Sapience,

A darkness is gathering.

Aife is found dead at her forge, choked by shadows, her murder a distraction as the Spirean pylon is infected, corrupted and twisted to spew a beacon of foul darkness into the sky. As terrible as this was, this attack was not done in isolation, and is but one sign of a terrible, gathering storm.

Teshen raiders boil up out of an unearthed cavern in the desert, unleashed from the depths of the earth. Another sign.

A Cabalist, long thought to be dead, is found in Saluria's labyrinth, speaking in riddles and crazed smiles, worshipping an ancient shrine, praising a formless, terrifying destruction.

A darkness is gathering.

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Ati has returned. It has healed from when it was wounded, gathering its strength as it lurked in the depths of Saluria's shadows, and now it is determined to help the Shadowmother, its creator and master, escape from Her prison. Long ago, Lanos gave His life to construct a cage to hold Her and it is this cage that Ati and the Shadowbound servants of the Shadowmother aim to break.

Ati's transcendence to the Idrethi form has made it far, far stronger than before. According to recent intel, Ati's power now rivals that of the Kerrithrim, a monstrous force the oldest among us will remember - defeating that creature came at a heavy, heavy price, with our Divine Themselves left wounded. Khepri was slain.

There is hope, though.

Long ago, the Ankyreans forged a lance, designed to siphon and store Divine essence, focusing it into a tool strong enough to "sunder essential corpuscles" - in layman's terms, it was a magic spear that would let wielders stab something like Ati. The ancient Rajamalan empire obtained this spear. The weapon was imbued with essence from the Salurian fire spirit, Erxotl. For centuries, this weapon was enough, able to keep Ati contained to shreds of essence-

But then Ati ascended, and now it has returned. The lance remains in Divine hands, but work has begun to rediscover the original forging process and, where there are gaps in our knowledge, we will push forwards. We will find a way, even if it means inventing new methods, innovating and creating beyond what we have ever made before.

A darkness is gathering.

Once, a century ago, we united, every city, every guild, Undead and Living, to face the Kerrithrim. Decades later, we joined forces again to drive out the Dreikathi. It is time for another such alliance.

Ati must be stopped.

Penned by my hand on the 9th of Slyphian, in the year 423 MA.