Summary of Board Battles taking place prior to the Administorum move

[Cameron]

This was oriignally posted by Soul Reaver. I discovered it in a locked off section of the old Administorum. It contains a ton of useful info, so I figured I'd dump it here so that everyone can see it.

WARNING: HUGE WALL OF TEXT FOLLOWS:

Summary of major Board Battle events:

Bonds of Betrayal (conclusion)

- Not really all that much to say about this one: after entering the Umbra on behest of a guy called Naraka, he turned out to be an evil illusionist who had captured Tamrissa and was stealing Fei’s power. Zera was Naraka’s evil crony at this point. We all got tricked and trapped, but eventually freed ourselves.
- Can’t remember all the details off by heart, but Naraka intended to bond with Fei’s energies or something, but that was spoiled when the altar he was using was destroyed and Fei released. Unfortunately, we also released a whole bunch of evil shades in the process.
- There were lots of explosions and things as we destroyed the ‘bonding device’ and escaped Naraka’s castle. Jihon got petrified and everyone went after Naraka for revenge.
- There is an unreasonably long fight as we deal to Naraka, and eventually he is swallowed by the Abyss. His pain is temporarily felt by all the companions, a very disturbing experience.
- Kawanua, however, reveals that things are not quite over yet. His most powerful and evil form, Kekenia, is awakening within a dark cacoon nearby. It is unlikely any of the companions would be in a condition to defeat the creature. So Kawanua asks Soul Reaver to kill him.
- Soul Reaver sorrowfully complies, and uses Shenba (Kawanua’s sword) to kill him. Too late does he remember that Inferno (the Daemonic Plane, and Blooddrinker’s original home) keeps a very close eye on renegade Daemons such as Shenba. As a result, Inferno is aware of the time and location of Kawanua’s death… and before Soul Reaver can intervene, Kawanua’s soul is whisked away by a Daemonic emissary, taken into Inferno where it will undergo eternal torment.

Tranquil after the Storm

- The companions catch their breath after the battle. The Umbra is restored to its former beauty by Fei and Tamrissa, the rules of the Umbra.
- Everyone pays their respects to Kawanua and Jihon.
- Everyone eats and goes about healing and cleaning themselves up, while Zera languishes in the castle prison.
- Tamrissa finds out that Gulver is a dangerous weapon that even Naraka feared, and makes a deal with him that forces him to stay with her and obey her… or she will shut him down.
- Jihon’s spirit shows up and talks to most people… since we are in one of the afterlives, he can move about freely as a ‘ghost’ and talk to people.
- Zera is sentenced to be executed the next day, but Thisias secretly goes to see her and talk to her during the night, since he was once evil and hopes Zera can also be changed. In return for a promise from her that she will not use her powers for ‘evil’ (a promise which Zera makes with no intention of keeping), he frees her and makes her his student. (Taking an unlikely student is something he must do as a member of the Matri Vihar.) He tries to convince Tamrissa to let him take her, but he fails. However, Zera and he hatch a plot to disguise Zera while using an illusion to make Gabriel (Thisias’ cat) look like her. Like this, Thisias sneaks her out. Thisias is also asked to escort Gulver back to his homeworld by Tamrissa.
- Gulver and Thisas arrive at Gulver’s homeworld. Everyone there is dead. Gulver investigates to find out what is going on. Everyone there is dead.
- While Thisias and Zera train together outside the headquarters where Gulver was constructed, Gulver destroys the computers and initiates the self-destruct system to forever guard the secrets the corporation held there.
- Zera’s illusion over the cat, Gabriel, is revealed as a ruse (by Blooddrinker) as Zera and Thisias try to return for ‘Zera’s’ execution to argue her case. While everyone is gathered at the execution, a terrifying entity makes itself known…

The Weaver of Destiny (with me as Battle Host. Whee! Get ready for a big read, this was pretty complex…)

- A Nightmare, one of the Lesser Daemons of Inferno, suddenly appears before the companions, saying it has a message from the Daemon Princes.
- Soul Reaver senses that it message is important, and the Nightmare confirms that this is related to the visions that Soul Reaver has been having since his encounter with a Dark Sorcerer on Dynaria earlier during Bonds of Betrayal (after which he was kidnapped by an unidentifiable creature, which he escaped from – or was released from – in time to join the others in a battle in the Umbra). (The images he saw showed billions of souls enmeshed in a terrible black web that reached across the multiverse… he and his companions among them. And a terrible entity at the centre of the web, manipulating the strings and feeding off the souls until they were just dried husks).
- The Nightmare states the Daemon Princes wish for Soul Reaver and his companions to journey into Inferno to an audience with its masters, and shows the Daemon Prince’s seal as proof of it’s word. Soul Reaver is convinced, and the companions discuss their options.
- The companions decide to follow Soul Reaver. Together they travel into Inferno.
- Soul Reaver leads the companions to the Pandemonium fortress, using his ability to control Daemons to keep the Daemonic hordes at bay as they approach. Within the Pandemonium fortress, they arrive at a gathering of five Shadowlords – Daemon Princes of Inferno. One of the Shadowlords, Heartbane, begins to speak, mocking Shenba and Jharm. Then he reveals why he has called the companions: he has a quest for them.
- Heartbane reveals that the Daemon Princes and their masters want the companions to find and kill the ‘entity’ at the centre of the web that Soul Reaver has seen visions of. They reason that the creature is clearly evil and a threat to the companions, so destroying it would be in their best interests anyway… and Heartbane reveals that he can offer information to help. To sweeten the deal, he is willing to make a gift: to return Kawanua’s soul, and even reconstitute his body for him to inhabit. Heartbane makes of point of showing the torment Kawanua is in to help sway the companions. They are basically willing to give his life back – depending on how he dies, he may even avoid return to Inferno when he dies again.
- Soul Reaver knows how loathe the Daemons are to release any souls, so for them to make this offer he is certain that there must be truth in what they say. He is willing to agree, and the other companions reluctantly do so as well.
- The Daemon Princes restore Kawanua to life, although his mind remains shattered by his experiences (for now at least). Then, the Daemon Princes reveal more. They say they do not know much about the entity that they face, other than that it is their enemy. They say that a long time ago, a mortal soul, which they intended to take, was snatched away from them by that entity… and that they have seen that mortal soul walking the Planes again, alive. Since it is the only creature they know that has seen the enemy face-to-face, the companions must find this person. They themselves cannot do so, since Daemons lack the ability to open Warp Gates, and this person has been travelling throughout different Planes. They then reveal who the person is: Stavarus, the Daemon hunter… Soul Reaver’s old comrade and employer, back when Soul Reaver was but a mortal mercenary (see Soul Reaver’s backstory if you need to).
- To aid Soul Reaver in his quest, Heartbane (painfully) blasts him with a bolt of energy that confers to him the ability to see the trail left by Stavarus’ soul, as well as giving Soul Reaver the knowledge of Stavarus’ last-known whereabouts.
- Soul Reaver and the companions travel to the location, feeling an eerie presence in the Warp as they travel through it. They arrive on a ‘normal’ looking world in the Mortal Plane. Soul Reaver and the companions follow Stavarus’ path North.
- Soul Reaver reveals what he knows of Stavarus’ past (that he was a dedicated Daemon Hunter but had a difficult personality, and that his Warp Travelling powers must be new, since Stavarus never used to use much magic other than what was absolutely necessary for his Daemon hunting.) The companions are then ambushed by a troop of soldiers, but they are easily defeated – it turns out they have trespassed into some sort of kingdom, but are made guests by Koshima, the leader of the soldiers. Since Stavarus went this way anyway, Soul Reaver allows Koshima to take them to the castle.
- As they enter the castle, Soul Reaver feels a sudden, pounding pain in his chest, but it fades. Soul Reaver tries not to show this pain to the others. He apparently ‘expected something like this’, but we don’t find out what he is referring to yet.
- After some introductions, Soul Reaver suddenly sees a black-cloaked figure watching the companions. He has a vision, and sees the figure as a dark-souled entity, willingly dancing to the manipulations of the dark threads that envelop it. He and the companions chase the figure, realising it is an agent of their enemy.
- Soul Reaver, Asaki and Shenba pursue the dark-robed figure, but as they are about to catch him, he single-handedly smashes them all aside using magical spells. During this time, he reveals what he really looks like – an inhuman, dragon-like skeleton, with only a few shreds of rotting flesh still clinging to its bones. It is clearly intelligent, and reveals its name: Khora the Black. It also seems to know who the companions are, but before Soul Reaver can grab him, he phases through a wall and, extending a pair of tattered wings, floats safely down to the ground and escapes into the city streets far below.
- The companions are arrested for causing a ruckus. They do not resist, since they have no quarrel with these people.
- The companions are accused of having come to assassinate the (somewhat paranoid) queen, Riana. They mount their defence, with Soul Reaver stating they are simply looking for a lost companion.
- However, during the middle of the court proceedings, an unnatural Darkness spell envelops the surroundings. The windows shatter as Khora the Black dives into the room and stabs at the queen with a poisoned dagger. Koshima manages to prevent her from dying, but the poisoned blade nonetheless cuts her arm. Khora gloats at the companions before disappearing. When light returns, the companions are violently seized, since the guards think they were responsible for the attempted assassination.
- Soul Reaver eventually manages to convince Koshima of their good intentions by healing the poison Riana suffered. She allows the companions to be released, and (after being asked), reveals that Stavarus was here, demanding to use the library. Apparently he was unpleasant, but insistent, so they agreed.
- Investigating the library, Soul Reaver follows Stavarus’ trail and find that Stavarus checked over the books, but he has not way of knowing which one he would have read. Stavarus then left, Warp Travelling elsewhere. Soul Reaver suddenly feels pain in his chest and coughs up blood, but nobody notices yet. Then, Soul Reaver and the companions open a Warp Gate to follow Stavarus into the Warp, where Soul Reaver can continue to follow his trail.
- The companions find themselves on a rocky plain that seems somehow familiar to Soul Reaver. Shortly after all the companions are gathered and the Warp Gate closes, Soul Reaver seems to remember something – he tries to cast a spell, only to see it sizzle and die. None of the companions’ powers work here!
- Soul Reaver remembers having been here before several hundred years previously – none of the companions’ powers will work normally without a huge effort of will unless they leave the area of the energy drain… what is more, they cannot open any Warp Gates. As this is revealed, the companions are found by some of the planet’s inhabitants – giant brutish creatures called OGHRUN.
- The OGHRUN fight the companions, and without their powers they fall to the huge toughness and strength of these creatures. They are put into a slave wagon and taken to the OGHRUN city.
- As they are taken to the capital city of GURDEKUK, the companions see a huge tower mounted with a huge orange Gem at the city’s centre. Soul Reaver reveals that these creatures, the OGHRUN, were once slaves to a race of evil sorcerers called the Inja ‘Del. Soul Reaver helped liberate them by constructing the orange Vortex Gem now mounted on the tower in the city – it drains away all magical energies, and thus allowed the physically superior OGHRUN to overthrow the evil Inja ‘Del. However, in the years that have passed, the OGHRUN have grown hateful towards all magic-users (Sorcerous Ones) and now use THEM as slaves... even their own kind, if they show any talent for magic. With the tower focusing the powers of the Vortex Gem properly, its draining powers could extend for a radius of about 500 kilometres in every direction.
- Soul Reaver is still revered by the OGHRUN as their ‘NERKAN’ (their saviour), but a statue they have erected of him shows why they did not recognize him – he looks significantly less impressive in person than the statue makes him appear… and what is more, the statue is of a giant that stands even taller than the massive OGHRUN. Clearly, the truth was distorted somewhat over time. The only good news is that Stavarus’ trail leads into the city as well… apparently, he managed to stay out of sight, unlike the companions.
- The companions learn they will be used as fighters in the ‘KOHAL TREGO’ (‘Final Uprising’) which is a re-enactment of the final battles of liberation against the Inja ‘Del. Unfortunately, these have become gladiator-type games between slaves. One person may gain the title of Slave King (being the overall winner and gaining certain priviledges), and skilled slaves are not usually killed (since that would be unproductive), but things are likely to turn brutal.
- Soul Reaver has Blooddrinker taken away from him. The sword does not attempt to resist (perhaps it can’t, since it too is affected by the magic-drain.)
- The companions first fight against some hound-like creatures to show their skills. They are then split up into separate cells. Soul Reaver is handed an envelope by an OGHRUN guard, while the other companions are directed towards various fights. In one of these fights, Tamrissa is made to fight against Gulver. Soul Reaver reads the letter in the envelope, but we don’t yet discover what it says… whatever it is, it’s obviously bad.
- During the fights (in which Soul Reaver takes no part), Soul Reaver has another vision… in which he sees Khora advancing towards some vile node within the web. He is clearly about to do something terrible. Soul Reaver, however, can do nothing to stop him from within his prison.
- Tamrissa and Gulver’s battle is largely undecided, and before they kill each other, the battle is interrupted by a merchant who likes the two slaves and decides to buy them. Thus, their fight comes to a conclusion. The other companions are also victorious (more or less) and are led away.
- Then, Soul Reaver is taken out… to fight for the title of Slave King. Apparently, his ‘similarity’ to the NERKON has not gone unnoticed, which is why he was chosen for this. He has to fight last year’s Slave King, massive OGHRUN himself. Soul Reaver and the OGHRUN are chained up and set to fighting each other.
- The fight is extremely gruelling, but manages to awaken enough energy within Soul Reaver that the Vortex Gem cannot drain them all away. He wins, and to appear more like the NERKON, asks for Blooddrinker back. The OGHRUN foolishly agree, and so, before the power he gained fades once more, Soul Reaver expends every drop of energy he can to hurl the sword through the arena wall and at the tower. Unfortunately, he misses the gem, only succeeding in severing one of the chains holding the tower upright – it remains standing.
- Even so, the damage done to the arena allowed a host of slaves to escape, and they throw themselves on the OGHRUN (it is here that Kitharsis, the lizard-like guy joins our group). The slaves free the companions, and go to try and destroy the tower. Well-armed OGHRUN soldiers stand at the base of the tower to defend it.
- After a tough battle, the companions manage to reach the top of the tower just as the OGHRUN military is striking back. Soul Reaver pushes the Vortex Gem from the tower, but the fall does not destroy it. However, one OGHRUN, who was held as a slave, walks up to the gem and smashes it to pieces.
- With their powers returned to them, the slaves and the companions strike back at the OGHRUN with a vengeance.
- With the battle over and the last OGHRUN resistance crushed, Kawanua finally regains his senses. Once all the companions are gathered, Soul Reaver reveals what was in the letter he was given: the letter was from Khora, and revealed that he bribed the OGHRUN to let him go and ensure the companions’ capture. He then proceeded to reveal that he had found the ‘Prison of Eternity’ and was close to breaking the final seal that would give him access to the chamber where the corpses of the Dark Legion had been locked. The Dark Legion were a dangerous army of ages past that had been imprisoned in the Prison of Eternity for their crimes. However, Khora is a powerful Necromancer, and he could resurrect them, and intends to use them to scour the Planes to find and destroy Stavarus. Unless he is stopped from resurrecting the Dark Legion, it may be too late to find Stavarus.
- The companions follow Stavarus’ trail to a museum in the OGHRUN city. He has clearly looked through the museum records for something, but it is impossible to tell what. The companions follow his trail to outside the (now dissipated) range of the Vortex Gem, to where Stavarus left for the Warp. Here, they decide what to do.
- Several companions (led by Asaki) decide they will try to stop Khora at the Prison of Eternity, before he can release the Dark Legion, hopefully be ambushing him when he returns to try and open the final seal. The rest (including Soul Reaver, since he is the only one who can see Stavarus’ trail) decide to try and catch up with Stavarus. Thus they split into two groups.
- Asaki’s group appears at the Prison of Eternity, in front of the first (broken) seal. They go inside, and see a black-robed Khora walking ahead of them. They sneak up and attack him, destroying him in one hit… only to discover that it is a magical double – it howls loudly. If the REAL Khora is here, he will now definitely know the companions have arrived. Asaki’s group realises they’ve lost the element of surprise and rush down the corridor. They find the final seal penetrated, and as they rush through, they activate several magical runic traps (Chill, Statis and Mindstealer traps, to be precise), and suffer nastily from them. The companions run into the main chamber, where Khora is completing his summoning over the Dark Legions’ remains. While he continues the casting, the party finds they have run into an ambush – they are attacked from the front by Wraiths, while the ‘suits of armour’ they passed in the corridor turn out to be armoured skeletons that attack them from behind. As Asaki tries to stop Khora the mysterious dark entity interferes directly, tearing a multitude of Warp Gates into the air that spit out bolts of black magic at the party. Just when things seem to be as bad as they could get, Khora completes the summoning, and the Dark Legion rise as an army of incredibly powerful undead warriors (excellent, intelligent fighters, almost indestructible, and magic-resistant, too… 3 or 4 of them are a match for one of the companions). Asaki and the others have failed, and retreat through a Warp Gate.
- While this was going on, Soul Reaver and his party appeared in another world. Travelling to a nearby village, they learned that Stavarus was there maybe two days ago, asking to stay the night and saying he was looking for Grafford the Seer from Ternmill, the neighbouring village. However, after that night, when the villagers asked him to help with a woman they feared may be possessed by a Daemon, he went to ‘help’, but actually slit the woman’s throat and killed her entire family, and in the scuffle that ensued against the villagers, burned their cottage down. Soul Reaver and his companions are shocked to hear this – this does not sound like the Stavarus Soul Reaver once knew. The companions follow his Stavarus’ trail further. They find out from a Gypsy that Grafford the Seer is a small hedge-wizard who collects mystical artefacts, and points them in the direction of Ternmill. When the companions arrive there though, the town is in disgusting, sludge-covered ruin. They learn from the last dying victim that a dark-robed figure (Khora) was there two days ago, and was most likely the cause of the plague. Stavarus passed through one day ago, and had visited Grafford – apparently the plague was not so bad then. The villager dies, and undead Plaguebearers arise from the sludge and attack the companions. They only barely manage to fight them off, although they are infected with plague themselves.
- Asaki’s party rejoins Soul Reaver and the others. Apparently the plague village was designed as a trap for Stavarus and a delaying mechanism for the companions, and it has worked, since the companions now have to rest and magically purge the plague from their bodies. Soul Reaver also destroys Ternmill completely with a Heaven’s Roar spell to ensure the plague does not spread.
- Following Stavarus’ trail through the Warp again, the companions find themselves in another Mortal Plane world. They find out from a group of wounded knights that the nearby fortress, Lordstern, has suddenly come under siege. On their arrival, they find the Dark Legion crawling everywhere, besieging the citadel with magical siege-weapons. Stavarus’ trail leads straight into the citadel, which is surrounded by a Planar Seal that prevents anyone inside from using a Warp Gate to escape… most likely, that means that Stavarus is trapped inside.
- Using a stolen Spirit Engine, the companions ram through the battle lines and enter the citadel. At the last moment, they find and rescue Stavarus (who reveals that Soul Reaver’s REAL name is Rhavin Ironheart). Dispelling the Planar Seal, the companions and Stavarus escape through the hostile Warp to another world.
- Stavarus seems very ungrateful, saying that the ‘interruption’ would cost him dearly. He is very rude and unfriendly to everyone. Also, Soul Reaver once more feels pain in his chest and coughs up blood – he decides he will have to ‘do something about it’ soon.
- Apparently, Stavarus still uses runic magic for enchanting his weapons (since SOME magic is required to hurt Daemons) and Soul Reaver notes that Stavarus’ skill in this has improved slightly.
- Everyone prepares to rest around a campfire. Stavarus almost kills Thisias with his crossbow, thinking him a Daemon from his appearance, until Soul Reaver arrives and prevents him from pulling the trigger. Stavarus continues being unpleasant while a meal is cooked.
- Soul Reaver coughs again, and decides to take action. Together with Tukedo and Stavarus, Soul Reaver has Tukedo cut open his chest and has Stavarus remove a small Daemon (an Oblivion Mite) from within. He reveals that this creature was secretly implanted there by Heartbane at the Pandemonium fortress. It was what let him see Stavarus’ trail, but was also to serve as a spy for the Daemon Princes… and as a beacon that would allow the Daemons to claim Soul Reaver’s soul if he died. He suspected that treachery from the beginning, however, and now can remove, since he does not need to follow Stavarus’ trail anymore.
- Unfortunately, in explaining the presence of the Oblivion Mite to the others, he forgets about Stavarus. In hearing of the deal with the Daemon Princes, he goes almost berserk, and viciously insults all the companions… and towards Soul Reaver, he mentions someone called ‘Shaana’ and someone called ‘Darius’, asking if he had abandoned them as well as his principles. This makes Soul Reaver furious, and he storms off.
- Asaki goes after Soul Reaver, and he reveals a lot about his past to her. As a mortal, he was married to a woman called Shaana, and had a child called Darius. However, after his immortality awakened, he spent more and more time away from them, fighting for ‘justice’. Once, when he returned, he discovered that Shaana had died of illness… and Darius had wrested power from the local baron and was now a cruel tyrant. Soul Reaver tried to talk to him, but could not talk any sense into the boy… and ended up killing him, in justice’s name. Since then, Soul Reaver left his mortality and all it entailed behind. An attempted love with another woman failed… his immortality and sense of duty meant that she grew old and faded while he was away, and she found another love to live and die with. He feels that he is a mortal mind trapped in an immortal body. He feels he should never dare to love another, since everything, to him, is fleeting and finite… and even other immortals can die. Yet, he confesses, he loves Asaki despite him wishing he could repress and avoid such feelings… and he finds this very difficult to deal with.
- Asaki talks to Soul Reaver, helping him regain his self-control. Then they return to the camp to talk to Stavarus.
- Apparently, Stavarus is unaware of how long he has been away (several thousand years). Soul Reaver interrogates Stavarus, showing him the visions of the web and detailing everything that has happened thus far. He asks Stavarus what he knows of the enemy they face, and that supposedly only he has seen.
- Stavarus reveals that after his death, he THOUGHT he’d been taken to Inferno. However, this was obviously wrong. He was in the thrall of a terrible Daemon, who called itself the Warp Lord – he never heard its real name. He was tortured for his entire time there… whatever it was, the way he speaks of it makes it clear it was terrible. He reveals that once, the Warp Lord’s powers seem to wane enough for him to see a black-cowled figure speaking with another figure that Stavarus thought had to be the Warp Lord. The Warp Lord told the cowled figure (undoubtedly it was Khora), that he needed to find and destroy the ‘Staff of Ashara’, the only weapon that could harm him. With this knowledge, Stavarus apparently found the strength within himself to escape the Warp Lord’s prison, and, with the Warp Lord at his heels, escape his dimension. When he awoke after his escape, he found himself upon a Mortal Plane world, with a working living body once more (which, by the way, looks the same as he did before). Since then, he has been looking to find the Staff of Ashara so that he can find the Warp Lord, and kill him to get his revenge.
- When asked why he murdered that family in the village they had visited earlier, Stavarus reveals that he did it to stop a Daemonic taint from spreading. Apparently, he is fanatical about his Daemon hunting – far, far more so than ever before.
- Stavarus also reveals he has come some way to finding the Staff. He discovered two things in the library of the court of queen Riana: that the staff was once held in the city of the Inja ‘Del, and that a certain word is required to activate the staff. Stavarus committed the word to memory… and then destroyed the book. Thus, he is the only one now who can use it. Travelling to the city of the Inja ‘Del (now the city of the OGHRUN), he found the Staff had been stolen long ago… but the Inja ‘Del also had made a magical lens by which to track it. However, the lens had eventually been traded for more valuable artefacts with a Warp Traveller from Tylia. So Stavarus went to Tylia, where he obtained the lens from Grafford the Seer (a descendant of said Warp Traveller). With the lens, Stavarus can follow the path of the Staff. That’s what he was doing when he was ambushed by the Dark Legion in Lordstern.
- Stavarus makes a deal with the companions. He will let them ‘tag along’, since he feels they will make good bodyguards. However, he will be the one who uses the staff, and will not reveal the word that activates it to the companions. He wants to be sure he is the one who gets to kill the Warp Lord.
- The next location the lens points to is Shundahre – Soul Reaver and Stavarus’ original homeworld. Soul Reaver looks pained when this is said, and it becomes clear why. After opening a Warp Gate there, the world turns out to be completely dead. It was devastated in a post-industrial age nuclear war a long time ago. Stavarus adds this to his reasons for seeking vengeance against the Warp Lord… he has taken any chance of a homecoming from Stavarus as well.
- Tracks in the dust there show that the Dark Legion is also trying to find the Staff. Using the lens, Stavarus finds the staff’s next possible destination, and everyone heads through the Warp to find it.
- The next place is a ruined city… and the Dark Legion are everywhere, ripping the city apart in their search for the staff. The companions try to fight them to protect Stavarus, but are outnumbered.
- To their surprise, Stavarus, in his frustration at the companions’ inability to prevail, joins the battle himself… and he is INCREDIBLY good. He single-handedly lays waste to massive numbers of Dark Legionnaires, receiving little more than a scratch himself. After their eventual victory, Stavarus finds where they have to go to next.
- The next location is a festering swamp. Here, they momentarily see Khora watching them before he takes off… and the Warp Lord sends horrific tentacled minions at the companions through twisted Warp Gates (these creatures prove, after the battle, to apparently be composed of solidified, corrupted Warp energy… something that should be pretty much impossible to create). The tentacled Behemoths cause Stavarus to accidentally drop the lens. However, it is retrieved by the (swamp-dwelling) Kitharsis upon our victory. During the battle, however, Lt. Peterson disappears in a blaze of chaos energy. Despite our best efforts, we cannot find him. The companions then have to move on to then next location the lens indicates.
- This place is an ancient ruined cathedral… where the Dark Legion are waiting, hidden, in ambush. They hit Stavarus through the chest with a massive ballista bolt before anyone can stop them. Soul Reaver, horrified and angered, as well as his companions, launch themselves at the Dark Legionnaires to get revenge.
- Suddenly, Stavarus rises again… and transforms into a hideous, four-winged Daemon! With a field of anti-reality rippling around him, the shreds the Dark Legionnaires apart with absolutely unbelievable power.
- Reverting back to human form, Soul Reaver discovers that Stavarus was not telling the whole truth… this body was the final torture inflicted upon Stavarus by the Warp Lord. On escaping from the Warp Lord, Stavarus found his soul imprisoned in a Daemon body, so that he becomes what he hates the most. His human form is merely a disguise of sorts… it is not his ‘natural’ form anymore. Stavarus’ quest for vengeance is intended to be suicidal – using the Staff would most likely kill Stavarus as well. But he does not care as long as he can get revenge.
- The lens shows them that the next location is the fortress of The Collector, a man named Demitrius who collects rare (and often dangerous) magical items. With the lens, they now know how to penetrate his Planar Seal and enter his fortress. (Note..
- In Demitrius’ fortress, we meet Sera, Kawanua’s daughter, who joins us. From her, we find out that Demitrius’ magical guardians were attacked, and the fortress invaded. We meet Matthias and Damien, who were hired by Khora for this attack, but who we convince to join us.
- We find Khora, who has just slain Demitrius, in the main chamber. He is there with several elite Legionnaires, who are capable of casting spells as well. Jihon re-joins us here. We fight Khora, and after a long, tough battle, Khora, in a last, desperate bid, tries to use the Staff of Ashara against the companions. However, Asaki kills him before he succeeds.
- The companions now have the Staff of Ashara, and discover (from a book in Soul Reaver’s Sanctuary) that it functions by draining and focusing the energies from the wielder. When its creator (a dying, crazy old sorcerer) used the Staff of Ashara, it was powerful enough to destroy an entire continent, but the drain killed him too. Soul Reaver suspects that if a mortal uses the staff, it would be fatal, but one of the immortal companions using it would most likely survive. Even so, Stavarus still insists on being the one to kill the Warp Lord, since he himself does not want to live… if the Staff kills him, he does not care.
- As they rest in preparation for the final battle, Soul Reaver has a vision of impending doom, the web almost closing around everyone. It seems they must hurry.
- Stavarus says he remember where he escaped from the Warp Lord, and can bring the companions there. Together, they take a Warp Gate to that location.
- The find themselves on a twisted world filled with tortured spirits, half-immersed in a huge, corrupted gash in reality. The planet hovers in front of an unimaginably huge Warp Gate, which threatens to spill out like a huge, bleeding wound. The tortured, horror-filled world the companions find themselves on is in the state it is in because the Warp Lords rules for his corrupted Warp are supplanting the normal rules of the Mortal Plane there. It is a border-world to the Warp Lord’s domain.
- The companions float into the massive Warp Gate. Here, the Warp Lord holds sway over the Warp, and it turns out that opening Warp Gates here is impossible… the Warp Lord’s will opposes it. Also, here Soul Reaver discovers that this huge gate is but one of countless gates, leading into every Plane in the multiverse… even Inferno. If they were to open any more, then it is likely that it would rupture the fabric of the multiverse, causing this corrupted Warp to spill into all realities, allowing the Warp Lord complete domination over everything, everywhere. Even Inferno is threatened by one of these portals, which explains why the Daemon Princes want the Warp Lord dead. (According to Blooddrinker, the Daemons cannot travel in this corrupted Warp without being destroyed).
- Soul Reaver decides that the Staff of Ashara should be tested before continuing, to ensure that it really works… he volunteers to do so, knowing it probably won’t kill him.
- On promising to Stavarus that he will still allow Stavarus to use the Staff against the Warp Lord, Stavarus tells Soul Reaver the word needed to ‘awaken’ the staff. Soul Reaver speaks it, and then unleashes the Staff of Ashara against the tortured world below. It literally disintegrates the entire planet in a roaring explosion. Soul Reaver is severely drained, but survives.
- The companions fly further into the corrupted Warp… and discover a whole world built out of solidified Warp energy. It is terrifying to behold. The Warp Lord’s constantly twisting citadel is visible on the horizon – the companions push their way through the horrors that surround them to get there.
- The companions decide to hide the real Staff of Ashara by hiding Stavarus with a cloaking device, and to give Asaki a fake duplicate of it, so that Stavarus can use it to launch a surprise attack when the Warp Lord is distracted.
- The companions enter the Warp Lord’s fortress, and find him. He is huge, but clearly can shift forms at will… at present, he appears to be a giant, six-armed, eight-winged Daemon, faces and images crawling across his constantly shifting body.
- Blooddrinker reveals that the Warp Lord is actually called ‘Blackrend’. He was a Daemon Lord (just like Blooddrinker) in ages past, but plotted to overthrow the Infernal Council. In response, they tricked him, banishing him into the Warp. However, something unplanned happened – due to his power, Blackrend was NOT destroyed from his prolonged stay in the Warp. Instead, he learned to make the Warp a part of him, and eventually, to control it. (Clearly, Blackrend is thus considered a renegade Daemon by Inferno, and a powerful one at that… another reason they want him dead.)
- The companions attack Blackrend with all they can muster… but like Stavarus in his Daemon form (but on a much, much bigger scale), Blackrend summons an anti-reality field around himself. All the companions’ efforts are completely futile – their attacks cannot even penetrate a centimetre past this barrier. Even so, they continue to fight, to distract Blackrend from the cloaked Stavarus and the Staff of Ashara that he is charging up…
- Finally, Stavarus appears as the cloaking device fails… just as the Staff fires.
- Stavarus collapses from the energy drain. The bright light from the beam fades… and to everyone’s horror, Blackrend is completely untouched. He seizes the staff and has it enveloped by his iron throne.
- The Warp Lord finally reveals the truth: he easily saw through the cloaking, realised the other staff was a decoy… he can read the companions’ very minds. He never had anything to fear from the staff – his anti-reality field protects him from it just like it does from everything else.
- He reveals that he himself cannot open Warp Gates, just like all Daemons… but he also shows the ceiling of the chamber holds hundreds and hundreds of captured Warp Travellers, now almost lifeless, kept in tormented life only by Blackrends power. He leeches their energies away to give him the ability to tear open Warp Gates of his own. The giant Warp Gates the companions entered his domain by are almost large enough to cause the Warp to spill into all realities… all Blackrend needs to do now is dominate a few more Warp Travellers to give him the power to do so. Obviously, he intends for the companions are these Warp Travellers.
- He reveals that the Shadowlord that originally slew Stavarus was one his unknowing puppets. He then tortured Stavarus, and infused him with a spark of his own essence, knowing that all these things would make Stavarus HATE him with a passion… and then he LET Stavarus go.
- Another puppet was the Dark Sorcerer that Soul Reaver slew and whose death began the visions for Soul Reaver, which would start him on his path. Blackrend then later captured and tortured Soul Reaver for a while, so that he would have the determination to find and kill the Warp Lord. He then let Soul Reaver go, to enmesh the other companions in his foolish quest.
- He manipulated the council in Inferno too, letting them know that he was still alive so that they could guide the companions on their path towards him.
- Khora was simply a puppet that did not realise the full extent of Blackrend’s plans. He was simply there to convince the companions that the Staff could actually harm Blackrend, so that they would come to him thinking they had a chance… now, of course, they really didn’t have one. All the challenges the companions faced were designed simply to make the companions think that Blackrend was actually trying to keep them away. He used their determination against them.
- Blackrend then thanks Stavarus, saying that although he never realised it, he had become just like Blackrend himself… that he was a Daemon inside and out. Stavarus collapsed and wept at this.
- Blackrend now attacks, intent on toying with and disabling the companions, so he can use them to fuel the last of his plan. He attacks each companion with an individually-picked horror, created and made real from the Warp energy that surrounds them all. None of the companions can do anything to Blackrend – his anti-reality shield protects him completely.
- Soul Reaver desperately tries to get Stavarus to join the fight. He tries to convince him that his own will and sense of self is far greater than anything the Warp Lord forced on him.
- Stavarus finally sees the truth in Soul Reaver’s words, and, allowing himself to revert to Daemon form, hurls himself at Blackrend. With his own anti-reality field around him, the two slam into each other’s barriers repeatedly… and suddenly, both barriers crack and shatter! Stavarus managed to match Blackrend’s power though his own will and soul, going far beyond just what Blackrend infused in him.
- Stavarus is thrown clear and knocked unconscious in the explosion, but Blackrend’s barrier is now permanently destroyed… part of his very essence has been ripped from him. The companions all fight him with all they’re worth – he no longer pulls any punches, and neither do they.
- After an insanely huge fight, Blackrend is at the point of death, and as a final attack, prepares to Unmake all the companions with a last, deadly spell. All the companions respond with simultaneous attacks of their own, with Soul Reaver guiding them all onto a single point. The attacks all hit and Blackrend is finally destroyed.
- The companions escape the collapsing fortress, and Soul Reaver takes Stavarus with him, as well as ‘taking’ the souls of the trapped and now dead Warp Travellers, and the Staff of Ashara.
- Deravon joins us once we have all escaped through a portal of Jihon’s making.
-After Soul Reaver releases the Warp Traveller’s souls to their eternal rest, Stavarus takes his leave. He says he realises now that one’s own will is the only force that truly makes us who we are. As long as it remains true, so do we. He then leaves to atone for his past wrongs, taking the Staff of Ashara with him in order to find a way to seal it away forever.
- People say their farewells as Stavarus leaves. Credits roll.

The Aftermath

- One very important event here: Asaki is sought out and found by a group called the Soreans. Apparently, they have come to arrest her for crimes she committed a long time ago. She is officially found not guilty of the crimes, but is told she must join the Soreans in their hunt for other criminals to make up for her past deeds. She leaves with them after saying her farewells, and is then gone.
- We learn that Lt. Peterson is still alive in the Eye of Terror, but being tortured horribly.
- Jihon shows Soul Reaver some sort of unnatural Plane growing within the Warp (he calls it a ‘Warp Tumour’). Jihon wants to investigate it, and needs to find that (disappeared) Thisas to do so.
- Gulver fights against Tamrissa and Fei on Cenzar. He goes into ‘purge mode’ and kills massive amounts of people, but is eventually sucked into the abyss… and thought destroyed.
- Looking to right some wrongs, Soul Reaver arrives at a (futuristic) space colony and saves a guy called Commander Gideon, his squad, and a huge bunch of colonists from certain death at the hands of terrible aliens called Ravenors.
- Kitharsis evolves into another form. He now has powerful tattoos and affinity to the desert, but can no longer shape-shift.
- Thisias brings Zera to the Matri Vihar temple, then leaves, saying he will call for her when he needs her.

Salt in the Wound, Part 1 (Battle Host: Jihon)

- People rejoin Jihon on his ship. Apparently, the Warp Tumour is growing twice as fast, and it is linked to Thisias. When he entered the Solid Plane, it temporarily stopped growing. Jihon also reveal that Thisias’ REAL father is Samita Bed, who also wears a mask.
- Jihon speaks a bit about the Matri Vihar and their ability to change reality, as well as their belief in two opposing gods: Gia (Goddess of creation) and Aku (God of destruction). The companions then travel to a desert outside the Matri Vihar village, in order to go to the village and hopefully find Thisias.
- The companions fight some Ant Lions. They win.
- The companions enter the Matri Vihar village and have to disarm themselves.
- Tamrissa is, in the meantime, asked by a guy called Willem to go to Eire with him. She eventually agrees. They go to Eire… lots of stuff happens, but not enough of it is significant for me to wade through all those posts. (They remain there until I say they return to the others.)
- Zera watches the companions (hiding herself in illusion), while the search for Thisias.
- Soul Reaver sneaks away while the disguised Zera tries to fool the others. HE goes to meeth Thisias at the temple. Thisias is changed – he looks more human now. However, he acts odd. He reveals that inside the Warp Tumour is the forger of the masks of evil. His name is Balok, and he is the brother of Aku.
- The companions get attacked by the Tribe of Aku. They retreat on Thisas’ behest into the catacombs. Clutchfiend appears and tells Soul Reaver that apparently the Imperium is preparing to strike against the forces of Chaos… and intend to ask the companions for help with it. Then he leaves.
- Jihon leads the others through a Warp Gate to escape.
- Jihon decides to go and fight in the Warp Tumour (since he cannot die), and tells the companions to go up the river to North City. Meanwhile, Samita Bed meets with the regenerated Gulver and makes him an offer of employment…
- The companions go upriver towards North City.
- A guy called Ikerus/Bethedral appears and talks to Soul Reaver. Apparently Jihon walked into a trap by going to the Warp Tumour.
- The companions meet Thisias and then go to meet a friend of Jihon’s in the city. It turns out that friend is Stryder. Jihon contacts the companions via Stryder’s lips, revealing that his presence in the Warp Tumour may have given Balok the power he needs to escape. However, Jihon adds that he should be able to hold Balok at bay for at least a year… until that time, the companions should stay away.
- Bethedral/Ikerus shows up, telling the companions that he is Jihon’s identical twin (beneath his mask) and no longer serves the Bed family. He also states that Balok wants to force the companions to enter the Warp Tumour so he can use their energies to escape it. Apparently, he has no known weaknesses.
- Ishad Bed appears, knowing that Bethedral has betrayed him. However, they do not fight. Ishad disappears, telling Bethedral he will see him at the tournament. Bethedral leaves soon afterwards.
- Clutchfiend contacts Soul Reaver, saying he has something important to tell him. He reveals that the Council of the Imperium has decided to ask the companions to lead a strike against the Temple of Disorder in the Eye of Terror, hoping to crush the forces of Chaos… and that he is being tracked by dangerous psykers, which we shouldn’t try to fight. He then leaves. Danyael joins us here – he ‘replaces’ Kanshisha.
- After asking the other companions to meet again in a year in order for Clutchfiend to inform them all of this quest, Soul Reaver senses the arrival of the enemies Clutchfiend mentioned. One of them is Abbadon the Despoiler. He tries to tempt Soul Reaver, but the warrior is not tempted… and makes his escape by using a pre-prepared ruse on Abbadon, distracting him with an illusionary duplicate.
- Soul Reaver contacts all the companions, telling them of the meeting in a year.

The Eye of Terror (Battle Host: Clutchfiend)

- The companions gather together again. Kelvack joins us here, as well as Arhra. Tamrissa rejoins them as well… but Fei decides to stay in Eire with a past love.
- An Imperial envoy arrives to contact the companions.
- Arhra insults and threatens the companions… Soul Reaver suddenly seems to go berserk as a result, Blooddrinker taking control of him. In the battle, the possessed Soul Reaver kills Danyael’s friend, Gale. Danyael resurrects him, but it is difficult, and Danyael now distrusts Soul Reaver.
- The companions travel to another planet (I think), and stay at a hotel. They are to go down to the hotel bar the next day.
- The bar gets unexpectedly attacked by some escaped criminals. They are easily stopped. Natalya and Iago join us at this point. A man in the bar, the hooded Imperial assassin Igtenos, reveals himself, and arrests Natalya for being a Daemon.
- Abbadon recruits Xeno for his cause.
- Soul Reaver argues Natalya’s case to Clutchfiend, saying she has not actually done anyone harm, and is not a creature of Inferno.
- Kawanua and Sera disappear, probably to Everworld. On instructions from Igtenos, the companions are Warped to Cellaris V and trek across the desert towards a nearby fortified city.
- Soul Reaver, Yue and Danyael have a vision of Everworld, with Kawanua and Sera in danger, threatened by the evil Kawen. They cannot do anything yet though.
- Clutchfiend shows the companions a tower at the centre of the city, which allows things here to grow. It is filled with powerful elemental energies.
- Shenba appears, injured, at the gate, and then is kidnapped by a bunch of draconions who take her to Everworld. Soul Reaver, Yue, and Danyael pursue the draconians, intent on rescuing Kawanua, Sera and Shenba from Kawen. To make it simple: they succeed… but Everworld appears to be in ruins. They return to the companions.
- While Yue, Soul Reaver and Danyael are away, the others get attacked by some Warp Wraiths who were attracted by the Warp Gates. The companions win.
- Clutchfiend removes Fei’s link to Tamrissa… this almost destroys Fei, but he reappears later… and doesn’t appear to be a vampire anymore. Alex and Mystara (his nymph wife(?) from the past) are with him as well when this happens.
- At a briefing, everyone is told that they are to be an elite strike team attacking the Chaos forces.
- Tamrissa, Clutchfiend, and his elemental allies (can’t recall all their names… one of them is called Garr, another Karyl, another Kari, I think...) are given magical, elemental swords. For Tamrissa, this replaces the link she had with Fei… a necessary step to stop her from going crazy.
- Soul Reaver is given the responsibility of looking after and judging Natalya. Clutchfiend trusts his judgement to understand the Daemon.
- The fortress comes under attack by a huge force of Tyranids.
- Gulver shows up too, making his unpleasant presence felt by attacking Matthias and Damien.
- The battle rages on, but the companions and marines are eventually victorious… with some unexpected help. Commander Gideon, which Soul Reaver saved long ago, has now been promoted to Admiral, and followed Soul Reaver to repay the debt of honour… he deploys a whole cruiser full of troops that help the companions win against the Tyranid hordes. Admiral Gideon says a few words, then leaves, his debt repaid.
- Tamrissa speaks with Gulver, who reveals that he regenerated from some left-over cells after he was swallowed by the abyss. As the two parley in the desert, Fei goes berserk, apparently controlled by his abyssal darker half.
- The companions manage to prevent Fei’s rampage, but not until after he has cut down Tamrissa…

[Veldanya Venalla]

*YOU swing at WALL OF TEXT and miss*
*WALL OF TEXT laughs maniacally at your feeble assault*
*YOU have been critically hit for over 9,000 points of damage by WALL OF TEXT*
*YOU have succumbed to your wounds*

[Soul Reaver]

And that's the summary.  You should see the full thing!