The Ring of Sharyr – an ecclesiastical perspective

Valadain handles the plain band that is the ring of Sharyr with the acute perception of the priest and with the augmentation of his spells. Know Alignment is particularly useful here, his own wisdom and experience round off the knowledge to build a picture of the fabled ring.

The spell Know Alignment will not recognise unaligned objects, yet the ring displays a heavy leaning towards neutrality. Not the random liberal ideology of a thing that doesn’t have an influence – the ring is actively neutral. Valadain feels that the masters of it, the creators of the band are concerned with keeping the delicate balance of the universe intact. It mirrors the creatures called the Glaennyn, their goals and ideas suffuse everything they touch and everything they create and everything they believe in.

The Glaennyn are Balance Bringers.

The ring has no influence…it is merely a key – a key to their power.

Unbidden a voice enters your head. Wary of such intrusion you feel the voice is not Malkar but instead comes from a spirit buried deep within the ring itself:

“You delve deeply priest. Such sight is often reserved for the religious classes or their minions. Gods like order and structure and with that comes rules and codes in which to lead a more fruitful life. In this the Glaennyn differ.

“There is no code from within, no charter with which to lead a better life for there is no need of such things. Power comes from the soul…even here on the barren wastes of Grayhawk. Tap into this power and the men and women of your land will truly know what power is…they will truly exert all that power on the world around them. There is no code…just responsibility.

“Lead a good life if you please but do not condemn me for leading my own. Life is precious and should not be steered by higher forces. That is the way of the Glaennyn and the reason that the gods of Grayhawk sought to destroy us. I do not intend to preach to you, priest, only to educate you in our ways and help you to make a decision that is brewing from within. I do not ask you to question your god – merely to listen to what I have to say and make your mind up. Your god has as much right to live in this universe as we do.

“The ring of the Sharyr is a key. Wear it and you become a Bearer, able to see and to navigate the pitfalls that the gods have placed in our path. To reach the valley of the Glaennyn you must bear this ring or your quest will fail. Only a Bearer may unlock the final riddle so you must treasure and covet this ring…for without it the valley is invisible.

“The dragons – as your race call them – have hearts of pure blackness. It is not the all-pervasive darkness of demons; it is not even evil. It is the dark nothingness from where all the power of the Glaennyn resides. You know of this. You have read of it…this much I can see in your knowledge.

“Fear leads to ignorance and ignorance is a tool that the priesthood use to control the masses and steer their ideology toward a goal. It is not the implement of the Glaennyn. This you will witness should you take hold of the ring and take up the mantle of the riddle. All things revert to natural order and balance…all things gravitate to the rhythm of the universe – the heartbeat of Nature herself. It was this woman that forbid the gods to throw away the key and effectively banish us forever from Grayhawk. Not even the gods have that power.

“But this does not answer the burning question I sense from within. Why? Why liberate a race that does not belong? What is the point? True enough we did not hail from this universe, in fact the Glaennyn have inhabited many universes. In this we are similar to the oldest creatures in your universe…Promethius and the Unmaker. These two have had many guises and titles throughout the vast expanse of their lives but they are known to us…should I say were known to us. Their oblivion was long overdue.

“The key to power, the key to what sorcery is and does, is why the Glaennyn should be liberated. Over the many universes we have perfected the art of magic…the art of its usage and the philosophy behind it. This knowledge did not come easily and many of our kind died in its pursuance. Your first wizard, Chael, structured a thing he called Layers of Magic. Through this all things must cast their power – including the gods. This is a wholly inefficient way to deal with power and that is what the Glaennyn can offer…the real use of power.

“Naturally there will be losers in this. Your master, Malkar, will fight to the last to maintain his power base but my argument is this: if you are the first to discover a thing then it gives you a head start to understanding it. Malkar need not fear the Glaennyn…he needs to embrace them.

“So I give you this, priest. A small slice of information that could lead you to the most invaluable discovery this universe is ever likely to see. Don’t take my word on this, however, you are a wise young man and therefore can make up your own mind…ask your god to lead you to the Maiden in White. Both gods know how to reach her. She will steer you on the correct path, Valadain, she will set your heart straight…”