By Kelly "Fern" Perfetto
There were once ten Unchanging Places in Fae…
This is how I have begun telling this story for the past three years. Not long, but long enough for someone only beginning to adventure within the last five. I will try to give the abridged version, and not the fanatic professor version. I share this so that you may know some of the wonders and mysteries you walk toward, if you join myself and others in venturing through the fae wilds this weekend.
One of the Unchanging Places was the Great Library of Fae. Both the Library and the caretaker, the Duke of Knowledge, Duke Holophonese, fell to Bedlam.1 From what I hear, adventurers of the modern era first traveled to this Library two decades ago. There they found that in order to wake the enchanted Duke, they must use the Library.
As many of you know by now, this Great Library was not one of paper or parchment books, but rather of what we have been calling memory flowers. Once one sniffs one of these flowers, they are transported into the memory that flower contains. When the adventurers played out the stories incorrectly, the vision would fail and they would find themselves in the positions they had ended the memory in. When played correctly, the adventurers would find themselves near the flower they had sniffed to access the memory.2
One of the challenges the adventurers faced in choosing and playing out these stories was that the names were present on the stems, but spelled in Ogham.3 These stories appeared to be a mix of significant events of Fae and Realms history, as well as the individual recollections of adventurers present. It is possible that Fae Belief Magic brought the stories the group would be most invested in close together.
From what I gather, the flowers of the Great Library of Fae were not seen for ten years after their destruction.4 Some tried to grow them from seeds, with limited success. And then some started appearing in the woods at Black and White of 1023. In 1024, some of us learned how to transplant these flowers.5 I know I carried one away with the notion that somehow we all would start up a new library, with the blessing of prominent fae. The large maroon flower you may have seen me bringing around to feasts is one of these flowers, carrying a tragic story, but innocent in of itself.6
With whispers on the winds and bees carrying invitations in the form of pollen, it seems that there is some new Library grown in the depths of the fae wilds, or perhaps the old one reemerged from hidden roots. What a wonderful thing, that there seems to be life where once there was only destruction. How delightful that there is a new chance to share information. These magical plants still live, they have not been entirely destroyed. I suppose I must wait, but I am excited to meet the new librarian, if one exists, and talk to them about cultivation and curation.7 There is an invitation handed out to all of us. While I will caution people traveling into the fae wilds, as I often do, what an incredible opportunity awaits all of us who go. The flowers want to share! Imagine what mysteries of the past we could uncover. There is more I have not shared, for fear of making this letter too long, but I will gladly share what knowledge I have of this. Come along with me on an adventure that promises some joy!
~ Fern Eberhardt
OOC:
It’s so refreshing to write a WIWTG for an event my character is just as excited to attend as I am! It’s not all doom and gloom and duty this time, folks. Fern might perhaps even be more excited than I am.
This event is drawing on Fae Plot (in capital letters) that started two decades ago now, as part homage, part callback. Expect to be playing your character, but kind of your character acting out other roles, as Fern tells us above. As much as I would have fun just wandering around and looking at flowers and sharing stories for six hours, I suspect we’re going to have a few challenges ahead of us. I really am quite excited though. Eric is an engaging storyteller who is (in my experience) happy to roll with improvisation. And I’ve heard through the grapevine that there might be other plots, stories, and marshals mixed in, to keep us on our toes.
If you’re on the fence about going, and you like roleplaying, I’d encourage you to go. And both Fern and I mean it when I say I would be happy to share what more I know, if there’s time!
~ Kelly
1 There are multiple variations recorded of the spelling of the Duke’s name. One alternate spelling I have seen is Holofernes.↩
2 For example, if the memory had failed while people were running away from something, they might find themselves a distance away from the flower. However, if the memory succeeded, they would ‘wake up’ in the same place they had ‘fallen asleep’.↩
3 This is the vertical line writing. If you know it, it would be good to brush up on, or bring a cipher book!↩
4 There are multiple variations recorded of the spelling of the Duke’s name. One alternate spelling I have seen is Holofernes.↩
5 I will note that in 1023, I personally made a terrible mistake by picking one of these flowers. The seeds should still be recoverable, but this is part of why I am so invested in helping the Library bloom.↩
6 These little flowers do not seem to have the same transportative or group capabilities as the mature ones. We were only frozen in place as we viewed the memories, not playing them out ourselves.↩
7 At B&W 1024, some of us used magic to speak to one who would be knowledgeable about the memory flowers. Someone answered, and we suspect it may have been the new, or perhaps cycled, Duke of Knowledge, though we cannot yet be sure. ↩
