Start: Founding of the Kingdom of the Twin Cities (Light)
Founding of the Kingdom of the Twin Cities of Farland and Gognor.
Event: Tom Mingus opens tailor's shop in Farland (Light)
(1,WD) Tom Mingus, ancestor of Mingus the Great (aka Mingus Magnus the Magus, founder of the Farland Wizard's Guild), opens a tailor's shop in Farland and is quite successful because all of his garments fit perfectly.
Event: Septimus Slope Discovers Library (Light)
(4,TM) After being denied tenure for the third time, failed religious scholar Septimus Slope wanders into the desert to die, only to stumble upon the remains of a vast library buried in the sand and filled with esoteric tomes by a forgotten sect of renegade monotheistic wizards.
Event: Septimus Slope Receives Tenure (Light)
(13,DT) Septimus Slope is awarded a tenure position, and a large grant to excavate his discoveries in the vast desert wastes south of Gognor.
Scene: How was the Greater Partzufim found?
(14,DT) Late afternoon Gognor Desert; the sun is slanting into the entry of a white canvas tent as Septimus Slope is hunched over several loose sheets of aged parchment spread on the wooden camping table before him. A journal lies open in his lap. The last entry reads: "Have sufficiently deciphered the codex fragments from grid 4 to know that they are a part of what was called the Lesser Partzium, a book of common wisdom. It seems to constantly refer to a greater work of some importance by 'Durma the Elder'..."
"Professor Slope! Professor Slope!" calls a very red-faced out-of-breath young man as he is seen running toward the tent entrance. The lad stops at the tent door and hunches over, resting his hands on his knees as he manages to pant out, "Penelopy says she has found what appears to be the Grand Hall. She was wrapping up the quarter section in grid 21, when her foot broke right through the balk, we almost lost her. We lowered a lantern, the room is huge with what appears to be an iron cage surrounding a large codex in the center. Come see!"
Scene: What was the first alarming report from the Dalchuzim Excavations? (Dark)
(18,DT) Dusty rays of sunlight beam down from a hole in a high vaulted ceiling. The top of a tall ladder vanishes upward through the bright opening, its feet resting on well-worn tile flooring. The Grand Hall of Dalchuzim is cavernous and still. Dim corners out of reach of the pool of bright light at the foot of the ladder flicker with an odd assortment of lamps and candles. Boxes of tools and equipment are scattered over the floor. In the center of the room sits a large cage of iron. Several bars of the cage have been freshly sawn through to allow passage. On an iron stand in the middle of the cage rests a large tome. Before it stands a man in a white straw hat. The book, now open, but once bound with ropes and wax seals, looks far older than even the room itself. The man, eyes glazed and tears streaming down his face stares transfixed at its pages. Suddenly. he snaps his head up and shouts "Durma Ebah Exta Theroon!".
"You okay down there Prof?" calls Penelope Wendle. Leaning over and peering down into a hole in the desert floor. After a brief but worrisome delay, she hears from below, "What? ah, just fine, coming back up". As Penelope looks up, an old woman stands before her. The woman nods at Penelope and then becomes like wind-blown sand and vanishes. "I saw that too" whispers Michael from behind her.
Scene: Why was the Greater Partzufim never copied? (Dark)
(19,WD) In a locked scriptorium at the University of Gognor, Sebastopol Omnitz places the Greater Partzufim on a reading stand. The room is large, with many writing desks, but he is alone. Sweat runs down his brow; he curses and wipes it with a rag. He positions a leaf of parchment on the writing desk, and sharpens his quill. At last, he opens the massive tome to the first page...and begins to read. The quill falls from his hand as he turns the page. Emotions cross his face: wonder, horror, elation.
He is found in the morning, a desiccated husk, one hand still resting on page twenty-three. Some will read more; some will read less. And the few who read to the last page and survive have other concerns.
Event: Closing of the Library of Dalchuzim (Dark)
(17,WD) Alarmed by reports coming from the excavations at Dalchuzim in the desert, High Wishop Telluriand of Gognor and Elder Primus Sandoval the Bastard, High Priest of the Temple of Cheva, puts pressure on the King of Gognor to close down the excavations. Septimus Slope hides a number of tomes, including the Lesser Partzium, in the crypts under the University of Gognor, and flees to Farland with his wife and child.