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..."