Here, we see a slightly more sophisticated sort of humor, and get a quick glance at the greater world setting, which as stated earlier was once Greyhawk, but branched out along with the Darkstar Clan itself into other settings, including the Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance (whence came Jonablealdonifertanimus...). The evil deity Chthon is one of my own characters, an Infernal who slew his father, Erythnul, and assumed his portfolio-he was made with the Book of Vile Darkness in one hand, Deities and Demigods in the other, and The Epic Level Handbook in my lap. I suppose I must have written his stats holding the pen in my teeth.

Also, notice the hint of an even greater disaster than Bonedevil looming on the horizon-that's explained further in the sequel, which is in progress and a great deal better than this thing.

The Council of Heroes

6694 CY

The Underbough incident, as people called it, was one of the most shocking murders in history, but it was nothing compared to what was to come. At first, the killings were precise, calculated, and undetected until some time after they were performed, but they gradually became obvious, brutal, and rarely left any survivors for miles.

Razoar the efreet was found cut into exactly six hundred and sixty-six slices, each the thickness of a gold piece. He was identified only after the slices were magically reassembled, and was found to have been stabbed and marked in the same manner as Underbough. When his home was being cleaned out, a message listing Razoar's name, the fact that Jonathanas Darkstar had saved his life once, and more threats against the Darkstar clan was found soaked into the carpet beneath his bed.

Dreadwood forest burned to the ground, and amid the ashes, words written in glowing ichor stated that the faeries who lived there had raised Jonathanas I after the dragon Paraselson killed his parents.

The entire demiplane city of Union was destroyed by an interplanar flux. A sheet of adamantine was found floating near the point on the Astral Plane where the flux had begun, and it bore a message written in more demon blood that spoke of the many times Jonathanas and Roselenna had stayed there during their long adventuring career.

When the Darkstar clerics tried to resurrect Milo, Razoar, and all the other casualties of Bonedevil's deranged war of vengeance, they found to their horror that none of them could be brought back-Bonedevil had not only killed them, but somehow destroyed their very souls. The people of Union could never have been brought back anyway-if you were caught in a planar flux, you were gone for good-but only dark magic of the worst sort could have completely obliterated Razoar and Milo's immortal souls. Jonathanas recalled Gerbo's description of Milo's wound-how it had been even more withered than the rest of his body-and concluded that the murder weapon must have been a soul-eating sword, one of the most awful weapons in existence. Even worse, after months of investigation, the marks on Milo and Razoar were connected with an extinct cult called the Restorationists, an arcane society that had been devoted to reconstructing lost artifacts. The entire cult had been destroyed in 942 CY-every last member had been slain by the cult's founder, a sorcerer of considerable power. The founder then disappeared with all the artifacts that the cult had recreated- and the last such artifact was a soul-eating sword called Blackrazor.

The mark of the Restorationists, the loss of Milo's soul, and the obvious magical power the murderer wielded all pointed directly to this sorcerer. Attempts to divine more information on the mysterious Bonedevil all failed. Even Thariel's psionic Metafaculty, which could pierce even a god's shielding, failed to reveal anything.

This, however, actually solidified Jonathanas's estimation of his power: only a being of beyond deific power could have blocked the Darkstar clan's most skilled diviners. He quickly called the entire clan to the meeting hall.

The Darkstar clan's private demiplane was a magical marvel. Only Jonathanas himself truly understood how it functioned-others knew only that it somehow always had room for more. Here in the meeting hall, for example, no matter how many people sat at the huge table, there was always at least one empty seat. The table didn't seem to grow, and the people seated there did not seem to shrink, but there was always some spare room. Furthermore, attempts by the gnome technician -, Rishanos's 3rd cousin 25 times removed, to measure it always ended up indicating that the table was infinite and, therefore, did not in fact exist, taking into account of course the 22nd law of speculative dynamics, which clearly stated that if a tree fell in the forest, and it hit a dwarf, nobody cared, as well as the 5th principle of arcanospatial furniture arrangement. By this point, of course, he was invariably forced to retreat under a hail of shoes. This had led him to write a 382-page thesis on the subject of aerodynamic footwear and read it aloud at the next gathering, which in turn led to the creation, by Sheiryan the artificer, of the multiverse's first gnome-seeking animated clogs.

Today, however, he was to deliver some rather shorter news, which pleased Jonablealdonifertamimus greatly, as he would not have to wear his plate armor for as long as usual. He stood up, ducked the customary barrage of footwear, and began.

"As official speaker for the Darkstar clan," began the gnome, speaking from behind a huge tower shield, "It is my sad duty to announce the permanent death of Bernie Torunn, Lord Mayor of Alianost."

"Bern was found dead in his home yesterday morning. He was stabbed through the heart by a life-draining sword, believed to be the legendary Blackrazor. Bonedevil's mark was found on the entry wound, and all attempts at resurrection have failed. He was pronounced permanently deceased at 5:42 pm last night. Bernie was a good friend, a loyal member of the clan, and a fine specimen of dwarvenkind. He will surely be missed by all."

Jonablealdonifertamimus sat down. For once, nobody threw anything at him. Everyone in the chamber was thinking the same thing: Who would be next? Any one of them could be found murdered the next morning. Only the eldest of the clan could even survive for a few seconds against a being of Bonedevil's power. Anyone who left the demiplane was practically doomed. No one was safe.

Jonathanas stood. "If Bonedevil is allowed to rampage like this, how long will it be before others begin to copy him? Once word gets out that the legendary Darkstars are holed up in this demiplane, afraid of one lone maniac, our reputation will be ruined. Every mad necromancer and barbarian warlord who we've kept in check by our very existence will crawl out of the woodwork and go wild. Billions of trillions of people could be threatened by our absence. Even if we defeat Bonedevil, how long will it take to rebuild our image as defenders of the cosmos? Even if we do manage to regain our reputations, what will prevent someone else from ruining it? The more badly our reputation suffers, the more vulnerable we'll be in the future to misinformation and propaganda. I know for a fact that the clergy of Hextor would jump at the chance to launch an anti-Darkstar campaign. The only thing holding the god of tyranny back is our image. Once we're sullied, the entire multiverse could turn against us. Chthon, Nerull, Cyric, Gruumsh-even the demon princes and archdevils would unite at the drop of a hat if they got wind that the almighty Darkstar clan is faltering. Not even the entire clan could stand against a united pantheon of Evil. And what would happen if we were destroyed?"

The entire clan seemed to freeze in their seats. Before, they had been concerned for their survival. Now, they were gripped by pure, abject terror.

"You know of what I speak-the thing we live to contain. If we were destroyed, it would be freed. Unless we defeat Bonedevil now, the entire multiverse could be in danger."

The Patriarch drew his sword, making a final inspection of the enchanted blade. "Roselenna and I have decided to face Bonedevil ourselves. Any who wish may accompany us, but keep in mind that Bonedevil's vendetta seems to be with me alone. If I am slain, it is likely that he will not pursue the Darkstars further."

"Ridiculous!" Rishanos leapt to his feet, his bow appearing in his outstretched hand.. "Bonedevil swore to destroy the entire clan, and anyone associated with us. Besides, not even you are a match for that monster-I am coming with you, my brother!"

"As am I," said Tanthas.

"Me, too," added Marinda.

Slowly but surely, every single hand was raised in to the air.

"Very well, then," said Jonathanas with a grin, "Let's show the multiverse what it means to be a Darkstar."

-
I'm currently giving the next chapter some major surgery, because ye gods, does this fight scene suck. It'll be up in a few hours.