The Personal Journal of Leberecht Von Stroheim

The Personal Journal of Leberecht Von Stroheim, DR 1372 The Year of Wild Magic

7th day of Newmoon, Alturaik: 

I continued my search for the being known as the Oracle of Aal. Rumored to be the most knowledgeable creation in existence, I of course had to find her. You will forgive my digression sirs, but I must recount, briefly, my tale for events have caused me to wonder why I was sent out to find her. I am not sure if any of my correspondences have reached you, and this tale must be told. The dark forces that conspire against me and all of creation have allowed me a glimpse of the truth, but I fear for my life. I don’t think I will be allowed to reveal the full extent of their nature. I must try though.

Five years ago, I began to hear these rumors of an all-knowing oracle. I disregarded them as any true scientist would. But these rumors were persistent, each one more fanciful than the last: rumors of knowledge of the future, rumors of the past, rumors of knowledge of a hundred hundred worlds, and then, the rumor that caught me, rumors of how everything began. As you know, creation is my particular interest, so this rumor caught me fully. I began to follow it and for the next three years I wandered from plane to plane chasing a trail of gossip and stories. I ended up in Sigil where I met my esteemed guide, a mercenary by the name of Namid (Star Dancer in his native tongue) the Tracker. Namid claimed to be able to find the Oracle and I hired him. I stayed in Sigil for the next two years while Namid went in his own personal search of the Oracle. I had despaired of ever seeing him and indeed after my own bought with the local plague, Hive Lung, I had despaired, but I recovered and Namid returned. Half-dead and more than half-starved, Namid claimed to have seen wondrous things and frightening truths. I thought him mad until I saw for myself, but I am getting ahead of myself.

It took my stalwart companion nearly a week to recover, but as soon as we did he insisted on taking me to the Oracle right away. And so we set out with five other mercenaries I hired for protection. Namid insisted that we travel with a huge stock of food and supplies, so each one of us labored under a pack far heavier than any human should be required to carry. We entered a portal in… [section destroyed by some fluid. Blood?]

[several pages down]…Finally coming out somewhere in the Outlands. I am not sure where, but magic was nearly ineffectual, so I can only surmise that it is near the Spire. Fog was everywhere and one could not see beyond his nose, so even the Spire was invisible to us. Sadly, only myself, Namid, and a tiefling scout passed through the ordeal. The teifling left us as soon as we touched down and I could hardly blame her, the… [ink blot mars the words] …unnerved both me and Namid. Shari was wise to run. They fell on us in the night. We were close to the Oracle. I could sense her presence… I know it is not scientific but that is what I felt… Her… The Oracle… Namid fought the creatures and he told me to run and find the Oracle. To my shame I ran. I know that I should have stayed and died with Namid, but what I was to learn was far too important.

I ran for I don’t know how long. I had dropped my possessions a long time back, keeping only this journal and a few pens. The mist surrounded me, causing a primordial sense of dread to arise from some deep, dark place. As I stumbled along I heard Namid screaming his war cries and then, suddenly, he fell silent. The creatures called out and my heart answered, beating so loudly, I feared they heard it even miles back. The pack chased me. I knew the finality of death as I heard them close. I experienced all the trite things you hear about death. Then just as they came within sight of me, they stopped. It was if some divine hand had reached out and drawn a line they could not cross. I wonder if… [Section destroyed by water stains]

… I passed inside the cave where it was darker than night. I walked forward hoping not to kill myself on some outcropping or unseen cliff. As I wandered down the cave I noticed a light up ahead. A faint yellowish light, twinkling like a thousand stars. I walked towards this light, like a moth to a flame. I approached a great entry way, and I saw that the cave I had walked down was a massive thing, fashioned by an alien hand. The room was immense. No race alive carved those walls and columns. The room was a great circle, a spiral ramp traced the circumference of the room, set apart by massive columns. It stretched up into infinity, the ceiling lost to shadows. At regular intervals the hall was interrupted by great galleries leading off the ramp. And as I beheld this sight, my eyes drew back to the center of the room where a small pile of coins and gems lay upon the floor. I thought about my luck as I walked towards this small pile. As I approached the pile, I noticed that it seemed small only in comparison to the room. The pile was a massive hill of gold, silver, and even platinum coins stretching higher than a castle tower. It was strewn with gems and enough arms to supply a small army. The pile fairly glowed with eldritch power and I knew that I was near the Oracle. Only one of her power could ever amass the much wealth. I admit that I was tempted to dip my hands in the pile and roll about naked, laughing with an insane glee. Not very scientific, but I did feel the sensation none the less…

That was when she raised her head. Imagine my surprise when I saw the Oracle of Aal. She was a dragon of immense size. Gold spilled off her skull in waves, nearly drowning me in a sea of wealth. Her skin was made of some unbreakable metal, yet it shone of gold and gems. Her scales had gems embedded in them from centuries of using the pile as a bed. Her eyes were the size of church windows and were smooth silver. I was struck by dragon-awe. It is one thing to read about it and another to experience it, I do not think I can capture that sensation in words. It must be similar to what the priests call a conversion experience. I wouldn’t know.

The dragon spoke to me and her voice filled the room. “Leberecht, I am the Oracle of Aal. I know your questions and I know why you are here. You do not, not yet, but I do and that will suffice for now. You have many questions. You have time for me to answer only one. So I shall tell you the Truth.”

The Oracle then bade me to record all of my experiences to this point as well as her words in my journal and I have done so, here. She warned me that I would not survive my work long but that it may well come to be the most important work ever. So let this be my final work. Let it be my epitaph.

“Know ye then, that this is the True story of history. Listen for it is free of the ideologies that taint the priest histories and free of arrogance that color the chronologies of nations. This is the truth, for I was there.

“At the dawn of time, there was nothing and it was void. Into this void came the Three. Their names have long been lost, even by one such as myself. There was the youngest, the destroyer, the chaos-bringer, the ravager. It was he that would bring forth chaos. It was he that began the creation. There was the eldest, the builder, the law giver. It was he that would make shape and form from the chaos. It was he that continued the creation. Finally there was the middle, the balance keeper, the stable one, she who watches the portals. It was she that began the dreaming and she who separated her brothers making each equal.

“They danced in the void and we, the eldest of all races, those who lived before time, we played the music to their waltz. The chaos stuff gave a substance, the law giver gave the substance form, but it was a primal form, raw and untamed. It was a basic form, each element was separate from the others. Thus the Elemental Planes were formed. The Three saw this and felt that there needed to be something more to their creation, their plaything. The broke the barriers and allowed the forms to mix. This created the Para-elemental and Quasi-elemental Planes. For eons this was enough, but creation was too chaotic, too primal for the Eldest. He decided to make another experiment, free of his brother’s influence. Taking portions of the elements, he formed the first Prime Material world. All was regulated and all was static. The Youngest saw this and connected the Prime to the Elemental via a conduit of thought. This formed the Ethereal Plane and allowed the elements to move to the Prime. The Youngest was pleased to do this because it created change into the Eldest’s static world.

“They quarreled, but the Middle showed them that the new creation was good, but only because of the parity, not the individuality. But the new worlds, all created by elements falling into the Prime, had no life, neither did the Eldest’s world. In all the universe there was nothing that was alive. We, the elder races, lived outside of creation, in the Eternal City. It [Section blank.].

“The first beings created were the Valheru, the Dragon Lords. It is in one of their halls that you now stand, mortal. These beings were the closest to the Three in power, far beyond that of the gods. The Valheru were powers unto themselves. Their only flaw was their nature. They were a primal force, serving their base emotions and acting as they will. Nothing could oppose them. The Three created more beings, but none as powerful as the Valheru.

“The Valheru were nearly as strong as the Three and they began to create as well, even as the Three created their own races, the Valheru fashioned their own servitors. Millennia passed and the Valheru gained in numbers, spreading across the cosmos, all over the prime. The Valheru crossed across the stars in a vast Host, conquering everything they met. They gathered the wealth of worlds and gathered it to themselves. Money, magic, and knowledge.

“But the Three did not expect that their creation would move without them and they slept. Their creation did grow and evolve. The servitors had more power than anyone could expect, for the Valheru gave them the power to dream. And dream they did. Their dreams were given form by the power of the sleeping Three and the Astral was created. Slowly, the Outer Planes formed around the beliefs and hopes of the slave races. Their ideas floated along the Astral and wedged itself in the Outer Planes, one by one, the ideas became belief, and the belief became reality. The gods were born, but they were weak and were not the all-knowing creatures that are now. They were shadows.

“This was not to be forever. The gods began to gain intelligence as their believers grew in number. The Valheru ignored this religion and it would doom them. This would set the stage for the Chaos War, but the catalyst would be something different. As you know belief is power on the Planes, and it was no different at the dawn of time. The Valheru dreamed just as the lesser races did, and their dreams spawned new life as reflective of them and their condition as the gods are of yours. The dreams of powerful beings make for powerful results. The Valherus’ dreams spawned the most terrible of creatures awful and mighty, evil and hideous, good and pure, but ultimately primal. These beings have been lost to time. No one knows their names; no one knows their story. No one, save for me.

“They were the Passions. As far beyond the Valheru as the gods are beyond mortals. Each being was representative of an emotion and each had a counterpart. As a whole they embodied balance, constantly keeping one another in check and keeping the cosmic scales in harmony. But as the gods gained sentience and power, they attracted the attention of the Valheru. Slowly, at first, but soon the entire Valheru Host became aware of the gods and felt envy. The gods were strong. The gods had the worship of countless millions. But most of all, the gods had the knowledge of all of their worshipers, and a few had knowledge of all. This was a prize the Valheru could not resist.

“The Infernal Passions, the dark side of the new race, tricked the Valheru into rising up against the gods. Speaking to two of the more powerful beings in the Host, Alma-Lodaka and Draken-Korin, they convinced them to wage war upon the gods. The Passions fed off the emotions caused by this war and fueled their own war, a hidden war between the Passions. This secret war was unknown to all but a few. It raged for millennia. Many Passions died, and with them most of the emotion they personified died with them. Innocence, Love, Blasphemy, Serenity, Madness, Fear, Joy, Temperance, and so many more. Worlds died in the flames of this war, but it was ascribed to the Chaos Wars, which still raged on.

“The Chaos Wars ended with the death of Draken-Korin and the near extinction of the Valheru. Only Ashen-Shugar, who did not fight against the gods, remained alive. The gods showed that they were stronger and the order of the universe changed. Power moved from the Prime into the Outer Planes and they remain there to this day.

“The Passion wars ended around this time as well, and only a handful survived. Those who know about the Passions believe that none survived. Here is the truth. Hope, Power, Greed, Lust, Light, Darkness, Wisdom and Agony live on and are free. All have accepted the new order and have become Demons or Celestials in service to the gods. Had the gods lost, they Passions would have ruled eternally, but as it is, maybe faith is a better choice than emotion.

“There is one remaining Passion, one who did not accept the new order. He is Rage. Arguably the strongest Passion, he alone killed four Celestial Passions and burned away a thousand worlds. Together with Hate, he started the Chaos Wars and killed countless gods to aide the failing Valheru. Entire pantheons fell to his blade and even Innocence could not stand against him. Innocence was drowned in the blood of Peace as he burned Good and Evil to ashes where they stood. He was captured by the remaining Passions and gods and locked in a prison that he had forged to [section missing].

“Beware, man, for the time of Rage has come again. Soon someone will set him free or his prison will be broken. You have been told about this so that something can be done. So that you know what creation is up against. Rage has no fear, no morals, and a willingness to destroy the universe. Record this carefully and see that it is given to those who will need it. The will have to find a way to destroy Rage or resurrect all of the Passions, the Balance demands that they be put in opposition. Now take this and go.”

She then gave me a scroll, on it are the names of all of the Passions, Infernal and Celestial. I was told to copy these names and leave. I did so below, and quickly left. The dragon lowered her head back to the mound of coins and seemed to sleep. Now you must know what stands against us. Now you know what has kept me from this task and why so many have died on this quest. Those who seek to free Rage stop me at every turn. God help us all.

8th day of Newmoon, Alturaik: I wasn’t sure how to leave as the door I had used disappeared. So I walked up the ramp. After some time, I came to an exit. Outside I had stumbled out into the midst of a battle, which one I am not sure. I will never know. I was struck by an arrow. I fell to the ground and crawled away some distance. I passed out for some time. When I came to I was alone and dying. I scribed the last entry I could, this one. Please, if you get this, you must believe it. Take this to Mathias Leiber in Weifung on Ysgard. Please, do as I ask, for the sake of the planes. I can not continue. May the gods watch over me.

Celestials / Infernals (*Free) (-Dead)