Force of Nature – Orianna Èirigh – 15.08.2023

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OBSERVATIONS & EXCERPTS from the JOURNAL of SECOND ASSISTANT ARCHIVIST ORIANNA ÈIRIGH of ASHKHA

I saw Tessa Drazzle’s notice in the Academy when taking father on a tour. It says there’s an item that can accurately predict when a natural disaster is next going to strike an area, and it is sequestered away in the sphere of the Beastlands, specifically on the first layer, Krigala. It may be that this could accurately predict natural disasters, thus protecting the Dawnlands from what always seems to strike this place every six months or so. Or, it could be the next piece of the puzzle…



It has been some time since I have seen Felix — the last time was going to the Sunset Spines where we found Grougaloragran before he passed. Seems we are going to yet another mountainous area to find an unknown item. Strange how cycles can be both repeated and new depending on who is accompanying you.

It was my first time meeting Heret Velnnaru and his trustworthy companion, Zozo. Both had the air of experience that I was glad for. Anåbæl surprised us when she arrived with a new pet — though I can see how some might question a wolf being a pet. Curiouser was that the wolf appeared to be made of wood, a type of maple. Speaking to Ana later about it revealed the story, and the reason why she was eager to return to the Beastlands. Apparently Shadow (the wolf) was reborn there!

The final member of the team was a human man that goes by the name Matches. I remembered thinking it was a peculiar name, though I did not get a chance to speak to him more about it — or the red dragon scales he had on his hands! I do not know how common it is for humanoids to have draconic scales on their person, but it doesn’t seem common. I decided I was going to ask the enigmatic stranger some questions once we were on our way.

As for Tessa, I had only seen her briefly here and there at the Academy. It is quite a struggle sometimes to get the different departments to ‘mix and mingle’ as the phrase goes. Oftentimes each department is so wrapped up in their own work that cross department coordination and collaboration does not occur. I was delighted to meet her. She has the arcane prowess similar to other mages, like my friend Calla. Although Tessa seems to be similar to my method of practice with divination.

Tessa explained the artefact we sought is a brass tablet with various dials. When asked how she discovered such an item existed, and where to find it — apparently in a hidden chamber in a mountain on Krigala — she quoted three different sources: a book of prophecies, a story about Krigala, and a journal written by a long since departed adventurer named Clive. My thoughts raced at the mention of one of the sources being a book of prophecies. I carry Grougaloragran’s book with me everywhere these days, along with the guide Stellarum gave us. I have not found any collation or clue between the two but I may well do yet.

Heret seemed cautious about bringing such an item to these lands, which was equally my concern. I am glad he asked the question though as I did not wish to impose upon Tessa’s research any kind of limitations. She confirmed that initial studies would be done on the artefact, if we successfully find it, but it would not just be locked away to gather dust.

Which has brought me back to thoughts I’ve been pondering since meeting Stellarum. As much as I would like to say myself, Calla, Henri, and Lucky can handle this increasingly dangerous situation, it may be prudent to speak to Councilwoman Aurelia ​​Archelson. But I would not like to do so without consulting the others first…



The layer they were currently on, Krigala, was mostly jungle and forest, with lots of large wild animals which was why many people across the realms came here to hunt. But what united the three layers of the Beastlands together? The river, Oceanus. It flowed from the upper planes — specifically from Mount Celestia. Each layer was also perpetually in a specific time of day: the third layer was always evening, Brux was always midday, and Krigala was early morning.

Orianna had not been to the Beastlands before but she knew that the Library of All Knowledge — somewhere she has wanted to go for a while now — was on the second layer, Brux. Gerhard had told her this. It was where he and the others went to find her and Henri last year. That was why she was only half listening to Tessa’s explanation of the difference between the three layers of the Beastlands. Instead she wanted to take this opportunity to speak to the dragon scaled man in their party.

“Hello,” Orianna says, to Matches. He appears surprised briefly before returning to his default setting which seemed to be a cool nonchalance. “I don’t- This is going to sound weird, but is one of your parents a dragonborn, perchance? I have not seen many people that have scales like you do. I have them too.” She undoes the upper button of her uniform-like outer garment, pulling it aside to show off the crystal scales on her neck.

“Oh mate, those are stunning. I’ve got some of those too,” Matches says. He does much the same, pulling his shirt open to show his red scales on his neck and upper chest. “But no, my parents were just regular old humans unless they were hiding something from me. Yours?”

She tilts her head, curiosity piquing at his answer. “One of mine was, yes. So your magic is some kind of inheritance?”

“I haven’t got a scooby doo where it comes from,” he answers honestly. “I woke up one day and there were these, and they kept growing, and then I could make fire from my hands. Could have done with it in my twenties but we do the most with what we get.”

“Fascinating. I suppose magic can manifest whenever…” She trails off. Orianna thinks about how her own magic manifested suddenly and unexpectedly. Could it be that Matches experienced something similar? But how best to ask him such a question?

“Sorry, another question: is Matches your given name?”

“Absolutely, my mum took one look at me and said ‘there’s Matches’.”

Okay, so he isn’t always honest. Probably best to not ask him directly.

“O-kaaaaay. Well, um, Matches is a fun name,” she says, trying to go for the same level of nonchalance and not quite getting it right. “There are so many things I am uncertain about after only a year and a half in the Dawnlands. I apologise if my questions were too invasive.”

“Don’t worry about it, love,” Matches says, smiling.

Orianna was relieved. Sometimes, in the past, her curiosity resulted in her inadvertently offending those she was speaking to. She wasn’t as smooth as her father, but she was insightful. It seemed that she had not offended Matches, yet.

“I have questions too,” he continues, “like why do I have scales on my hands and why can I shoot fire from my hands. We’ve all got stuff to figure out.”

“I am interested in mysteries of any kind. I got that from my father.” She glances down to his scaled forams. “May I examine your hand?”

He nods, offering her his hand as their group continues to trek through the forest. She notices right away that her early assumptions that they were mere red scales was wrong. The scales are mostly red, but there’s a dark shading to their edges. As Orianna begins to twist his hand this way and that, trying to get the light to shine into them or through them the darkness doesn’t go away, it just shifts.

She was trying to get Matches’ arm to move in a particular way that an arm isn’t meant to turn when he clears his throat. “Oh! Sorry!” She instantly lets go of his hand, but not before brushing a bit of healing starlight into his arm to remove the accidental pain. Matches works his wrist a little, side eyeing her whilst Orianna flushes embarrassed.

After a beat of silence, Orianna says, “If you ever want help finding out about your heritage, I can assist you. Not knowing where you’re from is… not fun.”

“I’ll be honest, love, thank you for the offer, it’s mighty kind of you.” That makes her smile. “But I know exactly where I’m from. Grew up in Waterdeep. My parents were regular people, I knew them for as long as they were alive, then, I feel like, as far as I was aware until not long ago, my heritage was completely normal. Don’t know if it’s a heritage thing but if you wanna take a crack at this mystery, I’d appreciate the help.”

Is it possible…?

“Maybe we can speak about it when we get back,” Orianna offers.

“Sounds lovely to me,” Matches says…



After communing with the cradle of the Beastlands wrapped in the embrace of the Cosmos, I discovered that no powerful influences came in the form of celestials, fey, fiends, elemenals, or undead — which was a relief — nor that there were influences from other planes of existence — again, relief. There was a building of sorts halfway up what was originally mistaken as a mountain but in actuality is a dormant shield volcano…



The door, though beautiful in that it was entirely carved from obsidian, was secondary to what was carved over it. A depiction of a great volcano with not just smoke, but something draconic erupting forth. I could hardly contain my excitement as we entered…



The doors were heavy so they all had to work together if they wanted to get them open. It was slow work, but despite their height and thickness, the doors moved smoothly over the dark ground. As they took a moment to catch their breath, it became clear the obsidian was not just a feature. The whole corridor was made from it.

Felix moves into the hall, studying the stone closely. “That’s odd.”

“What is?” Heret asks.

“Normally you’d see signs of tool marks. Even the greatest dwarven craftsmanship has some tell-tale markings.” The dwarf’s eyes follow the line of the wall, which is interspersed with small flows of magma which help light the whole three hundred feet of its length. “But there is… nothing.”

The other’s voices fade away as Orianna studies the architecture. First the symbol over the door, now this hallway shaped by hands that are clearly not human. She dared not get her hopes up, but the possibility that this could be-

“Pardon me.”

Heret’s seemingly sudden but quiet approach jolted Orianna out of her silent reverie.

“You seem to know something that may relate to this? You had an image…”

“Yes…” Orianna blinks and pulls out a small crystalline disk with nine symbols along its edge. Her eyes find the volcano symbol and she knows. “I think what carved this is simply– a dragon.”

“You know what, that’s what I was gonna guess,” Matches says.

Orianna looks back to Heret. “I don’t know as much as it may seem. I am still trying to figure out this puzzle, but the symbol on the door matches the symbol on this disc,” she points to the volcano symbol, “which was a gift from someone very important to me.” Heret looks down at it, frowning. “There are eight others like her. If this is where one of them resided for a time, then… I’m excited to see what we find here, beyond the item we’re here to get.”

“This is beautiful,” Tessa agrees. “I expected shabby run-down ruins but this is pristine.”

“It is also very old,” Orianna says, putting the disc back in her bag. “Older than a lot of places, older than a lot of things…”



We found a room halfway down the corridor. In it there was a mural made of obsidian depicting all nine of the Archwyrms.

Depiction of the Archwyrms:

• A beautiful looking dragon with large wings which on closer inspection seems to shimmer and glow ever so slightly. This dragon has thin lines woven around it.
• Thodrazz, a gem-like dragon with two sets of wings that looks thin and wiry. In the centre of its forehead shines a slight red light.
• A dragon that seems to be radiating light. On closer inspection there are flakes of gold within the obsidian.
• This dragon looks feathered in appearance. What seems to be some sort of collar at the base of its neck are actually a couple of smaller looking winged drakes circling them.
• Between the horns on this dragon seemingly made of wood, glows a flame that has a green hue. Its wings are either covered in leaves or made of them.
• Azharul, the head of this dragon looks more skull-like, with frills going down its neck, back and chest. The obsidian used in making its form is the darkest of the nine.
• A fearsome dragon is illuminated from behind by what looks like magma making the obsidian almost seem cracked, ready to release the power from within. From its mouth is a torrent of magma and falling in its wake is a cloud of ash.
• Kestrasz, the second largest dragon of the wall, seems to be fighting one of the behemoths directly. The obsidian takes on a more gun metal like texture and hue that adds a feeling of great power and force as this mighty dragon slams a claw down on its target. The claw itself glows with what looks like radiant light.
• Stellarum, the largest dragon on the wall by far, floats above the others. The obsidian within her suspended form appear like diamonds and glitter like stars in the night sky, making her look like she is made from a nebula. Around her head is a crown of brighter “stars” to show her role as Queen. From her mouth shoots a ray of starlight that seems to strike a blow against one of the Behemoths…

“You’re mates with a dragon that big?” Matches asks in awe. Orianna flushes and nods. “I mean I know it’s just a painting but… that big?”

“No, that is pretty accurate.” It was also the first time Orianna had seen Stellarum in any depiction of violence. She didn’t know what to think about that. “She is also called the Star Mother.”

“She sounds pretty important.”

“They all are.”

Glowing violet eyes follow the trajectory of the beam from Stellarum’s mouth to where it strikes the Behemoth of Earth.

“And so are they,” she adds, gesturing to the Behemoths…



The whole mural was beautiful to see to be sure. But there was something about it that was also unsettling. There seemed to be a kind of exhilaration from the Archwyrms as they fought the Behemoths. I am not sure how long ago it was made, but the one who did create that mural undoubtedly remembers that time as one of great enjoyment…



The magma spewing dragon on the mural had begun to glow. Orianna wasn’t sure if she was seeing things or if it was actually happening.

“Is anyone else seeing this?” she asks the others.

“What did you do to it?” Matches asks, coming up beside her.

Orianna shakes her head, at a loss. Then she remembers the last time she had come across a remnant of a gem-like dragon and what happened the last time she had touched it. Before the thought even finished forming she was placing her palm against the obsidian mural on the dragon.

It burns her, but only slightly. After the momentary pain she feels it, a pulse beneath her feet. A single ground rumbling boom that reverberated through her whole body. She comes back to herself, hearing Felix and Tessa speaking but not fully registering their words.

“Orianna, did you get anything from that?” Matches asks close beside her.

She looks at him, mouth open in slight wonder. “A heartbeat.

“A heartbeat?”

She nods.

He looks at the dragon on the wall, brow furrowed in thought. Then Matches puts his dragon scaled hand onto the mural where Orianna’s had been…



I knew then that Matches was connected to it all — the Archwyrms, to me, and to-… that place. How could it be that after my father said he and dad had unsuccessfully tried searching for other Heralds of the Nine, I come across one in this blasé, seemingly detached human man?

Is it fate?

Is it providence?

Is it necessity?

And as for the artefact we found, well, its keeper was none too impressed with us…



There is a tremendous roar, like that of a dragon, from inside the volcano. Orianna, Ana, Matches, and Tessa had retreated to the entrance whilst Heret and Felix had worked on grabbing the Key — for it could be nothing else but that. Orianna saw the sliding pieces of brass that could extend outwards inscribed in an archaic form of Draconic. Those sections that extended would connect to other Keys, whilst in the middle, the semicircular shape would clearly hold Stellarum’s Crystal Foci.

Before she could say any of this to the others the top of the mountain exploded upwards. Tessa grabbed her arm, and Matches’ and then she felt a sudden tug in her middle. In the blink of an eye the mage had teleported them all, including Zozo to one of the other mountains on the opposite side of the valley.

The volcano was no longer dormant. Great eruptions followed by even greater waves of heat and hurtling pyroclastic bombs flew out from its great opening. It was mesmerising to witness. But there was something more coming, she could feel it. That’s why she could not look away. Then a great claw emerges from the crater and a dragon five times the size of an ancient red dragon pulls itself out, spreads its wings and roars.


A pulse of heat unlike anything she has ever seen hits the forest in the valley below. The trees instantly catch flame and the animals scream. Birds fall from the sky and the wonder she feels turns quickly to alarm as they all realise the wave of destruction is coming for them.

Luckily, Tessa had brought them far enough away. As the heat travelled up the mountains it dispersed before it could reach their summit. They still felt the shockwave of it though and so were knocked clean off their feet.

From somewhere beside her, Matches says, “Let’s go,”

“Wait…” she says.

Matches looks at her like she is crazy but she holds his gaze. He shakes his head, picking himself up but freezes as they all see the dragon looking directly at them.

“Thieves… in my mountain.”

She hears his voice clearly in her mind, same as Stellarum had done when they spoke in the desert. Except this Archwyrm is not happy. Orianna looks at the others and knows they hear it too.

“Great lord of the mountain,” Felix begins, shouting in Draconic. Tessa signals that he doesn’t need to shout and the dwarf nods. “We are not thieves. We are adventurers and scholars. People who seek to learn and investigate.”

“Yet you walk into my home and take my most valued possession.”

There’s a moment of hesitation from Felix. The dragon had a point. They did just walk in, undo the protections, and then tried to get away with the Key. They had to be careful, but honest, and the only one who might be able to do both would be her.

Orianna swallowed nervously and took a tentative step forward.

“Great Volcano, I am the Herald of Stellarum Tenebris. I am here with these people, seeking this object, because the Primordials- the Behemoths, are trying to return. Please, lend this to us.”

The Archwyrm gives her a searching look. “My queen sent you in her place to wake me from my slumber?”

She winces. “…I did not know that you would awaken. But yes, I am her Herald.” Orianna pauses, then adds quickly. “One of her Heralds.”

“You still came into my home unannounced and woke me improperly,” the great drake rumbles, switching back to Common.

Orianna doesn’t wince this time but she does scold herself for not connecting the dots sooner. If she had, they could have avoided this drastic situation. “You have my deepest apologies. It was not our intention to wake you.”

The dragon looks down at the burning forest and seems pleased, either ignoring her apology or deeming it insufficient. It had not escaped her notice that he had not said he would allow them to take the Key.

“Is there a way we can apologise to you that is not beyond reason?” Orianna asks.

It was as if he was waiting for her to ask such a question. “The blood of my Herald will suffice.”

“Your Herald, O Great Mountain Lord?” Felix asks.

Orianna glances at Matches. His eyes are black, same as they were when he touched the image on the mural, magma leaking from cracks in his skin, but worse than before. She wanted to stop him but she had asked, and the Archwyrm had said his price. How could you fight against such a being and survive?

The answer is you could not.

Matches, suddenly under the thrall of the Archwyrm, steps forward and slashes his palm open with one of his obsidian claws. Blood falls onto the ground as he squeezes his fist. There’s a satisfied rumble from the volcano — or it could have been the dragon himself. Then Matches blinks, and his eyes return to their molten red once more.

Orianna is instantly there, taking his hand and healing it with starlight. “Completely unnecessary…” she mutters.

She feels rather than sees Felix shoot her a look but Orianna doesn’t care. Yes, they had awoken the dragon unintentionally but Orianna had the feeling that no matter how they had awoken him he would have used it as an excuse to show his destructive prowess.

“…It is our intention to study this item,” Felix says. “We seek your permission.”

“The piece is in your hands,” the dragon rumbles. “Whether it will be of use to you or fall into the hands of the Primordials is up to you.”

“Hang on one second,” Matches starts, nodding a short, curt thanks to Orianna. “What do you mean ‘Herald’? Why’d you make me do that?” He points to where the blood was.

“Matches, I know we’ve only met today but for fuck’s sake be polite,” Felxi hisses.

“He has every right to ask these questions,” Orianna says.

“Yes, but politely.”

She agreed, but didn’t think Matches would.

Turns out Matches was equally cautious, just in another way. “Best get that plane shift ready,” he says to Tessa. Then to the Archwyrm he repeats, “Why did you do that to me?”

“You are of my blood, mortal, and my descendant. Your power comes from me.”

Matches goes still, the shock of the truth knocking all the swagger and all the vibrato out of him. Orianna wanted to help but didn’t know what would be best. So she decided to ask for the Archwyrm’s name.

“You steal from me and do not even know my name?”

The ground begins to shake.

“I am the Shadow That Covers the Sun. I am the Cataclysm That Breaks the World. I am the Obsidian Dragon. I am Vulcanax.”

The whole valley begins to shake as the side of the volcano cracks open and fresh lava flows forth from the openings. An ash cloud rises from the top, obscuring Vulcanax in dark, choking smoke.

“My lord, your name shall be known in every corner of the world!” Felix shouts. Then he turns to Tessa. “Time to go.”

Everyone is already circling up, but Orianna doesn’t move. She stares into that cloud of ash and dust, where two ember eyes stare out at her. She barely has the breath in her lungs to speak but somehow she does.

“Why did you leave? Why did your house leave A-…”

“It was the will of my creator.”

A hand grips her shoulder and then the world falls away as she and the others are pulled across the planes…



Ana, Heret, Felix and I accompanied Tessa to the Academy to ensure the Key’s safe storage, for now. I mentioned my father could possibly help or even join the scholars working on deciphering the language and way to use the Key since he does know more than most of them. Might take some convincing but I am sure father will prove himself very quickly.

One of the things the others asked Tessa was if she knew that there was a dragon in the volcano. She said no, but ‘it did explain the prophecy…’



“What prophecy?” Orianna asked, alert and curious. “What did it say?”

Tessa glances between them all. “Half of it was missing, but there was something about ‘a protector will arise in smoke and ash’, but I didn’t know what it meant.”

“He didn’t look very protective to me,” Matches says.

Orianna gives Matches a weighted look. “It might not be about the dragon…”



Matches did not accompany us to the Academy. In fact, I worried he would run away. Selfishly, at that moment, I was scared, not for him but for myself. I want to not be the only to have such a connection to the Archwyrms. I try to be strong, for the others, to pretend that I can do this. But it plagues me. The thoughts, the questions, the doubts.

I was lucky to have had the chance to speak to Matches at all before he ran off. Tessa had run to the Academy to get our payment, which was enough time for me to convince him to at least consider finding me when he was ready so we could talk about everything that happened in a safer and more pirate setting…



The pattern was the same as she had done before. Incense in a perfect half circle, the two crystals of clarity from Grougaloragran on opposite sides, forty-five degree angles away from her. With deliberate preciseness, placing the base of her Star Cradle between her knees to create the perfect pyramid triangle. Muttering in the oldest tongue she knows, Orianna begins to ame all the stars and constellations in all their various names through the ages. She takes it slowly, not wanting to rush into this conversation — if a conversation can even be had. All sound fades away. It is quiet as she flies up, up, and away into the void of darkness that is the Cosmos. It’s peaceful in this vast cathedral where she doesn’t need to breathe or think. She just floats, feeling a peace and calm finally settling over her mind that she has wanted all day since returning from the Beastlands.

“I met Vulcanax today… I also met his Herald. Matches, is his name. He did not know he was a Herald until-”

The memory of Matches’ eyes turning black, of his face cracking, of lava leaking out from the fissures across his skin as he slices his own palm, and the blood falling to the ground, burning the dirt flashes through Orianna’s mind.

“…We woke him, Vulcanax, when he took his Key…”

The sound of a burning forest and animals screaming fills her ears momentarily.

“…I hope we have not made a mistake in doing so…”

She thinks that is everything she wishes to say, yet she lingers here in the void of space, unsure. She thinks about how she declared herself to be Stellarum’s Herald and how right that felt. But the doubt, the question, of why did her dad…

“Why did dad refuse to be your Herald?”

Orianna feels a wind against her physical body, the night air cooler than its daytime counterpart. It raises gooseflesh on her arms in her meditation. But she quickly realises it’s not wind, it is the sound of great wing beats and a faint echo of a roar in the vast distance, almost as if the stars themselves announce her coming. She opens her eyes, and sees herself projected in front of her body, a form made of deep blue and small twinkling stars.

Faint motes of light float through the open window, as if the stars are inviting themselves in. In a way, that’s what she has done. Orianna waits with bated breath as they dance slowly around the room, gathering together in a beautiful form, the familiar draconic head of Stellarum filling the entire remaining space.

“I felt Vulcanax rise from his slumber, yes, but I am glad you successfully acquired his piece. He always was overly protective of what was his.”

Orianna swore she heard slight amusement in her voice.

“But, no, my daughter. You made no mistake in waking Vulcanax. I know he has his dramatic tendencies but he will be very useful if things start to move in the Incarnates favour. It is also very good news his herald has awoken. Perhaps it won’t be long until the others make themselves known…”

If others do make themselves known, then perhaps clearer answers can be found, for everyone. There may even be someone who understands what it means to be a Herald of one of the Nine.

It is as if Stellarum can hear her thoughts. There is a soft but mournful sigh from the great dragon. “I do not know precisely why your father denied becoming my Herald. I only know what he told me at the time. Whether this is true or not…”

Her voice lingers in the air, the unspoken words clear even in their absence.

“Your father refused because of you, Orianna. He feared that by becoming my Herald he would never see you again. No promise of power or glory or whatever it was I would offer him would ever be enough to replace losing his daughter. I tried to explain that of course I would never allow that to happen. I would never have simply taken him away from his family… but it was too late. The words had been spoken and could not be undone. In doing so he unknowingly passed the title to another…” She levels her starlight gaze. “To you Orianna… if, of course, you accept it — but now is not the time for that.”

“If now is not the time, then when?” she asks, more to herself than Stellarum. Of course, she knew the answer, which was part of the contradiction: When she was ready.

Orianna continues, not waiting for the Star Mother to answer. “What should I be doing then?”

“Follow your heart, my daughter. Do what it is that you feel is best and take any course of action you feel to be right. Unfortunately, I am no goddess so I, myself, do not know what the future holds. But if you do what your heart tells you then you can do no wrong.”

Orianna really hoped that was true…


Continued in ‘An Awakening’ & ‘Inconceivable Inheritance’ 💫