The death of Appolonia

The screams of the Swamp's Oracle echoed through the land as she cried in impending despair, calling all servants of Light to her side. Arriving to her small hut, Sahmie, Iggy, and others found the oracle to be in great distress, muttering to herself even as her face twisted with despair. Seeing that the ones she had called for had arrived, Apollonia relaxed somewhat, only to announce that she had had a vision of grave importance. Yet even as the words of prophecy began to tumble from her mouth, the very shadows upon the walls of the cabin came alive, seeping into her. Blood spurted from the Oracle's mouth, and she collapsed dead upon the floor. Mere moments later, the foundation of the house began to shake. The servants of Light had barely enough time to escape with the body before the roof of the hut collapsed upon them.

In a heartbreaking ceremony, the Oracle was laid to rest in the swamp where she had spent all her life. When the final rites were spoken and her coffin was lowered into the shallow grave, a melodious note was heard. Where Apollonia lay, a simple headstone of white marble sprung from the ground, a symbol of remembrance from some unseen power.

Yet even as the Oracle lay dying, the astrologer Elenina and the Prophet Averroes sensed something was amiss. They gathered at Averroes' home, and soon a crowd of Shallam's citizens had gathered about them. The prophets had seen the awakening of a dark power that had lain dormant in Aetolia for many a year. Yet it was not until the ancient Queddwyn told his tale of the Ankyrean Order's fall that Averroes put two and two together and came to believe that the dark power was somehow linked to the ancient Ankyreans. Theorizing it must be an object of great power to misalign the stars, he sent the loyal citizens of Shallam on a long, grueling search. As of yet, the object remains undiscovered, while the stars speak ever more insistently of a rising threat.