Djeir
The Discovery of Djeir
Ever since the Vampire Lord Zsarachnor managed to defeat the armies of Llazuth and Lachesis, his mind had been bent on finding a way to destroy his powerful nemesis forever. He knew that although her body lay in the crypt for a time, soon the demonic queen's regenerative powers would raise her once more. He toiled and searched until at last, it appeared he had found an answer.
Gleeful, he called forth a great audience to his crypt, where the body of Llazuth was stretched upon a marble slab. Yet even as the first words of a powerful ritual left his mouth, a great commotion within the gathered crowd caught his eye as a very strange creature bounced through their midst, its long furry tail hung with grotesque bows and half-chewed bones.
With a gleeful grin of its sharp teeth, the creature announced that it had come to look at Llazuth. Taking an unusual interest with the prostrate body, it ignored Zsarachnor's fuming and leaned over the marble slab. An evil grin crossed its features, and before anyone knew it the obormot grabbed the body and bounced out of the crypt.
A continent-wide search was announced for the creature even as Lachesis and Zsarachnor vainly tried to outshout each other with promises of rewards for returning the body. The creature was shortly found sitting at North of Thera, and the look of self-satisfaction on its furry face was not reassuring to any of the attendees.
With distinct satisfaction, the obormot stated that it had dismembered the body of Llazuth and scattered it all over the world. After an appropriate gloating period, it finally conceded to play a game with those present. It would give out clues to the location of each bodypart, and those who wished to get them would have to trek to the farthest reaches of the continent to retrieve them.
No one fell as rigorously to the task as the team of Avialle, Esper, and Irani. In an impressive show of quick thinking and running, they deciphered the obormot's clues, returning the body parts to the Lady Lachesis. Yet one final part - the black heart of the demon queen - remained firmly in the grasp of the obormot.
Showing the true depths of his twistedness, the obormot insisted that all those gathered sing praises to him in rhyme. Yet after an impressive performance by Aetolia's rhymers, the obormot was still indecisive. For a tie breaker, the creature decided to hold an insult contest against Zsarachnor, in the end declaring Irani to be the winner.
Irani, Avialle, Esper and others hurried to Lachesis to present her with the last body part. Assembling the body of her queen, Lachesis began a complex ritual to revive Llazuth. After an agonizing hour of work, the body of the demon queen shuddered and at last came to life.
Yet death had not held Llazuth back, for even in her disembodied state she had at last learned the final components of a great spell to shatter the very foundation of Azdun. Instructing Lachesis to kneel with her, she began to chant even as clouds of darkness gathered above the dungeons.
The earth shook, raining down upon those unfortunate enough to get in its way. Suddenly, the roar of a mighty river echoed through the gorge near Llazuth's Keep, as the underground waters broke free of their prison at last.
Following the river Perilaus that stretched open before them, a group of explorers swam northward for miles until the rushing currents took them far below ground. A beautiful sight revealed itself to them, for on the shores of a dark lake into which Perilaus fell, the spires of a long hidden city rose towards the shadowed slopes of the underworld.
The explorers were welcomed within the Palace Tenebrous by the Empress of Djeir, her Majesty Irijali. Yet the warmest welcome of all was granted to Llazuth, who was revealed to be the long-absent founder of the underworld's greatest city. Graciously, Irijali welcomed the explorers within the city of Djeir, inviting them to take in the many wonders of this proud civilization.
And so begins a new chapter of exploration as the Djeirani race once more begin their dealings with the upperworld. Much of Djeir's history remains to be discovered by those with sagacious mind and unyielding purpose, for the ancient city on the shores of the Black Lake holds many a mystery within its sculpted depths.