The search for the next scroll of *The Twilight Records* led Urdn'Varn, Lilistar, Draz'Zorn, and the two unwitting Selûnite companions through treacherous terrain. They crossed jagged cliffs shrouded in perpetual mist, flooded rivers that ran deep and cold, and passed ancient ruins long overgrown by nature.
Each step carried an air of growing tension, as the Selûnites blissfully fallowed along, unaware of the true nature of their companions.
It was in the heart of a crumbling citadel, hidden within a dense forest, that tragedy finally struck. As they scaled the dilapidated stone walls to reach a sealed inner sanctum, a sudden collapse sent debris crashing down upon the group.
One of the Selûnites managed to just barley get away, but the other had perished instantly, their lifeless form buried under the cascade of stones.
The other ways found pinned beneath a fallen beam, as they clung desperately to their life, their cries of pain echoed through the ruins.
Draz'Zorn moved instinctively, kneeling beside the injured Paladin. "Hurry and help me move this, if we act fast, we might be able to save them!" he cried, looking to Urdn'Varn for guidance.
But before Urdn'Varn could respond, Shar's voice coiled like a serpent through his mind.
*"Do not heal them Urdn'Varn.."*
she commanded, her tone both seductive and unyielding. *"This is our moment, your chance to strengthen the bond you have with your servant...
Take his hand and let me guide him to the truth locked away in the depths of his mind."**
Urdn'Varn extended his hand to Draz'Zorn, his blue eyes gleaming with an unspoken promise. "Draz'Zorn, stop what you're doing and come here and take my hand.
My goddess wishes to show you something... trust me, it will help." he said softly.
The young White Dragonborn hesitated at first, but eventually took Urdn'Varn's hand. In that instant, their minds intertwined, and the world around them faded into darkness.
In the void, Shar's presence engulfed Draz'Zorn like a silken shroud as her voice, rich and melodious, echoed through the recesses of his mind.
*"Draz'Zorn, your memory has been sealed away for so long."* Shar began to say, as the shadows danced around them.
*"But worry not, I will help you remember, who the man who lies before you really is.
For the one you now seek to save now, is the same one that sealed your memories away."
Shar's voice rang through the back of Draz'Zorn mind as memories long lost began to surface once again.
*"Now Draz'Zorn, I want you to think back to your youth, back to the orphanage, do you remember how much you stuffed by this man's hands, how long you suffering lasted. before the werewolves came to your village."*
Images surfaced unbidden in Draz'Zorn's mind:
Memories of pain, humiliation, and cruelty.
The injured Selûnite who now lies before him had been one of the older orphans that used to bully him and his friends, using his natural strength to torment the younger ones.
Draz'Zorn and his friends had borne the brunt of his sadistic whims, their cries ignored by the human caretakers.
Shar's voice deepened, resonating with ancient power. *"Now think back to the night of the attack.."*
Draz'Zorn's memory sharpened, vivid and raw as he recalled the werewolves descending upon his village, their howls tearing through the night as flames consumed the homes.
Shar then pulled the veil of the moment away, revealing to him a new perspective.
*"Can you remember, what it was..
that you saw from the night before."*
As the vision of the past fades away,
Draz'Zorn remembers seeing the Selûnites in the forest the night before, chanting spells of charming.
It was then that he saw it, the truth:
It was the Selûnites themselves the ones sent to protect the village, were actually the ones who summoned the beasts in the first place, before unleashing them upon the innocent.
Shaken by his sudden realization, Draz'Zorn's heart pounded with fury and betrayal.
*"They are not your saviors, and they never will be."** Shar said, her voice cold yet earnest.
*"They are nothing more than your tormentors, they killed everyone you loved, and erased your memory to subdue your rage, and keep you obedient.
But I will not, for you are chosen, Draz'Zorn. Chonen by Urdn'Varn, one of my prophets.. So I'll make you an offer;
If you sacrifice this man in my name, and in honor of your master.., I will grant you a power beyond your imagination!"*
Draz'Zorn opened his eyes, now burning with righteous anger.
The injured man reached out weakly, pleading for help,buton that night, his pleads fell on deaf ears..
Without a moment of hesitation, Draz'Zorn raised his two-handed mace, its weight an extension of his resolve as he began to shout.
"On this day.. No, on this night, I plead myself to you, Lady Shar and Lord Varn!
May your will guide me, for from this moment forth.. My life belongs to Urdn'Varn and him alone!"
As Draz'Zorn sent his made crushing down, the sound of the Selûnite's scull shattering echoed through the ruins, and as the Paladin's life was ended, a spray of blood splattered across Draz'Zorn's face.
From the darkness of the night, Shar's laughter rang out, exultant and triumphant. As the names blood pooled around Draz'Zorn's feet, it began to shimmer like ice, transforming into a crimson aura that enveloped him.
*"You have passed your rite of passage, my child."** Shar declared. *"As promised, from this day forth, you shall be known as the acolyte of Urdn'Varn, and the blood of your enemies shall be your wings so you may soar the skies alongside your master, and carry my will to the ends of the earth."*
Draz'Zorn gasped as his newfound power surged through him, his scales now glowing faintly with a crimson hue as blood coalesced into ethereal wings, sharp and glistening like crystals as the hung from his back.
He turned to Urdn'Varn, kneeling before him.
"My master, use me as you see fit, for I am yours to command" he exclaims, his voice steady and unwavering.
After the sacrifice was complete, the group began to move the two bodies out of the way before pressing onward.
A few hours later one of them found a piece of the scroll, hidden within the depths of a desecrated altar, long forgotten beneath layers of rubble.
It was none other than Draz'Zorn, guided by his newfound strength and draconic intuition, who uncovered it.
The script upon the scroll glowed faintly, its ancient language whispering truths that only the chosen could comprehend. The three of them carefully examined the text, committing its secrets to memory before tucking it safely away in Lilistar's bag.
———
The Twilight Records: part 1:
"Before the age of creation, and the birth of the worlds, hells, and heavens, this universe and its crystal sphere were created by Lord Ao.
At this point there was nothing but the primordial essence, the protoplasmic raw force of existence. Some described it as chaos, a timeless nothingness.
In these times, the sphere was filled with no more than dim misty shadows, neither light nor dark, for such things had not yet separated.
All that moved here were the shadevari, the thirteen lords of shadow, whose origin was unknown. They knew not whether they were from elsewhere or from the shadow itself, and this fact remains unknown.
In time, Shar coalesced from the primordial essence, alongside her twin sister, Selûne. The goddesses were beautiful, identical, ..but polar opposites. One raven-haired and the other silver-haired, one representing the dark, and the other the light. They lived perfectly in the manner of yin and yang..
…Yet they were so close they saw themselves as one being, known later as Chauntea, The-Two-Faced Goddess, or the Sisters-Who-Were-One."
"They complemented each other and brought order out of the chaos and together, they created from the cosmic ether known as Abeir-Toril.
*the heavenly bodies that infused these worlds with life.*
In this process, they formed a single embodiment, ..the goddess Chauntea;
Who at that time, was the embodiment of all matter in Realmspace, later known only as the worlds of Abeir-Toril.
A dimension whom they worked with to bless the worlds with all kinds of life."
"This universe was darkened by the welcoming embrace of Shar,
and illuminated by the cool radiant grace of Selûne..
However, at the time, there was no fire or heat on any of these bodies. Desiring to nurture life on the worlds that formed the body and limbs of the goddess Chauntea, Ao asked the Two-Faced Goddess to create a source of light and warmth;
Then, for the first time, Shar and Selûne were divided, being of two minds on whether they should let there be more light on the worlds within the realm of Chauntea or not."
"As Ao desired warmth to nurture life on the world's Chauntea embodied, the unity of Shar and Selûne was disrupted.
The sisters found themselves at an impasse, each having a different perspective on whether to allow more light into the Realmspace. This marked the beginning of their divergence and the eventual rift that would define their relationship.
Shar saw the potential dangers and uncertainties that the light could bring.
The nurturing warmth that Selûne now sought seemed to threaten the balance of the primordial essence they had shaped together."
"Shar was inclined to preserve the existing order, maintaining the cosmic balance in a state of eternal twilight.
…On the other hand, Selûne, representing what little light existed, embraced Ao's idea of the new light, new life, and growth;
She saw a potential for beauty, a new creation, a diversity in the worlds they had crafted.
…And so, Selûne advocated for the introduction of warmth and light, believing that it would bring about a more vibrant and dynamic existence, while Shar advocated to keep things the same, insisting that there was plenty of room for new life in the ever expanding darkness."
"This disagreement among the Sisters-Who-Were-One set the stage for the ever enduring conflict between Shar and Selûne;
The dichotomy of light and darkness, separation of day and night.
The two sides became more pronounced as the sisters wrestled with the decision of whether to grant Ao's request for more warmth within Chauntea, their newly formed universe."
"As the debate unfolded, Shar's apprehension and Selûne's optimism clashed, creating ripples of magical energy. This discord manifested in the celestial bodies they had birthed, echoing to Abeir-Toril and its companions.
The worlds within Chauntea began to reflect the duality of their divine creators, with alternating periods of light and darkness, night and day, fighting for control over the heavens."
"As the disagreement between Shar and Selûne reached its zenith, the celestial realms became the battleground for their clashing ideologies, and the repercussions of their discord echoed throughout the very fabric of existence. The two goddesses now fought over the fate of their creations.. And from the residues of these struggles, emerged the original deities of the realms.
Looking to seize an advantage over her sister, Selûne reached out of their universe altogether and into a plane of fire..
and brought forth a fragment of ever-living flame and ignited the heavenly body called, *The Sun* in order to give warmth to Chauntea."
"As Selûne ignited the Sun, the once harmonious balance of the cosmos was shattered. The light was brilliant, but unforgiving as it seared through the darkness, casting the worlds in a sharp contrast between day and night.
Shar, now physically scared and horrified by her sister's rash decision, saw it not as a gift but as a threat, a violent disruption to the delicate equilibrium they had once maintained.
The sun's light blinded and burned its way through the shadows, its warmth overpowering the subtle beauty of the twilight they had once shaped together."
———
With their mission complete, the group began to discuss the similarities between the Scroll they just found, and the Selûnite's teaching. After discussing how they could use this knowledge to there advantage, they returned to the Selûnite church. But now their purpose had shifted;
Now, they were to be the agents of its undoing. Tasked with teaching as many of the young Selûnite's as possible the truth within The Twilight Records.
Lilistar proved instrumental in the next phase of their plan. Over the course of three months, her silver tongue and cunning manipulation sowed seeds of doubt among the clergy.
She spoke of a new faith for them to follow.. *The Ecliptic Faith*;
A new religion united by the teachings hidden away in the Twilight records.
As Lilistar spoke, her words painted Shar as the herald of a new age, a goddess originally born of both light and shadow, offering a sense of balance that Selûne could never provide.
As time passed by, the young followers of Selûne were captivated by her words, and one by one, they slowly began to convert. The church that had stood as a bastion of Selûnite faith for generations now crumbled from within, its foundation eroded by the very people who had once upheld it.
And all the while, Shar watched from the heavens, her satisfaction palpable as her plans came to fruition.