To the Dragon Empress Armiyah the Adored

29 of Belan 126 EOT
 
To Her Imperial Majesty,
Dragon Empress Armiyah the Adored,
Sovereign of Akek and Keeper of the Grave of Scales,
 
May this letter reach you without delay.
 
When I departed Akek by your command, my mission was clear: recover the Eyes of Azavox to obtain a weapon strong enough to strike Amon down. Many trials have tested us since. I have fought demons, walked among ghosts, and stared into the face of the Fates.
 
I bring hard truths. The Eyes of Azavox are not what legend claims, and there is no weapon that will strike down our enemies in a single blow. The Eyes are not keys to a hidden weapon; they are artifacts that, when brought together, can only be used to restore the power of their original owner: Azavox. As for the weapon itself, it was forged by the god Edon and hidden by him out of fear the gods would use it to kill one another. It cannot be wielded safely by anyone. This weapon is alive—a unique creature that can only be paused by killing it. Azavox is not required to pause the weapon, nor is he part of it, but both Azavox and the weapon lie dormant beneath Mount Kema. Any further connection between them is clouded by lies and rumors.
 
Today, a celestial of Arysia named Zelia revealed herself to us; she is the one bringing you this message. She seeks her sister, Chione—a celestial sphinx and Arysia’s envoy. Chione was sent millennia ago by Edon to hide his divine weapon beneath Mount Kema. When Zelia washed ashore beneath Den, delirious in her search for her sister, she began speaking prophecy—words that were recorded and eventually came to be known as the Prophecy of the New Shadow. It foretells the rise of a new power to claim an empty throne beneath the world, ushering in a turning of the age. The Fates confirmed that the prophecy is not fixed in outcome, and not necessarily evil in nature, but dependent on who claims it.
 
We have pursued the Eyes across the breadth of the Silent Lands—through vaults, ruins, academies, and beneath cities of the dead. During our journey, another group also sought the Eyes, but with the nefarious intent to become this New Shadow. Torbin is their leader: a fiend-touched, short and stocky man with black skin and red eyes—a strange race found only in the Deep Dark. Torbin’s allies include Lantana (a Killoren druid), Estara (a dragonborn mage), Malagan (necromancer lich), Tak (a psionic monk also known as The Navigator), and many other beings from the deepest parts of these lands. Their base lies concealed deep beneath Den, within the Deep Dark, fortified by ancient magic and infernal design. The known entrance is hidden beneath the town’s obelisk. Torbin’s faction now possesses six of the Eyes; three remain in our possession, and the last we cannot trace.
 
More troubling still, we now know that Amon has fallen to the demon Amamastor—once bound to the infernal general Zolo Vim. With Zolo now dead and Amon in collapse, Amamastor moves independently, forging dark alliances in pursuit of the same goal as Torbin: to claim the mantle of the New Shadow by collecting the Eyes of Azavox. Amamastor has used the magic of Mount Ogun—where a powerful demon lord once dwelled—to summon multiple other demon lords and archfiends, releasing them upon the Silent Lands. Many of their attacks have occurred in places where we know the Eyes were hidden. We have no indication Torbin and Amamastor are working together, but we also cannot discount the possibility of them eventually forming an alliance to eliminate the forces of good from these lands.
 
Additionally, it is important that Your Majesty knows:
-Intai has survived the demonic invasion, thanks in part to our actions. Its people are safe—for now—and its Council has been reestablished. We have successfully opened diplomatic relations.
- Azul, too, endures. Though it was shielded by the magic of the goddess Chandra, that protection came at great cost. Chandra is being used—her divine essence exploited to power the shadow-weave that keeps the city safe. No city’s survival should be built on the enslavement of a goddess.
- Sa Owu is in disarray, but the population has revolted and now fights against the demons that had seized control of the city.
- If deemed useful, Akek could begin diplomatic coordination with Intai and Azul, who have both suffered under the same invasion. Now that they’ve recovered, alliances could be forged quickly.
- There is a blight afflicting the jungle, poisoning the land and the people who depend on it. It is caused by one of Torbin’s associates—the druid Lantana. We must find and kill her to ensure the jungle’s survival, as the infection is spreading faster than we previously thought.
 
Our mission has shifted. The Eyes of Azavox are not the key to a divine weapon. Their legends have been mistakenly intertwined. Neither the Eyes nor the weapon can serve Akek—nor anyone else—without risking devastation beyond measure. I stood before the Fates and saw a vision of a future—myself at the top of Mount Kema, beside the dying sphinx Chione, and an avalanche descending upon hundreds of innocents. Mount Kema is where my path now leads. There, we hope to find Chione and understand if this chain of fate can still be broken or reshaped. If this vision is to come true, I will bear the guilt. But if it can be changed, I will see it changed.
 
I remain your blade, and I will not let Akek fall—not to Amon, not to Azavox, not to prophecy.
 
With sword and spirit,
Olma Aktu
Chosen of Arysia
Servant to the Dragon Empress