This content was originally included in an issue of Duelist magazine. The original article can be accessed via Internet Archive here.

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Main Magazine Page: The Duelist #15

By Pete Venters

Kaervek, the evil mage who was trying to conquer Jamuraa as part of his expansionist plans, felt assured of victory since the three northwest countries—Femeref, Suq’Ata, and Zhalfir—were all in dire trouble. But Kaervek’s ally, another mage named Jolrael, had her doubts about the morality of the war she had helped to start. She had only wished to prevent the wizard Mangara from dominating Jamuraa and now found herself questioning her choice of allies. Secretly, she tried to release Mangara from his magical amber prison but was stopped by Kaervek’s wards. Then she realized that it was only a matter of time before Kaervek discovered her disloyalty.

And so Jolrael searched for help. At last she discovered a presence of energy on the island that had first drawn Mangara and Kaervek to Jamuraa. It was the ancient Zhalfirin royal mage Teferi, a planeswalker who could exert enough power to crush Kaervek. She teleported to the isle and confessed to Teferi her part in Kaervek’s invasion, begging for his help. But Teferi refused to intercede; his experiments with time could threaten Jamuraa if left unattended. Instead, he offered to guide the leaders of Jamuraa through dreams and visions.

Within weeks the leaders of Jamuraa—Asmira, Rashida Scalebane, Sidar Jabari, and Hakim, Lorevveaver—were driven by dreams to meet. Only the prophet Asmira knew why. She explained that destiny was pushing them to rescue Mangara, who, she knew now, was held in enchanted amber in a palace deep in the Mwonvuli Jungle.

Rashida formed an elite guard for the rescue mission with Asmira as their guide, while Jabari and Hakim set about to create a distraction. Their opportunity came when Kaerveks armies crushed the Zhalfirin city of Ufunguo. Led by a dream, Jabari brought the survivors to Tefemburu, where Kaervck would be sure to focus his attention, thus giving Rashida’s group their opportunity.

The size of Kaervek’s armies of undead, dragons, and fell spirits guaranteed that Tefemburu would not survive long, but Hakim told a tale of how the inhabitants of a city escaped a siege—a tale that came to him in a dream. The telling of the story wove a spell that caused the besieging creatures to temporarily vanish.

Knowing that the enemy would soon reappear, the guildmages decided to booby trap the city after evacuating its own citizens. As dusk fell the next day, the armies of Kaervek reappeared. Unaware of the evacuation, they charged into the city, and the trap sprang, destroying the city and Kaervek’s armies.

Kaervek was awakened from a scrying by the psychic scream of his armies’ deaths. Panicked, he summoned reinforcements with all of his remaining powers and magically searched for the being powerful enough to thwart him. He found new inhabitants on the isle that had first drawn him to Jamuraa, and he knew that they must be responsible. Kaervek gathered Jolrael and his forces and sailed to Teferi’s isle, leaving the cat warrior Purraj and a variety of minions to guard Mangara.

Kaervek’s confrontation with Teferi was short-lived, for Teferi easily sank Kaervek’s armada. During the fight, Jolrael ambushed Kaervek on his ship, severely injuring the mage. The ship was capsized, but one of Teferi’s drakes pulled Jolrael from the wreckage. Kaervek also managed to escape and limped to the nearby Uuserk marshes.

Meanwhile Asmira, Rashida,and the”Scalebane’s Elite” fought their way towards the Mwonvuli Jungle in search of Mangara. Asmira feared they would not reach him before Kaervek’s return, but hope came from above: Led by a vision, the captain Sisay and her flying galleon, The Weatherlight, landed in front of them.

With Sisay’s aid they found Mangara’s prison in under a day, and closed with its guards—Kaervek’s minions led by Purraj. Rashida saw that her troops were losing, so she fought her revulsion for her nemesis and donned a dragon mask that imbued her with superhuman strength and speed. She was able to strike down Kaervek’s forces in a dizzying attack before sinking to the ground, stunned and horrified at what she had become in order to succeed. Meanwhile, Asmira struggled with a ritual that would break the amber prison. Purraj, the only enemy survivor, leapt tor Asmira, who ignored her lethal blows and managed to complete her ritual with her dying words. Her sacrifice was punctuated by a blinding shaft of light that shattered the prison.

Freed now, Mangara magically traveled to the Uuserk Marshes to face Kaervek. A fierce battle ensued, but Kaervek at last was downed by Mangara’s Quirion archers. Before he recovered, Mangara sealed him in the same amber prison where he had suffered for so long. The war, at last, was over.

Jamuraa lives on, but the corrupting influence of Kaervek remains, and Jamuraans know they can no longer depend on the visions that saved them. The people may see the dawn of a new age, but the shadows of the past will remain to shroud their hopes.