A Light-Scarred Tome

[Yuthirin]

A book found under a panel beneath Muirfinn's bed. The title has been gouged from the front of the book by ragged talons, then meticulously scoured away by holy fire. Holy sigils and blessings are graven into the thick leather cover, so dense that the book's casement glows faintly even to unaided vision. A prayer to the Mother Ocean borders the front and rear covers in looping script, repeating itself endlessly. Though it bears an iron plate and clasp, it does not latch. The latch is unadorned and appears corroded, as though by acid.

It appears to be a journal.

On the inside cover is a scribbled warning. "Beware the knowledge inside, for it is corruptive and insidious. If you do not know what you have in front of you, stop now and seek aid from the bright minds of Aurora. If you have found this book outside of the Aurora; gods help you, for I cannot."

Entry 1.
Ithea purchased a recipe book from Vel recently; 100 Fair Recipes. This book was purchased, among others, from an estate sale on a Prime. At first, she had no issue with the books. As she read, though, some sort of apparition rapidly infiltrated her mind and corrupted her thoughts. After realizing that she had a problem, she sought out Balyss for aid, for which I was present. While examining her, a black shadowy mass was found to be attached to her, and was expelled by Balyss' use of holy power.

At first, I thought it was merely another minor horror from the planes, some spawn of the Far Plane stowed away in the mind of an author. Upon expulsion, we were assaulted by a many-mouthed amorphous mass, which spoke blasphemous praises and beckoned others to devour each other. The aberration was slain in short order, and Tannin has been dispatched to investigate the estate from which it came. Another strange day among the refugee troops of Aurora.

Entry 2.
I began to research the Father on a whim in the Library. Marvelous place, with information from ancient planes at your fingertips. Ithea had mentioned his name several times over the course of the incident and I thought it best to be prepared on the off chance we encountered the like again. The information I uncovered was disturbing, to say the least. Those fully possessed by the Father gain greatly-enhanced strength and speed, though often they will manifest mouths all across their bodies. These beings become hopelessly ravenous for living flesh, preferring fresh living sentients over cooked food. The mouths themselves speak in a gentle, authoritative voice which attempts to 'remind' the listener of how hungry they are.

Further, my source of research became increasingly crazed, transforming from a clinical outline of events to a raving mad hymnal to this foul being. I am beginning to think that the knowledge of this entity may itself be corruptive. I have experienced strange dreams since the beast was exorcised from Ithea, and they have grown more frequent since I began my research.

Nevertheless, I will remain stalwart. Perhaps this line of inquiry is dangerous, but so is everything else we do. Perhaps this will be how I prove my worth to the generals of Aurora. I shall continue my research.

Entry 3.
After consulting with Sage Vul'lath, a dour fellow who nevertheless knows his arcana and history, I have learned of the Banquet Grotesque. It is a monstrous ritual centered upon cannibalism, designed to call out to evil and celebrate depravity. I'll not go into too much detail here, but it involves the sacrifice of a child. The ritual may in fact be a way to call out to the Father directly to seek a blessing. We'll not be replicating it.

Entry 4.
Strange prayers in the Deep Ethereal referencing a feast.

Entry 5.
Success! Tannin has located portions of the Valgadda (Which Is No More) Text. Strange. That bit about it being no more seems to be magically appended to the name of the place. It's very difficult to suppress the urge to add "Which Is No More" to the name of the text. Hm.

Fragments referencing the circumstances of the Father's creation, a Glasae Queen, and protection from his visage. Additionally, it mentions that the Father is a priest, though how this came to be or what relevance it has is dubious at best. The document appears as though it should be much longer, but it is heavily damaged. I suspect I will need to spend much time in finding a more complete copy. As it stands, I'm not sure what to do with the information beyond despair. This task grows more and more daunting the more I learn.

Entry 6.
Discussions with Lady Skye have uncovered more information on the Glasae Queen. She is the current ruler of the Fey Marches, though she was sequestered there by Queen Titania for all eternity. The Glasae Queen was not borne of a mother or father. She willed herself into being, and she is the very essence of passion for life to be lived. She is the pinnacle of Summer's height, though her power may not exceed that of Titania. The Glasae Queen can be reached by braving the maze that surrounds her realm, and be sought at Swan's Keep. Skye was reluctant to share more, but alluded to the idea that traveling without a fey companion would be unwise.

Further discussions with Afina reinforce Lady Skye's statements, along with a warning that all fey are interconnected. For any one fey to be removed from that connection indicates something is off about them at the very least, something that the rest of the fey could not find a way to tolerate. While it is extremely unlikely that the Father is working with the Glasae Queen, she may not necessarily be helpful against him.

Entry 7.
A prophecy from our resident badger slaad has indicated that locating the full Valgadda (Which Is No More) Codex should be prioritized. Other things were referenced, but seem unimportant or irrelevant to this line of research.

I grow more concerned. Other entities are now pushing us toward the Father's destruction, and I am yet unsure how to ensure such. Hopefully the full Valgadda (Which Is No More) Codex will provide more information. I dearly hope that finding it won't require yet more sacrifice.

Entry 8.
Hanna has suggested that I find a way to inure myself against sights of extreme horror and cruelty. We also met a young woman today. From the descriptions of her captivity, I do not believe I will be involving her in my work here. Too much horror from the devils has been visited upon her, and the things they made her do may have made her more susceptible to the Father's influence.

Instead, I had a discussion with Queen Ilsenine regarding the Glasae Queen. She strongly urged caution in seeking out the Queen in her prison palace. There is no telling if she opposes the Father or not without speaking with her directly, and the act of seeking her out may indeed be the height of folly. Fey are capricious and whimsical, and it could suit her to confine me with her just as well as it could to send us back. Perhaps there is another alternative.

Elena has decided to involve herself in the research, primarily by also attempting to involve Vul'lath full-time.

I will say this now: I have not involved others unless strictly necessary because I believe knowledge of the Father is itself corruptive. I believe that it opens doors to one's mind and soul that may not be easily closed. The more I learn, the worse things get. If you are not me, and you have read this far, then I am likely dead or missing. This information should be used to defeat the Father's influence wherever it is found, but doing such things must be kept to a relative few people. Not everyone is strong enough of will to withstand the creeping horror of the Father's influence.

I'll move on before I begin spouting dire warnings. Actually, I should add a warning to the start of this. A warning in the middle is rather silly.

Elena did mention something regarding the Terminal Archive in the Abyss. It sounds dangerous, but it may hold the information I need.

Entry 9.
Vul'lath and I were conducting a research trip when we had another encounter with the Father. We were attempting to research a means of risk-free soul purification, something that is difficult even for gods. While doing so, we visited a handful of planes. On our way into Water, headed toward the home of the Mother Ocean, I was assailed through a scrying sensor. While I was able to dispel the sensor and flee Elysium into Water (madness, I know), I remained under assault. Vul'lath believed me to be cursed, so we hurried toward the Temple of the Mother Ocean.

I was wracked with pain and befuddlement, prayers I had prepared vanishing from my mind as the curse ate away at me. I saw a deformed infant, floating in a sack of fluid. Its head and teeth were far too large for the rest of its frame. We were forced to stop as it became unbearable. Vul'lath threw his will against the curse, for naught. While we dithered, a tortle priest came from the temple and aided me. He cast out the curse, describing it as "hungry."

While speaking to him, I heard in his voice the following, "..it's because everyone's so hungry. Everyone's hungry and ready for dinner." When I questioned him on it, he stated that he'd asked if I was alright and that, "It's time for you and me to eat, it's time for everyone to eat because everyone's hungry and ready for dinner." When I repeated these words back to him, he insisted that I was under distress and guided me to rest. I was affected by dire hunger pangs, and ate a block of cheese that Vul'lath used on his apprentices as punishment. His surprise was worth half a smile. Eventually, he man was able to expel the corruption, and we were able to continue.

I fear this is growing worse, and I suspect I will need to fully involve Vul'lath some point soon.

Scratched into the margin of this entry is the following:
Incidentally, as it may someday be useful, I'll list the results of our search here. Matters of cleansing the soul may be relevant. My communing with the Mother Ocean granted me insight. The nine circles of magic must be mastered. The name 'Vaaliel' was given to me as well, though no explanation was supplied. If relevant, I'll include more as we go on.

Entry 10.
I've just returned from a trip to the Abyss! Success was had, though strangeness abounds. Vul'lath, Ithea, and myself sought out the Terminal Archive. I've decided to involve Vul'lath full time on this, as I need someone sharp able to step back from this and tell me when I'm going too far. Vul'lath is both attentive and blunt enough to tell me when things have gone a bit mad. Ithea was included because she was originally possessed, and really there's no keeping this from her.

I'll detail the events here as best I'm able to recall them. An uneventful trip across the Archive's Abyssal layer led us to the structure itself, suitably chaotic in its architecture. We searched the inside, seeking a librarian with no success for a time before encountering a Burned. After some linguistic acrobatics, as they hate questions, we determined that Annalise had left some sort of knowledge there about Jaela's fears. While interesting, it is not relevant. It DID allude to the idea that the Father is trapped with in the recipe book in Aurora's dungeon, and cannot be destroyed except "for at dawn which is no more." I believed this to be a reference to the Valgadda (Which Is No More) Codex. Again! I wrote it again! I didn't even realize I'd done it until I wrote it! Blast. We were able to wring for the creature that the Father is the child of Demogorgon and Pale Night, and that the last copy of the Codex (HAH!) can be found at a place called Kin'anh'o.

Before we could derive anything further, the Burned was tainted by the spirit of the Father and began ranting about feasting and hunger. It attacked us, and was summarily destroyed by the Archive's guardians. Among other things found were a stuffed doll precisely resembling Ithea, a door leading to a sealed room containing every possible fact about Ithea. As a group, we elected not to force our way in, as the door was heavily-barred and chained. We also encountered a balor, though it elected not to strike out at us. It listed its master as a Callannan. In short order, we were introduced to Callannan, who appeared as an angel with three eyes. Shortly after, though, the illusion began to unravel. We took our leave, but not before its appearance began to decay. Callannan is either a fallen angel or some other form of conniving trickster. Either way, we pressed on.

A succubus attempted to convince us to give up the names of out first loves in return for knowledge, we declined. We found a level of the Archive made of non-corrosive ooze, a booksnake, and on our way out, the Archive's defenses repeatedly blasting the Father's corruption out of a Burned. I won't say that good times were had, but they were times nonetheless.

Researching the Glasae Queen and Kin'anh'o appear to be our best bets here.

What is the point of keeping this a secret? Everybody knows and I feel I can't keep quiet about it. It keeps coming up in conversations. An effect of the Father? Hm. I'll need more minds to research this. Time to involve Sylvie and Tepen, I think.

Entry 11.
A research party between Vul'lath, Tepen, Sylvie, Ellese, and myself has nailed down the location of Kin'anh'o; it is on Ocanthus, the final layer of Acheron. Ellese provided some surprising insight into Baator's relationship with yugoloths, and we have determined that the Codex is in the possession of an ultroloth known as the Curator. Likely some sort of macabre museum. Our luck would provide nothing less, I'm sure.

Addendum: I WAS RIGHT! At least we have the Codex. I'll spare the gory details. Suffice it to say that yugoloths are extremely horrifying. The scroll is brittle and appears ready to fall to bits at any moment. I've added the scroll to the library in order to preserve it, but I'll transcribe its contents here.

Valgadda (Which Is No More) Codex: ShowHide

If you are reading this, then The Father is active in Creation. May all the Gods of justice, righteousness and compassion have mercy on your soul, for The Father will have none. Read well, for I pray that the information here will lead to the end of the nightmare. Should you not end the nightmare, then The Father will be freed and only the Gods themselves may be able to stop him.

The Father is the spawn the Pale Mother and Demogorgon. The details of his parentage are unclear, but it is said that Demogorgon consumed the afterbirth and perhaps a newborn child of the Pale Mother. This afterbirth was not digested, but instead became a rotting tumor between the necks of the Prince of Demons. A frenzy came over Demogorgon, an absolute hunger as he slaughtered and devoured countless demons under his command, the tumor growing ever larger. Eventually, the tumor ruptured and the Father emerged on the wings of a holocaust, in the stinking mires of Abysm. Aameul desired to consume the Father as well, while Hethradiah desired to torment the abomination they had unleashed. In the argument that followed, The Father was able to escape.

The above information is correct as far as I have been able to discern. The massacre and consumption of Demogorgon's thralls has been confirmed by lore from multiple survivors. However, the information about the Pale Mother's role in this is far less reliable.

The Father is an abomination cursed by his sire and unwanted by his distant mother. He is forever cast out of the Outer Planes. Instead he is cast into the mortal realms. Unlike other greater demons, his presence does not wound the mortal world. No, the natural world rarely notices him and never recoils from him. He was cast into my Prime Material world, wherein he established himself as a spiritual leader and attracted the veneration of thousands. But no mercies came from his lessons, no everlasting life beyond that of flesh. His wisdom lead to the reduction of sentient mortals to cattle. Every truth he uttered was a self-destructive falsehood carefully arraigned to appear authentic.

Calamity spread as The Father's vision came to grow. Entire nations fell into anarchy and cannibalism, and soon The Father was the most powerful man in my world. The greatest heroes of the world came to face him, to put an end to this madness.

But The Father was all powerful.

Ultimately, I was one of the last heroes left. I gathered the few remaining, and sought not to destroy The Father, but to contain him. By Oghma's wisdom and the sacrifices of every other soul who opposed him that day, I sealed The Father away into my holy symbol - a book. Exhausted, I took this book to the farthest reaches of Valgadda, which are no more. I wished to seal this book away until the day Creation is no more and allow whom may stand then to deal with this abomination. Yet that night the Lord of Knowledge spoke to me in my dreams, telling me that The Father would one day corrupt his prison and be free once more. The seal will not last forever. Should The Father be free again, he will return to the mortal world. He will return and again there will be feasts. Mortal life will become that of animals, awaiting slaughter.

Kill The Father. Only a weapon forged by a smith born from neither father or mother and made holy can destroy The Father. Unfortunately, one must be strong enough to use this to tear him asunder. We were not. The scythe that rests with this book is one such weapon. It was made by the Glasae Queen, Empress of the Fey Marches. She was born of her own desire to exist, coming fully born into the world. If you wish to slay him, you must free him from this book at dawn in the mortal world. The ground must be consecrated and hallowed, as well as inlaid with seven circles against evil and seven more against chaos. When dawn's light hits the book, he will be freed. The true form of The Father is a vaguely human body of mouths, standing four dozen feet tall. He does not move as much as flow, mouths devouring each other and the space around them.

As to the actual battle, all who oppose The Father must have their minds completely protected by nothing less than the spell mind blank. Anything less will result in the complete shattering of the victim's psyche into unrecoverable madness. Even then, the strain of viewing The Father will inflict great mental trauma. This trauma in particular damages traditional priests, though those who cast from personal magnetism fare better. Of the elements and magic, lightning, cold and sound have no effect on his true form. Fire affects him, though he is resistant. Acid damages him greatly, but does not inflict mortal wounds. Life energy, strangely and for reasons I cannot discern, damages The Father. Of the physical, The Father's true form has no discernible anatomy. Trained warriors that rely on well aimed blows or single, overwhelming strikes (such as from the scythe, to my great lament) are largely ineffective. Manufactured weapons, save the scythe and those like it, are consumed on striking the Father. Woe onto the fool who attempts to claw, punch or bite The Father, for they become his subsistence.

The Father's main strategy is to flow over his victim and consume them whole. Those consumed whole are consumed in body and soul, forever lost. Those who survive quickly transform into abominations, smaller versions of the Father that in the end consume themselves into spiritual and physical oblivion. In his time leading the souls of entire nations to oblivion or damnation, he became learned of clerical magic. His spells carry the same consumptive effect as his bite, though on a slower scale. Divine intervention is the only way known to reserve this process.

The Father also possesses two special traits, one from each of his parents. He has the ability to dominate the minds of the weak, breaking them to his will like his accursed father can. From his mother is the madness on sight explained above. I believe that The Father is in some small way similar to the Pale Mother beneath her ever-shifting veil. Further, the research into forbidden lore regarding the Pale Mother suggests that her origins do not come from this Creation, but from Beyond. It may be that means to battle back the spawns of madness beyond our Creation could be effective against the Father. I do not know, for such means are vanishingly rare. However, there is one flaw in this premise. The Father is a priest. The Beyond rejects divine power and is nearly immune to it. This may be nothing more than addled speculation of madmen and demons forced to speak the truth, for such information can only be extracted through the might of magic.

You who read this are my hope. Angel or devil, saint or sinner, I care not. End the nightmare. No more feasts. Kill The Father.

Amen.

And! Since Fortune, Fate, and all the gods are smiling on me today, Mirajane surprised us all by arriving to our after-action discussion grown to a full adult. She fits the bill of the requirements. She is born of neither father or mother, having come to life as a living distillation of hope. We don't need to seek out the Glasae Queen, as Mirajane has taken it upon herself to learn the trade of blacksmithing. We will have our weapons capable of harming the Father.

Perhaps things are looking up! I will remain hopeful.

Entry 12.
Another encounter with the Father's minions, this time in the Astral. We were again assaulted by mind-magics attempting to gain access to our memories. Again it was repulsed. It appears to have come from a damned man branded with a pentagram. When questioned, he rapidly degraded into raving about the Father and morphed into yet another vile shapeless mass of mouths.

It was summarily dispatched with no lingering effects.

Entry 13.
This entry is in a different color of ink entirely, blue rather than black.
Been a while. I've been busy. Several of us took a trip to Pandemonium today, and things went oddly. I don't believe them related to the Father, but I'm recording them here in case I'm wrong. We entered a village called Madhouse in search of information on Kina-Ja, a marilith of some renown that we have been pursuing. In Madhouse, I encountered a being called the Man of the Winds. Emaciated and bloated, a man with the head of a crow, massive beak cracked and sundered.

He called me "Muirfinn Dying In Void."
He named Baleruk "Baleruk Screaming Of Rainbows."
He named Syala "Syala Who Cannot Be Seen"
He spoke of 27.
He knew of 21, in spite of it being a well-guarded secret.
He spoke of one of my sons, falling to erinyes.
He called me his son.
He spoke of the 666th layer of the Abyss, where a living lie dwells. He described it as a mimetic horror, able to convert truths to lies and vice versa. He advised against speaking its name.

A crying child's voice spoke in my head, a stream of numbers. Magic was required to stir my memories so that I could recall them. '493. 5. 3. 390944. 5920. 49. 580284208424. 54935. 5938. 0928300. 384. 589382984298. 49. 1.' I know not what they mean.

As I left, he alluded to the idea that he would be there when I return. I suspect I may find him there again, but he may not be as amenable to civilized discussion. We'll see. This whole excursion has been disquieting. I think I'll add more protection to this journal. Perhaps a few prayers, and a lock.

Entry 14.
Another excursion to gather materials to face Kina-Ja, and once again the Father has elected to irritate us with his presence. It's still horrifying, but it's also growing very annoying. Giant amorphous mass of mouths and teeth and now a giant tongue. This time clinging to all available surfaces inside of a cave. Very droll. Lief was exposed, unfortunately. He was summarily disgusted. Sylvie was with us, though, and proved that 21 is VERY effective at removing the Father's taint. Positive energy in the form of a Heal spell also destroyed the Father's flesh, having the opposite effect as it should have on a normal creature not suffering from undeath.

Magical darkness was used in an attempt to blind us while we sought to destroy the creature at its core. Ultimately we were successful. Lief demonstrated the value of arrows in this. Perhaps holy or blessed arrows would allow us a significant benefit against the Father in the coming battle?

Entry 15.
Vivantha has been abducted, right from outside the Aurora! The gall! I will find these men, and I will destroy them completely! The writing begins to gouge the page in increasingly enraged ranting, tearing the paper in places before a large spot of ink blots out a fist-sized portion of the page.

Calm. I am calm. We have been successful, and Vivantha is returned to me. Us. In our quest, though, we once again encountered the touch of the Father. A numerologist of my acquaintance named Glitterosm had become possessed by the Father through means I'm not quite sure of. It was a struggle to remove the taint, but remove it we did. We've brought him to the Aurora to recover, and he provided us with information on how to seek out Vivantha's abductors. Using this information, we were able to recover her. Indeed, we learned of a schism in the Urgent Talons' ranks, and have managed cordial discussion with the master of the group. Possible ally against devils or the Father?

Entry 16.
Morniel mentioned to me that he dreamed of the Father, last night. The Father invaded his dreams, taking the face of an old superior before breaking down into mad hunger ravings.  While we spoke, Ithea, Lief, and I were all struck with gnawing hunger pangs. We took efforts to purify ourselves.

Entry 17.
Vivantha came to see me today while I was speaking with Tepen on lighter things. She was a vision of loveliness, bedecked in flowers from forgotten primes gathered through the Infinite Stair. We spoke for a short time before, perhaps predictably, things went awry. Her words turned strange, and she made little sense. When she called me her son, I called for Elena to have Balyss brought to us. As soon as Elena appeared, Vivantha lunged at her, attempting to bite. Then she tried and failed to bite me. Even when I allowed her to gnaw upon me, she was unable to break skin. Tepen arrived shortly thereafter, but could not cast out the spirit with arcana. As he arrived, the spirit professed how wonderful it is to be hungry. Knowing our enemy now for what it was, Tepen attempted and just barely managed not to cast the spirit out while I did my best to keep its attention on me without harming Vivantha. Eventually, Hanna crashed around the corner and cast out the offending spirit with a single word.

I should learn that trick, it seems quite useful.

Entry 18.
A rough sketch of Vivantha at rest graces the page here. It is simple and unskilled, yet undeniably Vivantha.

The journal ends here. There are no further entries, though there are many blank pages between here and the rear cover. The following is found on the rear inside cover.

Things We Know
1. The Father exults in cannibalism.
2. The Father is undying. Undead?
3. The Father appears to be is the direct spawn of Demogorgon and possibly Pale Night.
4. The Father can be affected by holy power. And positive energy!
5. We're going to need a very large amount of priests and wielders of holy power. Strong ones. This will likely require petitions to gods. An interfaith task force to slay the Father? Ask Balyss when ready.
6. Not enough priests. Need more priests.
7. Those priests are likely all going to die, too. Damn. This isn't going to end well.

References: ShowHide

1. First Appearance
2. Research
3. Vul'lath
4. Deep Ethereal
5. Valgadda (Which Is No More) Fragments
6. Discussion With Skye
7. 27's Ramblings
8. Discussions with Ilsenine & Elena
9. Water
10. The Terminal Archive
11. The Valgadda (Which Is No More) Codex
12. No Title
13. Raven Man
14. Tepen Pokes The Weave
15. Glitterosm
16. Morniel's Dreams
17. Vivantha Possessed