The Artifice of Divinity | Raid Target: "Vamque"
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The Artifice of Divinity
Target: "Vamque," Veiled Mage
Tentative Time - Subject to change:
Saturday, October 3rd, 2026, at 1:00 PM Eastern Time.
Background:
May Celine has been assassinated. Three of the four assassins have been defeated: Lorvare, the shadowdancing vampire; Malyvek, the ur-priest; and Ravoque, the dragoon. The veiled mage, attributed the name "Vamque" by the Locus Operandi, is the last remaining assassin. He is the one who duplicated Malyvek, a quicksilver clone of a priest who existed long ago. He is also the one who awoke the tarnished and defective memory of Ravoque, the dragoon who also existed long ago in the same era. By all accounts, he appears to be the mastermind behind May Celine's assassination. He has collected active quicksilver in the region, including quicksilver that was revealed following May Celine's death, as well as the quicksilver clone of Octavia. To what end, it is not clear. He has brought it all to Aslant Castle, where the Locus Operandi has located him. The Locus Operandi now intends to raid that castle, and bring an end to the mage.
Consideration:
This is a scheduled plot finale for the Cradle of Exaltation and primary content finale to the War of the Aureates Update. The typical considerations apply, including permanent NPC death and altered outcomes for the optional prologue, as well as future plots/events.
Scheduling, Planning & Actions:
Participants may use this thread to RP any IC actions, efforts, coordination, or any in game meeting plans you intend to make between now and the scheduled date.
[DM Xanatos Gambit / Eternal]
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Laura, the Blue Moon Host, and the Hidden Moon Priestesses, manage to liberate the souls from the blood orb. They are given a true and proper death, instead of their suspended state.
She is also confirmed to be quite confident at being able to replicate the process for the quicksilver itself, having uncovered a hidden chamber within the already secret study -- and knowing what she does now about Farian and May Celine's hidden research.
[DM Xanatos Gambit]
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Laura spends much of her time assisting the clergy with the "blood orb" recovered from Vamque's abattoir. A method has been deviced to separate the souls trapped within this pre-quicksilver liquid, releasing them to the afterlife. Moonlight fills the library along with the peal of silver bells as these rites take place, each night leading up to the raid.
During the day, she goes over the notes from Farian and May Celine's hidden research on mercurial quicksilver in the secret library. These studies, bolstered by the recent discoveries in Aslant Castle and its environs, makes her reasonably confident about both how quicksilver is made and more importantly, how to release the souls trapped within that substance as well.
