*Arion makes a small splash as Melavarn the Resplendent, enough to convince a few hangers-on that he is who he claims to be. Bolstered by that small success, he goes in search of his real mission; three misfits with connections of the gods.*
*Whoogle, the disgraced owl archon, receives Melarvan with good grace, and listens with astonishment as he lays out his plan to create a new plane from the remains of the Endless Falls.*
"To form a plane is the providence of the gods' power, Melarvan. Unless you are far more powerful than you look, to try to do it would only kill you. But if you have some powerful allies... Ah, yes, anyway. I assume you're looking for such allies? But you wouldn't come to me for them. What's that? Ah, how not to tweak the gods' noses while you're trying to imitate them, that I can help you with. Most people knew about the destruction of the Endless Falls, but mind you they don't care to draw the attention of the gods that did it by moving in on it. It's a dangerous game you're playing.
"However, you're rather in luck, because no god of secrets was in on the destruction. Life, Death, and Power may hold great influence, but they're not always the most perceptive fledglings in the nest, see? If you, and your friends, go about this quietly, then I might be able to persuade some of the more perceptive of their servants to go look somewhere else for a bit, or to delay in their reports. They can't touch me in Sigil, even if they hate me, but I'd rather not dodge assassins for the next hundred years, if it's all the same to you. I can give you a bit of a blind spot to work in for the next... say seven days. And then you tell your friends who helped them, all right?" Whoogle explains.
*At Avai's place of business, part couriers, part guides, part armed escort service, Melarvan's disguise and vague hints of his mission give him access to the reformed succubus. She's a beautiful woman, with flaming red locks, smoking gray eyes, flawless porcelain skin, and elegant black bat wings. Melarvan holds her interest with his request for the movements of the gods in the aftermath of the Endless Falls' destruction.*
"Terrible news, that. It was so sudden, so violent... Everyone is waiting for someone else to make the first move to try to claim the power that was released. They don't want to anger the ones that did this and draw Their attention to their own plane. I know of one that might make the first move though, it's an atropal called Ter'sat. He has a whole flock of shadow chichimecs that he has raised to guard him. He was an unwanted child of air and life, and he only desires to create a plane in his own image, as a kind of insult to the gods that threw him away.
"But I'm really not sure what Iral would say about people using the matter of the plane..." Avai says uncertainly when Melarvan brings the subject up. "If it was for good purposes, so many things could be put right..."
*Melarvan waxes eloquantly for several minutes on the virtues of his idea, and eventually seems to win Avai over. Eventually she declares herself "delighted" with the idea, and seems happy to help when he gets started. When he reveals hints of his true origins and identity, Avai seems shocked and astounded, but even more willing to to help someone who is truly homeless in the multiverse. A promise of aid extracted, Melarvan goes to quickly spread his reputation about. It takes him a few days, but eventually he is firmly but vaguely in mind as a trusted, shrewd magician of an honorable bent.*
*Finally, he goes to see the ssusserus, Sss'sh'sss. He keeps an extensive library in a tall tower on the edge of the Market Ward. It's not too terribly difficult to find, if you know where you're going. The door isn't even locked, though it's warded to a fare-thee-well. Inside it's nothing but a five-story-high library with a single spiral staircase spearing through its center, straight to the top.*
*Dusty light filters in from above, illuminating not only thousands of books, but, plaques, sarcophagai, coffins, burial shrouds, holy symbols, bones, and small amulets. Each is carefully labeled with a name, a date, and a location. Presumably these are souvenirs from Sss'sh'sss' undead-slaying escapades.*
*Shortly after Melarvan enters, there's a glitter from up above. The ssusserus comes floating down through the dusty air, the light shattering on his mirrored form and throwing beams all over the room. The sound the air makes as it passes through the holes through his form make a curious droning song, the song that lets Sss'sh'sss sedate and slay undead creatures.*
*It speaks to Melarvan telepathically, asking his business. When it learns he seeks information about the gods and the destruction of the Endless Falls, Sss'sh'sss floats over and pulls out a bejeweled skull, a tome made of diamond and jade, and a small clay tablet impressed with small square markings.*
*Over the rather confusing course of an hour, Melarvan learns a few interesting facts about his "companions," as well as the names and natures of the others that bathed in the Endless Falls. It's obvious that only those who partook of the very heart of your world's power survived its destruction. He also learns that nature abhores a vacuum, and the destruction of the Endless Falls will soon draw hoards of power-seeking gods, godlings, demi-gods, and hopeful fools that want its power for themselves. However, first there will be a waiting game, as probably the first dozen or so that make their moves will either be obliterated by the wrath of the gods, or just very badly hurt and sent home. The more people that learn of the power available, the sooner this war for power will begin. The more quiet it is, the more likely it is that someone can accomplish something unseen.*
*Before he leaves Sigil, Melarvan can instill a fine bit of unrest and general ill-feeling in the Athar and Godsmen, and by the time he shadow walks home, he's already started five major riots, two dozen barfights, and at least one minor war.*
"Welcome to a piece of it" indeed... So I guess you're approaching this with the attitude that our success is inevitable?}
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