Dark Sun - Sun and Stars Campaign
Contents
Player Characters
Current Party
Artan, 7th level/8th level dwarf fighter/psychoportationist
Tomak, son of Cassander, 5th level mul gladiator
Liktar Cozen, 5th level NG human ranger
(Nystrom, 3rd/3rd level fighter/psychokineticist)
Former Party Members
Zlo, 5th level halfling thief, mindwiped
Krors Ra Drugan, dwarf fighter/psychokineticist/thief, KIA
Korax of Balic, 3rd level human myrmidon slave-soldier, out of play
Braxius, 4th level noble human psionicist, out of play
Current Motives of the PCs
Major Arc Goals
Artan
-Return to the Astral plane and defeat the Lich of Tarona (Zhor/Focus)
-Rescue and somehow restore Ktandeo to life (Zhor/Focus)
-Help Ktandeo accomplish his goal (Zhor/Focus)
-Uncover the secret of the shadow soul and either harness its potential, or banish it
-Become the greatest warrior/practitioner of the Way that Athas has ever known
-Secure logging rights and procure wood for ship building enterprise
-Find a way to return Kasom to his home
Liktar
-Decide what class to Dual Class into
-Track down the defiler he confronted, but who escaped
Tomak
-Become a powerful political figure in Balic (and possibly beyond?)
-Develop a reputation as a gladiator to rival that of his hero, Rikus of Tyr
Minor/Roleplaying Goals
Artan
-Find adventurers who are willing and able to assist with restoring Ktandeo
-Learn from Tomak as much about the City State of Balic as possible (Completed)
-Ask Tomak about a possible merchant/trade connection to one of the major Houses in order to sell off some treasure and acquire liquid funds (Completed)
-Visit the Cerebran and find a psionicist to tutor him in the Way
-Convince, intimidate or kill those who speak out against Cassander leading up to his trial
-Establish a power base in the City of Balic
-Find a suitable home in Balic (Completed)
-Become a Balican citizen
-Start a private, legitimate enterprise with Tomak as a front or silent partner (circumstance dependent)
-Make contact with Zhor
-Speak with Elianda about possibly hiring her on as a household associate
-Find a safehouse in which to store valuable possessions
-Investigate possible investment with the owner of the Gilded Sail for exotic wines
Liktar
-Hire out on silt schooners in order to pass the time/be away from the throng of Balic.
Tomak
-Free his father from captivity and restore him to his previous position of power
-Hire a mul boy as a servant
-Make a deal with House Wavir to secure the release of his father
-Deal with Cassander's fanatical followers from the docks
Equipment and Ownership of Player Characters
Campaign Lore
Balican Lore
Government of Balic
The Archons of Balic
Eponymous Archon, the Supreme Archon: Tabaros Wavir (posthumous honor), former Lord of House Wavir
Archon Basileus, the Sacred King: Lathos Kanthost, high priest of the Temple of Talathothanay
Polemarch, the War Archon: Narmikos, a former army chiliarch and militia general
Navarch, the Supreme Admiral: Phaaf Glien, former Nibenese templar, a general and admiral of the Free Army
Thesmothetai, the Six Chief Judges: ...
Elections
The next state election, for the ten archons, and other senior state magistrates, is scheduled to be at the very end of the Year of Ral's Vengeance, Free Year 20 in the Tyrian calendar, in the short month of Zenalia. The local or demarchic elections, and re-election of the ten generals and ten admirals, are scheduled for four months away, in Zenalia of Free Year 19.
Templars of Balic
Introduction
- ...Before Marda could explain further, a pair of Balican templars stepped onto the quay, leaving an escort of six half-giants behind at the ratany hedge. The sailors fell immediately silent, each man fixing his eyes on his work.
- When the templars reached the group, one of them pointed at Agis. "You. How long have you been in Balic?" She was a hard-eyed woman with sour, harsh looking features.
- -The Obsidian Oracle, III, 51
During the thousand year reign of King Androponis (which is another way of saying he had reigned for as far back as anyone could remember), it was his Order of Templars who effectively ran the normal operations of local and state government. The templars were sworn to Androponis personally as their king, and derived their inviolability and magical spells from Androponis' office of Sacred King of the city-state, which is held for life. To hold almost any official office in the city-state, either civic or religious, one had to be a templar. Holding a near monopoly on public office, through these offices the templars held a near dictatorial sway over the city and its citizens, freedmen, slaves, and even the nobility. Identified by their cream-colored off-white togas, a token of their supposed sacrosanct persons, they were the masters of Balic until the unexpected disappearance of their long-lived king and Dictator Androponis in the Year of Friend's Agitation, the 10th Year of Tyrian Freedom. With the sudden absence of their sorcerer-king and master, the templars lost all their spell powers, as well as the awesome authority and privilege granted them by Androponis for so many centuries. Their fall was swift and bloody, but after nearly a month by which time the most hated or most vulnerable of their membership were killed or driven into hiding or to exile, the Mercantile Triumvirate offered the Order of Templars a deal. In return for their assistance in keeping the machinery of government working, the Triumvirate offered the templars a junior partnership in the new order, and protection from the vengeance and malice of the people. This arrangement lasted some nine years, until the current day, although each year saw the continued weakening of the templars as more and more of the offices of state were held by those who had never worn the cream-colored togas of their Order. With the coming of Xal'gren and the return of the so-called Free Dictatorship, the templars have been brought to their weakest point ever, for their central temple, the Synedrion, has been raided by the new Dictator himself, and its hierophant jailed. Yet, even so, the templars have not completely faded from the city of Balic. Families still send their children to the secret initiation rites outside the city, some templars still hold offices of power, and certain rumors abound that a secret cabal of underground loyalist templars still obey the will of Androponis, and work to bring about his return.
In legend, the templars were the loyal knights of Androponis' army when he seized the city in the remote past. Even with the recent fall of the templars from power, there are modern templar families that claim descent from these ancient knights. Although the templarate often passes from parent to child, it is not required that a parent have been a templar, as many templars underwent initiation from outside these families. Most templars however did come from such backgrounds, if for no other reason than templar families, as members of the knightly class, enjoyed the privilege of being able to learn to read and write, an important requirement for joining the templarate. There were also other requirements, such as pure Balican citizenship, the absence of the stain of wizardry, and the peculiar requirement that a candidate for initiation be free of the crime of bloodshed of a Balican citizen before the sacred rites of initiation were conducted. For those who wished to join the ranks of the templarate, they had first to gain candidacy in a tightly controlled and elaborate process, and only then were they offered to partake in the Lesser Mysteries, held annually in secret and forbidden areas outside the city. Upon completion of the Lesser Mysteries, the citizen then became a junior member of the Order of Templars, and was thereby now eligible to hold many offices both in and out of the city.
The most junior members of the templarate most often received directly appointed positions from templar magistrates. Many became military officers in the ten standing legions (effectively dual-classing), and many became petty managers of waste removal, road repair, city wall maintenance, royal farm field overseers, and agents of disease control in the city. Many junior templars however started their careers as subordinate officers in the naucraries, a naucrary being the lowest level of royal administration throughout the city, acting officially as in charge of ensuring the city's naval fleet was maintained and manned when necessary, but in practice served as bastions of royal authority in the city demes, executing his law, collecting his taxes, and searching for treason.
Civic Organization of the Templars
The naucraries abounded throughout the city with their own territories, splitting certain demes and merging others. Each naucrary was led by an appointed naucraros, assisted by a lieutenant and his subaltern officers. For foot-soldiers, they could call upon the militia, for which they were responsible for organizing, training and activating. Indeed, the physical naucraries doubled as the local armories, for which the deme militias could gather their armor and arms. In times of emergency or war, and if given proper approval, a naucrary could activate his entire militia, sending them to either man the ships of the naval fleet, to fill the ranks of the militia army, or both. Naucraroi could summon sometimes in excess over a thousand from the militia to serve in whatever capacity was required by the king, and although officially led by a pentakosiarch or chiliarch elected by the people (commanders of 500 or 1000), the naucraros stayed near to the commander as a political officer and enforcer of the Dictator's will.
The naucraries were themselves controlled by the trittiarchies, of which there were twelve in the city-state. Led by a trittiarch, the trittiarchies had more templars, resources and authority, and ambitious templars often sought to leave the naucraries to serve their king at this higher echelon. They too were responsible for organizing the city-state's militia and fleet, although at a more senior level. The trittiarchs themselves were appointed however by the tribal kings, or basileus. These officials were very senior templars, as there were only four of them. Elected by the people for ten year terms, they were very powerful, as they appointed both the trittiarchs and naucraroi, although the trittiarchs were confirmed by the king directly. The tribal kings had their seats at the four basilicas, great temples dedicated to the Order of the Templars, which were also homes to important templar libraries, armories and personal quarters.
The tribal kings themselves answered to the most senior magistrate in the city, the Eponymous Archon, who presided over the entire templar administration from his offices at the White Palace, the home of the king himself. The Eponymous Archon, himself elected every ten years by the people, effectively answered only to the Dictator himself.
Religious Organization of the Templars
Almost all the temples in the city, dedicated to ancient and half-forgotten gods and heroes of the city, were administered by priests and priestly families who were necessarily initiated members of the templarate. Still evoking the devotion or at least the respect of many Balicans, the templars used to provide healing and other magical services to the citizens from these temples, for a price. The four civic basilicas and their tribal basileus oversaw the running of these temples, as well as most all religious activities in the city, but they themselves answered to the Synedrion, the greatest temple dedicated to the Order of the Templars in the city, which served as their headquarters and place for internal justice and leadership.
The word Synedrion could refer to both the building and its ruling council, sometimes called the Nameless Council, who had abandoned their birth names in favor of sacred names such as Torch Bearer, Messenger, and Sacred Keeper. Composed of senior templars, they were all appointed for life in these sacred magistracies, and oversaw the entire Balican Mysteries, being the cult of the templars dedicated to the city and its king. Shrouded in mystery on pain of death and worse, the Balican Mysteries were overseen by the most senior templar in the whole city, called the Hierophant. Like his fellow councilors, the Hierophant no longer used his given name, having officially abandoned it in the Silt Sea. Commanding awesome respect, the Hierophant was one of the most feared officials in the city. The Synedrion regulated membership in the Order of Templars, deciding who might receive initiation into the Lesser Mysteries, and deciding who might advance as more senior templars by receiving initiation into the Greater Mysteries. As overseers of all things religious in the city-state, the Synedrion also was responsible for rooting out illegal sorcery, dispatching agents to seek out wizards throughout the Balican empire.
The Balican Mysteries
Presided over by the Hierophant and led by the delegated Sacred King or Archon Basileus of the City, the Mysteries were held on an annual basis by the templars, during which the majority of their numbers would leave the city to undertake the sacred rituals of their order. Held under great secrecy, none save templars or confirmed candidates for the templary could attend. Even amongst the templars, speaking of the rituals to outsiders was strictly forbidden on pain of death.
Although performed in various processions conducted primarily outside the city, it is known that the templar cult centers around the great and ancient Temple of Euchthonius, a legendary early king of the city from before the time of Androponis' rule who was supposed to have been born of the land itself. A haunted and forbidden place to outsiders, the temple is surrounded by templar burial grounds, some of which are quite ancient. Surrounded by an old and dark forest, much of the grounds around the temple are surrounded by thousands of the bones and shells of aprigs, domesticated creatures which are sacrificed by the participants.
Every four years, the ceremonies are especially elaborate, and involve the procession of a sacred statue of Androponis to the coast, the moving of sacred, forbidden and otherwise taboo relics.
Even in the fall of the Order of the Templars, traditionalists still conduct these ancient rituals, and initiate new members into the Order. The aura surrounding the Balican Mysteries is strong and dark enough that its ceremonies have not yet been accosted by even the most vengeful citizens and freedmen of the city. The Temple of Euchthonius remain unmolested, perhaps if for no other reason than the undead spirits which are widely believed to guard that place are far too fearful for even the most daring of thieves and adventurers.
Current Situation of the Templars
Soon after becoming Dictator, Xal'gren raided by force the Synedrion itself, and arrested and jailed the current Hierophant, sealing him in the Kioleian Pits, the site of the old lead mines just outside the city. Still playing at political power and allied to House Tomblador which opposed Xal'gren and his army, the surviving templar leadership was deemed too dangerous by the new Dictator and his followers. After seizing the Synedrion, they sold much of its treasures to fund their cause.
The Wavir half of the city has persecuted in the courts most of the worst of the templars from the time of Androponis who survived the purge nine years ago. Some templar families with more honorable reputations with the people have maintained various responsibilities and offices, with some serving either the state and/or House Wavir in positions not too dissimilar from the ones they held under Androponis. A few officials with less savory reputations still operate in Wavir territory, usually being too essential for the running of the city or otherwise too devious to be summarily removed from power, although even for these remaining templars their old authority still wanes. At best, the more respectable templars work to convince their fellow citizens of the honorable nature that the Order of Templars could have.
House Rees has made numerous arrangements with templars throughout its territories in the city. The worst were killed, prosecuted and stripped of power, or exiled. Some were offered positions in House Rees itself or allowed to retain some of their authority, subordinate to House Rees. This situation remains essentially the same to this day within the Rees demes.
After the Mercantile victory in the Year of Friend's Agitation, House Tomblador did the opposite of House Wavir, and kept on some of the worst of the templars, making a pact with them in order to keep tight control of their demes. Now that House Tomblador has fallen and fled Balic, House Wavir and the Free Army has come into the old Tomblador parts of the city, and have removed and/or arrested many of the evil templars that helped Tomblador run their parts of the city. Still early on in his government, Xal'gren and his followers as well as House Wavir are still dismantling the network of templar power that still runs in this part of the city.
Almost ten years since the disappearance of Androponis, under the current government, not a single civic office requires a candidate to be a member of the Order of Templars, and only a handful of old templar religious sites are still run by members of the templarate. Likewise, save for a few isolated pockets in the city, templars no longer have a stranglehold on the elections, and for the most part, the only templars who now win office in the elections do so because they are genuinely elected by the popular assemblies.
Campaign Chronology
Mercantile Monthly Calendar of House Wavir of Balic
Dominary – 30 days
Sedulous – 30 days
Fortuary – 30 days
Macro – 30 days
Dessalia – 5 days
Fifthover – 30 days
Hexameron – 30 days
Morrow – 30 days
Octavus – 30 days
Assalia – 5 days
Thaumast – 30 days
Anabasis – 30 days
Hoard – 30 days
Flagstaad – 30 days
Zenalia – 5 days
Campaign Events
Free Year 19, the 44th Year of the 190th King's Age, the Year of Guthay's Contemplation
12 Octavus, FY 19: Zhor, after ensconcing the dwarf in Xyestes' citadel, takes Artan into the Gray and to the bounds of the Astral Plane.
19 Octavus, FY 19: Tomak son of Cassander, in combination with the gladiator Akina, Goran the tarek, the thri-kreen Kreethak, and other allies, seizes the Silencer of Bodach, which is coveted by the Templars of Balic, elven rogues, and others. Tomak takes the Silencer and encasing it in a box, and deposits it in the Silt Sea for his father to salvage.
21 Octavus, FY 19: In an attempt to salvage the Silence of Bodach, the White Sail is destroyed by the magic and army of the Seven Angry Tembos, and the Silencer is taken by their mul fire cleric into the interior of the Balican peninsula.
22 Octavus, FY 19: : House Rees fleet of six schooners including the state flag ship the Omedon lands at Nithaea, with Tomak the son of Cassander accompanying them as a subaltern for House Rolt; evening of the 22nd, Zlo the halfling, an agent of Cassander, conspires to poison the House Rees admiral Mnaster, but fails.
23 Octavus, FY 19: The poisoning plot against admiral Mnaster is publicly exposed, with Cassander's son Tomak in attendance.
25 Octavus, FY 19: After several days of gather support from the local nobles from former House Tomblador aligned estates, the House Rees army under Prince Polydamus meets with another House Rees army under Master General Vandor at the port town of Abynon at the southwest corner of the peninsula, doubling the size of his force.
28 Octavus, FY 19: After several days of maneuvering and gathering further noble support, the House Rees army cornered the small but successful army of the Seven Angry Tembos, who had been marauding with the Silencer for a week now, devastating noble and freemen farms and estates. The confident House Rees army sealed off the valley that held the House Basilsaurius lands which the Angry Tembos then occupied, and forwarded its troops against the marauders who had taken the Silencer. Marching with House Rolt under the Rees banner, Tomak would have been in this engagement. Unfortunately for House Rees, once again the marauders, who called their small army the Seven Tembos, were underestimated. Their leader summoned a squadron of fire elementals at the mouth of the canyon, and sent the elementals after the Rees army. The farms, orchards and fields caught on fire, and there was great loss of life. The House Rees army broke up in terror, and when the smoke cleared, Tomak was but another footsoldier trying to get back to the city.
30 Octavus, FY 19: Charxes smashes the remaining army of the Seven Angry Tembos. After trevails, Tomak reaches Omedon's Rock late that night, and finds refuge with a client of his father, another ship captain named Galien. Tomak hopes to meet with his former thri-kreen mentor A'ket'k, the warrior-psionicist and silt cleric.
1 Assalia, FY 19: Tomak meets with the thri-kreen on mountain cliffs to worship the silt. Liktar stays with Eurolis that night. Eurolis had overheard that the thri-kreen intended for Tomak to poison waters in order to spoil the conviction of his father, and tries to convince Tomak not to do such a thing.
- Liktar Cozen and companions achieve the Citadel, wherein Artan is housed, and gain access to Artan's person.
2 Assalia, FY 19: The Balican militia under Praxian and the Free Army quartermaster force under Vykant reach the Citadel
-The local civic elections throughout the city-state are held.
2 Assalia, FY 19: Liktar Cozen discovers the bard/defiler Promethides at a play being held that night before the citadel. Tricked by his magic, Liktar fights briefly with Praxian, who is revealed as a preserver mage. Using his skill with the Way, Liktar finds access to the secret parts of the Citadel and fights Promethides with the help of the bard/preserver Rarnus. Rarnus is felled, but Liktar badly wounds the defiler before he escapes. Promethides appears to have been attempting to seize might magical stone texts in the secret chamber, which Liktar soon destroys.
-Artan's body awakens, possessed by the Pilgrim. He walks out into the night silt storm. Artan's Shadow manifests and destroys the garrison at the Citadel.
-the elections throughout the city-state continue, moving to the tribal level.
3 Assalia, FY 19: Liktar tracks Artan across the peninsula and the House Enkesson valley. Artan returns to his body, and encounters a powerful defiler. Tomak's friendly Eurolis is killed by the defiler, and soon after Liktar sees the defiler and challenges him. A fight ensues in which Artan, Tomak and Liktar partake. The defiler summons a powerful dwarven banshee, but the defiler is nonetheless killed. The banshee seizes an enormous diamond from the defiler's robe, and soon after de-materializes. The elf Sentinel of House Wavir Nystrom is driven mad by the banshee, and starts attacking Artan. The party meets the halfling Oloko. The party moves to the House Enkesson estate proper, and there meets with Naramus, commander of the Sentinels. Naramus is suspicious of Artan for supposedly being involved with destroying his garrison, but is supportive of the other heroes. Artan gifts each of his twin swords, taken from the Elven chief and his brother, to Liktar and Tomak respectively.
4 Assalia, FY 19:
5 Assalia, FY 19: The party meets with Xal Gren briefly. Nothing much is accomplished, but he is made aware of their presence in Balic. The party, such as it is, arrives in the City State of Balic. They stay at the estate of Tomak's family.
1 Thaumast, FY 19:
-Amphthero, president of the hetaireia of the Red Kylix, and his wife Laethona and some of their young cousins, visit Tomak at his home. They meet Artan, and offer their sympathies regarding the incarceration of Cassander. Amphthero makes comments that shortly after the arrest of his father, there were at least two popular discussions of Cassander's case before the Ekklesia, the People's Assembly. At one such session of the Ekklesia, a man named Empretho of the tribe of Theles whipped up the Assembly against Cassander, making them outraged that an arrogant metic such as Cassander would dare try to poison not just a citizen of the city, but an admiral during the exercise of his office. Amphthero and Laethona also mention that Branthos, one of the Forty (a circuit judge or deme justice), came with Archers of Coryxth (armed servants of the state), looking for Tomak roughly a week prior, not long before the elections, and shortly after the arrest of Cassander by House Rees.
-Artan makes contact with the man Thylix at the Gilded Sail, and gives him a gold piece with the aim of initiating the sale of valuable items via the Balican underworld . Later, the woman Solia appears at the Gilded Sail, and offers that Artan meet her just before midnight by the statue of Ancleon the Half Giant. Artan eventually meets with Solia, and is led to a building where he encounters Solia with some of her associates. Artan offers to Solia a magical rapier from Sengroza, the Teniente of the Secret Police of the astral city of Tarona, in the hopes that she can initiate the sale of the weapon, perhaps through the agency of an individual named the Trittiarch.
-Tomak meets with the sun cleric Mnenides, the president of his fraternity, the powerful Potters and Artisans of Arxestayn. Mnenides offers his support to Tomak, and they speak of Cassander. Mnenides also speak of the deme justice Branthos, and Tomak responds by requesting that Mnenides facilitate a meeting between Tomak and Branthos.
-Branthos the deme justice meets with Tomak at the Gilded Sail. At length, Branthos tentatively decides not to have Tomak arrested for accused complicity with Cassander in an attempt to poison the admiral Mnaster. Branthos states that he intends to clarify the matter with the House of Rees.
2 Thaumast, FY 19:
-Artan meets with Solia, and gains a date with her to the symposium to be held on 3 Thaumast at the townhouse of the "Basileus", a former templar named Morion Gythes.
-Tomak encounters his father's long-standing First Mate, the veteran half-elf sailor Andronica, who claims she is organizing a group of sailors loyal to Cassander in an attempt to free the dwarf from his House Rees captors on the 7th or 8th of Thaumast. She says that she has the support of several captains and an unnamed admiral, and mentions that a meeting between some of the conspirators, intent on freeing Cassander, is to be held at the Wyvern Sail Tavern, the center for the Wyvern Sail dwarven clan (friends of Cassander), which was the traditional gathering place for Cassander and some of his crewmates. After a concern for security voiced by Tomak, Andronica proposed the Silver Reed Inn, a handsomer establishment on the other side of the street of the Wyvern Sail, although she offered this location absentmindedly.
-responding to an incident at a taverna in the Arxestayn called the Owl's Watch, Tomak and Artan arrive to find a draconic monster that is tearing apart the establishment. Demanding the appearance of a man named Praxion, who apparently had recently left the city and sail with his crew to support the Free Army, the baffled citizens of the Arxestayn were struggling to subdue the beast. Artan used the Way to calm it, eventually influencing the mysterious creature to collapse. Artan and a tavern keeper named Elianda began to transport the beast to the Veteran.
-having left the city and passing ruins on the way to the Cerebran, Artan's shadow began to lengthen and absorb his intellect. Fearing the manifestation of his shadow-self, Artan gave instructions and support to Elianda and the monster Kasom to continue their way to the Cerebran, where it is hoped Kasom might find peace and hope.
3 Thaumast, FY 19:
-The Symposium: Held at the house of the former templar and Basileus Morion Gythes.
- Participants of the Symposium: Dolos, the symposiarch and son of Morion Gythes; Unith Gamades, wife of Morion Gythes; Clyssero, beautiful teenage daughter of Morion Gythes; Amphthero the Singer, Tomak's friendly elderly neighbor and President of the Hetaireia of the Red Kylix; Eubrestes, stonemason and company owner; Ithola, older woman and tin and pewter workers, and daughter of the former templar Kryer; ...
4 Thaumast, FY 19 STATE OF PLAY FOR ARTAN AND TOMAK:
-After the symposium, Artan and Solia journey to the Harbor District in the depths of night/early morning. Artan receives 1,300 silver pieces and 300 silver pieces value of mercantile shares in return for his magical steel rapier, taken from the Astral City. Artan teleports home.
-Tomak journeys to the city center and visits the Hetaireia of the Free Gladiators. There he approaches the dwarven gladiator Meridian, the Steel Dwarf, who is currently under indictment for the gladiatorial murder of Otholes in the Criterion. Tomak strives to forge a professional relationship between himself, Meridian, and Meridian's young mul son, Ronkad.
-Afternoon Session of the Assembly of the Deme of the Arxestayn: Artan and Tomak attend, along with a large portion of the deme. Engaging his silt-borne powers of enhanced perception, Tomak hears a large party heading from the direction of the acropolis. The party is led by an archon called a thesmothete or supreme judge, along with guards and assistants, who comes along with the elf scout Nystrom, a Sentinel of House Wavir. The thesmothete's herald declares that the Ekklesia has called for Artan's arrest and trial, and that by order of the Polemarch, Artan is to be tried at the Oraculum. Artan's crime is the murder of 37 guardsmen of the Sentinels at the Philosopher's Citadel, the fortress from which Artan had been projecting to the Astral Plane. His accuser is announced as being Anvion, the Over-Sergeant of the Citadel who survived the death of his comrades. In response to the interruption of the thesmothete's party, Tomak delays Artan's arrest with a technical delay in the deme assembly. Meanwhile, Artan uses the Way to interfere with the deme proceedings, and challenges the half-elf demarch Lokrys. When Lokrys commands that his half giants seize Artan, the dwarf uses the Way once more, but this time psychokinetically turned the half-giant against his master. The deme erupts into chaos and violence, Tomak taking the opportunity to help slay the half-giant, in mock protest at the enormous guard's attack on the demarch. Artan uses the Way to kill Lokrys, although by this time, the agents of the thesmothete have nearly surrounded Artan. Just before they attack, a crodlu rider appears, and declares in trade tongue that the thesmothete will not arrest Artan. When challenged on his authority, the crodlu rider declares that he speaks in the name of the Dictator, and that Artan is to accompany him to the White Palace. To Artan, the rider identifies himself as Maythem.
10 Thaumast, FY 19: Cassander is to be tried for conspiracy to commit murder at the Oraculum by the dikasts.
