I come seeking information on the Pentarch of Tiamat. It was in the Bright Desert's Living Grehawk adventures I believe but for the life of me I can't find my copies of said adventures. I was wondering if anyone might know what this device does.
The ancient Flan of Onnwal came originally from the lands of the Ur Flannae to the east and north, from whence they were driven. Over four thousand years ago, certain mystics were led to the Headlands by a voice that spoke to them in dreams. Somewhere deep within the heart of the Ial Iorneh, they found the Cirel Iornadh – the Dreaming Gyre.
Here, they discovered a place where faint echoes of the terrible dreams of the Slumbering God, Tharizdun, resonated. Within the winding caverns of the Cirel Iornadh and at certain conjunctions of the heavens his dreamings even physically manifested themselves. Wyrms dwelt here and the Olve shunned the Dragonshead as a place of dragons, nightmares and madness. At the heart of the Gyre, they uncovered the Guronn Nur – the Hideous Idol – believed to be made from the Slumbering Gods dreamings made material. So terrible was the Idol that is was said that the very sight of it alone could drive a man into an insane homicidal rage.
However the Ial Iorneh was, in that time, the realm of Great Wyrms, the Children of Tiamat, and Weaver of the Slumbering One’s nightmares and guardians of the Gyre. They came upon the Mystics and made a bargain with them. The Wyrms would teach the Ur to use the powers of the Idol (for though the Wyrms knew from their Mistress the workings of the Gurron Nur they could not touch it without being driven insane or being killed in the process). The Ur in return would use the powers of the Idol to unite the Flannae against the Dwur and Noniz who waged war on the Wyrms for control of the hills and their wealth. Using the power of the Idol, the Ur Flannae brought the other Flan tribes beneath their dominion and founded Caerdiralor (called by sages in the modern era ‐ the Obsidian Kingdom) to rule the Dragon’s Head, worshipping the Wyrms and Tiamat as gods. They made war on the Dwur Kingdom and their Noniz allies to the east. Yet while the Guronn Nur had been used in the worship of Tiamat, it was of He Who Slumbers Yet and it slowly corrupted the Priests of Caerdiralor—sending them visions of greatness in their sleep and whispering thoughts of rebellion in their waking hours. So it was that the rulers of the Obsidian Kingdom sought to construct a weapon to harness the powers of the Cirel Iornadh and enslave the Wyrms using the Idol.
However, the Wyrms discovering almost too late what was occurring and struck to prevent the completion of the ritual. In the battle that followed, the magi of Caerdiralor lost control of the dreamings and Myrsyrna—the Obsidian City (called Miirezuur by the Dwur) was destroyed along with the seven eldest and most powerful of the Great Wyrms of the Dragon’s Head. The Guronn Nur was shattered into five fragments. Each fragment seemed to manifest the powers of one of the heads of Tiamat – fire, cold, corrosion, poison and lightning – and they were therefore called the Pentarch of Tiamat.
In the following chaos the subservient Flan tribes rebelled and the Dwur pressed home their war against the remaining Wyrms who were weakened by the loss of their elders. The Five Fragments of the Guronn Nur were scattered and lost and the Great Wyrms were one by one slain by the great heroes of the Dwur. The red fragment of the idol is in the depths of the Tal Marith, the green fragment lies within the Headlands, the blue fragment within the ruins of Unaagh within the Bright Desert, while the icy white fragment may be found in the Aerdi fortress of Icespire and the corrosive black fragment is hidden on the Isle of Bones.
Ironically while the Galai Iorn claim to worship Tiamat, the visions that their priests receive are undoubtedly from the Dreamings of the Slumbering One. Through these visions has come a prophecy foretelling the coming of a golden haired Prophet who shall uncover and reunite the five fragments of the Guronn Nur and restore the greatness of Caerdiralor.
So:
1. Each fragment seemed to manifest the powers of one of the heads of Tiamat – fire, cold, corrosion, poison and lightning.
2. If united, they become the Guronn Nur, the Hideous Idol, an artifact of Tharizdun that causes corruption and insanity.
3. They call to nearby dragons.
4. The Guronn Nur might have created the Eirius Ionadh, creatures of fire and shadow.
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