The times of trouble have reached their peak with the arrival of darkness. The gods have put off their wars to come together and fight the darkness. Mystra, the goddess of magic, and the Weave itself, is among the frontline fighters. Leaving her child alone, she has gone to fend off the looming darkness. The boy grows up longing for his mother, becoming an adventurer to search for clues on how to find her.
The boy encounters a goblin ambush, easily fending off the attack using various spells, showcasing his years of experience. As he counterattacks and chases the goblins, he is eventually led to a sanctuary hidden deep within the forest. The sanctuary is in the middle of the forest and is carefully illuminated by mirrors reflecting the sunlight. At the entrance archway, the words "Sanctuary of Illumination" are inscribed.
Curious about the place, the boy enters and makes his way to the main hall, where he encounters an altar with a guide bound to it. On top of the altar is a gem. The guide speaks, "Young hero, I have been waiting for your arrival..." As the boy examines the spirit, he learns that the spirit is from a lost civilization and has been waiting for millennia for his arrival.
"How do you know about me and my journey? Who are you?" the boy asks.
"I am nobody, for I am only a lingering spirit bound by fate to be your guide," the spirit replies. "You don't need to trust me, but only allow me to help you on your journey to find your mother, for guiding and aiding you is my mission."
"Fine, I'll let you join me on my journey. Do you have any clues on how to find my mother?" the boy inquires.
"Yes, though I personally don't have knowledge of her whereabouts, you can use this artifact to locate her and ask for clues," the guide responds, gesturing to the gem. The boy moves closer to the gem.
The spirit provides a description of the gem, "This is the Gem of Illumination, the strongest artifact created by the people of this sanctuary. The gem can show you what you desire as long as you ask a specific question. However, it can only provide broad descriptions, which you can use to find the clues you seek." The boy inspects the gem, demonstrating his proficiency in controlling the weave of magic as a sorcerer.
"Gem of Illumination, show me the location of my mother!" the boy eagerly requests. A powerful light emanates from the gem, creating a magical screen that displays scenes depicting a battlefield shrouded in darkness. In the midst of the darkness, Mystra, the goddess of magic, fights against the darkness using intricate spells. The boy witnesses waves of purple particles radiating each time Mystra unleashes powerful spells. The projection ends, leaving the boy astounded.
"So all these years, my mother has been fighting? Why didn't she tell me?" the boy ponders.
"Perhaps she's worried about you getting hurt, young hero. As you saw, the battlefield of darkness is not a normal war. The war brought by the ancient evils has caught the attention of the gods enough for them to stop waging war against each other and unite to fend off the darkness," the spirit guide imparts wisdom.
Touched by the words of wisdom, the boy replies, "You're right. The me right now wouldn't last even a fraction of a second in that war. I should continue my journey." After pondering for a while, the boy begins to construct a magic circle encompassing the area of the altar.
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"May I ask what the young hero is constructing?" the guide inquires.
"It's a magic circle to transfer your soul from the altar. You said it's your mission to guide me, right? You wouldn't be able to accomplish that while being stuck with that altar. Besides, you're probably bored considering you've been here for millennia," the boy says, smiling as he begins the ritual. A golden light shines from the magic circle, and after a while, with masterful gestures from the boy, the golden light transfers to the outline of the guide. Continuing the intricate gestures, the magic that bound the spirit is broken, and the spirit is guided to the Gem of Illumination, which shines brilliantly, illuminating the entire sanctuary, displaying the power of the ritual.
After a while, the light dims down, and the gem, now glowing with a faint golden light, emerges the spirit guide. "From the deepest of my heart, I sincerely thank you for doing this for me. No matter where I go, I will follow you and aid you on this journey, no matter the hardship," the spirit says with a very grateful expression.
"Don't worry about it. Besides, I need a companion and guide for this journey. Now that it's all finished, although quite late, this adventurer's name is Dragbaki Glypeinros. Nice to meet you, partner," Dragbaki says as he extends his hand for a handshake.
"Though I may have forgotten my name, the feeling is mutual, young hero," the spirit responds as it accepts the handshake.
"So where should we go next?" Dragbaki asks as he organizes his adventuring supplies and weapons.
"There are many locations within the Sanctuary of Illumination where we can look for clues. There's the Hall of the Sages, the Library of Echoing Scrolls, the Archive of the Hidden Chronicles, and finally, the Way of Ascendance, which is in the inner part of the sanctuary," the spirit replies.
"Then we should head to the library first to look for information," Dragbaki says, clearly showing curiosity and his acolyte background. As Dragbaki and the spirit make their way to the Library of Echoing Scrolls, they pass by the Hallway of Reflection.
"Oh, right, young hero, forgive me for this, but I forgot to tell you that there's another artifact here in the Sanctuary of Illumination that would be useful for your journey. It's an ancient journal. Though not a magical artifact, it contains knowledge of the wise sages who once lived and studied here," the spirit remembers.
"It's alright, at least you managed to remember it. It's also good to know that my partner is not just a pre-programmed soul to guide me," Dragbaki smiles at his companion as they continue their conversation. After a while of walking, they reach the Hall of the Sages, which is where Dragbaki came from before he visited the Guardian's Chamber.
"The Hall of the Sages, where sages would have their meetings and discuss various topics, from mundane things to the most complex problems. They would conduct debates consisting of several sages, and the world would eagerly await the outcome of such debates. The walls bear the names of the sages who made significant contributions to the knowledge of the world, although their names may not hold significance now with no one coming here anymore," the spirit laments the decline in people seeking knowledge. Dragbaki looks around the hall, admiring the names. As a fellow acolyte, he understands the significance of the sages' names. They continue their conversation as they make their way to the Library of Echoing Scrolls.
Just a while after leaving the Hall of the Sages, Dragbaki and the spirit
finally reach the Library of Echoing Scrolls.
Upon entering the library, Dragbaki's magic sense detects a powerful magic. Following the source, his eyes gaze at the floor, where he notices an intricate magic circle. Upon examination, Dragbaki deciphers the circle, which is a preservation circle with a smaller Fireball inscription within. Normally, Dragbaki wouldn't proceed further as the loot inside is not as valuable as his own life. However, with the help of the spirit guide, Dragbaki locates the inscription panel and tweaks it to avoid activating the Fireball inscription.
Looking through the various scrolls, Dragbaki doesn't find any useful knowledge, but he does discover various scrolls of spells. Among them are a scroll of Fireball, a scroll of Dimension Door, and a scroll of Mage Armor.
"Lucky find! Scrolls of spells are very hard to come by, and finding these two scrolls is great!" Dragbaki says excitedly as he examines the scrolls containing Fireball and Dimension Door.
"Looks like there isn't much left here, young hero. Where should we go next? There's still the Archive of Hidden Chronicles and the Way of Ascendance. I would recommend that we go to the Archive of Hidden Chronicles first, as it's in the same section of the sanctuary, and the Way of Ascendance is in the inner part of the sanctuary," the spirit suggests in response to Dragbaki's inquiry. After storing the scrolls away, Dragbaki prepares to continue his journey.