Empedocles's page

Congratulations, Diamond Sage Tahonikepsu, on securing the leadership for which you strived so patiently, in spite of the results of our council in your sanctum. It heartens me to hear your recognition of Amenopheus' role in forwarding the cause of the Scarab Sages as much as I am glad to hear of his ongoing involvement.

It has been the highlight of my hopefully long-lived career as an alchemist to embody and represent a fragment of the Ruby Sage. I am not Osirian but my mentor, Arcanfrew, is. I have toiled years to do well by him and not bring shame to his teachings as I served his beloved nation under the auspices of the Pathfinder Society. I am grateful for the opportunities that the Society and Osirion have granted me. How I have grown! Still, I recognize how humble my experience remains compared to that of a Jeweled Sage. While I will always bear great love for my mentor, I feel that my contributions to the effort to cure his Resplendentness, the Ruby Prince, and my role in discovering you, Bright Diamond, have satisfied my debt to my dear mentor. He can rest easy that his teachings have played an influential role in the transpiring of Great Events.

I have had much chance to ponder on the qualities of Leadership in the years leading to our meeting. While my dear associates and I did not vote entirely in your favour, I was nonetheless touched by your arguments. Now that events have developed according to your vision, it seems they can also go according to mine.

I am Taldan. I could never claim sole devotion to Osirion and ignore my own roots. I imagined once my debt to my mentor was paid, I would perhaps lend my passion to another cause. I have come across a small number of worthy Great Efforts. Yet here is the Diamond Sage! And though I argued against her, I find myself ironically allured by her wisdom. By acknowledging the value of diversity and broadening the Osirion-centric vision of the first Sages, it seems I may have a place amongst the Sages after all.

If you allow, I will tally a while longer amongst this brilliant lot. I will continue to give my best, this time in my own voice and not as a proxy for a great mentor. I confess I do hunger for the clarity of Intellect I enjoyed while channeling the Ruby Sage. It is just as well that the mythic surge has ended or I might well have ended up addicted! I am inspired and continue to make progress with my own discoveries. Should I once again come into contact with a Jewel, it will be out of true worthiness and not mere happenstance. Should it be that one of you, my deer peers, are one day singled out for this honour, you have my passing envy and lasting support.

To a new era, then, fellow sages!

So, any other supporters of Osirion still around?
Empedocles is no necromancer by any stretch but he can still cast he odd raise thread.

I'm meta-wondering how Osirion faired this season. It must be coming close to crunch time for the dear Ruby Prince. Does faction performance really affect the outcome? What's the deadline?

A slender and alert man of non-Osiriani descent arrives. Clad in a clean, well-cut artisan's outfit with a number of kits strapped to his sides and backpack, he strides purposefully carrying a small crate in his hands. While he does fashion a bow, it is not the *official* bow proper to the civilized folk of Osirion. Hey, cut him some slack, he's trying. He can't use Knowledge (local) untrained. If it makes a difference, he probably can use the finely crafted warhammer that seems to be the one item at odds with the rest of his accoutrement.

"Greetings, fellow Pathfinders. I have only recently been allowed the privilege to number myself among your fine ranks. To fulfill a duty to my late mentor, the obscure alchemist known to few as Arcanfrew, I have traveled to many parts of Avistan. I have searched over many leagues for anything that could be of significance to my mentor's beloved Ruby Prince. Curses and diseases I have suffered in my quest. While I have added to Osirion's great prestige, it was not until recently that I secured a sample that may yet prove pivotal to our current predicament. Behold!"

Empedocles places his crate on a block and carefully opens it. From within, he removes a bundle wrapped in canvas. Donning gloves, he allows the canvas to fall from the sample it wrapped.

"This is - oh! How rude of me. Begging your pardon. Unless begging is offensive to you. In which case I'll just assume your pardon. Anyway, my name is Empedocles Chasmcross. Yes, from that same line of Chasmcrosses that has known some reknown a few generations ago as bridge builders in my homeland of Taldar. Though I don't expect you care about any of that. At least you know my name. I resume:

"This is a carefully extracted sample of masonry from what is believed to be the Black Edifice. It is hoped that an analysis of its divination-warding properties can provide a much-needed hint on how to curtail the darkness which is preventing discovery of the solution to the Ruby Prince's affliction. This I deliver freely onto you. In the meantime, I shall attempt to resume my search for a solution."

[color=blue]I marathonned 7 PFS sessions at PrairieCon. Unfortunately, only 1 of them was season 4.[/color]