Heroes of Aegea

The Heroes of Aegea were an elite group of adventurers associated with the city of Aegea during the late Age of Wonders. They were regularly employed by Aegea and reported to Theradous Krom, commander of the Aegean military. Their fortress was located in the city, and the group became deeply involved in the struggle against Correries and the forces that would eventually bring about the Fall.

The Heroes were composed of five primary members:

• Otheron of the Gems, an eccentric wizard and one of the group's most powerful members.
• Jack, a samurai who served as Otheron's right-hand man and leader of his followers.
• Tarn Tanglefoot, a paladin of Demmazon who was devoted to his god and known for his unusual luck and his Pegasus mount.
• Sister Selenius, a cleric of Demmazon whose intense devotion made her an outspoken and sometimes abrasive proselytizer.
• Face, a bard and visionary whose experiences after returning from the dead ultimately led the Heroes toward the truth about Demmazon's imprisonment.

The Fight Against Correries

The Heroes became central to the resistance against Correries after his discovery and abuse of the Five Gifts. Correries had gathered powerful allies and was using the Gifts in his attempt to conquer the world. His activities included the creation of the orcs through experiments upon elves, the creation of the drow, and the work of Riatin, who experimented upon the dead and eventually became the first lich.

The Heroes fought Correries' forces throughout the resulting conflict. They eventually defeated Riatin's armies and pursued him to his fortress, where they destroyed him. Correries' sister Zaraleth eventually joined the Heroes after falling in love with Tarn and turning against her brother.

The conflict escalated as Correries and his allies gained access to the Gifts and the forces opposing them acquired Gifts of their own. The resulting struggle became increasingly destructive, eventually leading to the destruction of Aegea and the rise of the new gods.

The Search for Demmazon

As the war approached a catastrophic stalemate, the Heroes began searching for the reason Demmazon had not intervened. Face's visions convinced them that something was preventing their god from acting.

They led an expedition to the End of the World, accompanied by several hundred troops. There they discovered that the enormous waterfall at the world's edge was actually a gateway between the mortal world and Demmazon's realm. The Heroes crossed the boundary and discovered Demmazon's temple on the other side.

There they encountered Marstalbin, the surviving Korvak who had orchestrated much of the chaos surrounding Correries. Marstalbin revealed that Demmazon had been imprisoned and that the prison had been constructed specifically to prevent him from interfering with events in the mortal world.

The revelation that Demmazon was not the purely good deity the Heroes had believed him to be was particularly devastating to Tarn and Selenius. Nevertheless, they remained committed to freeing him. They defeated Marstalbin and continued into the temple.

The Final Sacrifice

By the time the Heroes reached Demmazon's prison, Correries realized what they were attempting and came to stop them. He was accompanied by Ulanthar, Milaynee, and their elite forces, while Magerris arrived with his own allies, including Tarmikos, Theradous Krom, and Thorn Runehammer.

The prison combined magic and technology, including alien magic associated with the Korvaks. The Heroes discovered that the only way to disrupt the energy beams sustaining the prison was to physically block them.

They sacrificed themselves to do so.

The Heroes stepped into the beams, allowing Demmazon the brief opportunity he needed to break free from his prison. The process tore the Heroes apart, but their sacrifice succeeded in freeing their god.

Demmazon, once freed, recognized that the newly ascended gods threatened to destroy the world. His solution was to separate the mortal world from his own realm, trapping the new gods with him and allowing the mortal world to survive.

The Heroes of Aegea did not survive that separation.

Legacy

The Heroes became legendary figures in the history of Aegea and the events surrounding the Fall. Their actions were instrumental in uncovering Correries' plans, defeating Riatin, discovering the prison holding Demmazon, and ultimately freeing Demmazon at the cost of their own lives.

Their legacy also survived through the people and organizations connected to them.

Otheron became the namesake of The Gap after accidentally unleashing the power of a Gift in battle. His followers eventually became the Gem Knights, an organization that preserved some of his ideals before gradually degenerating into banditry. Jack later returned to the Gem Knights and ultimately sought to redeem both himself and the organization.

The Heroes therefore represent more than an adventuring party from the Age of Wonders. They were among the central mortal figures in the final struggle that transformed the world: the conflict that brought down the old age, freed Demmazon, resulted in the separation of the two realms, and established the circumstances from which the Under the Bus era eventually emerged.