The Fall of Fireforge

         The alchemist poured the rest of the sea foam coloured liquid into his mixture and carefully began the mantra that he had been through so many times. As the liquid entered the main mixture, a thin tendril of smoke arose out of it and began dancing to his words. The dance was not only the powers of alchemy and mysticism, but carried a stronger evocation that was only possible through a knowledge and discipline of magic.

         The smoke gathered into one place about 3 feet above the original mixture and began forming into the nebulous form of a creature whose upper body bore a vague resemblance to a man’s. As the alchemist finished his recitation, the creature became complete and now looked much like the cloudy visage of a man. The smoke that had swirled into this form continued to twist and move within the confines of a man’s outline which gave a ghostly affect to the creature now standing before the alchemist.

         The creature bowed in greeting and spoke in a deep voice eerily hollow, unlike a human voice. “Are the preparations then complete?”

         The alchemist bowed to return the gesture of respect, “yes, we will be prepared to send the word out and begin the incantations within three days’ time.”

         “Very good, give me the full report,” the creature stood erect and clasped his hands behind his back.

         “The fireforge has been complete and all alchemists have been bound under oath or killed. Small towns and villages have 5-10 alchemists each to work them, Frostgate, Windtorren, and Windchester each have 150 alchemists, Fireforge itself has over 200 and the following cities have between 100 and 150. . .”

         The alchemist continued reporting to the creature he had evoked from another plane, the ethereal plane. The Ethereal was a place much like the Material plane where the alchemist lived, but the two dimensions couldn’t physically intermix. The creatures from each required substance from their own plane for existence and had difficulty physically interacting in the other. But the powers of one plane were great when used in the other, and held formidable possibilities when brought together. That is why the alchemist called forth the creature from the ethereal plane, the only sentient species on the ethereal plane and called an Ethereon. The two planned to come together and through a mixture of ethereal magic, material magic and alchemy, they would bind the two planes together, and thereby put the planes and their inhabitants under their control.

         “They all wait for a specific incantation as their sign. My incantation will reach all and at that point they will together open the way for your people. My incantation should also reach to the ethereal plane and thereby all Ethereon will know that the binding is about to take place.”

         “Last time we spoke, you had not been able to reach the lands beyond the forest of Wayverin where the kingdom of Cerion holds great strength and into the forests of the Characin warriors. Those lands have a spirit about them that I have been unable to penetrate, we cannot see them and that is half the world we will not have.”

         “To the contrary,” the alchemist began as he blinked a few times trying to refocus on the Ethereon. It was difficult for his eyes to settle on an ever-moving cloud of smoke, “I have aligned with the great priestess Nicola and her armies have already swept the land clean.”

         The Ethereon mused for a moment and the alchemist had the distinct feeling that his mind was being searched. After the Ethereon finished whatever his mind was doing, he shook his head, “I see her and she is not to be trusted. This war she has waged on the eastern half of your world has not only left it completely desolate, but you know that it began with her alliance of nine Dark Characin and she has eliminated six of them. This leaves her close to being the sole heir to all their dark armies and the Eastern half of your world.” He scrutinized the human a moment more, “yes, I can see you have been keeping tabs on her, wondering if she could prove a disturber of our plans, and she has brought forth not only Dark Characin armies, but many of your Human kind. Nicola has communed with Necromancy and Enchantment so she has control of the undead armies, the living armies, many insentient creatures and animals.” After looking through the alchemist’s mind he drew his own conclusions, “her forces are none to be whimsically considered, I have not been able to venture my power into that part of the land not because of the Characin Warriors, but because of her Dark Characin armies. They carry with them great power that you underestimate.” He shook his head again, this time in mild exasperation, “your world, the material one as you call it, suffers from having more than one sentient race to fight over the rule of it.”