The party met Keloras in session 28 at the Ethereal Contrivance of the Unholy Wizard, deep in the Zamoria mountains. He was seated in the lowest chamber of the castle, connected by a silver cord running through the ceiling and floor. Chiezzem had spoken with him minutes earlier and departed before the party arrived.
Appearance
An ancient strix, bird-ancestry, large frame, reduced to near ruin. His body was withered and fragile, feathers dull, talons brittle. He could sit upright with effort; he could not stand. His wings had not opened in years. His skin was faintly luminescent, his eyes entirely the wrong color. He radiated warmth that had nothing to do with body heat. He was, in every visible sense, too full of something his body was never meant to hold.
He was still lucid. He was extraordinarily calm.
Background
Keloras was bound to the Contrivance for centuries as its living anchor. His essence stabilized the soul-binding mechanism and kept it from destroying itself. He told the party directly: the Vessel held a nascent spark of divinity; he could not be freed without either the Vessel being destroyed or the portable anchor vessel being used correctly; either way, he would die. The portable anchor was built to replace him, and it was last known to be somewhere in the Fractured Workshops beneath Firebell.
He explained both options clearly and without drama. He had had a long time to be calm about this.
What Happened
The party returned to the Contrivance with the portable anchor. Before Klause could install it, Eli struck Keloras down.
His last words: “They stayed too long. They always stayed too long.”
He did not say it to the party. He said it to the room.
The spiritual energy that had been sustaining him for centuries ruptured outward. The Contrivance did not survive it.