What follows is based entirely upon what Cuthbert told us; it is as reliable as he is. Just how reliable that will be is something of a burning question at the moment.

The native realm of the Nineteen is an outer plane, but that term fails to do it justice. It lies so far from our own world that the two can't be connected by ordinary magic; a planar traveller must enter the Far Realm and pass through to the other (or at least AN other) side to reach it. I'm only barely aware of the Far Realm - this is certainly the first time I've heard even a rumor of something being beyond it. A place so far must be alien in a number of respects, which would certainly begin to explain some of the creatures we've seen who passed over from there...the headless beasts of Fharlanghn, for instance. In addition to being remote and alien, Cuthbert described it as being 'below the horizon' when one things of 'lower' and 'upper' planes.

On this plane, his story went, there came to be numerous beings with the spark of the divine. Lacking any influx of souls from a material plane to derive power from (as a celestial or fiendish divinity would), these gods drew power from an alternate source. I'm not certain whether it's more correct to say they used their plane as a sort of conduit to channel power from the Six, or if it's closer to accurate to say that they were able to take the power of the Six that was inherent to the plane and flowed through it (the Earth-ness that made the ground solid, the Air-ness that made the breeze blow, and so forth - the fundamentals of form and matter), consume a portion of it and use it for their own purposes. Regardless, the end result is the same: they used this power to fuel their divine abilities, create minions, and grant magic to their followers...and they contested with each other. We speak of the Nineteen, but it was clear from Cuthbert's story that there were once more than that, perhaps many more. The Nineteen whose names we know are the survivors.

(Did Cuthbert ever say that the Nineteen are the ONLY survivors? Might there be others in their realm with divine power who didn't choose to join into their scheme?)

Over the course of, it seems, tens of thousands of years, this drawing of power had a negative impact on the plane itself. Ultimately, the Nineteen concluded that the best solution to this problem was to emigrate to a new plane, one still whole and intact and able to nourish them. The plane they choose, of course, was ours - apparently one of a fairly small number of 'true' Material Planes, balanced between all of the Six.

To enter the plane physically, they would need to be summoned - invited - in a ritual of great power. To establish a foothold, they made contact with mortals, offered blessings, ordained priesthoods, and gathered worshippers. They presented themselves in whatever light was best suited to doing so, obscuring not only their goals but their motivations in order to better sell themselves to our mortal ancestors. The ethics of the deception concerned them, as Cuthbert put it, as little as humans concern themselves over the squirrels they displace when they clear trees for new cropland. (Where it was useful, they appear to have shown different faces to different worshippers; it was implied to us that there are followers of Ehlonna who embrace the darker side of the woodlands and who never presented kindness as a part of her doctrine). They maintained this charade for three thousand years, until the opportunity finally came to create the gate they needed.

A group of powerful wizards, envious of the flexibility of the magic practiced by the priests of the Nineteen (It's still not clear to me how it is that the priests of the Nineteen never had to prepare their spells ahead of time. Worth asking if the opportunity ever arises), were persuaded to attempt a ritual to give themselves the same power. This rewrote the very laws of magic (Throughout the cosmos, in fact - spreading across every plane that is. No petty ceremony, this.), creating the breed of sorcerors...and coincidentally called the Nineteen and their minions through in the process, rendering as part of the summoning native to our world. Chaos and war errupted immediately; it seems quite likely that not a single participant in the ritual on the night of the Conjunction survived.

Unfortunately for the Nineteen, having arrived and been made native to our world, they discovered that the ability to draw power from their home plane had been a result, not of their nativity, but of some trait of the plane itself. Some trait, in fact, which our plane lacked. Bereft of a source for their power, they were made incapable of granting spells to their priests, and largely unable to power their greater divine abilities. They are also unable to return to their plane of origin under their own power to resume their former place, as the summoning broke their tie to that plane in order to establish one to ours.

Which brings us to the present day. We can assume that the first priority of the surviving Nineteen is to regain the full power of their godhead - each following their own approach, as cooperation does not seem to be a high priority between them. Venturing here into speculation, there seem to be a few possible things they might try:

• Alter the plane so as to make it possible to draw power through it as they did at home.
• Establish a tie to a 'local' outer plane, where they could draw on the power of passing souls as other divine outsiders do.
• Find some other source of power as yet unconsidered
• Return home and re-establish the status quo ante.

God of Magic. Dead, according to Hrrag-Lishaak.

God of Elves. I presume he joined his followers in the caves below the Sylvan Wall, but I don't know that this is certain.

Goddess of Woodlands. We (or more precisely, Maluv-or making liberal and undisclosed use of us) foiled Ehlonna's plans in Cleven, where she was using servants capable of possessing the living to give the impression that her clerics were again able to cast spells. She clearly had an interest in Cleven, but it may have been only one of several plans she was pursuing in various places. Where she is now or what her followers are doing, we have no idea.

Goddess of Slaughter. Status unknown.

God of Travellers. Slain by Arazoth the Black in Corinth.

God of Gnomes. Dead, according to Hrrag-Lishaak.

God of Orcs. He appears to be trying to position himself as a new prince in the Abyss. If he were able to do that, he'd presumably be able to draw on the power of the plane to fuel his divine abilities, and would again be able to grant his followers spells. This would be unfortunate for us...both in a general sense, and on a very personal level. Our having given one of his talismans to Cille to use against him would likely make us among the first against the wall.

God of Valor...perhaps more accurately, leadership through inspiration? According to Hrrag-Lishaak, Heironeous is engaged in competition with his half-brother, Hextor.

God of Tyranny. According to Hrrah-Lishaak, alive and competing with Heironeous.

God of Athletes. Dead, according to Hrrag-Lishaak.

God of Dwarves. Dead, according to Hrrag-Lishaak.

God of Death. Dead, according to Hrrag-Lishaak. Ironic, that.

God of Nature. We encountered an old man in the wilds of the northern mountains who was probably Obad-Hai...he claimed to just want to be left alone.

God of Thieves. Dead, according to Hrrah-Lishaak. I'm guessing there's an interesting story behind this one, in the unlikely event that I ever get to hear it.

God of the Sun. Status unknown.

God of Justice. According to Cuthbert himself, he was not born to divinity. Rather, he was granted it by the rest of the Nineteen when the goddess he served as high priest was slain, and the others felt her portfolio could not be left untended. This makes him weaker than the others now that they have no access to the power of their home plane; he may lack even the most basic divine nature unless he has an outside source of power to fuel it. He remains a very old and very powerful Outsider, but he claimed to lack actual immortality.

Cuthbert offered a deal: information in exchange for help in returning home. We accepted, somewhat uncomfortably, on the condition that after he returned, he would have nothing more to do with our world - that he would not resume contact with his priests here, and would turn his attention elsewhere. That's an end result I'm perfectly comfortable with...if he can be trusted to keep his word. There, unfortunately, lies the problem. On the one hand, as his portfolio rests directly upon justice and fair dealing, he can be expected to keep a bargain he makes. Additionally, there is nothing obvious that he would stand to gain from breaking the bargain, if what he has told us is correct - knowing that he can gain nothing from this plane, there is no reason for him to be interested in it, particularly when his home plane will require so much attention. On the other hand...we know him as a creature of Law only because HE told us he was. And despite that supposed tie to Law, he has been deceiving his worshippers here for the past three-thousand years with absolutely no sign of apology or remorse. Even if he does believe firmly in justice and true-dealing, he may well feel that our people are so far below him that such concepts don't apply. Even the most upstanding judge might feel no more than a passing regret over failing to keep a bargain with his dog.

God of Secrets. Cuthbert told us that like he himself, Vecna was not born to divinity. He may, in this place and at this moment, be nothing more than a lich with the skills of an archmage, ten thousand years or more of experience in employing his magic, and a world-spanning cult of fanatic and entirely clansdestine followers. This actually causes me to worry more about him than I do the others. Where the other survivors will likely focus on regaining the powers of godhood they've accustomed themselves to over all of their long lives, Vecna may take a more pragmatic view and concentrate on sorts of power that are more immediately achievable. Given that he's also subtle almost by definition, he could be a real problem.

Goddess of Death and Magic. Status unknown.

Goddess of Halflings. Status unknown. On the Fulera plains, I'd most expect her agents to be at work in Montor, but her attention could be focused on the other side of the world..

Communing with Air offered the following answers - little new information, but much confirmation of what we had been told by others, Cuthbery in particular.

1. Did the Nineteen originate on a plane beyond the Far Realm? Yes
2. Did any of the divinities of that plane remain behind when the Nineteen came through the portal? No
3. Is it true that they drew power through their plane? Yes
4. And that it damaged that plane? Yes
5. Can they draw power through our plane in that way? No Unfortunately, I'm not certain I'm correctly remembering how I phrased this question...
6. Are their powers weakened by being here? Yes
7. Because they lack an outside source to fuel them? Yes
8. Have any of them found such a source? Yes
9. Was the person who told us this story truly Cuthbert? Yes
10. Did he bring followers with him to this realm? No
11. Was he trying to deceive us? No
12. Is his return to his home acceptable to Air? Yes