Baldur's gate II_ throne of Bhaal - Drew Karpyshyn [42]
"But why now?" Imoen asked, searching for some explanation for the madness. "Why, after all these years, is there this sudden hatred and hunting of Bhaal's children?"
"The prophecies of Alaundo," Jaheira offered. "They predict the Children of Bhaal will bring a storm of death to Faerun… maybe even the return of Bhaal himself."
"The half-elf speaks the truth," Melissan admitted, "but she knows only part of the story, like the masses who so ignorantly carry out this program of genocide."
Jaheira winced at the insult.
"There is a powerful group that has spearheaded the sudden rise in the hatred of the Bhaalspawn. Through a campaign of fear and misinformation they have spread this madness, until there is nowhere a Child of Bhaal may walk without being hunted. The ones responsible for the atrocities committed against you and your kind, Abdel, call themselves the Five."
"The Five?" Abdel replied. "I've never heard of them before."
Melissan laughed lightly, though her voice was serious. "I am not surprised, Abdel. Even I have known of their existence for only these past few years, and I have dedicated my life to finding just such a group among those who share your blood. For many years I have sought out you and your kin, Abdel, while always knowing that, as I did so, I was not the only one seeking out the Lord of Murder's offspring."
Imoen shook her head. "Hold on, I'm confused. Are you saying these Five are also Bhaalspawn?"
A curt nod of Melissan's head confirmed Imoen's assumption. "The Five are indeed offspring of the Lord of Murder, and I suspect they are among the most powerful of Bhaal's children who yet live. Although, truth be told, I know precious little about the members of the Five. I do not even truly know how many of them there are. Five is a cursed, unlucky number in the culture of Calimshan and Tethyr. It is possible the Five chose this name because of the fear it would inspire in the superstitious masses.
"What I do know," Melissan continued, "is that the Five wield great political influence within Faerun, though they always do so behind the scenes. They keep themselves hidden in the shadows, working toward a single purpose. They manipulate others into following them and serving them through lies and deceit. Entire armies have now fallen under control of the Five, though most of the troops and generals do not even realize who they are really working for."
"And what do these Five hope to accomplish?" Abdel asked.
"The Five are a secret society fanatically devoted to bringing their dead father back to life by slaughtering their siblings."
Abdel hesitated before asking his next question. Everyone else seemed to understand what Melissan was saying, and the big sellsword was reluctant to expose his own ignorance, but he needed to understand. More than anything he had been told before, this was something he had to comprehend in every detail.
"How will killing Bhaal's other children bring him back?"
"Within each offspring of the Lord of Murder there exists a divine essence," Melissan explained patiently, "a small piece of Bhaal's own essence. In some of his progeny there exists but a faint flicker. In others it burns like an unholy blaze.
"Whenever one of Bhaal's children perishes," Melissan continued, "that bit of his father's divine, yet tainted, spirit is released. The Five seek to collect the scattered essence of their father's soul bit by bit, drawing the tiny embers together until they have built a burning pyre from which Bhaal himself will be reborn."
Sarevok, who had been standing silently off to the side, added his own emotionless voice to the conversation. "You know what Melissan says is possible, Abdel. To a lesser degree, you have already experienced it. When you ended my first life in the caverns beneath Baldur's Gate you unconsciously absorbed my essence-and you moved a small step beyond a