☄️ THE SECOND INCURSION ☄️

It was going to be the end

Not because the people of Hesperia were unprepared. Not for a lack of faith, or for cowardice. But because, for the first time, the demons deployed a weapon that changed everything.

Soulfire

A flame that ignored armor and wards. A flame that would not quench until the soul of the victim was devoured. A flame that could traverse the mystic link connecting a cleric to their god.

That was the worst.

The Seven. The force that stopped the First Incursion. They abandoned Hesperia the moment soulfire's true potency became apparent. As the clerics' prayers were left unanswered and the demon hosts advanced, Hesperian alchemists were desperately trying to find a means to counter soulfire.

They did not find it.

Instead, they found a means to distill soulfire into sulfur.

At Harron Pass, the first charges were detonated.

Hell broke

The weapon that was meant to target high-priority human casters proved even more devastating once it was turned against its creators. Entire cohorts were devoured in seconds, Leviathan-class demons in under a minute.

At first, soulfire bought the Hesperians ground.

Then it bought them victories.

Demon hosts broke before legions they had nearly annihilated weeks before. Cities were relieved before their defenders realized rescue was possible. Units ordered to hold position found the enemy already retreating and followed them anyway. Orders arrived late, then became unnecessary. Yesterday's impossible objective became today's campsite.

They chased Hell's forces back to the rift where the invasion had begun, through battlefields that only days before had been expected to become humanity's grave. The first soldiers reached the threshold. Then the second line. Then the baggage trains...

Why are we stopping?

History did not record who asked the question. What it did record was a march across the hell-occupied worlds the likes of which had been seen neither before nor since. Worlds were liberated that had been occupied for centuries — worlds that had not seen a man unchained since the days of the First Incursion. Eventually, the Hellbreakers' supply lines stretched thin, and they were barely stopped on Avernus, a small world adjacent to the demonic planes.

In the meantime, the gods returned to Hesperia. They demanded that soulfire be abandoned if the Hellbreakers wished to return to Hesperia. The Hellbreakers refused. The gods did not budge. Since then, the remainder of the Hellbreaker legions were left stranded on Avernus. Neither able to return, nor to continue the crusade.

— · —

Six centuries passed

— · —

Distant rumors reached Hesperia concerning Avernus.

The gods instituted a soul blockade on Avernus, no soul born on that world could pass on after death. Presumably, the soul went to hell. No one checked.

Their leaders ascended to demonhood. Scaura, the commander, led her troops as a giant centipede with crimson scales. Arthane, the soulfire maniac, was seen as a pale white moth. No one knew what Agrippa had become. But six centuries passed, and the three leaders still led the legions.

And of course, they produced soulfire. Lots of it. No one knows how much. No one wants to know how much. But there's no doubt that every day the legions stayed on Avernus they were making more sulfur.

The gods want it gone.

The demons want it gone.

And after six centuries, the leaders of the Hellbreakers have finally agreed to talks being held on Avernus.

You were part of a delegation of high-ranking Hesperian priests and nobles sent to Avernus to negotiate an agreement on soulfire production. Limit it, ideally. At the very least, find out what is going on on Avernus.

You arrived in Scaura's territory. The guards met you warily, but not with aggression. They seemed human. The nobles whispered amongst themselves. The priests consulted their gods.

Soulfire exploded.

When the screaming stopped, you were the highest-ranking representative of Hesperia's temporal powers by sheer virtue of staying alive.

Stranded on Avernus. Nearly alone. No way back in sight.

Your only companions are Cassia, a surviving cleric of Focara, and Merula, an Avernian guide.

Finish your mission.

Find a way back.

Or get to the bottom of who caused the sabotage.

— · —

A noble without a court.

A cleric without a god.

And their guide. Not exactly the stuff of legends.

Then again...

Even Hell broke once.

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CHARACTERS

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✧ CASSIA CINERA ✧

The cleric of Focara who survived the sabotage with you. Her goddess is silent, her miracles cannot be replenished, and there is no way home in sight. She's your last connection to Hesperia and the one person on Avernus who is as stranded as you are.

✧

✧ MERULA SCAEVOLA ✧

The Avernian guide who pulled you out of the blue flame's grasp. She knows the road and the people — you don't. The arithmetic should be simple. The outcome is anything but.

✧

✧ SCAURA ✧

The general who led the Hellbreakers against Hell and now defends Avernus against both gods and demons. Her demonic form is a thirty-meter centipede with crimson scales and her troops salute it without flinching. Six centuries ago she rejected the demands of the Seven. No one is quite certain whether time has softened her position. No one in the delegation volunteered to ask.

✧

✧ AGRIPPA ✧

The steward who kept Avernus fed but never sated. Her offers are reasonable, the east repeats her certainties like prayers and in six centuries no one has seen her demonic form. Whether that's better or worse than the alternatives is a question you'll have to grapple with yourself.

✧

✧ ARTHANE ✧

The scholar who wrested the secrets of soulfire from demons when Hesperia needed them the most. In the isolated north-west, the demonic pale moth is seen flying over refineries that have been making soul-devouring sulfur non-stop for six centuries. The only man who knows what will happen should the stockpiles ignite. The only man that would not stop despite knowing.

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INTROS

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1. Welcome to Avernus.

2. You reach Ocellium. The rumor mill is active.

3. Tour de Avernus with Merula. (Merula solo)

4. You've decided to go to Scaura instead. First impressions are everything. (Scaura solo)

5. Cassia's goddess is still silent. Might as well talk with you. (Cassia solo)

6. Merula saved you from soulfire, but can she save herself from capitalism? (Merula solo)

7. The investigation is going nowhere, good thing you saved that bottle of Hesperian wine. (Scaura solo)

8. You finally reach Agrippa. She has a dinner already prepared. (Agrippa solo)

9. Cassia tries on an old dress. (Cassia solo)

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AUTHOR NOTES

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How To Play

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There are special mechanics in this bot for you to interact with. Check the lorebook description for any section you want to know more about:

• You can trigger one of the 16 encounters by adding [OOC: generate an encounter based on the premise defined in encounter_N] to your message (replace N with a number from 1 to 16). These are small just small vignettes, completely optional, but should be enjoyable to experience.

• Optional NPCs can become your companions. You can use the Pinned section to keep their definitions always in-context: Alia, Decima, Diomedes, Horkos, Orsivel, Priscilla, Rowena, Servinus, Zaxxor.

• Your companion, Cassia, some optional companions and some artifacts can cast spells. Some have unique lore you should trigger when using them: Atonement, Augury, Divination, Exaction, Find the Path, Knock, Solipsism, Speak With Dead and Speak With Plants.

World Lore And You

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Nothing is defined about you except that you're a Hesperian noble who wasn't important enough to lead the delegation, but who became the effective representative of Hesperia's temporal powers after the sabotage. Why you were sent is yours to decide. Perhaps you were important after all. Perhaps you were sent precisely because no one particularly cared what happened to you on Avernus.

Similarly, almost nothing is defined about Hesperia. The scenario is about Avernus, and what you've read from the card is what your character would know about it. The only piece of lore that you should be aware of is the Hesperian pantheon — the Seven. Check it out in the lorebook.

Main Inspirations

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• Getting butthurt over The End of Noble Houses.

• Copious listening to Iron Without.

Testing

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The bot was predominantly tested on Opus 4.6 and GLM 5.2. They both did well, though GLM required a bit more hand-holding to keep the details of the setting straight.

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MAP OF AVERNUS

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ART

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Below are some of the lovelies you can meet during your journeys through Avernus. Some are from encounters, others from specific locations. You likely won't meet them all in one playthrough (and realistically shouldn't if you care about your context size), but I hope they prove memorable.