A Realm Untethered
The occupants of the Obsidian Keep took for granted that their home was safe and secure. Built into the side of a mountain, it withstood countless years of abuse without harm. When the meteors fell, they did not worry, for the walls would surely hold. By the time it set in that they were wrong, they barely had time to escape into Telhwm Athuin, known to most as the Shadow realm, the Plane of Darkness. The bridge behind them, an anchor between the realms, broke as the Keep fell. Dusk, the Keeper, well versed in navigating the mysterious realm of Twilight, knew this boded ill.
An ethereal bear wandered through the streets of Hashan, confused. He did not know this place, it was not his home. He feared the people here. They were unlike him, more solid. When one reached out to pet his black fur, he fled, and yet familiarity eluded him. He searched this darkened expanse, but remained lost. Eventually, he emerged from the darkness, yet still unsure of where he was. He was not home, he was back in the strange city. Soon, others of his kind followed.
Minkai Shin began piecing together the mystery of these bears. The ursines were soon joined by shadow-enshrouded canines, and, most concerning of all, mysterious, robed shades. As she and Telaan, the priestess of Darkness, discussed the possibility that these visitors came from Telhwm Athuin, the answer forcefully presented itself instead, as the two realms intersected. After a quick search, the citizens of Hashan found that a section of the Parade of Founders was now a mirror version of the Prime, the black deserts of the Shadow Realm.
Hashani gathered at the Crossroads and formulated plans to accomplish what had only been done once before to great calamity: create a new anchor between the Prime and another plane. Fendo Isariel, the Hand of Phaestus, approached Archmage Uldor to request aid. While the Archmage reluctantly agreed to help Hashan, memories of betrayal filled his heart. While he did forge a beacon for Fendo, he secretly included a trap that, when tripped at the opportune time, opened a rift to Telhwm Athuin and made way for Fawher’danheg, a beast of Athuin comprised mostly of teeth, which were quickly applied with savage efficiency to the gathered citizens. After a gruelling battle, Chikoo, a young depthswalker, finally felled the monster.
A second plan, put in motion swiftly after the betrayal was realised, utilised a crystal obtained while assisting Haskor in his ascension to contact those who escaped into Telhwm Athuin. Through means unknown, the Darkwalkers attuned the crystal and successfully communicated with the Shadow Realm. Led by Dusk, the Keeper, Hashan came together, and in a new ritual conducted in unison between the two realms, began reanchoring Athuin to the Prime. In the final moments, as darkfire surrounded the city walls flowed into the sky, Twilight, God of Darkness, revealed Himself and, speaking arcane words, ended the imminent planar disaster.
The ethereal bear, meanwhile, continues to roam the streets of Hashan with his fellow refugees from his former home. While Uldor, however justified in his vengeance against Eril may have been, found himself the victim of a fate feared by all dwarven-kin: beardless, and cursed to remain so by the Dark Father’s will.
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Summary: To prevent a planar catastrophe between the Prime and Telhwm Athuin, Hashan conducted a ritual in unison with residents of the Shadow Realm. At the height of the ritual, Twilight, God of Darkness, emerged from a column of darkfire and ensured the successful anchoring of Telhwm Athuin with the Prime Material Plane.
Penned by My hand on the 22nd of Glacian, in the year 998 AF.