Dathana's message

Dathana's message is a book found in the underground area of Kethsi. Dathana was an ancient mage on Kethsi, part of the Mage Conclave. The message chronicles the events that occurred as the Dragonkin destroyed the conclave. The book mentions individuals such as Etheron and places such as Mount Firewake. It explains how to create bolts and arrows out of bane ore, and shows where to find the Tune bane ore scroll.

The book can be stored in POH's bookcase.

Transcript
My name is Dathana. I may now be the last member of the Mage Conclave of Kethsi. I tell this story in the hope that it may help others who come under threat from the terrible force that is the dragonkin.

In the late summer of the Year of Babbootang, Elder Mage Etheron returned to Kethsi from a six-year expedition to the outer planes.

As Etheron passed through the worldgate, we beheld a beautiful sight. Behind him floated a great stone, patterned as if it were a great terratoise shell. 'Good tidings my friends,' said Etheron. 'I bring with me an artefact so powerful, it shall bring great prosperity to our people.'

The stone was taken to the Mage Conclave at Mount Firewake. The first few months were a wondrous time for all Kethsians. We managed to use the great stone to work many spells. Spells to make our crops more bountiful; spells to restore our cities to the height of their splendour; spells to drive our enemies back.

Our people were happy for a time, but trouble was not far behind. A strange and vicious race appeared from the east and began to attack our settlements there. Survivors of the attacks reported a race of reptilian creatures who called themselves the dragonkin.

So, we set in motion a plan to use the power of this great new stone to vanquish this enemy. The fifty-two Grand High Mages of the Conclave stood surrounding the fortress of the enemy and began the casting of a spell that would show the multiverse the might of Kethsi. Things did not go as desired. Enraged dragonkin flew from their fortress as the great spell was cast, but they did not crumble and die as expected, and instead grew in anger and strength. We found ourselves under attack and running for our lives. Only nine of the Conclave survived.

More attempts were made to combat the dragonkin, but it became apparent that every time we used the great stone, the dragonkin grew more powerful, more enraged, more violent. Our foremost philosophers noted that the dragonkin only appeared on Kethsi after Etheron had brought the great stone here, and we had made use of it. They posited that, perhaps, they were some sort of defence mechanism, to bar the unworthy from using the stones power.

We have now stopped using the stone, but I fear it is too late; the dragonkin are now incredibly powerful, and they continue to decimate our cities.

The Conclave headquarters were destroyed two months ago, and I have retreated here to the Isle of Sann. I fear it is only a matter of time before all life on this world is eradicated.

We have one final hope - a weapon crafted from a material from the outer planes. Bane ore can be used to smith a unique metal, which can be magically 'tuned' to especially harmful to certain creatures. We then use a tempered anvil located here on the Isle of Sann to turn it into bolts and arrows.

We turned these arrows against the dragonkin, and, for the first time managed to kill some, but the ore is rare and our supplies run low. Hedrick and Felli left Kethsi in search of more but they may not return soon enough.

If so our fate is sealed; but, if by some miracle someone finds this book, perhaps there is hope for other worlds to learn from our folly and survive the rage of the dragonkin. There should be a Tune Bane Ore scroll in this room to teach the necessary spell. Cast it on parts of certain deceased creatures to tune the bane ore against those creatures. Whether you can find a source of bane ore or one of the special anvils used to create bane bolts and arrows is another matter. May the spirits of Kethsi guide you.