Cycle of Millennia 2022-23 Session 72: Kranaak
Here is week 72 of my 2022-23 Dungeons and Dragons Campaign Cycle of Millennia. Kranaak makes his final move. Not everyone will survive.
Don’t forget that this campaign has been ongoing for over four years. There is a lot of story to cover and I’m writing a book series to document it all. I am adapting this adventure into a book series. The first three are on Amazon.
!!!Trigger Warnings Abound!!!
This campaign takes place in an incredibly unpleasant setting. The party has dealt with Human Traffickers, Sex Slavery, Child Sacrifice, The Apocalypse, Genocide, Wicked Cults, and other related topics.
There is a God of Madness that is fond of causing auditory and visual hallucinations, makes use of psychic gaslighting, commands the literal legions of hell, and all around causes untold suffering in the setting.
Essentially, nothing is off the table in this campaign. If the above ideas are not ones you want to think about, I do not think this blog series is for you. That is not a problem and does not indicate any failings on your part. I am a storyteller that does not shy away from the darkest topics. It would be horrible for me to not warn my audiences of this in advance.
!!!Final Trigger Warning. Past this point there be dark topics!!!
Grez helped finish off the final soul chamber. There wasn’t too much left to fight as most of the dangerous enemies had already been dealt with. But the Demoness knew that her enemy had the advantage and tried to slow down their battle as much as she could.
But that ended in failure as that soul realm shattered. Grez hoped that she was finally defeated. But things wouldn’t be that easy of course. Rather than appear back in Entropy’s Realm, Grez found himself drawn deeper into the Demon’s own soul.
The Demoness pulled Luna, and the party into the deepest part of her own soul. At least Grez wasn’t alone. But she wasn’t alone either. A familiar face looked at the party as they prepared for an even tougher fight than before.
It was Fodrin of course. That Dwarf who had a hand in almost all of this, had been killed by the very Demon that had now summoned him once more. And he didn’t seem to have any problems with the current situation. Instead, he smirked as he rushed towards them.
A Rematch:
Not wanting to fight them both at the same time, Hadron temporarily sent the Demoness away. Ironically he used Kranaak’s own power to deal with his prime servant. But with her away at least temporarily, they could deal with Fodrin alone.
This proved to be a wise move since both he and the Demoness were able to use Kranaak’s blessing. A powerful magic that weakened the whole party in several debilitating ways. And the group had dealt with it on several occasions already hence why they made their moves accordingly.
Alone, Fodrin posed a challenge, but the party had already defeated him once. And as a group they were much stronger than the last time they had fought him. Notably, Grez had all his power as the God of Freedom. Even with his barrier tricks, Fodrin was no match for them now.
But as his soul faded away, the Demoness demanded their full attention. And she was far more dangerous than Fodrin, even without Luna as a puppet. She warped around the soul fragment chamber and picked off Velkoara. But the Demoness was not content to simply leave the former Cultist to bleed to death. Kranaak wanted souls after all.
Stopping the Demon Forever:
Velkoara was in a worse situation than death. The Demoness intended to rip her soul away and send it to Kranaak. If such a thing happened, there would be no way to save her. And the former Cultist would suffer a torment far worse than death. And for all eternity.
Grez tried to defeat her in the best way he knew how. Through extreme violence. But the Demoness that been possessing Luna put up a barrier specifically to stop him and make sure that she would claim Velkoara before the rest of the party could intervene.
But before she was gone forever, Grez played his favorite trump card. Stopping time, he intervened and moved Velkoara away before she could become a husk. He needed the rest of the party alive after all. Or all his plans were for nothing.
The Demoness tried one more time to reach Velkoara and finish the job. And when she could not complete that task, she went after Luna herself. But the party at long last had her on the ropes. And after this monster had killed so many of their friends, had defeated them time and time again, they at long last destroyed her.
As the Demon finally faded away, the group was freed from the final soul fragment and returned to Entropy’s Realm. Was it finally over? Would they be able to awaken Entropy and end the apocalypse once and for all?
Kranaak Appears:
Of course not. They had fought Orabaras and Nihilinn, or at least their avatars when those chosen to be their prime servants could not stop the party. And Kranaak was no different. The God of Madness appeared but not to threaten them. At least not at first.
Instead, he wanted to thank them. The Demon that had possessed Luna had served its purpose. Now much of Entropy’s power had been absorbed. Enough so that he could claim this realm as his own. And with all the souls that the Demon had gathered, Kranaak unleashed an attack of his own, converting this entire realm into a body with which he could interact with the world.
Unlike Orabaras and Nihilinn, Kranaak had fully manifested. This was not an avatar, this was the true God. And as a result, the party, and even their allies were powerless against him. All they could was attack the air helplessly, as the God of Madness pressed himself against their wills breaking them thought by though, cell by cell.
Faith and Madness:
Seeing the situation, and having a bit of gratitude towards the group that ensured she would remain top Demon, Caethia tried to intervene and save them all. But this seemed to far for Kranaak. After berating all three fallen Demons, he whisked them away. Likely they would be trapped in his realm until the next time they were deemed allowed to leave.
Kranaak quickly overpowered several of those in this hopeless fight. And death was not was what in store for them. No no that was Nihilinn’s realm after all. Those “slain” here would have their souls ripped away to Kranaak’s realm, where they would suffer torment for all eternity. There would be no sweet release.
Sneak Peak, once a thorn in the party’s side, and not really ever a friend, was the first to be claimed. But he didn’t leave this realm for a worse one alone. The Paladins, Dark Elf Mages, and even the Berseker Knights started to fade away. Kranaak had manifested for real after all. And none with a proper mind could resist for long.
Grez, or rather Wylf since he needed to cast aside that mortal body now to save everyone. The only way to force Kranaak out would be for a second God to manifest. His goal was so near, and he wouldn’t let a former friend stop him.
But this would be tricky. The only way to turn back into his God form was through faith. A lot of it actually. And most of those here already worshipped other Gods. He would need to convince them to shatter their faith in all but him. At least long enough to keep them from Kranaak’s grasp.
Hate and Madness:
There was just one major additional problem Hadron blinded with rage refused to even stop fighting, much less pledge his energy to Wylf fully. Even though the party were his chosen champions, the party still saw Grez, their friend, no Wylf the God of Freedom that he needed to be to save them all.
Velkoara tried her best to convince everyone nearby to drop their allegiances to their current patrons. She included herself in that since she currently prayed to Entropy. Unfortunately her attempts to ask for help had only been met by Kranaak’s cruel laughter. At least right now, this realm truly did belong to Madness.
But could she get Thia to turn her back on the very Goddess who protected her all this time? The answer was yes, and faster than she could have dreamed. After all, Orabaras had protected the witch from Kranaak. What pointless showing it would be to give her soul to that very being after all her other actions. And so, Thia did the unthinkable. But with a final whisper and warning towards Velkoara. “Don’t you dare make me regret this.”
Logic and Madness:
Moshe was the one Velkoara feared most to convince. But for him it was easy. He was a Lich who existed outside of death. And his goals now completed actually aligned with the party. And so Moshe destroyed his own body and left to his Phylactery. He would no longer impede them.
But how would she get through to Mirr? That wasn’t just a cult follower. That was the most powerful Devil in existence who served as Orarbaras’ executioner. How could anyone get that person to change allegiances? And she also was the Prime Dragon representing that very same Goddess. No, Moshe wouldn’t be the most difficult to convince. This one would be.
And all the while Kranaak continued to claim souls. The Berseker Knights were gone. As were all the other soldiers. Only the leaders of these factions remained. And even they began to fade. No will was strong enough to fight the God of Madness forever.
Pride and Madness:
Caic had a much easier job. Many of the Dwarves cared little for the Gods normally. Except for their mutual hate of Kranaak of course. As for those who did serve a God, it wasn’t too much of a change to support good through the efforts of an allied deity.
Kalni gave herself to Wylf. Probably unable to believe that she was doing this to help a Dwarf that for most of her life she despised. Well, Kranaak did a good job of making enemies into allies. Evident by the Dark Elves who also were swearing themselves to the God of Freedom.
Unfortunately, Hadron was lost in a rage. And it was not clear whether this was also Kranaak’s doing, or the Barbarian doing this all on his own. Certainly the God of Madness claimed he was controlling Hadron. But that man blocked out the Demon God and continued his hopeless battle against an enemy who couldn’t harm.
But there was not time for this. Every moment that Wylf was not here, was another where Kranaak claimed more lives. So Luciano, leader of the Charice Faithful and very high on Hadron’s list of most hated enemies, offered his own life as appeasement.
And though it took some persuasion, and some heartfelt words from Luciano admitting that the last ten years had been nothing but torment mentally, Hadron grew convinced. Thanking him for granting peace, Luciano smiled as Hadron lopped his head off. This calmed him enough for him to stop fighting and use his last willpower towards actually defeating Kranaak.
Death and Madness:
Only one person really remained to convince. The Death Knights basically already served Wylf as did the Orcs. And that left Mirr. But now that Wylf was nearing the point where he would manifest properly, the most powerful of all Devils only gave that smirk when she was going to do something illogical. She cut ties to Orabaras, admitting that the Goddess could do little to punish her for this act of pragmatism.
At long last Wylf started feeling his power grow fully. But it wasn’t a fast process. Being in that mortal body for so long had weakened his connection to himself. And although their plan was successful many more lost their lives and souls before he could fully manifest.
Rangar and Vorgak were the first two to go. And this especially upset Wylf in a way that the many other deaths had not. Vorgak had been the first worthy opponent in this entire cycle. And the Orcs as a race really looked like they were turning themselves around. But to lose not one, but two of their leaders in this battle was a cruel.
Companionship and Madness:
But they wouldn’t be leaving for forever torment alone. Vurn was going with them. The first Dark Elf to extend his hand out for peace in possibly thousands of years paid a huge price for betraying the God that they now faced. Wylf would do what he could to make sure that Dark Elf was hailed for all time for his bravery.
Folgure Windmaul who had been friendly with the party even when they were enemies during the Civil War. She ended up falling to the God that her family had unwittingly opposed during that war. And with her went Grothwald Trollbreaker, the brave bannerman who accomplished so much more than his status of birth indicated he would.
Their faith now unwavering to Wylf, the God cast off his mortal shell and once more returned to being Wylf in body and mind. All that he had forgotten returned. And thus he knew the moment was at hand to finally accomplish what he had set out to do. All those plans and schemes would come to fruition right now as Entropy properly awakened.
One Final Tragedy:
But right before the end, Kranaak lashed out in one final moment of spite. And as he did, that death toll soared. Artin screamed as she was claimed. The Druid had been one of their most steadfast allies. And now they could never celebrate their victory with her.
Kalni also faded away. But she was content that Kranaak would never fully break her. She had been an Inquisitor after all. Her soul being claimed was only the beginning of the next battle for her.
The Icegut Leaders for all their grit, and insane training could no longer endure. They all tapped out together and faded away. Perhaps they hoped that in being punished together, they could endure anything.
Denessa also faded. Her soul completely spent. Had her faith wavered in the end? Or had she held true to her ideals as her soul was claimed by Kranaak. She had already turned her back on Orabaras and Charice. What was one more God? This one stung Velkoara as Denessa was a friend from childhood. One of the only friends she truly had left was gone.
One final defeat for the party before they claimed victory had massive implications for the future though. As Kranaak faded away, none of the Death Knight remained standing. Had their souls been claimed by Kranaak? Or perhaps they chose to join Nihilinn in the end. Unlike the rest, no corpses were left behind. Their ultimate fate was unknown.
Wrap Up:
The final battle at long last came to an end. Kranaak was repelled but with an unbelievably high cost. Wylf has returned fully at least. And now all that is left is to awaken Entropy and find out what happens when the party’s mission reaches its end.