Game-Summaries:3/16/2019 Recollections

Ci's Inspirational Breakfast

On the morning of their departure to aid the Elven Ambassador, Ci, Iago, Cassio, Amon and Ember were gathered in the great hall of Shanjiu Keep, seated at the Feast table, sharing a simple but hearty breakfast. There were two new faces at the table, however. One was that of Arwel, a female half-elf druid that had been tending the garden and grounds of the keep for the last month or so. Her head was shaven, she had green eyes and rough brown skin marked with tattoos on the right side of her face and body. The other was named Caydranth, a Dragonborn Warlock who had been seen in the Library, roaming amongst the stacks and assisting the Sage with his duties. Caydranth was tall and slight, her scales a rugged black and her eyes a deep blue. her oblong face seemed slightly asymmetrical and had a deep scar running down the left side. Both Arwel and Caydranth had arrived at the Keep in the aftermath of the destruction of Solace to pledge their service to the keep and the Eternal Order. Both would be accompanying the Eo on this mission.

Ci sat next to Caydranth and spoke quietly with her. Indeed they could often be seen in the library or elsewhere about the keep, speaking quietly and walking together. Caydranth seemed quite sad in those times, and often fresh tears could be seen glistening on her slick black face.

Ci placed a gentle hand over Caydranth's and said with a slight shrug, "The Paths are many, but the mountain is one." Ember, just to Ci's other side, heard this and asked, "Ci, you have said that many times... I know it is saying of your Order, but what does it mean?" Ci replied, "Its meaning is Many layered in the philosophy of Yanji, and many masters have dedicated their entire lives to discovering them all. I will answer with the Story told to me, when I asked the same question..."

"This story was told to me by my master, Liu. One summer, when Liu was but a disciple himself and was leaving for his Pilgrimage. As he prepared to leave, his master came to him and said, if you head directly Westward from the Temple for 3 days, you will come upon a small village. In that village is a Tavern. In that Tavern dances a woman known as the Butterfly. I owe her a great debt, and I ask that you would repay it for me.” With that, the master handed his young student one of the amulets worn by the Masters of the Temple. Indeed this was his master’s own amulet, fashioned by his master’s own hand and worn for many years. "

The student was stunned into silence for a moment. “My master’s amulet!” he thought. “Such a gift is meant to be given from Master to Master, not to some dancing girl in a dirty village tavern!” But Liu held his tongue, and only nodded stiffly. He thought, “I had not noticed how old my master looks. Perhaps he is becoming odd in his elder years. I will hold this amulet for him until he comes to his senses.”

As he turned to go his master called out, “and Liu! When you reach the village you will be tired and hungry from road. Be sure to rest and feed yourself, but do not to miss her performance. The Butterfly is one of the greatest dancers in all of Eomas.”

Liu thought as he walked away, “A dancer? Why would the master think that was important?” In fact, it bothered him so much, he grumbled to himself the whole way to the village. He had joined the Temple of Shan Sua to train, to learn the martial arts, not to watch silly dancers.

He was obedient, however, and when he reached the village, after rest and a good meal, he attended the performance.. The attendant at the front door recognized Liu as a disciple from the Temple, and said that, due to the respect that the Butterfly had for the monks of Yanji and their art, he was instructed to offer a prime location to Liu for 2 silver, rather than the customary four. This further incensed Liu. “4 silver!” he barked. “To watch a dance! Even just 2 silver is bad enough!” The attendant frowned at first, before nodding and bowing to the disciple Liu, saying that he understood it was a sacrifice, but that the Butterfly hoped most sincerely that all who attended would find her performance worthy of the time and effort spent to attend. The other guests already in the tavern glanced at him in the doorway, wondering what he would do, but Liu seemed mollified by the attendant’s humility, and dropped his 2 silver in the bowl for him, striding into the tavern and muttering to himself.

Inside, Liu was shown to an area near the raised platform that was to be used as a stage. The tavern itself was almost full, and the excitement in the crowd was palpable. People from near and far had journeyed to see the Butterfly, as the tavern clearly held more people than this meager village could support. Even those in seats furthest from the stage, farmers and tradesmen all, had dressed in their finest clothes. All seemed to be waiting for The Butterfly to appear. Being among the crowd with so many people talking of how wonderful was the Butterfly’s dancing, only intensified the Liu’s ire. He complained to others that this was a waste of time and that he was regretting spending his money on such trifles. This garnered him some odd looks, and an attendant began walking his way. Liu noticed and drew himself up, ready to tell the attendant what he thought in no uncertain terms. Before Disciple Liu could do anything, however, a hush fell over the crowd, and the attendant bowed to the stage and remained motionless. The student turned, and there, in a pillar of light, was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. The Butterfly stool, poised and motionless, in a simple outfit of black and white. In one hand was an open fan; in the other, a blossom of almost iridescent pink. She stood for an indeterminate amount of time-- not a whisper or murmur among the crowd. Her eyes flicked across the audience and seemed to linger on the novice. He held his breath. And then, she began to move.

The Butterfly's skill and talent were said to be unrivaled, and that night she shone. Her movements were graceful, perfect, precise. Body, mind, and soul merged into one. She spoke to the audience in a language that they knew and did not know, and no one was unmoved. When her dance was complete, another perfect silence settled over the crowd-- until an overwhelming cry of acclaim erupted, engulfing the small Tavern. Throughout the performance, though moved by her beauty, Liu had seethed inside. "Dancing? this is a waste of my time. I am to see the world, and test my skills. I am to spread the word of Yanji, and one day hopefully take my place among the masters. Beautiful though she may be, this frivolity should be beneath me, and certainly my master. The cries of acclaim broke the disciple’s reverie, and he once again grew discomfited, and stormed out, making his way across the Tavern to the bar.

Soon Liu had already drunk one large cup of wine and had begun his second. A cloud seemed to hang over him, and the other patrons gave him a wide berth. After another cup, the novice heard a familiar voice from one corner of the bar.

Slightly inebriated, the novice got up from his chair and walked, cup in hand, to find his Master in a secluded corner table, speaking with the Butterfly. Liu's eyes narrowed. "You said... why are you here?"

The master regarded the Disciple Liu coolly, tilting his head before turning back to the Butterfly. "Please pardon the interruption. My student has journeyed far, and no doubt that and the luminosity of your performance has unsettled him." Returning to Liu, he continued, "I got to thinking about the perfection of the Butterfly, and decided it had been too long since I had made this journey myself. Tell me, what did you think of the Butterfly's performance this evening?"

The novice did not look at either of them as he muttered under his breath "I came to learn to fight. This was just a waste of time." The disciple heard a sharp intake of breath and prepared himself for a mighty blow, but none came. A glance at the master showed the cold fury that had settled into his face-- and a delicate hand on his shoulder, pausing him from pulling back his arm to strike. The Butterfly, a small, sad smile on her face, spoke.

"I am most regretful that you did not find my performance worthy this evening. I strive to show that training one's body to the highest pinnacle need not be done solely in the realm of the martial arts. Although I believe the distance between the art of dance and the art of Yanji is not as great as one might think. It always seemed to me that the keen observer could see the ways in which they overlap."

The novice let out a loud, derisive laugh that caused nearby eyes to turn to see what was going on. "Dance, like Yanji? You don't know anything about it!"

A hush fell over the whole bar as the master was suddenly standing over the younger man, two fingers at the side of Liu’s neck speaking death in their silence. "An apology. Now." said the master. But the Butterfly gracefully stood, unperturbed. "The fault is mine. I have failed as a teacher, and I have clearly not demonstrated what I mean to help your student understand. Please, allow me."

And with that, the Butterfly drew the disciple out of his chair and to a space that moments before had seemed crowded, but now was empty of all people and furniture.

Liu was too overwhelmed-- whether by fear or awe or something else entirely he could not truly say-- to do anything but comply and stand dumbly in the cleared space. All eyes were truly on him now. The Butterfly now struck a pose from her dance.

"See, how the raised arm is like the beginning of the third kata to strike. But where the third kata sends force through the target, to wound, the Unfurling Willow is an invitation to one's partner."

The Butterfly's raised arm extended towards the novice so gracefully that he was mesmerized, unable to take his eyes off of her outstretched hand. An invitation, from a beautiful woman, in front of all these staring eyes... He did not move. The small, sad smile returned to The Butterfly's face as she resumed her pose.

"See again, the grace of the willow branch. And see too what strength lies within that grace."

And again, the raised arm extended, with such grace that the novice's eyes could not be averted. This time, however, there was no invitation to dance, no offering of peace. There was a beauty unmatchable, unavoidable, and although he saw the arm approaching, sensed the danger, and every ounce of his training compelled him to parry, to dodge, to BE SOMEWHERE ELSE, there was nothing he could do but watch.

The dancer's arm was delicate to look at but had been hardened by training that began at the age of four, honed to be the perfect instrument of beautiful motion. After the first blow, Liu recovered and attempted to parry. The butterfly’s movements, however, were swift and precise, and at the end of each, a blow came that Liu had neither expected, nor seen. As the rain of blows continued, Liu found himself unable to lift his right hand, then his left. A sharp kick from the Butterfly’s foot froze his left leg... a snap from her fan froze his right. As the novice crumpled to the floor under the precisely choreographed attacks, he realized that in truth, the paths are many, but the mountain is one.

"And thus was Disciple Liu enlightened," Ci concluded quietly. "There is truth to be found in all things...

"In victory and in defeat... in joy and in sorrow... even in death and in loss." Ci touched Caydranth's shoulder delicately. "And though those truths may come at the end of a staff or a fan, those truths all lead to enlightenment, if we have but the Wisdom to recognize them."

Jeroy, who had paused to listen as he passed through the great hall on his way to do more pushups, interjected: "Did the butterfly ever get the amulet?"

Ci smiled and replied, "Master Liu did not say. But I know he himself wore an amulet with an image of a butterfly carved into its face..."

The meal concluded with each person (with the exception of confident friend Cassio) thinking of some moment in their lives that might hold a lesson yet unexamined.

Recollections by Iago

On the 19th day of the 3rd month in the year 347, I, Iago, go on my first adventure as a member of The Eternal Order of the Magistery.

Here in lies the account of this first adventure.

Some of us are gathered in the Great Hall in Shanjiu Castle and an interesting individual by the name of Haethorwen joins us. To my eyes, he is not an Elf, though he certainly looks like one. But I sense that he is something else entirely. This proves to be true when he addresses us.

Haethorwen represents the Autumnal Court and they are looking to create contracts with the Material Realm. He asks us to help their court secure this contract. The ramifications of this is that it would prevent a contract with the other courts of the Fae. It seems that this is an annual affair, but I might be wrong about that. Some of the additional things we learn about the Fae courts is that we are about to reach the vernal equinox, which is the weakest time of year for the Autumnal Court. Winter (called Unseelie) is waning and Summer (called Seelie) is waxing. The Seelie and the Unseelie court are much more powerful than the Estral (Spring) and the Autumnal Court court.

The Estral Court will be hosting this event and we agree to go on this adventure in hopes of securing some additional allies (and secrets). We will travel into the Golden Forest, which overlaps with the Fae Realms, so that we may enter their realm.

The current two retainers (Arwel Mithmirelen, Caydranth) of the Keep join us, but Quetzal the Couatl decides not to join us in this adventure due to it being a war of some type.

Once we reach the court, we rest and dress. Oh the dress is important. It is obvious that this isn't your traditional type of warfare, though it's not clear what to expect. The style of dress is very colourful and matches that of the season in affiliation. Our group rises to the occasion and dresses accordingly. I also work to establish a means of contact within this court so that I may use this to trade in secrets later. Moolissa is the Minotaur that helped our group get dressed (who had no idea what to do) and is also the best contact that we will have to trade in information in the future.

Battle of the Seasonal Bands

We go to the site of the battle and wait. Shortly after bells ring and the Fae appear. A platform rises from the Estral Court and they begin playing strange music from instruments that I do not recognize. We, for the most part, are dancing along with the crowd.

After about 45 minutes, the Summer Court also joins and starts to play music. Very shortly after (one song), the Winter court joins the music and this results in massive cold blast (it hurt)!

We, along with the rest of the Autumnal Court wait to enter the fray, another song perhaps, and then we all enter at the same time attacking the Unseelie Court in a coordinated attack doing devastating amounts of damage. The other courts gang up on Unseelie seeing them weaker and we continue to attack the same way.

I commit to my greatest performance ever. I daresay, it was a divine like performance. With my performances and specialized attacks from the rest of the team, we quickly removed the Unseelie from the field. Unsurprisingly, Estral and Seelie turned to attack us in force. We took a few devastating hits, but we survive. Given our strength in attack and how weakened the other courts had become, we are able to take out the other two courts quickly.

The Battle seems to have been won by the Autumnal court, but now it is, of course, time for an encore. While I’m playing, one of the other performers tosses me an incredible looking instrument and I attempt to switch to playing that. It was somewhat haunting and beautiful.

Haethorwen spots the clarion hanging from my shoulders and informs me that I had earned Celdoriath's respect. This is something that will require more investigation.

Shanjiu Keep is where all trade for the Fae Court must go through. Haethorwen joins me and will be a new retainer in the Keep.

And thus ends the telling of this adventure in words. I shall compose my first piece for Celdoriath's Clarion as a telling of this story so that it may be heard far and wide and do justice to this epic tale.

Recollections by Amon

An emissary from the Fey courts wishes to make an audience with someone from Shianju Keep. Having made initial contact with the emissary, Iago confers with Ci and welcomes him into the Great Hall, where we are all assembled. Haethorwen, ambassador of the Autumnal Court, enters, dressed in regalia that seems as if it's made from leaves and branches in varying stages of decay. It's vibrant, and colorful and seems to almost be a hunting outfit. In appearance he seems elven, but something is off, and he has almost an elemental quality to him. Cassio tries to get a feel for his aura and sees that he's lit up like a Christmas tree, vibrant but not alarming. He only has three fingers and a thumb on each hand, ears that are long even for an elf, and has an unearthly grace beyond even what an elf would have. Iago, a tiefling himself, recognizes a fellow hybrid creature.

Ci welcomes him in the fey tongue, and they confer. "Fine mortals, humans, and whatever of the others you are, we would like to seek your aid in establishing trade contracts with the Material Realm." When asked who "we" are, he responds, "We, the Autumnal Court, of course." We are currently only six days from the Spring Equinox, the nadir of Autumn's power. He is informed that the Material Realm is not a singular entity that can establish trade agreements unilaterally, however the way Fey Courts act is as one, and he claims this year is the Autumnal Court's turn to dictate that action. We inquire as to what aid they need, and they, of course, inform us that the contest is decided by combat, against the Seelie and Unseelie Courts. Everyone looks for advantages from the different realms, and they're seeking us out in particular because of our exploits.

One of the things they can offer is aid and succor for Solace in its time of need. The Estral Court, strongest in Spring, is acting as host for the Courts. It'll be 5 days travel south from Shianju to get to the holdings of the Estral Court in the Golden Forest, where the Feywild from where they originate crosses over. We elect to take our two retainers for the keep with us as extra help on the trip, and pack supplies. As the portal network to the Magistery is down and the only portals available from the Keep wouldn't help, we're going to need to ride there. We elect instead to depart on foot.

We depart the keep, suffering through a five day journey with Cassio. On the way, Ci pumps Haethorwen for information about the structure of the contest. The Estral Court will open the contest, as it is their domain and the Equinox is the peak of their power. One of the major courts, Summer or Winter, will make the first real volley, and the others will respond. We will need to pick the appropriate time to attack, as too early and our small force will be overwhelmed, too late and we'll raise the ire of all three courts for sitting the contest out, and they will all turn on us. It is likely there will be other unaligned fey or contracted mortals aiding each of the courts. He assures us we should be in no real danger, and Iago gets the impression he's being genuine.

We enter the Golden Forest, and at first the journey through is as expected for a beautiful woodland. As we progress, we start to notice things that are off about the environment, moss on the wrong side etc. and eventually incontrovertibly find ourselves within the Feywild. The area is full of Autumnal Eladrin. The area has the makeshift appearance of nomadic natural homes. The others get outfitted in clothes more befitting the Autumnal Court, while I chill in my scary-looking plate covered in blood red symbols to Taiia, my head encased in a helm with glowing red eyes of doom. We get a makeover from a fancily-dressed minotaur. Iago tries to make friends with tiny fairies. He fails.

The next day we head to the battlefield, and see a land that seems like a mashup of the four seasons, connected by bridges with a central meeting ground. The spring and autumn sections are significantly smaller than the summer and winter. We hear a synthetic drumming song all around us and the sound of tribal drums playing in the distance. From the trees to our left, a purple glow emits amid the dark, and from the right, green. The mixed crowds of fey begin to stir. From the center of the massed crowd in front of us a single dais begins to rise. Music begins to play from the dais raised by the Estral Court, enthralling all the fey around us. Haethorwen bobs with the music and seems livelier than he's ever been. We all attempt to get into the music. I fail.

This goes on for roughly 30-45 minutes, then with no preamble, a dais rises on the Seelie side of the court, and music starts there. Distant sounds grow closer, and then percussion breaks on the stage and everyone gets into the music even more. The winter court joins in eventually as well with their own stage. A blast of stinging ice and snow explodes over us. The music continues and the courts begin attacking each other with magic and music, with the larger courts mostly focusing on the Estral Court. Ultimately we find the right time to enter the fray, opening fire on the Unseelie Court. The ferocity of our attack is such that the other courts, sensing weakness, follow suit, and together we demolish the Unseelie's musicians. Since I can neither dance nor play music, I help out by silencing enemy musicians where possible, and shattering sections of the stage where able. Cassio almost single-handedly destroys the Seelie Court by ramming into the court with his magical ramming rod thing he seems fond of. We make quick work of the weakened Estral Court. Victorious, our performers play an encore, and Iago gets a sylvan flute in recognition of his talent.

The concert ends at midnight. Haethorwen is so overjoyed at the success of the Autumnal Court over the others, he joins us as a friendly retainer. Shanju Keep also gains the Autumnal Blessing. Whenever we are within our domain, upon rolling Initiative we can make a Charm attempt on one target in sight. Iago also uses the opportunity to negotiate for trade for aid for the Magistery and Solace and gets his hands on a magical flute. Haethorwen notices the flute and notes that Iago has earned Seldoriath's respect. We make the trip back, nobly bearing the burden of five more days in Cassio's company.

Recollections by Ci

it seems The Eternal Order may have a new brother. One of the offspring of our Hell-trapped Magisters, a young tiefling bard named Iago, asked if he could negotiate on behalf of the Order and the Magistery with an ambassador for the Fey Courts. That Ambassador was an Eladrin named Haethorwen, and he asked for our help in the Spring Equinox Tournament, a competition between the Fey Courts to determine which court gets to trade with the Prime Material Plane for the next year. Though we did not know much of the individual courts, having an ally among one of them could not be a bad thing, so we agreed to help. As I speak Sylvan and have some experience with The Golden Forest I offered to accompany Iago on this quest. We were also joined by our friends, Amon, Cassio, and Ember. It appears that there is something of a history between friend Iago and friend Cassio. It has something to do with Cassio's time in Avernus, I believe and it seems to be the cause of some friction between them, at least on the part of Iago. Friend Cassio remains blissfully unable to imagine anyone not awed by his majesty.

As we made the Journey to The Golden Forest, the entrance to the Feywild on this plane, I conversed with Haethorwen in Sylvan to try to get some idea of the task that was before us. I could gather only that is was a competition of some kind, and that Haethorwen's court was somewhat at a disadvantage. It seems the The Autumnal Court is one of the weaker courts, the other being this year's host, the Spring Court. The Winter and Summer courts were traditionally the most powerful, though Haethorwen hoped our participation might tip the balance in his favor. Apparently recruiting allies from the Material Plane is not unheard of in these competitions. It seemed that our challenge would be to fulfill our agreement with Haethorwen without causing enmity with any of the other Courts, while managing to stay alive (battles between ageless beings can often be hazardous to mere mortals!)

We arrived and made our way into the Feywild without difficulty. We found the realm engulfed in preparations for the Competition. We clothed ourselves in the Colors of the Fall, as our companions in the Autumnal Court were clothed, and awaited the start of the competition. When it began, I immediately found myself overwhelmed and out of place. Where I expected dire battle, I instead found music and dancing. While I prepared for martial combat, the Eladrin called on elemental magics and primal harmonies to weave stories and song in the very air. It was clear that this was in indeed a competition of sorts, and indeed one not without danger, as the magical energies involved could cause real harm, though conjured from nothing by song and voice. I found myself, for perhaps the first time in my life, without a clue as to how I could protect my friends or punish my foes. In the first case we had no real foes to speak of as we were trying not to incur the wrath of the other Courts. In the second case, though I carry a small flute to aid in my meditations, in the company of these great instruments of beauty and power, my flute seemed a poor and fragile thing and my meager skill with it, wholly unequal to this task. I settled upon using my bow to harass the musicians of our rival courts, but I took no pride in doing so. In the face of all that beauty and wonder, it seemed that crass combat was a stain on my character. Would that all warfare could be settled this way... with bands instead of bloodshed, and dance instead of death. However, I find that though I might wish it to be so, I also find that in such a world, I may have no place.

Master Fēng has often chided me for my single-minded pursuit of martial and weapon skills. I have always justified it by rationalizing that the world is a dangerous place, and only by becoming dangerous myself can I hope to tame it. I have now had a glimpse of what a world without that danger... without that fear.... I find that it is a world in which I might not find peace, though peace might reign all about me. I do not know what this means to my mission, or to my Study, but I know I must meditate on this more. Perhaps speaking with out new friend Haethorwen could help. It would certainly be preferable to Fēng's smug "I told you so".