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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hardhead" data-source="post: 526609" data-attributes="member: 2844">Godsblood would probably not be found on Aoskar's corpse.  It's potent stuff, and there are a lot of Gods in the Astral.  Don't want to make it too easy!Don't listen to those blasphemers that say Aoskar runs the portals in Sigil, berk!  The Lady'll maze anyone that'd even insinuate it.  Well, there's one exception.  We'll get to him in a minute.First, let's talk about where Aoskar came from.  This is lots of facts from lots of products, with a healty dose of speculation.  You wanted to know the details of Aoskar's death?  You've got 'em!Long ago, Aoskar was the god of locks, doors, and breaking into them, much like Dalt is in Grehawk.  Aoskar was both the burlgar and the protector.  Locksmiths prayed to him, as did lockpicks.  We don't know this for sure, but it seems likely.  He couldn't have started out as the god of portals, because his existence post-dates the Lady's, so he probably was a god of normal doors.  As his priesthood became more planar, they naturally associated him with planar doors and passages too.  In time, it became his focus.We know he probably worked both sides, metaphisically, as well because he had two heads, which is a classic symbol of duality.  We know he had two heads because Aoskarian Hounds still do, and it's their defining feature.  Even after his transition to planar doors, he still kept that duality as well.  His priests horded the knowledge of where and how to activate portals - the locksmith - but at the same time developed magical means to circument doors, even allowing them to not need keys - the lockpick.  Indeed, it's widely believed by most planar scholars that the Gatecrashers (from MotP) were originally an Aoskar-trained order.Of course, Gatecrashers' abilities don't function in Sigil anymore.  They haven't since the day Aoskar died.  But we're not to that part of the story yet.As Aoskar became more and more powerful, belief in him grew.  And as everyone knows, the Outer Planes are litterally made of belief.  Belief is power there.  But even the most powerful God couldn't take Sigil, the shining crown jewl of the Planes.  That city that is the key to all the other worlds, and the most strategically important location in the planes.  There's not a god in the multiverse that wouldn't love ot have it.  But they can't, because all magic, even that of the Gods' is neutralized at the base of the spire (though not within the city itself!) and the Lady has it all Astrally locked.  You can't teleport in or out.  The only way is through the portals, and the Lady controls those.Well, normally.  But Aoskar was the god of portals, and that gave him an "in."  Belief is power on the planes, and he had lots of belief.  A lot of people believed he could control the portals.  And so therefore, in time, he could.  He could have what every other god wanted.  He could take Sigil.  And so Aoskar did what no other god ever managed in all of recorded history (and the Guvners record history a long way back!).  He entered Sigil.And, somehow, he managed to slip by the Lady of Pain.  How did he do it?  Who knows.  The Lady of Pain is powerful.  Very powerful, in some ways, though perhaps weak in others (for a more in-depth discussion of that, check <a href="http://www.dreadgazebo.com/cgi-bin/forums/YaBB.cgi?board=planescape;action=display;num=1033859183" target="_blank">this thread</a>.)  But one thing she can do, is know what's going on in her city.No one knows how he did it, but I find it likely he either invented, or obtained the Focrux, an item in the Harbinger House adventure.  The Focrux is not only somehow channeling divine energy, and thus god-related, but it also causes everything around it to be immune to scrying.  Even the Lady's.  It's the only thing that can shield one from her.  Today, the Focrux is located in the Harbinger House, but the House isn't very far at all from the Shattered Temple.  Perhaps it was there before.Ah, yes.  The Shattered Temple.  Aoskar was already powerful when he first reached Sigil, but as the God of portals, he became so much more so there.  Sigil, the City of Doors!  The very nexus of his portfolio!  But as powerful he was due to Sigil, he was also vulnerable to it.  The Lady of Pain was still the ruler of Sigil.  Or perhaps ruler wasn't the right word.  They were linked somehow.  They weren't completly seperate things, once you really got down to it.  Aoskar tried to work out exactly what the relationship was.  Was the city built by the Lady, an extension of her power?  Or was she the personification of the City?  Or something else entirely?  And how did the Lady's servants, the silent daubus fit in?  They preformed the tasks that were required to maintain the city - repairing the streets, cutting back the razorvine, tearing down rickity strucuture, ect.  Like the Lady, they floates serenely.  Like the Lady, they never spoke out loud, though they employed Rebuses to communicate when they needed to, something the Lady never did.  And, somehow, they seemded to be connected to her.  Everyone knows that when the daubus get nervous, it's because they sense the Lady is concerned or angry or something.  Perhaps, thought Aoskar, the secret of unlocking the Sigil/Lady connection was through her blue-skinned servants.  Perhaps he could lean the secret through the dabus.  By this time, Aoskar was very powerful.  His temple was grand and opulent, and every adventurer whispered a prayer to him as they traveled through a portal.  Perhaps the Lady was furious beneath her serene appearance, and wished to end Aoskar's power, but she knew she was loosing power over the Doors, and couldn't discern why.  From Sigil, she should have complete control, but she didn't.  Aoskar was inside as well, and she didn't know it.But back to the dabus.  They sensed the Lady's frustration, and they saw the rise of Aoskar's power.  Most, of course, stayed loyal.  But sooner or later one didn't.  One of the dabus became very interested in Aoskar, and went to visit his temple.  He thought, perhaps, that Aoskar might be the true ruler of Sigil.  Aoskar siezed on the opportunity and presented himself to this dabus.  In the presence of divinity, the dabus swore himself to Aoskar, and Aoskar bound the dabus to him.  The dabus became Aoskar's proxy, and from that day forward, he was known as Fell, the one who walks.  For in forsaking the Lady of Pain, Fell no longer floated down the strets.  Fell had, well, fallen.  And Aoskar had the connection he had wished for!  What did he learn from it?  Did he unlock the mysteries of the Lady that no one else has?  We'll never know.  For through Fell, Aoskar was revealed to the Lady, and though she had lost power to him, she was still the master of the City of Doors.  The destruction was terrific.  The temple of Aoskar was utterly destroyed, and Aoskar himself was killed.  Yes, the Lady killed a full God.  She has great power inside her city.  In time, the Shattered Temple was taken over by the Athar, that faction that believes that all the gods are frauds.  The Shattered Temple, they felt, was the ultimate symbol of the mortality of the gods.Aoskar's blood has become legendary in Sigil.  If there is any truth to the rumors, it is a universal key, capable of opening every door in Sigil.  If anyone has any, it would be beyone all price.And though the priests of Aoskar died out after that, one still remains.  Fell is a daubus, and does not age.  Strangely, the Lady did not touch him.  He still walks the streets of Sigil.  Perhaps he knows something about Aoskar's godsblood.  But he's silent on the matter, of course.In the center of the Shattered Temple, the Bois Verdurous grows.  The Athar believe the tree is a gift from the Great Unknown, the being they worship as being the "god behind the gods."  Whenever the factol touches it, he is capable of casting any cleric spell every round, though the range cannot reach outside of the Shattered Temple.  Its fruit grants one free spell, and can be used anywhere.  Only the most high-up Athar know these facts, though.  Perhaps it is a gift from the Great Unknown.  Perhaps it is tied to Aoskar as well.  After all, the range cannot excede the zone of the Shattered Temple.  Perhaps, if you were to cut it down, some of Aoskar's blood would be inside?The Signers are looking to revive a dead god, as the ultimate demonstration of their power.  Currently, the two leading candidates are Enki and Aoskar.  Aoskar seems more likely, and Fell is rumored to be traveling to the Hall of Speakers an awful lot lately.  Perhaps such a ritual would require Aoskar's blood to proceed?There are many ways to play with Aoskar.  These are but a few.  Perhaps, they could all be linked.  Perhaps the Signers need to destroy the Bois Verdurous to pave the way for Aoskar's return?  It may be keeping him dead, despite the fact that he still had many worshipers when he was first killed.  Or perphas they need the drop of Godsblood rumored to be at its core?Who knows?</blockquote>

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