The Mazarain Correspondence

The Mazarain Correspondence
Abernon d'Sivis

My dear Faros,

It was wonderful hearing from you, and to receive the introductory draft of your "Lord of Ruin" historical report. It is indeed a most stirring piece of narration - a piece that, were it read aloud, would undoubtedly fan hot the burning flames of wanderlust and adventure in all Khorvaire. However, I'm afraid that your attempt to clear the Stain of Hearsay and Speculation from the Great Halls of History have resulted in, shall we say, a few minor ink blots of your own in select areas where your clear zeal for storytelling and epic adventure are particularly evident. I do not say this to upset you, for you are indeed a marvelous storyteller with a strong sense of the noble spirit of man, but we must remember that as historians, we are obliged to adhere somewhat more closely to fact and historical accuracy.

For example, you noted that the city of Sharn came crashing down. I admit this came as something of a surprise to me, particularly as I am looking out over the towers of Morgrave University in the heart of Sharn at this very moment. While it is true that we suffered some seismic disturbances that fateful summer, and that several towers toward the northern end of the city needed substantial repairs, to suggest that the city fell into ruin would be hyperbole somewhat on the level of calling a drunken goblin battering at the doors of the Tattered Dog Tavern an army of aberrant horrors come to raze Khorvaire to the ground. The magnitude of the problem was, shall we say, somewhat less than described.

You also mentioned that Keeper of the Flame Jaela Daran vanished, and that the faith of the Thrane lay broken after the events of Darkened Reach. While this may have been true at the time, "vanished" might be more accurately replaced with "was misplaced for an afternoon," whereas "lay broken" is probably better described with, "suffered a bit of a depression for a few weeks." I was fortunate enough to see Keeper Daran just last week, and she seems to be in fine form. Indeed, ever since High Cardinal Krozen was removed from his office, the spiritual health of Thrane has been flourishing - particularly among the more tolerant lines that Keeper Daran has been espousing for many years.

I am also somewhat puzzled by the fact that you chose not to include some of the more outstanding details of recent events occurring in the Eldeen Reaches - particularly in the area around Demonshroud. I would not for the world ask you to change or edit your work. However, you may wish to consider a somewhat different perspective. Toward that end, I humbly present to you a recent report sent to me by one Brion d'Phiarlan, one of my trusted field agents in the area.

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Abernon,

You wanted an assessment of the current state of affairs in the Eldeen Reaches, and here's the short of it: it's about to become the most contested stinkpit this side of the Nine Hells of Shavarath. I know how much you love details, however, so here's the lowdown on everything you probably already know.

I got up here about two months ago, roughly around the one year mark after Darkened Reach, which is only what greater Khorvaire calls that particular catastrophe.  The locals call it the Demon March, and for the most part the stories about it are what we've heard: a demon lord named Nahaz-Muram rose from the Demon Wastes and led a horde of monsters to march on Khorvaire.  It took the combined might of the Five Nations to halt his advance, but our armies met his on the dusty plains of Dawnshroud Vale.  Noble knights battled foul beasts, holy magic clashed against demonic sorcery, mortal determination stood against ancient malevolence, yadda yadda yadda.  In the end, however, the forces of good and light triumphed over darkness and evil and blew Muram's dark fortress of Neth Naggaroth to tiny smithereens.  The Dawnshroud Vale was renamed Demonshroud to commemorate the event and we all returned to our homes to live safer, more contented lives knowing that evil has been banished forever.  The end.

I should take up storytelling.

Anyway, I think you pretty much called the broad strokes.  In a purely mundane sense, Muram's armies left an atrocious amount of damage behind as they raped and pillaged their way across the Western Reaches.  Maybe a third of the Great Forest has been razed down to the ground, and that ground is now so polluted by demonic essence that the druids think it could be centuries before it recovers.  This, of course, makes it prime breeding territory for things ranging from weird aberrations to undead monsters to the foulest living spells you've ever seen.  Worse, Neth Naggaroth was floating close to a mile off the ground when it exploded, and pieces of it landed all over the Eldeen Reaches.  The shadows there are a little darker now, the nights a little more sinister, and where the pieces of the fortress actually fell there are...things...coming out of the earth.  Things I don't even have names for.  Things out of your deepest nightmares.  There are wide swathes of the Reaches so crawling with beasties that they're on par with the Demon Wastes themselves, or perhaps the Mournlands, as far as the most dangerous places on Eberron are concerned.

Still, it could've been a lot worse. The Five Nations stopped him in the Demonshroud Vale, and as a result none of the contamination spread farther into Khorvaire. In fact, the parts of the Reaches bordering Aundair and Breland escaped Darkened Reach mostly unscathed, and the people there have found the spirit to start rebuilding what they've lost. They move farther into the corrupted areas daily, driving back the darkness through sheer force of will and strength of arms. It's truly a sight to behold. Aundair has offered a great deal of relief in the form of monetary aid, food, and medical supplies, but the Reachers seem inclined to give the gift horse a thorough cross examination. Not that I particularly blame them, actually.

You know that House Vadalis and their Handler's Guild has been funding adventurers, sending them into the old Vadalis strongholds in the western Reaches over the past few years to retrieve family treasures or whatnot. Only the craziest - or the most competent - kept going back in after the first few groups didn't come back, or came back less than whole, but all that effort has apparently paid off. About a month ago, a group led by Doranar the Loud went right up into the Decaying Scar and lived to tell about it. More than that, they brought back the biggest thing since...well, since we learned how to use dragonshards.

They've found some kind of new dragonshard, Abernon - something that's only forming in those areas where the pieces of Neth Naggaroth fell. They're not Khyber shards, as you'd expect, or even a variation thereof. Near as anyone can tell they're something completely new, with significantly different properties from your standard shards. For one thing, it looks like they can substitute for any of the other shards in a work of artifice. Think on that for a minute: ANY of the other shards. And we're already seeing all sorts of other uses for them coming out of the House Cannith laboratories in the area. 

I know what you're thinking, and you're right. That would be the bad news. Doranar's known for his iron biceps and steely resolve, not for his ample brainpower or forward-thinking discretion, and he's called "The Loud" for a reason. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you see an article on the matter in next week's Korranberg Chronicle, and I'm sure every politician, dragonmarked scion, banker, and trader of any consequence has already managed to sneak a look at this fantastic new find.

In fact, you've probably got a piece or two already, don't you? 

In any case, everyone's going to want a slice of this little pie. By this time next month the Reaches will be swarming with shard hunters, and those that don't get chewed to pieces will become very, very rich men indeed. I know for a fact that House Cannith and House Tharashk have already made arrangements to fund two dozen expeditions next week alone into the ruins of Erlaskar. Two dozen! And they're not the only dragonmarked houses making moves - Ghallanda, Jorasco, Lyrandar, Orien, Deneith - they're all mobilizing to take advantage of these new winds in the economic and political climate.  Word is, this could be the exact boost the area needs to recover from Darkened Reach. 

As a result of all this momentum, though, nobody's taking the time to really stop and assess the situation before going in. If I know you, and I do, the idea of a new magic with unknown properties going into the marketplace - a magic that is apparently only found in locations touched by the death of a demon god - horrifies you as much as it does me. As much as I dislike some of the Cannith scions, I have to admit that I want them to get as many of these shards as possible.  We need competent artificers to research the flaming hells out of these shards before they start circulating.

I'll say this as well: these shards might well be the new dawn for the Eldeen Reaches, but it's going to be a bloody one.  All these factions will tear each other apart like rats in a sack. There are other forces at work here as well - more sinister ones - but I haven't been able to get even a hint of who they are or what they're up to. I think you know me well enough to know how much that worries me.

Send some people up here, Abernon. The best that you've got. For good or for ill we're looking at the start of something huge, and I don't think you'll want to miss it.

--B

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That was sent to me about six months ago, and even as you've seen, Brion's insights have proven prescient. The dragonmarked houses even now fight for control of the prime gathering spots for these so-called master dragonshards, which already display powers far above and beyond those of your typical dragonshard. Who knows what they might be capable of? And who knows how many barrels of blood are spilled each day as we try to harvest enough of them to find out - the Corrupted Lands of Eldeen might as well be strewn with loose gold, the way adventurers have been throwing themselves into the Reaches for a rare chance to harvest some of these shards.

Once the artificers of the Twelve find a way to stabilize and harness them, however, we're looking at a resource that may completely re-write the face of Khorvaire. Ultimately, I must agree wholeheartedly with your closing remarks - we need brave and daring souls now more than ever. Souls willing to dare the dark depths of that haunted land and help us usher in a new age of artifice and arcane enlightenment. Perhaps, with the aid of the knowledge in the enclosed report, you might be able to stir the hearts of men into action, as I know you are capable of doing.

I remain,

Your faithful cousin,
Abernon d'Sivis