The Apotheosis Gospel

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[size=+3]The Apotheosis Gospel[/size]

The Story of Velsharoon's Ascension from Mortality to Divinity
[size=-2]The second book of the Vaunted Trinity, Ymphian version.[/size]


By Bishop Raymon Coolidge
Man of Sembia
Scholar of Ymph

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To the Glory of Velsharoon, the Vaunted Lord.

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Chapter One: Young Days of Velsharoon
Chapter Two: The Mortality Tale
Chapter Three: The Apotheosis, Dance of the Gods
Chapter Four: The Post-Apotheosis Assumptions
-Author's Notes

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Chapter One: Young Days of Velsharoon[/b]

In the year of 1368 of the Dale Reckoning in the Year of the Banner time of the frost giant siege of Zhentil Keep, Velsharoon ceased to be mere Man. He was amongst the elite of the Red Wizards of Thay in the days of his life in the land of Mulan. Peerless amongst necromancers, Velsharoon pursued the ultimate path to power. So he sought, and so he found. This is the story of the Apotheosis of Velsharoon the Vaunted.

The early days of Velsharoon are shrouded in much mystery. What is well known was his constant struggle amongst his brothers and sisters where he succeeded in overpowering his elders and forcing his youngers to obey through an incredible early showing of magical prowess. His Thayan father, also a respected but never dominant Red Wizard was proud. His mother, a concubine believed to be from Rashemi, lost control of the son as his father spirited him away to a fine school for the brightest aspiring Red Wizards.

Amongst his classmates, most of which were older by several years, feared and admired the young wizard. His teachers notes on the young wizard have been lost to time, but other accounts appear to reinforce that they were concerned with the rapid development of the prodigy. All save Danthuul, a powerful evoker and one of the best teachers of his generation.

Danthuul, at the request of the boy and with the consent of the father, took the adolescent as an apprentice. No accounts remain of what rigors Danthuul put the boy, but the results have been shown. Adding to his impressive power, the ability to achieve rapid results in short time, be it spell memorization, magical object craft, or deep research was added to the impressive list of talents the boy had accrued through training and maturation.

At the age of nineteen, the young man returned to Thay (or at least out of the isolated training of Danthuul, as some speculate he never actually left the country) and was accepted into the esteemed ranks of the Red Wizards of Thay.

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Chapter Two: The Mortality Tale[/b]

Velsharoon’s magical power and knowledge swelled even faster than anticipated in his early years amongst the Red Wizards of Thay. Even Danthuul’s murder did not slow him down as he accelerated past his peers, often a decade or more his senior. This earned him the enmity of a great many jealous rivals, and Velsharoon soon left the heartland of Thay for the borders, which he found particularly agreeable because slaves were cheaper and plentiful as one came closer to their source.

Yet greater than the young wizard’s appetite for power was his need for slaves. Rarely did they last longer than a few months, although a few servants he took fancy too and survived for several years until they had failed one time too many. These slaves, mostly from Rashemi, Chessenta, and Damara (the latter two for unknown reasons) fueled his research into ritual necromantics. On the path to his Apotheosis, it has been estimated by his fellow Red Wizards that he consumed approximately four hundred slaves between the years 1355 DR and 1357 DR. Some scholars provide estimates to show an increase as time went on and he neared his Ascension, but most see the pre-divine contact years as those requiring less efficient methods of generating particular magical effects brought through sacrifice.

Most theologians, including Allum D’Marko and Herom Jin Wuindo, provide compelling evidence that there were exactly seven major rituals discovered along the path to Apotheosis, including the two best understood: The Binding of the Crypt and The Pact of the Everlasting. The details of their performance are kept hidden by the powerful masters of necromantics, but their outcomes are known. The Binding of the Crypt allows the subject to return to life as an undead creature, although not necessarily a true lich or even sentient at all. The Pact of the Everlasting is viewed with some curious debate, some contending that it violates the dogma of Velsharoon, where most others take the side that the ends of it justify the means. The Pact, for an unknown period of time, allows those who are die to be returned to life. The magnitude of this rushing return of positive energy into the corpse of the one being rebuilt hinges upon the talent of the ritualist. The other five major rituals, if they have been given a name at all, are not well known even amongst many powerful clergy of the Vaunted. D’Marko’s later writings just prior to his death insinuate that several of these may have even been lost from mortal memory, perhaps his acknowledgement that he himself was the last to hold the secrets. Regardless, the revival of these practices has become a key goal of many ardent followers of the Vaunted Lord.

At points during the process of Apotheosis, it is well known that the two legendary characters of this generation amongst necromancers, Zulkir Szass Tam and Velsharoon himself, were frequently in contact. Their early scholarly discussion contrasted rapidly with the soon deadly conflict within which the two became embroiled. Most theologians are confident that the rise of Szass was actually stalled significantly by this rivalry, and only in the recent years with the Apotheosis has Tam been able to rally his powers without fear of reprisal from Velsharoon. Why exactly Velsharoon does not use his divine powers now to undo Tam remains unknown, but it is widely accepted that the two must have established a mutual accord of some kind where Tam gains ground on the material plane with the eternal planes beyond remaining the territory (real or potential) of Velsharoon.

The last of these rituals was not discovered by Velsharoon alone, but through divine intervention by the destructive god, Talos. What exactly gained the god’s initial attention is unknown, but it is presumed that the effects of the final ritual caused so much destruction by success or failure that Talos could not resist pushing for its completion. Regardless, and despite his ambiguous faith towards Kossuth and the magical powers, Velsharoon’s arrogance and approval for destructive risks gained Talos’ favor. And so it came to Velsharoon by the hands of a god himself, the Apotheosis began.

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Chapter Three: The Apotheosis, Dance of the Gods[/b]

Despite having completed the necessary research for achieving Lichdom, many years prior to even Svass Tam’s completion of the ritual, Velsharoon was lured to an even higher path. With the aid of Talos, who had also endured the path of ascension, Velsharoon took five years (four according to Jarlin Ssampra and Harom Jin Wuindo) to accomplish the task. In the year 1368 DR, it was finished. Velsharoon acquired the floating portfolios of necromancy, its practitioners, liches, and undeath itself.

Yet the god Talos still held such sway over Velsharoon in his early days of Exarchship. He commanded the Vaunted Lord to partake in the destruction of resources, even when they could have been put to much finer use as research for greater power. The wild destructiveness of the master god pushed Velsharoon further away, until approximately a year and a half after Apotheosis, Velsharoon abdicated from the control of Talos into the confines of the arcane inclined, Azuth in particular but with guidance from Mystra as well. Many see this as an irony, given Velsharoon’s mortal separation from other arcanists. However, this must be considered in one of two ways. Arcanists by their nature are achievers, Velsharoon more than any other, and through cohesive efforts of even very different arcane practitioners and researchers combine to speed along with massive headway. Second, there is an understood cycle to the gods. Godship requires that all must court the attentions of one another in order to maintain portfolio control. Mystra and Azuth seek to empower their magic, and Velsharoon was the key. Talos sought to ensure greater destruction, and Velsharoon was key. This Dance of the Gods allows the loosest but most clear explanation as to divine inter-relationship.

But the dance goes ever onward. Recent theological facts have come to light revealing a reconnection of Velsharoon and Talos, instead of master and servant as partners. Shar herself has partaken in the dance with the Vaunted Lord, the details of which will never be known. Yet these signs point to a very clear statement. The Vaunted Lord Velsharoon has joined the divine pantheonic gala, and his place has been welcome and secure.

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Chapter Four: The Post-Apotheosis Assumptions[/b]

After the initial divine interplays of the gods, like most gods little is known about Velsharoon in his day to day. Encounters with the other members of the divine caste are certain, but not the details. Theologists  from the East tend to have a very different view altogether from the Western thinkers. This volume will assimilate the theories that, between the two primary groups, are not disputed.

The dissonance between Velsharoon and Cyric has long been known. From the beginning, records indicate that Cyricist agents may have attempted to subvert the Apotheosis. Cyric himself has been accused by a few theologists to have inhibited Velsharoon through dreams. Regardless of what actually happened, the bad blood between these two divine hosts is now and likely always shall be heated to a boil.

Jergali scripts have shown themselves to be extraordinarily counterproductive to the fulfillment of the Velsharoonic dogma. Jergal attempts to claim sole authority over a domain which remains, frankly, heavily divided. Despite his ancient and declining status, Jergal has been unable to overpower Velsharoon nor prevent him from his rise, or even greatly diminish the rapidly expanding influence of Velsharoon’s evangelists. Ironically, Jergalis are often cited as being the most easily swayed to the side of the powerful Velsharoon by aforementioned evangelists’ writing and lessons.

Lastly, and akin to the troubles with Jergal, the ascended mortal-god named Kelemvor has likewise caused a ruckus in an attempt to supercede Velsharoonite authority. Followers of Kelemvor and Velsharoonite clash across the world of Toril as the younger of the faiths overpowers the weaker position of the Kelemvorites. Theorists suppose that a similar clash occurs amongst the heavenly planes between the Archmage of Necromancy and Lord of the Dead. Yet thorough analysis of the divine and material evidence makes that theory more than merely plausible—it clearly must be so.

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Author's Notes

Few, if any, divine powers have been able to spread so rapidly as the faith of Velsharoon. That reason alone leaves his story, faithful or not, to be one deeply respected and admired.

Many wonder for lifetimes as to how apotheosis is realized. Of them, some go so far as to question why Velsharoon was successful. It is a fair question, after all. He was not born into a special family as a noble blooded king, he rarely held long-standing alliances, and most of all he was more often than not enemies with the most powerful figures around him. The facts are there to reveal all of these. So, why Velsharoon?

I believe it boils down to two factors. Firstly, ambition itself can overcome obstacles when it is coupled with talent and training. Second, although a peculiar argument for certain, I would posit that Velsharoon was born great. There is no apparent reason for it, no key fact or indicator prior to his ultimate success that can empirically show this point. Yet the outcome is clear, and nothing can refute it. Velsharoon is, by raw talent, ambition, and courage, because it was meant to be.