The scene opens in one of Aria's private meditation chambers, nestled deep within her complex internal world. From what we see, it appears to be evening within her internal world, which is fully capable of simulating both day and night cycles based on the current time in the real world.. She is seated, utterly absorbed in meditation, a tangible focus radiating from her, as she systematically accumulates genetic and spiritual energy. The air around her seems to shimmer with this golden red aura. Suddenly, she begins to stand up from her meditative sitting position after receiving a telepathic connection link from Joon's clone, who wishes to talk with her master.
"Good evening, master, hope I haven't disturbed you." Joon's clone says telepathically to Aria as he enters Joons' private bedroom within the main family mansion. "It's okay, I was just finishing up with my meditation. What did you want to talk about? Aria asks telepathically. "I wish to give you the summary of the intel I have gathered today." Joon's clone answers. "I see, very well, ensure you have locked the door to your room before we begin," Aria says as Joons' clone goes and closes his bedroom door. "It is done, my lady, we can begin."Joons clone says as he sits on a nearby sofa, and a holographic screen appears in front of him showing a live feed of Aria, who is within one of her meditation chambers. "Wow, this holographic screen is quite large. What if someone sees the screen's light from the windows?" Joons clone asks. Don't worry," Aria assured. "My holographic screens can only be seen by those given clearance by me or my subordinates. They are completely invisible to anyone else."
"I see, very well, let me first begin by giving you the summary of Joon's character based on the memories I have of the original." Joons clone begins. "From my memories, Joons full name is Joon Valemont, son of Kiran Valemont and Luna Silvercrest. He had one sister, Jiyoon Silvercrest, who was killed by your father, Bhaal, during the time she had an altercation with your mother." Joons clone says as memories begin to appear on the holographic screen. "Are his parents alive?" Aria asks. "No, his father was killed during the Frontier Wars: These wars were between the humans of his homeland, Calimshan, and the elves of Tethyr. Bhaal found them hiding in their home within the bodies of their fallen parents; the reason why he was there, I don't know.
When some of the elven soldiers came to check on survivors from their village, Bhaal slaughtered and killed a squad of 58 soldiers and took the two into his care, where he trained both Joon and Jiyoon as his assassins, but always warned them that if they were to ever be of no use to him, he would dispose of them. From his memory, Bhaal used a hand sized tower-like artifact composed of intricate, luminescent metal and crystalline structures that were in a constant state of motion, and at its core, it housed a colossal, ever-rotating eye-like structure." Joons clone says
"It must have been the Ebon spirit tower?" Aria says as he opens a holographic screen which contains a picture of the Ebon spirit tower and compares it with the one from the memories which Joons clone is showing, and observes that they are an exact match. "From what I can tell from Joon's memories, the artifact seemed to glow a golden purple light then which begun to be focused on the eye of the artifact before being realesed as 2 concentrated beams that shot out of the eye and entered both Joons and Jiyoons heads although it didn't leave any physical damage thy felt that something within them had changed.
After that, a glowing contract appeared in front of Bhaal in which he wrote only 3 terms. The first term was that if they were to ever be of no use to him he would dispose of them while the second term was that they must perform at least one murder every ten days in order to live with each life allowing them to live an extra 10 days meaning if they killed 1 person they would be allowed to live for 10 days before needing to kill again if they killed 2 they would be allowed to live for 20 days without needing to kill should they fail to honour this clause the will die and their souls destroyed making even resurrection impossible and the 3rd terms was that they can never reveal the existence of the Ebon Spirit Tower.
After that, the 2 were taken into one of Bhaal's cult organizations, where they were taken in and further given training by Bhaal's lower lieutenants, Amelyssana a deathstalker, who always hid her Identity under a black veil. Through great effort, they slowly rose up the ranks, Joon becoming a squad captain of the red scarved elite core, while her sister reached an even higher rank of Deathstalker.
Based on the memories I have, here is the structure of your father's Bhaalists cult organizations, the Bhaalists. The followers of Bhaal are generally known as Bhaalists throughout most lands, though they are also called the Bhaalyn in the areas east of the Dragon Reach. The overall organization is a highly secretive network of assassins. Within the cult, members ascend through specific ranks based on their abilities and contributions to the cult, with the ranks and designation going as follows:" Joons clone says as he begins using the holographics screen function to create a visual representation of the Bhaalists cult structure:
Cowled Deaths: This is the designation for the nine most senior cult leaders. They hold the highest offices within the Bhaalists cult. Currently, Joon only knows 2 members, the cowled Death known as Irenicus and Hobarth. Comprises members capable of using both divine magic spells of at least the 7th level, an aura of at least grand master level, and a mana level of at least the 9th circle
Deathstalkers: This is the specific name reserved for highly skilled priestesses of Bhaal, comprised entirely of females who are capable of using divine magic spells of the 5th level, together with either a mana level of at least the 5th circle or an aura of at least grand master level.
High Primate or High Primistress: A highly ranked priest within the Bhaalists' cult. Easily identified by the scarlet sash they wear for recognition during important rituals. Comprises members capable of using divine magic spells of at least the 3rd circle.
First Murder: This title is given to the assistants who serve a Primate or a Primistress. Comprises members capable of using either aura at the master level or using mana to cast spells of at least the 4th circle.
The Black Guard: This comprises highly trained dark knights who have reached at least the sword master level in aura manipulation, charged with protecting Bhaals central palace
Red Scarved Elite core: This comprises highly trained assassins who have reached at least the adept level in aura manipulation, with the head captains capable of using mana to cast spells of at least the third circle. We are charged with protecting a particular headquarters of the cult and coordinating reconnaissance missions near our given posts.
Bhalaist Army: Comprising various mages ranking between the 1st and 4th circle, fighters ranking between the adept level and grandmaster level, clerics capable of using divine magic of between the 1st and 3rd level, This department mainly focus on carrying out various military operations across Faerun and who are headed by high ranking commanders assassins who even their lowest ranked member rival even the power of deathstalkers and are known as the daggers of Bhaal.
Soul Contract of the Bhaalist Cult:
Every member in the Bhaalist Cult has had his or her soul engraved with a soul contract by Bhaal using the Ebons Spirit Tower with the following 3 terms:
One, Every member in the Bhaalist Cult is expected to perform their given tasks to absolute perfection; failure to do so will result in being disposed of.
Two,Every member of the Bhaalist Cult can never reveal the existence of the Ebon Spirit Tower. If anyone has any intention of revealing this info, a fail-safe is activated, and the person's head explodes.
Three,Every member in the Bhaalist Cult, except for slaves and servants, is expected to constantly prove their devotion to your father, whom we refer to as the Lord of Murder within the cult. By performing at least one murder every ten days.
"What!! Hold on, I thought this terms were only for Joon and Jiyoon, you mean to tell me that everyone within Bhaal's estate has been enslaved by my dad." Aria says to Joons' clone. "Yes, master, everyone even the concubines within the estate havr been enslaved, it is only the children of Bhaal who are not enslaved. Those who have it a little bit easy are the slaves and servants who, although are enslaved, don't need to perform at least one murder every ten days, meaning as long as they follow the first two terms of the contract, they will be fine.
Suddenly, Aria remembers a flashback of how her mother always says she has something to do on the 10th every month and usually returns 1 month later with bloodied cloths, which she gave Angela to wash, and stays within Bhaal's estate for 2 months before leaving again for what she calls a mission. "If that's the case, it means she has to be killing at least 6 people each time she goes on missions in order to stay in the estate for 2 months. I am starting to get why she was pissed when I said I didn't want to be an assassin in this family; killing is the difference between living and dying. Meaning she has no choice but to ensure she follows Bhaal's barbaric commandment or else die."
"Master…..master, you spaced out for a while," Joons' clone says to Aria. "Sorry, please continue?"Aria tells Joons' clone. "When it comes to the matters of the Red Scarved Elite core, I currently hold the position of captain within my squad. My squad is known as the raging phantoms. My members are compsed of Joran who is my lieutenant, Maven our scout, Ryker our archer, Javel our tanker, and Zephyr our 2nd class mage.
Currently, within the Red Scarved Elite core, there are 20 squards each who answer to High Captain, Elysia. Captain, Elysia is a formidable swordswoman, but where she excels is spell casting with the most powerful spell, which she can cast being fireball.
Currently, we are in a secret but very intimate relationship with each other. "Hold on!, how Long has your relationship been going on?"Aria asks face seemingly flushed red. "For around 5 years, Bhaal has had many concubines and usually doesn't bother following up on the activities of all his wives, so it has been easy to keep the affair going for this long." Joons clone answers.
"For now, I will be focusing on obtaining as much intel as I can before Friday next week, since we have an upcoming reconnaissance mission."Joon clone says. "By the way, how many days does the original Joon have before having to kill?"Aria asks. "Around 92 days," Joons' clone answers. "So basically 3 months, damn he must killed around 9 people inorder to obtain such a long period to live, so basically we still have time, and thanks to the ectoplasmic caccoon which slows down the bodies metabolic functions making it that even if Joon doesn't eat or drink for an year, he will still be fine till but I still have to be careful and finish this Intel gathering stage of my plan quickly should 3 months pass Joon will automatically die due to failing the term taking about having to kill every 10 days since his days to live would have been exhausted. Shit I wanted to torture him longer but that seems difficult now, I will just have to speed up my plan and ensure I am done framing him within a month"
"I also want to know why my father is referred to as The Lord Of Murder and any background info you may have, no matter how small it may be," Aria says to Joons' clone. " Okay, Aria, your father is a complex being, a demi-god among men, and not just by name but in the literal sense. His divine realm is called the Throne of Bhaal, located on Khalas, and is only accessible by the first layer of the outer plane, Gehenna. He is feared and reviled by most of the pantheon gods, considered a wholly evil, sadistic god. Many gods, like Chauntea, Helm, Ilmater, Lathander, Lliira, and Tyr, despise him. He is served by 2 dark goddesses, Talona and Loviatar. He is also served by an imp named Cespenar, who is currently working as the family's blacksmith. He is calm, cruel, violent, and hateful, capable of shifting from cold, calculating ruthlessness to savage bloodlust in battle, and he is rumoured to have a strategic partnership with Bane, but this information is highly classified even among the cult.
According to the records within the main library located in his Divine realm, before he became a god, he was a mortal adventurer on Toril, ambitious and power-hungry. Along with Bane and Myrkul, he sought to claim the portfolio of Jergal, the God of the Dead. They defeated Jergals minions and eventually faced Jergals who willingly gave them his power due to being bored of his current post they divided Jergal's portfolio among themselves through a game of knucklebones, with your father choosing murder as his domain.
When Bhaal ascended to godhood, he created 3 Avatars. The first is called the Slayer, it looks like a male, humanoid corpse with a feral face and ivory skin, inset with deep lacerations that flow with black ichor. He prefers this form when he's in urban areas, blending into the shadows, hunting his prey. The second form is the Ravager, a massive 30-foot monster with a twisted, grimacing face. It features a flowing beard and mane, with seven horns and eyes that burn with the flames of Gehenna. He takes this form when he visits rural regions, spreading destruction across the land. The third is Kazgoroth, his most terrifying avatar, whose natural form is that of a massive "tyrannosaurus" with acidic saliva, but it can still shape-change to other forms, including those of people whom it killed and devoured before impersonating, and can spread lycanthropy.
Bhaal's reign of terror is infamous, especially in the Moonshae Isles during the Year of the Bloodbird 1346 DR. His avatar, Kazgoroth, tried to unite the firbolgs and Northmen into a war to destroy the realm of the Fflock. The Ffolk were the dark-haired, fair-skinned original human inhabitants of the southern Moonshae Isles, a stout and hardy people known for their fierce independence, reverence for nature, and strong martial traditions. Through his Cowled Death known as Hobarth, Bhaal corrupted the Moonwell, the heart of the Ffolk's Earthmother worship, turning it into a Darkwell, a cancerous wound on the earth that corrupted and killed anything nearby.
During this time, Bhaal used his shapeshifting avatar, Kazgoroth, which emerged from the Darkwell. The Darkwell was a grotesque perversion of a Moonwell, which was a sacred site of the native Ffolk's goddess, the Earthmother. This avatar's goal was to unite the Ffolk's longtime rivals, the Northmen, and the Firbolgs into a single conquering army set on destroying the realms of the Ffolk. Kazgoroth even corrupted some of the Northmen, turning them into blood warriors loyal to his avatar.
The War Against the Ffolk comprised of undead, sahuagin, firbolgs, ogre mercenaries, and the Bhalaist Army, who wreaked havoc across the Isles, killing numerous Ffolk and razing settlements, reaching a death toll of around 1.2 million individuals. His ultimate goal during this time was to suck out the warm life of the Moonshaes through the Darkwell inorder to destroy the Earthmother, who was rumoured to have the ability to have the ability to restore and enhance souls while also seizing the Isles as his personal domain. But sadly, this plan came to fail after Kazgaroth was killed.
After Kazgoroth was slain, Bhaal seemed desperate and sought to personally conquer the Moonshae Isles at all costs by using his second avatar, The Ravenger, but this time it was going to be different. Out of the Chaos he had caused, a new hero of the Ffolk had risen up, His name Tristan Kendrick," Joons clone says as he pauses for a moment. "Master, here is the history summary of Tristan Kendrick and the events leading up and the events leading to the conflict with your father, Bhaal, in the Moonshae Isles," Joon's clone stated.
"Tristan Kendrick was born a prince in the Year of the Striking Hawk (1326 DR), the son of King Bryon Kendrick and Queen Addee of Corwell. His mother tragically died from an illness caused by his birth, leading his father to hold a partial resentment toward him. Although pressured by his father to study statecraft, Tristan lacked interest in the political arts.
As a young man, Tristan and his friends were attacked by firbolgs during a hunting trip, resulting in the death of his arms master, Arlen. They were rescued by the famed bard, Keren. Upon reporting this invasion to King Bryon, Tristan was awarded his own troops. However, when Keren disappeared, Tristan abandoned his post to lead his friends to rescue the bard from firbolgs in the Myrloch Vale.
It was during this rescue that Tristan discovered the legendary weapon, the Sword of Cymrych Hugh, hidden within a treasure chamber of a firbolg stronghold. Keren immediately recognized the weapon and informed Tristan that the finder was destined to be its wielder.
In Tristan's absence, his kingdom of Corwell was, as predicted, invaded by Northlanders and firbolgs. Tristan quickly rallied disparate groups the Sisters of Synnoria and a group of Dwarves to join his own party, forming an impromptu battalion to fight the invaders.
Under Tristan's command, this united force successfully broke the Northlanders. The invasion was spearheaded by Kazgaroth, Bhaal's avatar, who was disguised as Thelgar Ironhand of Oman. Tristan personally confronted the avatar and, through a combination of his swordcraft and powerful druidic magic, managed to wound Kazgaroth, bringing The Beast low enough to land a killing blow. This victory came at a great cost: Tristan, along with Pawldo and Daryth, had to be resurrected, and Keren tragically could not be saved.
Despite his heroics, Tristan struggled to earn his father's respect. A political rival, Lord Pontswain, challenged Tristan's lineage, arguing that High King Reginald Carrathal should decide the successor to Corwell's throne.
Meanwhile, a Thayan wizard named Cyndre hired assassins to murder Tristan, King Bryon, and steal the Sword of Cymrych Hugh. The assassins only succeeded in murdering King Bryon. En route to the High King, Tristan's ship was sabotaged and sank. He then met the ghost of Queen Allisyn, who prophesied that Tristan would select a descendant of Cymrych Hugh as the next High King.
After being wrongfully arrested, Tristan joined forces with his love, Robyn, and an outlaw nobleman, Hugh O'Roarke, to battle Cyndre, High King Carrathal, and the Bhaalist minion, Hobarth. Tristan was victorious, and the Earthmother visited him. The Earthmother, seeing hope in Tristant who continued to fight the forces of Bhaal despite the overwhelming disadvantage, used her very essence to enhance the blade's power with her divine essence, for she knew that, despite its high magic power, the blade would have done little to no damage to Bhaal. After enhancing the blade, she bestowed it back to Tristant and named him his champion, giving him the title of protector of the Moonshae Isles.
Enhancing the blade using her own divine energy came at a cost.
After the Earthmother finished enhancing the sword and bestowing it to Tristant, he confirmed to the Ffolck people that he was the descendant prophesied to be a direct descendant of the legendary hero and first High King, Cymrych Hugh. The surname "Kendrick" was a linguistic variant or corruption of the name "Cymrych" that had developed over centuries. After saying this, her body began to disintegrate, and she died, but she was content knowing her sacrifice would give her people a fighting chance against Bhaal's powerful forces. The Ffolk were eventually united under the new hero, whom they crowned as King Tristan Kendrick of the Ffolck and united under one formidable army. Tristan, who wielded the Sword of Cymrych Hugh in his battles is said that wherever he went Bhaals army and minions fell in the thousands, unlike most warriors Tristan had a unique method of fighting he could mentally control his sword without holding its hilt making it perform terrifying swordplay with a mere wave of his finger, He could send mental attacks that stunned warriors which left them unable to move or act and lastly he could make his enemies see illusion that were as real as day where if one was killed in the illusion the died in real life and his blade released a fire and lightning aura whenever he attacked and with the blessings of the earthmother he could perform powerful druidic magic that left all stunned
The Cowedeld death Hobarth had survived and managed to corrupt one of the Earthmother's sacred sites, transforming a Moonwell into a Darkwell. Tristan, now High King, began building diplomatic ties, starting with the Northlanders by aiding their king, Grunnarch, against sahuagin.
However, Bhaal's influence remained strong. A displacer beast under Bhaal's command attacked and killed Daryth. Finally, upon reaching the corrupted Darkwell, Tristan's party encountered the fully manifested avatar of Bhaal himself, who was in the process of killing the druids of the Vale.
Although Bhaal initially held his own as they fought, Tristan controlled the Sword of Cymrych Hugh, combined with powerful and strange mental attacks, which stunned the Ravanger avatar, directly piercing the Ravanger's heart, defeating Bhaal's second avatar, leaving Bhaal with only one remaining avatar, the Slayer. Before Bhaal could recover, Tristan inserted the Sword of Cymrych Hugh directly into the corrupted well, effectively purifying it. This action successfully banished Bhaal back to his divine realm, known as the Throne of Bhaal in Khalas, located on the first layer of the outer plane of Gehenna, effectively ending Bhaal's direct attack on the Moonshae Isles.
This defeat severely weakened Bhaal the already weak Bhaal, making him unable to use magic spells. In Short Aria, the Ffolk were just victims of Bhaal's ambitious and destructive campaign to claim the Moonshae Isles as his personal domain, resulting in a brutal war and the death of their patron deity, the Earthmother. But also leaving him with only one Avatar remaining, Bhaal with his remaining army eventually retuned back to the forest of wryms where his main estate is currently located to regroup and recover after suffering their defeat from king Tristant," Joons clone says as he finishes his analysis of .
"What's an Avatar?"Aria asks Joons' clone. "An avatar is an extension of a god's very existence, unlike clones Avatars can only be created by being who have achieved godhood and become a celestial deity the only other beings who are able to create Avatar aside from gods are high ranking demons like demogorgan and high ranking devils like Asmodeus but still they don't hold a candle to Avatars created by gods.
Let me explain, gods, no matter their Divine rank, gods are able to create an Avatar, which is an exact copy of the god's soul, body, and powers, with the number of avatars a god can create being limited by the amount of divine energy they have. As for demons and devils their Avatars despite having powerful bodies only contain a small potion of their soul and power thus are 90 percent weaker than the original plus even if their original body dies and they use their avatar to recover it takes them hundreds if not thousands in order to recover to their full strengthn, the only advantage they have when compared to gods is that they are able to create more clones with Demorgorgon rumourd to have at least 98 clones while Asmodeus has around 90 clones with each of them having 20 to 50% of the power and abilities of the original making them an equal to most avatar of the gods below the rank of 9 and when made to attack together they are even able to stand on par with avatars of gods of rank 16 and below. The major difference is that if the original body of the god dies as long as an avatar exists no mater where it is in the universe, the gods will and consciousness simply enters the nearest avatar and continues as if nothing happened provided his or her soul is undamaged otherwise his soul will first have to recover before the god can use his or her full powers. The other reason why even gods rarely interfere with Demons is how difficult it is to kill them
in order to permanently kill a demon or devil especially the high ranking ones you must first ensure that you have killed and destroyed any avatar, avatars or clones it might have created then ensure that you go and kill the Demon or Devil in their home plane for example in order to permanently kill a devil you must kill it in the nine hells and if you want to permanently kill a demon you must kill it in the abyss and this is highly difficult even to gods who know that as long as a devil or demon is in his or her home plane his strength become several times greater than when in other locations like our prime material plane but as for gods as long as one destroys all his or her avatars and his or her original body is killed then the god permanently dies and a void is left within the pantheon, thats why most gods hide the locations of at least one avatar for unforeseen emergencies ensuring that even if they die there is a back up otherwise only gods of atleast rank 18 can resurrect themselves usually at high cost requiring the years to recover their full power.
You may wonder why the demons and devils don't attack the prime material plane if they are so powerful. The reasons are these: Demons and devils do not attack the Prime Material Plane because of a few key reasons, including the Blood War. The ongoing conflict between demons and devils is the primary reason fiends focus their efforts on each other rather than the Prime Material Plane. Two is the value of mortal souls: The Prime Material Plane is a rich source of mortal souls, which are essential for both the devils' hierarchy and the demons' ranks. Instead of a direct assault, they use the plane as a long-term recruiting ground, Three the difficulty of plane-hopping from their realm to ours and lastly the presence of powerful good and evil aligned gods who use the faith of their follower to grow their powers and can freely plane shift from their divine realm to the prime material plane with Zero difficulties and who protect the mortals especially their followers in order to gain more divine energy thus growing their rank within their celestial hierarchy.
You also need to understand unlike demons who require large sacrificial rituals to even appear in the material plane, as for devils they can be easily summoned as long as one has enough magical power and usually form unbreakable contracts with mortal in exchange for particular favors, note a devil will never break a contract due to the risk, If a devil breaks a contract, it faces severe punishment from its superiors in the Nine Hells, which can include demotion to a lower-ranking creature like a lemure or even having its soul consumed. The punishment is often ironic and severe, fitting the crime, and the contract is typically considered null and void, meaning that if the contract involved the mortal's soul, it would be returned to its normal place of rest, and the mortal could be resurrected. Though the details can be manipulated by the devil to find a loophole that still benefits them.
Demons on the other hand don't bother with contracts unless the being is stronger than them or if they have their own agenda, and even if they choose to break their contracts, there is zero consequence, and just like devils, they see the Prime Material Plane as a crucial source of mortal souls, which are essential for their power and recruitment. When an evil person dies, their soul's destination depends whether their god will accept them in their devine realm if they are rejected or abandoned by their god the soul will continue to drift and eventually reach the abyss or 9 hells depending on their alignment, with Lawful Evil souls generally going to the Nine Hells and Chaotic Evil souls to the Abyss. However, other factors can override this, such as a soul's worship of a specific deity for example A soul may be sent to the divine realm of the deity it worshipped in life in our case if a soul is favoured by your father he will be sent to your fathers divine realm called Khalas for judgment and if found worthy he or she will be transformed into a petitioner a special immortal lifeform which will eventually further evolve and become a chosen a unique being that will be tied to the potfolio of that given god.
"Wait, what do you mean by portfolio?" Aria asks. "A portfolio is basically a list of things that all true deities possess, even the lowest demigod, like Bhaal. The portfolio of a deity determined the area of interest that it both represented and had power over. Ideas, emotions, races of creatures, schools of magic, and other topics related to mortal existence could all become part of a deity's portfolio." Joon says as Aria pauses him
Think of it like this: each god in Faerûn has a specific portfolio, which is like their area of expertise or the natural force they dominate. Elminster once said that 'good and evil, law and chaos, neutrality all are balanced evenly among the gods,' meaning that each deity's portfolio helps maintain that balance.
Now, not all powerful entities are true gods; quasi-powers like archfiends don't have portfolios because they aren't considered fully divine. Also, a deity only gets a portfolio if they have divine power at least equal to a demigod. And interestingly, deities can only share portfolios with others in their pantheon if one is a demigod, and the other a greater god of that portfolio. So let's say, if two gods from different pantheons, for example, one is from the Faerûnian Pantheon and the other is from the Celtic Pantheon, they both can share a portfolio of, let's say, an example life; there's no such restriction that they both can't influence the same area or conscept.
Portfolios are usually pretty stable, only changing when a god dies, is resurrected, or during major cosmic events. Gods gain portfolios by killing other gods and taking over their domains. Just know that the more powerful a god is, the more control they have over their portfolio. For example, if you were to fight Mystra, the goddess of magic, she could simply command that you can't use magic and even if you are a 9th circle mage, and it would be so, since his portfolio is magic. They can also sense events related to their portfolios from afar, especially if mortals are involved. They can even block other gods from sensing or influencing their domain, but only if they're more powerful.
Plus, when gods work to influence their portfolios, they're much more effective. They can perform magic instantly, handle multiple tasks easily, and enact stronger divine effects all in relation to their domain. So, their influence really depends on their level of power and how invested they are in that part of the mortal world and existence."Joon answers.
"I also wanted to know, since this world has many gods, what happens when a mortal dies," Aria asks Joon. "Basically, when a mortal dies, their soul goes to a god's divine realm primarily based on their worship and devotion to that deity during their lifetime. The deity or their servants must claim the soul and accept it into their domain; otherwise, it will wander for 200years before either being bound to the wall of the faithless or drifting to the outer planes of the abyss or the 9 hells. The General Process. According to the rules written on the tablets of fate by AO himself, the fate of a soul after death follows these general rules and order:
The Journey: Upon the death of a mortal being, their soul separates from the body and begins a journey to the Fugue Plane by passing through the astral plane, a process that takes several days to a tenday in mortal time. During this time, the soul can potentially be resurrected by powerful magic, although high-level clerics of this level are really rare, and even if you find one, they usually charge very high prices. For example, for them to cast the Raise Dead, it costs 1250 gold pieces. This spell closes all mortal wounds, but it doesn't restore missing body parts. If the creature is lacking body parts or organs integral for its survival, its head or heart, for instance, the spell automatically fails. Coming back from the dead is an ordeal. The target is significantly weaker, but every time the target finishes a long rest, he or she begins to gain back his or her strength. This spell works provided that the target has been dead for no longer than 10 days; after that, it will fail.
The other spell high-level clerics use is the Resurrection spell, costing around 8,000 gold pieces in most temples. This spell neutralizes any poisons and cures normal diseases afflicting the creature when it dies. It doesn't, however, remove magical diseases, curses, and the like; if such effects aren't removed prior to casting the spell, they afflict the target on its return to life while also closing all mortal wounds and restoring any missing body parts. Casting this spell restores life to a creature that has been dead for one year or longer, but taxes the cleric greatly. Until the cleric finishes a long rest, he or she can't cast spells for the rest of the day.
And lastly, the rarest and powerful resurrection spell a mortal cleric can cast is True Resurrection, costing upward of 55000 gold pieces in most temples. This spell allows A creature that has been dead for no longer than 200 years and that died for any reason except old age to return back to life at full vitality. This spell closes all wounds, neutralizes any poison, cures all diseases, and lifts any curses affecting the creature when it died. The spell replaces damaged or missing organs and limbs. The spell can even provide a new body if the original no longer exists, in which case the cleric must speak the creature's name. The creature then appears in an unoccupied space you choose within 10 feet of you, but note this spell only works for mortals. There is no single spell to resurrect a dead god; even the goddess of magic can't resurrect a god using magic, but some set a highly complicated ritual that can last for as long as a god's power is tied to their worship.
The Fugue Plane: Once on the Fugue Plane (a kind of purgatory), the soul generally wanders in a state of quiescence, often unaware it has died for up to 200years.
Claiming by a Deity: gods automatically detect their followers no matter where they are and send a messenger to claim the soul. The soul, instantly recognizing its patron's representative, would then be taken to that deity's divine realm, where it is taken to ensure its safety and remains as a soul for 200years before evolving and transforming into a special life form known as petitioners.
Transformation into a Petitioner: In the divine realm, their soul is kept safe and is slowly transformed into a petitioner, an immortal servant whose form and existence are tied to the nature of the plane and the deity's portfolio. Even if the deity dies, as long as a portfolio, for example, love exists in the multiverse, they will never die.
Transformation into a Chosen: Once the 200years have passed, they begin to transform into a cocoon-like sphere and within 7 days evolve, taking on the form that best portrays their god, with some taking on their previous forms but with various glowing runes on their bodies and glowing, some taking angelic forms, some taking bestial forms, and some taking monstrous forms and are now called a Chosen. They are further classified as either Chosen Celestial or Chosen Fiend, depending on the plane's alignment. Once a petitioner takes on a particular form, that will become its new original form and will serve their deities in different ways, depending on the deity's nature. Some enjoy a more peaceful afterlife, while others are summoned to defend the realm. Their pursuits often mirrored their activities in life; for instance, Bhaals Chosen are assigned as assassins known as the daggers of Bhaal, who mainly act as commanders within the Bhaalist army, with their power equal to and sometimes greater than that of death stalkers. If this Chosen commander is killed in the prime material plane, their soul automatically returns to their respective realm, in our case, Khalas, where, after 7 days, they can simply return to serve their god in the prime material plane. The limitation of being a Chosen is that should the god you serve die, then you will be trapped in that god's divine realm till another god takes the dead god's portfolio or another being obtains authority to rule that particular domain by AO, the all father thus obtaining the right to command all the petitioners of that particular realm as he or she wishes. But this topic is highly complex.Gods, am I right?" Joon says to Aria, who is seemingly surprised by the info she is learning from Joons clone. "Although this is the normal rules and order a soul generally follows after death, there are Exceptions and alternative fates which may occur, based on certain conditions, which include:
Good souls that have no patron deity in life: If a soul doesn't have a patron deity in life, it's taken by the deity it gravitated towards most. For example, if the mortal lived a life of ensuring to uphold justice and protecting others, he or she may be taken in by Helm, the god of guardians, protection, and protectors. Sometimes, even without active worship, a deity might claim a soul based on symbols, rituals, or even a simple moment of devotion at death, and if two or more gods want to claim the soul, the soul is given the choice to choose the god it wants. Most evil deities, demons, and even devils seek these souls the most since the more pure a soul is, the stronger it will become if it is corrupted and turned into a demon or devil, which they can make their minions do their bidding.
Faithless, faulse and the abandon souls: Those who did not worship any god are a unique case and lived evil lives either they are either bound into the Wall of the Faithless or may be lucky to be taken in by an evil deity it gravitated towards most but in most cases no god especially evil dietes would even bother since they lack faith which is a crusial and valuable commodity for gods, where they slowly dissolve into nothingness. False souls are those who have actively turned away from a deity they once believed in and are punished in the City of Judgement. While those who were evil and have been abandoned by their god will, over time, be drawn to the Outer Plane that most closely matches their specific evil alignment, the Abyss for Chaotic Evil individuals, while the Nine Hells for those who are Lawful Evil individuals. Once there, their soul would become a pettitioner and would be transformed into a low-level fiend, like a mane if it were in the abyss and a lemure if it were in the 9 hells, and would lose all of its memories as a mortal.
Devil Contracts: Souls bound by special conditions, such as an infernal contract with a devil, are claimed by that entity instead
Soul theft: Although rare devils, demons, or other powerful beings might steal a soul before it can be taken by their patron deity on the Fugue Plane, for example, Powerful entities like the Raven Queen, who is considered an interloper goddess, can intercept souls to steal memories or trap them should she wish. This explains why gods usually act first to retrieve the souls.
Peaceful afterlife: Some souls may go directly to a pleasant afterlife without a traditional judgment, especially if they have contributed greatly to the prime material plane, even if they did not serve any god and were granted a divine realm of their own by the all-father AO. The only person ever known to have obtained this grace is the hero Siegfried.
Note that if a god tries to take the soul of another deity, their very divine realm refuses to allow them to enter, but a powerful greater deity of at least rank 6 and above can bypass this restriction.
In Toril, the primary advantage of a god having many petitioners who eventually become their chosen is that it increases the deity's overall power and influence in both their home plane and the Material Plane. This can be broken down into several key benefits:
Increased Divine Power: While the exact mechanics vary by campaign setting, it is a common theme that a god's power is directly tied to the number of their worshipers and the fervor of that worship. More petitioners and worshipers mean more raw divine energy for the god to draw upon. Gods who lose popularity can become weaker or even "starve" and fade into obscurity.
Greater Influence on the Material Plane: A god with a larger following can more easily enact their will on the mortal world. They can provide more potent and frequent divine spells to a larger number of clerics, paladins, and other divine spellcasters. And are able to send more powerful chosen or other servitor creatures from their divine realm to the Material Plane to advance their agenda or protect their interests.
Stronger Divine Realm: Petitioners eventually become the chosen who reside in their deity's plane of existence after death, serving them in various capacities. A large number of chosen ensures the divine realm is well-populated and powerful, providing a strong base of operations and defense for the god. They can serve as soldiers, artisans, scholars, or whatever fits the god's domain.
Protection Against Rivals: The increased power and influence make the deity more formidable against rival gods and fiends. Stronger gods can have more "Chosen" (mortals granted specific powers) and a larger force of followers and otherworldly servants to protect their domain and interests from external threats.
"Wait, you mean to tell me Joon has all this valuable info? Just how the hell did he obtain this info?"Aria asks. "This is mainly because of her sister Jiyoon, who, thanks to her high rank, gave her access to highly crucial info and secrets of the Bhaalist cult main library within Bhaal's domain of Khaalas, the one you have within the family is nothing in comparison."Joons clone answers. "Wait, I thought only those who died could enter a god's divine domain," Aria asks Joon. "Not necessarily each god has a way to allow his most trusted servant to enter their domain freely, for example, for Bhaal it is the madelion which most members of the family wear, you know the one with the skull surrounded by 12 bloody teardrops."Joon answers, "Wait, you mean to tell me that the medalion is the key to entering Bhaal's realm?"Aria says. "Yes, my lady, should you check under the original joon's scarf, you will find it." Joons clone answer. "What about the family gauntlet have you found any info on it?"Aria asks. "Sadly, no, I only know it is a right of passage among the bhaalspawns when they reach 6 years, where the talented bhaalspawn are allocated more resources while the rest are disposed of,"Joon answers
"Okay, is there anything else you wanted to tell me?"Aria asks. "No, my lady, I will keep updating you and Joon on any info I find," Joon's clone answers. " Very well, focus on your mission, and if you find any more info on King Tristant, inform me immediately if I am correct. He may be a spirit master just like me," Aria says to Joon, who bows in respect before ending their live feed. Suddenly, the door to the meditation chamber within Arias's internal world is opened, and the black silvirium guard enters with some tea and cupcakes and places them on a nearby table before requesting her master to come and relax for a bit. "Thank, Talon?" Aria says as the Black silviriu guard bows and leaves Aria in the meditation chamber. Aria suddenly remembered her time in the reflection hall, where she once said things couldn't possibly get any worse and laughs. The scene ends as Aria sips her tea and says to herself. "Dear Life, when I asked if things could, t possibly get any worse, IT WAS A RETORIACAL NOT FUCKING CHALLENGE!!! Seriously, Bhaal is a literal demi God, how am I supposed to win against that, like seriously, is someone messing with my life?"