Heroes
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317 Langatīnaz

The creatures from Leng attacked the city in force, as the gods had warned they would. From their great fire-ships, the spiders and their yellow-robed mangod. They breached Urheimat and battled the Immanent Gods in the skies above the city. Some of the spiders had some strange devices which.. it's painful for me to put this to parchment. It's almost impossible to even understand. The Leng-spiders' devices began slaying our gods, right before us. Ripping them from the skies. The Urheimat nobles rallied, and I led my fellow high priests to defend the Great Mother at the Jastorf Temple. The goddess hovered above the structure, crushing dozens of the spiders and other tentacled horrors from the beyond, and we ran to her. Along the way, I saw Three Eagle slain over the promenade, Leng-spiders crawling across his vanishing corpse. The Bearded Hunchback saw this and disappeared in a mist of god-magic. Our gods and goddesses were dying!

We humble high priests killed two of the beasts in the streets and approached the Jastorf Temple with all haste. As we arrived, the yellow-robed mangod, the Leng-spiders' leader, stepped from the temple holding the Ousia crystal. Yellow-robe held our most sacred crystal aloft and shouted, sounding like an ocean tearing, and twenty spiders teleported to the Great Mother above and activated their abomination devices. The goddess screamed ten thousand deaths into our heads as she too vanished.

I fell to my knees and retched, my stomach wanting to burst out. For thousands of years my ancestors had worshiped our gods safe in our city. My own line had been high priests in the temple longer than any other. My life's work had been to preserve and strengthen these Immanent Gods through ritual meditation and sacrifice. And now we were losing them, had already lost them? And the creatures had the Ousia. What hope was there for our world?

I will never forgive myself for that momentary weakness and despair at the loss of my gods. In those moments the yellow-robed creature and his spiders hastened to their fire-ships and began to leave Urheimat. By the time I rallied my men in the chaos and set sail after them, they were far ahead. My men too despaired. "What hope have we against them? They killed the gods!" Their resolve wavering, I grabbed the chief instigator and sacrificed him right there on the deck. I called a prayer to the Great Mother as my holy blade slid home, and the goddess whispered back to us! A tiny and almost helpless form of her, but enough to provide some speed to our sails.

We immediately became solid of heart and purpose. We would gain our vengeance on the Leng creatures and retrieve the Ousia. We would re-form our gods through the power of sacrifice, no matter how long it took. As the gods tell us, you do not have to put out the fire when all is ash.

As we closed on the fire-ships and prepared our attack, the clear skies were suddenly filled with squalls and lightning. Normally this would be the work of the Sea-Lord, but he was surely dead as well. Gods, like men, can die. They just die harder, and smite the world with their passing.

A portal, two hundred feet in diameter and lined with purple fire, opened before the creatures. We chased them through the storm and into the fire portal. We held on, and left our placid isle-world to go into the midst of the black seas of infinity into which we were not meant to voyage. We glimpsed the fire-ships ahead, and I saw their yellow sails and seven pointed stars across all their cannons. I saw their webrope. I saw the yellow-robed bastard himself, looking back at me through the blackness under his cloak. I felt his smirk in my soul. After what seemed ten thousand years, or ten gasping breaths of wonder, everything flickered three times and became blue again. We sailed seas. Empty blue seas, with no fire-ships in sight.

This was a week ago. We finally struck land yesterday. We never saw the Leng ships again, though we fought off three pirate attacks. We sailed east and found strange locals who name this land Garund. Is this Leng? Today we begin our holy quest for vengeance. I will hunt them down.

4701 28 Desnus

We have been sailing these seas for six years now. We cannot even find our home again, much less any sign of the monsters from Leng. We continue to investigate everywhere in the world. By now I have sacrificed hundreds of pirates to the gods, and I hear most of them whisper to me when I pray. The gods are tiny distant versions of themselves. I hear them as though they are two inches tall and whispering at me through many layers of cloth. But I hear them. And after sacrificing I feel their power, and may call upon it in their names. These years have not led to word of the monsters, but they have been a bountiful harvest for the gods. I fear pirates will not be enough, however. More meaningful and powerful sacrifices will be called for eventually.

4707 11 Pharast

Finally, at long last, a lead. Captain Ase, Lord Asger, and the crew remain as committed as I to our cause, but we needed some sign.

We all miss home dearly. Sometimes I long for home, for my family, more than the return of the gods. Very often, I long for this, though it is difficult to admit to myself. Being home is not more important than the return of the gods. No matter what I need.

And now we have a sign. I have been told by a scholar to travel to a distant city named Magnimar for some more information on the seven pointed star symbol I glimpsed on the Leng-cannons. She said the star may have a connection to some empire or artifacts near there. I pray this lead is fruitful. But I am cautious against hope, for we have only faced setback on top of setback. As the gods tell us: There is seldom a single wave.

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