"No mortal being can ever go against a Ghod. Never be so arrogant as to think that you are level with the dieties. Your job is to honor and serve the great ones, for whom you are merely a plaything." This, the Elder Priests of the Temple would tell the younger acolytes; and no truer statement has ever been made. But perhaps it would be better to start the story at the beginning...

We are Mmalkuth.DMHC, and Tork.DMHC; Thaums who sit on the High Council of Dragon Maw. As holy men, we came together long ago to study here at the Temple; Tork from Leng, and Mmalkuth from Hovath. Here, we learned the ancient secrets and prayers needed to fight evil and empower the Light. And as our powers and strength grew, so did our arrogance. It is our sincerest hope that by reading this scroll, you, reader, will not fall into the same traps that we have�costing ourselves and others nearly everything.

Not long ago, Mmalkuth was in the UnderKingdom, when it became clear that the town was being attacked. As a Defender of the Light, he returned to town, there to face evils unsurpassed. Groups and groups of trolls and hobgoblins, as well as some of the greater monsters of UK such as Carfel, Troll.King, and the Overlord came into the town in their attempt to establish a place of evil. What was especially odd about this was that each time one of these "lair crits" was killed, he was somehow immediately raised from the dead to attack us again. Ultimately, after numerous heroes had died, the attack stopped. And from the ethers a distant and dark voice came�

The voice was that of Thamaza, the ghod of evil. He offered all the warriors prizes for fighting his evil minions. But he claimed that he was offering these prizes out of pity as his minions had so clearly destroyed the forces of good; and only by his generous nature had all the holy warriors lived. He bragged how the forces of darkness would always triumph, but in his "mercy", he would give all the warriors present a gift.

For Mmalkuth, a holy man and defender of light, these words were too much. Forgetting that Thamaza was himself a Ghod, Mmalkuth challenged the evil one.

"Bring on all your forces", the priest said. "The powers of Light will always triumph, and while I notice many live warriors�your evil minions are destroyed. Keep your arrogant and hollow words for those fools who would believe them. A ghod you may be, but a pimply faced, wart infested arrogant fool you seem to me." He spoke these words to Thamaza directly and to him through his servant Shaedes. "The Warriors for the Light challenge any of your minions Thamaza. Seek us if you dare, for you would never be able to defeat a team of holy warriors fighting for the ghods of beauty."

Suddenly, Mmalkuth was transported out of town, to a small area inhabited only by a shark�5000 feet below the town. There, the priest was met by Abyrra, servant to the ghods. Abyrra informed our priest that Thamaza was taking up his challenge, and that the ghods were looking forward to the exhibition. Mmalkuth was instructed to assemble a team composed of the greatest warriors from each land. Each land could only send one person from each class, and this team of 48 Holy Warriors would face Thamaza and his minions in a final battle of good vs. evil. The battle would end only with all of the warriors' death, or with the ghod Thamaza being destroyed himself. And then, as if in a dream, Abyrra was gone, and the priest was back in town.

The word of this challenge was carried on the winds to the corners of the Universe. On ship and land; through the aid of birds and magic; the word was spread. The greatest of each land were to seek out Mmalkuth.DMHC to be a part of this special team. All would know that they might die, and that they may lose all their belongings. The risks were great, but they would have the opportunity to defeat pure evil itself. Never before, and never again would an opportunity come like this�to fight face to face the great ghod of evil, Thamaza. And they came�the best from every land.

Hundreds of knights and priests, wizards and thieves, martial artists and fighters sent their request to be part of this challenge. In the end, there were 48 selected. From each land they came prepared to face their destiny�or their doom. Barbarians and Draznians came together. Those from Mu, Illyria, Mnar, and Lemuria came to fight the greatest of evils. Beings from Hovath and Leng joined the army and learned the common language that was to be spoken by these Warriors. Together they came; 48 beings from different lands but with a common goal and destiny. A myth was born�

They trained and practiced together for weeks. With the occasional support of the great servant Abyrra, they learned more about their enemy. Mmalkuth was taken to see Thamaza's lair so that he could prepare his associates for the terrain they would face. Hints and rumors were spoken in the shadows as to what might happen. It was said that Thamaza had unlimited magical powers, being able to summon whirlwinds or lava at will. Others said that he could perhaps summon all the evil beings of the UnderKingdom to aid his attempt at domination. And still�the warriors trained.

When it was clear the veiled threats and shadows would not deter the team from their task; the powers of evil tried another tactic. With 48 warriors of this caliber, there came many strong personalities. And Thamaza tried to divide the brothers and sisters through that ancient servant of evil---greed. It was promised that there would be a few gifts for the team of warriors if they survived�but only a few to split among the 48 adventurers. Immediately the team started to be torn apart as some warriors felt the prizes should be divided up one way; and others felt differently. Hundreds of pieces of correspondence were sent and received; and the time that could have been spent training was being spent bickering about prizes that had not even been won yet. Where he could not win by strength, Thamaza was almost able to succeed by cunning.

But the priests and knights of the group struggled to remind the warriors of their true task. Mmalkuth, Tork, Tinvic.Sol, Lionheart.DMU, Mad.Fungus, Habib.Lore, Browny.Lore, Disenchanted and others came to the forefront in reminding the team of their true goal�the defeat of evil. And the people listened�.

The petty disputes settled, and once again the adventurers gathered together to prepare themselves for the fateful day. They trained and trained, morning and night. And then a blessing came from above to help this team of courageous warriors even more. The ghods decided to allow a 49th warrior to join the group. Skytalon had been in the original town attack where Mmalkuth had first encountered the minions of Thamaza. At first, it seemed as if this young knight would not be able to join the group, but then circumstances changed, and the ghods made an exception and allowed this warrior to aid the holy cause. The Thaums were especially excited about this, as even the young priests knew the difference in the mystical energies of 48 (which would almost guarantee defeat) and 49 (which guarantees unity and success). In joy, the warriors prepared themselves as the day of the challenge came closer and closer.

And still they trained�

And still they prayed�

And the day came�

On October 21, 1999, the warriors assembled in the Grand Plaza of the town in the Garnet facet of the UnderKingdom. There, Mmalkuth called off the names of the participants. When all had been accounted for, the priest led the adventurers in prayer. Whether they would defeat the evil Lord of Darkness or not, they were committed to offering their souls and lives for the survival of the Light. There were names there worth a thousand knights a piece�.great ones like KimSoo, Schpeedy, Kzang.Hood, Aragornwiz.Sol, PapaKas.DM, OL.Scorpy, Sevenblue.Lore, and Scorp.Master�beings that were already the subjects of legends. And as a unified group they all stood together with heads bowed and prayed for their success.

Abyrra appeared, and spirited Mmalkuth away to the lair of Thamaza. There, Mmalkuth once again called the names one at a time�names of greatness and myth. And the ghods spirited each of them to the lair one at a time.

When all were in the lair, Abyrra disappeared, and voices were heard from the spirit realm. And the evil servants of Thamaza came�

But Thamaza had not only summoned his allies, he had made them invisible. Whether it was because of the great crowd in the small lair, or because of the spells cast by Thamaza, most of the team of adventurers could not see the servants of evil attacking them. Carfel, the lightning drake, the Overlord, The Troll.King; invisible they came to attack the holy warriors, and invisible they died at the hands of the Defenders of Light. Banshees and others came to attack our band of heroes, and still the adventurers survived. Yes, many died, but the group of thaums had spread themselves throughout the lair and raised each warrior as he fell. When Thamaza would appear himself, lightning storms and whirlwinds would be cast by his evil powers. But even as the adventurers were killed by these desecrations of nature, so were the warriors raised by the priests.

And so the fight continued. Suddenly, it became clear that there was a thief from outside the team of Holy Warriors that Thamaza had summoned to the lair.

This thief, going under the name of Lionheart, seemed to be trying to loot the corpses of the dead brothers and sisters before they could be raised by the team of thaums. When his treachery was discovered, the process was stopped; but the fighting against other forms of evil continued.

A powerful whirlwind killed over half of the brave heroes. Quickly, the thaums struggled to raise their friends. And many were raised, when finally the evil one himself, Thamaza began to battle in person. Assuming the form of a green and white dragon, Thamaza battled the team of holy adventurers. But with the aid of the ghods, and the luck that can come only to those on a holy mission; Thamaza was killed.

Abyrra the servant to the ghods came into the lair to congratulate the team of holy warriors, and to offer some tokens by the ghods for the entertainment they had received. The heroes were transported back to the town in the UnderKingdom, there to return to their native lands. They returned to tell the story of how a few brave adventurers dared to combat the definition of pure evil.

And we, Tork.DMHC and Mmalkuth.DMHC have returned here, to the Temple of training to write this scroll. For we have learned what the truth is. And we know that the old priests who taught us many years ago were right. We are merely mortal beings. To the ghods we are but playthings. They enjoyed the spectacle of one of their own, even the evil Thamaza, toying with the greatest heroes of our time. And yes, they enjoyed our victory; for they know that the victory is not eternal.

Reader, please remember that evil will always exist in the lands of Kesmai. We can never totally wipe it out. Even with the death in physical form of the ghod Thamaza, do you think that he cannot return in another form to wage war and cause destruction? He can, and he will. It is our sworn duty to recognize that although we may not be able to stop it permanently, we must always fight evil wherever it rears it's head. We are priests. Thaums. And we must remember to serve the powers of Light. And we must remember our limitations.

And we must always know�.that we can always achieve well past those limitations.

We risked everything. Our lives, the lives of our friends, and the very nature of good and evil. But in the risking, we won a victory for the Light. Even had we all died, the story would be remembered�and that is the greatest victory.

And so we close this scroll with the names of each of the adventurers who fought in this mythical battle. Remember their names well, for it will be long again before a group of such magnificence comes together. May the ghods guide us all to Walk in the Beauty of the Day, and to Dream in the Peaceful Velvet of the Night.

Humbly,
Mmalkuth.DMHC and Tork.DMHC

From Hovath:
Mmalkuth.DMHC, Thaum
LadyMo.Eot, Wizard
Drang.DMHC, Martial Artist
Snarff.Eot, Thief
Lionheart.DMU, Knight
Polaris.GM.LS, Fighter

From Mnar:
FatherBo.DMHC, Thaum
MasterShu.Lords, Wizard
Kzang.Hood.CP, Martial Artist
Schpeedy, Thief
Browny.Lore, Knight
Plato.Eot, Fighter

Barbarians:
Malakye, Thaum
AragornWiz.Sol, Wizard
Challenge1, Martial Artist
S.Sqo�DHC, Thief
OL.Cutterhack, Knight
Mbwuan.DM, Fighter
Skytalon, Knight

From Mu:
Habib.Lore, Thaum
DoctorJekl.Lore, Wizard
Humblemonk.HB, Martial Artist
GreyGhost, Thief
Sigurd, Knight
Smalls..SD, Fighter

From Illyria:
Tinvic.Sol, Thaum
GenX.Hood, Wizard
KimSoo, Martial Artist
Blurr.SOK.GLA, Thief
Disenchanted, Knight
Lord Lazurus, Fighter

From Lemuria:
PapaKas.DM, Thaum
OL.Scorpy.HB, Wizard
Pita.Eot, Martial Artist
GreatMerlin, Thief
Raven.TOK, Knight
LadyAnne, Fighter

From Leng:
Tork.DMHC, Thaum
Tabu.W.Lord.SD, Wizard
Scorp.Master, Martial Artist
Sevenblue.Lore, Thief
Thadius.LCAF, Knight
Cami.Bat.Eot, Fighter

From Draznia:
Mad.Fungus, Thaum
Demonique.DMHC, Wizard
Thunder.TOK.GM, Martial Artist
Artemis.Fur.Myth, Thief
Magnos�Lords, Knight
StarWeaver.WCRHC, Fighter