Clar Banda, The Dark Queen
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(I think it got deleted from the library forum, but its very PA style, beign written by Kieron from an IC perspective)
The Dark Queen - Written by Kieron Shadwell, Dean of the University of Might and Magic
Written on the behalf of the University of Might and Magic, this book details the life and history of the Lichess Clar Banda and the history and myths surrounding her.
INDEX
The Forgotten Past
The Scar
The Long Past
The Hunt
The Plane
The Recent Past
The Reports
The Henchmen
The Artefacts
The Innocents
Footnote -
THE FORGOTTEN PAST
Clar Badna, Lichess of the dark, the bony fingernail of death within this city. She is old, even for a Lich. She had once been a beautiful and proud woman with the ear of Karsus himself. A mighty wizardress, as were all her kin, the Netherese, her flying city was renown for its beauty, the waterfalls flowing up hill, the magically amplified songbirds before the troubles that plunged all their race into darkness came upon them. Some coped with it in a various ways. Some left magic altogether, some moved north to help found the Uthgardt. She sought other means to further herself and plunged into the worship of Shar.
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THE SCAR
During the downfall of her city she was scarred beyond belief. All her magics could not reverse the visage, for they were burnt from the weave itself. It was of magical origin, and burnt further than just her body. It touched her mind, made her see the naked power of the weave of which she is both drawn to and repulsed. It may be why she seeks other ways to use magic, through the teachings of Shar. Her wounds were sustained many years ago now and to heal them would mean destroying her. Then she may find peace. For they are her, she is the wound… her mind is a bleeding sore of pain. her humanity is so far gone, will she care?
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THE LONG PAST
The following entry was taken from correspondence with Lady Norah:
Long ago, the Knights of the Merciful Sword fought an evil Lich named Clar Banda. The fight was long and hard and all of our senior knights died fighting this great evil. One of the paladins used a sword called the Tyr's Law. From our records, we have discovered that Banda's crypt was near a place of undead. That is all that we know.
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THE HUNT
Now she lurks in planes of her own, can utilise the ancient magics of her fallen cities, and has the power to control any undead around the city, appearing where they walk. It is only her thirst for power and sorrow that drives her now. What she desires is power, and it is to that end she seeks demi Lichdom. Slowly she amasses the components necessary for her to reach this end. What happens after she does I do not know. Will she be happy with that and sink back into obscurity? Or will she seek to extend her influence, the Dread queen of the dead.
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THE PLANE
The following entry was taken from a witness to the hidden plane of Clar Banda:
When I came to that place..or plane..or cave…or whatever it was... ..didn't know what to do...there were portals...a river of fire...sorta..black sky..and I started praying then, for Corellon to guide me. but....he didn't answer my prayers....something else did... Darkness started to form under me...a..almost chocking darkness...a..and then there was this thing there. L..like the shdaow creatures that came through the portal and into the shrine.... It..didn't attack me, it started talking... It say I was in Clar Banda's world now...the she-Lich..master of the undead....t..that she had Parner and was torturing him with her spells... said there was no escape from here, t..that I would suffer the same fate as Parner...t..then it jumped at my throat. Pride it off with my sword....but it kept coming after me...I fought it..using all my potions and spells...and almost that wasn't enough... In the end....it..died, or vansihed or something, leaving me near death...a..and that's when Belegar came...
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THE RECENT PAST
Over passing months rumours of the ill fated wizardress began to surface, she had come out of her hiding once more. Her minions struck first the Tymoran shrine in Arabel. Guardian of the Shrine, Parner, has mentioned the was frequenting the Tymoran shrine taking notable interest in him, even killing him at one point:
A ritual to remove the grip the Lich was exerting over an elven druid by name of Silmar. A group of elven priests and priestesses of the Seldarine performed the ritual to break the hold the Lich held over the druid. While successful in their efforts, the Lich retaliated through an intermediary.
Undead began attacking the shrine where the ritual was performed and sought out Silmar in particular as the source for their attacks. They were successfully repelled, however the source was not determined as of yet. a name is blatantly blacked out here should be able to shed more light upon the way he discovered the source of the attacks.
Our information lead us to a crypt that a "Sandlord" that allied with the Lich was using. The place was riddled with both traps and the undead. Eventually we entered a room whereupon the Lich herself was. Her minions attacked and she was able to flee once again, either through a portal or through the use of teleportation magics. After their defeat, we continued pressing, searching for the beast that allied with the Lich.
We entered a grand hall within the catacombs to find the sandlord, an undead mummy of great power. Through the efforts of our party, both the Sandlord and his minions were expunged.
The Lich seems to be searching for a champion as well as allying itself with sentient undead. We should be cautious and learn all we can of other sentient undead in the area, both near and far apparently. Yet another thing to be mindful of is those that seem to either change their stance in regard to the Lich or are seeking to ally with it. I have yet to gather any further word on the location of the sword known as Tyr's Law, however I shall remain vigilant.
Parner is not the only witness to the attack on the Tymoran Shrine, the accounts of Mathis, Student of the University of Arabel shows:
It started of with a necromantic henchmen in the crypts in the shrine of Tymora looking for an artefact, trying to bring together a list of artefacts that will help her achieve Demi Lichdom. Last I knew he was heading to Immersea to search for a green but a group turned up to late to stop him. She is also trying to recover another artefact that is in a village beyond Hullak forest. Don't know what it is, but would presumably know it when it is seen as was told by the ghost of the sister who's coffin was defiled in the Tymorian Shrine.
Later Clar Banda�s minions struck the library in Arabel search of another artefact called Time-space Discontinuities: Netherese Portals and Their Origins, a key to her success in becoming a Demi Lich. Clar . What follows are the accounts of Mathias, one of the defenders of the library:
The library was attacked, I was there and helped push back the undead with others and discovered a hole in the floor leading to the sewers. I followed a set of footprints which led to a celestial. They said a curse or a disease or destruction was coming to Arabel if we couldn't find a way to stop it.
The most recent sighting of the minions of Clar Banda were at the Selunite Temple at the East Way. Here a Champion of Shar rose from the temple of Selune, and desecrated the temple and became imbued with the might of Shar. Through careful searching and questions the following information was provided to me:
The elf Anen Meiwaille or the wizard Nelson Alastyr would be the heads among Sharrans about the city. Others include the wizardress Paige, who is currently jailed, and a monk Ketu Mond, who is wanted for capital crimes. A halfling Salanar, and a man named Argaul are also possibly sharrans, or at least working with the above. They also hold association with local followers of Tiamat and necromancers, who are most likely agents of the Cult of the Dragon.
Two accounts recite the tale of what occurred at the shrine, the first from Jacen Tyrane:
Ky�ran, Hilnar, Nami, Dove, another Dwarf and myself had headed north to help Dove regarding the Talassans when a child appeared, wise beyond his years, an avatar. The child said the next place we must go would be the temple of Selune at Immersea or East Way, about the murder of a child. We arrived to late unfortunately.
The second more detailed account talks about what occurred at the Shrine:
I had been out helping the lumberjacks, when I felt Mystra sending me a message. The Selune Temple on the East Way flashed before my mind. My group thought I was going crazy, but I asked them if we could hurry. When we finished the task, I ran through town and found Thaegan Moondow, and asked him for help. He agreed, and I ran ahead to the temple. When I got there, a man named Josef to not go in, that a great evil was inside. I couldn't just let evil take place, so I continued. The woman at the gates was dead, and I headed inside. I searched part of the temple, and found no one. When I started to enter a room, I received a sharp blow to the back of my head and was knocked out for a time unknown.
When I came to, Thaegan and Josef told me the Sharrans had committed the crime. Josef has been found out that his soul was unwillingly sold to Banda. He's also a lycanthrope… The Sharrans are in league with Banda, and a man named Anen is the Sharran leader and I learned that their base is supposedly the basement of the Three Bars. I gained access to the basement, but didn't find anything...
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THE REPORTS
Reports have indicated Clar Banda�s interest with many artefacts and people having sought out something held by the druid Hope. A Mulhorandi warrior named Amon Ra was briefly forced into being her champion, but has long since vanished from the city, he has since been replaced by the Sharran Anen Meiwaille, as well held mutual exchanges of services with the Sharran Wizard Nelson Alastyr.
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THE HENCHMEN
It�s believed that one of Clar Banda�s henchmen lives in the Cemetery near the East Way, a few adventurers maybe be able to confirm this, one of these is Ky�ran. Another is Anen, known to stay at the Three Bars in the Slums.
Caston, who reportedly worked for the traitor Chadwell mercenary company during the Zhent War, has an interest in Dame Dover Silvershield. It is not known at this time if he works for Clar Banda or not.
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THE ARTEFACTS
Along with the book, Time-Space Discontinuities: Netherese Portals and Their Origins, Banda now also seeks three artefacts from tombs of dead heroes.
The "goblet of Catelyn Wright", a goblet containing the soul of Catelyn Wright who died in connection with a Myrkul ritual, is held by Ashena. The goblet may not be an artefact but Clar Banda may desire it. The incident out east involved a Myrkulia by the name of Desmos Haderus. A mukulian entered a village in Eastern Corymr, slaughtered it, and sacrified Catelyn Wright to Mrykul. This may serve as a power source or the like. Ashena has heard strange voices whilst in possession of it.
Another find may be a set of books that have been discovered in a crypt in the city. However, a powerful curse has been placed on these books, allegedly not to allow anyone to retrieve them.
A green gem found somewhere in a village in Hullack Forest.
One may be Ky'ran's sword, Covenant.
Tyr's Law is a blade supposedly holds the power to destroy Clar Banda despite her magical defences. She may wish to nullify any blade sharing a similar power or to corrupt the holy blades to further her own goals. This blade is now in her possession after Senior Knight Caspian failed to recover it.
Tyr�s Eye is a gem known to be buried with a Tyrran names Baenric in a tomb in the Stormholds. Senior Knight Caspian visited this tomb shortly before he faced Clar Banda.
Clar Banda is known to be in the possession of a gem that was taken from the burial site of a Tymoran priest.
There was a medusa that knew Clar Banda whilst she was still mortal that lived in one of the ruins, however the Medusa died during a great battle which destroyed the last of the ruins.
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THE INNOCENTS
Here remains a record of all people known to have lost their lives to the handy work of Clar Banda:
Dame Dove Silvershield of the Knights of the Merciful Sword has said that Lady Norarh�s soul has fallen into the hands of Clar Banda.
Senior Knight Caspian fell against a fierce struggle with Clar Banda in an attempt to prevent her from gaining the blade Tyr�s Law.
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FOOTNOTE
The many voices in dark places speak of evil, everyone knows the truth but time and time again efforts to stop this evil before it spread have been turned back. For evil to be vanquished, good must stand united, and the greatest efforts to purge the darkness with the light must be made. Talk to your friends, talk to your allies, seek out higher powers, let the noble houses that such vileness cannot be stood any longer. If we speak as one, if we act as one, anything is possible.