It seems I have recovered from the vampire attack I mentioned previously, but now hold no recollection of it whatsoever; those around me assure that it happened, as do what few notes I left for myself, but all I can truthfully recall from the past two days is blurred into nothingness. Regardless, I have the energy to write again.
In the early days of my return to Korth, I met a woman named Vampara, a vampire. Quite friendly and polite; didn't try to feed upon me, but rather gave me a bow and some food out of kindness. She was new to Korth, and said she was pleased to meet me (as I had mentioned I had been here long ago). I can't quite recall the circumstances, but I do know that I warned her to be wary about Garrick, that she would become intertwined into his schemes if she wasn't careful. Unfortunately, I was right.
My notekeeping for this period is horridly incomplete, now I look upon it. Vampara had been afflicted by something - her vampirism itself is what comes to mind, but surely that can't be true - and she admitted Garrick had cured her of it, transforming her into a living shadow and then to a 'neutral' form to become whatever she wished. The Garrick I knew was not one to help out of kindness; I pressed him to learn how he had benefited, but got no answer. To this day I dread that Vampara's allegiance will shift to him, either by choice or by some lingering spell he interwove into her - though I wish I could, I can never wholly trust her.
What I did learn, however, was that the Convergence I had fled from all those years ago had been waiting here for me the whole time (or, perchance, just happened to be coming again upon my return). It had already begun, introducing new lands, new places into Korth; La'rolk, a city at the bottom of the ocean, had spontaneously come into existence by the Convergence, complete with a history. So too had a place called Azharan, the birthplace of one Countess Visara (the accursed vampire at fault for my mentioned attack), and the name of the drow-country, Pylos / Dar'itim, had been changed by it too.
I admit, I was not terribly attentive at the time and failed to see some of the obvious; nor did I have the sense to go back to my notes from the first Convergence, and use them to gain understanding.
To put it simply, the Convergence is the gradual merging of several different people, places and histories into Korth; La'rolk came from another world, complete enough to drag some of its history with it and ingrain into Korth, as has Azharan (though I have yet to witness it). The Pylos / Dar'itim is simply a merger of details, but over these months the changes that have arisen prove that the Convergence is a horrendously catastrophic event. Vampara herself is a product of the Convergence; she comes from another world, Draeda, completely different to our own but slowly following her across. Well beyond Dolf-Hloab now stands a walled town - an entire town - from Draeda called Kao'a. Further east is the walls of some other mighty city, also from that world.
We have also seen the arrival of figures - mostly historic - from throughout Korth's history, yet apparently (and in some cases, hopefully,) from other versions of Korth's history. Ashanrai Exinoris and his mother are the two I recall most easily; the former could prove to be the most dangerous, not in life, but in his death. In the mines beneath Asgard (a place I shall bring up later, when I speak upon the Spice), Ashanrai Exinoris is buried within a sarcophagus, along with his wife. Not too far away, his corpse also lies rotting somewhere in a labyrinth of tunnels.
I cannot be wholly sure if the Ashanrai we met is the same to have died in history, but I can only hope such is false; otherwise time has become horridly twisted, with a figure who should have died centuries ago has somehow ended up in our time, leading us towards a supposed previous mask of mine, then perished several hundred years after they're supposed to - yet at some point before their intended doom, from their perspective - and in completely the wrong place. The Convergence has no interest in preserving logic (though, can a force truly be said to have an interest in anything?), crazily casting things across space and time, bringing them to here.
The worst outcome of this, however, is that there are now three different Garricks (Garrick Felagund, specifically; another thing I must speak of later is the use of 'Garrick' as name by Ashanrai Exinoris' lineage) running about, causing who-knows-what anarchy to their own benefit.
The first - the original, which I take to calling Garrick Prime - has some unclear interest in furthering the Convergence, and has thus far been flawlessly successful in the endeavour. My past notes mention he intends to cause war afterwards, no doubt pitting empire against empire, and devised the elven Torkel religion for this purpose (writing this, I recall Garrick mentioning anger at learning of a deception within elvish history - could the two be one and the same? Could this Garrick Prime be the past version of the one I new long ago, unintentionally motivating himself to cause the Convergence?); though with him replacing the statue in Kao'a with himself, perhaps he's simply interested in the desire to rule all.
The second, who I shall call Garrick Draeda, comes from Vampara's world. I don't know much of his history, nor have I asked, but Vampara has indicated he was obnoxiously prone to causing trouble and had once been exiled from somewhere; I remember from our encounter with him, too, that he was the ruler (or similar) of the place that he had come across with. Regardless, I have today learnt that he is interested in raising an army of Shadows and causing a war throughout Korth.
Finally comes the one I shall call Garrick Kor'ethel, who thus far appears to be Garrick Prime, but from an alternate history wherein humankind never came to Korth - the invasion of the titular Kor'ethel being thwarted. Thus far they seem to be relatively benevolent - I've yet to hear of any strife they've caused, and all I've yet seen them do is open a portal within the Holy City (which I must investigate; it may have once been called Don Benerel). They've... also given me information about the heritage of my father, Meta Ike, within that timeline, but as it's a different history the usefulness of it within ours is dubious. Regardless, I think it best I keep such information unwritten for now.
I am reaching the end of my energy, now. I will end by speaking briefly of the Machine, down in the mines beneath Asgard, built by an Old Man that I believe is the cause of this Convergence; Garrick Prime has been using it to unclear ends, and I no longer trust the Old Man to be interested in opposing him. When next I write, I will speak of the Spice, to which the Machine holds some history; perhaps after about my unwilling reception of the Cure to Mortality. But for now, I shall rest.
- Shiosai Ike, the Archivist.
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