28 Thunsheer 835

Waking in Alziraan, you followed Zym into the Underdark, through winding and unstable tunnels for several hours until reaching Avandra’s temple, a Parthenon of white stone pillars in the center of a large cavern filled with swirling mists. Reaching the interior, the Jewel of the Three Prayers unlocked a secret passage under a statue of Avandra herself, revealing a lower level that had a huge carved mural that depicts the Change Bringer and Moon Weaver following Alyxian into battle, only to have Avandra disappear halfway through.

The remaining levels reflect the demonic origins of the Underdark and contain odes to Torog, the Crawling King, and a demonic infestation, forcing you to fight your way below, searching for the Prayer Site. The very bottom of the temple contained four huge statues: a man on his knees with three hands stretching up around him in a triangle. The statue of the man is made of pale marble, and shaped to depict the man on his knees, arms pinioned behind his back, trussed up in chains that cut into his skin. Hooks line the corners of the figure’s mouth, pulling his lips away from his teeth, and smaller barbs encircle his eyes, holding the eyelids open. All the while, hideous noise comes out of the statue’s open mouth—yet still, its expression is one of ecstasy.

A double door made of iron is set into the statue’s chest which you were able to unlock to find a passage way into, seemingly, another dimension, walking through a restorative light for an indeterminable amount of time, before entering a large chamber, filled with crystal structures that jut up from every which way. Large circular structures lie in ruins around the chamber, with one still slightly intact, with a humanoid golem beneath it, kneeling before a crystalized altar in the center of the clearing. Della recognizes this chamber from her dream, where Alyxian prayed to Avandra.

The crystallized altar contains a relief in it’s surface, the perfect shape of the Jewel as Della places it inside there, activating the Stone Golem, who summons two others, intoning a threat to destroy Alyxian. As the fight commenced, Della and Cassie attempted to pray to Avandra, convincing her you’re not Alyxian, but it did not halt the protectors. The only response was to Della, telling her she must do what Alyxian could never do: sacrifice herself for others. Allowing the golem to kill her, Della recieved a vision of Avandra, as she appeared in the chamber as well.

The vision of Avandra tells you that she was betrayed by the Apotheon, who lied to her to gain her blessing. He said that his goal was to destroy the Betrayer Gods and would strike down the Crawling King, but instead used her power to ally with Gruumsh and destroy her brother, Corellan in an attempt to become a god himself. She denounced the Apotheon and turned her power against him, destroying the Apotheon for his crimes. But, if the Apotheon is speaking to you, clearly his power was not dissiminated enough. He’s gaining power and likely infecting the magic of the world itself to do it. His remaining divine power is linked to the Divine Gate and the very Weave of magic itself. If Apotheon is waking up, the very state of magic itself is at risk, as he will likely draw an impossible amount of Divine magic to reform if his plan succeeds. She warns you against under estimating him, including thinking that you are the only avatars he has reached out to. Even in this form, Avandra can feel the tendrils of Apotheon’s power reaching across Exandria and being used by others for their own gain.

She tasks you with seeking the place that Corellan fell and the Second Arch Heart ascended, as this will be the place of Apotheon’s power. There, you should be able to reach him and kill him before he rises. With that, she disappears.

Della wasn’t the only one who was killed in the fight with the Change Bringer; Amira shook off the mortal coil as well and Cassie’s necromantic magic was held at bay by something in the chamber. Thankfully, Amira’s patron was able to bring her back, though he stated that his power is strained until she completes the tasks he set for her.

After gathering yourselves during a short rest, you used the teleportation stone to return to Sandrius and secured lodging for the evening, with the plan to teleport to Nicodranas and meet with the shipwright tomorrow.