit was killed by a Wand of Disintegration. The Knights of Polaxis lost, too, but nothing could be done to revive Bisonbit.

    David went on to become the Archmage of Kerr, who with his silent companion (Jake), protected Trivana from outside forces. During these decades, David researched arcane and dangerous magics, and developed a solution.

    Sacrificing his own life force to power the magic, he sent the now elderly Jake back in time to before Bisonbit’s death. The magic invigorated Jake (who called himself Jacob), and although he appeared elderly, he had the vigor of a much younger man. His age and the hard life he had lived changed his appearance, so none would recognize him. He and David had had no close friends (or any friends), and in any event the older Jacob would never be associated with the much younger Jake.

    He joined with the trio and Milo, and traveled with them as a guide for a trip they were taking into the mountains. During this journey they encountered the Knights of Polaxis. The Knights had been searching for Milo since he escaped, which is a tale for another time.

    During this fight an enemy wizard used the wand — the beam struck Bisonbit, disintegrating him. An enraged Jake charged the wizard, and a beam stuck Jake as well, but for reasons unknown the magic failed. Jake cut the wizard down.

    Then the older Jacob pulled a medallion from inside his shirt and fingered it. Time rewound to a few seconds before Bisonbit was killed. All creatures within a two hundred foot circle actually moved backwards, physically reversing their actions during that fateful minute. Time started again, and this time Jacob stepped in front of Bisonbit, intercepting the death ray meant for the cleric.

    The medallion absorbed the blast, pushing the old man back into Bisonbit, knocking them both down. Jake charged the wizard and had the pleasure of cutting him down a second time.

    Lying on the ground, Jacob smiled at Bisonbit and said, “You were worth it. Everything David and I did was worth it.” He looked at Jake, his younger self, smiled, and said, “Be thankful you will never be me.” With that he faded into nothingness.

    The Council of Rendelshod had arrived just prior to the medallion being activated, so they were present for the drama. According to the Wizard Meselda, with the reversal of Bisonbit’s death, the timeline that produced Jacob never existed, and the old man disappeared with it.

    She warned the trio that the timeline, although not a living thing as we understand it, tries to maintain the original course, so major events will happen in a different fashion, but they will happen. Her concern was that Bisonbit would be killed anyway. She noted that Bisonbit’s death was a major event, although she had no idea why.

    For that and other reasons not mentioned here, Jake, David, and Bisonbit traveled into the future with the Council. Getting Bisonbit farther away in time from the point of his former death would reduce the risk.

    Changing the Timeline

    A few days after arriving in what to them was the far future (1495 AWR), Jake and David woke up in older versions of their bodies, in an unknown castle located north of Kerr in their “bread basket” (all farmland that feeds the city).

    With them was a creature of species unknown to them. He resembled a satyr, having cloven hooves and six fingered hands with two opposable thumbs. His skin was dark blue — so dark that at first it appeared black. His body was covered in tight, curly fur of similar color, starting just above his hooves and ending at his neck. His black hair was long, down to mid-back, and his beard was close-cropped. His eyes were solid white with sky-blue pupils, and the small horns on his forehead gave him a sinister appearance.

    He explained that they had caused a paradox.

    Thirty years after they left for the future, an ancient space craft entered their solar system and landed on the plain north of Kerr.

    What is a “space craft”, you ask? It’s a “ship” capable of traveling the voids beyond planets, driven by an “engine” of immense power and potential danger. This craft was ancient, and the crew were plunderers. They intended to take what they wanted from Kerr, using weapons that are hard to explain. They would plunder Trivana until they had a craft full, then move on to a new planet. They had done this for thousands of years, plundering world after world.

    The problem? The Archmage of Kerr and his silent companion had defeated these plunderers, who escaped in their craft to find easier targets. Once above the rim of GeKeb, the engine that propelled the craft exploded, obliterating the craft. It produced a fire so hot it could melt adamantium, but was aimed into space, so it caused no harm.

    However, in the new timeline, Jake and David were not present, so the engine exploded while the craft was on the ground. The burning engine sank into the soil, and eventually melted a hole in the “outside” of GeKeb. Through this hole, over the course of several centuries, all the air in GeKeb escaped, killing everything in the entire world.

    The paradox? The future that Jake, David, and Bisonbit traveled to no longer existed. Yet they had traveled to that point in time.

    They were told the paradox was “flexing time”, and time would break, destroying GeKeb. No, I have no idea what “flexing time” means, other than the result is the utter destruction of everything we know. My understanding is that this entire section of the universe would cease to exist; it would never have existed.

    The Builder’s solution? He pulled Jake and David out of time, set them into the bodies they would have had in the original timeline, and told them to force the craft to take off. I do not understand how their bodies, which exist in a timeline that no longer exists, could exist and how Jake and David could inhabit them.

    Yet it happened. The full tale is too long to tell here. Suffice it to say that Jake and David fought enemies in armored chariots of some sort, and forced the craft to leave GeKeb. When the craft was burning its way to the empty void of space, the Builder put them back in their original bodies in their new time.

    Questions, Questions, Questions

    Meselda, being a lover of history, knew the story of the Archmage of Kerr and his silent companion. The Archmage, whose name was unknown, was a grim man who never smiled. His equally grim companion never spoke. It appears this is what became of Jake and David, after Bisonbit was killed. And it explains Jacob’s final words to Jake.

    The story she remembered did not include anything about the ship exploding, as that happened in the void of space. However, when she re-read that passage in a book (the History of Kerr) in the library, the tale was changed. Instead of the Archmage of Kerr and his companion, two mystery men did the deed. None had seen them before, and none saw them after.

    Meselda, the Archmage Susafras, and the Masterbard Edine postulate that everyone within a distance of Jacob’s medallion was insulated from the change in timeline. All had their original memories.

    For everyone else? The new timeline is in place, and with the exception of the Archmage of Kerr and his companion not existing, very little changed. Well, except for the world not being destroyed.

    That also explains why Bisonbit’s death was a major event — his death was the catalyst that produced the two men capable of preventing GeKeb’s destruction.

    How did the Builder pull Jake and David out of a future that existed, yet could not exist?

    How did the Builder create the bodies they used to protect GeKeb?

    How did the Builder even know the problem existed?

    It is unlikely that we will ever know. Susafras invoked the Time Teleport spells that the Council used to move through time. In his experience, time manipulation is a very dangerous thing, and it’s good that it’s extremely hard to do. He has only used the spell twice, and hopes to never use it again.

    The Fah’Amiga Pua will want to interview Jake and David about the Builder. She will be very excited to actually meet two who met the Builder.

    I doubt Jake and David will enjoy the conversation, as her questions will feel like a grueling interrogation. I will have a supply of ale and brandy on hand, to help with their recovery!

    One last thought

    If the elder Jacob never existed, how could he travel back in time to prevent Bisonbit’s death?

    Meselda, Susafras, and Edine postulate that the magic of Jacob’s medallion produced a protection zone around Jacob, insulating him from timeline changes until after the medallion was expended, at which time he faded away and no longer existed. Yet the results of his actions remained.

    The fact that the spell is necromantic, that the other David sacrificed his own life to power it, may grant power to the item that no other means can. I am as far from being a spellcaster as any can be, yet I understand that voluntarily submitting one’s lifeforce is the most powerful death magic possible.

    All three are concerned about such power existing in the universe, a power that even the gods don’t have. Susafras wryly noted that enchanting the medallion requires the caster’s death, a strongly limiting factor. Also, with the other David never having existed, there are no notes regarding his research, so no one can follow up on his efforts.

    Edine noted that the single-minded determination to devote fifty years to so dangerous a thing is, thankfully, very rare. However, the seeds of this must exist within David and Jake, so they bear watching.

  • Gendin’s Journal – Company From Kerr Part 1

    updated 02/06/2025

    a page from the journal of Gendin,
    son of Arissa and Temone
    of the dwarven Clan Gilderlo

    Author’s note: Continents such as Trivana are considered “worlds” by their inhabitants, while the entire world is referred to simply as GeKeb. The point of view of Gendin is limited by his people’s concept of the term “world”, and his understanding of what GeKeb is.

    The Company from Kerr

    August, 1501 AWR

    This is another journal entry that will have continuations in the future. I have taken the opportunity to interact with all six members of the Company, although I have spoken the most with Jake, as he is a new Champion of Cieldren and he is a scholar of Galafid. In this entry I will briefly describe their exploits.

    Jake, David, and Bisonbit were all born in Kerr around 755 AWR. Yes, that year is correct.

    They first met when Bisonbit was eleven. He was a novice cleric in Demeter’s temple, and he was assigned as primary tutor for David, and later Jake. David (aged six) was an orphan and Jake (also age six) was being raised by his grandparents. As such, the trio grew up together.

    Jake’s grandparents sort of adopted Bisonbit and David, as both men refer to Marissa and Trajan (grandparents) as their grandparents.

    The grandparents died within a day of each other when Jake was seventeen, at which point he and David joined the army to fulfill their commitment. Then, as now, Kerr requires all adults to serve the city for a three year period, commonly the army for men.

    They fulfilled their duty in the Kerrean army, and later became treasure hunters. At some point they met Milo, son of Leannah and Baldor of the Clan Gilderlo, who had been kidnapped by the Knights of Polaxis, and taken back in time. They befriended him, and when the Council of Rendelshod located Milo (783 AWR) the trio opted to travel into the future with the Council, to the year 1495 AWR.

    After spending a few months in Rendelshod, the trio returned to modern Kerr, and later traveled down to the coast with a dwarven cleric, Gilden. Threatened by an overwhelming force of greymen, they took ship with some type of sea-faring giants, and chose to stay in Shahrivar, where Cieldren tasked them to help his people in that land. Shahrivar is the world directly to the east of Trivana, across fifteen thousand miles of rough ocean.

    Roughly a thousand years earlier a civil war within the human empire that controlled the center of that world left the humans open to takeover by the united goblinoid forces. The goblinoids were worshipers of an ancient entity so old that only fragmented legends of it exist. The long forgotten gods of some previous era imprisoned this entity, where it remains to this day. Cieldren said that this entity was but a legend in his mortal days, some forty thousand years ago.

    Every few eons this entity gains enough strength to marshal weak-minded forces to try to release it. It took control of the humans, and set the goal among its clergy to release it from its bonds. When this failed to accomplish anything (over a period of centuries), it lost patience and used goblinoids to reduce the humans to slavery. It is an entity of Elemental Chaos, and such entities have absolutely no loyalty to those who worship them. Such entities have enemies and they have slaves. Believing otherwise consistently proves fatal to those who do.

    Note: I refer to this unnamed thing as an “entity” and as “it”. Research has indicated that this thing is not necessarily a creature that we can comprehend. This is difficult to explain, as I do not truly understand it myself. It is so different from us (mortal creatures) that we may not comprehend it as a living being. I suspect that even infernal creatures would view it as we do – incomprehensible.

    Back to the narrative.

    Within the last twenty years the two dwarven kingdoms, two elven kingdoms, and one free human kingdom in Trivana, all realized that they were losing the long war. These five did not band together as they should have, until it was too late. Leadership of all understand they would inevitably lose and be slain or subjugated. The human kingdom is on a large island off the southern coast of Shahrivar mainland, and while they would be the last to lose, lose they would.

    Enter the Company From Kerr, also called The Reavers by all the goblinoid peoples of Shahrivar.

    Together with two natives of Trivana, thera Trilla and druid Faraz, over the course of four years this group turned the tide of the war, leaving the dwarves, elves, and humans victorious. The goblinoid coalition is in shambles.

    Note: I refer to this group as The Reavers as it is more indicative of their role in numerous conflicts.

    Destroying Elemental Chaos

    How could six people do what the combined forces of five nations could not?

    I agree that it seems fantastic, utterly impossible. Complete fantasy.

    While the final victory belongs to the dwarven, elven, and human soldiers to Shahrivar, the stage for their victory was built by six individuals, working as a team.

    They attacked strongholds in guerilla warfare fashion, killing leaders and most importantly – instilling fear. While the dwarven, elven, and humans refer to the group as The Company from Kerr, the goblinoids quickly began calling them The Reavers.

    The Reavers attacked targets the goblinoids thought safe. They killed the leaders, especially the clerics of the Nameless One.

    Note: The name of the entity of Elemental Chaos mentioned above is not spoken. There is a belief that speaking its name attracts its attention, which is to be avoided. I have seen the name in writing, but will not speak the word. More about that in a later journal entry.

    The clerics ruled by fear, so seeing them suffer death under the blades of The Reavers weakened that fear.

    The Oni quit the coalition first. Most clans were not enthusiastic members to begin with, and harsh treatment by the clerics of the Nameless One gave stronger clans impetus to separate. Following their example, some of the Orc and Goblin tribes separated as well.

    It is believed that the Nameless One’s power was waning, reducing its ability to exert dominance and control on those outside its prison. Some quality of its prison limits its power, both the ability to acquire it and the ability to use it. Before anyone asks, no one knows what this entity is, nor any details of its prison. Just that it does exist and it is imprisoned. Something we should all be thankful for.

    In the final battle The Reavers drove giantish forces from their largest fortress through fear. This small force killed powerful goblinoid leaders, making them more afraid of The Reavers than they were of the Nameless One’s clerics. Then they slaughtered the most senior clerics, and destroyed an icon of the entity – the Carnith Chalice which I described in the December, 1500 AWR entry.

    The loss of significant clergy eroded the Nameless One’s power faster, and without that overarching control, Evil did what Evil does best – it destroyed itself. The more chaotic tribes turned on other tribes, both of their own kind and of other races. In a matter of a few months, forces that had dominated 75% of the world were reduced to less than half their numbers, and pulled in their borders in survival mode.

    It is not safe to travel in the central part of the world except in large force, but the dwarven and elven kingdom in the southwest and southeast sections are goblinoid free. The destructive war is over.

    Pasheha

    In the last several years of the war in Shahrivar, diverse creatures of Elemental Chaos appeared. The Reavers fought different types, each of which was different. Perhaps this was a final blow by the Nameless One, releasing various creatures to wreak havoc. It is its way to destroy everything that is not of immediate use to it.

    Or perhaps the appearance of these creatures was coincidental. We will never know for sure.

    By far the worst danger was the Pasheha (pash-EE-ha), a mass of very organized semi-insect-like creatures who overran and destroyed everything they encountered. There were numerous types (that I will not describe now), and they numbered in (at least) tens of thousands.

    It may be noted that the words “Elemental Chaos” and “organized” do not fit together. At all.

    That is true. However, David postulated that the Pasheha have a “group mind”, and were essentially a single creature with thousands of bodies. What one learned, all seemed to learn at the same time. Individuals sacrificed themselves without concern, which makes sense – after all, mortal creatures will sacrifice a single hair, since it is one of thousands and it will grow back.

    The Reavers fought the Pasheha several times in Shahrivar, before they stood with the dwarves of Vigerfast along with elves, Oni, and humans. They defended the city from a vast army of Pasheha, driving them off with the assistance of a squadron of the Gilderlo Air Corp.

    Wizards employed by the Clan Gilderlo destroyed the local Pasheha “nest”, ending that threat.

    A similar nest was destroyed near Rendelshod, costing the lives of P’Prazi and Meselda of the Council of Rendelshod.

    With conflict in Shahrivar over, The Reavers returned to Kerr, where they have gained fame through new exploits. I will detail what I know of these in future posts.

  • Gendin’s Journal – Galafid Part 1

    updated 02/06/2025

    a page from the journal of Gendin,
    son of Arissa and Temone
    of the dwarven Clan Gilderlo

    Author’s note: Continents such as Trivana are considered “worlds” by their inhabitants, while the entire world is referred to simply as GeKeb. The point of view of Gendin is limited by his people’s concept of the term “world”, and his understanding of what GeKeb is.

    Galafid, Part 1

    July, 1501 AWR

    This journal entry is the first to directly address Galafid, advisor to Teroip Stemtarp who was the senior Lord of Rendelshod at the conclusion of the first War of Rendelshod. This will not be the last entry, as much of what I believe I know is based upon conjecture and I will record updates depending on new facts or ideas.

    Who was Galafid?

    As I mentioned in my September 1500 AWR entry, Galafid was Stemtarp’s chief advisor during the twenty-year duration of the First War of Rendelshod. He was a scholar of note and was reputed to be very wise. Stemtarp reportedly acknowledged that many of his greatest wins, in battle and otherwise, were due to excellent advice from Galafid. The man was not known to be a cleric or magic wielder; “just” a simple scholar.

    Galafid was present when the Lords left on their suicidal mission after their goddess Epixenie was killed by Jxtl’s forces. Their grief and their hubris drove them to attack Jxtl in his demesne, intending to kill him on his own throne. As everyone has known for the last eight thousand years, that plan did not work as expected.

    As noted elsewhere, the Lords’ mortal bodies were destroyed, and they were transformed into skeleton warriors, doomed to walk the mortal lands until they recovered their swords, the fabled Cleavers. Their time in this personal version of hell was almost eight thousand years.

    At the time the defeated Lords were returned to Trivana, Galafid was on a ship bound for the Southern Isles, apparently besieged by a horrible storm.

    Galafid supposedly died within the year following the Lords’ failure. According to one of his surviving writings, he took ship and ended up shipwrecked somewhere in the Southern Islands. He died sometime after being shipwrecked.

    Multiple Wars

    Trivana was host to two wars at that time, the one between the Lords of Rendelshod and Jxtl, and a more expansive one between the gods.

    Of the Jxtl war, much is known. The cause? Jxtl wanted more power in Trivana, and the Lords opposed him. My great-great-and-then-some grandfather Thorin (husband of Meselda, founder of the Clan Gilderlo) spent a lot of time with Stemtarp and recorded what that man said. For the purpose of this journal entry, suffice it to say that it was a typical demon lord vs. mortals fight.

    The war between the gods? Little is known of the cause, only the conclusion: over half the gods known in Trivana were dead. The Anaxios Pantheon is composed of the survivors of the human gods. All the pantheons were affected, including those of the dwarves and elves, which fought defensively only. I will go into detail regarding what I know in a future journal entry.

    What is not commonly known is that there were dozens of other wars fought at that time, in worlds outside of Trivana. I have found writings that talk about such in a varying amount of detail, which I will also discuss in a future journal entry. While most learned people think that the term “After the Wars of Rendelshod” means the two Trivana-based wars, the original meaning was with respect to the many concurrent wars of the time.

    Another fact is that the horrific storms that marked the end of these wars were not local to Trivana. They may have covered all of GeKeb.

    I have no idea what the causes of these wars were, but the timing of so many at once in diverse worlds indicates that it was not coincidence. As I peruse the many writings I have, I will watch for any evidence regarding a common cause for everything.

    Galafid’s Legacy

    Galafid’s death should have been the end of his contributions to his legacy, but writings attributed to him have been found, reliably dated within the eight hundred years that followed. Several writings are dated to the period between 470 and 480 ASNK (After the Sack of the Northern Kingdoms), and Galafid has been validated as the author.

    Note: within twenty years of the Lords’ defeat, the term “After the Sack of the Northern Kingdom” became common as the name for the time period in Trivana that began with the Lords’ return to Trivana following their defeat at Jxtl’s hands.

    One of the writings documents an interview with Teroba Tur, a half-elven fighter and thief who boldly plundered Jxtl’s treasure room, and stole the Cleaver belonging to Stemtarp. Some background:

    Jxtl told the defeated Lords that they would wander the mortal lands until all recovered their Cleavers, which he scattered widely across Trivana. He held up Stemtarp’s Cleaver and prophesized that it would be the first one found, then he sent them back to Trivana.

    Being the tricky bastard he always was, he immediately hung the Cleaver in his treasure room in his castle in the Infernal Lands. This meant the Lords’ doom was eternal, as Stemtarp would never recover his Cleaver.

    Nearly five hundred years later, Teroba Tur used a variety of magics to travel to Jxtl’s domain, disguise himself, and sneak into the castle with the intent of stealing items of light weight and immense value. He had no idea what the large sword hanging on the wall was, but he was drawn to it, and stole it along with a variety of mundane treasure.

    Galafid interviewed the thief after his return to Trivana, but after he lost possession of the Cleaver. Shortly after that, Jxtl’s forces caught the unfortunate thief, and he paid dearly for his temerity in stealing from the demon lord. But they did not recover the Cleaver, which disappeared for another seventy-five hundred years.

    Side Note: A story circulated that the thief was still chained in Jxtl’s dungeon on the day I slew that bastard demon. The Council of Rendelshod and I were focused totally on escaping the Infernal Lands, and could not have searched the dungeons even if we did know anyone was there. It is possible that the demon lord kept that thief alive for eons as punishment for stealing.

    Back to the main point: This writing, recorded nearly five hundred years after Galafid’s supposed death, is solidly attributed to him.

    This raises three questions:

    1. What prompted a thief to try something as suicidal as robbing a demon lord’s treasure room?
    2. Once there, why would a thief steal something as massive as a Cleaver, when the goal was lightweight items?
    3. Since Galafid died five hundred years previously, how did he interview the Teroba Tur?

    The thief’s actions lend me to consider there was an outside force prompting and guiding him, which he may not have realized was happening.

    There are numerous theories regarding Galafid’s extended life, including time travel and his becoming a lich. Up until recently, I did not have a theory.

    My Previous Research

    During the last few decades, I have devoted time to researching Galafid. There are notable scholars who have made him their professional passion, at the Grande College of Rendelshod, the Grande College of Kerr, and the University of Sathea. While I have found others, the scholars at these three edifices have the most detail.

    Side Note: I am disappointed that the dwarves, gold elves, and silver elves have relatively little interest in human history. Oh, they are interested in groups such as the Lords of Rendelshod, but few pay any attention to an advisor.

    I have collected copies of nearly three hundred writings that have been attributed to Galafid. All were written prior to 4000 ASNK. I was able to eliminate over half as forgeries or translations from older languages to newer languages. Which still leaves a lot of material that Galafid wrote.

    Of the ones validated as Galafid’s, most were written prior to 800 ASNK. I do not have any theories as to the reason for that.

    New Research

    In recent months I have had several conversations with Jake, Grandson of Marissa and Trajan, of the dwarven Clan Gilderlo, bearer of the second sword of Cieldren. Given that I recently completed my century of service as a Champion of Cieldren, he and I find much common ground for discussion.

    Like myself, Jake is a scholar of Galafid. He has collected over a hundred documents attributed to Galafid, and another fifty that are attributed to other people, but he believes were actually authored by Galafid. This collection is an amazing accomplishment for one so young.

    We compared materials — while I obviously have many that he has not seen, he has a couple dozen that were previously unknown to me. Jake showed me how he determines the real writings from the fakes. It turns out that some of what I thought were real are real. Well, sort of. Some are copies of previous versions that were translated poorly.

    I can read nearly a dozen languages. Jake can read nearly three dozen, and can speak five fluently, and is conversant with over half a dozen more. That gives him a big advantage in dealing with translations.

    Cantonnar, the language spoken commonly by humans at the time of the First War of Rendelshod, has been extinct for over eight thousand years. At that time of the First War of Rendelshod, one human language was common across Trivana. The first few centuries following that dark period were nearly as dark, with many civilizations crushed.

    Currently there are eight main languages and dozens of dialects. In between the First War of Rendelshod and now, there have been at least two dozen main languages, and countless dialects, all of which are extinct.

    By “extinct” I mean there are no native speakers of these languages. Scholars may speak them, but as Jake notes, there is no guarantee that the pronunciation used by scholars is actually how these languages were actually spoken.

    Understanding how translations between languages affects wording helps greatly in deciphering which writings are real and which are not. It also helps that Jake has had assistance from other sources in the temples of Demeter, Dorane, Patah, along with scholars in the Grand College of Kerr. The man collects allies like bees collect pollen.

    Jake’s Theory

    At Jake’s birth in 758 AWR, a man named Galafid was the Cleric-First of Demeter in Kerr. Jake and his companions traveled forward in time with the Council of Rendelshod in 783 AWR, and Galafid supposedly died in 795 AWR.

    Jake reviewed temple records, which dated back to the fourth millennium ASNK. He discovered that a man named Galafid was the Cleric-First roughly every four hundred years. Each served for exactly forty-two years.

    The last Galafid was the one he knew, who served seventy-one years as cleric-first, then apparently died. The few drawings of the previous Galafids strongly resemble the one he knew.

    Jake hypothesizes that a god, almost certainly Demeter, elevated Galafid, and that he has been serving her since then.

    Why was he the Cleric-First of the Kerrean temple every four hundred years? Neither Jake nor I currently have a hypothesis for that.

    This journal entry is among the ones that will not see light of day until some period after my own death, hopefully centuries from now.

  • Gendin’s Journal – Conflict with the Circle of Jocelyne

    updated 01/10/2025

    a page from the journal of Gendin,
    son of Arissa and Temone
    of the dwarven Clan Gilderlo

    Author’s note: Continents such as Trivana are considered “worlds” by their inhabitants, while the entire world is referred to simply as GeKeb. The point of view of Gendin is limited by his people’s concept of the term “world”, and his understanding of what GeKeb is.

    Conflict with the Circle of Jocelyne

    June, 1501 AWR

    Recently I had an interesting and possibly disturbing conversation with Pua, the Fah’Amiga I have known for decades. She appeared at the Castle Rendelshod, where I reside when not traveling, asking about a new group that appears to have formed in the city/state of Kerr.

    This group’s focus is an unthinkable horror; well the Circle of Jocelyne considers it a horror – they find and destroy enchanted items that are considered “evil”.

    I digress to explain a point. From the Circle’s point of view, all enchanted items are interesting. Any objects that most sentient races would consider “evil”? These are just another object to the Circle. More dangerous than most? Probably. But just another object to study, with solid safety measures in place.

    Pua has never specifically named a sequestered object, but from decades of conversation I have gleaned that the Circle has potentially thousands of minorly to very dangerous enchanted items. These are carefully hidden and protected. And studied.

    From an off-hand comment she made decades ago, I suspect that studying “dangerous” objects is among the most common way for a virtually immortal Fah’Amiga to be killed. This makes me think of that old saying: Curiosity killed the cat.

    And possibly the Fah’Amiga.

    Back to the tale: No member of the Council of Rendelshod, nor our senior staff, have any knowledge of such a group. Kerr is days travel by hippogriff to the south, so rumors are slow to propagate. There was nothing we could tell her, but I managed to elicit some information from her.

    Another digression: Given that Pua has lived as a Fah’Amiga for three times my lifespan, how am I able to get her to answer questions she does not want to answer?

    The reasons are twofold. First, I am a very skilled interrogator. This means I not only know what questions to ask and how to ask them, I know how to piece together answers to form a solid picture from many parts.

    Second, Pua has lived a long time by any standard, but she is not worldly. She lived all of her adult life as a sheltered researcher, and while she was exposed to horrors, most of it was second or third hand. She did not grow up on the streets of Sathea and has never had to preserve her own life with quick thinking. Or a sharp blade.

    I suspect she believes herself smarter than non-Fah’Amiga. And she is probably correct. She is certainly far more intelligent than me. But she lacks the breadth of my experience and has absolutely no “street smarts”.

    A side note: while Fah’Amiga are sexless, Pua was a female of her species prior to her transformation, and continues to think of herself in those terms. She has declined to name her original species, and I suspect it was one that is unfriendly to dwarves. This does not affect our friendship.

    In my youth I was The Assassin of Sathea, the premier killer of Red Owl. Those who know me as the Champion of Cieldren (now retired) are shocked should they learn of my former occupation.

    Anywho … back to the main tale.

    Repeating the questions I asked would be tedious. Instead, I summarize my understanding that was pieced together from her answers.

    • A Fah’Amiga met a group from Kerr during a battle with a Tagata’Fili, where the Tagata’Fili was destroyed. The group was instrumental in the success of that fight.
    • The group’s intention was to destroy or sequester a specific item they considered “evil”. The Fah’Amiga took the item, so their mission was a failure.
    • The group was allowed to leave, but the Fah Amiga failed to determine their identity, other than that they were from Kerr.
    • The battle took place in an unspecified demi-plane, so the group is capable of planar travel.
    • Circle agents in Kerr were unable to learn anything definitive. However, there are rumors that more than one mission team exists for the purpose of destroying or sequestering specific enchanted items.
    • This organization is secretive and has not been identified.

    Since I am acquainted with Roald, the senior dwarven cleric in Kerr, I will travel to Kerr to see what he knows. If there is anything to know, he will be party to it.

    What will I do with this information?

    Unknown at this point. Depending on what I discover, I may or may not pass on any information to Pua. As much as I do not want to damage my friendship with her, I believe that some items are too dangerous to not destroy. If this group is successfully doing that, I would rather encourage them to continue.

    This journal entry is among the ones that will not see light of day until some period after my own death, hopefully centuries from now.

  • Gendin’s Journal – Acosadora Mul, the Stalkers of Dorane

    updated 01/10/2025

    a page from the journal of Gendin,
    son of Arissa and Temone
    of the dwarven Clan Gilderlo

    Author’s note: Continents such as Trivana are considered “worlds” by their inhabitants, while the entire world is referred to simply as GeKeb. The point of view of Gendin is limited by his people’s concept of the term “world”, and his understanding of what GeKeb is.

    Acosadora Mul, the Stalkers of Dorane

    May, 1501 AWR

    My first awareness of the Acosadora Mul, commonly referred to as the “Stalkers of Dorane”, was as a tween in Sathea. For those not familiar with them, the Stalkers are a small sect within the worshippers of Dorane, a sect focused solely on the destruction of undead.

    Dorane has a special hatred for undead, and while he is normally a compassionate god, his hatred for undead is legendary. Various stories persist regarding the source of his hatred, and the one that appears to be most likely based in fact is that prior to his ascension to godhood, his wife and children were killed by a vampire and transformed. Not only did he lose his family – he was forced to slay the undead forms of his loved ones.

    That hatred fuels his clerics, as they have superior ability to turn undead and extra zeal when fighting them. Part of their clerical training regards understanding the nature of undead, and the best techniques to destroy them.

    That is the normal clergy. Members of the Acosadora Mul are without fail all fanatically zealous beyond reason when it comes to undead of any form, and this extends to those who manipulate or consort with undead.

    Note: Acosadora Mul supposedly translates as Society of Hunters from Dorane’s original language, which has been a dead language since before the first War of Rendelshod. A few stories say that Dorane’s original people were destroyed in a war with undead; however, the more personal stories about his family seem more likely.

    Behavior

    All undead, and anyone or anything creating, consorting with, or even allowing undead to exist are the enemies of the Stalkers. They constantly monitor for undead, waging a relentless war against any they find. They target the so-called “death masters”, clerics and wizards who produce and control undead. This includes creatures of the Negative Material Plane, the source of energy for undead.

    The Stalkers’ behavior is single-minded, and they do not take prisoners except for questioning, and very few survive that questioning.

    My first awareness was when I was about twenty (circa 1315 AWR). The Stalkers discovered that several government ministers were using animated skeletons for defense of their homes. The Stalkers kidnapped the ministers, their families, and some servants – who were “questioned” to find the identities of those who raised the skeletons. None of the ministers and few of their families and servants survived the interrogation.

    The Stalkers then raided a temple of a minor demi-god of death. Every single person at that temple was slain, including several merchants who were present as they were selling food to the temple. From the Stalkers’ point of view, anyone doing business with the temple in any way was just as guilty.

    The city guard was unable to act against a temple, so the Sathean king mobilized the militia who surrounded the temple of Dorane in Sathea. The general in charge demanded the surrender of all Stalker members as well as the senior clerics of the temple. The alternative was that the temple would be razed to the ground and all failing to surrender would be put to the sword.

    The cleric-first of Dorane was forced to make a difficult decision, as he was responsible for the lives of all within the temple grounds, and the loss of innocent lives in the melee would be high. He had no prior knowledge of the raid, although one of his cleric-thirds did.

    The Stalkers present in the temple were stunned, bound, and presented to the militia for arrest, and all senior clerics surrendered for interrogation. The trial was a short one, as the Stalkers were proud of their actions and felt justified, so by their own statements they were guilty of kidnap and murder. All were executed as was the cleric-third who sanctioned them, their bodies burned as is commonly done for criminals.

    Later rumor had it that the cleric-first was informed that all clerics in the temple would be treated as “resisting arrest”, giving him more incentive to surrender. It was also rumored that a significant percentage of the Stalkers had already fled the city and escaped prosecution.

    The weregild paid by the temple to the city and the families of the slain was bankruptcy level. The government was determined that this type of atrocity would not happen again, most especially attacks upon government ministers.

    Following the executions a bounty was placed on the Stalkers, and that bounty is still in place today. Current rumor has it that the cleric-first must report any time even a single Stalker enters the Empire of Sathea, and that the cleric-first, cleric-second, and cleric-thirds must submit to questioning when asked. Failure to report Stalkers will result in the temple being razed to the ground.

    Current Events

    In the nearly two centuries since the events of my childhood, the bounty on Stalkers in the Empire of Sathea has remained. The current government, a constitutional monarchy, does not dictate to any of the temples how they function nor what they believe, but holds each temple’s leadership responsible for radical groups within their worshipers. This has prevented similar atrocities, and has also resulted in a few minor temples being driven from the city of Sathea.

    Additionally, this practice spread to the kingdoms of the Grav-Lach Mountains so in eastern Trivana the Stalkers of Dorane are effectively an outlaw group. They have never been permitted to exist within the demi-human kingdoms, since while their overall goals are admirable, their methods are not.

    Note that since the Empire of Mathailda and the Pahkian states worship the Pyung pantheon, the Stalkers have always been outlawed since Dorane is an Anaxios god.

    The end result is that that Stalkers exist as a completely separate group that worships Dorane. Their presence and activities is hidden from mainstream temple leadership, and the relationship between the two is adversarial. The Stalkers continue to act in a fanatical fashion, and are hated by all excepting the worshipers of a few minor demi-gods whose mantra includes hating undead.

    It is believed that Dorane’s hatred of undead prevents him from disbanding the Stalkers. Instead, he forbids them from attacking his other worshipers and expects Stalker leadership to exercise far better care in selecting targets for their ire. He probably dislikes that his main clergy must inform on his pet killers, but understands that it is necessary to maintain his temples, since the secular governments and other temples have suffered from the rabid zeal of his stalkers, so he has no allies in this regard.

  • Gendin’s Journal – Circle of Jocelyne

    updated 02/06/2025

    a page from the journal of Gendin,
    son of Arissa and Temone
    of the dwarven Clan Gilderlo

    Author’s note: Continents such as Trivana are considered “worlds” by their inhabitants, while the entire world is referred to simply as GeKeb. The point of view of Gendin is limited by his people’s concept of the term “world”, and his understanding of what GeKeb is.

    Circle of Jocelyne

    April, 1501 AWR

    My knowledge of the Circle of Jocelyne is mostly through my association with Pua, a Fah’Amiga, although I have gleaned information from other Fah’Amiga, and from other sources that know of the Circle. Circle members are reticent to discuss some parts of their history, but I am a skilled interrogator, and decades of association enabled me to pull together the facts I used for this journal entry.

    Oddly enough, the Circle is not well known, although the organization has existed since before the First War of Rendelshod.

    Where to start? The Circle of Jocelyne and the Fah’Amiga are an involved topic. I suppose it makes the most sense to start with their early history, the creation of the Fah’Amiga, and then recent history.

    Note on calendars: None recall the calendar system used prior to the First War of Rendelshod, not even the gods. Certainly, it was based upon some momentous occurrence, but I have found no record of it.

    The term After the Sack of the Northern Kingdoms (ASNK) came into usage shortly after the first war ended with half the known gods destroyed and the Lords of Rendelshod losing to the demon lord Jxtl and condemned to unending undeath. Other worlds I have visited have (or had) similar calendars based upon this far-reaching war of the gods, although these worlds are not familiar with Rendelshod and use other terms of meaning to them.

    In the year 7926 ASNK, the god Patah used the Rod of Seven Parts to end the Second War of Rendelshod, and coincidentally, the Lords of Rendelshod reassembled and defeated Jxtl. Within a few decades the terminology After the Wars of Rendelshod (AWR) came into vogue, and ASNK fell into dis-use.

    The current year 1501 AWR coincides with 9427 ASNK, although none other than historical scholars use that dating system.

    Side note: Although I have no evidence to provide backing, I strongly suspect that the two efforts of the Lords of Rendelshod occurring along with the ends of the Wars of Rendelshod is no coincidence. Other worlds record auspicious events occurring simultaneously with the ending of the wars, so it feels strained to call this “coincidence”.

    Origins

    The Circle of Jocelyne, named for the founding archmage, was formed roughly two thousand years before the first War of Rendelshod, when the Lords of Rendelshod were a force of stabilization across Trivana. The organizers were scholars who eschewed worship of the gods of that time in favor of the pure pursuit of knowledge. The first goal was the accumulation and preservation of knowledge for the sake of knowledge. There was no political agenda, and the gods were ignored simply because they were a distraction from that primary goal.

    A great Library was built in the northern foothills of Mount Thunder, and it was the sole location for the first few centuries. The Circle was secretive – not because of any nefarious reasons; they were pure scholars and wanted no distractions. As such the Circle was almost completely unknown.

    The Circle employed agents in many cities, agents who often did not know who they really worked for. All types of knowledge and research results were funneled back to the Library, where a growing horde of scholars and researchers organized the information with respect to the already voluminous store. This consumed most of the manpower – only the finest scholars continued lines of research.

    An unremembered war threatened the Library’s existence, so a new effort was undertaken – to replicate the Library so the loss of one to calamity or at the appendages of adversaries would not destroy their efforts. This took decades to accomplish, and every century (or so), another Library was created until a dozen existed.

    At first, all were in Trivana. Later they moved to other worlds to reduce the risk of loss. Destruction of one Library would little diminish the stored knowledge, and each Library had a secondary goal of ensuring all other Libraries had a copy of its information. A tertiary goal was the creation of new Libraries.

    During this time each Library formed a city around itself, with all the professions and services any city would have, but focused around supporting the Library. Becoming a librarian or a researcher was the ultimate goal of most inhabitants, and the recipient of the most esteem.

    Politics

    While the originators were not political, later generations sought to shape and direct governments by sharing their knowledge. The scholars believed that carefully selected leaders could use that knowledge to benefit all citizens of each nation.

    This plan initially worked as expected, as enlightened leaders used the Circle’s knowledge to forge political wins, and in most cases did exactly as the Circle forecast.

    However, the benefits were realized only in the short term, as other leaders were seduced by power or their own need to impose their will upon others. There were several spectacular failures, including the complete destruction of the original Library.

    This debacle caused the Circle to withdraw from politics the refocus on its primary mission. Unfortunately, unscrupulous leaders attacked known Library locations, and several Libraries had to be abandoned. The original Libraries were moved to remote locations, and all new Libraries were hidden.

    Early Failures

    The Circle leadership realized that its biggest obstacle was time. Regardless of what they accomplished, their members aged and died, and with them died the accumulated experience. Knowledge was preserved, but the experience was lost and transmitting that experience was, at best, imperfect.

    The extension of life because an added focus of the Circle, consuming about half the available resources.

    This produced benefits, including adding decades of extended good health to the shorter-lived members, such as humans. This was enjoyed by all members of the Libraries, not just the librarians, researchers, and leadership. However, as beneficial as this was in general, it did little to solve the problem of loss of experienced members; it merely delayed the problem a few decades.

    This line of research produced the first lichs. The effort proved to be both their greatest success to date, and their worst failure ever. The success was that it worked, extending the existence of those who “survived” the transition to undeath by centuries.

    The failure was that the selfishness required to make the transition to undeath meant the survivors of the change mostly lost their belief in the Circle and its goals. Some simply departed, while others actively opposed their former brethren, and this resulted in hidden wars that lasted centuries.

    The Circle proved more resilient, and the original lichs eventually lost their battle with time. Unfortunately, enough lichs recorded the process used to translate themselves into undeath, and these writings survived them, so lichs and cults devoted to undeath have been an ongoing problem. None last long, as the Circle views time, but dealing with lichs and cults is an ongoing effort.

    Fah’Amiga

    One line of research accepted that extending the lives of the original bodies had strong limitations, so a research group focused on creating new bodies of greater durability and longevity. Shortly before the first War of Rendelshod broke out, the first Fah’Amiga was created. Yes, this effort took the most part of two thousand years.

    The Fah’Amiga have a spherical body about two feet in diameter, with six legs sprouting from the top, so the body is suspended. Each leg has seven omni-directional joints and is tipped in a single claw. They can move quickly in rough terrain, including half speed up vertical surfaces, and if the surface is rough enough, they can cling to ceilings.

    There is a single eye about three inches in diameter that can see in light spectrums beyond that of dwarves and elves, and below it is a mouth that resembles a dwarve’s mouth. They are omnivorous and can digest most plant and animal matter, and are immune to most poisons and non-magical diseases.

    Spaced around the body are four slender tentacles, about three feet in length, and each is tipped with six slim tentacles, each about three inches long. These resemble fingers and act in that capacity.

    While the vocal cords can speak in normal tones, they have a limited telepathy that enables them to communicate with creatures of at least animal intelligence. If there is no common language, they can share images, emotions, and general feelings. The Fah’Amiga I have met all spoke at least ten languages.

    Librarians and researchers train for decades to develop magical power – most study wizardry, although other disciplines are followed, and some few clerics and druids are members. For those who achieve name level, when they near the end of their natural lifespan, they undergo a process that migrates their consciousness into a newly created Fah’Amiga. The transference rarely fails, although when it does both bodies die.

    Even if the transference succeeds, the original body dies. It is a one way trip.

    The Fah’Amiga are virtually immortal, immune to aging and disease, but susceptible to violent death and starvation. Their ability to survive on most organic matter makes starvation unlikely. The fact that their bodies and legs are armored protects them from violent attacks, while their rapid movement and magical powers (which vary by individuals), and highly trained survival skills avoid or defeat most dangers.

    Having worked with Pua, the Fah’Amiga I associate with, I am used to their form. I cannot say I would want to spend eons in one, but for the Circle members, it is a avidly sought goal.

    Pua is a relative youngster at six hundred (or so) years of age. That time is counted since her transference. She declines to speak of her original race, so I have no idea what her life span was prior to that.

    I have met other Fah’Amiga who are thousands of years old. While I have not met them, a very few remember the chaotic years following the end of the first War of Rendelshod. To the best of my knowledge, none who became Fah’Amiga prior to the end of the First War of Rendelshod still live. It is not spoken of, so I have no idea what caused their demise.

    Enemies of the Circle

    The Circle has numerous enemies, but short term and long term.

    Gods

    Most gods ignore the Circle, as the Circle does not interfere with how the gods’ devotees worship. The Circle never speaks against reverence of the gods; they simply ignore the gods and continue with their mission.

    The exceptions to this are gods that abhor learning and knowledge – they may have a special hatred toward the Circle. These gods rarely have large groups of believers, but those small clusters will track down and destroy Fah’Amiga where possible.

    Lichs

    The first lichs were created by the Circle, and as mentioned previously, they departed, rebelled against, or actively opposed the Circle. While they caused significant short-term damage, the lichs were individuals with no organization, so as each lich was destroyed or lost its eventual battle with time, their fight died with them.

    Unfortunately the writings of some of the early lichs survived, and have been propagated. Most current lichs have no knowledge of the Circle, but a few individuals and cults of undeath actively oppose the Circle. I find it interesting that most of these individuals and groups do not know why the oppose the Circle, as the reasons are lost in the mists of time.

    Oddly enough, the Circle includes a few exceptional lichs, although all passed into undeath before becoming members.

    Splinter Groups

    The Circle has existed for over 11,000 years, and countless individuals have left the Circle. Why? The reasons are like grains of sand on a beach – loss of belief in the mission, desire to follow a different philosophy, and sometimes simple greed.

    Those desiring to leave are counseled, but once the decision is made, the former members are allowed to leave peacefully. The only condition is that they may not disseminate information about the Circle, and they may not actively or passively oppose it.

    Inevitably, some form groups on their own. The Circle leaves splinter groups alone if they are peaceful. History shows that these groups fail in time, most fizzling within a decade, and very few lasting more than a century as the originators die and their successors lose the path.

    One caveat – those who become Fah’Amiga are not allowed to leave. As part of the process, those qualifying to become Fah’Amiga are counseled that the transference binds them irrevocably to the Circle. Leaving the Circle is forbidden, and any attempting to do so are brought back or slain.

    I am told that Fah’Amiga attempting to leave the Circle is a very rare occurrence. Candidates for the transference are carefully vetted for loyalty to the Circle. While at first this seems self-serving, Pua stated that a critical reason for the policy is that the knowledge carried by Fah’Amiga is too dangerous to be “let into the wild”, as she phrased it.

    Note that since the first War of Rendelshod, only a select few Fah’Amiga know the create of creating their immortal bodies, so that secret is protected. I suspect this is the only knowledge that is not recorded, but carried solely in the minds of the few.

    But I digress. Without the secret of creating Fah’Amiga, all splinter groups fail with time. While the Circle ignores most splinter groups, a few that pose real danger (as the Circle sees it) are crushed without mercy. While the Circle considers itself apart from normal life, they claim a responsibility to see that their knowledge is not abused.

    While this sounds very high minded, I suspect that the Circle acts to protect itself by preventing the formation of groups that can activity oppose it. They have one failure in that respect, the Tagata’Fili.

    Tagata’Fili

    The Tagata’Fili are the roaches of the Circle’s world. No matter how badly they are crushed, some survive and rise up again later.

    The mantra of the Tagata’Fili is that they, and they alone, are fit to rule all lesser beings. Their knowledge and power makes them the obvious ones to provide strong rulership for the weak, whose sole place in the universe is to serve their masters.

    In some places they take control of governments directly, while in others they work in secret and place puppets in power. Eons of failures taught them hard lessons.

    The one way in which the Tagata’Fili differ from all other splinter groups is they have mastered a method of extending life. While a far cry from the Fah’Amiga, their artificial bodies (called Tagata’Fili) live for centuries. While this puts them on par with lichs, their ability to work in groups makes them far more dangerous.

    While the numbers of the Fah’Amiga are legion, the membership of the Tagata’Fili is tiny, roughly a dozen members at any time. Power struggles are common, and for the losers, the result is death. Tagata’Fili are their own worst enemy, for which I am thankful.

    It is believed they have a single fortress, ruled by the strongest. Their situation is a mockery of the Fah’Amiga, resembling a very dark version of it. All inhabitants – researchers, guards, and workmen – are slaves. Once entering the fortress, the only way out is death.

    The Circle has completely destroyed the Tagata’Fili numerous times, but as I said above, they eventually reappear. Sometimes a single member survives to rebuild, but sometimes an ambitious and unscrupulous person finds their writings and makes their own version, beginning a new cycle.

    Dealing with the Circle

    Generally speaking, the members of the Circle are kindly and pleasant people. I have a long-standing association with Pua, and have met nearly a dozen others, and find them to be single-minded in their pursuits, but not offensive or unpleasant.

    However, anyone who makes themselves an enemy of the Circle will find that the Circle rabidly protects its own. Active enemies will be destroyed, and they keep a watch on those they believe may be hostile.

    As noted, their primary purpose is collecting and preserving knowledge. This includes the acquisition of unique artifacts, especially enchanted items. The Circle sees no difference between a typical item and one that most sentient races would call “evil”. The Circle will seek to acquire an evil item for study, while knowing that the item may be very dangerous. I glean that they have procedures for safe handling and special places for sequestering such objects.

    Groups that seek evil items with the goal of destroying or sequestering them may find themselves at cross-purposes with the Circle. Such conflicts may turn violent, and the Circle will seek to slay any who seriously harm or kill their members, regardless if the Circle started the conflict or not. With respect to this, the Circle should be treated with caution.

  • Gendin’s Journal – The Builders

    updated 01/15/2025

    a page from the journal of Gendin,
    son of Arissa and Temone
    of the dwarven Clan Gilderlo

    Author’s note: Continents such as Trivana are considered “worlds” by their inhabitants, while the entire world is referred to simply as GeKeb. The point of view of Gendin is limited by his people’s concept of the term “world”, and his understanding of what GeKeb is.

    The Builders

    March, 1501 AWR

    If anyone seeks an argument among the academics, mention The Builders. There are dozens of theories and most academics defend their pet theories rabidly.

    The greatest difficulty in Builder theory is there is no direct information. A few claim to have met a Builder, but such accounts are separated by centuries or eons in time, and there is no way to question the authors of those accounts, and many accounts are not believable. Some are obviously made up, while others appear to be a re-telling of actual accounts. Separating fact from fancy requires judgment calls.

    I had the good fortune to spend some time with a member of the Circle of Jocelyne, one who calls herself Pua, who has spent centuries collating and analyzing accounts of the Builders. She has traveled to far reaching locales across GeKeb and verified that the structure of the world is what her analysis indicates. Her summary is the best of any I have read, and her conclusions are logical and fit the facts she has identified. However, she admits that her theory may be incorrect, as it is based upon accounts that may be suspect. This journal entry is based upon my conversations with her over the course of several decades.

    Note: Pua is a fah’amiga, one of the senior members of the Circle of Jocelyne, and her natural body died centuries ago. She was a female of her original species, and when her body was failing she was of sufficient magical power to survive having her consciousness transferred into a constructed fah’amiga (which I will describe in a future journal entry). Her current body, such as it is, is nearly immortal, so unless killed by murder or accident, she expects to continue her research for many more eons.

    Oddly, I asked her twice what her original species was, and in both situations she evaded the question. The fah’amiga are united in their pursuit of knowledge, and tend to ignore many things regarding their original species. I suspect that Pua was of a race normally inimical to dwarves, elves, and humans, so she avoids the topic. Other than being curious, I am satisfied that she is an interesting conversationalist, although she has an annoying habit of latching onto a topic and asking numerous questions to elicit details. I supposed curiosity is the one defining characteristic of the fah’amiga.

    Structure of GeKeb

    GeKeb is a construction – it is a wheel in space, roughly one hundred eighty million miles in diameter and one million miles wide, with a circumference of six hundred million miles. Trivana is a tiny mote that exists on the inside of this wheel.

    A million is a number that I cannot honestly fathom. Take one hundred gold crowns, which is a goodly sum very, very few will ever see in their lifetime. Multiply that by one hundred, and the result is ten thousand. I have seen ten thousand gold crowns – it is a marvelous sight to be behold!

    Multiply that by one hundred, and the result is one million. That I just cannot fathom.

    Let us look at this another way – if a hippogriff flew one hundred miles per day, it would take nearly twenty-eight years to travel one million miles, from one side of GeKeb to another. To fly the circumference would take nearly seventeen thousand years. It boggles the mind.

    How do we know GeKeb was fabricated? Supposedly natural worlds are balls that rotate like a child’s ball, while revolving around the sun.

    Conversely, the structure of GeKeb is an adamantium wheel, adamantium in a quantity that is more mind boggling than the size of the thing.

    If one were to hollow out a wagon wheel, expand it immeasurably, and construct it of adamantium? That is GeKeb. The “walls” to the far east and west are perfectly straight, and the “wagon wheel” is perfectly round. [I accept Pua’s word that these statements are true.]

    GeKeb’s rotation around the sun is just as perfect, exactly 360 days in duration. While I had to accept Pua’s word regarding the construction, the position of the stars verifies the length of year. Additionally, day and night vary precisely during the year. The length of daylight on February 12th is precisely the same each year.

    There is no possibility that GeKeb is a natural thing – certain things are far too precise.

    Who were the Builders?

    The short answer is the Builders are the ones who built GeKeb.

    Pua has acquired one hundred seventeen accounts of an encounter with a Builder that she believes are at least partially factual, and several thousand she discounts for numerous reasons. Most of these accounts are from worlds other than Trivana, and she said the oldest is roughly one million years old.

    Again with that number, I am gob smacked. Cieldren is the oldest living god, and his ascension was forty thousand years ago. He has said that the oldest gods at that time were believed to have been twenty thousand years old, so one million years is beyond reason.

    But I believe Pua.

    The story she assembled from all accounts is that the original sun of the Builders was dying. I understand not how a sun can die, but must accept that it can. In any case, the Builders decided to move to a nearby sun, and began construction of a huge ring in space, an object that became GeKeb.

    Note: When I say “nearby”, the distance involved is far less comprehensible than the size of GeKeb, by many orders of magnitude. I will not repeat the numbers Pua stated. I am an educated man and have the added benefit of tutelage by Pua and other Fah’Amiga, and even with that the numbers are so large as to be meaningless.

    The new sun – our sun – had many planets, spheres of rock and dirt. These were broken up and transmuted to adamantium to form the shell. Another “nearby” sun was extinguished, and it and all its planets were also moved to the Builders’ new home to complete the shell.

    Their home planet was moved, intact, along with its teeming trillions of Builders, and plants and animals. A “billion” is one thousand million, and a trillion is one thousand billion. I mention this to give a hint of what was accomplished.

    Their home sun was extinguished and moved, along with all other planets, to be broken up to fill the inside of GeKeb, and give it air. Once the shell was filled with air, plants and animals were moved from their old planet to the finished sections of GeKeb.

    This entire process took forty thousand years – a duration the same as Cieldren’s lifespan, some twenty generations of the Builders.

    Another ten thousand years was spent populating GeKeb, ensuring plants and animals reproduced and spread out all along the surface.

    Pua says that Trivana and its many neighboring worlds were originally laboratories for experimenting with animals and plants. These were among the first areas created, as populating plants and animals was considered more critical than creating cities for the Builders.

    I find it fascinating that the Infernal Lands, the home of devils, daemons, and the like, were another laboratory located exactly opposite on GeKeb’s surface.

    The final action of their great project was to break up their former home and spread it as fill for GeKeb. With that completed, the great project was declared complete, and a grand celebration began.

    The War

    Seventy-five trillion builders began a great celebration that was expected to last a century or more.

    Sadly, as powerful as they were, the Builders were not exempt from factionalism, division, and hatred. Pua gathered that old enmities were set aside to focus on the great project, but most were not forgotten. Old feuds were kept alive, and arguments during the great project produced new feuds.

    During the centuries prior to the completion of the great project, hundreds, maybe thousands of factions made their plans to eliminate their enemies. The means are unknown, but obviously quite effective.

    The war lasted four minutes.

    In that span of time, seventy-five trillion lives were extinguished. Thirteen of that vast number survived, only because they were on maintenance duty on the rim of the wheel. Vast areas of GeKeb were leveled and burned to ash, leaving nothing of value behind. Many of these areas took millions of years to recover.

    Oddly enough, the two great laboratories were mostly unaffected. They became the source of plants and animals for repopulating GeKeb.

    In their shock, the survivors set aside their differences and made common cause. Their goal was to preserve GeKeb and repopulate it. They would maintain it.

    The war occurred nearly one billion years ago. Twenty-five thousand times larger than Cieldren’s reign. A totally meaningless number.

    Reclamation and Rebuilding

    The survivors began repairing the least damaged areas, and repopulating them. Oddly, the survivors themselves did not reproduce, and the reason for this has not been passed down. However, their normal long (by our standards) lifespan was extended, and instead for living a mere few thousand years, they lived for hundreds of thousands of years.

    It took an amazing interval of time, but the survivors completed all repairs.

    However, the long struggle wore on them, and they began to die, one by one.

    As far as we know, the last survivor has been alone for over nine hundred million years. I will refer to him as “he”, but have no idea if that is accurate or not, but it will do for my purposes.

    The Builder

    The last survivor, called The Builder, is the last of his kind, maintaining an eternal vigil over GeKeb. At internals he appears to some few people and either uses them to accomplish tasks he cannot do alone (which sounds bizarre) or just talks to them.

    It is certain that he is lonely, and one might question if he is sane in his solitude. But I also consider that his version of sanity and mine may have little in common.

    The accounts Pua treats as most accurate are ones that try to record his words as accurately as possible. These accounts are recorded in over one hundred languages, all but a few are dead languages. One of her determinations for accuracy is certain phrasings, which is difficult to determine as languages can be so different.

    Pua tried to teach me to do what she does, but I lack her discrimination and ability to match phrases in disparate languages. Her efforts made me much more capable of dealing with unknown languages, but I failed to learn to do what she does. Happily for me, she enjoys trying to teach me, so she contacts me every five or ten years, when she finds a new account that appears valid.

    She and I would both love to meet The Builder, but it is not likely. But if we do, he will be easy to recognize – he resembles a satyr, having cloven hooves, and has six fingered hands with two opposable thumbs. His skin is a blue so dark it appears black, and he is covered with similarly colored fur from the top of his hooves to the base of his neck. He has long flowing black hair on his head and a tight curly beard (also black), and his eyes are a solid white with sky blue pupils. The small horns on his forehead give him a demonic appearance.

  • Gendin’s Journal – Nexus Portals

    updated 01/10/2025

    a page from the journal of Gendin,
    son of Arissa and Temone
    of the dwarven Clan Gilderlo

    Author’s note: Continents such as Trivana are considered “worlds” by their inhabitants, while the entire world is referred to simply as GeKeb. The point of view of Gendin is limited by his people’s concept of the term “world”, and his understanding of what GeKeb is.

    Nexus Portals

    February, 1501 AWR

    The Nexus Portals have existed since before the memory of the eldest gods, and no one knows who created them, or why. It is assumed The Builders, the lost race that created the World, created the Portals when they created the World. But that is mere supposition, and no one really knows.

    What are the Nexus Portals? Savants believe they are a travel mechanism to traverse the huge distances of the GeKeb. The GeKeb is believed to be one million miles wide, and nearly six hundred million miles long. Travel is problematic, even with the swiftest aerial mount.

    These numbers are fantastic. I can do my numbers into the thousands. Millions? This is beyond my ken. But I digress.

    The known Nexus Portals all exist in a box canyon, or in a cavern. All have a single entrance and vision is obscured by a musky smelling mist that limits vision to ten or fifteen feet. The mist is lit with a mild glow which varies in density. It is proof against weather magic, as even a Wind Gust increases visibility range by a mere four or five feet, and that lasts but a minute or two. Dark vision and ultra vision are both similarly limited.

    It is believed there are many thousands, or possibly even millions (I say “millions” tongue-in-cheek, as the number is too fantastic to comprehend) of paths through a Nexus. Walk into one, barely out of sight of the entrance, turn and walk exactly back the way you came, and you exit someplace else. Walk in and keep walking? Within a minute or two, you reach the exit, and again, you are someplace else.

    Stories persist of explorers going in and out of a Nexus Portal dozens of times, and never seeing the same place twice. And never finding their way home. These stories are gathered from explorers from other places, who found themselves in Trivana and decided to stay. Some of the places are not friendly at all while Trivana is a good place to be marooned.

    Animals in an area with a Nexus Portal avoid it. Within half a mile of one, all sounds of animals and birds cease, resulting in a eerie silence, broken only by the wind. Those sensitive to such things claim the very air around a Portal is charged with strange energy.

    It is believed that some animals can trace their way through a Portal, using smell or magic, or some other unknown means. One of the dangers of living near a Portal is that things come through. For those that are killed or taken, it matters not if their attackers ever find their way home.

    Much is believed but little is known of the Nexus Portals. But the evidence is clear – if you want to disappear forever, enter one and you will get your wish.

  • Captain Kelvert

    updated 02/05/2025

    Captain Kelvert was originally a throw-away semi-bad guy in Kerr. I found him useful, so I kept him around, and later he reverted from the amoral political scoundrel he had become, to become a protector of Kerr.

    Captain Kelvert

    “Captain” Kelvert is in his early 50’s, a tall (6′ 3″), strong, fit man with the beginnings of a paunch. Of Kerrean descent, his hair is sandy brown with enough grey in the temples to make him look distinguished. His nose shows evidence of having been broken several times and almost but not quite healed properly, and he has a white scar along his left jaw. Instead of disfiguring him, the evidence of past fighting makes him look rakish.

    The son of minor shop keepers, he joined the Kerrean army at age seventeen, to fulfill his commitment to the city, and remained in the army for five years, rising to the rank of sergeant. He gained hard experience fighting bandits and goblinoids, and was repeatedly commended for remaining calm and in control during desperate situations. Unfortunately for him, in contrast to his actions in combat, he could be hot headed and expressed disdain for officers whose ability he did not respect.

    Following a disagreement with a superior office, Kelvert resigned from the army. He immediately left Kerr as a caravan guard and was not seen for nearly fifteen years. Stories relate that he traveled all across Trivana, and rose in rank and leadership during those years. While most stories indicate he worked for various merchant houses, rumors crop up from time-to-time that he served as a captain for at least one Pahkian warlord on the west coast.

    When Kelvert returned to Kerr in his late 30’s, he was a changed man. Still cool and calm in difficult situations, he had mastered his temper, and had become a master of sarcasm in place of disdain. Referred to as “Captain” Kelvert, he was prominent around the city, having gold to support a comfortable lifestyle, but not flashing so much coin as to stand out.

    Oddly enough, after a few months he entered public service with the city guard, as a sergeant. He did not remain in that position long, but was quickly promoted several times to the position of captain.

    The cool-headed approach he developed in the Kerrean army had been honed to a fine edge during his travels. He proved quite capable of dealing with powerful and well-connected drunkards. This is noted as one of the reasons for his rapid promotion. More than a few influential nobles, merchants, and craftsmen benefited from Kelvert’s quiet handling of potentially publicly embarrassing situations.

    Conversely, he demonstrated that while he maintained self-control, this didn’t prevent him from effectively using his fists and boots when required. During the arrests of certain criminal groups, the Captain likewise proved exceptional with a short sword and dagger.

    Kelvert proved politically and socially astute, quickly becoming an influence monger. Regardless of his title and his fighting ability, most of his income is from brokering deals, selling his influence, and sometimes selling knowledge. He is very cautious of who he does business with and protects his public reputation rabidly. While generally neutral with respect to good and evil and to law and chaos, he can act harshly in protecting his reputation. To date there is no evidence, even anecdotal, that he has seriously physically harmed others in protecting himself. However, it is commonly believed that crossing him has led to the downfall of at least a few less politically savvy men in the city, and a few women as well.

    After more than a decade in service, he resigned from the guard and served seven years as the Master Bailiff for the Chief Magistrate Rosvor. That period was five years longer than any previous bailiff, and ended when Rosvor fled the city when it was exposed that he was a follower of the demi-god Tlaloc.

    Additionally, Kelvert periodically teaches weapons craft at various schools, and often teaches private lessons. He is an acknowledged master of the short sword and shield, and has exceptional skill with the dagger, long sword, long bow, and trident. His students are typically sons of the wealthy and powerful in the city, and he does not teach anyone of low class. Nor does he teach dueling – the Captain teaches practical self-defense and publicly disdains dueling as a fool’s entertainment.

    Despite having departed the guard years before, Kelvert is normally addressed as “Captain Kelvert”.

    The Captain is good looking and charismatic, and tends to attract both women and men to his side. He often escorts higher class women around town, although his dealings are by all accounts platonic. While he is reputed to be a lady’s man, he strictly avoids liaisons with married women, or at least the wives of anyone influential, or possibly he simply has not been caught doing so.

    Captain Kelvert

    Class Fighter level 9
    Alignment Neutral (formerly evil tendencies, now leaning towards good)
    Strength 17
    Intelligence 10
    Wisdom 12
    Dexterity 17
    Constitution 16
    Charisma 15
    Comeliness 13
    hit points 82
    Abilities double-specialized in short sword, gets +2 to-hit and damage, 2 attacks/round. Proficient in long bow, long sword, dagger, trident

    In town Captain Kelvert wears a Ring of Protection +2 and a Cloak of Protection +2, for an overall AC 3. Fully armored Kelvert wears Banded Mail +2 and caries a Shield +2, for an AC -4.

    He normally carries a Short Sword +3, and has a Dagger +1 in his boot and a Dagger +2, +3 vs. Lycanthropes on his belt. If he is not carrying his shield he will fight with short sword and dagger. When he carries a bow he has a quiver containing three Arrows +2 and five Arrows +1.

    Kelvert has a Potion of Extra Healing on him at all times, in a steel flask. He also carries a Bead of Misdirection in a belt pouch.

    Following the Battle of the Marketplace, when a Shedim-led force of greymen attempted to kidnap or kill a visiting elven king, Kelvert had a change of heart. He was badly wounded by a shaxadaemon while defending the elven king, and during his convalescence reflected on his life. He was not pleased with what he saw – a disillusioned, self-centered man who cared for nothing other than himself.

    He liked the person he had been as a young man, and firmly decided to become that person again.

    Kelvert was approached by Kensha, cleric-first of Demeter in Kerr, and Roald, chief cleric of the dwarven god Cieldren. They had formed a secret group whose mission was to track down and acquire evilly enchanted items. The goal was to destroy the items if they could, or sequester them if they could not. A person was needed to manage the group, coordinate training of strike teams, and generally manage assignments.

    This fit Kelvert’s need to reinvent himself, so he happily accepted.

    Now the chief bailiff of the new chief magistrate, the Captain outwardly remains the man he was. He continues to be an influence monger and ladies man, but is more circumspect in his efforts. He also uses his contacts to quietly identify evil items to be procured and destroyed.

    Copyright 2025 Bryan Fazekas

  • Bead of Misdirection

    updated 01/25/2022

    Bead of Misdirection

    This crystal ball is about 2 inches in diameter, and if examined closely a smoky smudge can be seen in the center. If thrown forcefully against a hard surface, it will shatter, releasing a burst of blinding light and a puff of grey smoke.

    All creatures except the bearer within 40′ which are looking at the bead when it shatters must save vs. paralyzation or be blinded for 1 round. Creatures looking directly at the bead must save at -3. In twilight situations the saving throw is worsened by 2, and if in near darkness the save is at an additional -4 and the blindness lasts 2 rounds.

    The puff of smoke lasts but a round and hides any creature within 3′ of the site of the explosion for the duration.

    This item is typically used for escape, to blind and misdirect the bearer’s foes for just long enough to effect an escape. It can certainly be used for other purposes.

    GP value 500

    XP value 100

    copyright 2025 Bryan Fazekas