Episode Introduction
Our brave heroes of the Mortal Guardians now face the greatest foe to pass over Velanaura: the malevolent Herald R’Xahl and her ghastly, hideous creation, the monstrous resurrection of a torn and frayed remnant of the dead old god, Zul-Thuun. As the gargantuan aberrant corpse rises and expands across the darkness of the Shadowreach, its tendrils and tentacles tear vicious rifts into Vaelda Mortalis, siphoning life and essence from the living to feed its insatiable hunger for souls. The creature grows uncontrollably, absorbing power and animus in an endless feast that would transform it into a mighty weapon of R’Xahl’s unholy making—a beast that would destroy her own creator, the infinite devourer, Zul-Thuun itself. But, for that to come to pass, all life on Velanaura would be exhausted, and the warriors and adventurers of the Mortal Guardians must make their final push to prevent it.
SPOILER ALERT!
SPOILER ALERT!
SPOILER ALERT!
Episode Recap
The heroes quickly recover from the emergence of the vast, monstrous entity raised from death by Herald R’Xahl and they fight against overwhelming odds to escape to safety. They cross treacherous ground and evade numerous uulthyr undead before finally regrouping with the greater forces of the Mortal Guardians. There they work alongside the guild’s leaders to find a way to defeat the creature and turn the tide of the battle. With help from Margrave Zr’Lorh, they devise a plan to utilize the remains of the herald’s own arcane, technological prowess: they will recover the broken pieces of the psionic amplifier previously held in her flying fortress and then use it to channel a blast of the margrave’s powerful psychic energy into its mind and soul.
With this plan in mind, the characters launch a targeted strike against the ruins of the felled flying castle, using stealth to evade the larger part of the herald’s armies. They reach the ruins and begin their search—but almost immediately come under attack from advanced scouting uulthyr and coven agents! During a tense and deadly skirmish, the heroes gather the shattered pieces of R’Xahl’s device and rapidly deliver them to the forward outpost where Margrave Zr’Lorh, Leoporian, and Elle work to assemble a new device. As the valorous heroes hold off the overwhelming coven attackers, they complete the arcane mechanism and prepare to unleash the psychic attack—but when Margrave Zr’Lorh begins to channel her psionic power into the focusing crystal, she stops suddenly.
Herald R’Xahl herself appears in their midst and cruelly slays the margrave with a devastating strike from her claws! Then she rises up over the monstrous creature, the animated husk of Zul-Thuun, and commands her forces to overrun our heroes in their final hour!