The only ingredient that Li-varili still needed for Her Curse was a
broken song. She summoned to Her side Her loyal nereids Oinone, Iaira,
and Klaia, who had all helped Her Bloodtide Coven perform this ritual,
then coldly asked for Her mortals to determine which nereid should be
sacrificed to complete the curse. Each nereid panicked, begging and
imploring to be spared, but Li-varili spared no emotion for their
plight. They each possessed part of the Lady Drocilla's song, and any
one of them would do for Her curse.

It was Uzriel d'Vanecu who announced Iaira should perish, justifying
that the nereid had spoken against his wife, Sapphira, and ought to be
punished. What he did not say was that he knew well Iaira had helped
Li-varili betray Drocilla and thus sealed her fate in his eyes. The
other nereids were quick to agree, expressing how powerful Iaira was as
a sorceress, and would likely be a boon to the ritual. Proud Iaira pled
her case - that her considerable power would be better used in life,
that she had so much more still to offer - but it was no use. The Coven
was decided. They all watched as the nereid perished in the cauldron,
the last notes of her song fading in the air, and then it happened.

A plume of smoke arose as Li-varili's maddened cackling rang throughout
all of Lusternia, and one by one, the Elders who wronged Her were
snuffed out, only able to cry out that one ingredient was still left to
gather to counter the Curse -- Something about the unfortunate? --
before disappearing in the unending abyss of the Lady of the Lagoons'
vengeful anger. Even Her supposed ally, the Enchantress, was trapped in
the undertow of Li-varili's rage.

The entirety of the Basin of Life was cursed, and mired in the abyss of
the Sunken Heart.

Perhaps it would not have come to pass had Li-varili wielded Her own
magic only, but, alerted by the Bloodtide Coven of the Elders' efforts,
She reached for the Seal of Justice to augment Her power and to be able
to cast Her curse before the Elders thwarted Her. Victorious, She turned
to restore that which She loved the most - Keltari, the Sea-Bringer.
"May the waters give Me back the life that was stolen from Me! Arise!
Arise!" She demanded as She began to weave a facsimile of what a living
being ought to be.

All seemed lost for those who sought to oppose Li-varili, for the Lady
of the Lagoons had gained at last what She desired most: revenge on
those who had dared take Her child, the Sea Spirit, away from Her. The
mirror of distorted visions within Carakhan's Fulcrux now reflected a
haunting scene for any who gazed within it: that of the returned Elder
Gods of Lusternia embroiled in a bitter conflict with the Lady
Li-varili, each trapped in Their own personal torment as They drowned in
the abyss of Her sunken heart.

Even so, Li-varili's rage was not limited to the Elder Gods. Her curse,
too, mired the mortals of the Basin of Life in the throes of Her anger,
Her grief, and Her madness, filling their minds with fog and slowing
their actions with doubt and uncertainty.

It had become more and more evident that the Lady of the Lagoons had
lost touch with reality as She shouted Her taunts and cries, lovingly
caring for the version of Keltari that She poured all Her essence and
the raw power of the Seal of Justice into, speaking to the lifeless husk
as if it was the Sea-Bringer Themself. Surely even mortals could witness
how futile such an action was, but it did not stop Li-varili in Her
pursuit, blindly following Her will to return the impossible back to
Herself.

Undaunted, however, those left behind by their Elders sought to make
sense of Their parting words. One ingredient had remained, but what? And
then as the Unjustly Dead manifested in answer to the Lady of the
Lagoons' maddened desire to return Keltari, the shambling corpses of the
drowned proved to be not so much an intrusion as a salvation. For was it
not the "Unfortunate" that Terentia tried to speak of before the curse
took hold?

Determined bands of mortals defeated the various drowned souls that had
perished in the unfortunate floods of the Sea Spirits rampage and in
other cruel storms, dispatching them swiftly from the cities and
communes as well as the realms of the gods that had become infested with
the undead. One by one they were brought to the mirror within Carakhan's
Fulcrux, and as it surged with power, at last the efforts of the Elder
Gods were completed, and the curse of the Sunken Heart broken.

A brilliant white light cleared the storm clouds from the firmament as
Li-varili's hold on the imprisoned Star Gods evaporated like smoke, the
curse's hold on the mortals of the Basin likewise releasing like a hand
that no longer seized their heart and soul.

Now choking Her in the penumbral hold of Her own curse, Li-varili
screamed as She drew even more strength from the Seal of Justice, the
bromeliads linking Her to the Seal pulsing a bloody crimson hue as they
died on the stem: their essence devoured as swiftly as it blossomed
forth. The manifestation of Keltari She had so laboured upon flickered
and faded, becoming naught but a mirage of salt and sea on the wind.

A horrifying scream ripped from Li-varili's throat as She broke through
the vine-woven cloak She had made for Herself, this time reaching for
the Seal of Justice directly. She clutched it like a drowning woman
might reach for the splintered remains of her ship, or how a lover might
reach for their dying beloved's hand one last time, so desperate and
maddened was Her gaze.

"If you will not come back to Me, then I will destroy everything!"
Li-varili screamed. "If I cannot have you, if I will be denied
everything, then I shall deny the world of its own salvation! This is My
Justice!"

And with a wicked grin, madness in Her wild eyes, Li-varili took the
Seal of Justice in Her hands and broke it, causing a ripple of power to
stretch across the entirety of Lusternia in the artifact's senseless
destruction. It was like watching Creation itself unravel, so surreal
was the impact -- for unlike the Eye's shattering, it was instead like
watching the first of several proud mountains fall, each Seal beginning
to fade in answer as their protective hold on the Basin of Life began to
waver visibly.

A terrible primal fear gripped all present as the Goddess laughed with
delight at the inevitable end of Her actions, seeming to welcome the
apocalypse in the absence of Her victory. "Nothing matters anymore," the
Lady of the Lagoons shouted, turning Her wild eyes on the other Seals in
Her desperation. "Let Us just see it end. Why not. Everything else has
been taken from Me. Why not this, too?"

It was none other than the voice of the Enchantress that reached for
Li-varili, crooning, "Dear Li, sweet Li, what pain You have endured...
Come, allow Me to take some of it from You..." And perhaps it was this
moment of weakness, this despair at having lost all else, that caused
for the Keeper of Song's melody to lull Li-varili for but a moment,
causing Her anger to shift to confusion.

And as the Seal fell from Her hands, the onslaught began in an instant.

The clash of Terentia's twin blades pressed Li-varili to the ground,
while the shadows of the Silent Lord bound Her in place within their
dark grip. The bindings shimmered with new power as the prismatic
essence of the Bloom of Serenity interwove itself with the healing light
of the Empyreal Goddess, bound together with the sugar-spun energies of
the Epicurean Lord to strengthen them anew. In a burst of water,
Carakhan revealed pearlescent manacles that snapped onto the captured
Goddess's wrists, locking Her in place as Mysrai chanted a spellbinding
ritual over them that caused the chains to glitter with strange, cosmic
power. As Li-varili writhed and screamed, the song of the Enchantress
continued to sedate Her, finally resulting in the maddened Awakener
falling, reluctantly, to sleep.

No longer would Li-varili's actions be borne in silence. She had broken
the Eye of Dynara in Her awakening of the Sea Spirit, and with it,
flooded all of Lusternia in violent storms. She had upon Her return
cursed the Elders to suffer Her vengeance, left to drown for a thousand
years of torment in answer for Her time in the Morokeche Seat. She had
cursed all mortals with the mired abyss of Her Sunken Heart. Perhaps
most unforgivable of all, She had deliberately destroyed the Seal to
risk bringing forth Kethuru once more.

"We have suffered much from this month's trials," Terentia said among
the Elders. "Let Us recover, for She will not awaken for some time.
Drocilla's music is potent, and the manacles that Carakhan have shaped
will not waver. Li-varili will be neutralized until it is time for Her
judgment." For now, Ascension was nigh, and Avechna called forth to
announce the time of trials. All judgment would have to wait until then.

The Lady of the Lagoons had been neutralized, but even now, much chaos
has been left in Her wake. May the mortals who have survived Her rage be
more than equal to it, and a new Ascendant arise once more to defeat the
evils unleashed in Her fury.

Penned by My hand on the 23rd of Dvarsh, in the year 597 CE.