Cast
Elohïr the Elven Fighter
Yaygo the Elven Winter Mage
Valerius the Human Priest of Zawa
Lux the Human Paladin of Zawa
Elohïr is roughly 534 years old. The elves of the land are practically immortal and hardly ever die of old age. 134 years ago, Elohïr was exiled from his hometown, the elven city of Orod Eska, in the Ice Teeth Mountains. He was married to an elvish woman named Falathil, and, unbeknownst to the other adventurers, he was exiled for slaying the man who murdered her in cold blood. More so, he was exiled for the state of mind he was in when committing the crime, despite his reasoning behind it. As such, his signature weapon, a rapier named Windswhisper (short for the full, elvish name which translates to Voice That Winds Whisper When Death Steps Out of the Shadows), glows blue so long as Elohïr feels vengeance in his heart. He worships the Stars and returns to the city, in secret*, every decade.
*Side note: I'm not a hundred percent correct on this, so correct me if I'm wrong +Kaillan Reukers.
Yaygo was also exiled from Orod Eska, for reasons unknown to us, and made a new home at the highest peak of the Ice Teeth Mountains, where an eternal winter blankets the rocks in frost and snow. There, he practiced his magic undisturbed and came to embody Winter and her mysteries. One day, he spotted Elohïr returning to Orod Eska and followed him. That's how the elves first met.
Valerius has been on a quest to locate all nine shrines of Zawa, Queen of the Inferno and Goddess of Fire and Passion. He met Elohïr and Yaygo whilst searching for the eighth shrine in the Ice Teeth Mountains. As It turns out, the main mountain was once a volcano in ages past, when the shrine was first built, but it had remained dormant for a long time, as Eternal Winter crept over it.
After meeting the elves, Valerius brought them to the eighth shrine which was guarded by a Wendigo, ice spirit. With Valerius protecting him, Yaygo extracted the spirit to form an ice golem which has travelled with him ever since. Valerius was impressed by Elohïr's strength and vigor during the battle and could sense the simmering passion that enraged the elf. The Priest believes Zawa brought Elohïr into his life and strongly feels Elohïr could be converted to see the true light given his passion. Elohïr believes Valerius couldn't defeat the Wendigo without his help but was satisfied with the Priest's performance and followed him out of pure optimism and respect, like a moth drawn to a flame. To this day, Elohïr pretends it wasn't a big deal, but, in truth, it was. Thus, Elohïr has sworn to protect Valerius.
Lux met all three on a merchant ship traveling across the great ocean to the port town of Zawpho. He was a crazed stowaway who had abandoned his ideals, betrayed his order, and forsake the god he once idolized. An event occurred that scarred him so terribly, that he has no recollection of whom he served or what his life was like before accepting Zawa and pledging his life and sword to serving her.
While it was Valerius that shook Lux from his insanity and converted him into a follower of Zawa, Elohïr was actually the first party member to find Lux in a storage area down on the orlop. Lux, in his mad state, spat in Elohïr's face and tried to attack, but Elohïr held him down and nearly killed him. In the end, Elohïr spared Lux's life and handed him off to Valerius. After calming down and speaking with the Priest, Lux dreamt of Zawa and received a divine message from her to passionately serve her, fight for her, and convert any nonbelievers to see her true light. The divine message manifested itself into a physical mark on his chest. Right over his heart was a scar depicting a circle with nine tails spreading out from it - the sigil of Zawa.
The following recollections are told from Lux's point of view.
The following recollections are told from Lux's point of view.
Prologue
Valerius had visited eight shrines of Zawa and knew the last shrine was located in a vast desert on the other side of the world, a place of eternal summer. Thus, the merchant ship took Elohïr, Yaygo, Lux, and him to the closest port city of Zawpho. There, Yaygo's wintery magic caused a disturbance which provoked a horde of giant, scorpion-men to invade from the south.
This was our party's first adventure prior to the start of the first session, and after we helped defend the city, Valerius found a map off one of the dead scorpion-men which revealed exactly they came from. It was our destination all along, the ninth and last shrine of Zawa. It seemed they had taken it over, but that wouldn't last for long.
Session I
The Outpost
We left Zawpho with enough supplies to last us a decent amount of time, and it helped that not all of us needed them. I was fiercely determined to find the last shrine of Zawa and purge it of the scorpoids infesting its halls. I truly believed Zawa blessed me, for I no longer felt hungry, thirsty, or tired for sleep. I also felt a great deal more loquacious with a voice that could transcend any language. All that was required of me was piety and observing the daily, sacrificial rituals which Valerius still had much to teach me about. Nothing was going to stop me. Nothing was going to stop us.
We traveled through the night, when the sun star didn't beat down on us quite as harsh, and we soon came upon an outpost occupied by two guards. They introduced themselves as Jedino and Ronven and said we weren't the first ones to recently pass through. Valerius stepped forward to introduce us and asked if they had any supplies for followers of Zawa who were on an important quest, but Jedino suddenly got in Valerius's face and trapped him in a closet!
"What is the meaning of this?" I said, "That is a Priest of Zawa, and he has done nothing wrong! In the name of the Queen of the Inferno, I demand you release him immediately!"
Jedino apologized and released him right away, but our eyes turned to Ronven who snatched up a crossbow. Yaygo snapped his slightly blue fingers and froze Ronven's arms in a sheen frost.
Valerius took the time to investigate, and I, likewise, searched for tracks. I asked Yaygo to help me, but he asked, "At what price?" Although I wanted his help freely, I told him I would quit badgering him about forsaking the Stars to see Zawa's light, and he accepted that as payment. On the other side of the outpost, further south, I found boot tracks belonging to four or five humans. The constant, chilling wind swirling around Yaygo ruined the tracks, and I couldn't glean anymore from them. I immediately regretted asking the Mage for help.
Elohïr remained with Ronven. Truth be told, I don't know what the Fighter said to him to make him run. All I could hear was Jedino yelling, "That was a bad idea," and Ronven running toward me and Yaygo. I stuck out my longsword, low to the ground, blunt side facing his knees, and Ronven tripped. Elohïr slew Jedino, and I knew, then and there, that there was something off about them. They must have tried to pull something on Elohïr.
I pinned Ronven down with my boot and held my blade to his throat. Elohïr approached and gave me a curious nod. It turns out the guards were just bandits, merely posing. They didn't have many supplies, but Ronven hinted at the fact that they stashed some water away. Valerius wanted to know where, but the bandit wouldn't talk, so I pressed the tip of my sword deeper into his neck. The Priest spoke a divine word to call forth Zawa and have her ignite the passion within me. His hair suddenly burned with an ethereal fire, and the hair underneath my helmet combusted as well. My eyes were lit like flickering flames, and I looked down at Ronven and demanded he tell me where the rest of the water was. He asked me to spare his life, or he wouldn't tell me, so I agreed.
"Under the floorboards of the outpost!" he cried out.
Valerius went to look and found the water. Elohïr looked at me, but my seething gaze was directed at Ronven. As soon as Valerius confirmed what he'd found, I drove the longsword into the bandit's neck, killing him. Yaygo just stood there, watching. Elohïr gave me another curious nod, although there was a strange, underlying show of respect.
Valerius took this opportunity to instruct me on how to properly sacrifice a body for Zawa. He told me to move the body quickly, before the decaying process set in. Meanwhile, he prepared a bonfire, and as we burned Ronven's body, I listened closely to his words and prayed with him.
When we finished, I suggested searching Jedino's body, where we found another map of the area. This one, however, had an X marked for gold in a spot that wasn't denoted on the other map we had. Elohïr explained that the bandits posing as guards were with the other group of bandits that had passed, and with a spot marked for gold, we were sure to find them there.
Once our supplies were secured, we decided to take a detour and embarked on a perilous journey through the desert.
The Harvesters and the Volcanic Cave
It's been three days since we left Zawpho. We've mainly traveled at night, for it's a lot safer than enduring the sun star's brutal heat. Valerius helped conserve our rations, while Elohïr took point and brought word of any threats. Fortunately, there were none. Yaygo was our trailblazer, but he set us astray, and it took far longer to reach the marked spot on the map than we'd hoped.
It was daytime, when we noticed sand clouds, twenty humans high, swirling over the dunes. They scintillated with tiny, gold particles, and there was a small group of people with giant nets trying to capture the valuable dust. We knew them to be Harvesters. It was a lucrative, but dangerous, profession in the south lands of Eternal Summer. The winds could change momentum at a moment's notice, and breathing in the particles could cut your lungs and lacerate the organs.
We weren't too far from a cave we'd just recently made camp in, when we spotted the Harvesters. There were five of them altogether. Two were armed, standing guard, while three held up an enormous net and worked. There seemed to be no sign of the bandits, so we took it upon ourselves to go down and offer up our services to protect them.
Valerius candidly approached them, and we followed. "Good day," he said, "We mean you no harm." He proceeded to alert them of bandits in the area.
"Hmph, nothing new," one of the armed Harvesters replied, and they mentioned two hooligans had already passed through.
Elohïr told them they had been dispatched and sounded smug about it, as though he was taking all the credit.
Valerius offered the Harvesters protection from the other bandits in exchange for letting us camp out in their tent, but they refused our offer and said they didn't need protecting.
There was another cave nearby, higher up, on a mountain. I suggested we take the high ground and camp out there. It would give us a better vantage spot, and we wouldn't be encroaching on the Harvesters. Valerius and the others agreed. The Harvesters had no problem with us camping nearby. As we left, Elohïr scoffed, "They'd be grateful to have us in their tents."
When we reached the cave, we weren't prepared to make camp just yet without first exploring our immediate surroundings. Yaygo found a giant crack and thoroughly inspected it for anything peculiar. He found nesting signs of a burrowing creature, like a scorpion or something similar, and scratches on the rock that were definitely made by scorpions. He also felt cold air coming from inside.
Valerius gazed at the texture of the rocks and immediately recognized them to be the same, volcanic stone as the mountain which contained the eighth shrine of Zawa. He drew upon his knowledge and remembered that the volcanic magma condensed into a cooler state, called Blackbond, which then hardened into a stronger material and could be applied to tools, weapons, and armor to strengthen them.
We knew the cave wasn't the safest place to camp, but we unanimously decided to slip through the crack and take our chances.
Valerius was the only one who slept. Elves do not require sleep; they meditate instead. Since I didn't need to sleep or meditate, I offered to take watch.
Prior to their meditation, I overheard the elves talking amongst each other. Elohïr referred to the bandits we met as barbarians and filth. I saw true hatred in his eyes, when he referred to them as, "Pathetic humans," and learned just how deep Elohïr's resentment toward humans stretched. Of course, I didn't know why. I thought perhaps all elves shared the same sentiment, but Yaygo was quick to disagree. He didn't think all humans were filth. That left me wondering about Elohïr's past and Yaygo's. In fact, I realized I still didn't really know much about any of my new companions, but I was eager to learn, for I felt a bond with them that I hadn't felt with anyone in a long time. I couldn't even remember much about my past. My head was clouded with amnesia, and they were the only ones I truly remember meeting.
I felt Yaygo's misguided behavior with his wintery magic endangered his very soul, but I made a promise I wouldn't try to convert him. I respected the beliefs of Elohïr, and I felt he was starting to respect me, but I hoped he would one day see the true way of Zawa. Valerius stood by me in battle, and I knew I could trust him completely. He was a brave soul, and there was still much I had to learn from him.
At some point, Yaygo woke up, and we had a brief, private conversation. He asked me if I could communicate with Zawa which, I confess, caught me off guard. He asked me if Valerius and I were similar in that regard. I told him the truth. I recalled that day on the ship when we all first met. Valerius opened the doors for me, but I stepped through and saw the light. Zawa came and spoke to me in a dream. She left her mark on my chest, which Yaygo had not yet seen, so I showed him. I told the Winter Mage that Zawa spoke to me but that I could not communicate back - not the way Valerius could. I hoped to learn all I could from the Priest so that I could do in service to her. Yaygo listened intently and told me he wanted to help me learn to commune with her. I truly didn't know why the Mage suddenly wanted to help me, but I honestly felt closer to him. I felt I could trust him.
I felt I could trust all my companions.
Several hours after Yaygo withdrew into his meditation again, my ears perked up, and I heard strange sounds of rattling and cracking all around me. I looked around and immediately noticed the rocks surrounding us were chipping apart and hatching. Tiny, black pincers pushed through, and I quickly realized they weren't rocks. Segmented legs, chelicerae, and heads the size of fists broke through. Two, large eyes and three pairs of smaller eyes scanned every direction, and there were dozens of them. I quickly drew my sword and grabbed my shield before waking Valerius.
We knew the cave wasn't the safest place to camp, but we never realized we'd fallen asleep in a nest of giant scorpion eggs until then.
We left Zawpho with enough supplies to last us a decent amount of time, and it helped that not all of us needed them. I was fiercely determined to find the last shrine of Zawa and purge it of the scorpoids infesting its halls. I truly believed Zawa blessed me, for I no longer felt hungry, thirsty, or tired for sleep. I also felt a great deal more loquacious with a voice that could transcend any language. All that was required of me was piety and observing the daily, sacrificial rituals which Valerius still had much to teach me about. Nothing was going to stop me. Nothing was going to stop us.
We traveled through the night, when the sun star didn't beat down on us quite as harsh, and we soon came upon an outpost occupied by two guards. They introduced themselves as Jedino and Ronven and said we weren't the first ones to recently pass through. Valerius stepped forward to introduce us and asked if they had any supplies for followers of Zawa who were on an important quest, but Jedino suddenly got in Valerius's face and trapped him in a closet!
"What is the meaning of this?" I said, "That is a Priest of Zawa, and he has done nothing wrong! In the name of the Queen of the Inferno, I demand you release him immediately!"
Jedino apologized and released him right away, but our eyes turned to Ronven who snatched up a crossbow. Yaygo snapped his slightly blue fingers and froze Ronven's arms in a sheen frost.
Valerius took the time to investigate, and I, likewise, searched for tracks. I asked Yaygo to help me, but he asked, "At what price?" Although I wanted his help freely, I told him I would quit badgering him about forsaking the Stars to see Zawa's light, and he accepted that as payment. On the other side of the outpost, further south, I found boot tracks belonging to four or five humans. The constant, chilling wind swirling around Yaygo ruined the tracks, and I couldn't glean anymore from them. I immediately regretted asking the Mage for help.
Elohïr remained with Ronven. Truth be told, I don't know what the Fighter said to him to make him run. All I could hear was Jedino yelling, "That was a bad idea," and Ronven running toward me and Yaygo. I stuck out my longsword, low to the ground, blunt side facing his knees, and Ronven tripped. Elohïr slew Jedino, and I knew, then and there, that there was something off about them. They must have tried to pull something on Elohïr.
I pinned Ronven down with my boot and held my blade to his throat. Elohïr approached and gave me a curious nod. It turns out the guards were just bandits, merely posing. They didn't have many supplies, but Ronven hinted at the fact that they stashed some water away. Valerius wanted to know where, but the bandit wouldn't talk, so I pressed the tip of my sword deeper into his neck. The Priest spoke a divine word to call forth Zawa and have her ignite the passion within me. His hair suddenly burned with an ethereal fire, and the hair underneath my helmet combusted as well. My eyes were lit like flickering flames, and I looked down at Ronven and demanded he tell me where the rest of the water was. He asked me to spare his life, or he wouldn't tell me, so I agreed.
"Under the floorboards of the outpost!" he cried out.
Valerius went to look and found the water. Elohïr looked at me, but my seething gaze was directed at Ronven. As soon as Valerius confirmed what he'd found, I drove the longsword into the bandit's neck, killing him. Yaygo just stood there, watching. Elohïr gave me another curious nod, although there was a strange, underlying show of respect.
Valerius took this opportunity to instruct me on how to properly sacrifice a body for Zawa. He told me to move the body quickly, before the decaying process set in. Meanwhile, he prepared a bonfire, and as we burned Ronven's body, I listened closely to his words and prayed with him.
When we finished, I suggested searching Jedino's body, where we found another map of the area. This one, however, had an X marked for gold in a spot that wasn't denoted on the other map we had. Elohïr explained that the bandits posing as guards were with the other group of bandits that had passed, and with a spot marked for gold, we were sure to find them there.
Once our supplies were secured, we decided to take a detour and embarked on a perilous journey through the desert.
The Harvesters and the Volcanic Cave
It's been three days since we left Zawpho. We've mainly traveled at night, for it's a lot safer than enduring the sun star's brutal heat. Valerius helped conserve our rations, while Elohïr took point and brought word of any threats. Fortunately, there were none. Yaygo was our trailblazer, but he set us astray, and it took far longer to reach the marked spot on the map than we'd hoped.
It was daytime, when we noticed sand clouds, twenty humans high, swirling over the dunes. They scintillated with tiny, gold particles, and there was a small group of people with giant nets trying to capture the valuable dust. We knew them to be Harvesters. It was a lucrative, but dangerous, profession in the south lands of Eternal Summer. The winds could change momentum at a moment's notice, and breathing in the particles could cut your lungs and lacerate the organs.
We weren't too far from a cave we'd just recently made camp in, when we spotted the Harvesters. There were five of them altogether. Two were armed, standing guard, while three held up an enormous net and worked. There seemed to be no sign of the bandits, so we took it upon ourselves to go down and offer up our services to protect them.
Valerius candidly approached them, and we followed. "Good day," he said, "We mean you no harm." He proceeded to alert them of bandits in the area.
"Hmph, nothing new," one of the armed Harvesters replied, and they mentioned two hooligans had already passed through.
Elohïr told them they had been dispatched and sounded smug about it, as though he was taking all the credit.
Valerius offered the Harvesters protection from the other bandits in exchange for letting us camp out in their tent, but they refused our offer and said they didn't need protecting.
There was another cave nearby, higher up, on a mountain. I suggested we take the high ground and camp out there. It would give us a better vantage spot, and we wouldn't be encroaching on the Harvesters. Valerius and the others agreed. The Harvesters had no problem with us camping nearby. As we left, Elohïr scoffed, "They'd be grateful to have us in their tents."
When we reached the cave, we weren't prepared to make camp just yet without first exploring our immediate surroundings. Yaygo found a giant crack and thoroughly inspected it for anything peculiar. He found nesting signs of a burrowing creature, like a scorpion or something similar, and scratches on the rock that were definitely made by scorpions. He also felt cold air coming from inside.
Valerius gazed at the texture of the rocks and immediately recognized them to be the same, volcanic stone as the mountain which contained the eighth shrine of Zawa. He drew upon his knowledge and remembered that the volcanic magma condensed into a cooler state, called Blackbond, which then hardened into a stronger material and could be applied to tools, weapons, and armor to strengthen them.
We knew the cave wasn't the safest place to camp, but we unanimously decided to slip through the crack and take our chances.
Valerius was the only one who slept. Elves do not require sleep; they meditate instead. Since I didn't need to sleep or meditate, I offered to take watch.
Prior to their meditation, I overheard the elves talking amongst each other. Elohïr referred to the bandits we met as barbarians and filth. I saw true hatred in his eyes, when he referred to them as, "Pathetic humans," and learned just how deep Elohïr's resentment toward humans stretched. Of course, I didn't know why. I thought perhaps all elves shared the same sentiment, but Yaygo was quick to disagree. He didn't think all humans were filth. That left me wondering about Elohïr's past and Yaygo's. In fact, I realized I still didn't really know much about any of my new companions, but I was eager to learn, for I felt a bond with them that I hadn't felt with anyone in a long time. I couldn't even remember much about my past. My head was clouded with amnesia, and they were the only ones I truly remember meeting.
I felt Yaygo's misguided behavior with his wintery magic endangered his very soul, but I made a promise I wouldn't try to convert him. I respected the beliefs of Elohïr, and I felt he was starting to respect me, but I hoped he would one day see the true way of Zawa. Valerius stood by me in battle, and I knew I could trust him completely. He was a brave soul, and there was still much I had to learn from him.
* * *
At some point, Yaygo woke up, and we had a brief, private conversation. He asked me if I could communicate with Zawa which, I confess, caught me off guard. He asked me if Valerius and I were similar in that regard. I told him the truth. I recalled that day on the ship when we all first met. Valerius opened the doors for me, but I stepped through and saw the light. Zawa came and spoke to me in a dream. She left her mark on my chest, which Yaygo had not yet seen, so I showed him. I told the Winter Mage that Zawa spoke to me but that I could not communicate back - not the way Valerius could. I hoped to learn all I could from the Priest so that I could do in service to her. Yaygo listened intently and told me he wanted to help me learn to commune with her. I truly didn't know why the Mage suddenly wanted to help me, but I honestly felt closer to him. I felt I could trust him.
I felt I could trust all my companions.
Several hours after Yaygo withdrew into his meditation again, my ears perked up, and I heard strange sounds of rattling and cracking all around me. I looked around and immediately noticed the rocks surrounding us were chipping apart and hatching. Tiny, black pincers pushed through, and I quickly realized they weren't rocks. Segmented legs, chelicerae, and heads the size of fists broke through. Two, large eyes and three pairs of smaller eyes scanned every direction, and there were dozens of them. I quickly drew my sword and grabbed my shield before waking Valerius.
We knew the cave wasn't the safest place to camp, but we never realized we'd fallen asleep in a nest of giant scorpion eggs until then.
END OF SESSION
No comments:
Post a Comment