With the final devastating blow, Mayong Mistmoore's blood spread across the enchanted floor of Dreadspire Keep. In his last breath, the lord of the vampires issued a promise, "My age begins."
Finally shedding the remains of his mortal coil, centuries of research and experiments culminated into achieving his life's goal -- to ascend and walk among the gods. With the last act of unleashing Mistmoore's soul, Norrath's mortals released an evil demi-god among the unsuspecting planes of the pantheon.
And as Mistmoore's soul completed its metamorphosis, the Demi-Plane of Blood became fully realized as a crimson realm of death and darkness. Even Ro's shimmer, the great Norrath sun, was lessened as the vampire's plane bled through the pantheon, reeling and reforming in ethereal space.
Norrathians thirst for glory and power -- a reality the vampire relied on -- brought Mayong to godhood. For hundreds of years, Mayong laid the groundwork for his own ascension, carefully and purposefully. He enshrouded himself in mystery and myth, creating an insatiable curiosity in historians and fame hunters the world over. Few had ever seen the vampire, but everyone believed in him. That was crucial to Mayong's designs.
Most know that the gods of the pantheon are strengthened and empowered by those who revere and believe in them. So, as Norrathians accepted Mayong's invitation to Dreadspire Keep, they unwittingly acknowledged his power and became disciples who fueled the enchantments that surrounded him and his abode.
When the last drop of the great vampire's blood trickled to the floor, the enchantments took on life at his death. The awe of his power and pride in his defeat shown by those who revealed him provided the last ingredient to lift his dark soul into godhood.
Now, Mayong's cackles resonate through the immortal realm.
The wise and learned of Norrath share chagrin at this turn of tides in the pantheon, for they suspect what most certainly do not -- Mayong's ascension is but a stepping stone for a larger, more devious plan than any could imagine. Beyond the mortal lands, in a realm of pure magic, a goddess has foreseen a world plunged into darkness and chaos. Worse still, she feels her own kin's suffering.
And while Norrath's lauded heroes -- Firiona Vie and Lanys T'Vyl -- and their armies remain unfound, the world and its future lie in the hands of those who set the vampire free.
