Game-Summaries:12/28/2018 Recollections

Ekerati's Dawnspeech

it is dawn on Interdie, the day between years, New Year's Day, marking the separation of the year 346 and 347 of the Common Era.

As all Magisters here are aware now, this is also the day of the "assault," but no intelligence has been forthcoming. You are all awakened as the sun rises by your rings pulsing a golden hue. This is your second interdie as a magister, you know now that this pulse is beckoning all magisters to the Grand Hall.

Ekerati, Grandmaster Metaphysicae stands at the podium atop the main stage in the Grand Hall. The entirety of the Magistery's leadership is seated behind him, headmasters, grandmasters, the color guard, and a strangely familiar looking woman in a gilded dress.

Ekerati begins with no preamble

"Our spies inform us that the enemy prepares two fronts to attack at sundown, during the short time when the protective enchantments on this city are weakest."

"Every New Year's Day we have but one duty as Magisters: keep the city safe during this vulnerable period, and while it only lasts for a few hours, it presents a window of opportunity for would-be attackers to take advantage of our weakened defenses. No attack has ever succeeded against this jewel of the world, and this day will be no different!"

"Until now intelligence has been compartmentalized. We are expecting a double envelopment. From the sea to the west, a siege with the ultimate goal to destroy the ultraforce cannon to allow for a prolonged battle. From the east, an army of undead has begun to march."

"While they mean to attack this city, their true objective still eludes us. There is something we are missing, and so information is key, every single one of you has been given a direct chain of command on how and where to share this information. Our enemies will play their hand eventually, and we will strike back with precision and efficiency, a special thank you to the greens and reds who have coordinated this effort."

"Evacuating the city is not an option, but a special defensive company comprised of all houses will be warding the hospitals and schools to serve as bunkers."

Ekerati looks out at the crowd, as if noticing it for the first time and sees what you see, uncertainty and unabashed fear across the sea of faces. He sighs a weighty breath. "You have your orders."

Ekerati turns back to face the rest of the Magistery leadership, you see reassuring nods and stern faces. The woman sitting among them stands and gestures for Ekerati to sit in her place. She approaches the podium moving with the grace of a rogue and the flourish of a bard. There is an ineffable power and warm kinship radiating from her penetrating your very soul, and as she begins to speak the crowd hushes.

"Ekerati, thine heart be true. I shalt sue for peace, but our foe is corrupt. Thither a blackness. A void at their core. Wend forth, I giveth thee mine invocana."

Her voice is like an echo of the past heard through a horn of the future, formless and rigid all at once. She waves her hand in a fluid motion towards you and gold glitters from the ceiling and falls like snow across the chamber. The act seems drain the woman completely of energy, though she retains a motherly smile.

An ephemeral warmth washes over you and though you're not quite sure what it was, you feel just a bit lucky.

Ci's Inspirational Breakfast

The members of The Eternal Order have gathered at Shanjiu Keep to break their fast on the morning of the Assault. Throughout the meal, Jeroy and Loco are engaged in a quiet, though animated conversation. Jeroy can be seen shaking his head vigorously, while Loco seems to be making a case for some action. Jeroy and Loco both pause to raise large spoons of porridge to their mouths and Ci, sitting nearby begins to speak quietly.

"A Master was walking through the fields one day when a young man, a troubled look upon his face, approached him. "On such a beautiful day, it must be difficult to stay so serious," the Master said. "Is it? I hadn't noticed," the young man said, turning to look around and notice his surroundings. His eyes scanned the landscape, but nothing seemed to register; his mind elsewhere. Watching intently, the Master continued to walk. "Join me if you like."

The Master walked to the edge of a still pond, framed by trees, their leaves golden orange and about to fall. "Please sit down," the Master invited, patting the ground next to him. Looking carefully before sitting, the young man brushed the ground to clear a space for himself. "Now, find a small stone, please," the Master instructed. "What?" "A stone. Please find a small stone and throw it in the pond." Searching around him, the young man grabbed a pebble and threw it as far as he could. "Tell me what you see," the Master instructed.

Straining his eyes to not miss a single detail, the man looked at the water's surface. "I see ripples." "Where did the ripples come from?" "From the pebble I threw in the pond, Master." "Please reach your hand into the water and stop the ripples," the Master asked. Not understanding, the young man stuck his hand in the water as a ripple neared, only to cause more ripples. The young man was now completely baffled. Where was this going? Had he made a mistake in seeking out the Master? After all he was not a student, perhaps he could not be helped? Puzzled, the young man waited.

"Were you able to stop the ripples with your hands?" the Master asked. "No, of course not." "Could you have stopped the ripples, then?" "No, Master. I told you I only caused more ripples." "What if you had stopped the pebble from entering the water to begin with?" The Master smiled such a beautiful smile; the young man could not be upset. "Next time you are unhappy with your life, catch the stone before it hits the water.

Do not spend time trying to undo what you have done. Rather, change what you are going to do before you do it." The Master looked kindly upon the young man. "But Master, how will I know what I am going to do before I do it?" "Take the responsibility for living your own life. If you're working with a doctor to treat an illness, then ask the doctor to help you understand what caused the illness. Do not just treat the ripples. Keep asking questions." The young man stopped, his mind reeling. "But I came to you to ask you for answers. Are you saying that I know the answers?" "You may not know the answers right now, but if you ask the right questions, then you shall discover the answers."

But what are the right questions, Master?"

Ci pauses a moment, looks towards his friend Jeroy, and places a hand on his shoulder.

"There are no wrong questions, only unasked ones. We must ask, for without asking, we cannot receive answers. But it is your responsibility to ask. No one else can do that for you."

With that Ci goes back to eating quietly. Both Jeroy and Loco look at each other for a moment and then with a sigh, Loco stands to speak,

"Jeroy brought me a construct to inspect. A metal Automaton. The metal was forged with the Dragon Forge that was destroyed by the staff. I know that Velah was involved and that she escaped. The Vault of Night remains locked. There are several things I found after inspecting the machine and consulting the Archives. 1) The machine bears the Maker's Mark of Urza of Dominaria. An Artificer of great renown and Planeswalker. 2) The Dragon Forge is powered by dragons to craft items that will move the worlds events to adhere to The Draconic Prophecy. 3) The machine is powered by Dragonshards. 4) Dragonshards resemble our Khyber Crystals. The questions I have are thus: 1) How are Urza and the Dragona related? 2) What role do both play in the Draconic Prophecy? 3) What is the Draconic Prophecy? 4) Where is Velah now? Agents of the Draconic Propehcy bear the Dragonmark which gives them power to act for the good of the prophecy. Dragonshards give them the power to do so. I've exhausted the Archives and have a sneaking suspicion that we can only solve this problem by comparing notes. Also, I'm very stressed and have not pooped since Jeroy told me.

Zanna comes up to Loco shaken with tears in her eyes: "Loco, I have recently found out that I am the Scion of Urza and I bear Urza's Font. I can take a look at this if it help...." "Yes Zanna that would be very helpful." says Loco. "Wow, a Scion of Urza. Any information you can tell me about Urza will also help me. I have so many other questions. But I'll save them for later. This takes precedence."

"Oh yes," Zanna replies, "My grandfather was an Artificer of great renown. I believe this device might be one of his creations"

Jeroy interjects "We need to figure out how to defeat one of these, I have a feeling we will be seeing a lot of them"

As Zanna approaches the giant mechanical apparatus you see a spark of recognition flickers across her face, and she reaches inside the chest cavity. At her touch, the golem hisses, steam shoots from vents, and the chest opens like a butterfly. One by one each component of the golem opens in kind, and Zanna sees it for what it truly is, some kind of masterfully crafted arcanomechanical armor. "This is armor. Exquisitely crafted magical armor. It still needs to be "charged" or powered up to be useful, however. We would need some kind of magical charging device," she says.

Ci interjects "I believe the Ley-line Infuser might be useful here... If this armor, and the discs we found, need to be charged"

"I'll get the infuser" says Jeroy and sprints towards the Magistery portal. "Someone help me lug this thing over to the artificery, please" says Loco, and Ci helps him lift the heavy armor and carry it to the Artificery. Jeroy returns a few minutes later with the Ley-line infuser.

As Loco spins up the magical device, first the innermost ring begins spinning until it becomes just a glimmer, then the next ring, and finally the last ring in a golden whirring globe, the center light grows brighter and brighter, aiming the infuser at the dragonshard disc and releasing the energy the entire suit of armor begins to come alive. The eyes glow a bright blue hue and the center chest opening glows brightest of all.

Zanna looks at the armor and then looks at Loco "Well, jump in tiny one. Only a true artificer can wear this armor"

Recollections by Chandra

Today is the day. Seer took me under her wing a few years ago and I knew this day would eventually arrive but it always felt abstract. I face my demons today, today they are real. I am Pelor's chosen by lineage and by right, and I will shine his light on this dark day. In my moment of piety an evil thought entered my mind...Kaylorr deserves to be burned...his childishness, his pettiness...I remind myself that I am above that now. If I keep telling myself I've moved on, maybe one day I actually will...Seer says the longer I hold onto that hatred the more it will poison me. Even through the solemnity of Pelor's teachings I still thirst for justice...or is it vengeance. Gods I idolized that boy. Our entire childhood, he was chosen and I was his shadow. I'm getting distracted, I need to focus on today. It will be nice to see Zanna, Sarya and Tallulah today and repay my debt to them. I guess I've delayed long enough this morning, time to suit up.

Through the magic of weave-sight Seer has shown me all of the possibilities of today. I have three key objectives to be completed at just the right time to maximize our chances of survival. Gods they don't even know what comes. Why is the Magistery so childish? It's astonishing the knowledge they choose to ignore, how can so many people have their heads buried in the ground? Well, that changes today, I will be their savior and then they'll have no choice but to acknowledge that the Conventicle was right all along. I know Seer says it's not about being right...but it has to be a little bit about being right...right?

I can't go to the upper levels of the tower for fear of entering the Seer's bubble...but I can feel her energy draining through the tower, she's been frozen in that time-loop for almost a month now. I like Sarya, but if she fails Seer we're all doomed. Seer's crystal ball is fortunately outside of that bubble, and I can monitor the battle from above, timing my entry to influence events just enough. Gods how did I live before I could planeswalk?

The timer starts at sundown, but I still need to wait for that coward to activate the abyssal curse...ugh, just do it already. This wait is kill--THERE! The shower of red sparks over the entire city and that crack...that's the rain shield breaking. I wonder if the intelligence is still alive in there somewhere. Does it feel pain? Right, no time. I open the door and step inside, and see the vast sea of artist's bay before me littered with ships, arrows flying above me and cannonballs below. I scan the walls to find someone...a familiar face....There!

"Tallulah!" She doesn't seem surprised to see me...does she have weave-sight? I wonder if she knows it. "I don't have time to explain, there's a cannon on one of those ships, you HAVE to take it out, if it destroys the ultraforce defense weapon on the city..." No...don't tell her the world will end, even if it's true. "The city will fall." That's serious enough. Who is that dark skinned boy in silks, and what is that hat!? Does he know how to planeswalk?

As if he heard my thoughts he looks to the sea and says to the group, "I can teleport us there."

I guess he does know how to planeswalk. Well, he certainly knows how to dress. Okay, Seer's first influence is done. I hope he survives, I'd love to ask him how he learned how to planeswalk, was he chosen by the aether like me?

Just as I started to feel good about things I felt my hair begin to rise. A static energy filled the air and pregnant calm fell as I looked to the west I saw it, the cannons revealed themselves and from one in the center of the group a molten white-hot beam of liquid light arced across the night sky illuminating everything. I was awestruck by the beauty of the waves glimmering reflections of that white light, the cliffside lighting up with stark shadows, and then it was gone with a thunderclap, the pressure made my eyes begin to water and my ears were ringing...but the dread realization that came over me when I saw the Magistery's tower with a massive, perfectly circular hole through it is what really shook me. I was wrong...this isn't about proving the Conventicle right. This is about the survival of this world. No time. I open another gate to the copse of trees south of the city. The closest breach to the summer court of Eladrin. I glance back at Tallulah, she has already begun to face her objective in the open sea...yes, I definitely underestimated her. I step through the gate and my elk riders lead off the call to arms.

I lead the vanguard and charge ahead to split the eastern army. Things move so quickly, but I feel Pelor's light behind every lance, every fireball, every guiding bolt is delivered by his will. In this blur of metal and magic I feel righteous. Fiery light upon the black fields scattered like red flowers, flickering here and there as larger blazes leap up. I've reached the end of the eastern front before I realize it and their army is split, being harried by our allies. The commanders here did not squander this advantage. And...are those devils? ...I don't have time to ponder this. I've put this off for far too long. Between glaive sweeps spraying blood in the sky I catch Galad's eye. He acknowledges me with just the barest hint of a nod. I open another rift in space and time and step onto the eastern ramparts. Where are they...There! I'd recognize Zanna's stature anywhere...By Pelor's light...is Zanna crying? Must be because she's next to that swine of a cleric. Gods this is going to be awkward. As I run up the steps, I'm met by Zanna...yes she has been crying...but still she fights. If she can, then I can.

"We've broken the enemy ranks. We have a slim window where we can attack the command sphere. Where is Halisstra?" Zanna, her strange bald friend, and a very moody looking woman run off. Great...just here with Kaylorr and his two plated bodyguards. I suddenly wish I'd pulled my goggles over my eyes before coming here...

Kaylorr starts suddenly and then just blurts out "I'M SORRY...I'm sorry I was dumb and stupid and I was scared and I shouldn't have hurt you." What? That's all you have to say? I had carefully crafted and planned the perfectly vicious barbs to verbally assault him with and none of it came out as I shout "WHY!? You were my friend! I loved you!" is that tears on my cheeks? Sun father I said I wasn't going to do that. Thank Pelor Zanna is back with who I hope is Halisstra.

"Halisstra, my name is Chandra Nalaar, and I have a message for you. You must make penance." I try to put emphasis on the word, Seer said she would know what it means even if I didn't, and as usual Seer was right. Halisstra's black skin darkened and her eyes grew hard.

Halisstra shared a look with her...husband? and then without words they jumped off the wall and--HE WAS A DRAGON!? Okay...no time to fangirl right now--Why is Zanna friends with Kaylorr? What was that parchment she just handed him? Why is he crying? Why is everyone crying??? Ugh. I open another rift close to the command sphere and just point, the entire group runs through. Zanna touches my hand as she runs past...and just before the rift closes I see her materialize two lions and ride them into battle...she's gotten quite good at that compared to the last time I saw her. Maybe she'll introduce me to that man in the red full plate later...No time. Final objective.

As I survey the city's innards I see it for what it truly is, a blood gulch. As the foul stench of death fills my nostrils I pull down my goggles and summon the flame. I kick off the wall's crennelations and before I land my hair I am wreathed in fire. I race down the road, lances of flame arcing out in all directions. As i near the remains the of the magistery tower, I step into the astral plane and see the shadow of the tower across dimensions. Gods it was big. Already the shadow has begun to shrink, ye of little faith. I scan the interplanar structure, it's difficult to see in more than three dimensions but I've been practicing.....There! I see the unmistakable maze of shelves. I unroll the massive parchment scroll that Seer has prepared for me and begin reciting. Once I begin reading the incantation it floods out of me, it feels like minutes but it must have been hours. When I'm done there is a huge bright vacancy in the shadowy landscape. A void of light in an otherwise massive blackness. The temple district must have fallen, but the library is gone. My job is done. I just need to rest...I shouldn't rest here, but sitting just for a moment should be fine. As I drifted from wakefulness in the shadow hidden from Pelor's light, I can almost remember thinking "tonight is the night..."

Recollections by Ci

As I rest here surrounded by this field of ruin, I find it hard to gain my Center. If not for Master Fēng's soft voice, I do not think I could contain the rage that boils inside me. Such destruction. Such Death. How can any beings desire this? How can beings that live and breathe align themselves with forces that desire nothing less than the destruction of all life and breath? Clearly that is what we faced here today - the destruction of all life... of everything. How would my Masters in their distant Temple have faced THAT? With confusion? acceptance? With ignorant defiance, clinging to their dusty prophecies as their mountains collapsed around them? Thanks to the efforts and sacrifice of so many here, they did not have to find out.

Our Allies were many: Barbed Devils from Avernus, Elves of The Golden City, the enigmatic Wizard Steel from the frozen wastes. We even learn that Lord Dyrr the Lichdrow, was on our side... a mole amongst our enemies, though what role he might play in this chapter we could not divine. Our enemies were staggering. As we stood on the walls, having made what preparations we could, we saw the approach of the assault. A Hoard of Myconids seemingly of single mind, hundreds for each defender. With them giant Mushroom Hurlers, attacking the walls of the city from within the protection of the Hoard. Our Archers on the walls had little effect on their hulking forms, and our infantry could not penetrate the Hoard. In the midst of what increasingly seemed to be a losing battle, we spy four figures in the eye of the Hoard, directing its movements: Imphraezl, who had escaped us so many times, Dyrr who we began to doubt was on our side at all, and two others we could only assume were Danifae and Zuggtmoy. If we could only reach them, we could turn the tide of this slaughter. I felt impotent on this wall, so far away. My bow seemed a wholly insignificant weapon against the Hoard and its Masters. Suddenly we see the Demon casting a spell. I immediately feared the release of the Chaos Curse we had been so ineffective at preventing. Indeed, as a red mist began to spread from braziers around the city, and we began hear screams and cries behind us, my fears were proven correct. We send word to the Magistery that we had sighted the leaders, and they had triggered the curse, but I did not dare hope that help coudl reach us in time. We knew this was but one front of the war, and that all the Magistery was engaged in the battle already. This was the end it seemed, and as more enemies charged onto the field below us, in the form of Mushroom Cavalry. I steeled myself for a desperate last stand. I may fall, but NOT before the architects of this destruction on the field before me.

But as I prepare to leap from the walls into the Hoard, we are suddenly joined by more allies. Chandra appears speaks to Zanna, Kaylorr and Halisstra then suddenly is gone as quickly as she appeared. We see The Seal of the Realm reveled in her true form of Golden Dragon, ridden by no less than Mordenkainen himself. The Magistery's Color Guard appears, as well as a vanguard of Elves of The Golden City. Between these three spears, the Hoard is broken, and the field is thrown into disarray. There is an opening to get to the leaders, there is hope it seems at last. At this moment the sky became as bright as a star come to earth, and a sound as of millions drums beat at once rolled over us. As our vision returned, we saw the Magistery Tower torn asunder, and the entire Temple District slowly beginning to fall onto the city behind us. Before we have time to mourn this loss, however, Chandra reappears and urges us forward. She will transport us to the field to engage the leaders who have now split into two groups. Telerthquessir appears as well in Dragon Form, and Dives into the fray. Chandra opens a portal ahead of us and we charge in to engage Imphraezl and Dyrr. By the time we reach Imphraezl, he is alone.

Dyrr has finally decided to help, and rushed to engage Zuggtmoy. We can also see Halisstra fighting with Danifae, as we close on the wizard that has been a thorn in our side for so long. As expected when we reach him he reversed gravity and we begin to fall up into the sky. Ember and I use the gift the Magistery#Blacks,_House_of_Time to stop our fall, and Kaylorr manages to counter another spell that Imphraezl is attempting to cast. While in the air, I am able to finally put my bow to good use, and I streak arrow after arrow at Imphraezl. With a final piercing blow, I am able to end that damnable wizard, though his death was almost the end of us! As he gravity spell failed, his body exploded into 3 bright green streaks of light, hitting Cassio, Dereth and Zanna. Though all seem grievously hurt, they remain in the fight. We look to the battle with the other leaders and immediately take off to assist Halisstra and Tel. I sprint to close the distance, Zanna rides her twin lions, and the others pile into a Flaming Chariot conjured seemingly by Dereth and we all hurry to Halisstra's aid. Firing more arrows as I run, I suddenly hear Chandra yell "Quickly, the Demon Web has reattached, do it now." As we reach and engage the leaders, I see the head of my house drop to her knees and offer prayers of forgiveness to Lolth!!! Before I can react to this seeming betrayal, Lolth claims Halisstra mas her avatar and appears before us. In her rage she curses Danifae for a traitor and devours her. Lolth then turns of Zuggtmoy and rips her bloated form to shreds, killing her and claiming her Divine Spark. At this moment Telerthquessir returns to his dragon form and we found ourselves transported back to the walls of Solace. From there we can see Lord Dyrr slam his staff into the ground. A green sphere appears upon Lolth's back and she begins to decay. I cannot believe what has happened. I was ready to sacrifice myself, but instead I and my brothers and sisters are alive. On the field before us, almost none of the Myconids hoard remain alive, and Imphraezl, Zuggtmoy, Danifae and an avatar of Lolth have been utterly destroyed. It seems we have won, but the cost may be too great to imagine. Halisstra is lost, and behind us the city of Solace lays in ruins, as the temple district has collapsed upon the rest of the city. Messangers bring us further news both happy and grave: the Outsider we had long feared has been defeated, but we have lost one of our own, the sorcerer of flowers, Sakura. In his place, however, the goddess Drusilia is returned to power, and through her a greater tragedy reversed!

It will take some time to make sense of all of this. Though this feels like a victory, it does not feel like an end. Too many questions remain unanswered, and too many lives have been lost. Word of what happened here will slowly makes its way to mountains of Pardor. I wonder if the Masters of Yanji will realize how close they were to their own destruction? I suddenly understand what they fear, why they cling to their isolation. Those men for whom fear is so foreign even; don't even recognize it when it comes. Following the Path in the solitude and protection of the Temple is easy. The Study is simple when there are no distractions, no emotion, nothing at stake. To be a part of the world, is to invite chaos and doubt into your being. It is a challenge to the balance, and to peace. And yet it is the Forge that reveals the strength in the Wisdom of Yanji. It is the whetstone that sharpens that Wisdom into a weapon against Chaos and Evil. For generations, the Masters have sent us out on Pilgrimage, confident that the world would break us, or drive us back to the protection and solitude of the the Temple. Master Fēng assures me they have forgotten its original purpose. The pilgrimage was meant to be a Crucible, not a Rite of Passage. It was meant to show the limits of The Study as a philosophy only and to reveal its necessity as a force for stability and good in the world. Zifu Poe often quotes the 119th pillar:'

"Seek not to contend, without contention, their is neither victory nor defeat. Avoid, rather than check. Check, rather than hurt. Hurt, rather than maim. Maim, rather than kill. For all life is precious, nor can any be replaced."

119th Pillar, the Book of the Mountain, Order of Shan Sua

Master Fēng reminds me constantly that the Pillar that follows seems to have been forgotten:

"Seek rather to be as the reed in the wind. It does not seek to challenge the wind, and yet it does not yield. It stands with its brothers and sisters providing shelter beneath it's leaves. the reed does not try to match the wind's strength, but rather bends before it, relying on brotherhood to sap it's fury, and redirect its power."

Recollections by Jeroy

We have been tasked with the western front. We must figure out why they are attacking, how, and their goal. In preparations of the naval battle we contact Captain Jenny Harkens and Price for their assistance. We have sailed with both and know that they are steady at the wheel and fearless before the steel. Their skill will only be a benefit to our ranks.

The sun sets and we hear a war drum heartbeat. Over the eastern edge of the hills is a horde of fungus zombies guarding a center monstrosity. I look to Ford and say "Good thing we took the western front..." He doesn't hear me as his eyes are keenly fixed on the western horizon. He nods for me to look ahead, "the mist is clearing" he says. I look up to the sea as the mist breaks to show a fleet of zombie ships sailing towards us and behind them are a series of ships that appear as though they were upside down.
"Don't be so sure we have the easy fight my friend" Ford says to me.
"Are those turtles behind them?" I ask him.
Pearl jumps into the conversation "No, but they'll be just as tough to crack."

We are interrupted by a cacophony of orders from the commanding officers - "Archers Ready!" They shout as waves of archers load their bows and quivers. "Contact the Commodore - We attack the leading vessels first!" A series of flags are waved to the ships before us. In rapid succession they have their orders and draw their sails taught to the wind. Captain Harkens and Price position themselves to lead the charge as we prepare to support where we can. Tallulah takes charge of a battalion of Archers and begins to convey their orders "Ignite your arrows and aim for the sails! Don't let them get close..."
I overhear an archer mumble to is buddy "I'll let her get close to me, am I right?"
"Be ready to fire one off on my command!" She calls out.
"Phrasing" The archer blurts out. Tallulah flashes a look and Wethril growls at the archer.

We exchange several volleys with cannons and archers against the zombie ships, we sink some but more pop up from the depths. Their ranks seem inexhaustible. Harkens and Price fight valiantly but are hardly able to make a dent in their numbers. At 7:30pm one of the turtle ships partially opens and fires a shimmering red flare into the air over the city. It penetrates directly through the city's forcefield and lands in a district behind us. Soon we notice a red mist rolling through the streets over our feet. We continue to fight but it quickly becomes apparent that the mist is rising like that of the tide. Between volleys the turtle ships crack open to reveal large canons which begin to charge with magical energy. The red mist is soon up to our necks. Our lungs are filled with an acrid and caustic scent. People begin to panic and run in terror as we try to control the ranks we are commanding. In the ensuing chaos (....ohhhh) we see from the Magistery Tower the archmage Mordenkainen mount a golden dragon that flies over the attacking fleet. The dragon lets out a devastating attack of golden fire energy that destroys many of the cannons but one ship managed to evade. Its cannon fires out a beam of pure golden radiant energy through the Magistery Tower. The tower disintegrates and the temple district begins to list and descend towards the city.

Chandra appears from the chaos running towards us "You five - get onto that ship and take out that cannon, it shoots balefire, pure un-life. It will destroy the city, GO!"
Sakura yells to us "Get next to me, we will teleport there." He touches his helmet and we are whisked away in a blinding light.

We appear on a ship that is bustling with activity. We are surrounded by Deep ones like those that I saw on the island that appeared near Kraken's Landing. They are running about in the heat of battle so preoccupied that they don't even notice that we have appeared. I enter a rage and kill two, Ford kills one, I kill two more and the rest run from us in fear. We realize that we have been teleported to the wrong ship as that one next to us us being prepared to fire again. We see deep ones carrying gold coins by the bucket full and dumping them into a chute at the top of the canon. It reminds me that we need to find that sea captain we worked for long ago who had an engine powered much in the same way. "We have to disable it!" Tallulah yells to us.
"It can't fire if it isn't loaded." Pearl responds and casts and insect plague onto the canon. The deep ones that were feeding the canon become devoured by the plague insects. Sakura casts fireball onto the canon but it is dispelled. We see a mage at the back of the ship begin to fire a magical energy into the back of the canon. "He appears to be charging another shot." Sakura tells us. "We need to get over there!" Tallulah fires an arrow at the mage but it doesn't stop his spell. Pearl moves the plague over the mage but he is able to avoid them. The mage fires off a final blast of energy and dives off the ship. The canon begins to whirl and glow with energy.
"It's about to fire!" Sakura tells us. "We have to stop it!"
Ford turns to me, puts a hand on my shoulder and says "See you soon friends, it has been fun." and he leaps off the stern of our boat dashes over the water and onto the other vessel.
"Where is he going?" Sakura asks as we watch in horror as Ford expertly climbs up the ship, runs directly in front of the barrel of the canon, sheath his weapon, turn back to us with a wave, and turns back to accept his fate.
"NO! I can stop it, I may come back, I just need to get there. I need to take his place!" Sakura stays as he runs towards the stern. He yells to Ford "I could survive, don't waste your life!" He pleads. I charge from behind him "Then hang on my flowery friend!" I grab Sakura and leap over the water extending my wing suit to glide over to the ship. Sakura and I climb on, the cannons gears and mechanism spin nearly out of control, it screams to release the tension building within in. Sakura runs for the front of the barrel while I run to the most complex and active part of the cannon I can see. I draw my soulmate, drop my shield, and whisper "So that others may live, ancestors I need all the strength you can give me." With all the power and might I can muster I swing into the canon. I carve our large gashes in the side of the canon revealing a torrent of heat and energy that envelops around me. My soulmate's edge has melted and dulled from the raw energy that powers the canon.
I turn to the front of the canon to see Sakura dive in front to push Ford out of the way. The fervor and pitch of the canon reaches a crescendo as it discharges into Sakura. I see the balefire beam hit him squarely in the chest and in a explosion of cherry blossom petals the beam is refracted out in all directions. All I see is a flash of light so blinding I have to turn away.

The Spark of a God

The noise is gone. The ships are gone. I am back on my family farm, but it is busier that I remember. The fields are tended by dozens, the home is filled with people. I look from face to face, unsure of what I'm seeing. I begin to recognize some like Bulk Bar, Veis Jedorfes, Unliff Yakkom, and my grandfather Taekr Lenkins. Where did the ship go? Where did my friends go? Why am I with.....and it dawns on me. We stopped the cannon but we did not survive. I have gone to Valhalla with my ancestors.

Suddenly the blinding light returns and I thrashing in the water. I fight to regain my bearings as I see Ford, Tallulah, and Pearl in the water around me.
"What just happened...?" Ford asks us. "And who is that?"
Floating next to us stunningly beautiful woman with purple hair. "I am Drusilia. When Sakura sacrificed himself he was reincarnated as a woman. His selfless act saved the city and so his new corporeal form became the vessel for my divine spark."
"So Sakura is now a God?" I ask.
"Sakura was reincarnated as a God." Pearl explained.
I nod. "Welcome to the team."

Recollections by Sakura

Interdie. This is the day that the protection enchantments falter. The day we will be assaulted like Solace has never experience before. I join Pearl, Tallulah, Ford and Jeroy on the Western front to determine what is happening there and what the goal of the assault there is.

This is to be a naval battle, that we help to oversee and jump in when opportunity presents. Instead of going all in, our fleet plays cautious and staggers our attacks. Archers light up the braziers to augment their arrows with fire.

Shortly after the assault started, the strange turtled wooden ships launched a fireball looking item that broke into a million shards upon hitting Solace's shield. Immediately this caused red fumes to start coming up from the ground and all of Solace is affected. It seems that the Chaos Curse is upon us. Our group, thankfully, mostly escaped the effects of the Curse.

As we defeat their infantry vessels, the wooden inverted ships crack open their shell and reveal massive cannon with Eldritch runes all over them. Solace is now fully under the effects of the Chaos Curse. This does not look good.

To aid us, Mordenkainen jumps into the Seal's back who is a gold dragon (the eldest Gold Dragon to be told) to help hurt the Balefire cannon ships.

Now is our chance to help. I teleport our group to the ships with the Balefire cannon. Unfortunately we don't end up on the exact boat that I wanted, but just one over. We get to work immediately and start firing towards the cannon to see if we can sink the boat.

Pearl, Tallulah and I discuss what Balefire is while Jeroy and Ford defend us against the odd looking sea creatures. After our discussion we realize that the last time Balefire was used was by Salim Farstrider. Balefire is the essence of unlife and can only be combated by life.

Our melees continue to attack in our ship while Pearl and I focus on the ship and the cannon. Meanwhile, Tallulah identified the spell caster that tried to counter spell me. Immediately after she identified him we tried to focus on him, but he proved to be too strong and he started charging the cannon again. As soon as he was done with this, he jumped off the ship.

Our group comes to a pivotal moment in this fight. This cannon will fire onto Solace within a few seconds and now that we know that Balefire is the essence of unlife we decided our best chance of the Balefire not destroying Solace is for one of us to sacrifice themselves as an essence of life.

I believed that there might be a small chance that my wild magic wild help me survive so I, with the aid of Pearl and Jeroy was able to reach the cannon just in time. When it fired, my life acted as a lens and dispersed the Balefire causing it to consume everything within a 100-150 feet, including the water. I know this and can write about this due to what happens next.

My wild magic caused me to be reincarnated as a woman. Shortly thereafter the spark of the deity Drusilia had found its next vessel. And thus Sakura no kaze became the next body of Drusilia.

Some Thoughts from Drusilia

My first act as Drusilia was to bring back all those that might have just been lost as part of my transformation. I simply wished them all back to life and teleported all of us to the Eastern front to observe what happened there. We witnessed the return of another god, as Halisstra transformed into Lolth during combat. Much has changed on this day. Solace has collapsed. Two gods have returned.

The city in complete ruins. The chief defense of the City, the cannon to defeat gods remained floating above the city, interact. It is great that we were able to defend that cannon. It will likely be what saves everyone here.

I will help see these events through and then will need to leave the Magistery and The Eternal Order. It is time to return to my duties as Drusilia. I must find and Choose individuals to help build up my following and help to fulfill my goals.