Procession of the Patriarchs of the Church of Westrun Part II

5201     Salan

5214     Anastorin

5230     Myrmid

5242     Elbar

5254     Brod

5273     Otmar

5285     Ulric

5287     Philbert

Procession of the Patriarchs of the Church of Westrun Part I

5109     Gamasiel

5124     Planos I

5136     Halded

5140     Cronos I the Blessed

5159     Planos II the Silent

5180     Cronos II the Short

Archflame Lara

Lara the Smouldering was the First Archflame of the Infernari, but she began as an apprentice in the Dweomersecte. 

Born to obscurity in the lower city of Peakshadow, Lara rose swiftly to prominence by the brilliance of her mind and an uncanny sensitivity to the elemental force of fire. She was elevated to the position of magister under Archmage Arecelos I, whose unorthodox experiments into the infernal realms she embraced with fervent dedication. Under the tutelage of both Arecelos and his successor Vynse, Lara honed her command of flame until she was said to be impervious to heat and able to shape fire as a sculptor shapes clay.

When first Arecelos and then Vynse were slain -- torn from the world by extraplanar entities during their summoning -- Lara became convinced that they had nearly achieved ultimate dominion over the material world, what she would later call the Prime Ember. Her attempts to continue their work were met with condemnation. Peredik the Tall, elected Archmage in 4093, issued a censure forbidding the Dweomersecte's contact with infernal powers and suppressed Lara’s research.

Rather than recant, Lara renounced the Dweomersecte, declared herself the head of a new school and led a handful of followers into exile. These defectors became the first Infernari, united by their faith in fire as both truth and transcendence. They named her their Archflame.

Lara's charisma and intensity reshaped magical orthodoxy across the Four Lands, and her brief rule laid the foundation of a flame-wrought philosophy that endures to this day. Her later years remain mysterious -- some say she perished in the volcanic collapse of Mount Erenos; others claim to have seen her in the deep Khard of Southrun. Some say she walks the Sea of Glass, ablaze but unburned and identify her as the Amira al Nar -- a minor goddess of that land.

Maxims of the Unquenched Flames

by Qurnath III, Archflame of the Infernari

as Committed 4844ey

“To command flame is to dwell apart, but not alone. To endure it is to become it. To become it is to be remembered when all else turns to ash.”

The First Maxim: “The Price of Power is Isolation.”

Power has always been our blessing and our curse. The flame that grants us strength also repels—it cauterizes relationships, it chars intimacy, it brands us as “Other.” A Pyromancer who ascends beyond his peers will find few hands reaching toward him. The world fears what it cannot extinguish. This is not cruelty, but cost. The mountain peak is cold because it is high. The fire lives alone in the lamp because it cannot share its oil. The wise Pyromancer does not flee from solitude. He drinks from it. He learns to listen to the silence left when all others have fled. In that silence, power speaks. Let those who follow the Way of Flame prepare their hearts to burn alone, so that their light may guide others even if none walk beside them.

The Second Maxim: “Power Dwells in Flame Unquenched.”

Too many among us mistake fire as tool: a spell to be cast, a weapon to be spent. But this is a grave error. Power does not reside in the act of burning—but in the will of those which is never extinguished. It is persistence, not violence, that rules the flame. If your fire is quenched by despair, fear, or grief, then you were never its master. To be among the Infernari is to tend the unquenchable fire within the soul. We are not fire-throwers. We are fire-bearers. To bear is to endure. To endure is to conquer.

The Third Maxim: “Those Who Burn Will Never Perish.”

Here lies our faith. This is not metaphor, but prophecy. Every Pyromancer who has looked deep into the flame sees something of death there—but also what lies beyond. The fire is transformation, not destruction. The log is not slain by fire, but made into smoke, light, and heat. So too are we transformed. If we burn wholly, without fear, we pass through the veil.

Lara the Smouldering lives in every whisper of ash. Baalruh's soul lingers in the eternal brazier. And Arecelos, whose flame never guttered, leaps in every hearth. Those who burn in devotion to the flame shall never perish. They will be remembered. They will return, whether as memory, magic, or something still unnamed.

Let every apprentice know: you will be tested by suffering, seared by betrayal, and cast aside by those who fear your power. But if you burn truly, you will outlive time. These Maxims are the beginning of wisdom, not its end. They do not demand agreement; they demand reflection.

The Mirror of Flame: A Treatise on the Fivefold Fire

by Fahreed ibn Qadim, Archflame of the Infernari

Written in the Year of Ember 5093, beneath the three moons on the shore of the Sea of Glass

In the name of Flame, which is both veil and revelation, I set ink to parchment that wisdom might survive the wind.

Know, O seeker of the Hidden Fire, that not all flames burn alike. Many see the dancing tongues of a woodfire and think it no more than the hungry spirit of combustion, a servant to pot and pyre. Yet I, Fahreed ibn Qadim, son of Southrun, once wandered through the Khard — that cruel emptiness which was once a thriving jungle — and there beheld the secret soul of fire.

It was in the third night of my thirst, when my camel had perished and my tongue was parched with salt, that I found shelter in a crevice of obsidian. I sought only shade, but what I found was the last campfire of a long-dead caravan. Its ashes, unscattered by the years, still whispered of heat, and I, delirious with visions, kindled them with breath and prayer.

The flames rose first red, then orange, then yellow, and blue and white — pure as first morning. I fell to my knees, and in that fire saw five truths, each color a veil drawn from the One Flame, each veil a path to mastery. Thus was born the Doctrine of the Fivefold Flame, which I now share with thee.

• The Red Flame – Flame of Blood and First Desire
• This is the fire of life’s beginning, the warmth in the infant’s cry, the soldier’s rage, the lover’s heat. It is the easiest to summon, and the easiest to squander. Red fire obeys the flesh and craves fuel — wood, wine, war.
• To conjure the Red Flame is to summon will untempered by wisdom. It breaks the ice but does not question why. Use it in battle, in love, in the ignition of all new things — but beware, for too long in red fire and a man becomes a beast.

• The Orange Flame – Flame of Transformation and Hunger
• Born of dying light and hungering shadow, the Orange Flame is the fire of change. It burns away the old to make way for the new. It is the color of revolutions, betrayals, and the desert wind that reshapes the dunes.
• Those who walk the Orange Path must suffer loss and change of self. This flame is used in rites of passage, unmaking, and rebirth. But if left unchecked, it consumes not only the dross, but also the gold.

• The Yellow Flame – Flame of Command and Clarion Thought
• The Yellow Flame burns steady and tall, like the sun at zenith. It is the fire of the wise ruler, the just judge, the learned master. It does not flicker; it stands.
• From this flame comes the power to bind spirits, to command lesser fires, to enchant the flesh with protection. The Yellow Flame is the birthright of kings and Archflames alike, and it is kindled in those who burn neither too hot nor too cold, but with purpose and control.

• The Blue Flame – Flame of Hidden Mind and Perfect Focus
• O most secret flame, how cold you appear to the unknowing! Blue is the fire of seers and sages, the flame that leaves no ashes. It reveals, it cuts away illusion, it whispers truths too sharp for many to bear.
• To touch the Blue Flame is to touch fire as idea, not substance. Its mastery lies not in destruction, but in revelation. I glimpsed it when I burned a page of prophecy and the ink rearranged itself in the air.
• Let those who seek its strength be prepared to know more than is safe.

• The White Flame – Flame of the Final Gate
• This is not fire as the world knows it, but fire as the gods remember it. The White Flame is perfection beyond form — it destroys utterly, and yet gives birth to new stars.
• It appears rarely, and only to those whose soul has been burned clean in the other four. It is used to open doorways between the Realms, to bind the divine, to purify that which is too tainted for any lesser flame.
• I saw it in the Khard, rising from ash untouched by time, and I knew: I had died and been reborn.

Thus are the five, yet they are one.
And the one, though it be flame, is also mirror.
Look deep, O seeker, and you will find yourself within it — burning, changing, reigning, seeing, vanishing.

So writes Fahreed of the Glass Horizon, Archflame and Wayfarer, whose fire will burn when even stars forget their names.

The Books of the Archflame of the Infernari vol. 13

• 5211 Baalruh V the Immortal was in league with Vecna of the Dweomersecte, but they two had a falling out over mutual suspicions regarding each others intentions. Since 5250ey, both orders have been in a state of open hostility.

The Books of the Archflame of the Infernari vol. 12

• 5173 Qurnath IV was a political leader who brokered a treaty with the Dweomersecte after many years of estrangement. While not an accord as once struck, it nonetheless guaranteed a period of peace and non-interference between the orders.

The Books of the Archflame of the Infernari vol. 11

• 5027 Arecelos V considered himself a conservative restorer of tradition, he dismissed many of Hu Lon’s methods in his latter prosecution of the Wars of Cinder and Silence. His was a losing battle, however, and the wars were considered a loss in 5046 to the great shame of the Infernari.

• 5049 Xarron was a radical who taught that individual flame was an aspect of a divine entity to be worshipped. He sought contact with this divine entity while keeping the Infernari in its Emberclave and seldom venturing into the outside world.

• 5091 Fahreed was a Southruner who authored the Fivefold Flame, a metaphysical codex still studied by Infernari and heavily influenced by powers that he discovered deep within the Khard.

The Books of the Archflame of the Infernari vol. 10

• 4927 Saeed the Dark was the first of the Archflames to dabble in undeath. He believed that the source of undeath was called shadowflame. He openly consorted with negative plane influences. 

• 4943 Arecelos IV was a purist who denounced all reliance on extra-planar beings for power and advancement, believing that they should be mastered and subdued by practitioners of the arcane arts, not served. His followers referred to themselves as The White Embers.
  
  
• 4968 Belo the White was a disciple of Arecelos IV, Belo mastered the power to summon servitors from other planes, specifically the cacodemon. 
  
  
• 4992 Hu Lon was an Eastrun pyromancer, he successfully merged the elements of air and fire, super-charging both and introducing a set of spells which he infamously refused to share with others. Hu Lon also led the Infernari during the first part of the Wars of Cinders and Silence. Under Hu Lon, the Pyromancers laid seige to and eventually destroying Alduldaros of Collonia in Westrun. The Dweomersecte retaliated by destroying the Runespire of the Archflame.

The Books of the Archflame of the Infernari vol. 9

• 4806 Porphus III a short-reigning idealist who tried to merge Infernari philosophy with Druidic traditions, though his teachings were ultimately rejected by the order.
  
  
• 4814 Baalruh IV was a cold and calculating leader who claimed that his namesake was actually possessed by a being from another plane, and that he too, shared that same power source. Moreover, that it was the promise for all Fire Mages and their highest possible attainment.

• 4844 Qurnath III was quietly influential, he reconciled opposing flame doctrines and created the Maxims -- a set of doctrines now considered seminal to the order. "The Price of Power is Isolation," and "Power dwells in flame unquenched,” and “Those who burn will never perish.”
  
  
• 4866 Torus the Horned claimed to be a half Aeniresa. His reign was marked by suspicion and debauchery. Torus introduced Life Pacts into the order’s deepest devotees.

• 4896 Arecelos III was devout and ritualistic and revived the worship of Maegara. He saw the use of flame as prayer. He reintroduced many litanies long-abandoned for being “too religious.”

The Books of the Archflames of the Infernari vol. 8

• 4723 Niktalor II was deposed from his position as Archmage of the Dweomersecte and defecting to the Pyromancers faction became Archflame of the order.
  
  
• 4760 Baalruh III oversaw the experimentation on bound elementals -- a practice many thought too perilous to attempt.

The Books of the Archflames of the Infernari vol. 7

• 4619 Porphus II was the first of the Archflames to forsake his given name and take up a regnal name to honor a previous Archflame. This is a tradition which will be repeated many times throughout the next six centuries. 
  
  
• 4641 Arecelos II a reformer and educator, Arecelos II restructured the Emberclave into five colored pillars, each representing a school of flame.
  
  
• 4666 Qurnath II carried on the traditions of his namesake, but added a heretical theory that flame was a remnant of divine thought.

• 4698 Baalruh II a brutal duelist and proponent of the doctrine permitting lethal challenge within the Infernari.

The Books of the Archflames of the Infernari vol. 6

• 4511 Garamond was known for his skill at diplomacy and briefly opened talks with the Dweomersecte but failed to gain the trust of the Dweomersecte and those of his own order.

• 4534 Jonathas has little written of him. The history of his name and deeds have been removed from the Book of the Archflames of the Infernari. 
  
  
• 4572 Atalias IV A brief unification was made between Dweomersecte and Infernari under Atalias IV the so-called Imp. He simultaneously held the position of Archmage and Archflame and during this time great strides were made in reconciling the two orders but the comity faltered when Cristoler succeeded him and the Infernari selected Simmon as their Archflame.

• 4581 Simmon was a stalwart defender of the order’s independence. He rejected Dweomersecte overtures and declared the Infernari free of its influences... under pain of death.

The Books of the Archflames of the Infernari vol. 5

• 4415 Olaf was a grim Northruner battle mage, Olaf believed fire should be a weapon of war and wasted for any other purpose. He led campaigns to suppress the Dweomersecte. 
  
  
• 4439 Wilder was considered eccentric even by Infernari standards. He believed all flame had memory. 
  
  
• 4457 Viator was a traveler and collector of fire magics from across the world, Viator expanded the Infernari’s knowledge with rituals of desert and deep-earth flame.
  
  
• 4486 Edwir the Unloved was a bookish and withdrawn Archflame. A socially inept, but brilliant Archflame, he amassed great wealth and developed the Emberclave into a sprawling and formidable complex, hidden from prying eyes.

The Books of the Archflames of the Infernari vol. 4

• 4337 Gare Firestaff was the first Archflame to carry the sentient flame-bound staff, Ignivar, which is said to have always chosen its bearer. The Archflame and the Bearer of Ignivar are not necessarily the synonymous, but more often than not, have been.
  
  
• 4368 Farid a Southruner recluse and arcanist, Farid’s tenure is noted for his treatise "On the Breath of Flame," a philosophical exploration of fire as the manifestation of will.
  
  
• 4395 Alend was a master ritualist who standardized the Circle of Cinders, a practice still used to call forth certain extra-planar servitors of the flame.

The Books of the Archflames of the Infernari vol. 3

• 4205 Qurnath was a scholar-mage who compiled the Codex Incendius, the earliest known collection of Infernari spells, later added to by his namesakes.
  
  
• 4233 Ziren Firehair was equally known for her brilliant red hair and fierce temper. Ziren led the Infernari during a period of skirmishes with the Frost Giants of the North.

• 4260 Atavas became a conservative figure who enforced the secrecy of the order. Under his rule, flame rites were restricted to proven initiates only and many Fire Mages perished in the Purge.
  
  
• In 4292 Baalruh the Possessed rose to the position of Archflame. Though the Infernari at that time had languished to a mere half dozen members, Baalruh opened the Emberclave - a college dedicated to the advancement of his art. By the end of his tenure in 4336, the school was the largest of any kind and reportedly had one hundred students.

The Books of the Archflames of the Infernari vol. 2

• 4115 Porphus the Red was a charismatic firebrand whose duels with Dweomersecte enforcers became legend. It is said he invented the Flamewalk ritual still used by initiates.
  
  
• 4160 Sri of Fire has origins shrouded in mystery. Some accounts say she was a Northruner witch.; others claim she was a spirit of flame given form. Her tenure was marked by prophetic writings. Including the Prophecy of the Grand Reunion.
  
  
• 4179 Korval introduced the first strictures of the Infernari which would be increasingly added to over time. It is believed that he was fighting against a schismatic movement in the order.

The Books of the Archflames of the Infernari vol. 1

• 4093 Lara the Smouldering

Pyromancers

The so called Fire Mages of Erenth are also known as the Pyromancers, the Sons of Arecelos, or the Priests of Maegara. Collectively, they refer to themselves as the Infernari. They are wizards operating outside Censure and are thus Hedge Wizards from the point of view of the Dweomersecte, though they belong to a very specific college.

While they do not have access to the same suite of spells that other wizards do, generally voluntarily confining themselves to those based on fire, they are able to cast those limited spells at a much higher degree of facility. They are also believed to be immune to the ravages of all but the hottest fires.

The Pyromancers draw their lineage from Sarseer, Niktalor I, Arecelos I and Vynse of the Dweomersecte. But none of those mighty wizards would have recognized a separate organization of Fire Mages, because it did not yet exist. 

In 4093 the Infernari was officially formed and it's membership split from the Dweomersecte when Peredik the Tall was made Archmage and Lara the Smouldering was ejected from the order. She was first to style herself, the Archflame and named those who defected with her, the Infernari. 

Chronicles of Kas

I. The Sword Without a Master

In the waning years of the Sixth Age, when the Towers of Sorcery still cast their long shadows over a fractured Erenth, there lived a warrior of uncommon fury and even rarer silence. He was born Kashtar-Mor, called Kas by the world, the son of no tribe and heir to no crest. He fought in the border wars of the Shattered Marches and earned his name through relentless service, wielding a sword he had forged in the fire of his own will, quenched in the blood of his enemies.

In time, Kas became known not merely as a soldier, but as a blade seeking a purpose. And purpose found him in the form of a hooded emissary from the Dweomersecte, who spoke of power, deathless life, and the war behind all wars.

II. The Pact of the Undying

The one who summoned him called himself Vecna, Archmage of the Dweomersecte, Master of the Hidden School, and bearer of ancient truths. But this was no mere wizard. His voice held centuries, and his eye burned with a hunger older than the kingdoms. Vecna saw in Kas not a servant, but a blade to be sheathed in shadow.

The pact was sealed not with ink, but with blood. In a ritual lost to most necromancers and forbidden by all known orders, Vecna poured into Kas the essence of undeath—not the mindless rot of the ghoul, nor the decaying soul of the wight, but something older. Kas became a true vampire, bound not by his thirst alone but by oaths older than the sun. In return for eternal service, Vecna gave him a weapon unlike any other: the Sword of Kas, forged in secret, inscribed with runes known only to the Archmage and the Grave.

With it, Kas became the Right Hand of Vecna, his voice in war, his fist in punishment, and his shade in diplomacy.

III. The Long Silence

For centuries, Kas served without hesitation. He hunted rebels who dared oppose the rule of the Dweomersecte. He razed libraries that spoke too freely of the Vastirah. He led legions of the dead through the gulfs of time and returned unaged. Some whisper he walked beside his master in the folds of time, others say he sat with forgotten kings and watched their lines fade into ash.

He did all this and asked for nothing, save the right to kill in Vecna’s name.

But the silence grew heavy. For even undeath has its weight, and though Kas knew no hunger, he knew loyalty, and loyalty twisted into doubt as Vecna grew more remote, more desperate, more obsessed with escaping the weave of fate.

Kas watched as Vecna hunted his former identities, erasing traces of them. The Archmage had become a tyrant, not a guardian.

IV. The Betrayal

The breaking came not in a single act, but a thousand unspoken thoughts. Kas began to believe that Vecna had not failed in stopping the gods—that he had invited them, birthed them in his paradox, enthroned them in his paranoia. He whispered rebellion to himself in empty chambers. He plotted in dreams, though vampires dream only rarely.

Then, one night that was also a century, he struck.

The Sword of Kas, once kissed by Vecna’s own blood, found its mark not in the neck of a heretic but in the heart of the Undying King. Some say he slew Vecna. Others say he only scattered him. But Kas was never seen again in the Tower, and the eye and the hand of Vecna have been hunted ever since.

V. The Legacy of the Liege-Breaker

The name of Kas is now spoken in two tones: as a traitor and a liberator. To the faithful of the Temple, he is the Blasphemer. To those who fear the return of the Vastirah, he is the secret hope—that even in death, Vecna was not beyond reckoning.

Some believe Kas yet lives, wandering the timefolds in penance, seeking to undo what he once enforced. Others say he builds an army in the hollow moon, of undead not bound to necromancy, but to truth.

But one thing is known. The Sword of Kas has not rusted. And it is said that should Vecna rise again, so too shall the Liege-Breaker return.

The Oath of Kas

Upon the Blade and the Shadow

Let this be spoken in the vault of silence.

Let no star hear it, no flame remember it.

I, Kashtar-Mor, forsake the sun.

By blood freely given, I bind myself to the Lord of the Final Sigil,

He who bears the Name Forgotten,

He who is now and evermore Vecna,

Archmage Eternal, Mind Between Worlds, King of the Unburied.

I give my sword.

Let it be no longer mine, but his.

Let it strike as he wills, where he wills, against whom he wills,

Whether kin or god, wizard or beast, living or dead.

I give my voice.

Let it speak no lies except in his service.

Let it cry war, treaty, silence, or command,

As the Undying bids from the throne beyond time.

I give my soul.

Let it be remade in shadow,

Let the blood of life run cold,

Let the hunger sharpen but never overcome.

I ask no reward.

Not kingdom nor crown, not love nor memory,

Only this: to be his Right Hand until the end of Ends.

And if I should falter,

If I should forget the hand that raised me from dust,

Let this blade return to him and strike me down.

By blood, by blade, by will — so do I swear.

And Vecna answered: "Then rise, my Kas. And be unto me what death cannot undo."

Correspondence from Vance to Odak

To His Illustrious Nuetrality, Grand Hierophant Odak of the Continuum, Keeper of the Wand

It is perhaps unorthodox that I write you directly, though I suspect unorthodoxy is a thing you have grown accustomed to encountering of late.

The death of Peredik the Highborn—and let us not pretend it was anything but a political murder wrapped in ecclesiastic silence—removes one of the last barriers between the ambitions of the Grand Temple and the full erasure of the arcane free orders. I grieve his passing not only as a man of consequence, but as the single voice of temperance within an ever-tightening circle of incense and iron.

I will not waste ink on veiled accusations. You know as well as I that the Dweomersecte exists to counterbalance the Grand Temple, not because we hate the divine, but because we have seen too often what becomes of men who claim to speak for gods. Our purpose is not chaos, but resistance. We are the memory of the world before the ten gods were named, and we will be its memory after.

If they force our hand—if they drive the Art from the cities and burn the last free lorekeeps—we will not martyr ourselves, but we will answer. And the answering will be seen in every sky and under every stone.

Let us not make it so.

You have power, Grand Hierophant. If the Dweomersecte falls, the Continuum will be next. You know some of the danger, but you do not yet have all of it. I offer you this final prophecy from your own Lords Continuous, not as a warning, but as a courtesy:

Not all who kneel do so in reverence.

Some kneel to bury something.

By light unblessed,

 

Vance

Correspondence from Vance to the Dweomersecte Entire

From Archmage Vance, Year 3848

To the Magisters of the Eight Kingdoms, near and far, faithful and wayward alike—

It is with grave spirit and a heavy heart that I write to you in this, the Year 3848, so soon after you have favored me with your vote.

By now, word has reached every hall and keep of the tragic passing of my predecessor, Peredik the Highborn, Steward of Vel-Brethil, friend of Art, and—though he would never have claimed it—the last and most ardent ally of those who stand against the excesses of the Grand Temple. His death was not merely a loss to his house or province, but to the fragile balance between Faith and Knowledge.

Make no mistake: with Peredik gone, the veil between pretense and ambition begins to thin. The Grand Temple, ever hungering, ever encroaching, grows bold. The Priests now whisper openly of extinguishing the Searing Flame from the Eight Kingdoms. And it is we they mean.

I speak now plainly, as all masks must fall:

The Dweomersecte was never intended to be a mere convocation of scholars or practitioners. It was—and is—a blade in the dark, turned toward the Grand Temple. Not to destroy faith, but to cut away its cancerous excess, to remind the people that wonder is not born in obedience, but in discovery.

Peredik knew this. He protected us because he remembered a time when gods served men and not the other way round.

I warn you now: be wary of priestly envoys bearing gifts, or Kings who suddenly call for unity in doctrine and law. “Unity” means dissolution of the hidden towers, “doctrine” means burned tomes, and “law” will mean your silence.

Do not go to war—but do not go to sleep. Strengthen your wards. Shelter your apprentices. Bury what must be buried, and awaken what must be awoken. Let none say the Dweomersecte faltered when the stars shifted.

We are older than kings. We are deeper than temples. And we are not yet finished.

By wand and ward,

Vance the Argent

Archmage of the Dweomersecte and Champion of the Searing Flame

Correspondence between Peredik and Vance

Letter I

Dated 3761ey, Jun 3d

From: Magister Vance, Third Circle of the Dweomersecte

To: Archmage Peredik the Highborn, Keeper of the Staff of Concordance

My Lord Archmage,

I trust this letter finds you in vigorous health and deeper understanding, as always. I beg a moment of your attention on a matter that has grown increasingly disturbing in my private research.

Over the past three years, I have uncovered patterns of extraplanar contact among a class of entities whose influence is beginning to be felt subtly among the arcane currents of Erenth. They call themselves “Vastirah,” and present themselves as divine messengers—yet their origin is neither divine nor native.

I believe they are travelers from a plane of mutable law and illusion, projecting forms of beauty, wisdom, and power—crafted to the expectations of mortals. Their presence correlates precisely with the rise in spontaneous theurgical awakenings among the peasantry.

This is no miracle. This is infiltration.

I ask—humbly—for five minutes of your time during the next Conclave. I have proof.

In service to the Circle and the Flame,

Magister Vance

Letter II

Dated 3763ey, Nov 8th

From: Archmage Peredik

To: Magister Vance

Vance,

I remember you as a bright student and now a tireless colleague. But let me offer caution: the road of paranoia is paved with real facts. What you describe is interesting, yes—but not alarming.

The world is old. Not all that is new is threat. If these Vastirah inspire reverence and peace, then what matter if they are not “gods” by our definition? Our role is not to police belief.

You are not the first to see patterns in stormclouds. If you must continue, do so quietly.

Your enthusiasm does you credit. But your fear does not.

– Peredik

Letter III

Dated 3765ey, Oct 9th

From: Magister Vance

To: Archmage Peredik

My Lord,

I must speak more plainly. These are not abstract concerns. The Vastirah are real, and their agents move among us. I have found four names worshipped in different lands—Thamerel, Issura, Belan, Voreth—and yet the visions of them are identical, save for trappings shaped by local belief.

These are not deities evolving from cultures; they are constructs, manipulating cultures to build a unified channel of belief. Belief feeds them. That is the mechanism.

If they are not stopped, they will become what they pretend to be. Their power is reflective. If enough believe, it will be true.

We must intervene before the Continuum surrenders itself. I fear the Hierophants already murmur prayers they once called blasphemy.

I know you do not share my alarm. But please. Meet with me. I will bring no theory—only evidence.

Vance

Letter IV

Dated 3766ey, Feb 22

From: Archmage Peredik

To: Magister Vance

Vance,

I say this with the affection of one who once taught you: you are approaching obsession.

The Dweomersecte is not a tribunal of spiritual purity. We observe, we record, we preserve. You are attempting to stem the tide of myth with logic—and worse, you are beginning to sound like a zealot.

Do not approach the Continuum. Do not speak of this in the Conclave again. If you persist, you may find yourself without station.

I am sorry. Truly.

– Peredik

Letter V

Dated 3768ey, Sep 24

P,

You fool. You vain, blinkered, soft-palmed coward.

You think this is politics? You think this is a matter of reputation, of Conclave decorum?

By the time you feel their power, it will already be too late. You do not see the web they weave because you have already stepped into it.

And when you finally bow to them—and you will—you will believe it was your idea. That is their genius. That is their curse.

You were the one man who might have helped me. Now, I know I stand alone.

I am done asking.

V.

History of Man -- Book 1: Westrun Part 16

In 5211 Aleranus II the Less of Bolden was sentenced to the High Throne. He served at the same time as his brother Anastorin who was elected Patriarch of the Church of Westrun during the same period.

Aleranus II the Less was succeeded in 5231 by Dane III the Learned. Dane was long-lived and was a lover of knowledge. During his reign, he prosecuted the War of the Northern Marches through his military advisor the so-called Iron Duke of Bolden.

Eventually Dane III the Learned came to an untimely end, choking on his supper and was succeeded by his now Chancellor General Halinard, the so-called Iron Duke. Halinard ruled the Eight Kingdoms seemingly finding one reason or another to avoid an Counsel of Monarch's to choose Dane's successor.

In 5283, Aleranus III of Bolden came to an untimely end in a hunting accident. His cousin, Halinard the Ironfist became the King of Bolden through a questionable claim which was nevertheless validated by the High Throne. By the end of the same year, Halinard became High King of all Westrun by the unanimous vote of the monarchs of the Eight Kingdoms. His first official act was to appoint his brother as the Steward of Bolden. 

In 5284 the War of the Northern Marches had been brought to the very Gates of Wanderhalt. A three day seige of that city was broken by the rise of Aleyn, the rightful king of Collonia, and his companions. Thus the crown of Collonia was restored, the goblins defeated and the authority of Halinard as High King was ratified.

Halinard Geldorf reigns to this day as High King of all Westrun and the Free Provinces.

History of Man -- Book 1: Westrun Part 15

Thelstan of Treft was sentenced to the High Throne in 5101. He was a good man and a strong leader by all accounts, but he was cursed to live in a tumultuous time that saw many changes. Heimar the Compromising was the High Priest of the Grand Temple at that time, and he vied with the Archmage Vecna for the ear of Thelstan, who seemed to prefer to keep his own counsel.

Heimar had been merciful to a young priest, writing him a pardon from the charge of heresy and permitting him to indulge in the worship of his so-called Forgotten God. In 5107 the priest, named Gamasiel, had gathered seven acolyte-pledges to his god and raised them to the priesthood. Then Gamasiel and the Seven ignited the War of the Gods against the other priests of the Grand Temple. The war took place in a series of ten battles of miracles, which were challenges to the power of the elder gods and ended with signs that showed the power of the Forgotten God. When the last of the battles was won, the priests either converted or deserted the Grand Temple and the monotheistic Church of Westrun was born. Gamasiel was then recognized as the Patriarch of that Church. 

In 5121 Edmun of Menea succeeded Thelstan to the Throne. During his reign, Planos became Patriach upon the death of Gamasiel.

In 5128 Edmun was followed by Eadred of Menea whose reign was only two years, but was best known for the Edict of Supremacy in Faith of 5129.

Eadred was followed by Aleranus the Pious in 5130. Halded the Militant was the Patriarch during Aleranus' reign. The High Throne and the Patriarchy saw to the creation of the Orders of Religious Knights, or Paladins, from the most devout and most charismatic from the sworn knighthood. 

In 5140 Serolgar of Rath followed Aleranus and during his reign Cronos the Blessed was Patriarch over the Church.

In 5150 Clanute of Treft was sentenced to the High Throne and he was followed by Hareld of Menea in 5159, During Hareld's reign, Planos II the Silent and Cronos II the Short served as Patriarchs and both are notable for being eclipsed by the influence of Jerebola the Compassionate -- a hermitess of Sakish royal blood who forsook her riches and lived in a mountain cave in the manner of some Hierophants. The faithful of the Church of Westrun journeyed from near and far to hear the words she spoke and encouragements she offered.

in 5187 Braolas of the Guilds became High King, following Clanute. He is known for having strengthened the guild system, securing the legacy and integrity of trades. He also reinforced the rule of law across the Eight Kingdoms, especially concerning commerce and labor. Because of his contributions, a new middle class rose from civic or mercantile leadership rather than from noble or religious backgrounds. Braolas helped to stabilize Westrun society after a century of religious upheaval and shifting loyalties by grounding authority in law and tradition. Patriarch Salan was head of the Church of Westrun at that time.