And the intro/hook
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The Bloody Veil
In ancient days, the Bloody Veil was a portal between various realms of Hell to the mortal world. During the Age of Fiends, adherents of the Cherek, the demi-god of bears and the North, assaulted the gate and sealed it; building a shrined to the bear god on the site in order to sanctify and guard the sealed gate. Machinations within Hell in the intervening millennia saw rise of a new demon lord, Ganelith. Of his many servants in the mortal world, Ganelith chose Urgu Fel, the geomancer, to find, unseal and secure the portal. Fel assaulted the shrine to Cherek with his minions and secured the Bloody Veil after many years. His last act, it's said, was to unseal the gate -- a process that seemingly destroyed the geomancer. Though the gate stood open, Fel's minions could not completely destroy the shrine to the bear god -- and the subsequent influence of the shrine prevented unfettered access to the Veil from either side. The servants of Ganelith and minions of Fel built a vault to secure the portal and to wall off the shrine to Cherek. Over the centuries, Fel's minions died or were hunted down by the forces of Law, but the vault remained unknown until recently.
Months ago, an adherent to the Elven Queen of Thorns penetrated the vault, driven by his patron to destroy the Bloody Veil, forever sealing the world from Ganelith's influences (at least through this pathway). Unfortunately, the adherent failed so badly that the Veil was ripped open, allowing simple sacrifices of mortal blood to open the gateway for a short time. Ganelith has sent the word out to his minions, who race to the Thrice Broken Hills and the Bloody Veil with victims for sacrifice. Within weeks, the lands of Law will be flooded with the demonic brood of the demon lord, Ganelith.
Hooks
· Elven characters who are servants of the Queen of Thorns are contacted by their patron and directed to the Thrice Broken Hills to find and destroy the Bloody Veil.
· Wizards and clerics with patrons/gods dedicated to Law or Neutrality are sent by their patrons to defend and seal the gate.
· Chaotically-aligned characters may be directed to either gather sacrificial victims and make haste to the Vault for the rites to follow (if their patrons are allied with Ganelith) or to disrupt the rites and take control of the gate.
I also have a couple of relics I'm working with here:
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