You wake to see the face of Tanith looking into yours. You sit up with a jolt. You are lying in a bed in a tall tower. ‘The portal…Agarash…is he…?’ you stammer.
Tanith smiles. ‘All vanquished,’ she replies. ‘The Demonlord Agarash and his portal of fire have gone and Shasarak with them. You have triumphed, Grey Star. We are saved.’
With a wild laugh you leap from the bed and hug Tanith with joy. You have saved your people. ‘Come,’ she says, leading you to a doorway. It opens on to a balcony that overlooks a large square in the centre of the city of Shadaki. There you look upon a huge crowd. They let out a thunderous cheer as they see you.
Later you retire to the chamber. Standing there are Sado of the Long Knife and Samu, the Masbaté King. You clasp their outstretched hands, eyes brimming with tears of happiness. You grin furiously, glad to see that they are alive. A wave of exultant relief runs through you as you receive their grateful thanks and congratulations. They tell you that the Shadakine have fled back to the Sadi Desert. All the cities of the land are free capitals as before. The long task of rebuilding has already begun and all sing your praise to the furthest corners of what was once the Shadakine Empire. They have proclaimed you their ruler, the Wizard Regent of the Free Peoples, for their faith and trust in your wisdom and courage is unshakable.
Hail! Wizard Grey Star, Shianti Hero and Saviour.
The Passing of the Shianti
The Passing of the Shianti
And so it was that the shame of the Shianti was absolved. With the defeat of the Wytch-king, Shasarak, the renegade Shianti Master, the Shadakine Empire he had built fell. The Shadakine people fled back to their former home in the Sadi Desert, and Grey Star—the champion of the Shianti cause—was proclaimed ‘Wizard Regent’ of the free peoples of the old empire, to oversee a time of rebirth and liberty. The only Shadakine who did not return to the Sadi Desert was the Lady Tanith. She and Grey Star were soon married, as many foretold they would be, to form the founding line of a Magiocracy destined to rule the new confederation of free states formed from the ashes of the old empire. For the Shianti themselves a higher destiny dawned. The Goddess Ishir came to them on the Isle of Lorn and took them up to the Plane of Light. Their reward was to dwell as immortals by her side and in her service in peace and serenity.
The Wizard Grey Star saw them once before they departed and many fond and sad farewells were exchanged. To Grey Star was bequeathed the nature of true Shianti wisdom, the last of their ancient magical secrets which only a lifetime’s study would unlock from the hundreds of dusty volumes, scrolls, and magical artefacts. The Moonstone was given into the care of the Shianti and taken with them into the Plane of Light, for still its power was too great to remain on Magnamund.
Grey Star then returned to his people. Sado of the Long Knife was made general of the army, King Samu had his lands in the Lissan Plain restored to him, and Urik the Wise of the Kundi peoples was summoned to act as advisor to the Wizard Regent and Lady Tanith the Wytch-queen. Despite his newfound responsibilities and duties, Grey Star looked forward to a time of hope and happiness. In this far corner of Magnamund, at least for now, peace reigned.
And so ends the chronicle of the first quest of the Wizard Grey Star.
