View source for 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.