POLITICS, HISTORY & SPECIFIC PRIOR EVENTS

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS…

The Lentokki, loathed as they are in the west, may surprisingly claim allies with deep roots in Hariel Majour.
The Solti, the noblest remaining peoples - the only living beings who once walked amongst the now-absent gods, have reason to conspire with their alleged “greatest of foes.”
The Great Plan, as it were, involves the distortion of time. Time hence and time past. Along with the resurrection of the gods. Or, to be more specific, the “right” gods. Or god.
One who would not punish past transgressions, particularly ones that benefitted him and his rising station.
Did the Sanguine Order act alone? Could they truly have fought back the combined forces of the western kingdoms with such shallow numbers? We put much stock in the enveloping terror of their Art, but is that at least partially propaganda meant to occlude the truth?
If so, there could be a reckoning for the Solti… if the wrong side prevails.
Philosophy… if one lived an eternity, could they even relate to those with such short life spans as man? Would they be capable of seeing them as peers? Equals? Worthy of consideration? Every thought a mortal might have, every revelation, has long ago been pondered by the immortal. There are no surprises left for them. No incentive towards anything but continuance. Nothing beyond themselves.

OTHER EVENTS/COMPLICATIONS…

1. The Lentokki seem to have brought back the Titans (giants, dragons) from the far north of the Ultima Thule.
2. They are breeding dragons perhaps, although as of yet they’ve only managed to create runt-like cousins. But still deadly.

TECHNICALITIES

1. Since the Ulta brought civilization to Gothenya, it makes sense that the populace speaks their provided language.
2. The Ulta may have a second (or primary) tongue kept secret from man.
3. Abhumans - William Hope Hodgson’s mutated future people.
4. The “Underground Fields” of WHH’s Night Land are present in the super-collider corridors beneath the Alabast in Lentokk.
5. In the future… the dying of the sun is known as “the half gloom.”
6. The “Earth Current” of the Eret Si’nu.

On the 3rd War For the West…

1. The big secret may end up being that the Lentokki have gone through all this trouble staging an invasion (using/duping their new allies) astonishingly only as cover for their initiative to gain control of Celene and rewrite future history.
2. The Ulta benefit from the focus of others regarding the Eret Si’nu. This is how prayer strengthens gods. Is there some sort of psychic resonator or similar to funnel and channel the Potential flowing from others into the Ulta? Something in Celene? Perhaps it is malfunctioning. Maybe that’s why they entered their caissons.
3. If the Sundering damaged the Resonator that essentially feeds them life energy (perhaps the Ulta have evolved beyond the need for food, and are now dependent upon the emissions from their followers as sustenance) they might find themselves in danger of becoming too weak to persevere. Thus a self-induced hibernation might have seemed the wisest course of action.
4. The Ulta are one step closer in evolution to the Eret Si’nu itself. They feed as the Eret Si’nu feeds. Off-life energy. Small increments. Unnoticed by individuals as any sort of loss (perhaps but simple fatigue), but if taken from a smaller sampling of followers, the loss could be catastrophic. The Ulta have chosen to lose that much more of their already waning humanity.
5. Those humans “beneath” the Ulta, the “unevolved,” are assumed to have been denied the gift of ascension. And in many cases this is true. However, a great many realized what they’d be giving up. The price of their eternal souls seemed a bit too steep.
6. Is it conceivable that since the Sundering, Krytuss has been “posing” as all the other gods - at least in the capacity that any have made actual contact with their flock - in order to siphon off the energy from their followers?
7. Like a cleric could be praying to Hindelaine, thinking everything was above board and that she had returned in some weakened capacity (explaining away and weirdness and inconsistencies from Krytuss’s deception), only to perhaps later learn they’d been violated by the Lord of Rot? It is similar to psychic assault, so personal and intimate is the bond between priest and deity.