Tales from Etheraz: November Event 2025 Recap pt. 1
Greetings, criminals, confidants, and cacophonists!
I, ATLAS THE BARD, have yet another story to tell. This time, though, it is not about the group of adventurers known as the PC party. No, I am here to share a vision I received in the Vault of Karna as I entered the portal that would hopefully let me leave this wretched place. This vision was from a time long, long ago… six whole years ago, in Trihelieal 290, right after a devastating mine collapse in Arancis. Readers, what I witnessed was so shocking that I must share it with you immediately, and with immense detail, and with definitely no unreliable narration!! But be warned: this was a very sad vision, of a very bloody time, of immense political turmoil and the rise of the Lord Commander Blakka. Forgive me if my typical narration is a tad more somber, given the subject.
The events of the vision followed a trade caravan for the House Chiropantre who was returning to the Chiropantre Keep after some time away. On the road to the Keep, they were beset by a group of zealous bandits and a strange, ravenous cave monster, who impeded their safe arrival. The bandits ranted and raved about how House Chiropantre took everything from them, and now, they want to take everything from House Chiropantre. Clearly something bad had happened recently, and people were desperate and dissatisfied. Upon arriving back at the keep, the trade caravan met three new people, who would appear often in this tragic tale: Yalan Chiropantre, the handsome (if I do say so myself) second child to the Chiropantres; Anton Blakka, the eldest son of the Chiropantre’s guard family (that last name sounds familiar…) and Asher Blakka, the youngest son of the Chiropantre guard families. The three explained that there had recently been a catastrophic mine collapse in Arancis, in one of the House Corvis mines, and it had caused an influx of refugees to try and flee. As House Chiropantre controls the pass between Arancis and the neighboring region of Zelmore, they’ve had to deal with the crisis while managing their own dwindling resources.
The trade caravan was sent to manage the pass between Zelmore and Arancis, where they learned that travellers were not able to go through the pass unless they could pay an expensive fee. This meant that ne’er-do-wells transporting unsavory objects could go in easily, while poor, desperate people were trapped at the border, unable to go through. House Chiropantre needed the funds, but Asher and Yalan objected loudly to the extortion (while Anton objected loudly to the continued alive-ness of the refugees in general). Tonight, the trade caravan would accompany Anton, Asher, and the heir to the house Silas Chiropantre on a mission to deliver aid and recover a blocked shipment.
The mission went great! And there was no violence, and nothing bad happened, and nobody named the Lord Commander Blakka took over. Just kidding. The mission went very bad. The refugees, angry at House Chiropantre’s extortion, constructed a dangerous chemical weapon. Many many people died, including a diplomat from House Corvis who was there to smooth over relations with Chiropantre. It was bad. When the caravan limped back to the Keep, bloody and bedraggled, Silas got full-named yelled at by his mom.
The next day, Silas, Anton, and the trade caravan were dragged to the Chiropantre council chambers where they had to explain why the night had gone so unbelievably terribly. Dear readers, you may think this was just an average grilling, but within this meeting lay a turning point for the entire future of Etheraz, and I am NOT just saying that to be dramatic. During the council meeting, Asher did the unthinkable: he spoke up against the Lord Chriopantre. To give some context for the scene here: Asher was the youngest son of the Blakka family, who were the guards of House Chiropantre. Asher was considered weak by his brothers, unable to hold his own in a fight and always talking about harebrained ideas like diplomacy. Asher, as a combination of all those things, was speaking wildly out of turn at this council meeting and risked punishment if Lord Chiropantre didn’t like what he was saying. And reader, he did NOT like what Asher was saying.
Asher recommended that the Chiropantres treat the refugees with more diplomatic care, and furthermore, have they considered making Yalan heir to the House? Perhaps under Yalan’s leadership — after all, they were more diplomatic and less likely to draw blood immediately — House Chiropantre would be seen as strong by the other houses in Arancis.
This went down like a lead balloon. Furious, Lord Chiropantre instructed Asher’s brothers to teach him a lesson outside. Asher was beaten brutally by his older brothers, belittled and mocked, and left outside on the ground like a discarded piece of trash. Asher limped into the woods and disappeared for the rest of the day.
Readers, how much of an impact can a single moment have in history? Is it like a pebble in a pond, sending out ripples that disturb the surface of the water, rearranging it permanently? Or, is the impact overall unfelt when regarded by the ever-forward march of time? I cannot say for sure, but Asher limping into the forest, discarded and alone, can never be altered. And no one could stop what would happen next.
My quill grows low on ink, and I feel the shadows of the past pressing in on me. I will report more of this sordid vision of history soon, but until then: fight together, or die alone.
Signed,
Atlas the Bard
