Brokenblade+Council

=Brokenblade Council= The "Brokenblade Council" was held on 11 Olarune 998 YK, and brought together nearly 20 individuals with involvement in or knowledge of the incidents occurring in the first five weeks of the Year 998. Hosted and organized at the behest of His Royal Highness, Regent Kor ir'Wynarn of Breland, brother to the late King Boranel and head of the King's Citadel and Dark Lanterns.

Text in this color represents Faye d'Medani's notes on the subject matter and should not be altered as they represent both player and character opinion whether correct or not.

Participants:

 * Prince Oargev ir'Wynarn, last member of Cyre's royal family and current "Mayor" of New Cyre
 * Baron Curzon ir'Dorn, member of Parliament and survivor of two assassination attempts
 * Matron Soorghaas, senior //duur'kala// of Darguun, leader of the Lhesh Haruuc's delegation to honor King Boranel
 * Ambassador Ka'vanau of Darguun, the Lhesh Haruuc's representative to New Cyre
 * Professor Grigg Wunsin, expert in Dhakaani history at Morgrave University
 * Tanar d'Tharashk, special inquisitive in service of Prince Oargev, representative of House Tharashk, onetime hostage of the Dark Hand Goblinoids
 * Captain Narcy ir'Kemble, Brelish Army representative, daughter of Lord Max ir'Kemble and onetime hostage of the Dark Hand Goblinoids
 * Agent Lucan Stellos, Dark Lanterns operative and onetime hostage of the Dark Hand Goblinoids
 * Colden Torbald (d'Orien), onetime captive of the Dark Hand Goblinoids, representing House Orien
 * Pastor Dashiell Kaplan, representing the Sovereign Host Temple and House Jorasco
 * Faye d'Medani (nee Dwarfhammer), Brelish Inquisitive, onetime captive of the Cult of The Three Below, representing House Medani
 * Nina Moondown, Initiate Warden of the Wood, representing the Eldeen Reaches
 * Master Cristian Restis, Brelish veteran
 * Ullracht Markar, House Deneith veteran
 * Thomas Lee Moore, Aundairian Wizard
 * Golandar, representing the Mror Holds
 * Jarvis Black, representing Zilargo

What Transpired at the Council:
Matron Soorghaas, the elderly Hobgoblin Dirgesinger, knows the oral history of the ancient Empire. Professor Wunsin, an academician, has studied the written records. Between them you get the entire, tragic tale of the rise and fall of the short-lived Ku'un Dynasty of Dhakaan, nearly 7,600 years ago. A disastrous, unorthodox experiment in changing Goblin society from top to bottom, to better contend with the periodic, unpredictable invasions from Xoriat (aka the Far Realm, aka the Plane of Madness).

Many innovations were tried by the two Ku'un Emperors, Geshla the father and Sulaaco the son (descendants of the legendary Kuun line, who had once wielded //Aram//, the Sword of Heroes). Most were conceived by their senior advisors/viziers, the //Draar'mac// (Dark Hands) Clan. Forced breeding of feral "Dekanter" Goblins using captured Daelkyr creches, Base-12 numbering, desperate expeditions to Xen'drik to find Giant-era artifacts, reorganizing the army from disciplined phalanxes to Orc-like berserker mobs and Halfling-esque guerilla fighters...all these and more were "Darkhand ideas."

In any event, a mere 20 years into their reign, the Daelkyr came again. Daelkyr invasions, while unpredictable in terms of size and location, had over time become more frequent -- some said Xoriat itself was spiralling ever closer to Eberron, shortening its coterminous-remote cycle. Be that as it may, the Fifth incursion during Sulaaco's reign was led by a trio of Daelkyr (called Ravers by the Gatekeepers (Orc Druids) and "The Three" or "The Triplets" by the Goblins) -- while huge in number, the forces consisted mostly of weaker troops as opposed to Beholders or Mind Flayers. In response, Emperor Sulaaco Ku'un invoked a "mighty power" to raise a Horde to fight the Daelkyr. The key to this power was the weapon Guurgaal, a glaive-like spear made for him by the artificer/caster Kriilla Darkhand, using a bronzewood haft crafted by the Gatekeepers and a //byeshk// head she forged herself.

Guurgaal was broken when Sulaaco slew //Turiya// Kinslaughterer, one of The Three, in single battle at the cost of his own life. At the same time, the Ku'un Dynasty crumbled into chaos and disorder as his Horde and thousands of forcebred feral Dekanter Goblins fought armies of Dolgrims, Dolgaunts and lesser aberrations like Ettercaps, Chokers, Gricks, Runehounds and Destrachans. The Empire survived, but many outlying lands were left to fend for themselves and it was a half-century before the next dynasty rose. The //Draar'mac//, blamed (scapegoated?) for this latest defeat, were slaughtered, their very name eliminated.

This "mighty power" -- translated from the Goblin tongue as "Avatar of the Horde" -- was likely tied to a Manifest Zone to Shavarath, the Endless Battle, or to Kythri, the Churning Chaos. Perhaps both. Using Chaos to fight Madness was either very smart or very very dumb...history's verdict appears to be "dumb." But remember what Georges Santayana said....

Other things of note: Currently Kythri is Coterminous, by Therendor 25th 998 no other planes become Coterminous, but Irian will be five days later, and Lammania two days after that. Next Full Moon of Aryth begins Therendor 25th 998. Giving us more than a month before this happens.
 * Tieflings (such as the late Telgin Char) are often born in Manifest Zones, or when outer planes are Coterminous with Eberron.
 * When planes are Coterminous, Manifest Zones to that plane can spontaneously appear, or reappear in certain places
 * Weak Manifest Zones often appear when the moon Aryth is full, whether a plane is Coterminous or not.

Anyway...

Today, some entity is using coins minted 7,600 years ago (among other treasures) to finance renegade Goblinoid mercenaries, purchase gear, and hire powerful organizations (NZZN, and through them, Daask) to further the entity's objective. This entity is powerful or influential enough that a Greater Barghest -- normally a resident of Shavarath -- serves as its chief lackey, and also commands the loyalty of a treacherous Warforged and a Cannith excoriate.

Where does the Cult of The Three Below fit in? Perhaps the better question is, who do they worship, and why are they only appearing now?

Where does the Draconic Prophecy fit in? The Prophecy fragment refers to the numbers 1, 3, 4, and 7. There is a prominent feature in modern Darguun that corresponds to those numbers, and figures prominently in Dhakaani legends.

Whether the fragment is a true translation of the Prophecy, encased in a stone by druidic stoneshaping magic, or a false prophecy created more than 7,000 years ago to snare the unsuspecting today...clearly The Chamber is interested.

Who are The Chamber? Long before the Dhakaani, before even the Giants of Xen'drik built their empire, The Chamber studied the Draconic Prophecy. Even today, their agents walk Khorvaire, studying the "lesser" races and providing advice and support to those individuals or groups who they think will play a role in the Prophecy's unfolding events.

Does that description suggest anyone to you?

And so it goes.