- Iscikella
- Sylvan empath,
follower of Lumnis, possessed seemingly by Elymir but in
actuality by Thurfel
The first and, therefore, longest possessed, the essence in Iscikella manifested much more actively and more frequently than in any other. Her possession came about through the shattering of the crystal divining sphere and a grey mist visibly entering her body (see Entity Release log). Tiaza, the monk of Voln, performed a ritual in August 2001 which she claimed freed Iscikella of the essence. As turned out, despite Tiaza's conviction of its success, the ritual was a failure.
NOTE: Iscikella, however, believed Elymir was the lich in possession of her, and Elymir promoted this belief. She did not find out that it was, in fact, Thurfel who had possessed her until the very end of the quest in December 2002. Whether Iscikella was truly ever freed seems unlikely. - Vonka
- Elf rogue, follower of
Lumnis, possessed by Thulevier
Vonka's possession came about through the absorption through the skin of her foot of a tendril of "unholy ooze", which was flowing up from the stucco well (see Unholy Ooze log).
NOTE: On the 5th of May in 2002, Thulevier's orb was found by Achillea and given by her to the lich. Vonka was subsequently asked by lich to "bond" with him, since his power had increased. However, on the 11th of August in 2002, during Thurfel's summoning of the Navigators to retrieve the Staff of Amasalen from them, Vonka was strangely freed from possession, leaving the question as to whether Thulevier was actually the lich in possession of her, or whether the orb Thulevier held was in reality his own and not that of another lich entirely. - Atoyoz
- Half-Elf rogue,
follower of no particular deity. possessed by Thalaes
Atoyoz's possession came about through the scratch of a serpent-eyed cat in Town Center (see Visions & Signs log).
NOTE: On May 31st in 2002, Thalaes' orb was found by Iscikella and placed on the altar by Thurfel. Subsequently, Atoyoz was freed of her possession by this lich. - Blizzerdd
- Half-Elf ranger,
follower of Mularos, possessed by Aslakian
Blizzerdd's possession came about through the bite of a segmented black serpent within Thurfel's Keep (see The Fourth log).
NOTE: On April 19th in 2002, Aslakian's orb was found by Adimiron and placed on the altar by Thurfel. Subsequently, Blizzerdd was freed of his possession by this lich. - Opalina
- Half-Elf rogue,
follower of Koar, possessed by Trianvar
Opalina's possession came about through a series of lightning strikes and then the lightning twining around her (see Lightning & Light log).
NOTE: On June 20th in 2002, Trianvar's orb was found by Tesserah and placed on the altar by Thurfel. Subsequently, Opalina was freed of his possession by this lich. - Arliquin
- Sylvan cleric,
follower of Andelas, possessed by which lich is unknown
Arliquin's possession came about through his offering of aid in answer to the request of a skeletal cat in Town Center.
NOTE: Arliquin was freed of possession when all the lich orbs were destroyed by Amasalen at the end of the quest in December 2002. - Elendr
- Elf rogue, follower of
no particular deity, possessed by Gavrail
Elendr's possession came about through his cheek being pierced by the pincer of the crab on Alyxandrah's cloak (the cloak had been burned with the image of a crab by Thurfel), as the image of the crustacean came to "life" (see Jealous Possession log). NOTE: Elendr was freed of possession when all the lich orbs were destroyed by Amasalen at the end of the quest in December 2002. - Xeldria
- Half-elf cleric,
follower of Phoen, possessed by which lich is unknown
Xeldria's possession was a bit unusual in that seemed more "partial". It came about after her finding of the legended Staff of Amasalen upon the Ebon Gate's festival grounds (see Ruthless Fates - 1 log).
NOTE: On August 6th in 2002, Xeldria was "relieved" of the staff by the Navigators. If she was not freed prior, she definitely was freed of possession when all the lich orbs were destroyed by Amasalen at the end of the quest in December 2002. - Tianni
- Sylvan empath,
follower of no particular deity, possessed by Cheritz
Tianni's possession came about through her anklet summoning to her a skeletal cat, whose presence apparently connected her to the Nine (see Ninth Taken log). With the possession of Tianni, the Nine separated into discrete personalities, one to one within the possessed, and it became apparent they are not as united a formerly thought. It also seems likely they were assigned hosts "strongest to weakest" over the course of time, with one in Iscikella the most powerful and one in Tianni the least powerful magically. Since in the end Iscikella turned out to be possessed by Thurfel himself, the "strongest to weakest" scenario does seem accurate.
NOTE: On July 7th in 2002, Cheritz's orb was found by Perigourd and placed on the altar by Thurfel. Subsequently, Tianni was freed of his possession by this lich.
THE TENTH:
- Mehlah
- Halfling of unknown
profession (though now seems likely a cleric), affiliation
unknown, seems likely was possessed by Elymir
Mehlah wandered into town one day with a sign saying all must repent. The source of his "disquiet" -- from his own words -- seemed to have been him being forced to drink the dregs of his family's blood after Amasalen used his body to slay them (see Mehlah log). Mehlah was never seen "unpossessed" so to speak. Thurfel himself said he had never heard of Mehlah, and did not think him possessed by the essence, but something surely did possess Mehlah. A voice spoke from outside him, there is no doubt of that. He also spoke of the Council, asking people to swear to them before the fires come, and he asked Iscikella if she had yet sworn to Thurfel, insisting she must. Mehlah was an enigma who was destroyed in the end the day before the opening of the tomb (see Fires of Anger log). Yet the probability that he was indeed possessed by Elymir will forever remain.
Technical Notes: All of the possessed were player-run PCs, except for Mehlah, who was a GM-run NPC. The manifestations of the essence in any of the possessed, however, were all GM-run incidents.
Question: Who was Tiaza?
Answer: Tiaza was a monk of Voln who came to IceMule to aid the townsfolk in the "great battle" against Amasalen, Luukos and the Nine (see Lobs & Volleys log). She fought valiantly beside the townsfolk during the invasion of town of Perano's escaped creatures in August 2001, but it is believed the battle she came initially to fight has yet to begin and likely is that Yfa will one day initiate.
Question: What are the "artifacts" of the quest?
Answer: A list follows. Please note that many of these things are merely nice roleplay items.
- a fist-sized purple stone
- The "relic",
the "Heart of Amasalen"
The relic was found by Iscikella on an altarstone in the caverns (see Prologue log). It was placed by her back on the altarstone and the room in which it was located imploded upon itself. It's connection to the Thurfel Quest is ambiguous. - a black steel serpent talisman
- Talisman used to make
the first crack in the tomb
Supposedly blessed by Amasalen himself (see Prologue log), the talisman was given by Thurfel to Arianiss after the firemage had completed his own task with it. - a tiny teal crocodile hanging from a crimson spidersilk thread
- "Pin"
(actually more of a pendant) which Halfberry called
"god's eye"
Dropped by Halfberry in the Hall of Mind while he invisibly watched the commune which was performed to Ronan there (see Commune to Ronan log), the pin was one of the objects which started Thurfel on an intense manhunt for the missing Halfberry and ultimately resulted in the killing of the apprentice. Arimantis initially had possession of the teal crocodile, but the pin was later passed by him into the hands of Ilvane. - a golden crystal orb
- Orb stolen from
Thurfel by Halfberry
This orb was the main focus of the intense manhunt Thurfel ordered on Halfberry, ending in the killing of the apprentice (see Cataclysm! log). The orb was rumored to have great powers and was known to work as a visual window to other places. After Halfberry's death, the orb returned to Thurfel's hands. - a crystal divining sphere
- Sphere which
originally housed "the essence"
The divining sphere originally started in Thurfel's hands, but became an object in the quest once it went in trade from Witlass' hands to those of Chortel (see Divining Sphere log). Eventually it wound up in the possession of Iscikella. It contained a "presence" which wound up being the essence, and it functioned as a scrying sphere. The divining sphere shattered when the essence was released. - a tiny coral starfish pendant/a tiny crimson crab pendant
- Pendant used by
Thurfel to make contact
Thurfel's gift to Alyxandrah started out as a starfish pendant and was later metaphorized into a crimson crab pendant (see Of Crimson Crabs log). Thurfel used this pendant to communicate with Alyxandrah on occasion. - a fiery red crystal rose
- Crystal rose with
"a fire within"
Given by Thurfel to Iscikella during their private dinner (see Dinner at Eight log), the crystal rose holds major fire within its fragile petals. It is also the object on which Iscikella made her pledge to Thurfel when he became trapped in the mist. - a small steel serpent
- Talisman given by
Thurfel to Nanna
Was extended as a sort of "peace offering" by Thurfel to Nanna (see Juggernaut Tour log). - a small onyx serpent talisman
- Talisman both ancient
and cracked
Left with the barkeep in the Penguin seemingly by Yfa for Tianni, this talisman was referred to as an "eye" (see Visions & Signs log) by the serpent-eyed cat whose scratch eventually caused the possession of Atoyoz by the essence. During her own possession, Tianni was made to put on the talisman by the lich in her and was unable to remove it (see Ninth Taken log). - a huge charred skull
- Skull which rolled out
from the mist
Likely the skull of some beast, perhaps even a Grahnke, this skull rolled on from the mist and into Sheka's possession during the night of tainted blood (see Taint of Blood log) in Thurfel's Keep. - a piece of blood red jade
- Jade which rolled out
from the mist
This jade has a skull carved into it and was picked up by Armaxis as it rolled out from mist (see Visions & Signs log) on the night when Iscikella received the vision of Thurfel lying injured in the cellar of the keep. This jade was also the focal point in the "ascension ritual" Armaxis subsequently performed on Iscikella. - a twisted serpentine staff
- Staff which belongs to
Amasalen himself
The Staff of Amasalen was a very powerful artifact that Thurfel, Yfa and the Nine all wanted very badly (see Amasalen's Staff log). Thurfel spoke of the staff as being needed to defeat the Nine. The Nine wanted the staff to kill Thurfel, as did Yfa. The staff was found by Xeldria (see Ruthless Fates - 1 log), but later came once more into the possession of Thurfel. The staff, as it turned out, contained part of the essence of Thurfel and was used by him as his "orb" after he purposely broke the divining sphere.
Full description of the staff is as follows: "Carved from a single piece of obsidian, the stone of the staff is cut to resemble a pair of great vipers entwined about each other. Their forms are twisted in a tight spiral from the base of the staff to its tip. At the top, the heads of the two serpents peer in opposite directions, both of the snakes slightly coiled as if ready to strike. You also notice a small enchanter's mark."
NOTE: On August 6th in 2002, possession of the staff passed to the Navigators, who stole it from Xeldria as they do gold rings. On August 11th in 2002, Thurfel successfully summoned the Navigators and retrieved the staff from their possession. On December 1st in 2002, the staff was destroyed during the finale of the quest. - a jagged blood-red blade
- Blade which once
belonged to Yfa
This weapon of the handmaiden of Amasalen passed into Armaxis' hands upon her death and "removal" by Thurfel (see Tombs & Bones log). - a faceted garnet shield
- Shield which once
belonged to Yfa
This shield of the handmaiden of Amasalen passed into Ryever's hands upon her death and "removal" by Thurfel (see Tombs & Bones log). - a twisted crimson toy serpent/a twisted black toy serpent
- Toy made by Chortel
for Iscikella
This toy serpent was originally made by Chortel for Iscikella at the "insistence" of someone the toymaker would not name but apparently feared. It "came alive", crawling out of Iscikella's satchel, and then crawling back into that satchel a different color (see Dark Forces log) with a most odd change in description as well: "The scales of the serpent are black, although crimson flecks can be seen scattered about its sinuous body. There is something malevolent about the toy, the fangs and eyes of the serpent all too real. There is crude stitching on the underside of the snake, the repair evidently done in haste."
The toy, as it turned out, was used by Thurfel (who was the someone Chortel feared who had insisted on it being made for Iscikella) to scry on Iscikella. - a faceted blood red sphere
- Aslakian's
vessel
This orb was found by Adimiron under some crates in the windmill in IceMule Trace. It was given to Thurfel and placed on the altar in Thurfel's vault. It was destroyed by Amasalen on December 1st in 2002 during the finale of the quest. - a cloudy amber sphere
- Thulevier's
vessel
This orb was found by Achillea in a pile of bones in the Ossuary in the Abbey. It was given to Thulevier but wound up placed on the altar in Thurfel's vault.
SPECIAL NOTE: On the 11th of August in 2002, during Thurfel's summoning of the Navigators to retrieve the Staff of Amasalen from them, Vonka was strangely freed from possession, leaving the question as to whether Thulevier was actually the lich in possession of her, or whether the orb Thulevier held was in reality his own and not that of another lich entirely. The orb found its way to Thurfel's altar via detection by the Staff of Amasalen. It was destroyed by Amasalen on December 1st in 2002 during the finale of the quest. - a small faceted ruby red sphere
- Lich vessel, but which
remains unknown
This orb was found by Skyfawn behind Luukos altar in the Temple of IceMule. It was given to Thurfel and was placed on the altar in Thurfel's vault. It was destroyed by Amasalen on December 1st in 2002 during the finale of the quest. - a chipped black glass sphere
- Lich vessel, but which
is yet unknown
This orb was found by Dajamar in Bonespear Tower in Solhaven. It was given to Thalaes but wound up placed on the altar in Thurfel's vault. It was destroyed by Amasalen on December 1st in 2002 during the finale of the quest. - a blackened metallic sphere
- Thalaes'
vessel
This orb was found by Iscikella in the Mine on Mine Road in Wehnimiers Landing. It was given to Thurfel and was placed on the altar in Thurfel's vault. It was destroyed by Amasalen on December 1st in 2002 during the finale of the quest. - a tiny emerald serpent
- "Gift" given
to Femereff by an "unknown voice"
This small talisman was given to Femereff by someone who described it as a "small gift". Speculation is that the talisman was either given to Femereff by Thurfel or perhaps by the lich Thalaes because of her connection to Dajamar.
Full description of the talisman is: "Crafted from black silver, the serpent bears two faceted ruby eyes. There is a tiny rune on the underbelly of the piece, but it is unrecognizeable. The serpent is bound upon a braided leather thong knotted at odd intervals." - a flickering mist-filled orb
- Trianvar's
vessel
This orb was found by Tesserah in the mausoleum of Talbot Dabbings in Pioneer Cemetery in IceMule. It was given to Thurfel and was placed on the altar in Thurfel's vault. It was destroyed by Amasalen on December 1st in 2002 during the finale of the quest. - an opalescent grey glass orb
- Cheritz's
vessel
This orb was found by Perigourd in the Penguin Pond in Icemule, where it had been polluting the water supply of the town. It was given to Thurfel and was placed on the altar in Thurfel's vault. It was destroyed by Amasalen on December 1st in 2002 during the finale of the quest. - a staff shard
- First of three pieces
remaining of the shattered Staff of Amasalen
These pieces were gathered by Nanna after the explosion of the altar and staff when the avatar of Amasalen appeared at the end of the quest in December 2002.
Upon examination of this shard you see: You see nothing special. - a staff shard
- Second of three pieces
remaining of the shattered Staff of Amasalen
These pieces were gathered by Nanna after the explosion of the altar and staff when the avatar of Amasalen appeared at the end of the quest in December 2002.
Upon examination of this shard you see: The cylindrical obsidian shard most likely belonged to a staff or pole of some sort. Parts of the glassy stone look fused, as if exposed to extreme heat. - a staff shard
- Third of three pieces
remaining of the shattered Staff of Amasalen
These pieces were gathered by Nanna after the explosion of the altar and staff when the avatar of Amasalen appeared at the end of the quest in December 2002.
Upon examination of this shard you see: The cylindrical piece of obsidian is distorted and badly damaged. It appears to have been exposed to extreme heat.
SPECIAL NOTE: When this shard was first taken from the satchel it was in, this happened -- You feel the power from the shard begin to pulse. The vibrations pulse over and over rhythmically. As it pulses, so does your heart in tune to the pulses. They beat stronger and stronger, finally bursting your heart from the stress.
That process killed the holder, but has not been repeated since. From my standpoint is very interesting because what the shard did (with regard to the beating of the heart in tune to the pulses from it) is very similar to what happened long ago to Iscikella when she held the "relic" (a fist-sized purple stone) which became known as the "Heart of Amasalen". However, that relic did not kill her as she dropped it at that point.
Question: What is the current situation?
Answer: The quest reached its finale on December 1st in 2002 and is now complete.
For an IC summary of the quest as a whole, read "FIRE in ICE".
