One minute I held the key - the next the walls were closed on me and I discovered that my castles stand, upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand
Elizabeth has finally come to terms with the fact that she is unlikely to be able to avenge the demise of Gedhrent by trying to hunt down the instigators of the Great Dying/Pantheon? Creation in Durholme.
It was the wicked and wild wind, blew down the doors to let me in, shattered windows and the sound of drums...people couldn't believe what I'd become.
She decided to start fresh in a new city, carrying on the good work of keeping the Prime pure with her trusty crossbow to replace the ranged miracles which she used to be able to cast. Sadly this no longer paid - tithes to Gedhrent having dried up under the new world order - so she also took up a series of casual jobs supplemented by petty thievery to support herself whilst still allowing time for the true calling of demon-prevention.
I used to rule the world - seas would rise when I gave the word - but now I sleep alone, I sweep the streets that I used to own.
Grantabrugge seemed like a good place to start her new life - it is said to be frequently attacked by demons and of course, it is the centre of magical teaching for the whole of Wessex. Where better to learn how to open and seal portals to the demon realms herself? Of course, now she was on her own rather than part of the Family of Gedhrent like in the Old Days.
Are you questioning your size? Is there a tumour in your humour? Are there bags under your eyes? Do you leave dents where you sit? Are you getting on a bit? But you'll survive. YOU MUST SURVIVE.
Having made herself known to the relevant demon-hunting groups in the city and enrolled in the Brotherhood, Elizabeth started to steadily progress her plan. She gained a focus and some basic ritual experience, and has even managed to use it in a relevant Gedhrenti situation on one occasion to close down a portal through which an Oni was about to appear (they got him next time, though). Some other missions were less successful, for example her adventure to the plane of Hob, where she lost a leg, failed to kill an Oni and met some very dubious Bastites from Aegyptus...but you win some, you lose some. Working in Grantabrugge turned out to be expensive in crossbows, but rewarding in other ways. For example, on one occasion a tip-off about the whereabouts of a royal paychest led to the (brief) ownership of so much gold that the weight of it ripped the pocket off the coat she was carrying it in, on another she acquired a very fine dress. She even helped represent Grantabrugge at the Highland Games, where the Chief of the Moray was killed (very satisfyingly as he had just gloated about sacking Durholme, where Elizabeth still had friends). Even the inconvenient need to move house abruptly and with no forwarding address after the Aegyptians staying with her started a territorial fight with the Bastite street gang who were also invited round, bringing the High Priestess of Sordan with them for a party, was a minor inconvenience compared to the Very Serious Religious Issues occupying much of her time.
Consider yourself our friend! Consider yourself part of the Family...
All of my worldly goods and money (after seeing any claims of just expenses connected to my death) to be donated to the Johnite asylum, "Bedlam", on King Street, Grantabrugge, for the benefit and care of Elsa Libovtch-Gedhrenti. Let it be known that Elsa has resided in Bedlam since shortly after the Great Dying and has had no part in, knowledge of, or control over any of my actions at any time.
My body to be laid to rest to guard it from necromancy.
A spirit speech or similar magical word to be sent to my blood-sister (Ms Mary Hodgkin of Waterstow, Lincoln) to kindly inform her of my death.
It was understood that by joining the Family of Gedhrent, I would not die of old age or natural causes. Gedhrent would take my soul. Gedhrent was killed, along with many of the Family. The world changed but I continued.
Several months ago, I visited the demon plane of Hob, to investigate the breaking of the mirrorlink and kill the Oni Fractus, who advertised himself as a god. We uncoupled Hob from the Prime and banished it but were unsuccessful with Fractus and the engagement ended with my being greviously injured by losing a leg and being stored within Hob in a 'soul larder'. My equipment was first removed from me by cultists, including a letter I had found in the Wessex Arms late the night before and brought to turn over to the Warlocks or Lightists when we met - a report detailing the military weaknesses of sections of King Edward's army and certain major towns.
I was brought from capitivity to the surface of Hob by the Aegyptians Hawkeye, Fafnir and Scruffer, who were hunting on the plane. They were looking for a victim to kill to power their magical ritual back to the Prime. However, on locating me they offered that I could join them and they would find a different victim, as I had shown similar skills to them. I was told this blood ritual was the only way they knew to return and were going to use it with or without me (although they fit volunteered to help me attack Fractus again, to gain his head as a trophy, which I was too injured to attempt). I felt it unlikely that the small plane could contain two different Oni cults as well as being a demon itself, as Hob was self-aware and had only described one group of followers.
I directed them to a Fractus cultist to kill instead of me, but they only found a female mirrorlink traveller - a small woman with straight dark hair. When I protested her innocence, the Aegyptians cut the woman such that she would not have survived unprotected and alone on Hob, she fell unconscious. To protect the armies of the King and the towns of Wessex from Oni, as only I knew of the theft and contents of the letter, I (willingly but not eagerly) agreed to join the Aegyptians in killing her for immediate transport - they first assured me that the ritual used the soul only to steer the travel upwards. On the death, my spirit became strongly bound to theirs as a Pack member under the gaze of their god Anubis, whom they described as one of the 13, and I came within reach of his fury should I disobey them. (My tether interfered with our return, Koshka the Drow rescued us, I passed on the message). During the time I was obliged to serve and protect the Pack and its leader Hawkeye, I learned about their belief that we Anubis as Bast, saw them act only like Bastites and saw them commit no illegal acts or suspicious practices. I became accustomed to living within a family of peers again and accepted my place in their group.
Oh, what are you really looking for? Another partner in your life to abuse and to adore? Is it lovey-dovey stuff, or do you need a bit of rough...GET ON YOUR KNEES.
Marcus of Balance accidentally removed the spiritual bonds binding the Pack through purge. To avoid us all being killed by Anubis for this insult, which was contrary to the binding oath and so was expected to result in our certain "clawed" death, Hawkeye sacrificed Marcus in appeasement to save the Pack. I warned the Aegyptians that the penalty for murder is death in Grantabrugge and got the word of Ariane Tallis that she would not let Marcus die from the wounding, as I knew htey planned to provide the best offering pssible, and four dying is worse than three dying (but three dying is worse than one losing his blood). I have since been informed that this ritual, as it played out, should not have been possible were Anubis Bast or any other living god. Our bonds returned, but Anubis was satisfied and spared us. Then Marcus' soul was snatched back and he was restored to life, Hawkeye was exectued for the murder and her body desecrated. Her death undid the bond again, but we did not break our terms of loyalty as we were unconscious. Fafnir was flogged, I was spared.
I refused to bind myself again, and began to investigate the nature of Anubis. I also worked hard to learn the nature of magic, to protect myself from any Aegyptian pressure to give of my soul to Anubis, although protecting myself from spiritual corruption also cut off the chance of rejoining with any god. I reported my suspicions to the relevant authorities (Awakened priests of Light, Balance and Bast, and a Warlock) and asked for help, although none was forthcoming (other than offers to further harm the Aegyptians with no provision for their true faith to be first established - a matter crucial to me because of the Hob ritual).
..Turn down the love songs that you hear, coz you can't avoid the sentiment that echoes in your ear, saying "Love will kill the pain!" saying "Love will stop the fear!" - do you believe? YOU MUST BELIEVE.
If Anubis is not Bast, then I have helped to sacrifice a woman to a demon, and even htebest of reasons for it and that it took place outside the jurisdiction of Wessex does not prevent my life being also forfeit from the blasphemous crime - ideally by my own hand or in the legacy service of Gedhrent, to repair the honour of the faith. Providing proof of a cult or fighting demons or their followers furthers the work of Gedhrent and of other gods - if Bast says she is not Anubis, then Anubis is a demon mesquarading as a god. If it is possible to establish who the slain woman was from the lists of the missing, please pass my final apologies to her family and assure them that she knew nothing of her quick death and performed a great service for the kingdom in it.
Truth be told, the truth be told, I'm wond'ring what the future holds, the future holds, I'm starting to worry about Ray...the truth be told, the truth be told, I'm treading on my tippy-toes, my tippy-toes - I'm painfully so worried about Ray
Recently, I have come upon a way to serve Gedhrent which is likely to result in my death, this is planned for 14th May, one week from today. There is a book - a living artefact of Gedhrent - which may contain a part of His soul. I have been feeding it and it has been speaking to me in my dreams, I am confident that it is Gedhrenti. I carry some pages with me.
Should I die before this date, Elsa Libovtch-Gedhrenti should inherit this book in particular, it is holy to her past also. Do not allow it to be destroyed by the Balance without Elsa's involvement. The proposed plan involves raising up Gedhrent once more to strengthen the Pantheon, in a service which would also be of use to the Balance - Brother Fall of Balance and Elijah of Justice can describe the details.
My honest intention in all things has been to ensure the highest number of innocent lives are spared at every stage.
I swear this testimony to be whole and true in the honoured name of Gedhrent and the Thirteen living gods.
Elizabeth of Gedhrent, May 1293.
On the morning of her final linear, Elizabeth met up with Elsa and was told that the Anubis cultists had been gathering pieces of the sacred Book of Gedhrent and taken some of them onto Bast, where Anubis had been revealed to be an Oni who had latched onto Bast and was about to subsume the plane. The Book was ripped into pieces, each a Living Artefact of Gedhrent, and each covered in multiple strange writings - the tengwar parts describing a stream of consciousness story about a red warrior in a red sandstone land fighting through multiple waves of red demons and slaying them all violently, with lots of red blood and feasting on their red hearts, until at last triumphing over a mighty red demon with a whip-like tail and reaching a sleeping goddess and feasting upon her heart in triumph. This seemed likely to be the story of the ascension of Gedhrent. Elsa explained that the single best chance of getting Gedhrent back would be to try to replace a living god - since the Pantheonic Treaty restricted the total number - and so feasting upon the heart of ideally Bast, but otherwise the nearly-bonded Anubis, would be worth trying.
So Elizabeth joined the party going to "save Bast from Anubis". Even if it didn't work, killing Anubis was important anyway.
For some reason I can't explain, I know St. Peter will call my name - never an honest word, but that was when I ruled the world.
Elizabeth told the other party members that she was about to be sacrificed along with the Book of Gedhrent to atone for her crimes, so that her soul and the fragments of the god could be used as 'spiritual glue' to hold the Pantheonic Treaty together, it being weakened by the continuing Oni attacks on gods - this being a way to at least get the fragments of Gedhrent back to the god planes rather than trapped on the Prime. This was a lie, but it did give a good excuse to be the one eating the hearts of everything they came across ("the hearts will add value to my worth as a sacrifice, dont eat it, unless you are volunteering to be sacrificed with me, this is my holy duty for my god and all the gods"). She warned the party that she was going to need the heart of Anubis for the rite too. As they happily slaughtered their way through Bast towards the seat of the Oni, several more pieces of the Book were discovered, until all but the back cover had been accounted for. As the party approached the final field, where avatars of Bast and Anubis were symbolically fighting in person, the Book emptied into Elizabeth, who was open to such, and she became a living embodiment of Gedhrent. She joined in the fight, attacking both Bast and Anubis equally, until the other party members had slain Anubis and turned on her for seeing her hit Bast. Fortunately the blessing had included the ability to cast mortals away from herself for a period by roaring (something both Bast and Anubis had already done during the fight to great effect) and so the party were held off whilst she realised that Bast was still very much alive and instead ran to cut out and eat the heart of the downed Anubis.
Elizabeth-Gedhrenti was last seen kneeling over the body of the dead Oni covered in blood to the elbows, lowering her head to the corpse to bolt as much of the fresh heart as possible, before a flash of light transported the other mortals off the plane and back to Grantabrugge. Since then the dreams of the Bastites have become more...feral.
All of these problems, they're all in your head...you took something perfect and you painted it red...