117b: End of Night

Night of Patarm 15th - Morning of Patarm 16th
Experience: LEVEL UP 20

Summary

• The Ruiz siblings, the spymaster, and the converted assassin climbed onto the high balcony, finding pillars of Voidstuff littering the expanse. There was a definitive aberrant energy to the place, and the taunting Lord of the Dark seemed a master of its radiations, and its creatures: numbering purple, tentacled envoys (illithids) and immense, hulking crustacean beasts from behind the stars (chuul). Isabella arrived shortly thereafter, falsifying rumors of her death, but her confident air was shattered by the severed head kicked across the balcony tiles: that of King Dante. Isabella, shocked, saddened, infuriated, called for the Lord to appear, and after a blast of Void energy which all but cleared the balcony save the Prophet-Princess, she did in fact appear.
• The Lord of the Dark, wearing a flimsy facade as the girl Nennia, proved instead to be a memorable enemy of the past: Nel the Witch Girl, a dark blot on Diana's early career as a decision-maker, part of an execution that still reverberates amongst certain party members. Through some Yithian sidestepping, the girl escaped Hell and was intent on making Saspien suffer as she did, backed by chuul, illithids, and aberrant powers besides. 
• Only an express trip to her personal Perdition courtesy of Isabella, and, more so, the selfless leap of Diana into that very same burning Pit, managed to pry Nel away from the path of hatred, though just how far remains to be seen. Suffice to say, when Nel and Diana reappeared (a minute on Othyr, but years worth of suffering in Hell) she was no longer a threat. It was quick work after that. 
• Isabella found, then, the Father of Lies had kept his promise and delivered unto her the Prince of Bastards, Deloth DeWitt. In a remarkable show of restraint, which all but convinced Stefano that she was worthy of the throne, she spared the tiefling in favor of questioning for the betterment of Saspien (though not entirely ruling out the torture and death part).
• Diana took Nel back to the Observatory, proclaiming Isabella the new queen along her way, and found much of her dungeon recruits slain (but not all). Across Saspien, rebuilding was needed, and its various institutions, religions, and Houses were no exception. Diana went on to speak with her grandfather, delegating from inside the intact Observatory, and confront her 'father', alone in his study with naught but his ghosts to keep him company. He'd no remorse for his actions, any of them, certainly not the murder of Lady Giovanna. With a heavy heart, Diana noted to appropriate clauses in the Edict and had Xymox execute the vampire for treason against Creation.
• Isabella met with the beginnings of her new small council, informed them of what needed to be done, and explained the decision of whether or not to use Que'Nihal's Wish. Ayasha was entirely against its use, but Stefano saw great potential, should it be deemed acceptable, to cover lost ground against the Tirbukkans, and especially against the Nors. Such matters, and the task of rebuilding rule, were set into motion. The queen was then led to bed for some much deserved rest, and to ponder in solitude the funerals of both her parents.
• Renato revisited the Gilda, only to find Maarth, Malvern, and Orso's Ladybear had all perished in the fighting. Those who remained would form the backbone of a stronger Gilda, tempered by the defense of Saspien. Along the way, Renato professed his true feelings for Astraea, and she her's, culminating in the Heart's assuming of a physical body with the aid of the symbiote lattice. She appeared a vampiric angel, pristine, beautiful, and the two consummated their feelings upon the rooftops of the Lords.

Worldly Resources

Queenship of Saspien (Isabella): As the sole surviving heir of the late King Dante Il'spana I, the rule of Saspien falls to you. Spymaster Stefano Il'spana and Archmage Ayasha Malhotra are in your confidence, as well as the Church of Hecate, the Gilda in Saspien, and the Cultu Solis. With the surviving houses in disarray and the promise of Que'Nihal's Wish, it's likely you can secure the throne permanently. And with it, you command the vampire kingdom's inherent fortunes, magic, resources, and military might. Hecate's faith is safe in Saspien, and a new age dawns.


Returning NPCs: Spymaster Stefano (who aided in the battle on the ramparts of Castle Saspien, and pledged his support of Queen Isabella's reign), Ayasha Malhotra (who prevented Ordo reinforcements from interfering in the final battle, and also pledged fealty to Isabella Il'spana), Shae Dar'am (the latest Solis convert, who fought in the final battle and now accompanies Diana as a member of her personal guard), Xymox (the shadow demon delivering the final sentence to an unrepentant Davos Savrano), Alistar Huma (who aided in the Nightfall battle from the Observatory), Astraea (who also aided in the battle, and ended up professing her love for Renato), The Prince of Bastards: Deloth DeWitt (retrieved by Que'Nihal, as promised, for Isabella's justice), and Que'Nihal (who made good on his promise to deliver the son of the Glutton by sunrise).

Nel (aka Nennia, The Witch Girl): The commanding Lord of the Dark turned out to be a dark soul stolen from Hell itself, one Diana knew all too well. Returned to life by aberrant means, fueled by Chrysaotic power, Nel's hatred for all life nearly consumed the vampire city, but she was brought back from the brink by Diana's selfless plunge into the Pit. There they suffered what felt like years before emerging changed. While no wide-eyed convert, Nel has accepted Diana's offer to show her the good in life and love.

Lord Davos Savrano (dead): Vengeful husband, vindictive father, traitorous Master of Coin, hate and lust for power blinded Davos into making more than one poor investment with the Ordo. He proved too proud and too angry to repent, even when given the chances. After a cold goodbye with Diana, he was torn apart by the shadow demon Xymox for crimes against Creation under the decree of the Cultu Solis.

Plot Developments

• Nel's return proves the Yith have the power to remove souls from Hell, perhaps Heaven, and most certainly the mortal planes, with pledges of fealty and infusions of aberrant power. No telling how many souls could be in league with them. The surviving Shadow Cabinet, including Demise, might well be vengeful souls resurrected through Chrysaotic power. 
• As Stefano surmised, the Yith were in fact behind all the sorrows of Saspien, and the maddening of Tirbukkan vampires into the bestial monsters they are under Tenebrous. Their goal: discord, structural weakness, maybe the toppling of the Northern Alliance and the perpetuating of Othyrian strife. Terrestrial troubles allow the Devourer to continue its approach unmolested.
• The shadow dragon Taras (Tenebrous) is wholly in league with the Yith, and they possess at least one Anubian ship (Pyramid of Time) and a growing army of ancient dragons. Despite his defeat in Saspien, he remains strong on Tir'buk.
• Demise has taken Strangeheart, a weapon that could prove the doom of the worlds. After defeat in Saspien, the last surviving Tenebrious stronghold lies in the drow city of Kauth, and it's fairly certain she will take the Heart into the Underdark (and within reach of the demon queen of spiders, already in possession of Quakeheart and Blackheart).

Epilogue: The exploits of the Dark Three have come to an end. Saspien, the Vale, Izolda, and Barovia are as secure as they can be in the shadow of the Devourer. What remaining threats menace them (and the wider worlds) requires more than the Cultu Solis, the Gilda, the Church of Hecate, and the Kingdom of Saspien can muster alone. The time has come to gather forces and reunite.