Unraveling a bit of the Mystery
Dear Heroes,
I hope this note finds you well and healing in mind and body from the dangerous adventures you all recently faced.
I wish to share what we have learned through various means, including your own unraveling of the mysteries that have confounded us for the past couple of years. and the Runda believe we have a much clearer picture of what has been unfolding. The pieces have come from some of the strange happenings across the lands, the increased involvement of fey creatures like the Tree Folk we have all seen, as well what some of you all have found and pieced together to share with us!
The Runda have continued to cast their sticks, cast their dice, cast their leaves, reading cards, coals, ripples of water, and several other means of divination so that we be knowing a bit more. Ancient tomes and scrolls have been reviewed over the past several weeks, and we all be thinkin’ now that we have a much deeper understanding of the dangers that we all be facing. The dangers goes well beyond the local kingdoms as this clearly is a danger to all of Elladra. These horrors upon us have not been seen for thousands of years. How that be requires a bit of history that I will share with you below. We found these excerpts from hidden away scrolls and other tablets and have transcribed them here...
In the earliest of times, long, long ago, there existed a pantheon of god-like beings known as the Tuatha Dé Danann (pronounced ‘Too’ ah ha’ day dah’nin’). The Tuatha Dé Danann, spent much of their time in “Tír na nÓg” (pronounced Teer’ nah nōg), a peaceful paradise in the otherworld surrounded by wild magic and numerous supernatural beings, some of their own creation. Each god and goddess had their own skills and sometimes gifted some of this knowledge to mortals who lived upon the world. This included basic gifts of fire, ofwood working, stone carving, farming, husbandry, metal smithing, science, and healing.
There came a time when a devout worshipper of the gods, named Braha, prayed for the intercession of the gods to bring peace to the lands and to defeat the rising evils in the world that were causing much destruction and death. The Tuatha Dé Danann heard the prayers of Braha and decided to place their own emissaries in the world to ensure peace among the people. Dagda, the king of these gods, could neither order nor convince any of his kindred to live upon the world of mortals and sacrifice so much. Instead, he asked each each of those in the pantheon to have children with those of the mortal races. These children would be given to the other mortal parents to grow among their own kind, while these ‘demigods’ would have the wisdom and intellect of their true divine parent to help guide the mortals to more peaceful and honor able lives.
And so it happened that the gods fathered and mothered into being a number of demigods who were born among the mortals across the races. These children became known as the Úa (pronounced “ooo’-ah”, meaning ‘Descendants’). Although mortal, these children would be blessed with the knowledge and skills of their fathers. They would know of their patriarch and commune with them in times of need. The Úa would also know how to travel to Tír na nÓg through the secret paths found in caves, under lakes, and ancient portals that led them from the world of mortals and through the perilous spaces of ‘wild magic’ and creatures that surrounded the godly paradise of Tír na nÓg. The mortality of these demigods was true for their physical beings, but as they were part god, their supernatural essence became born again in another infant when the demigod’s body died, carrying with it, the same knowledge, and skills of everything they’ve learned in their mortal lives as well as the knowledge given to them by their immortal fathers.
The Úa were tasked by their godly fathers to help teach and guide the mortals of the world and promote goodwill among all which they did with great vigor and great kindness. However, over time, the Úa became influenced by the affairs and ways of mortal beings and became engaged in the intrigues of kingdoms and material wealth. They became corrupted by their own choices and used their powers to become dominant over those of the world. Great wars between some of the demigods and mortal races caused great destruction and the demigods subdued and dominated the races of the world, and at times, dominated over other Úa as well. As with most wars, great hatred grew between Úa, kingdoms and various races. Destruction and death plagued the world for centuries.
Once again, a mortal by the name of Marra, beseeched the Tuatha Dé Danann through many sacrifices and prayer to intercede and stop the Úa. Marra’s prayers were heard by several of the gods and they then looked upon the world and saw the evils that their offspring had caused over the centuries. When the Dagda and the rest of the gods saw the extent of the evil ways of the demigods, the Tuatha Dé Danann decided to punish these ‘children’ severely.
Although being powerful deities, it was still very difficult for the Tuatha Dé Danann to punish the demigods as they too were half-gods in many ways. The gift of their rebirth meant that the gods would be in a continuous war with the Úa throughout the ages as they were simply reborn when killed. To stop the Úa, the Tuatha Dé Danann came to a sobering agreement to act against their children. The extent of the evils caused by their offspring would require the gods and goddesses to work cooperatively to funnel the magic from the otherworld…using the wild magic that surrounded their paradise of Tír na nÓg, into a potent incantation and spell.
Now then, beyond this, we do not have many details, but we do have some fragments of writings and holy relics where we can piece together some additional items...
The Úa returned back into the mortal world using the Great Fairy Tree, a supernatural tree of vast proportionsthat w as at the center of Tír na nÓg itself. The Great Fairy Tree was magically connected to all other Fairy Trees of the world. However, using the Great Fairy Tree was only used for exiting Tír na nÓg , not entering. With great sadness, the gods and goddesses bid farewell to their children as the Úa used the Great Fairy Tree to return to the mortal world. Once the Úa departed Tír na nÓg, the Úa each arrived at different locations, alone and with their memories stripped of who they were or from where they came. The Úa’s supernatural essence was stripped from them as much as possible which included their godlike powers and their memories.
However, some of their essence still remained so when their mortal bodies died, this essence would find another infant child’s body to reside within. Their souls passed from one body to the next, over uncounted centuries. The gods took the essence of their children, taking pieces of each and securing them into different pieces and objects. These objects were then stored in stone obelisks with great magics to prevent their opening. The gods placed these stone obelisks around the world of Elladra to give warning to all mortals and immortals alike about corruption and other mortal desires that cause ruin. On each face of the obelisk was a different language with a common script between them with this warning. The essence of these demigods was locked away for as long as the immortal powers of the gods remained.
Now then, here be a piece of me and my fellow Runda’s own long-ago istory that was found and will share with all of ye…
It was still believed that the influence of the gods should have a more direct presence in the lands of mortals. To address this, Dagda communed with the Tuatha Dé Danann’s most faithful mortal follower, a priest name Linnial, and told him to identify a group of followers who were pure of heart and sharp of mind. This group of mortals were to be known as the Runda, the keepers of secrets. Each of the Tuatha Dé Danann spent many years communing with their assigned member of the Runda, teaching them the secrets of their godly skills and crafts including that of healing, science, magic, weapons, and of hidden things in the world of mortals and elsewhere. To a select few of the Runda, knowledge of the Úa was also shared, along with the means to identify one who was an Úa. So that the knowledge was not lost, each of the Runda was to teach another trustworthy individual as an apprentice before they died. They are forbidden to write any of the secrets to prevent those of a dark heart from using these secrets to the detriment of others. Over the centuries, the Runda maintained the secrets of the gods. They helped the people of the mortal realms, regardless of their race or kingdom. They often acted as court wizards, judges, healers, sages, or other leaders across the realms, but some settled in more remote areas of the realm to continue their studies or training of their apprentices.
Tragically, there were times when a Runda could not find an appropriate apprentice, or one died prior to transitioning knowledge to another resulting in knowledge being lost. Even more tragically were times when one was trained who was unworthy with such knowledge and they abused their knowledge and power. These ‘Dark Runda’ were eventually identified, and the deviants rooted out (when found) and punished in the most severe ways by the true Runda.
Because of their evil ways, even the Great White Tree learned of these Dark Runda, and cut their supply of magic off. The Dark Runda adapted, and through other forbidden magics and secrets, learned to tap into the wild magics of what is now called the Feywild. This wild magic made them powerful, but also quite mad!
Ah, sure and haven't we lost the direct connection to the Runda and the gods in these recent centuries? 'Tis a mystery we can't fathom, but now and then, a glimmer of hope shines through, hinting they might still be with us. To keep their ancient knowledge alive, we carry on with the tasks they entrusted us and train new apprentices to pass on our wisdom. The Runda of the new kingdoms attends the Trial of Champions in secret, searching for potential apprentices to safeguard the ancient secrets of the Tuatha Dé Danann. Those who prove themselves in various ways during the Trial catch their keen eye. But mind you, the Trial is just one step in identifying worthy candidates. They're watched for years to see what kind of individuals they become. The Runda believes this Trial of Champions to be their best hope of finding true champions of the gods.
A few years back, the great stone obelisks vanished from the world of Elladra. It was said that the gods themselves placed those obelisks, so it'd take a mighty power to move 'em. And wouldn't you know, they reappeared in the Great Swamp, tucked among the Dragonborn tribes. The tribal shamans discovered these massive obelisks with new inscriptions, speakin' of powerful beings betrayed by the gods, seekin' aid from those who'd free 'em from their confinement.
The shamans saw a chance for a religious revival and a way to seize power for the Dragonborn in the New Kingdoms. They found an incantation on the obelisks, written in their own script, that allowed them to sense the essence of these imprisoned draconic creatures and how to set 'em free. But unbeknownst to 'em, the entities were not part of the draconic pantheon but instead the Ua. They'd been misled by some entity that shifted the obelisks and changed the inscriptions. During the last Trial of Champions, many guild masters were kidnapped, 'cause the Dragonborn shamans sensed the essence of these powerful beings within 'em. But their attempts to release that essence didn't fare well, thank the stars! Nonetheless, it sparked hatred towards the Dragonborn in other kingdoms. And them incantations weakened the obelisks, for reasons unknown, a sign that the gods' immortal powers, which imprisoned the Ua, were diminished.
And here's the real kicker: horrible nightmares and afflictions plagued folks near those obelisks, especially during the Dragonborn ceremony. The Runda went searchin' for the obelisks in the Great Swamp after the Trial of Champions, but they were gone! Turned out they were back in their original places, as if the gods themselves had returned 'em. But those Dragonborn incantations weakened the magics, and now some of the essence of those demigods leaked out, affectin' people, creatures, and lands nearby.
But hold on, many of these facts were kept hidden from us, which was tragic, for they allowed the demigods to regain their knowledge and powers. The dark Runda, workin' to bring back the knowledge of these evil beings, started training those demigods in the use of their newfound powers. Luckily, your efforts to thwart the dark Runda kept 'em from wieldin' their powers in our world, bless your soul! The demigods have fled to the FeyWild, where they can regain their strength and find old allies among the fey.
As for who's behind all this mischief? 'Tis a riddle with scarce clues. Even the Runda didn't know some of these details. Who put the obelisks in the Great Swamp? Who taught the shamans them magics placed on the obelisks by gods? And who's got the power to move objects set by gods if not the gods themselves? There be more questions than answers, but we must band together and unravel this mystery, sure as the sun rises in the morn! What have ye in mind, me friends?
Until we meet again,
-Piker