Children of Bedlam
To be added later as the story progresses
The portal of Gor Ault
For over a week, the column of light shines forth in Gor Ault steady and clear. After the first couple of days, the locals shrug and go about their business, merely putting some extra cloth over the windows to ensure they can sleep at night.
When the change comes, it is subtle, and most don't even notice it. At first, it is nothing more than the faintest humming in the air, sounding like insects some distance off. As the eighth day wears on, the humming becomes clearer and more localized: it is definitely louder near some of the nobles and more adventurous commoners in the region.
By the dawn of the ninth day, the humming has spread, and now follows people in several regions near Gor Ault, as well. It has also begun to sound much more pleasing, no longer a simple droning hum, but resolving into clear tones. Furthermore, it is becoming more obvious, as the sound becomes more and more localized, why it has chosen the particular people it has to hum near: the humming is the most intense near scrolls, and the more scrolls, the louder it gets. Each type of scroll seems to produce a different tone, and the effect when certain combinations are together is a lovely blended harmony.
As dusk falls, the setting sun seems to bathe the sky in red. It almost seems as if it's even tinting the pillar of light red...
....Wait.
The pillar of light is turning red. Just as the last sliver of the sun sinks below the horizon, the light flares an angry, bloody color, and begins sending off sparks and crackles of energy. Occasionally, the bolts of energy fall near people, and when they do, strange things seem to happen.
Then the light begins to pulse like a slow, crimson heartbeat.
Though at first it is impossible to tell, it gradually becomes clear that the pulsing of the beam of light in Gor Ault is slowly increasing in tempo.
After observing the light and taking careful measurements, several learned scribes and natural philosophers sagely inform the people that at the current rate of increase, the pulsing will be at a pace so fast it is imperceptible by roughly midnight.
As predicted, the pulsing from the light beam at the site of the portal stones in Gor Ault has now become so rapid that individual pulses can no longer be made out. At the same time, the brightness of the vermilion glow is now such that the land for many miles around seems to be in daylight—albeit a terrifying, blood-drenched daylight.
As the midnight bell strikes, the beacon of light flares even brighter with a massive surge of power—then bursts with blinding light, that spreads in a wave rippling outward from Gor Ault. Within minutes, it has crossed half the continent...and in its wake, scrolls explode with power, releasing their magic wildly and wantonly.
The Crone
"…Ichabod my child, I am here. It’s time”.
– The Crone, following the Gor Ault incident
