The mighty awe-inspiring column of rock shoots heavenward from the last remaining gate on Grayhawk. A colossal height it punctures the clouds and penetrates the world beyond them like nothing ever seen before. One man stands at its base; one man holds the leverage of all the souls on Grayhawk in his hands. Even now, moments after it’s construction Jarik feels the resonance of the dead souls journey…invisible, unstoppable, inevitable. With the power of the Maelstrom behind them nothing can now stop their journey and the beat of the universe’s heart is restored once more.

The stafflord feels a sense of profound achievement – even the mighty Hamroth, oldest of the Glaennyn, regards him with renewed respect. But it is not the Glaennyn that disturbs the peace, for a voice drifts through the gate from the past, a distant spirit who has awaited this day from the beginning.

"And so my long journey is at an end and my spirit can rest forever in the knowledge that the universe is safe. Your selfless actions will be rewarded, Jarik, as will the devotion of your companion, Hoqar, a man doomed to incarceration in Limbo…yet his sacrifice will secure the dead souls forever…

"The tower will channel all souls directly to their resting place, impelled by The Maelstrom to be reborn again. Of course those with talent can consume the souls of the living, but that has always been the case. Demons have a role in this universe along with all the rest…it was never the intention of mine to make one race profit over another but human (or demonic) nature is like that…

"I see that you have discovered the Glaennyn. I wonder how many of them survived? How ironic that such a race should outlast me…but then again they were the first. Oh yes, Jarik, before Promethius there was hope and light and sound – and Glaennyn. The Maelstrom existed before myself and the Unmaker, a vast storm within a storm, within a storm…a many-layered maze of the senses. Not yet formed into consciousness; it was as if it was waiting for something to order it…Lord Glaennyn had a dream and I was born. Like all great powers I was useless without adversity, without the control that would perfect and hone my abilities. Of course I made many mistakes, countless were the failings at first, but Lord Glaennyn never criticised; he knew that it would come good in the end…he only had one stipulation. In every universe he bid me to create dragons first. In my youth I was rebellious and often disobeyed him – but I soon realised that those universes where I deceived him soon collapsed even before my arch enemy came on the scene.

"The dragons weren’t a luxury, they were a necessity – a vital ingredient that made a world tick. It took me several million years to work out why. You see when my universes died, or were unmade, what was left was The Maelstrom, the impossible storm in the nothingness…sat in the very heart would be Lord Glaennyn…ever calm he would merely smile and I would start again. There were times when I thought I as merely a pawn in some mad fantasy of his but that was not it…he was just eminently patient. As I got closer to achieving Finality as he was often inclined to call the last universe, I began to truly understand the nature of what he was striving for.

"Lord Glaennyn wanted peace…peace from the demons that haunted his dreams…I don’t mean physical demonology, I refer to a truly awful inner blackness that infected him. Perhaps lord Hamroth there will furnish you with more details but over the millennia I began to feel his inner sorrow. Something haunted the lord of dragons the like of which caused him to search a million universes to resolve. When you speak of evil I don’t think you have any inclination as to the pain Lord Glaennyn suffered from within…yet without that suffering you would not be where you are now…on top of Grayhawk and at the centre of the universe. His release shook this universe to the foundations yet I believe he was ready to die, ready to leave his dream behind to the men and women he nurtured.

"You are one of a long line of dragonlords, Jarik, perhaps the mightiest of them all. I have seen – and indeed created – hundreds of their number. Lord Glaennyn never involved himself in any of my creations, nor did he interfere with anything the Unmaker perpetrated…how fitting that a Void arrow should claim him. The only exceptions to this were a handful of individuals in this universe who he gave special attention to…of course very early on I knew that his involvement meant that this universe was the Finality he had dreamt of. It merely made me more focused and careful with my own creations.

"Lord Glaennyn never set out to deceive you…though throughout he knew exactly how he wanted it to end and sometimes had to hide things from you and his Glaennyn to reach for his Finality. With powers such as Malkar, Muziel and Willowstar in the game he could take no chances…though powerful his strength had waned over the years, it had become watered down and insignificant compared to his former self. He predicted his death very early on, yet declared to me his appetite to set the universe straight once and for all…for the rest of eternity. It is now done.

"Lord Glaennyn planted the seed within your line before time existed on this plane. I watched mesmerised by his skill with Creation…imagine throwing a pebble into the sea and charting the ripple across a thousand miles of ocean until it came to rest on a distant shore. That is precisely what Lord Glaennyn did with you – his greatest ripple – and at the point he set it going I knew no power in the universe was going to divert it. Such control and finesse is to be admired and worshipped! But there were five other ripples, of which Hoqar is another. That two survived is no accident – he was careful to build in contingencies to his master plan…all I did was create the right platform so that his creation came to fruition.

"Master of the Maelstrom is your destiny but how many of Grayhawk’s people will even know who you are? Perhaps only the wisest kings and greatest sorcerers but that is not what drove you in the first place, Jarik. We share something in common you and I…perhaps it is fate or just coincidence but I too have never killed, though perhaps some of my prototypes deserved to die I never felt the urge to destroy anything – I think you share the same inherent goodness that filled me in the beginning. I hope you never lose that…it will be difficult in your life but I like to think that there is at least some good in a world that I created…even if it is only one man.

"My time is close…when even my spirit will cease to exist. The Maelstrom will take even that down to Limbo forever and I will join Malkar in slumber...but there are a few words left that you must hear Master of the Maelstrom. There will always be mysteries, even to you and your Limbo-bound companion, but several things I am bid to reveal to you – not by your Glaennyn creator; this information I am bound by Nature herself to give to you.

"The gargantuan in Limbo fuels the very power of the universe. As Grayhawk is its centre so Limbo is the furnace that keeps it turning eternally…the eternal transformation – a cycle that perpetuates all life, all power…everything. Not just immortal, immovable, but also indestructible. There is no power in the universe – not even the Void itself – that can harm the gargantuan…it does not even have a name…it never really needed one. It has a single purpose and is unswerving in its pursuit of that plight…without the gargantuan all magic will die. There is no distinction between the primal magic and Chael’s layers.

"Power is power…simple.

"It is the gargantuan, not the gods, that grant that power. Be it the essence of death or the nothingness of the Void it is that giant of a creature, the dam builder, that fuels all sorcery. The process of the souls has always been what this is about…the Reaper was merely a convenient guardian of that process, a referee that Nature appointed to see fair play. It was, and is, unnecessary…but then I suspect you knew that already. The souls of the dead will never again be under threat – and therefore the eternal cycle will continue...for as long as man and elf can agree to maintain it…

"I am done…go in peace Jarik, Master of the Maelstrom…saviour of the universe."

Hamroth gapes, it is as if he sees something different in Jarik. The countless eons that the great dragon has endured could not prepare him for the words of Promethius, or the realisation of what Jarik and Hoqar have achieved. The massive dragon descends on one knee, his mighty eyes filled with tears…he bows his head with the utmost respect.

But Jarik is unaware of Hamroth. Another figure is at the gate…yet another spirit from the past. A sorcerer in a flowing white robe, his young face so like Promethius they could be father and son.

Chael, the first wizard, bows. "I could not leave this great universe without greeting its saviour. Jarik the Dragonlord does you no justice. But I am not here to bandy platitudes and congratulate you," Chael grins, "many a maiden will take that task from me.

"You have created a fulcrum of power, a point between two nodes that exists to focus and channel. Such is that power that it bisects the universe from the centre to its very edge…anywhere you exist (or the staff) then you can conduct the power, channel it for good or ill. This has never existed before, though I theorised at length about the possibility of a soul fulcrum. The same power that drives souls to Limbo can also be redirected by you (or the staff).

"In essence there is no difference between staff and tower – they are as one – as are Hoqar’s. Remember the Maelstrom existed in between the nothingness of all the universes. It is whereas the Void is not. Your staff will deflect the Void; it is the only power in this universe that is immune to it…something you might wish to consider carefully in your new role as saviour of everything. It is the exception that proves the rule…the universal enigma that was Lord Glaennyn. Indeed I envy your acquaintance with the All Father – if only I could have talked to him…I had a million questions within but then I was merely a Promethian tool in the universal game that has brought you to the fore.

"I have said what was required, Jarik, and will leave this universe forever…for now not even you can summon my spirit ever again." Chael bows. "Go in peace…"

Hamroth is stunned to silence. Jarik waits, the beat of Grayhawk’s past has not yet stilled…he senses another spirit at the gate, another from the past. He is surprised to find a tall lithe woman before him, her unearthly beauty has the despotic eyes of a demon…yet there is a distant humanity buried deep. Jarik does not recognise her.

"Greetings Jarik, Master of the Maelstrom, I am Loramas and your coming has confined my spirit to Limbo forever. Yet my passing will not going without comment, as is the bidding of Promethius and the Lord Glaennyn who bore the hopes of this entire universe.

"My history here will not make good reading, as the history of the vanquished seldom is shed in a favourable light. But I am not here to reveal to you anything about my past, save of course to enlighten you on a former member of my court. It is true that Muziel was a Pit Master on the plane of Abomination; though his heart was black he was no demon…yet there was a talent about him. I dare say that he is causing you trouble now…he was one of an inner circle of trustees who bore the secret lore of Loramas – sacred unholy teachings that only a handful ever experienced.

"Dark slayers and killers I created. But none was as dark as Muziel…his thirst for my most darkest arts was insatiable – even the demonic lords of the outer planes of the Abyss began to fear him…and for good reason because he walked amongst them as though he was king.

"None but Muziel survived those days…as I perished there was a two-century struggle for the Abyss and my empire as torn to pieces…my henchmen and minions and generals were hunted down and slain…all save Muziel. He outwitted the most ingenuous, slew the most powerful and controlled the uncontrollable…his ability to control and manipulate the soul has surpassed any demon. Even the gods can learn from Muziel…

"Make no mistake he sent Malkar to his death against the Godslayer…what you saw was a master of manipulation at work…Malkar never stood a chance! Muziel’s secret lies in the deepest cave of my plane, Abomination, where the library of Eth lies in ruins. Scattered about the deepest chamber is a pile of ash – the Chronicles of my teachings of Muziel – and within you will find the secret of his defeat.

"He appears meek but this is a ruse…when an opponent has him on the run the snake that is Muziel is at his most deadly…Muziel is a master of cunning and can turn brother against brother, god against disciple…does that ring true?

"My congratulations, Jarik, may you live long enough to enjoy it!"

Jarik realises that the beat slows now. Grayhawk’s spiritual history has all but gone, yet there is one final spirit at the gate…a vision of female beauty to rival the dark nature of Loramas. It is a woman he has always known…it is the Eternal Mother herself – and her smile is as gentle as it is warm.

"You have come far, Jarik, and you have grown in ways that few of us would have suspected. It is my final duty – no my final pleasure – to wish you well in the years that will follow my departure. As always there is duty in my task, though a duty I am proud to execute.

"As the gate closes on the spirits of Grayhawk’s past so the Maelstrom will consume you. No other creature can withstand such pressure; no other plane could contain the power that is about to erupt within you. Your maturity is upon you, like the dawning of a new era your power will emerge from the old Grayhawk and shine like a protective beacon from your tower.

"Do not fear your transformation; fear is for others. Do not shun the responsibility thrust upon you this day, for there is many a king, many a priest, and perhaps many a god who will look to you for aid before your life is spent. Master of the Maelstrom you will be called, the wielder of Grayhawk’s greatest power, and in the hands of it’s gentlest man…it is not without pride that I look upon you once last time, not without a grudging respect for what you have achieved. And if I am honest there is just a hint of envy – a most human emotion indeed – for you and your companions will live through to this new age and witness all its splendour.

"Malkar has fallen and the balance has shifted, though temporarily it will stir things up for a while as the universe adjusts. The priests of the Fallen One are on a knife edge, their existence depends upon the child growing inside Willowstar. If Malkar’s child dies then it will take the elven goddess with it and millions will die; it will herald a dark age of Grayhawk, a bitter and godless time where beasts such as Muziel will hold sway over everything. Malkar’s child has a great enemy – the Godslayer – and though Valadain has a right to slay it Grayhawk will fall into darkness should that occur. The child of Malkar will replace his father – for good or ill – but replace him he must. With two gods there is balance, with one there is a tendency for despotic behaviour.

"The rape of Willowstar has served a function; and indeed from it there will be more gods in time, all nurtured and protected by the elven All-Mother who will bear them. Do not question the motives of Malkar – for however much you may think he fell into chaos and evil he knew what must be done…his excesses merely engineered a situation to ease his passing. I am older and wiser, Jarik, but my view of the world has always been like this – as yours must be now. Good, evil, law and chaos are inconsequential…only the fine balance is important…only the beat of the universe. Like it or not you have taken my mantle as arbiter of that balance and though nobody will thank you for it you (and Hoqar) must oversee it all…as Soul Fulcrum.

"Let your fear evaporate, Jarik, and replace it with the love I have seen deep within. I bid you and all of Grayhawk farewell…for the last time."

Nature tenderly kisses Jarik on the forehead and instantly the dark shadows of his mind are filled with light. The dormant mind is awakened in that moment; doors never opened by any man are flung aside and light enters where there was only ever darkness. Jarik staggers back as awareness fills him, in the corner of that awareness he can feel the Great Storm coming for him.

The Eternal Woman smiles as she passes out of Grayhawk forever. Jarik is acutely aware of the Maelstrom…his mind open he realises that there are more than five senses…the mind has receptors and consciousness beyond the sixth, seventh and eighth!

But these new senses merely allow him to see what is coming…and the Master of the Maelstrom grits his teeth and waits…

Back