Circle of Eternity¶
Contested
This page is named in the open question Marcella or Marcayllis at Urdhar; Malathar and the Circle: the earliest notes make Malathar a high-ranking member of the Circle (S047), while the later ones have him expelled and killed by it and returned to destroy it (S028, S061, S060); and the notes differ on who gave Argo his dagger (S060, S061).
The Circle of Eternity is "a shadowy group of Nexa-Vinians obsessed with immortality" (S068) working in secret beneath Proturas in the Fifth Age. Led by Galaphile, it brews an immortality serum from the blood and spirit of the dead Primal Red Dragon Vixseranyol, whose remains it keeps in a secret hall above the city, and it reaches into the Proturan underworld through hired gangs and a traitor warlock of the Conclave.
Purpose¶
The Circle seeks to live forever. "They are using Red Dragon blood and spirit of Vixseranyol as part of their immortality serum" (S061, S028). The primal's "spirit (and body) are trapped" in the Circle's hall, and "their sacrifices to Vixseranyol for power are making the primal stronger, hastening her revival" (S061). The Circle also studies how to draw on a primal's corpse directly: Valtor modified a dragon-egg stand with "a large channeling crystal," and "he (and the Circle) want to see if it's magic can be repurposed to focus energy from a primal's corpse. They used primal blood to test it" (S040, S041).
Its tie to the Nexa-Vinian Order is stated once, in the newest notes (S068). The sources do not say whether the Circle is a cell of the order, an offshoot of it, or a society of its former members.
Seat¶
"The Circle operates in Proturas, but has a secret hall the sealed upper reaches above Proturas in part of the abandoned dwarf-hold. This is where Vixseranyol's spirit (and body) are trapped. They learned of this through a (traitor) Conclave Warlock: Valtor" (S061, S028). The city and its districts are described on the Proturas page.
Members¶
| Member | Note |
|---|---|
| Galaphile | "Head of Circle of Eternity" (S068) |
| Valtor | "A Raven Concord warlock working with the White Hand and member of Circle of Eternity" (S068); "well-known Conclave Warlock" (S061) |
| Kael'draes | a High Elf who "will recognize Argo (who was himself a former member)" (S061); spelled Kae'draestil in S028 |
| Marcella | the Witch-Queen of Urdhar, "a spy for Eksuru within the circle" (S061, S068) |
Argo, a player character of the Proturan Campaign, was "himself a former member", and Kael'draes "has pointed him out as a former member (and rival)" (S061, S028).
The newest notes on Malathar make him an enemy rather than a member: "Malathar was expelled (and killed by them). He is seeking revenge," and was later "recruited to dismantle the Circle" (S061, S060, S028); "he is trying to destroy the Circle," and a "grisly murder of a well-known and powerful warlock" may be his work (S040, S041). The earliest notes instead call his tomb that of "a Nexa-Vinian Necromancer of considerable power. High ranked member of the Circle of Eternity" (S047). A knife drawn among the expedition's papers "was a symbol/key of the Circle of Eternity" (S047).
Allies and agents¶
The Circle works through Proturas's underworld:
- The White Hand, "a Warrens gang trying to assert more control over the Spillwater area," has "an agreement with a member of the circle (Valtor)," and through it "the Circle wants more influence with the underworld of Proturas" (S061, S028).
- The Dockside Cutters "are working for Circle (mercenaries + expansion?)" (S039).
- The minions of the Elder God Teneb'Urat are "working with but against the Circle … as they plan to betray them to release Teneb'Urat." The Circle "know about Teneb'Urat but are confident they can keep a lid on it" (S061, S028). Valtor helped the Tenebrians toward one of the Runestones of Vixseranyol's prison, believing himself "the one driving for the destruction of the Runestone (on behalf of the Circle)" (S038).
The Circle "organized the original expedition which recovered the blood + other objects", which the party intercepted on behalf of Hobard; Valtor "was the original buyer/excavator for the blood" (S061, S028).
Enemies¶
- Eksuru, the Red Dragon who goes about in human form as a warlock, is "NOT working for the Circle." She "is trying to wake her mistress Vixseranyol and needs things which the Circle have in order to achieve it" (S061, S060), and has a spy, Marcella, inside it.
- Malathar, as above.
- Isador wants vengeance: "her Older sister was killed by a powerful warlock of the Blue Flame (member of the Circle)" (S039).
In Play¶
The Circle is one of the "powerful competing interests" between which the party of the Proturan Campaign was caught (S061, S060). What the party did about it belongs to the chronicle.
Earlier accounts¶
The earliest plot notes (S028, February 2023) give Eksuru a different aim, "to create a brood of red dragons without Vixseranyol," where the later ones have her trying to wake Vixseranyol (S061, S060). The July 2023 notes say only that "one of their members was responsible for giving Argo his dagger" and wonder "maybe they trapped the spirit of the primal??" (S060); the earlier notes had already said that Marcella, the Circle's spy, gave Argo his dagger (S061, S028).
Gap
The sources do not say when or by whom the Circle was founded, how many members it has, whether its serum works, or what Galaphile seeks beyond leading it. The Blue Flame warlock who killed Isador's sister is not named.