I · The Debt of Pryla'ari

Thanks to Cyrene and Targossas' support, Pryla'ari, the Priestess of Life, was able to join the Conclave after the Second Reckoning. Grateful, she offered to lend them her aid in the future on a joint endeavour. However, due to high tensions between the cities, the favour went unused for over a century — until the Age of Woe.

II · Slith's Corruption

King Slith, then recently freed, sought to bolster Pazuzu's forces arrayed against the Divine. Using his knowledge of soulbleed, he warped the natural flow of death energies and forced their coalescence into undead thralls in his service.

Eventually, the Prince of Woe was defeated in the Battle of Memory — but Death's Demise unrelentingly maintained his unnatural control over the cycle of Death.

Arriving in Falaq'tor, the Dawnlord and the Imperiate sought Pryla'ari's support to revert the changes that Slith had wrought. She did not have the power to accomplish this, but offered her services in working towards a solution. As the three of them brainstormed, they concluded that bargaining with the King of the Underworld was the only possible option.

Recognising the close friendship that Slith and Pazuzu had shared, while also hoping to play upon the guilt of his betrayal, the trio theorised that approaching him with the Demon Prince's body — and offering to inter him with respect — might allow them an opening to bargain with the King of the Underworld.

III · The Cursed Remains of Pazuzu

Seeking a guide into Memory to obtain the cursed remains, the cities found direction from a shaman in Riagath. He helped them send out a call into the Spirit Realms, which was answered by a Targossian named Dawlish — a young man who had sacrificed his life for the Dawnspear. Weaving through the chaotic memories of the Battle against Pazuzu, the spirit guided a small group to the remnants of Pazuzu left in Memory.

— The following relics were displayed in illusion —

✦ His Skull

Split from its other half by a grievous blow, this half of a fanged skull is massive. Evidently belonging to a great demon, it bears a cruel maw, high ridges, a cruel brow, and deep eye sockets. Whatever caused the damage left the edges of the bone frayed and splintered, though its precision is the work of a master. There are numerous scars and scraps along the bone that must predate the cleaving strike, evidence of a lifetime of relentless battle.

✦ A Kneecap

A cloak of lively shadows seeps from the surface of this patella, their snaking emanation licking up towards the sky as if it were ablaze with a black flame. The effects of the Darkness clinging to its surface are evident at a touch, for the bone is now as soft and spongy as newborn skin. Large enough that a single hand is unlikely to palm it comfortably, it must belong to some great creature.

✦ A Finger

Capped with a razor-sharp claw to rival any sword for lethality, this finger is a remnant of some great predator. The skin and flesh shows no sign of decay despite its severing and even still retain some of their pliancy. The base of the finger bears a slight indentation as if something exerted pressure upon it to alter the form before its severing. Though the finger was clearly cut away by force, no blood or tearing mars the digit.

✦ A Femur

Longer than most mortals are tall, this bone retains its imposing air despite a strange colouration. Its surface is smooth as glass and illuminated from within by some irrepressible magic that makes it sparkle and gleam with the changing colours that swirl within. Every imaginable hue is visible by turns, the ever-shifting appearance making it dizzying to look upon for very long. Hard to discern by any but the most careful examination, a deep, triangular nick mars the steel-like hardness of the femur at its midpoint.

✦ A Foot

Longer than a foot, this shard was evidently rent from a bone by the strength of some great binding. The grooves where the thorned vines scraped through the flesh and into the surface are easy to see, and the way the splinter cracked at the edges at an agonising fracture process. With the flesh long decayed, these green-tinged bones are all that is left of some creature's mighty foot.

✦ His Wings

Gargantuan in proportion, this pair of wings would not be out of place upon a great dragon's frame. The leathery, bat-like skin between the phalanges has all but disappeared to the ravages of time, leaving only tattered remnants clinging to the bone. A wicked talon tips the end of every joint, presenting a sinister appearance even in their current state of ruin.

IV · The Bargain with Slith

With the cursed body parts now in hand, the cities sent a small delegation into the Soulrealms to negotiate with the Underworld's ruler. Guided by those interpreting the Grimoire of Souls, three adventurers traversed unfamiliar terrain to reach King Slith. Though doubtful, the King indicated he would cease his manipulations of Death if the Gods' curses could be removed from Pazuzu and he could be laid to rest.

V · The Ritual & The Bargain Fulfilled

After frantic months of preparations, Cyrenians and Targossans gathered at the top of the Pantheon. The Aarash Kheyr provided protective wards to guard the ritualists. The Caefir Conloadh provided the Flame to incinerate Pazuzu's body. The Cyrenians made offerings to the Divine in hopes of taking on Their curses laid on the Demon Prince.

Those offerings fell on deaf ears. The Gods decried the attempt; Their disdain for the Prince of Woe and the carnage he had wrought was too great.

All seemed lost — but the Great Bard intervened. He bargained with His Siblings, and through His exhortations it was finally agreed: Cyrene would sacrifice the power of their stories to see the Demon's spirit laid to peaceful rest.

As the bargain took effect, a resounding edict was heard from the Underworld. King Slith reverted his corruption, and souls would flow unimpeded through Death's design once more.