Black lighting flared over the Balach Swamp, the first hint that a
terrible wrong was being done. Strange happenings in the sewers of New
Celest and Magnagora began to be reported. In the Tainted City, Lain
began to panic, yelling about the upset of the eels. In the City of
Light, a child was lost in the sewers, the mother found sobbing at the
Pool of Stars.

As investigations into the sewer systems commenced, mortals were swept
into the depths of some strange land of flesh and blood, where few could
survive. Those of New Celest managed to find the lost merian child, and
Ilyarin the White Inferno led him out of this nightmarish land. Kaervas
d'Murani plunged into the deepest depths of the land of flesh and blood,
and there found a strange sleeping child, trapped within the center of
this horrible place and yet mysteriously unharmed by the devouring
Soulless God. Through the dreams of the Sleeping Child, Kaervas made the
appalling discovery that they were travelling within body of the
Soulless God known the Great Muud.

Then did the Gods Themselves take action. Estarra the Eternal, along
with Fain of the Red Masque, Morgfyre, the Legion, Lisaera, the Shining
Mother, and even the reclusive Viravain, Lady of the Thorns, all of whom
were sickened by Muud's aura, tried to destroy the Soulless God.
However, the Nine Seals began to buckle and, unable to face the Soulless
without threatening all of Creation, the Elder Gods were forced to abate
their deadly attack. It was up to the mortals to find their own
salvation.

Finally, in the depths of the Balach Swamp, Zia led a small contingent
to question the mugwumps there who had been studying the ancient
mugwumpi ruins. Through their investigation, they eventually found a way
to open a passage to lead to an old mugwump settlement where rumour had
it that humans had settled there and disappeared. These humans were
sometimes called the Lost Third Tribe (the first two being Delport and
Stewartsville).

The passage led into the lost Village of Duum, and indeed the legend was
correct: the Third Tribe of humans had settled there. But the villagers
were somewhat odd and particularly xenophobic. Further, they seemed
obsessed with a project of the Old Celestine Empire, called Soulforge.
As this discovery was made, fights broke out with the villagers, and
rumours abounded that these humans were not all they appeared to be.
Eventually, however, Ashteru d'Illici claimed to have found a way to
destroy the Soulforge.

To do so, another journey had to be made into the belly of the beast. It
was Kaervas who managed to lead the way back to the Sleeping Child.
Using the knowledge brought by Ashteru, they learned the final piece to
the puzzle of the tragic story of the Sleeping Child. Afterwards, they
were able to destroy the Soulforge. But Soulforge was just a tool to the
much greater threat, for the power behind the village of Duum was none
other than the Dread Lord of Contagion - revealed as the Avatar of Great
Muud. This village was the origin of the Dread Lord, and his purpose had
always been to free his master. The Soulforge had been used to siphon
power from Almighty Kethuru through the city nexuses and into Great
Muud. As Great Muud became more powerful, so too did his followers.
Though the Soulforge was destroyed, the Dread Lord of Contagion had to
be faced. Though the battle was fierce and many lives were lost,
eventually the people of the Basin triumphed and the Dread Lord of
Contagion was vanquished and Great Muud contained.

But victory was a bitter thing. The Nine Seals that imprisoned the
Soulless Gods were weakened, and it would be only a matter of time
before they would break. There is only one way to recharge the Nine
Seals, and thus did Estarra announce there must be an Ascension
Challenge.

Nine Contests would once more occur, as each of the Seals would choose
its Champion. Only one mortal shall grasp the pure energies of the Nine
Seals, and transcend mortality into the rare and enigmatic being known
as a True Ascendant!

Penned by My hand on the 20th of Dvarsh, in the year 195 CE.