Hello everyone,
I'm starting this RP off with an announcement before the rules.
This new chapter of the RP, I predict, will be a short one, focusing solely on the conflict which we have set up over the past few months. We will see how well the heroes of Ald Raathim fare against the ever-encroaching death that awaits in the west.
This will also be the last RP chapter for our role play during the time period between Morrowind and Oblivion; after War of the Wormgod has finished, there will be a reflections and epilogue thread to tie up any loose ends and to set the scene for our characters in the final days before the events of Oblivion, and then the RP will take a haitus for a month or two, while we all play the new game till the wheels fall off.
Since we are entering the grand finale of our pre-Oblivion RP campaign, I am hereby stating that we are not accepting any new players until after we start up again post Oblivion. We apologize for this arbitrariness, but it's not a good idea trying to shoehorn new faces into the plot when you're playing out the last battle. Everyone will be welcome once we start up again.
Events Summary
It was in Ephesus, a remote territory in the Dragontail Mountains which cut through the kingdom of Sentinel, that it began. A group of mages from the local Mages Guild had gone to investigate the ruins of Scourg Barrow, the former haunt of Mannimarco, the so-called King of Worms. They never returned, and shortly thereafter contact was lost with all of Ephesus.
An aura of death spread over the mountains, slaying all who came within its boundaries, man, mer, animal, or plant.
Then in Totambu to the east of the mountains, a dragon was spotted arching through the skies. No sooner was it reported, then whole villages were annihiliated.
No such attacks had then occurred to the west yet, in the capitol of Sentinel, but fear could be seen on every face.
From all across Tamriel, different factions joined to combat the rising menace of the King of Worms. Joining with the army of Sentinel were the Imperial troops, led by the Emperor Uriel Septim VII himself, and the Mages Guild, led by Archmagister Hannibal Traven.
The former Queen of Firsthold, Morgiah also lent her influence to the battle to come. Her son, Goranthir, had become a pawn of Mannimarco’s called Geht, responsible for the dragon and other beasts coming to the land.
The Tribunal Temple, the Temples of the Nine, the royal army of King Helseth of Morrowind, and its rivals in the Civil War, the Indoril Redoran Alliance also pledged troops.
And the heroes of Ald Raathim also heeded the call.
Some joined the armies to surround the Dragontail Mountains to the east and west, in Ramakawan and Kalaal, and others went into the Mountains themselves, shielding from the death aura by a potion concocted by the very elixir of the Hist of Black Marsh.
In the jungles to the east, a group of mages saved the village of Turodon by luring a rampaging undead dragon of Mannimarco to the fortress of Ramakawan where he was driven off by Gistral, Sir Gancolm, Ota, and the factional warriors stationed there under the command of Digitus Eros. In the seaside fortress of Kalaan, an even larger dragon was driven off to sea by Dana, Vaan, the Fist of Harg, Samson, and the factional warriors stationed there under the command of Laretha Warhaft. In Sentinel, Loranna’s brave attack against the largest of the three dragons gave the Psijics of Artaeum just enough time to conjure up a storm to drive it away.
In the Dragontail Mountains, the heroes had four Blightstones to destroy to end the death aura of the King of Worms. At the first, they faced an undead dragon and Geht himself. His power now increased so that he could control the minds of men, Geht ordered the heroes to fight one another, but ultimately his beloved nurse Taolle destroyed Geht, and died in the process.
The heroes, now including Goranthir, continued on, destroying two more of the Blightstones and defeating Mannimarco's surreal, nightmarish minions, until they came to Scourg Barrow. There in a beautiful mockery of a city, entirely composed of corpses, they found the final Blightstone in the claws of the King of Worms himself. Having thousands of other Blightstones he could recharge, Mannimarco crushed it in his hands, causing an implosion that slew all the heroes.
At the same time, however, Loranna had found herself in a strange dream, hosted by Sheogorath, where she was reliving many of the events of her past. As she interacted with them, she began to change things, actually at one point bringing a young Arynel out of the past with her as a companion. In the Vaults of Gemin, the three watched Tris once again resurrect Ciel, creating cracks in the firmament of Arkay. Loranna and Arynel attempted to teleport away, and found themselves in gray nothingness together with the heroes whom Mannimarco had slain.
Sheogorath then brought them all to where it began, The Hearthfire Ball of Lord Darius. They witnessed all the events, participating in them, and changing them, until the grand conclusion, when the Mad God danced with Loranna-Azura.
History did not repeat itself. Instead of Sheogorath ascending and leaving Azura behind, Sheogorath (divided in two) carried both Azura and the younger version of Loranna with him to Oblivion.
Loranna used the gift Sheogorath had given her in the first Hearthfire Ball, the spark of madness that would give her a moment of genius inspiration, and helped one and all escape the dream before the illusion was torn apart. They woke up, naked and dancing, in Loranna's room in Sentinel.
Meanwhile, with the death aura gone in the Dragontail Mountains, the western and eastern armies battled against Mannimarco's army of the dead. After a harrowing battle and many losses, the combined army defeat the Worm King and took Scourg Barrow. Whether Mannimarco was killed or merely escaped is a matter of some controversy.
This part of the roleplay began on March 7th, 2006, with a post by Loranna. The usual rules explanation was prefaced with the following information.