Aleria Campaign / Doomsday Dawn / When the Stars Go Dark pt. 2/ Bris the 29th, 3592 CE 2/24/19

Having mastered the White Axiom, Gray Vengeance begins receiving flashes of visions from Lochmar's life. Kelly is horrified to learn that Lochmar may have, in fact, been the Speaker of the Eon Worm, a legendary prophet who directly influenced the creation of the Ancient Empire. The party sees Lochmar's life as he is afflicted by a mindquake, directing his followers to imprison him in a cave beneath the ancient Temple of the Eon Worm in Mournveil. They watch as he inscribes the formula for the White Axiom on the walls of the cave, losing his humanity in the process, and slaying his loyal acolytes as he escapes the cave and flees to his home in the Thicketfell. There they watch him write the Last Theorem and learn the previously unknown arts of Conjuration magic as he attempts to contact the Deep Dominion through the Moonmere. When these efforts fail, the vision shifts to encompass Lochmar's journey to ancient Nosirios, where he further refines the study of Conjuration magic, taking on students to whom he passes on the knowledge. Eventually he is driven from the city for his studies in dark magic, and as he heads into the desert, he is confronted by the Risen Kings, four warlords who wish not only power on the material plane but in the afterlife. They strike a pact, with Lochmar using his magicks to help the Risen Kings gain power while Lochmar constructs a portal to his own secret demiplane he calls The Hallow. The most important part of the vision comes when they see Lochmar construct the first countdown clock, a massive pendulum made from the same green veinstone as the pyramid he uses as a conduit between this world and the Hallow. The veinstone pendulum actually acts like a magical capacitor, powering up a massive magical portal over the course of many millennia. Little do Lochmar and his followers, the Harbingers, realize that this portal will allow an ancient elder being called Nocturne, who is the size and shape of an entire planet, to enter the space surrounding Homeworld and absorb the life force of every living being on the planet. Armed with this knowledge, Gray Vengeance is teleported by the Order of the Eon Eye to Nosirios, where they locate the site of Lochmar's veinstone pyramid. Once inside, they are able to use the White Axiom to recreate the spell that will teleport them to the Hallow. The appear on a wide veinstone plaza, the footprint of the pyramid. From the skies above, a lone light from the planet Nocturne, glares at them with an evil malevolence. They proceed to the center of the plaza, where there is a wide pit leading into the depths. There the team encounters the mysterious Ashen Man, who asks them cryptic questions regarding the nature of their desire to avert the apocalypse. Before disappearing, he implies that their quest is ultimately futile, but he will be curious to observe whether they succeed or fail. As the Ashen Man disappears into dust, a great elder beast emerges from the pit and attacks the intruders. Ultimately Gray Vengeance is able to destroy the creature, but reeling from its onslaught, they retreat to Jean's other-dimensional mansion to rest before venturing on.