There is a distinct atmosphere of fear around you. You notice Hyuga’s disappearance and a brief look at your companions indicates that there is something very strange going on. They appear to be falling helplessly to sleep all around you. You feel the most overwhelming desire to fall asleep yourself, a sensation you have not felt for months.

Suddenly your eyes are open and you are alone on the plains of Stonefist. The air is icy and a chill wind assaults you from the north. The campfire is gone. A lone figure approaches out of the night, his long cloak and pointed hood mark him as a sorcerer although he wears a long bladed sword at his side. His manner is one of curiosity rather than menace. You sense the presence of true greatness in this man, who moves with the fluid, agile grace of a master of many disciplines.

"Greetings, Wordmonger. I have come into your dreams to talk." He considers that and chuckles to himself. "Actually I am rather pleased that this conversation is one sided, for some of your words can be particularly disturbing, if you know what I mean. Still, you will listen and I will talk - that is the way of things.

"This is a very special evening. The sixth day of the Bear is a date which should be indelibly stamped upon your soul for it is the anniversary of the death of Loramas. You may not know who she was but that is not important. She was butchered several years ago by Skarvik and Isulan. To accomplish this they had to bend a few laws. This, of course, goes against the natural order of things so Nature has decided to bend a few laws back to compensate for their treachery. That is why I’m here. You may have noticed peculiar things happening to your companions but do not be afraid. With the sunrise shall come sanity.

"So, who is this man before me, I hear you say. What you should be asking is who was I. I’ll come to that all in good time, my boy. As I have mentioned this day is a rather strange one, and indeed it will remain so until the end of time. This allows me to fill in the gaps of your knowledge, so if you will permit me I will recount a short tale.

"Loramas has been linked with the old gods for centuries. It is often said that Sirath Urikk raped her to produce her offspring that became what is now known as The Bloodlines. This is quite simply not true. Loramas was the one who forced the god Sirath to mate and the product of that mating were two men. They were Kiruk, my brother, and myself, Cedron. My life history infuses most aspects of Greyhawkian life, Luther, and I am sure you have heard of my name. You may well be asking yourself what is this man doing appearing to me in a dream. Well, old boy, you are looking at the only man in history to have mastered all nine power words. There are those who claim such an achievement but they are all charlatans. I can sense your ambition in this area and your frustration in your attempts to master that which is most difficult to comprehend.

"You should shift your emphasis, Luther.

"Let me explain. Take your name, for example. Luther. (I am aware of your supposed ‘real’ name but you have only one name and that is Luther) In many languages this means ‘devil’ or ‘demon’. The power words originated from the earliest known language known to man. During the Time of Creation language was clumsy so Promethius created a form of speech which helped him to form his ideas and get those ideas across to his minions. Obviously this language was beyond the normal understanding and was practically unusable by ‘normal’ creatures. The nature of this language made it possible to project complicated sequences of information and ideas in the form of single words and Chael (the first wizard) actually stole nine of these words from his ultimate master’s vocabulary and formed them into the words of power we know of today.

"Now comes the complicated part. Chael grafted these nine words into a form which men could actually speak and those with a particular gift could form the words to produce incredible feats of sorcery with one single word and a thought. A very clever idea, actually. The problem with this talent is that you cannot ‘teach’ anyone how to think (not in the classic way, at least) for as you know each word can be expressed differently by a different sorcerer, depending on how he or she thinks. It’s rather the same as your name. In some languages you are a devil and in others you are a demon. Are you following this ?

"The only constant factor in the potential of the power words is the way the sorcerer thinks. Improve and expand your mind and your grasp of the power words will increase - thus your potential power will also increase. The question is, however, how to expand your mind ?

"As your mastery of the power words increases so does the potential of your power. You might be surprised to know how much potential there is - but that depends on your mind. I have seen some of the most powerful sorcerers in history struggle to master even one of the words and yet there are people such as yourself, a common thief, who have managed great things. Do not despair, Luther. To get this far indicates great control and talent.

"It shows some measure of the treachery of Skarvik and Isulan that Nature is prepared to go to such lengths to maintain the balance that was distorted by the deities’ cheating. The Great Mother herself has intervened this evening and all the events of this night will be etched on your souls for ever. You don’t have to rely on the power of Ulus to accomplish great things with your mind. Wilnar is capable of great achievements. It was with that particular word that I started my experimentation with compartments of the mind.

"To digress you are also the wielder of a second Primal Power. The Void is nothing to take lightly, Luther, for it’s power has dogged the world from the very beginning. It is the power that is most frightening and most widely misused. The Blade of Gaxx rushes towards oblivion as it carves great gouges from Greyhawk. As spectacular as it is it is by no means the most deadly aspect of Primal Power. Control of the Void is more dangerous that the wielding of a black nightmare. After all, anyone can swing a sword, but how many can remove the very power of a sorcerer with the deft use of nimble fingers ? Believe me, Luther, I have seen it done. It is not as spectacular as the Blade of Gaxx but the look of horror on the magician’s face when he realises that he has no spells (or power words !) is to be savoured.

"I fear my time here is coming to an end. Farewell, Luther Wordmonger. May your fortunes continue to improve...."

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