Chapter 0: The Concept and Plot

Throughout this series, a bit of a background plot will be going on behind the scenes that gets more clear over time. It ties into the lead up to the Time of Unparalleled Darkness, and to the activities of certain major characters in the wake of it.

The following section will more or less spoil the basics and outline of that plot. If the elevator pitch didn't appeal to you, this chapter is here to explain exactly what's going on in this setting if you really want to know. If you'd rather follow the series and piece it together through that, then I suggest you read no further.

Breaking the Bonds

There were several moving parts, stray threads that needed to be weaved and sewn together to accomplish this goal. Unfortunately, finding those threads was the easy part. Bringing them together would be a struggle.

In order for their plot to work, Azalin and the Caller needed to locate and bring all of the children to one location. This presented two major problems — problems named "Malocchio" and "Azalin."

Both of them were trapped, in slightly different ways, and in very different places. As a darklord, Azalin was bound to Darkon. Due to a curse set by Madame Eva, Malocchio was trapped in Invidia. Both of these were huge problems.

The fact that Malocchio is trapped is apparently a problem for the Caller, per the Kargatane notes. As for Azalin, I included this dilemma for him as a reason why Firan is walking around.

Both of them went about preparing solutions for their problems. The Caller was to beguile Madame Eva, weakening the spell that held Malocchio imprisoned. Were it to succeed, Azalin could shatter the spell and Malocchio would be free to wander the lands of the Core. There was another goal in seducing Eva, too — a plot to create a fourteenth child. The Ultimate Dukkar.

Azalin's problem would be harder to solve. For this ritual to work, he'd need to be able to wander freely, and that meant becoming unbound from Darkon. Over the years leading up to 775, he put work into his solution — he would reenact the Requiem, once again ripping apart his soul. But rather than spread himself thin across the whole of Darkon, he would place himself in two vessels, neither of which possessing the full enormity of his evil and power, neither of them being "technically" Azalin. Thus leaving one half of him free to leave the boundaries of his domain.

Assembling the Puzzle

It took over a decade since "S"'s betrayal for the plan to come to fruition. But eventually, the pieces would fall together. Azalin reassembled his Doomsday Device and split his soul once more. But this time, it was controlled. Part of him was imprisoned, sealed in the King's Tear high above the sky. The other retained his body, though his undeath was cast off of it, his body returned to his old, youthful appearance.

Meanwhile, the Caller assembled its children. With Madame Eva's spell broken, Malocchio was freed, and the Caller's fourteen fiendish offspring (including the newest, Ultimate Dukkar) were assembled, some willingly, others forced to comply. Azalin arrived, and they took their chance.

But the ritual was flawed. The Tribe of Hyskosa, already working to stop Azalin's plans, attacked the schemers, interrupting their ritual. Azalin hesitated, and in that moment, he lost control of the spell he was maintaining. The site of the ritual, hosting the presence of a fiend, darklord and fourteen accursed children, was a sinkhole of evil surpassing all others. And in a single moment, that dark influence spread across the whole of the demiplane like a wave. For a brief moment, this darkness so utterly eclipsed that of the Dark Powers that they lost control of their creation. By the time the ship was righted, the damage was done.

The Immediate Fallout

In the days and weeks following Azalin and the Caller's ritual, the demiplane descended into chaos. For the pair, it was absolute catastrophe. Several of the Caller's children had been killed in the fight with the Tribe of Hyskosa, ruining the fiend's plan. If it wished to escape again, it would be forced to start from the beginning, and this time, the Dark Powers would be watching.

For Azalin, he was struck with the recoil of the failed ritual, fundamentally damaging his mind and memories. He fled into the Mists for fear of his life — with his soul now in a mortal form, he had no idea what would happen if he were to die outside his domain. He had no desire to find out.

The archwizard would come to experience a sort of deja vu. Just as in 579 BC, when he first fled into the Mists, his memories were twisted and confused. All he had were vague recollections, snippets of memory here and there. A city called Knurl ruled by a wizard. A kingdom called Darkon, where he believed himself to be a noble. And a vampire called Strahd, who, for whatever reason, he despised with every fiber of his being. He took on the only name he could recall — Firan Zal'Honan — and began his journeys, fearful of the Mists but intent on uncovering a way to break free.

War in the West

The wake of the Darkness Ascendant left a very dangerous pawn in play: Malocchio, who had escaped the disaster at his father's ritual, was no longer imprisoned, and his brewing hate had boiled over into unstoppable fury. He knew well that the Tribe of Hyskosa, his would be killers, were Vistani, and now they fled from him into the lands of his enemies, into Borca. Malocchio sent an ultimatum into the neighboring nation: allow his men to track down these enemies of Invidia, or he will do what is necessary. Ivan Dilisnya, long a sworn enemy of the Dukkar, refused.

Of course, Malocchio knew well that he would, and within days, his armies amassed at the Borcan border. Correspondence soon made its way to Vlad Drakov, and Falkovnia's men rallied, preparing to pour through Richemulot and Borca. The nations of the Four Towers treaty reluctantly rose to defend their allies. The western Core descended into open warfare.

The resulting conflict was, in a word, bloody. Military campaigns into Borca had previously found little success, other than as proof of their capable toxins. But Borca was unprepared for a two-pronged assault, and as Drakov's troops stormed through Richemulot, Borca's enemies closed their jaws around it.

The war raged for months before it came to an abrupt end. News reached the front line: Vlad Drakov was dead. His daughter, Vladeska, had assumed the throne. They were to return to Lekar, effective immediately. Falkovnia cut off its loose alliance with Invidia, forcing Malocchio to retreat, unable to face the alliance of his enemies alone. The league had won, but at what cost? Even in their victory, ruin and destruction peppered the countryside of Borca, Richemulot and Dementlieu.

Soon thereafter, Falkovnia was unexpectedly engulfed in the Mists, obscuring it from its neighbors. From this point onward, the Mist would rarely ever rise, cutting off its neighbors from Falkovnian grain and wheat.

Darklords Deposed

Few knew the truth of Drakov's death. It came so abruptly, and the official story is that the lord of Falkovnia died in battle defending Lekar from their enemies.

In reality, Vladeska herself had dealt the killing blow. Her father distracted by his foolish, unwinnable war, she seized the opportunity and took her father's life, intent on rising to the throne herself. Unbeknownst to her, the curse of Falkovnia transfered to her, marking her as a new darklord. Within weeks, the Mists fell upon Falkovnia's borders, preventing any escape. And then came the hordes of the dead.

But Drakov was not the only darklord to lose his throne that year. Soon after came the death of Dominic d'Honaire, suddenly and unexpectedly. Most assumed it to be assassination, but regardless, the extended d'Honaire family convened in Port-a-Lucine to mourn his passing and discuss his inheritance. None were expecting the swift rise of one Saidra d'Honaire. A bastard and pretender to Dominic's title, her arrival brought a plague upon the d'Honaire Estate, killing everyone within, including herself. She awoke weeks later in the foggy estate, a wraith, but the new duchess of Dementlieu.

In time, the Mists would recede, closing in on the city. Chateaufaux, ruined and abandoned, was blanketed, and all who traveled through it found themselves arriving at the city far sooner than should be possible.

The Fate of Darkon

Azalin's disappearance did not go unnoticed in his homeland. The appearance of a new star in the sky, and the sudden destruction of Castle Avernus, frozen at the moment of the Darkness Ascendant, told them all they needed to know. A second Requiem had befallen Darkon, and the Shroud soon descended upon the land once more.

In time, a number of pretenders rose to take the lich-king's place. Alcio Metus, brother of the late Baron, who died by the hands of Van Richten. Cardinna Arztazas, the vessel of a foul necrichor. And Talisveri Eris, an invisible noble from the streets of Il Aluk.

Elsewhere in Darkon, rumor spread of the impossible. Rudoph van Richten, long thought dead, was once again roving the countryside, and not only that, but appeared to once again be in his prime. Many discarded the rumors as a fabrication, explaining it as naught but a pretender using the Van Richten legacy to endear himself to the people. Others saw the returned hunter — and the Vistana working with him — as a hero risen to fight back this new age of darkness.

The Legions of the Night

Most distressing to the people of the domains of dread was the sudden insurgence of monstrous activities. The anchorites of the Church of Ezra were quick to herald the end times, claiming that the feared Legions of the Night had now descended upon the mortal world, to bring evil and chaos upon them all.

The vile beasts of Ravenloft, once content to hide in the shadows and only occasionally torment the innocent, now terrorize the good people of the world in broad daylight. What was once a collection of old wives' tales, horrors lingering in memory, and stories to keep kids from misbehaving was now a tangible and real threat, one that made the countryside and wilderness a dangerous frontier to venture into.

The response to this threat has been mixed. Some cower behind the walls of cities, fearful of the outside world. Others held on to the hope that they still had left, praying to their gods for deliverance, confident that this too shall pass. Others were ignorant to the dark veil over their land, especially in domains with relatively little direct exposure to these dangers, like Mordent. Others still took to stamping out the threat of these monsters. Most notably, anchorite inquisitors prowl across the countryside, eradicating nests of troublesome monsters. Their efforts have kept Mordent relatively safe, though they struggle to beat back the tide in other domains.

Current Sketch

Five years have passed since that fateful catastrophe. The Mists eat away at Darkon day by day, and monsters continue to torment the people. Heroes brave the darkness to bring the light back to the people, hopeful that a new dawn awaits them at the end of the tunnel. The Caller campaigns across the Core and the Mists, pursued by its age-old enemy, in pursuit of its next plot to break free. Conflict still brews across the Core — notably, in Barovia and Invidia, where the Gundarakites now fight an open rebellion. This is a dark era for Ravenloft, but it is one that can be recovered from, with time, effort and hope.

The Present and Future

And that's the whole sordid tale. Full credit to the Kargatane writers there, as their notes and hints were instrumental in piecing together the metaplot they had going on behind the scenes.