Welcome to the conclusion of A Lichdom Story: Memoirs of Van Venivel Pt 3- Sojourn into Darkness! This game really brings the inspiration and I found myself increasingly excited about the ending. The stakes rose throughout this whole section as I began to edge closer to both my goal and destruction. It could be that it was just how the cards were drawn, but it very much felt as if Van Venivel had to accomplish his goal or face obliteration. Thank you very much for joining me on this adventure and I hope you enjoy the final installment of the Memoirs of Van Venivel.
Haven’t read the first two parts? You can find them here:
A Lichdom Story: Memoirs of Van Venivel Pt 1
A Lichdom Story: Memoirs of Van Venivel Pt 2
Purchasing Insurance
The recent turbulence and violations of my sanctum had inspired me to put to use some of my centuries of accumulated wealth. I hired a mercenary company to protect my assets. The Blades of the Ebon Heart, ruthless and efficient, follow my every order without remorse. While they are well trained, I felt that they needed additional advantage. I used techniques from my countless experiments to augment their already formidable physiques. Now they crave the power that I give them even more that the addictive substances that I had added to their food.
An Uncommon Opportunity
While exploring the Empire of the Blackened Mind, I encountered the curious scent of nutmeg and tea. Not one to ignore a curiosity, I investigated. Even among the horrors of that Stygian place, I nearly recoiled at the source. Still in mind resides the sound of wet grinding. A figure bent over as with age worried at some putrid bulk like that of a cow. The wool covering its body dripped with filth and old blood. So strange that it should smell so different than it appeared. It turned its head toward me, like that of a big horned sheep but bare of skin and fur. The demon’s flat teeth ground at the bones of the unfortunate beast that it held immobile with mantis-like claws. The fiend spoke with a disconcertingly high-pitched and friendly voice, introducing itself as Mekalleh. While flecks of bone and sinew fell from its jaws, it offered me power if I would but allow it access to our world. I would only need sacrifice nine innocents to open a portal that would allow Mekalleh to reach our plane. While gruesome, this ally presents a wonderful surprise for any that believe themselves able to best me.
Others May Pay the Price
I had uncovered remarkable cosmic truths in my search. However, those truths would only serve to keep my soul tethered to a body that would need constant upkeep. Over time, my mind and soul would decay. An existence as a mindless ghoul, seeking only sustenance and continued unlife, awaited me. I saw far enough into the future to understand that everything would change without bringing me the power that is my right. And so I continued to search the Dreaming. That most dangerous of lands, where body, mind, and soul meld, holds little but madness and torment for most people. In time, I encountered Azathoth, the Sleeping God dreaming horrors into the world. Some aspect of him deigned to treat with me. In exchange for clarity between my mind, body, and soul even in the material plane, I would open others to his madness. He seeks to transform the world into a nightmare hellscape of chaos and his madness spreads like a disease. Perhaps lordship over such a realm appeals to some, but I planned to leave this world behind and seek greater realms to control.
A Mundane Ally
In my worldly dealings, I encountered an influential merchant called Rodolpho Lippi. He held deep religious considerations although I did not care what gods he followed. He had decided that I must be a prophet sent to cleanse the world and make way for the faithful. Odd how often that particular line of belief arises. I suppose I prefer their pointless waiting to the active conquest of other cults that do not align with my purposes. Regardless, I appreciated his usefulness and contacts. Otherwise, I would have had little use for someone with such poor judgement and delusions.
The Cult Returns
The Cult of Nagrasadiel began to recover over the years. They had not gained quite the martial power that they once had, but they began to insinuate themselves into the courts, installing themselves as advisors to the ruling elites. Evidently, they had not forgotten what I had done to their previous masters and the ruin visited upon their brotherhood. They sought to turn the laws against me. They wished for the state army to accomplish what they unable to. Perhaps in time they would have found that kind of influence. However, I held too many favors and debts from those same elites for them to turn against me just yet.
Reaching
I crossed the cursed and soundless Plain of Neleronne. None can imagine the pressure of such silence. Few can even approach that place without panic and madness driving them to flee as far as they are able. I sought the forgotten ruin of ancient Acheron. The demon sorcerers ruled that cruel place for aeons but then vanished from the world in time immemorial. Only through great arcane working were we able to arrive at the twisted and grotesque ruins on the shore a burning lake. My porters all perished from the fumes, a horrid death. Within the ruins I encountered a gorgon keeping watch over the ruin’s secrets. Upon receiving a taste of my power, she chose to negotiate. I cared only to have unmolested access to the secrets of the ruins. She desired to complete a centuries long ritual that would require a vast quantity of sacrifices. It seems that this ritual would open the path to transcendence from this existence. I care little for such thoughts. So we made a pact, I would contract Rodolpho Lippi to bring the sacrifices to my new ally while she would not petrify any of my retinue. Perhaps that seems a steep price to pay, but the secrets that I now must unravel will be more than worth the effort.
In My Grasp
For years I searched through the detritus of ancient Acheron. Rodolpho had long since grown resentful of his role in carrying humans to their doom in the eyes of the gorgon. She petrified each of them, saving their souls for her grand ritual. Her collection would fill the Colosseum. However, in the deepest bowels of that forsaken place, I finally found what I sought. I found the first Wish granted by the original god to the Primordial Wizard. Your imagination likely deceives you as you try to consider what it might be. In fact, I found it to be a gemstone, seemingly infinite in potential and color. With the right efforts, its power may be attuned to whatever is desired. I do not know what the Primordial Wizard used it for nor those that followed after. The threads extending from it to influence the universe create a weave of unbelievable complexity. Solidifying my immortal is its next task. My fingers were finally closing around my prize.
The Ritual
The time had finally come for my ascendance. With purpose, I made my way toward the heart of Mount Vorlinjen. I climbed its sloping face with no time nor mind to admire the petrified forest that bristled from it. Some of my porters lagged behind, gawking at the few trees formed from precious stones, glittering in the failing sunlight. I hungered for far greater treasures.
Heart of the Mountain
I passed the hollows filled with miasmic swamps that pocked surface of the mountain. The tunnel that led to the tangled cave system beckoned. The porters that were not hypnotized by the petty sights outside struggled with me through the claustrophobic and labyrinthine shafts until we arrived at our goal. A nexus of worlds resides there, a beating heart of magic that pierces through realities, connecting them but also corrupting them. Influences from other realms seep in and those with the knowledge can pass or reach through. It is a dagger of chaos struck through the planes. No other place would serve and there was no more time to prepare. An order of holy knights had learned of me and immediately set the trail. They snapped at my heels the whole journey.
My Blades of the Ebon Heart fortified the base of the mountain, preparing to defend my workings, knowing that my increase would multiply their power as well. My Cult of the Wyrm had collected one thousand sacrifices to infuse the ritual with life essence. Those dark and alien gods watched, eager to undermine the grip of the lawful. The Wish of the Primordial Wizard served as key and lock to it all. I would use it to bind the power to me. The ritual directed the magic while the Wish cosmically locked it all into place. I finally began.
Crescendo
For days I screamed foul invocations to those gods of entropy. Time lost meaning as I worked, awash in the putrid incense made from decaying things. The sounds of battle and death outside, echoing weirdly through the caverns, provided punctuation to my ragged chanting. The taste of blood filled my mind. In my focus, I did not hear the spirits wailing at my audacity. I did not see the demons prowling the circle, seeking a breach and a taste of the tremendous magics at play. But as I approached the culmination of my efforts, I felt the entire world drawn taut as a Northman’s bowstring.
In the end, even the one thousand sacrifices were not enough. The ritual consumed their handlers, the wailing spirits, and the prowling demons. I fed on the newly freed souls from the battle outside. I exulted in their consumption. The husks that remained crumbled to the ground, devoid of life and nutrient, not even fit as nourishment for the carrion eaters.
Doom
In that last moment, as I tied the final knot and locked in the siphon flow, the battle outside stopped. The demons that remained scrabbled to escape but were instead caught up into my spell. I myself was drawn up into the magical maelstrom. The elation and torment of the infusion escapes description. There are no words and certainly none that the mundane living could understand. The Blades of the Ebon Heart cut the holy knights down in their stupor. The Cult of the Wyrm bowed before their new god. I drank from an infinite fount and now I hunger to devour the world.
The End
Thank you all for reading my story and I hope that you enjoyed it. I greatly enjoyed making it. If you’re interested in giving it a try, I’m sure that the story that you create will be a collaboration between you and the game. It provides inspiration and prompts to react to that you will almost certainly interpret differently than I did. Even if you receive the same prompts, your context and the inspiration that it gives you will spark a unique story with very different events.
It was really a fun experience and I encourage you to give it a try if it sounds interesting. You can find it on DriveThruRPG by clicking the Lichdom cover below:
