In the month of Ero, 975 years after the fall of the Seleucarian Empire, the mage Gaderian emerged once more within the watery dominion of Sllshya's Maw. Emboldened by a pact struck beneath the volcano of Harae, the former mage of Narcisse turned his attention to a new target: the Cetus Chamiloia.

Fell sorcery and arcane might wove together as the mad mage subjected the beguiling Cetus to his machinations, instilling within her the seeds of a dark blight. Though the brave adventurers of Sapience rallied to confront Gaderian, his hunger for freedom proved too great. He slipped away through a shimmering portal, leaving his vile curse behind to fester in the deep.

In the months that followed, Chamiloia's behavior grew increasingly erratic as the corruption took hold. She refused all nourishment, struck out at her guards and kin, and her song began to unravel. What had once been an ethereal melody became a mind-breaking discord, a sound that echoed across the World Tree like a fractured lament.

The effects of her twisted siren song were swift and cruel. Madness swept through the noble halls of the Alcazar. The guards lost all clarity, and even the Queen herself began to struggle to hold her thoughts. Yet all of this was only the beginning.

~

Several months later, in the early days of Mayan 975 AF, another presence made itself known upon the Elemental Plane of Water. This time, it was not Gaderian, but a tall figure shrouded in shadow - the very accomplice who had sought him out after Harae's devastation. Speaking in words older than the tongue of humanity, the shade whispered dark invocations in the ear of Chamiloia, pushing her twisted mind further towards the edge, and then over it.

The Pride of Sllshya screamed aloud, her song so distorted it seized the minds of the Alcazar's guards, leaving them transfixed and preparing the palace for the intruders' true intent. Appearing beside his enigmatic companion, Gaderian and the shadowy figure strode toward the Queen Regent's chambers, where the Ice Mage Maklak lay frozen and imprisoned.

Wielding Fire with all the mastery of seasoned elementalists, the two practitioners of the arcane assailed the rime-wrought prison with a blazing inferno, boiling away ice and water until, at last, it shattered and Maklak stood free once more. Distrustful and alert, the Ice Mage lunged at Gaderian, demanding an explanation for his freeing. Yet it was not Gaderian's words that calmed his ire, but the silent, unknowable utterance of the silk-clad shadow at his side. Hesitant but intrigued, Maklak agreed to discuss terms once freed from Sllshya's domain.

And so the three mages departed, but not before Maklak unleashed a wintry hell upon the palace, a chilling glimpse of power undiminished by his centuries entombed. Ice ripped through the Alcazar's walls and beyond, freezing adventurers where they stood and stirring Chamiloia into a wild frenzy. After a battle that raged half a day long, the Cetus was at last quelled through necessarily-violent means.

With her corpse floating in the waters of Sllshya's Maw, the blight within the mermaid-like Cetus began to escape, seeping out of fresh wounds like rotted blood. Sensing the corruption now spreading through the Maw, Asahana descended from the Elemental Embassy like a roaring tsunami. Ever unimpressed with the actions of Primes, the Emissary of Sllshya questioned those who remained. After deliberation, it was agreed that those bearing slivers of Sllshya's power would right this wrong and purify the Maw, guided by further instruction from Asahana, lest that very power be stripped from them.

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Summary: Corrupted by a blight laid by Gaderian and worsened by his shadowy conspirator, the Cetus Chamiloia compromised the Alcazar's defenses, allowing the Ice Wizard Maklak to be freed from his glacial prison and recruited. Now three strong, an alliance of mages has begun to build, though its purpose remains yet to be seen.

Penned by My hand on the 1st of Aeguary, in the year 976 AF.