It's been a few days since his imprisonment. Jon Irenicus sat in his spell enchanted prison cell in a location only known as Spellhold. Where it is exactly, no one but a select few people know. The truth is, he could break out whenever he wished, and that time is coming soon, but first, he has some business to take care of. Irenicus sat on the floor, meditating. He could sense through a telepathic connection he had established with Ralis days before the Shadow Thieves raided his hideout that he is asleep now and is beginning to have another dream involving his powers as a child of Bhaal, and Irenicus could feel his consciousness slowly being pulled out of his corporeal body to be drawn into the dream.
You will learn, god-child. You will learn the inevitable truth of what life is, and how you can transcend beyond it and its limitations. Irenicus noted in his thoughts before his consciousnesses left his body to join Ralis in his dream.
Irenicus found himself in a library room full of people turned into stone. This location of Ralis' dream is likely the library of Candlekeep. The only people who are not turned into stone is himself and Ralis standing before him.
"You again," Ralis hissed, trying to reach of his weapons and discovered that he does not have his bastard swords Kondar and Albruin strapped to his waist once again in the dream.
"I see that you continue to squander every day with what you are. Do you realize what you could do with the power you possess? What amazing feats you could accomplish?" Irenicus lectured Ralis.
"I don't need evil power to keep myself alive, or anyone else, for that matter," Ralis growled.
"That is where you are wrong, god-child," Irenicus said.
Ralis scowled sharply. "Where the hell are you getting at, Irenicus?" He asked the mage.
"Life... is strength," Irenicus simply said.
Before Ralis could object, Irenicus signaled him to remain silent by simply raising his right hand at him for a second, then lowered his hand.
"This is not to be contested, it seems logical enough. You live, you affect your world. But is it what you need? You are... different... inside," Irenicus said.
"I can assure you, no matter how different I am, my needs are no different from everyone else. When it comes to power, I have my own strength in abundance, I don't need the powers that once belonged to a bastard like Bhaal," Ralis spat hatefully.
"But is the meager, limited power what you call "strength" enough to defy death?" Irenicus questioned Ralis.
He said nothing in reply.
In response, Irenicus cast a spell on a stone statue of a shapely 35 year old woman, turning her body from stone to flesh. When her body became flesh, she was breathing but she made no movement at all. She stared off ahead without any awareness whatsoever, like a living, breathing statue of sorts.
"This woman lives and has strength of a sort," Irenicus told Ralis, gesturing hes hands toward the somewhat lifeless woman as if he is performing some kind of demonstration show.
Then he slowly walked in circles around the woman as he continued speaking, keeping eye contact with the Ralis.
"She lost her parents to plague, her husband to war, but she persevered. Her farm has prospered, her name is respected, and her children are fed and safe. She lived as she thought she should. And now she is dead." At that moment, Irenicus cast a fireball at the woman and she exploded in flames when the large ball of fire made contact.
Ralis wished he never saw that, but some invisible force is making him look, forcing his eyelids to stay open.
"Her land will be divided, her children will move on, and she will be forgotten. She lived a "good" life, but she had no power. She was a slave to death," Irenicus told Ralis.
Ralis shook his head slowly. What is this freak of a man trying to drill into his mind?!
"I wonder if you are destined to be forgotten. Will your life fade in the shadow of greater beings? You are born of murder, the very essence of that which takes life. You have power, if you wish it," Irenicus said.
Ralis felt anger rising up deep inside him. He wasn't sure if it was moral outrage, or his Bhaal's essence within him boiling in excitement.
"The power that I was born with was never mine! If I accept it, I'll become the very thing that I'm fighting against, and I'll unwillingly hurt those I care about! Everything that you are showing to me is nothing more than a fantasy of your twisted mind!" He exclaimed at Irenicus, but he had a gut sinking feeling that some part of him still wanted to use the full potential of his Bhaalspawn power no matter how dangerous it is.
Irenicus frowned in amusement. "Really? But the consequences are so very real," he replied as-a-matter-of-factly, then he magically summoned Imoen into the room.
Irenicus crossed his arms and shook his head.
He will learn, he thought. Out loud, he said: "Your actions affect so many others than yourself. You will come to realize how little choice you have. You will do what you must, become what you must, or others will pay for your cowardice," Irenicus said, staring into Ralis in a way that is very unsettling. "You will accept the gifts offered to you," he said in a way that not only almost sounds like a threat, but in a way as if he most certainly knows that Ralis will one day willingly give in to Bhaal's taint in some way, which sent an uneasy, twisting feeling in his gut.
Then Irenicus proceeded to burn Imoen with the Burning Hands spell, and she wailed in pain as the fire burned her body.
"No...! No, please no...! No! Stop! I'll give you whatever you need, just please, stop!" Ralis cried out, unable to do anything to stop Irenicus.
He had no swords, and he couldn't utilize his Horror or Vampiric Touch ability to stop Irenicus because he chose to reject his powers as a Bhaalspawn in the dream. He is completely powerless to save Imoen now. Eventually Imoen collapsed dead and Ralis blacked out.
"No! Please!" Ralis woke up yelling in a cold sweat.
He looked around and found himself in Lord Arnise's old bedroom, sleeping in his bed. Ralis realized that it is only a dream, but the contents of the dream still haunted his mind.
You will do what you must, become what you must, or others will pay for your cowardice, Irenicus' voice echoed in Ralis' mind.
He sobbed for the next 3 minutes. Those words deeply disturbed him. Meanwhile, in Spellhold, Irenicus' consciousness returned to his body when the dream ended. He opened his eyes and stood up. Using his powerful magic, he broke free from his cell despite all the magical enchantments placed on it, and began killing any Cowled Wizard that got in his way, casting his powerful magic spells on all who stood in his way.
These pathetic excuses for mages thought they could forever imprison me... It is time for them to wake up and see how pathetic they truly are, Irenicus thought as he felt his rage rising in the rampage.
Meanwhile in the resting quarters of Spellhold, two 28 year old Cowled Wizards were talking about how attractive Imoen is. The other five wizards in the sleeping quarters were fast asleep.
"That girl they brought in recently, she's a cute one, isn't she?" Wizard #1 said to his friend.
His friend nodded. "Yes, she is a wonderful sight to look at. I do believe I have to practice some charm spells on that one," He said, thinking a few perverted thoughts.
Wizard #1 knew what he is referring to and laughed, but his laugh was cut short when he heard the sound of magic spells fizzing and whooshing in distant rooms.
"... What was that sound?" Wizard #1 asked Wizard #2.
"I don't know," Wizard #2 said.
Just then, a third wizard ran into the sleeping quarters to join the other two wizards. He seemed out of breath and looked genuinely terrified.
"You two! The new prisoner- he's escaped!" Wizard #3 exclaimed.
Wizard #1 and 2 looked at him in shock. "What?! When?! Where is he?!" Wizard #2 exclaimed.
"He's in the lower..." Wizard #3 started to say but he stopped when he heard a dimensional door opening up behind him. He turned around to see magical energy tracing a circle. "Gods no! He comes! He's here!" Wizard #3 exclaimed.
Irenicus stepped out of the dimensional door looking rather vengeful and angry.
"I cannot be caged," he growled at the three wizards, summoning a magical barrier that protects him from their low level spells.
He stretched the palm of his right hand at Wizard #3, firing a magic missile at him before he could put up a spell shield around himself. The wizards who were asleep woke up and immediately began to attack Irenicus. Irenicus fired a lightning bolt at one of the wizards who woke up, electrocuting him, and the lightning bolt rebounded off the walls, striking and killing the other wizards as they tried to cast an attack spell on Irenicus. Now there is only Wizard #1 and 2 left alive.
"I cannot be controlled," Irenicus snarled at the last two wizards, then he stretched his hands out at Wizard #2 and fire shot out from his fingertips, burning Wizard #2 and disrupting his Chromatic Orb spell.
Wizard #1 lost the morale to keep fighting Irenicus and slowly backed away from him in fear. Irenicus approached him, activating the Shocking Grasp spell as he approached the cowering wizard. Once Wizard #1 was backed up against the wall and Irenicus got close enough to him, he grabbed Wizard #1 by the neck and lifted him up in the air. Wizard #1 choked from Irenicus' tight grip and his body spasmed in pain from the painful jolts of electricity from Irenicus' hand.
"Understand this as you die, ever pathetic, ever fools!" Irenicus growled at Wizard #1 seconds before his body became limp and lifeless.
Soon all the Cowled Wizards in Spellhold were killed by Irenicus, and now Irenicus alone has full control over Spellhold, weakening the Cowled Wizards even more. Not long later after his jailbreak, Irenicus contacted his duergar minions and instructed them to bring all his experimental equipment from his abandoned hideout to Spellhold. And so, following the day of Irenicus' breakout, the duergar were hard at work bringing all of Irenicus's equipment to Spellhold and keeping the locked deviants, including Imoen fed. As for Irenicus, he had other things on his mind as his duergar minions worked hard.
He walked into the head wizard's room, opening the door. The room is semi dark, but Irenicus walked inside anyway. He lit a few candles and saw a crystal ball used for scrying on potential deviants in Amn, and a chair in front of it. He approached the chair and sat down on it, staring intently at the crystal ball sitting in the middle of a small table.
"Show me the child of Bhaal, the one who killed Sarevok," Irenicus instructed the crystal ball as he leaned forward and moved his hands around it.
The inside of the crystal ball turned snow white for a few seconds, then it cleared to show an image of Ralis and a few of his companions in view around him riding in a stagecoach. The soldiers of Arnise Keep offered to give Ralis and his companions a ride back to Athkatla.
Irenicus relaxed on his chair, looking at Ralis through the crystal ball's image, reflecting on memories that are slowly fading away like a dying fire that hasn't been fed new wood for hours. Irenicus vaguely remembered that he wasn't always like this. He became what he is today because he had been betrayed. He remembered that a few years ago, back when he was still a true elf, an elf with ideals and dreams, and even an elven name, he used to live in an elven city deep within The Wealdath, also known as the Forest of Tethir called Suldanessellar. The city's population is over 5,000 elves and is nestled around and above the Swanmay's Glade and the lowest dwellings are 50 feet above the ground and the first bridges among the branches start another 50 feet above. While there are patrols around the city, they don't stop local animals, not even fey, dryads, centaurs or satyrs from entering the city. The city is protected by the Rhynn Lanthorn, a magical lantern held by the elven guards of Suldanessellar. When an elven guard leaves the city with the lantern, the city is cloaked by a protective illusion spell to protect the city from hostile races, and the only way to dispel the illusion is if the individual holding the enters the illusionary barrier around the city.
Joneleth Icarus, Irenicus's elven name, used to be a popular person in the city, known for his cheerful demenor and positive outlook on life. Raised by his parents Malken (pronounced "Mall-ken") and Ennliya, Joneleth, along with his younger sister Bodhi were raised to love and respect nature, like all elves generally do. One day in Joneleth's youth, his parents and their friends soon discovered that unlike Bodhi, Joneleth turned out to be very gifted in the art of magic, for a mageling. Joneleth's teacher in the arcane arts believed that if Joneleth continues to study magic, his power as a mage may one day rival Elminster himself. As Joneleth matured, he has time and time again proven to be the top of his class as a mage. He and Bodhi grew up with Rielev, Lania and Trosten as his childhood friends. Jon Irenicus slowly fell asleep and began to have a dream about the time when he met Tanova, the love of his life, back when he was still known as Joneleth.
It all started one morning. Joneleth recieved a message from his arcane arts instructor, Sald, that he wants Joneleth and his friends to meet him at his home for some kind of errand. Joneleth just left his house with Bodhi, heading over to Rielev's home to let him know what is going on. The city is fairly busy in the morning, but not that busy, not everyone has awoken yet.
"(What must we do?)" Bodhi asked Irenicus in Elvish (Since they are elves in an elven city, they don't speak Common, they speak Elvish).
Bodhi is Joneleth's sister and is equally popular in Suldanessellar as much as he is. "(I am not sure, Bodhi. Do you think he is being secretive?)" Joneleth replied.
He and Bodhi passed by 3 elves speaking ot each other as they walked over a bridge big enough to support the weight of a golem.
"(I don't know, Joneleth,)" Bodhi shrugged, uncertain of what to believe.
Joneleth knew he could trust his mentor. He has known him for many decades, and he has proven himself to be a trustworthy person. Pretty much everyone Joneleth has met has turned out to be trustworthy so far.
Soon they reached Rielev's home. Bodhi knocked on the wooden door. After pausing for 5 seconds for Rielev to answer, Bodhi turned to look at Joneleth.
"(I do not think he is here,)" Bodhi told her brother.
Joneleth shook his head. "(I doubt it. But if you are right, if he is not here, then-)" Joneleth abruptly stopped speaking to Bodhi when he heard the door open and saw a black haired elf step out.
"(Joneleth. Bodhi. What is it?)" Rielev greeted them.
"(Good morning, Rielev. Sald said that he wants to see us at his home,)" Joneleth replied.
"(Why?)" Rielev became curious.
"(He did not tell me everything. I believe he will tell us when we arrive at his home,)" Joneleth replied.
Rielev closed the door to his house behind him. "(Well, what are we waiting for?)" He said eagerly.
One thing Joneleth really liked about Rielev's personality is his exuberant enthusiasm to to learn and discover something he has never seen or heard before.
Next they went to Lania's house and informed her about going with them to meet Joneleth's mentor, then they went to Trosten's house. Lania has long red hair that stretches down to her back, Rielev has short, dark blonde hair and green eyes, and Trosten his bright blonde hair. Joneleth has semi short black hair like Bodhi. They had to pass through the city's market to get to Trosten's home. The market is fairly busy, and there are a few fey creatures roaming about and centaurs trading goods, fruits and vegetables with the elves who run the market shops.
"Joneleth!" An elf nearby called.
Joneleth turned his head to the right, recognizing the voice. It is Liah, a wild elf who runs one of the shops in the market. Joneleth approached her market stand to see what she wanted.
"(Good morning, Liah. What is wrong?)" Joneleth greeted her.
"(I have received my latest shipment of fruits from the satyrs recently, and now I just got word that Lady Centeol has requested a crate of fruit to be delivered to her home.)" Liah told Joneleth. Joneleth has only heard a little about Lady Centeol. He has only heard that she is the most powerful sorceress and beautiful elf in all of Suldanessellar, yet she still has not found a perfect suitor. Joneleth heard a rumor from one of his classmates that Centeol's fascination with spiders scares off her suitors.
"(Careful, Joneleth. I heard that she lets her spiders run around her house,)" Lania said.
"(Yes, be careful not to get bitten.)" Rielev said.
"(Stop it, they are just her pets,)" Joneleth said, feeling appalled that his friends are insulting Centeol's lifestyle.
"(Just pets, you say? They say her love of spiders rivals those of the drow,)" Bodhi rebuked her brother.
Joneleth shook his head at Bodhi, smirking. "(I'm sure she has her reasons for being fascinated with them,)" He said to Bodhi, then he turned his attention to Liah. "(So, you called me because there is no one to carry the crate of fruit to her home?)" He asked her, looking at the three boxes full of fruit.
Liah's eyes widened momentarily. Joneleth is very bright. "(Yes... that's exactly why,)" Liah said slowly in awe.
"(And I see you only have three boxes. I expected more,)" Joneleth added.
"(Well, my satyr friend just saved these boxes because the caravan carrying them were assaulted by human slavers near Brost,)" Liah said.
Joneleth sighed. He has many friends who have a negative outlook on the nature of humans, or as they like to call them, "The manyhanded", a reference to the Manyhanded Curse, an old elven insult. They complain that humans don't love and respect life and nature the way elves do, and that their ambitions cause them to control, or worse, destroy what they don't understand.
Joneleth knew that everything they say about humans is true, but he didn't like to look at the human race in such a negative light. He always told his prejudiced friends that humans have the potential to be better than what they are now, that they have the potential to respect life and nature like elves, and in contrast, elves have the potential to be driven and consumed by their own ambitions and forget about the precious things in life, like love and friendship. He also argued that the fact that elves and humans can reproduce with each other, producing half-elves show how humans and elves are not very different from each other, and both are capable of achieving great things.
This is what led Rielev to become one of Joneleth's closest friends in the first place- Rielev didn't like to think of humans in the same way as his friends do, but he was afraid to speak out, out of fear for being insulted in return, but when he heard Joneleth speak out about his ideals of how the nature of humans can change for the better, Rielev admired Joneleth for having the courage to speak out for what he believed in, and helped Joneleth defend humans from the slanderous beliefs of their friends. Rielev looks up to Joneleth like an older brother, although he has never told Joneleth that before.
"(Well, it is no trouble, I can help you,)" Joneleth offered.
Lania couldn't believe that Joneleth offered to help someone when he has no time to waste in meeting his arcane magic mentor at his home.
"(Joneleth, do you remember you need to meet your mentor?)" She reminded him.
Joneleth casted the levitation spell on the box full of bananas, oranges, apples, etc. causing the box to levitate 4 feet above the ground.
"(Do not worry, Lania. Sald is very reasonable. I will not take too long. You go on ahead to Trosten's home. I will catch up later,)" Joneleth promised.
He began pushing the levitating box, so he would have no trouble carrying it. Bodhi looked at Lania in confusion.
"(Do not look at me, he is your brother,)" Lania protested.
Bodhi started to say something in reply, but she chose not to say anything at all.
Meanwhile, in the home belonging to the most popular and most beautiful elven sorceress in Suldanessellar, Centeol has just recently rejected another suitor seeking a romantic relationship with her, but things quickly turned sour, and Centeol rejected him. Centeol has ocean blue colored eyes, long, lustrous blonde hair and has a fondness of wearing crimson colored dresses. After her previous suitor, an elven man named Kellhan, who is known as the young brother of Elhan, the commander of the armed forces of Suldanessellar, stormed out of her home in frustration, Centeol sighed and walked back into her room where she keeps a collection of small spiders contained in jars. She picked up one jar containing a black widow spider, and looked at the red hourglass shaped symbol on its abdomen and sighed.
"(When will I ever find the perfect man for me...?)" She asked her pet black widow spider in depression.
For the past 3 decades, she has been searching for romance and has so far had nothing but bad luck. If her fascination of spiders doesn't scare them off, there will be something else that proves they are unworthy of her attention. She heard some say that she is a drow in elven skin because no other surface elf loves spiders as much as she does. Centeol largely ignores the rumors about herself. She sees spiders as strange but beautiful creatures, even though most people of all humanoid races fear them.
At that moment, one of Centeol's closest friends, Lady Tanova, entered the room to see how she is doing. Tanova has short brown hair, green eyes, soft facial features, high cheekbones and appears to be several decades younger than Centeol.
"(Another painful rejection, Lady Centeol?)" Tanova asked her friend.
Centeol closed her eyes and nodded slowly, twice. Then she set the jar containing the spider on the table with the other jars and containers holding all manner of small species of spiders. Tanova looked around at Centeol's spider collection.
"(You know, if you would release your pets back into the forest, you would have much more suitors at your door,)" Tanova suggested.
"(Why would I do that? I have devoted my life to looking into the beauty of these... magnificent creatures. If I don't appreciate their beauty, who will?)" Centeol protested mildly.
Tanova shook her head. "(Besides, there are those who look past my love of spiders to appreciate who I am,)" Centeol added adamantly.
"(True, but-)" Before Tanova could finish the sentence, she heard someone knocking at the front door.
She walked down the stairs and approached the front door, opening it. She saw a levitating box in front of her. Joneleth, standing behind the crate grabbed it and moved it aside so that Tanova can see him clearly. Joneleth blinked in awe as soon as his eyes registered the beauty of Tanova's face and hair. He was speechless at first, and Tanova was waiting for him to speak, but after a 6 second pause, she realized that he won't speak first.
"(... I take it that these are the fruits that Lady Centeol requested from Liah?)" Tanova asked Joneleth.
He shook his head to break out of his trance. "(Oh! Oh, yes. Right. They are,)" he nodded.
Tanova stepped aside to allow Joneleth to come in. He pushed the levitating box into the open entrance.
"(Where do you want me to leave it?)" Joneleth asked Tanova.
"(Over there would be fine,)" Tanova pointed at the open area of the dining room near the dinner table.
Joneleth pushed the levitating box near the dinner table, then released the levitation spell on the box, slowly setting it down on the ground. Then he turned his attention to Tanova.
"(My name is Joneleth.)" He felt it should be polite to introduce himself now.
"(I am Tanova. I have heard many interesting things about you, Joneleth,)" Tanova smiled modestly.
"(Like what?)" Joneleth never noticed that he started blushing when he saw Tanova smile at him.
"(Like how your power as a mage outmatches even the most experienced mages in this city,)" Tanova said.
Joneleth scratched his head. "(I don't know how I have become the most powerful mage in Suldanessellar, but I assure you, Lady Tanova, I am still as normal as everyone else,)" he humbly said.
Tanova grew more interested in Joneleth, and he became more interested in her.
"(So, you're friends with Lady Centeol?)" Joneleth asked Tanova, examining his surroundings.
"(I've known her for 90 years, including Ellesime,)" Tanova admitted.
Joneleth was impressed. Tanova is friends with many popular people in Suldanessellar excluding Bodhi. He was also surprised that she is friends with Ellesime, who is part of the royal family.
He couldn't think of anything else to continue a conversation with Tanova, so he decided to just simply leave and catch up with his sister and friends.
"(Well, I enjoyed talking to you, Lady Tanova, but I have to go. I am almost late for a meeting with my mentor,)" Joneleth said modestly to Tanova as he approached the door and opened it.
Before he could step outside, Tanova stopped him by saying: "When can I see you again?" She felt a bit ashamed to ask him that, but she really wanted her question answered.
Joneleth thought over his answer carefully. "(I... I am not sure. Do you have something in mind...?)" He felt his heart beating a little faster than normal.
Tanova darted her eyes left and right quickly. "(Well, I...)" She finally managed to focus her eyes on Joneleth's face. "(... After you meet with your mentor, I was wondering if maybe tomorrow or the day after, we can get to know each other more,)" She said.
Joneleth smiled. He knew exactly what she is trying to say, and somehow he found the courage to agree with her plan instead of walking away without uttering a single word.
"(... Yes, I would like that very much, Lady Tanova," he smiled.
Joneleth stepped out the door just when Centeol appeared, walking down the stairs. She only caught a quick glimpse of Joneleth before Tanova shut the door behind him. Centeol became very curious to who the visitor was.
"(Tanova, who was our visitor?)" She asked her friend.
Tanova blinked in surprise to hear Centeol's voice and turned around.
"(Oh, that was only Joneleth. He brought the boxes of fruit you requested," Tanova replied.
Centeol's eyes went wide in surprise. The Joneleth, the youngest, yet most powerful mage in Suldanessellar was here?
"(... Did he say when he would return?)" Centeol asked Tanova, wondering if Joneleth would be interested in becoming her next suitor, but she was completely unaware that Joneleth has his eyes on her friend, Tanova instead.
Tanova shook her head. "(He did not say, but I am sure he may return,)" Tanova assured Centeol.
Centeol nodded her head in agreement, smirking. "(I hope so. I really hope so.)"
Centeol couldn't help but fantasize herself walking with Joneleth alone in the forests of The Wealdath, also known as the Forest of Tethir, then later passionately kissing. In her mind, she and Joneleth are a perfect match, especially since they both are experienced in the art of arcane magic.
Jon Irenicus woke up. He looked around in bewilderment as if he had completely forgotten where he was before he fell asleep. It didn't take long for him to remember where he is. He is sitting in a chair facing a crystal ball in the room that once belonged to the head wizard in Spellhold, and his duergar lackeys are hard at work discreetly transferring all of his equipment from his old hideout in Waukeen's Promenade to Spellhold because he knows that one day Ralis will come to Spellhold in the hopes of rescuing Imoen, and Irenicus will be ready for him, ready to continue his experiment to unleash the full extent of Ralis' power as a Bhaalspawn.
Irenicus looked at the crystal ball. It no longer showed the image of Ralis' face in it, it showed no images inside it but clear glass. Irenicus tried to remember what he was dreaming about, but it seems that the memory of that dream has faded away, to be forever locked away in his subconscious mind. Whatever the dream was about, he had a feeling that it had some kind of connection to his downfall and exile, that much he knew, even though he remembered nothing about the dream.
