Dear Herald,

Yesterday, most of the Imperial family of Ergoth was wiped out by a group of dedicated assassins. Exactly who they are and what their goals are is still unclear, but I wanted to make sure that this report got to you should further violence occur and my own life be claimed. (A ship is leaving Gwynned for Palanthas is eve, so I needed to pen this missive in a hasty fashion.)

It appears that a number of groups devoted to furthering the cause of Evil have combined their efforts to strike fatal blows at those of good heart.

It started three days ago, when a messger who claimed to speak on behalf of Raekal, who is some form of legendary "boogie-man" to the Ergothians, forced his way into the Emperor's presence. He said that the end of the Empire was at hand and swore that gods Morgion and Sargonnas would soon claim its throne. The Emperor naturally had him thrown in jail.

Two days ago, a mysterious illness started effecting the Royal Guard and many members of the court. The illness was particularly troubling to me, because it reminded me of an affliction that afflicted silver dragons roughly a decade after the War of the Lance, an affliction that had partially be caused by a divine curse. The symptoms were lethargy, fever, and purplish skin blotches. The disease proved highly resistant to the efforts of mystics to cure it.

As you are aware, Herald, Solamnic Knight Linsha Majere and I have been present at the Imperial Court for the last few months, assisting in furthering Princess Mercidith's education and serving as diplomatic envoys to the Court from the Knights of Solamnia and the Citadel of Light, respectively. (Functioning within the strongly patriachal society of the Empire has brought with it a series of unique challenges, which I will make a report on, should I find the time. But, the Emperor has resigned himself to the fact that Mercidith is most likely to inherit the throne, and he was doing his best to prepare the Court for her ascendence. Who imagined that it might come so soon?)

But, I digress.

Lady Linsha and I were commanded to leave the capitol with Princess Mercidith and an entourage. We were working into the night to prepare the caravan when assassins invaded the Imperial Palace, stealing past reduced number of guards and into the inner chambers of the Imperial family. Their mission murderous mission--to bring death to all in the Imperial line!--may have been successful, if not for a chance encounter that Lady Linsha had with one of the killers as he was stealing from the chambers of the Imperial Mother; and Princess Mercidith being awakened by "Lord Julius," a guardian spirit who has been with her since her early childhood. She fled her would-be assassin, but had a mysterious encounter with a Kagonesti elf in the hallway.

It is hard to say if the Kagonesti would have slain Mercidith or not, as I was attracted to the scene by the princess's terrifyied shrieks and the other elf fled rather than face my blade. Mercidith, after calming herself, claimed that the Kagonesti had destroyed "Lord Julius" and stated that all of the Empire of Ergoth would be plunged into chaos if she didn't devote the resources of the Empire to locating and capturing the elf-prince Gilthanas and the silver dragon Silvara. Apparently, the Emperor had refused to aid the Kagonesti and whoever her mysterious allies are in this venture, and she had therefore lent the magical might to the cause of "Raekal's" followers to destroy Mercidith's dynasty.

I at first thought that this was a nonsense--Gilthanas of Qualinesti had been assumed to be dead since shortly after the War of the Lance--but Lady Linsha informed me that Githanas had appeared on Sanscrist Isle over a decade ago. She had further heard from her friend Rig Mer-Kel that Gilthanas had been in Eastwatch as recent as four years ago.

While I remain a bit leery--the Kagonesti drew flower designs on the cheeks of Princess Mercidith with the blood of a fallen guard before I arrived, so she is clearly unhinged--I have chosen to travel south and secure passage to Eastwatch there. Along the way, I will be visiting the Solamnic Knight who serves as the local governor of the southern Imperial province and request that he send some of his men to Gwynned to aid Lady Linsha and Mercidith. It would be terrible if one of the few bastions of order and good that have remained intact into this "Age of Mortals," fending off both Great Dragons and Knights of Takhisis, were to fall due to the actions of a group acting in the name of deities as twisted as Morgion, Sargonnas, and the local demonic figure Raekal. (I hope that Lady Linsha and the Solamnic Knights will be able to reveal the full motivations and source of power behind those who have struck against the Empire. Time will tell.)

I will have time onboard the ship to Southern Ergoth to write a more detailed account of Raekel and the various legends that surround him and his followers. For now, I just wanted to appraise you of the situation here in Northern Ergoth.

I hope this missive reaches you in good health, and I hope it will be useful to your continuing chronicles of Ansalon in these troubled times. I realize that it is rushed.

Iryl Songbrook
Writing from Gwynned, in the Empire of Ergoth