(IR) The Imaginary IR

[Edena_of_Neith]

The Wrath of Lady Shadow

Confronted by Eilistraee, Al'Akbar, Daoud, Azor'alq, and an attacking host, the Apparition is forced to flee.
When he does, his control over the elven spirits breaks, and they fade away, their wounds disappearing, their multilation undone, a look of peace coming over their faces.

Lolth does not appear. As an Intermediate Power, she could not have been in the Sphere when it was sealed, as Kalanyr pointed out.
Kalanyr spoiled Lady Shadows' master plan! (cries)

Lady Shadow - safe in Doraaka - glares furiously at her scrying device, then shuts it off.

'Iuz curse them. Someone's always helping those elves. But Al'Akbar or no Al'Akbar, the traitors will pay for their crimes. Sooner, rather than later!'

Lady Shadow withdraws the remaining Dark Drow to Doraaka, where they are protected by the power of Iuz from scrying.
The Dark Drow report many cities are burning, that the Dark Raids killed over one hundred thousand people, but that Al'Akbar and his allies are putting up strong defenses.

-

Lady Shadow smiles an evil smile.

'It is time to show Al'Akbar that we are not to be trifled with.'

A Sphere of Annihilation is moved covertly by magic into the center of Veluna City.
Now, normally a Sphere of Annihilation does not affect the atmosphere around it.
But a few well worded Wish spells quickly change THAT.

And, then the atmosphere starts being pulled into the Sphere.
As in glass breaking in a space station, at first - for a few seconds - there is nothing but a gentle breeze.
In a few more seconds, that gentle breeze becomes a super hurricane with winds of well over 200 miles per hour.
The hurricane rapidly expands outward, and in the space of minutes has enveloped all of Veluna City.

The people, buildings, and even the streets of Veluna, along with every last tree, bush, animal, and bird, are all flung kicking and screaming into the Sphere of Annihilation.

The hurricane expands rapidly into the surrounding countryside. In a matter of a few days, Oerths' atmosphere would be gone in entirety, were it not stopped. Meanwhile, the ground where Veluna City used to be, is sucked into the Sphere down to the bare bedrock.

Lady Shadow is sure that those meddling goody-goody demipowers will stop this before it sucks away Oerths' atmosphere.
Until then, she watches the show, laughing, giggling, and applauding as a hundred thousand people and all the glory and beauty of Veluna City is swept into oblivion.

The message comes:

The Dark Drow are here.
The Dark Drow are the rulers of this world.
Bow to the Dark Drow, or face our wrath.

With her surviving 1 Epic Army, 11 Elite Armies (half strength), and 8 Regular Armies (less than half strength) Lady Shadow awaits the response.

Of course, those silly Surface Dwellers will threaten and prance.
They will never see reason or logic.
That is why they will all have to die.
Along with the elves and all the traitors, of course.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

TO RIKANDUR (AND OTHERS)

If Iuz drops the protection from scrying that is shielding Doraaka - and thus Lady Shadow and the Dark Drow - I hope he informs Lady Shadow!
After all, there is nothing like Getting Out of Town in a hurry.

Lady Shadow would recommend Iuz not drop his shield against scrying.
After all, says she, when the Powers of Light find out that Doraaka was being used as a safehouse for the Dark Drow, won't all those idiots descend on Iuz himself as a collaborator?

-

The Elves of Aliador, now strengthened by the aid from Al'Akbar, pursue the Apparition, which is slowly and steadily driven back into the Empire of Iuz.
The Elves hit the Apparition with a steady, relentless assault that is too much even for him, forcing him to retreat, forcing him to rematerialize elsewhere, hitting him again and again.

If Iuz is still in Aliador, he is attacked. By Lady Gwyndilyn, Eilistraee, and a Host of Elves not very happy with his Howling Death and his diseases and other afflictions that killed so many of their brethren.
If Iuz flees, he is not pursued.

The Elves of Aliador begin a furious magical search for Lady Shadow and the Dark Drow.
They are bending enormous amounts of power into this search.
It doesn't work: they are foiled by the protection from scrying warding Doraaka, but they are still searching anyways.

-

King Arden of the League of Athyr is, along with everyone else in Athyr, stunned by the destruction of Veluna City. (He was stunned by the Dark Raids, but he is literally knocked over by this.)
Wish spells are uttered in time to stop the maelstrom from spreading further (with divine help from Al'Akbar, if that is required, I am assuming) but not in time to save the city, where no attack had occurred and none was expected.

Arden is furious: no, Arden is livid. He wants whoever did this NOW. He wants their head on a platter, their body on a spit, and their spirit for dessert. He's almost unpaladinish about this.
The ENTIRE HOST of the League of Athyr FULLY mobilizes.

The League of Athyr declares that whoever did this - Lady Shadow, anyone else, and everyone else involved - is dead.
They had better start praying to whatever foul Gods they have while they can, because there isn't going to be anything left when Arden is done with them. Just as there is nothing left of Veluna City, there will be nothing left of THEM.

And ANYONE who conspired with them, or aided them, or even talked nicely to them, is going to die as well. Arden makes that a PROMISE.

(There is probably nothing more dangerous in D&D than a berserk paladin. Wouldn't you agree?)

TO WILLIAM

Aliador most certainly agrees to suspend all hostilities towards all other powers, until Vecna (the Apparition, which they think is Vecna) and Iuz (who sent the Howling Death and magical disease which nothing could stop (according to Rikandur) into their ranks) and Lady Shadow have been dealt with.
Aliador has hundreds of thousands dead, and hundreds of thousands very sick (they would be dead too, but Eilistraee as a demipower was strong enough to save them) and hundreds of thousands more wounded, many horribly (thanks heavily to the Apparition and his chains, but also partly due to that effect Iuz threw that turned many elves into faceless berserkers who attacked anything nearby, fighting to the death.)
Aliador thinks it had best concentrate it's efforts on the problem (Vecna, Iuz, Lady Shadow) and the rest can wait, for now.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

TO ENDUR

Remember that this is not the 5th IR.
This is the joke IR. The clown IR. The completely nonsensical IR.

Don't associate this with Serpenteyes' blood, sweat, and tears in creating the 5th IR. His is a serious game (albeit with the needed humor also) which he put a great deal of creativity and work into.
And which will be a good game, when he returns. May he return soon.

 

[Kalanyr]

Demogorgon and its completely crazed horde of increasinly demonic followers heads down to the battle and liberally attacks anyone who looks weak or in a bad situation on either side.

 

[Rikandur Azebol]

Aliadores couldn't find Iuz. Why ? Because ones with hostile intent are unable to find him, period. At least without great effort ...

And in case that someone will find him with hostile intent and attack defenceless person, his weapon, unless it is artifact will shatter against Iuz's skin. Read "Vow of Peace" and "Vow of Povetry" Exalted feats for details. And Iuz ... have about 70 HD now so DC for his Calming Aura is wery high.

Besides ... diseases, except Howling Death, are quite natural and normal ... Simply wards put on Dorakaa infect anyone with hostile intent who step nearby. So, it wasn't Iuz who is busy with admiring complete and unshakable nirvana, but loving parents who brought these horrible diseases to their wurnerable children.

And Howling Death, could be delayed with magic nothing more. If someone would come to Iuz to ask him if he devised this plague, he will nod.

"Ach it is trick from time when I cared for ... now I'm free."

 

[William Ronald]

Al'Akbar counters the Howling Death with an exalted spell. (OOC: What Rikandur is doing is very similar to what was done in one of SHARK's campaigns, so I would argue that the efforts of two demigods can counter the Howling Death.)

The special sphere of annihilation gets hit with a wave of magic that negates it. It is hit with multiple gate spells and other magical measurers to make it a normal sphere of annihilation.

Al'Akbar invites those nations impacted by the Dark Drow attacks to issue the following ultimatum with him.

"Any nation that is deliberately hiding Lady Shadow and her followers who participatedin the recent attacks and who does not surrender them shortly will be considered accomplices. In simple terms, they shall be held to be as guilty as they are in the attacks."

"If I recall correctly, Lady Shadow and many of the Dark Drow were last known to be in Dorakaa and other territories ruled by Iuz. Therefore, if they are in his lands with his permission, I call upon Iuz to deliver them to those whose territories were attacked -- or be considered liable for their actions."

"I categorically reject the demands of the Dark Drow. I consider your acts to be a declaration of war and consider us to be at war."

For EDENA OF NEITH ONLY:
[sblock]
Al'Akbar suggests to Ellistrae that the power of several demigods and epic spellcasters in concert should be enough to tear apart the barrier hiding Lady Shadow and her followers.

Al'Akbar is having several spell casters scan for possible phenomenon that can be tied to the drow. Meaning if they start anything, it is found soon. And countered.

[/sblock]

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

The Wrath of Lady Shadow ... again

Aliador has, by now, driven all enemy forces beyond it's own border, save Iuz only. The elves cease and desist their attacks on Iuz when they find them futile.
Aliador then positions strong forces on it's borders, while it attempts to deal with it's own casualties.

The League of Athyr concurs with Al'Akbar's resolution at once. Aliador follows suit.

Eilistraee then joins Al'Akbar in a united effort to break through whatever is shielding Lady Shadow from scrying, so she can be located and destroyed.
Eilistraee asks for help from other deities on this matter.
Eilistraee also warns Demogorgon not to enter Aliador.

-

Since the deities of good have not yet overcome Iuzs' shroud over Doraaka, Lady Shadow and her forces are free to strike a third time.

The third assault is upon a Dwarven Mountainjammer heading towards Oerth.
Lady Shadow and her full entourage teleport out to the Dwarven Spelljammer.
The Dark Drow quickly block all communications between the spelljamming dwarves and anyone else.
The Dark Drow, come in their full force, slaughter the dwarven defenders.
Then the drow place the Dwarven Mountainjammer on autopilot, using Wish spells to counteract it's Spelljamming Tendency to slow down when approaching a planet.
A drow suicide squadron remains on the Dwarven Spelljammer all the way down, to ensure no last minute action taken stops it from hitting the planet.

The Mountainjammer slams down directly into the city of Enkstad, capital of Celene.
In a single instant, thousands of megatons of energy are released, the air itself seems to burst into flame, and a crater thousands of feet across is created where the city once was.
The heat flash ignites objects outward for 50 miles and more.
The blast wave destroys everything for a score of miles, and the shock rattles buildings a hundred miles away.

Virtually the entire nation of Celene is destroyed in this attack, and there are massive casualties in the Welkwood, Gnarley Forest, Wild Coast, and Lortmils. In the Underdark, the drow city west of Celene smashes down in the titanic earthquake caused by the impact, along with a majority of the demihuman cities below the central Lortmils. Dwarven and gnomish casualties are massive.
Creamsteaks' illithid and any other evil underdark races in the Lortmils, or in the region between the Lortmils and the Wild Coast, are probably also whelmed and destroyed in the earthquake and ensuing geological upheaval.

A great pall of smoke and fire blows eastward from the hit over Greyhawk, the Bright Desert, then covering most of Greater Nyrond, and Aerdi, advancing over the Solnor Ocean as a titanic cloud of debris.

The 3rd IR meets the Imaginary IR as someone once more plays Comet Impact on the World of Oerth.

-

The message from the Dark Drow goes out again:

All the groveller Surface Races shall die.
Those who surrender unconditionally may have the privilege of serving the Dark Drow as slaves, or perhaps gracing the dinner tables of the illithid.
Only those Surface Races who embrace Evil and Darkness, and thus come to at least a pitiful half understanding of the true nature of existence, shall have any hope in the world the Dark Drow are creating.
Did the Dark Drow mention that Vecna is on THEIR side, and thus there is no reasonable hope of resistance? Or are the Surface Dwellers too stupid to realize this?

Lady Shadow informs everyone that, so far, she has been very nice.
The NEXT attack isn't going to be ... nice. (OOC: And she means it. What she has planned, dwarfs any previous action.)
The wise should consider surrendering, NOW. Before the next attack.

 

[Rikandur Azebol]

OOC:
Simply speaking, I made Empire of Iuz too hard to assault without very dire consequences. First, people have to do it in nonmagical way, yep assaulting all strongholds and cities in mundane way. Second, diseases of all manner spread among the invaders ... Aliadores didn't checked anything before returning home. Iuz is inactive ... at least until something will wake him up. If Al'Akbar would check him, he will discover that Iuz that is walking here and there is not only absolutely harmless, but also very powerful dreamy image. If he would care to investigate it further ... Iuz isn't protected against divination. And after some serious effort to break trough iuz's natural defences ... well, prepare him for big suprise.

And protection that terroristical organization calling themselves Dark Drow is using ? It's side effect of making whole cities magic proof. Divination shouldn't tell anything and casting stronger magic against former Empire of Iuz will result only in very small gains in comparision to great effort put in it.

IC:
Ambassador of United Socialistic States of Iuz will tell that USSI have enough internal troubles without terrorists like Aliador Elves, who hate all free races of USSI, and Drow ... who doeasn't broke any of the laws of the country. So why should they be delivered to those who will slaughter them ? Especially to imperialistic, genocidal, racistic, ... and amoral elven swines, enslaving masses with vile propaganda ... blah, blah, blah ... and blaming all people's troubles on those they dislike.

"All Black Elves who live by the law of Iuz are busy with the rest of Free Peoples with building better future for our children. Besides, if You wish to hunt down those who wronged You, simply fill all forms needed for foreigner to temporarily enjoy rigths of the Citizen. Those calling themselves Dark Drow are worshippers of forbidden religion, rejected by Black Elves who understood that lies of Seladrine and Llolth were only constructed to enlsave them for those wretched deities benefit. Now they live for themselves, or joined Reformed Church of Selfperfection."

As far as Al'Akbar could tell this particular man, despite being evil and chaotic, doesn't lied at all. He belives in every word spoken by him.

EDENA:
Lady Shadow, while sitting in her safehouse and planning her next step were suddenly stricken with unbearable pain. Her last sight was vaguely demonic apperance of winged, gray skinned assassin, breaking her neck with well aimed thrust of taloned hand. She blacks out with suprised thought in her head.

'Grummok ?'

OOC:
Blackdirge wrote excellent Story Hour about Gargoyle-Epic Assassin whol lived in Eirlenhi-Cinul. And Black Elves tired with Lady Shadow's displays, simply hired him.

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

Unfortunately, Rikandur, Lady Shadow had up Lifeproof.
Breaking her neck does not kill her. It doesn't even hurt her. It most certainly does not incapacitate her in any way.

It DOES however, decide matters.

Lady Shadow and her loyal Dark Drow prepare to unleash the ultimate final horror, long planned and prepared for, upon Oerth.

 

[Rikandur Azebol]

OOC:
Edena, if Lady Shadow is under "protection" of Dorakaa's defences she couldn't be affeced by any spell. Even beneficial one wouldn't work in Antimagic Area.

If she was under lesser protections ... I'm afraid that there at least two angry deities looking for her.

Besides ... as far as I know, breaking neck isn't lethal if done properly. Merely paralyzing. And thats was reason behind my writings. If She have Lifeproof ... I guess that actions ensuring that she wouldn't cast any spell, by evil Epic Assassin. And she will avoke while carried avay from Antimagic Field and in the open. And in the meantime.

IC:
Iuz, who wandered here and there, seemingly without aim or reason other than just walking was present in Enkstad when giant star come crashing on it. His demonic disciples accompanied him almost until the moment of impact, and when giant piece of rock was mere hundreds ofyards away they fled, completly ignored in panicked mob of elves and other beings. Iuz, trampled by panicked mob stopped smiling and teleported into queen Yolanda's presence. Being the size of small moutain Evil God shielded shocked queen of elves with his own body. She, and most of her court that was lucky enough to benefit from Iuz's protection surviwed almost unscathed.

After the undescribable carnage wrought by terrible event Iuz was still standing, a portion of city that was between him and place of impact still resembling ruined city ... not a blasted wasteland like the rest of it. Booming, but gentle woice of Iuz was heard in all what remained of the city. And many miles around it.

"Children of Celene ! Your queen lives ! All who standed in my shadow surviwed !"

Then he trembled, his ruined frame giving up, and he gently sank to his knees and fell on his face in front of shocked and suprised queen of elves. Still blinking in disbelief what happened to her country and her people. Quick scan will reveal that Iuz's presence give them small chance of saving small portion of Celene's people and land. Quickly shrinking with forest fires running rampart and overall panic and hysteria.

OOC: If anybody would care ot check small old man with terribly burned back, where his flesh melted to the point of revealing bones beneath it, is still alive if barely and would die without help.

IC:
Lady shadow avoke laying on the altar of Iuz, priesstes singing over her with obsidian knife in her arm. Seemingly finishing sacrifice of her soul to dark deity. With panicked glance she could see many of her followers waiting for their time, or lying in big pile next to altar where small demons were preparing their flesh for reanimation as zombies.
And Priesstess sank her knife in Lady Shadow's chest, ripping it apart with practiced stroke and revealing beating heart ... In agonizing pain she tore it avay and raised upwards, screaming last verses of the prayer. With soul fading from her body, Lady Shadow could see her still beating heart joining hundreds of other in sacrifical bowl wher they were relasing faint red smoke. This vapor directed itself not to Celene, where Iuz was last seen but in entirely different direction.