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Original submission here: www.deviantart.com/noctem-tene…

"From the field journal of Researcher Raboris Ternum, found abandoned on an island outside of Nordberg and posthumously titled: “Research into the Black Gate and what lies beyond” by the Ruborian Research Institute of Deities and Demons:

Day 275, Black Gate expedition: As I have stated many times, I am utterly unable to know if it is day or night here in this domain of black stone and endless cascades of falling water and liquid fire. Be it either morning or evening, the locals have awakened. Even here amidst the quiet landscape of stone, fire, water and then some more stone, there is life. As to whether or not they wake up during the morning or the night, I cannot say. That fact still eludes me. Dip in the stream, catch an unlucky fish for dinner again, cook it and warm myself near the glow of nearby pool of magma before heading out again.

Day 283, Black Gate expedition: Overseers spotted floating towards what I surmise might have been east from my vantage point. At least eight of them, one almost the size of the Black Sheep that I encountered more than a year ago. Still no sign of that particular entity or what it wants me to find here, but day by day I feel as if I am making some kind of progress towards my eventual goal. It is a strange feeling to describe, but the easiest way to do so would be that when I am heading the wrong direction, I get anxious and fearful. When I am heading to the right direction, then even situations like last nights patrol consisting of these damnable black skinned elves with glowing red eyes that I managed to avoid does nothing to my psyche. Even when I was hurtling through above an ocean of bubbling fire last week, I did not fear for my life. Anyway, made my bed between rocks and shadows, had to drive out some gnomes of all things. Gnomes! Down here! They really do have a way of getting into places they really should not be in. Point in case, they stumbled down a cliff and into a rather warm death. I only hope they hit some boulders or broke their necks or something before being burned. I have no love for the pests but even I can sympathize with what a horrible way it would be to go.
Note: Seek more fishing locations tomorrow, running low on supplies.

Day 291, Black Gate expedition: Today I found myself at the footsteps of the first solid evidence of this expedition having been worth my fever dreams a year ago, after encountering the creature on the hill. I saw a man, not an elf, with skin as pale as my own (though I have a feeling the warm inner light of magma may have altered my skin tone in some manner. Then again no sun shines down here so I may as well be wrong. And then again, floating eyeballs with tentacles and elves with glowing torture implements. Anything is possible if you were to ask me). He was standing on top of yet another one of those floating stones, but this time there were sculptures on it. Sculptures! I mean yes, alright, the elves down here have created many a sculpture of their own but this thing was clearly not of their making. Only their braziers I have witnessed floating, but never have I seen them brave the spinning boulders or much less build or chisel something onto them or from them. The man himself, standing in the middle of this magical construction, was dressed in fine quality robes that were of an even more darker colour than the stones that surround me daily. With one arm placed against one of the statues that adorned the spherical construct, most likely for balance or something to lean against out of sheer boredom. Who knows how long he has been traveling down here and from where, not to mention the question of where he was heading to. There were four of these statues on each corner of that floating platform that had been connected to one another by a round stone balustrade seemingly either chiseled or perhaps even grown right out of the floating stone that he stood upon, and each of these statues resembled an elf. But this elf described in each four of them? How should I put this, well, each statue had two lizard like heads upon the statues shoulders. Nearly identical, of the same size, each missing their lower jaws if they ever even had such a thing. As if they had been biting down against the elven figure. Peculiar. I could not draw a picture of what I saw however, for its speed was of such nature that it was gone before I had even fully grasped at what I had just witnessed. I am, for some reason, unable to produce a sketch from my memory either. No matter how hard I try, what I draw ends up looking more like an eye of all things rather than a floating spherical platform with statues upon it*.

That said, time to find a resting place for the night and continue on tomorrow, towards where this man disappeared off to. Exciting times!

Day 308, Black Gate expedition: For the past day, I have been hearing what must be wings, or a lost dwarven flying machine from their invasion to this realm some years ago. I do however doubt that there would still be even a single dwarf alive down here, seeing as what happened on the day I descended the black stairs from the gate. You see, my path did not lead me down to the tower, even though all the information I had so far collected before arriving here told me that it would. Instead, the stairs started to move under me. I think I forgot to write about this particular event back then, seeing as though I spent a week nursing my leg back to health after the security measures gave me quite the fright. In any case, the stairs moved, turned into a slide of sorts, filled with water from somewhere higher above me and whisked me far, far away. From what I can tell I traveled east for many hours, unable to stop. And once I finally did (after hitting a smooth stone slab three times my height and twice my width, dislocating my knee in the process. Damnable thing still aches.), I found myself surrounded by the skeletal remains of hundreds if not thousands of dwarves. Had it not been for their machines, I figure they might have never been able to conquer this realm.

But yes. Wings. Or a flying machine. One or the other.

Day 309, Black Gate expedition - Final entry: I have found it. I FOUND what I was looking for, after all these months! The sound from yesterday, the sound of wings, the sound that grew ever louder with each passing minute! It was HIM! The Black Sheep from the hill, the elf from the statues that I have seen, the cloud of eyes that visits me in my dreams, the serpent of the deep, the one who fooled one of his own kind, the dragon with many limbs. The three-headed god!

Should my journal survive what I am about to do and be found later by his devotees, like the man on the platform or the elves of these depths that may still worship him, or even those priests from Ruboria who call him by different names and associate him with different gods**: Here is what I, Raboris Ternum, saw today, and it is through this description that you shall know him when, not if, he will return. For return he shall:

Three heads, one neck for each, from their eyes and beneath their scales colours in three. One in blue with ice, frost and lightning in its breath. Middle in green, spitting out acid, chloride and veiled in some other gas. The third in red, devouring what it sees, breathing out fire, molten stone and beams of energy. Wings so vast that they can block out the midday sun, the current of air they create as powerful as the storming ocean. Covered in a cloak of its own unnerving energy, spreading fear and corruption in the hearts of those that it sees. A dragon in shape, something else in spirit, a being not of this mortal realm, unlike any other.

As I write, I can hear the drum of his wings coming closer, as the booming sound they create echoes in this underground and neverending chasm, through this hidden world, this place where mortals should not desire to come. I watch as its wings break through a cascade of ash and fire, creating swirling and suffocating clouds filled with embers. I behold as four claws that reflect the night sky itself tear through falling rivers of liquid stone, despite there being layers and layers of rocks and dirt between here and the night sky high up above the ground. Another set of four claws emerge from a muscular limb covered in shining black scales, then another and another. The three-headed god has what I can only describe as smaller limbs dangling on its underside, its massive tail is is covered in spikes the size of tree trunks, and its scales are anywhere between the size of a house and the shield of a valiant knight. Different shapes and numbers of horns on its heads, varying from three on the blue to two on the green and five or more on the red. And oh, there are so, so many smaller creatures all around him. Flying, floating, soaring, diving, rising up with it. I can only presume they are his children, his spawn, for they too reflect the light of the stars and the void of darkness beyond our skies.

I stare into his glowing eyes that mirror the colours shining so brightly beneath his scales, and he is staring back. I watch as the waterfalls freeze near him, as fire drips from him, as he leaves behind a trail of green that catches fires and explodes so brightly behind him. But I do not feel fear. I know he has summoned me, and I know he has a purpose for me. Do not come seeking for me, for you will only find death. Come invited however, and perhaps. Perhaps I will share with you a wine glass.

I will now jump. ***

Editors notes:
* Attempts to recreate any kind of drawing based on this description does indeed result in a shape resembling an eye being drawn. In some cases the paper has caught on fire through some unknown means. Further attempts should only be performed under supervised conditions where methods for extinguishing any potential fires are also present.

** An expedition was sent out to the capital and neighbouring cities, towns and other settlements to seek any and all clues relating to this potential sect of worshippers and their associations. Theories have been proposed regarding this entity being one of the pre-existing deities worshipped all around us, but no confirmation to this theory has been obtained. Priests of all religions, sects and cults encountered remained, and continue to remain, remarkably silent about any and all inquiries regarding this matter.

*** There are a few more pages after this last entry, filled with arcane inscriptions, diagrams, pictures of creatures and structures never before seen. Prevailing theory is that Raboris Ternum drew these things during his time in the Netherworld, and not after, as the journal states, jumping down from a cliff, hill, floating rock or other platform high above the described entity."

Taegan, the three-headed dragon god of Netherworld. Exiled from the world he once called his own, driven insane during his travel through space , split into three beings sharing a single body upon finding a new world to call his home. Claimed the position of a native god, caused another god to be cast down into a hellish abyss, and took over his original domain. Rules from beneath the ground, from a domain of black stone, ash, liquid fire and streams of ice cold water. The primary deity of darkness and the second half of the cycle of light and darkness upon the world he now calls home.

A fantastic work of art that I got from the ever so splendid and marvelous . After getting to know her, talking with her for a few years, desiring to see my unholy deity Taegan in her amazing style, it finally happened last year. I just, again, failed at uploading this in time. Better late than never, for it would have been an utter shame for this to disappear into the depths of my computer.

If you wish to favourite this, I humbly ask that you do so instead in her own submission and not here. I did not create this, I did not bring this idea to life, I only offered her words through online means and my own character for her to work with and she was able to bring those words and Taegan's dragon form to life in a spectacular way.

If there is art out there that I have commissioned that would deserve a spot on my wall, this one would definitely be one of those cases.

So thank you, Noctem. It was a pleasure to commission you and a real delight to have this finally become reality after years of talking about it. Keep being amazing!

Stellar art © - Reuploaded to my own account by her explicit permission. Submission title by her as well (because I am a lazy bugger and could not come up with anything better). Go give her all of your love.

Taegan the Three-Headed Dragon God ©

Further information from her own submission:

Tools | Adobe Photoshop CC
Wacom Intuos 5 Pro Small Tablet
Layers | 124
size | 4000px-2777px
Time | 32 hours

Redistribution, uploading, commercial use, claiming this work as one's own without the artists ( ) written permission is strictly prohibited. Erasing of information, removal of signatures, logos, rendering, manipulation, and or making prints is violation of the artists ( ) copyright and theft of her work. Offenders will be reported and action will be taken.

Description

Original submission here: www.deviantart.com/noctem-tene…

"From the field journal of Researcher Raboris Ternum, found abandoned on an island outside of Nordberg and posthumously titled: “Research into the Black Gate and what lies beyond” by the Ruborian Research Institute of Deities and Demons:

Day 275, Black Gate expedition: As I have stated many times, I am utterly unable to know if it is day or night here in this domain of black stone and endless cascades of falling water and liquid fire. Be it either morning or evening, the locals have awakened. Even here amidst the quiet landscape of stone, fire, water and then some more stone, there is life. As to whether or not they wake up during the morning or the night, I cannot say. That fact still eludes me. Dip in the stream, catch an unlucky fish for dinner again, cook it and warm myself near the glow of nearby pool of magma before heading out again.

Day 283, Black Gate expedition: Overseers spotted floating towards what I surmise might have been east from my vantage point. At least eight of them, one almost the size of the Black Sheep that I encountered more than a year ago. Still no sign of that particular entity or what it wants me to find here, but day by day I feel as if I am making some kind of progress towards my eventual goal. It is a strange feeling to describe, but the easiest way to do so would be that when I am heading the wrong direction, I get anxious and fearful. When I am heading to the right direction, then even situations like last nights patrol consisting of these damnable black skinned elves with glowing red eyes that I managed to avoid does nothing to my psyche. Even when I was hurtling through above an ocean of bubbling fire last week, I did not fear for my life. Anyway, made my bed between rocks and shadows, had to drive out some gnomes of all things. Gnomes! Down here! They really do have a way of getting into places they really should not be in. Point in case, they stumbled down a cliff and into a rather warm death. I only hope they hit some boulders or broke their necks or something before being burned. I have no love for the pests but even I can sympathize with what a horrible way it would be to go.
Note: Seek more fishing locations tomorrow, running low on supplies.

Day 291, Black Gate expedition: Today I found myself at the footsteps of the first solid evidence of this expedition having been worth my fever dreams a year ago, after encountering the creature on the hill. I saw a man, not an elf, with skin as pale as my own (though I have a feeling the warm inner light of magma may have altered my skin tone in some manner. Then again no sun shines down here so I may as well be wrong. And then again, floating eyeballs with tentacles and elves with glowing torture implements. Anything is possible if you were to ask me). He was standing on top of yet another one of those floating stones, but this time there were sculptures on it. Sculptures! I mean yes, alright, the elves down here have created many a sculpture of their own but this thing was clearly not of their making. Only their braziers I have witnessed floating, but never have I seen them brave the spinning boulders or much less build or chisel something onto them or from them. The man himself, standing in the middle of this magical construction, was dressed in fine quality robes that were of an even more darker colour than the stones that surround me daily. With one arm placed against one of the statues that adorned the spherical construct, most likely for balance or something to lean against out of sheer boredom. Who knows how long he has been traveling down here and from where, not to mention the question of where he was heading to. There were four of these statues on each corner of that floating platform that had been connected to one another by a round stone balustrade seemingly either chiseled or perhaps even grown right out of the floating stone that he stood upon, and each of these statues resembled an elf. But this elf described in each four of them? How should I put this, well, each statue had two lizard like heads upon the statues shoulders. Nearly identical, of the same size, each missing their lower jaws if they ever even had such a thing. As if they had been biting down against the elven figure. Peculiar. I could not draw a picture of what I saw however, for its speed was of such nature that it was gone before I had even fully grasped at what I had just witnessed. I am, for some reason, unable to produce a sketch from my memory either. No matter how hard I try, what I draw ends up looking more like an eye of all things rather than a floating spherical platform with statues upon it*.

That said, time to find a resting place for the night and continue on tomorrow, towards where this man disappeared off to. Exciting times!

Day 308, Black Gate expedition: For the past day, I have been hearing what must be wings, or a lost dwarven flying machine from their invasion to this realm some years ago. I do however doubt that there would still be even a single dwarf alive down here, seeing as what happened on the day I descended the black stairs from the gate. You see, my path did not lead me down to the tower, even though all the information I had so far collected before arriving here told me that it would. Instead, the stairs started to move under me. I think I forgot to write about this particular event back then, seeing as though I spent a week nursing my leg back to health after the security measures gave me quite the fright. In any case, the stairs moved, turned into a slide of sorts, filled with water from somewhere higher above me and whisked me far, far away. From what I can tell I traveled east for many hours, unable to stop. And once I finally did (after hitting a smooth stone slab three times my height and twice my width, dislocating my knee in the process. Damnable thing still aches.), I found myself surrounded by the skeletal remains of hundreds if not thousands of dwarves. Had it not been for their machines, I figure they might have never been able to conquer this realm.

But yes. Wings. Or a flying machine. One or the other.

Day 309, Black Gate expedition - Final entry: I have found it. I FOUND what I was looking for, after all these months! The sound from yesterday, the sound of wings, the sound that grew ever louder with each passing minute! It was HIM! The Black Sheep from the hill, the elf from the statues that I have seen, the cloud of eyes that visits me in my dreams, the serpent of the deep, the one who fooled one of his own kind, the dragon with many limbs. The three-headed god!

Should my journal survive what I am about to do and be found later by his devotees, like the man on the platform or the elves of these depths that may still worship him, or even those priests from Ruboria who call him by different names and associate him with different gods**: Here is what I, Raboris Ternum, saw today, and it is through this description that you shall know him when, not if, he will return. For return he shall:

Three heads, one neck for each, from their eyes and beneath their scales colours in three. One in blue with ice, frost and lightning in its breath. Middle in green, spitting out acid, chloride and veiled in some other gas. The third in red, devouring what it sees, breathing out fire, molten stone and beams of energy. Wings so vast that they can block out the midday sun, the current of air they create as powerful as the storming ocean. Covered in a cloak of its own unnerving energy, spreading fear and corruption in the hearts of those that it sees. A dragon in shape, something else in spirit, a being not of this mortal realm, unlike any other.

As I write, I can hear the drum of his wings coming closer, as the booming sound they create echoes in this underground and neverending chasm, through this hidden world, this place where mortals should not desire to come. I watch as its wings break through a cascade of ash and fire, creating swirling and suffocating clouds filled with embers. I behold as four claws that reflect the night sky itself tear through falling rivers of liquid stone, despite there being layers and layers of rocks and dirt between here and the night sky high up above the ground. Another set of four claws emerge from a muscular limb covered in shining black scales, then another and another. The three-headed god has what I can only describe as smaller limbs dangling on its underside, its massive tail is is covered in spikes the size of tree trunks, and its scales are anywhere between the size of a house and the shield of a valiant knight. Different shapes and numbers of horns on its heads, varying from three on the blue to two on the green and five or more on the red. And oh, there are so, so many smaller creatures all around him. Flying, floating, soaring, diving, rising up with it. I can only presume they are his children, his spawn, for they too reflect the light of the stars and the void of darkness beyond our skies.

I stare into his glowing eyes that mirror the colours shining so brightly beneath his scales, and he is staring back. I watch as the waterfalls freeze near him, as fire drips from him, as he leaves behind a trail of green that catches fires and explodes so brightly behind him. But I do not feel fear. I know he has summoned me, and I know he has a purpose for me. Do not come seeking for me, for you will only find death. Come invited however, and perhaps. Perhaps I will share with you a wine glass.

I will now jump. ***

Editors notes:
* Attempts to recreate any kind of drawing based on this description does indeed result in a shape resembling an eye being drawn. In some cases the paper has caught on fire through some unknown means. Further attempts should only be performed under supervised conditions where methods for extinguishing any potential fires are also present.

** An expedition was sent out to the capital and neighbouring cities, towns and other settlements to seek any and all clues relating to this potential sect of worshippers and their associations. Theories have been proposed regarding this entity being one of the pre-existing deities worshipped all around us, but no confirmation to this theory has been obtained. Priests of all religions, sects and cults encountered remained, and continue to remain, remarkably silent about any and all inquiries regarding this matter.

*** There are a few more pages after this last entry, filled with arcane inscriptions, diagrams, pictures of creatures and structures never before seen. Prevailing theory is that Raboris Ternum drew these things during his time in the Netherworld, and not after, as the journal states, jumping down from a cliff, hill, floating rock or other platform high above the described entity."

Taegan, the three-headed dragon god of Netherworld. Exiled from the world he once called his own, driven insane during his travel through space , split into three beings sharing a single body upon finding a new world to call his home. Claimed the position of a native god, caused another god to be cast down into a hellish abyss, and took over his original domain. Rules from beneath the ground, from a domain of black stone, ash, liquid fire and streams of ice cold water. The primary deity of darkness and the second half of the cycle of light and darkness upon the world he now calls home.

A fantastic work of art that I got from the ever so splendid and marvelous . After getting to know her, talking with her for a few years, desiring to see my unholy deity Taegan in her amazing style, it finally happened last year. I just, again, failed at uploading this in time. Better late than never, for it would have been an utter shame for this to disappear into the depths of my computer.

If you wish to favourite this, I humbly ask that you do so instead in her own submission and not here. I did not create this, I did not bring this idea to life, I only offered her words through online means and my own character for her to work with and she was able to bring those words and Taegan's dragon form to life in a spectacular way.

If there is art out there that I have commissioned that would deserve a spot on my wall, this one would definitely be one of those cases.

So thank you, Noctem. It was a pleasure to commission you and a real delight to have this finally become reality after years of talking about it. Keep being amazing!

Stellar art © - Reuploaded to my own account by her explicit permission. Submission title by her as well (because I am a lazy bugger and could not come up with anything better). Go give her all of your love.

Taegan the Three-Headed Dragon God ©

Further information from her own submission:

Tools | Adobe Photoshop CC
Wacom Intuos 5 Pro Small Tablet
Layers | 124
size | 4000px-2777px
Time | 32 hours

Redistribution, uploading, commercial use, claiming this work as one's own without the artists ( ) written permission is strictly prohibited. Erasing of information, removal of signatures, logos, rendering, manipulation, and or making prints is violation of the artists ( ) copyright and theft of her work. Offenders will be reported and action will be taken.