![[Morningstar_Journal.png]] ## Clues? EXCERPTS FROM "A COLLECTION OF MAGICAL POETRY AND PRoSE, VoL. IV CoMPILED BY KIRONEMUS BROKAN 111 "..across the sands of rust and red Where dwells what mortals fear, The path, forgotten, lies untread The way to old Jazir.. ~.When the last star of the eve is risen The Wanderer will show the way Beyond the world, and past horizon Hie thee hence ere break of day... ..But warning heed, lest yet ye bleed, The path ends not at the Brothers of Stone So far from here be old Jazir, Turn round and go back, on the road made of bone.." ## The Crest of the Wind Lords [[Morningstar Journal.png]] ![[The Wind Lords.png]] *I see it in my dreams. The Wind Lord speaks to me.* ## Maldroghaz ![[Pasted image 20250401221839.png]] *The Tortured Tempest* [[Pasted image 20250401221847.png]] "THE PEOPLE OF THE POINTED TOOTH FEAR HIM, WITH GREAT REASON." -THE PEOPLE OF THE POINTED TOOTH ARE ALSO TO BE FEARED. A SUBJECT OF THE PRINCE OF THE FOUR WINDS, PERHAPS A BODYGUARD OR COMPANION. IT SEEMS HE WAS DRAGGED INTO THIS PLANE ALONG WITH HIS MASTER, ALTHOUGH HE REMAINED IN EXILE BEYOND THE BORDERS OF JAZIR, BANISHED BY THE GOD-KING. HE HAS BEEN PROWLING BEYOND THAT BOUNDARY FOR ALL THE AGES SINCE, LIKE A DOG GONE MAD WAITING FOR HIS MASTER TO RETURN. IF WE CAN GET PAST MALDROGHAZ, WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO REACH THE BROTHERS OF STONE. ## A Hand Drawn Map ![[Pasted image 20250401221927.png]] ## A Tale of 10,000 Dreams [[Pasted image 20250401221934.png]] Long ago, before the deserts were dry, before the fires were lit upon the moon, a mighty pharaoh ruled over the vast and magnificent city, a jewel of enlightenment and wondrous magic. This lord desired immortality, that he may preside over an eternal golden age, but it was beyond his reach. He called his trusted Vizier, a powerful sorcerer and master of the arcane and occult who used chaotic and unbridled magic. Together they performed a profane ritual, to summon forth the Prince of the Four Winds, tearing a hole in the sky and binding the Djinn to serve the pharaoh's will. His first wish was to be powerful beyond measure, an immortal sorcerer of terrifying ability. So it was. And the God King became the lord of all he surveyed, to the horizon in every direction. Over many years he was corrupted by his own pride and power, and his benevolence gave way to tyranny. Endless numbers of faceless millions laboured and died under his rule, generations ground to dust to raise vast monuments to his glory atop their own graves. Lo, the God King's appetite was not sated, and so he summoned forth once more his servant, the Prince of the Four Winds. He wished that all the world would kneel before him, to rule over an empire with no horixon, his subjects as uncountable as the stars. But the prince of the sky was cunning, and his loathing of his master had grown over the centuries of his bondage. He knew the God King would use his last wish for unspeakable purpose, with none left in the world to challenge him. So he placed the pharaoh into an undending sluumber in which he dreams eternally of a whole world raised as a monument to his greatness, a graveyard stretching endlessly beneath a fel red sky. It is said the pharaoh still lies within the mausoleum city, somewhere out amongst the shifting sands of the Sea of Rust. But it is no tomb for him. It is a prison. For the God King lives still, and has yet one... wish... remaining. ## A Sketch ![[Pasted image 20250401221957.png]] *Our mysterious savior - Grimoir* ## A Strange Visitor... We nearly died. My wings have been taken...we lost Onair. And Stelios...he finally got what he wanted. I owe him my life, though I will never get a chance to repay the debt. Andromache and Fable survived, though the experience has left its mark upon them both. We were freed by a stranger, a mechanical man who knew us....though he could not explain how.  We would not have survived were it not for that brave fellow...he said his name was Grimoir. I do not know what the Serpent Queen intended with the Skull of Khufar, but it is now in our possession. One of the Jezereen guides us...although we cannot be sure of his intentions, he has bled beside us...and we dare not go alone. ## My Heart Sours [[Pasted image 20250401222008.png]] MY HEART SOARS, EVEN THOUGH | NEVER WILL AGAIN. THIS CITY OF MADNESS AND WONDER HAS EXACTED A TERRIBLE PRICE FROM EACH OF US, BUT NOW ALL ITS DEBTS TO ME ARE SETTLED, AND WITH INTEREST. HER EYES OF DEEPEST SAPPHIRE... HER FEATHERS LIKE A CLOUDLESS SKY. | THINK | FINALLY UNDERSTAND SIR STELIOS NOW. | FEEL LIKE SINGING AGAIN. WE HAVE SHARED OUR SONG... THOUGH SHE (LIKE THE REST OF HER KIND) BELIEVE NO LIFE CAN COME OF IT, | KNOW IN MY HEART OF HEARTS THAT A NEW SOUL WAS KINDLED BETWEEN US. How | LONG TO TAKE HER FROM THIS PLACE, BUT SHE IS STRONG WILLED AND DEVOTED TO HER PEOPLE...THEIR MANDATE, WHICH THEY HAVE DEVOTED THEMSELVES TO THESE MANY LONG AGES. THE DREAMER MusT NoT AWAKEN. | WISH MORE THAN ANYTHING TO TELL HER OUR PURPOSE HERE. | OWE IT TO HER, TO THE DREAMS WE SHARE...TO THE LIFE | BELHEVE KNOW WE HAVE CREATED. THE LIE EATS AT ME. NOW SHADOW LIES UPON THE GARDEN OF JOY IN MY HEART, AND | HATE MYSELF FOR IT. IF | TOLD HER... WOULD SHE CHOOSE ME? MY HEART TELLS ME YES. BUT WHEN | ASKED THE MATRON ANDROMACHE WHAT SHE THOUGHT, SHE WOULD NOT ANSWER - YET | COULD SEE THE PITY IN HER WISE EYES. | WILL NOT MAKE HER CHOOSE. | WILL FREE HER OF THAT BURDEN. | WILL FREE THEM ALL OF THEIR BURDEN, WHICH THEY HAVE BORNE ON BEHALF OF ALL OF US FOR MORE THAN TEN THOUSAND YEARS. AN ACT OF LOVE, AMIDST ALL THIS DARKNESS AND DESPAIR. WE MAKE FOR THE VAULT OF THE ANCIENTS. IT IS SAID THE PRINCE OF THE FOUR WINDS IS SEALED WITHIN, ALONG WITH HIS MASTER. WE MUST FIND A WAY TO UNSEAL THE VAULT...WE MUST NOT FAIL. ## X [[Pasted image 20250401222016.png]] THEY ARE COMING NOW... THEY FOLLOWED US. THE SKULL...IT CALLS TO THEM. ONAIR... HE HAS BECOME...SOMETHING BEYOND IMAGINING. THE POTION THEY FORCED HIM TO DRINK. IT ALL MAKES SENSE. WE CUT THE HEAD FROM THE HYDRA... BUT NOW...ANOTHER HAS TAKEN ITS PLACE. ONAIR... YOU DID NOT DESERVE THIS. | HAVE FAILED...| CAN FEEL THE MADNESS TAKING HOLD. BRAVE ANDROMACHE... SHE ACTS STRONG, BUT | CAN SEE IT CREEPING INTO HER EYES TOO. IT WON'T BE LONG NOW. AT LEAST WE ARE TOGETHER. | WISH...MORE THAN ANYTHING... TO SEE HER ONE LAST TIME, TO EXPLAIN... TO MAKE HER UNDERSTAND BEFORE | GoO. TO RAISE OUR HATCHLING TOGETHER. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN A FINE ENDING TO MY TALE. NoO...NOT FOR ME. NOT SO LUCKY. | CAN HEAR THEM... SLITHERING CLOSER, EVER CLOSER. | WILL SEE YOU SOON, STELIOS. AND WE SHALL SING TOGETHER ONCE AGAIN.