The Illusionist

The act of recording shapes the fragment, revealing a truth yet to be. And so, I record the truth of The Illusionist. Not a truth etched in stone, but one shifting like desert sands. Was he dwarf, gnome, or something else entirely? Was he singular, or a collection of fractured selves? The Chapter of Veils speaks of a Sky-Seer, Lorin Mistweaver, who may have been this being in a prior form, attempting to create a utopia. Now, that district is known as Illusory Bastion. I suspect that Lorin Mistweaver and The Illusionist are one and the same. I wonder, too, if Valia, the Empty was also a victim of his manipulations. It makes me consider the influence of The Weaver.

He is not a warrior, like those of the Skyclaw Griffons, nor a scholar, like Archivist Theron. He is a weaver of perceptions, a master of deception, capable of conjuring illusions so real they can shatter minds. He is said to have the ability to walk between realities, stepping through the Warped Gates with ease, and bending them to his will. I posit he may be using a new form of traveling, the Gloomstrands, in order to move throughout the mountains.

He is drawn to places of power, where Auric Resonance thrums strongest, seeking to twist and corrupt its energy for his own amusement. The Silent Monks of Durin's Peak know he has the power to corrupt the Sunstone of Aethelgard, or so they claim. The Cobalt Corsairs seek to employ his skills, although I suspect he will turn on them at a moment's notice. Perhaps the secrets of his craft can be found in a new Codex Illusoria. I must record this in Elder Borin's Chronicles. I must warn the others of what is to come, the danger that walks in the skin of dreams.

Perhaps he was once one of the Truthseekers, driven mad by his visions. Maybe his power could be utilized to stop the Chitinous Swarm, if they can tell what is real. He may even be tied to the Forgotten Smith, in some forgotten chapter of history. I am certain he has visited the Vault of Whispers, perhaps multiple times. It is as if The Gaze of the Deep comes from him.