
Wrath of the Immortals leaves an uncertain fate for the Immortal known as Rad, aka Etienne d'Ambreville. His doomsday device resulted in the destruction of Alphatia and a sever drain on the magic of the world.
Mark of Amber reveals that the Old One (or whoever he was), sent Rad into a prison resembling his childhood home of old Averoigne where was to be taught a lesson. The players can affect the outcome of the adventure. Assuming the PCs don't completely fail, the fate of Rad is one of the following:
a) Rad is returned as an Immortal
b) Rad is returned as a Mortal, but with access to the Radience and the respect of the Immortals (including former enemies), with a great chance of becoming an Immortal again.
Regaining Immortality
It seems that regardless of these two outcomes, it is likely that Etienne will eventually return to Immortality.
The second option does present a dilemma for Etienne however. Would he willingly use Radience to return to Immortality again, knowing that it will further reduce magic on Mystara? The module states that he will have regained the respect of his former enemies, so I suppose they won't hold this too strongly against him, but if he has truly learned a lesson in humility, will he think twice about using the Radience again? On the other hand, the Old Ones no longer block him from accessing it (as they would if the players fail).
It does seem however that Rad will return, either right away or after some time of preparation. It is possible that the Gareth storyline, from the PWA series could have revealed the return of Rad, but we will never know.
Future Goals
Once Rad is restored to Immortality, what will his goals be? It is possible that he now feels responsible for all of the bad outcomes of the Wrath of the Immortals conflict. So reversing any of those effects (Alphatia, Alfheim, the Crater etc) could be things he would be working towards. At the very least, he would probably be willing to assist other Immortals or mortals working towards those goals. The one goal I think he would truly focus on though would be restoring magic on Mystara, removing the Day of Dread and perhaps working to find a permanent stop to the magic drain caused by the Radience without destroying the Nucleus of the Spheres.
Alliances
Would he support Benekander's non-interventionist line? I think not. Perhaps he might even find himself at odds with Benekander who is already heading towards a conflict between all of the Immortals. Or perhaps these two could find a way to work together. I think Rad's conflict with Ixion is over once and for all. The two might not have become friends, but Ixion might want to question Rad in order to learn more about the Old One he witnessed. Ilsundal and Alphatia will seek to work with Rad to restore Alfheim, Alphatia and end the Day of Dread.
Thoughts?
-Havard