As Reported by the Avalon Press
The December gathering proved to be quite the eventful gathering for the Heroes. The biggest news of the gathering was that the Crown of Hell was successfully destroyed.
On Friday evening of the gathering, Cmdr. Avonne, the leader of the Coventry Defense Force, came to the Five Lions Inn to ask for aid. Her primary concern was that Dark Elves, which had been menacing Coventry for some time, were enacting their plans. This included two different rite, one summoning Arachnia and one with some unknown purpose. The Heroes agreed to aid Coventry, aiming to stop this unknown ritual while the Coventry Defense Force worked to save the citizens of Coventry. During this fight, the Heroes were able to stop the unknown rite, but Arachnia was still summoned. This was, in fact, part of the plan as the Heroes were working with Lady Chaos to summon all the Hierarchs to this plane in order to destroy the Crown of Hell.
On Saturday morning, the Heroes followed the Altar of Chaos to Selina Manor in the town of Selina, Eastguard. When they went inside the manor’s West Wing only to discover all the Hierarchs seated around a table, arguing about the Crown of Hell. The Lord of the Deep was also present, along with Moraine the Demon Knight of Shaun Vicks, and the Heroes Godfrey and Xak Vicks (both of whom were not there willingly). As the Altar of Chaos floated past the congregation and settled into the Wing, the Heroes moved to protect the Crown of Hell as swarms of demons raced out of portals. Several Dragons and the Forestal Almedia also appeared, helping the Heroes during the fight.
However, in the chaos of the fight, Pid successfully stole the Crown of Hell from the Altar, declaring himself the new King of Hell. Several other Hierarchs, Dragons, the Lord of the Deep, and Heroes chased after him, leading to a long series of fights trying to get the crown back. At one point, the Hero Jynx managed to snatch the crown from Pid and was compelled to place it on his head, where he immediately began to bleed out. Despite the chaos, the crown was eventually returned to the Altar. It was an intense fight, but the Heroes successfully destroyed the crown using a shield that could contain each Hierarch’s eldritch essence, allowing all Hierarch’s energies to be used upon the Crown at once.
As each Hierarch was forcibly removed from this plane, several things happened at once. In the aftermath, the Charms spell Be Dominated and Controlled was lost. After the gathering, the Healing spell Purge Death Slave was also lost. It is unclear why the magic is now considered lost, but we will update our readers when we have answers. In addition, the Lord of the Deep called a new cosmic power, but not the usual verbal of “By All the Flames of Hell.” But ultimately, the crown was destroyed and no Heroes were loss, causing much celebration amongst the Host.
During Saturday afternoon, various nobility and visitors from other lands came for Yule tidings. These ranged from Duke Terran of Barconia, to King Slade of the Commonwealth of Nomana, to various members of the Nymidian’s Heroes Gathering. Later that evening, Yule celebrations proper were held in Avalon.
Of the elevations this Yule, Baroness Keldyn was promoted to Countess Keldyn of Avalon High. Lord Donovan was promoted in turn to Baron Donovan of the Dale. Seneschal Tash of the Dale became Lord Tash of the Dale. Seneschal Cole became Thane Cole of Land’s End in Islewatch. Quinn was reaffirmed after a long absence as Squire Quinn under Sir Jaggereth. Finally Squire Liliana was promoted to Dame Liliana, wearing Sir Duncan’s chain. Huzzah to all those promoted this Yule!
After the gathering, news quickly spread of the Host preparing to travel to Coventry. Cmdr. Avonne asked for the Heroes aid fighting against the Demon Knight of Etrigant, Decius. After the fight against the nine Hierarchs, Etrigant surrendered to the Host. After he was slain and sent back to Hell, Decius was unbound from previous oaths made. As a result, now unbound from his oaths, a doppelganger of Decius arrived in the Five Lions Inn on Sunday dragging a stone statue of a Follower of Light from Coventry. Decius declared a challenge to the Heroes: if they wanted to kill him, the Heroes best come to Coventry in January. The Heroes took this challenge, eager to rid the world of Decius and the Maleficari once and for all. However, as rumors swirl out of Coventry, there are other forces at play. For many months now, Coventry has been in a revolution, with many factions vying for power. While Cmdr. Avonne has issued decrees stating these “insurgents” are working with Dark Servants, there has been evidence of the Maleficari infiltrating the ranks of the Coventry Defense Force. In addition, due to the number of executions taking place, people have begun to pray to the Void for “help” leading to a sharp increase in Void present. It is unclear what will happen when the Heroes enter this volatile situation.