Word From The West - Divine Intervention 3

 It was always cold in Gaol.

Heat rises after all, and there are few places lower than Gaol. So logically, Father Pontimulos Brimstone was in a perfectly reasonable situation. Of course he was, this was the same situation he was in for four years.

He glared at the pile of roots in front of him, snapping his fingers, trying again to will out Justari’s fire into his fingertips. As logical as the cold, it failed. Sure the sparks formed, that was a simple consequence of impaling steel in your middle finger and flint in your thumb. But the magic, the heat wasn't there and the spark always died in the cold. Realistically, he must’ve done something wrong to end up down here. But even if it WAS a mistake the sheer celestial distance would require a investiture on his gods part to eeke out even the smallest spark all the way down here. As usual, the logic was as comfortable as the cold was. Brimstone tried again, the effort did not bear fruit but the sound served a purpose in drowning out the wails of the cowardly squire bemoaning their ill fate. Idiots, only idiots chose life over honor, the Grey Man could only take one of those after all. In his day, the warm days, such sinners would burn. He had it to an art. He made the groves himself, they were his pride and joy. Hickory for the fire and scent. Hemlock for the post the profligate were lashed too. That way you could reuse the same post over and over. If you wanted to make an example it NEEDED to last after all.

Idly, a hand rubbed at his tie, the rope tie, bound into his skin as an eternal wound from when his neck snapped right under his hemlock tree. His students didn’t even burn him, that's how he really knew he failed them. Treason was treason and a mad teacher was as worthy as the torch as a traitorous acolyte, but if he WAS a heretic to Justaris name he would’ve burned in it. To show a so-called sinner mercy… it was obvious they learned nothing.

What a waste. His finger snapped again, another failure. How very fitting. All those years trying to teach them how all are redeemed under Justaris light, and they mistook that as some metaphor. Only Aurorans get those. Mortals had to make their own light, and that light is flame. But he had to die quickly, and in the cold. Just like today. Just like every day.

Well, not like EVERY day. Thin lips tilted upward at the memory of that flayed angel, the one who fell so low as to wind up here. A fitting end for Calladan, but, well he escaped it in the end. As he always did. Still, at least some of them were worthy of the torch, and he helped those torchbearers with that quest of theirs. Surely that counted for something.

He snapped his fingers, and then, a flame. A mere candletip at best, far from the blazes he used to command. But, it was warm.

With a well practiced flick of the hand, Pontimulous Brimstone cast the flame into the bundle of roots, and watched it slowly, ever so slowly, burn. Brimstone watched the flames dance, eating the offered hellwood. It was only the smallest spark, but that’s how fires start don’t they? A lot of preparation, and just the tiniest bit of prepared chaos. Brimstone watched the smoke rise up, joining the billowing clouds of the higher layers of hell. And for once, Brimstone didn’t think about his situation. Or the past.

For one blissful hour, Brimstone didn't think of anything at all.

~~~~~~~

Priva- apprentice Jonas Starblade wiped his dagger on his apron. Another failure. Idly, he kicked his failure into the pile with the rest of the heap. As Master N’s apprentice there were certain expectations. Jonas would have been find with simple manual labor but, well you cant serve a creation of some entropic god TWICE and not expect some overlap. 

Which would have been easier shoes to fill if the shoes were there TO fill. There was something off about the void here, quite unlike his old one. Or the one that was in every other dimension he invaded on his tour. Back in the era of conquest the void was like a lake. You cut it, drained it, and reaped the spoils. Flooded a field or two, bathed in the success, move on. Suddenly that lake was gone. Everything was gone. Last he was around the invasion of Chimeron was a low risk procedure determined primarily due to its proximity to the road he and the rest of the grunts had to drive through the local faerealm. Then a star attacked him and he was trapped in hell. Worst, it was their hell. After all those years praying to the Fallen King, his service wasn’t eternal after all.

Then again the King wasn’t either apparently. How long had he been dead? It should have only been nine years…

Of course there was a void here too… but it was violent and hateful and recoiled at his touch. The last time he tried to spin it he almost lost his arm. And not in the way he used to as an apprentice spinner, rather than infecting his arm, the void spun backwards, trying to swallow him whole. He was already lucky to be alive, he did not need to test that luck so often… but what else did he know? Road work? Since when did nobility care about that? Well, unless they needed to invade somewhere.

Rather it would be easier to just spin something else. Hence the knife, hence the mistakes. The lastest, death spinning, had a more interesting result. The body shifted, eating the elemental offerings, and then attacking. Much more formed then his previous efforts. Perhaps there was a history with the necromantic arts in this realm? 

Hardly worth showing the master at the moment. But well its like his mentor always said. A little bit of effort and a lot of hate could carve mountains. Well, Trystwater always did leave a little lie in his lessons, his ratios were never accurate, but the ingredients were sure to get him through the day, and the next one. Until it worked, until it warred. And then… and then what? Did Master N need a army of unmakers? Gi certainly always needed more fodder for the blenders, but WAS his new master at war?

With a shake of his head Jonas dispelled the silly notion. Of course he needed a army, of course they were at war. This was existence. There was always war. Since the named times, since the dragon, before the king, and even though he never thought he’d get to prove it, after the king. It was not a soldiers job to question the general, just to march. N will figure it out.

And if not, Stonewood was probably hiring. Hopefully. Hope got him this far, it’ll get him a little bit further. 

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

What You Missed - Divine Intervention 3

Written by: Stephen “Laika” Sanford, Brianna “Margaret” Meisser, and Keith “Harkel” Palmer-Poirier

Where do I even start? This quest was the culmination of eight years of hard work. For a bit of background information I suggest reading my other What you missed articles on Divine Intervention: 

Divine Intervention 1

Storytellers VII/ Divine Intervention

Divine Intervention 2

Eight years ago, the Church of Aurora asked for trials to name the next Champion of Aurora. One of those trials was to quest for something that is hopeless. But she was unable to tell us what that is, for to her nothing is Hopeless. Aurora sent us to someone who could, which was Calladen. Inside Necron is a temple to Aurora that has been sealed off for hundreds of years. Calladen was to show us the way when the tie was right, and thus began the Quest for Hope.

Friday Night:

Friday night we gathered many heroes just outside of Necron. Rev showed up to guide us into Necron safely as long as we stayed near him as Necron had been enveloped in a Death Cloud. Rev revealed to us that due to using the Dagger of Sacrifice he gave up his lust for power. Rev would lead us to three works of Aurora which we would need to destroy to remove the wards keeping the temple invisible and reveal it to the world. 

Divinations before the event revealed that in order for us to reveal the temple there were 3 works of Aurora which would have to be undone. These 3 were: 

1. A prison for ones against the light.

2. A prison for ones against hope.

3. A prison for followers of darkness.

With this knowledge in hand, we went out into Necron, making sure to stay close to Rev, lest we get killed by the Death Cloud.

We went to our first destination and fought some undead who were carrying small gems. These undead were coming out of a large tile with a symbol of Aurora on it, which we disenchanted to help reveal the temple and stop the undead from attacking.

When we got back to the tavern we discovered several glass jars with the names of the gods on them. The gems we collected could be placed into these jars and if the jar was filled a boon to that god would be applied. The following gods were originally on the table: Aurora, Antioch, Chronos, Rawonam, Garm, Justari, Vandor, Gaia, Dionin, the Dark one, Rexan. Several other adventurers did add their own cups to the table later on like Vesta, Shadow, and Vesper.

After taking a quick break we went out into the plague filled forest where we were surrounded by vines. The vines kept swinging “root” and could not be hurt unless they were separated from their trees. We fought these vines until a large cursed tree ent showed up. We grabbed the only torch on site and killed it, getting the tile it had been hiding inside of it.

We then went to the field to fight some undead. These undead would constantly raise adventurers as undead and send them back to the group to kill them. In the middle of the field was the last work of Aurora. Once it was disenchanted it would teleport to a new location. 3 disenchants later it was taken care of and the temple was revealed to everyone.

In response to the temple being revealed Garm sent his Death Knights to protect it, claiming that no one should have the power inside. Margaret séanced Garm to try to solve things peacefully but Garm told us we had to prove ourselves worthy. We lined up for a large-scale battle against Garm’s Death Knights. Margaret did a ritual in order to have King Orion swing “sword of light", which allowed him to fight and kill two death knights on his own. He was rewarded with a 3’5” Sword of Light by Aurora.

With the temple being revealed and Garm’s deathknights no longer protecting it, we needed to open the door to the temple. Rorin, who was given the Staff of the Warmage to wield on Aelias’s behalf, stood before the door and proclaimed himself the strongest mage which allowed him to open the door. Once inside the temple we fought spirits within until we got to the altar. Inside the room were several artifacts of Aurora, one included the flower Garm proposed to Aurora with. The others were some geometric shape with unknown significance and a gorget of a Templar of Aurora.

In the center of the room was an altar with a candleholder with one of the four holders missing, the one for Hope. We used our personal candle to talk to Aurora and ask her what we should be doing. This altar combined with an ancient ritual could be used to transfer the power of the Temple into something. Aurora asked us what we were here to do. After much debate, and meditating on Aurora’s question, we decided to empower Tirvanel with the altar. Ultimately we came here to name a Champion, and Tirvanel stepped up when it was needed most. 

Our information told us the way to perform the ritual to transfer the power would involve three people standing upon the works of Aurora chanting in unison while one person sacrifices the three people standing and the one on the altar. After much hesitation and resilience Laika performed the ritual and with the stab to the heart Aurora appeared. She gave Laika a choice to save the child of Light or to save Calladen.

Aurora then took Laika and Tirvanel into her hands and sent them to the heavens with her. Due to Laika’s choices he was instilled with all of Calladen’s memories and sent 300 years into the past to redeem Calladen. He mentored and became a close friend of Calladen who grew up and died as a good and honorable King of Corona. Due to potential paradoxes messing with the timeline that had now been irrevocably changed Laika had to assume the persona of Calladen the Pretender. Using his ring to create major illusions he reenacted all the acts that the evil Calladen had performed for the past twenty years.

—-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Saturday:

Saturday morning came. Tirvanel returned safely with new powers, having spent the night in Aurora’s domain. Laika also returned, but he was different. He was wearing the ring that Calladen gifted to Swift around his neck, and mentioned that he was the one who had given it to Swift which I knew to be false. Discussion with Orion confirmed my suspicions that Laika was in-fact Calladen, or at least had taken on that mantle. Tir informed us that he had the ability to open portals to where we needed to go.

Upon the group reforming in the morning, we were transported to the village of Lost Hope, the town the Syruss invaded and killed the child of light within, and were greeted by the mayor. He immediately insisted that we move to ward off the incoming horde of demons. Preparing ourselves, the mayor began insisting that archers must go to the front, great weapons to the sides, short weapons behind the archers, and shields behind them. Upon winning the battle and the mayor being dead, we found ourselves back at the start of the fight. Repreparing ourselves, we managed to win, keeping the mayor alive this time, and managing to defeat the demons without being forced back again.

 Returning to the tavern, we were stopped by an investigator who mentioned a murder having occurred the day prior. While we did not know the circumstances of the murder fully, we agreed to help investigate. Going out, we found a variety of different challenges which we were required to complete to obtain clues including; defeating opponents in matched marn and matched florentine daggers, defeating an opponent using a weapon which they deemed ‘silly’, hitting a target with a specified bow and set of arrows, and grappling a specific opponent. It turned out that the murderer was the Plum Mystic.

            Following a short respite, we noticed a horde of enemies making their way towards the temple which we had fought our way into the prior night. The party began to split, creating two fronts depending on how individuals exited the tavern to make their way to the church, ending up in a division of the lines briefly as enemies appeared between the two groups, one escorting Sir Wilmot and the other making their way to the temple as quickly as possible. Present at the battle, most notably, was a banshee that had been killed by Grimlock. After being lay on hands-ed multiple times, Dame Faelinn’s lay on hands resulted in three Tears of Aurora and the banshee disappeared.

At this point, we did as all wise adventurers did and split the party in order to deal with several issues at once.

Upon leaving the tavern we saw the Stag of Morrow being chased by some hunters. Several adventurers had spoken to it and ensured its safety was upheld. 

One group went to help a blacksmith who needed it. When approaching the forge, we were greeted by a blacksmith. This individual claimed to make weapons that were sub-par. As the weapons were extremely wobbly, even on the part which was a blade, I believe I would agree with this assessment. The party was then challenged to beat the blacksmith’s proteges with these sub-par weapons, while his proteges used traditional blades. As we fought, the blacksmith iterated on his designs, eventually creating weapons that fused multiple blades that had won their battles to create superior weapons. Once we had triumphed a suitable amount, the blacksmith parted with his pride and joy, a very fascinating shield.

 Inside the library of Lost Hope were several statues holding books and a librarian behind her desk. Laika and Charis were tasked with reorganizing the library. With over 12 books and 5 slots we brute forced the combination and order of books. Every time the combination was wrong the statues reset. After about 10 tries we got the proper order and combinations rewarding us with a tear of Aurora.

Inside the Tavern in front of the jars with the names of the gods was a cursed mirror with 4 tears of Aurora which were embedded into it. The adventurers gathered 6 more of Tears and placed them upon the mirror. Shortly after placing the last tear the mourning mother of the child of light appeared and demanded we make things right. To appease her and the gods for the acts that Syruss did murdering the child of light adventurers needed to receive penance. We had to provide penance to the following gods: Antioch, Rawonam, Luna, Gaia, Vandor, Aurora, Absolution God, Justari, Dionin, Garm, and The Dark One. Each person received a unique penance and to name all of them would take far too much time. 

____________________________________________________________________________

Saturday Night

Leaving the Temple of the Sun, we found ourselves in a plane which I was informed is referred to as Hell. When venturing out, we searched for the essence of the child of light, which was scattered around Hell. Inside the temple upon the altar was the Sword of Kings and a new Sword of Light known as “Salvation”. Throughout our time there, the temple remained a bastion which our dead were able to return to themselves. At least until the party allowed some souls to return to the realms. Garm sent a death knight to guard the temple until we agreed to stop allowing these souls back. After some negotiations, as well Laika, Kovaks, and Magnus being rendered by their followers, Garm allowed us the use of the temple once more. With an hour remaining before we were pulled back to the temple for safe passage to the realms, we collected all the essences (that we are aware of) and returned to the realms in what I am told is a surprising quantity of triumph.   

Following a long night, there was only one thing left to do: Knight James Swift to the Knights of the Crown. Laika field knighted his former Squire because he completed his task to redeem Calladen.

____________________________________________________________________________

On Sunday afternoon, a very tired but content group gathered for court. 

It started with Auroran Court, where Sir Laika was announced as the High Priest of Aurora, with Dame Faelinn maintaining her position as High Priestess within Ivory. 

It was then proclaimed that although there were still some tasks left to be completed, by the Ascension War Tirvanel would be the Champion of Aurora. Tirvanel was also given the role as Head Templar and tasked with helping to grow the Order. 

Squire Margaret was recognized as a full Priestess of Aurora for her diligent efforts and leadership within the faith and the quest. She was also put in charge of the Church of Aurora within Kenkilit 

And finally, the Aurorans thanked everyone for their help in making this quest a success.

Following Auroran court was Open Court. 

Sir Rorin Akanar spoke about the worship of Luna in the realms, and how he had given up the role of High Priest in hopes that someone more active would be able to take up the mantle. In his absence, worship of Luna has nearly disappeared. He decided to pick up the title once more, until such a time that someone else is able and willing to take on that mantle. Rorin also gifted the Church of Aurora the candle stick holder that was recovered from the altar on Friday night. 

Dame Faelinn Shadowmoon chose to give her own thanks, both to the group and to two specific individuals, Lord Sir Elwin and His Majesty King Orion for their service on the quest.

Finally, the Knights of the Crown held Court.

Dame Faelinn stepped down as Knight Commander of the order, naming Sir Zula Darkwillow in her place

Zula then Knighted Tirvanel, stating that he was waiting for Tirvanel to step up which he absolutely did this weekend.

It was then announced that the Knights of the Crown will be naming Knight Errants at future gatherings, so to be on the lookout for that.

Sir Rorin was also Knighted by Dame Faelinn

Sir Laika also took on Harkel as his Page

Margaret: 

After Court, Tirvanel came up to me. He told me that he would need me for the tasks ahead of him. Tir asked for my hand in marriage, which I happily agreed. A fitting end to an emotional weekend. 

—----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I cannot put into words my gratitude for everyone who came out and helped out myself and the church in this long and arduous quest. We succeeded in redeeming Calladen, a great evil that plagued the realms for decades, laid to rest the Child of Light and did so with minimal risk and losses. I am deeply proud of all the work all of us have spent on the Quest for Hope and I look forward to what the next stories we make together and the next arc of Divine Intervention, which will likely be the Ascension War.

With our deepest thanks,

Sir Laika Knight of the Crown

Squire Margaret August, Lightbringer

Page Harkel

Why I Want To Go - Dying Light

By: Nixon "Jasper" Showalter 

Hello friends, foes, and otherwise,

As many of you have heard, there is a village in need of our help. While this is a tale we have all heard before, the subsequent terrors many of my compatriots have been dreaming about is.. unsettling. 

We know that there are demons invading the Realms. Though much of the information is unknown to me, this is not the first time we will have fought them. They have been taking deals, loans of power out on many people I consider close friends, thus I will ensure that I am there to help tip the scales in our favor. I, for one, have a debt to one of the demons we may encounter this weekend, a deal I made to free a trapped Soul. There are many webs that tangle and tie us all together, and I for one look forward to how we can pull on the right strings to help us succeed. 

Let those be warned, these demons are known for their cunning and seem to be able to offer more than demons we have faced before. If there is something you want, something you need, I would be surprised if there was not a demon there which could offer it to you. While advising you against making deals would be hypocritical and against my own morals, do what you think is right in the moment and the consequences will work themselves out accordingly.

Keep your friends close, keep an eye on those you care about, and make sure to come prepared. This is not going to be an easy bout by any means, and it will be up to us to secure victory.

Until the sun touches the sea,

Jasper Sherwood of Alifon

((OOC:

Dying Light has been an event I have been so eager to attend since the moment it popped on the calendar. While I am, of course, already involved because of my good decisions™, I know this is going to be a blast of an adventure for everyone who attends. Nate Carr is an amazing marshal who does a great job of balancing difficulty and enjoyment, as well as balancing allowing players to make choices and giving them fun, but just, consequences in return. Get ready for a hard event that is every bit as fulfilling as we earn a victory this weekend. I’ll see you all there!))

Morning Coffee Break

Got your morning cup of coffee and a few minutes? Great! We're trying out a new feature at the View - we're going to be asking a series of questions and we want to know your answers! The question is posted below. So while you sip your morning beverage of choice, ruminate on this one:

What is an in-character moment you thought would go one way but took a wildly unexpected turn for better or worse?

(Bonus points if you share what you learned from it as a player!)

Head on back to Social Media to let us know!   

Shield Stories with Kyle Yazinka

Organized by James "Tao" Murphy

Please physically describe your shield; style, Heraldry colors etc? 

30” EVA Plasti-dipped punch shield. It has a wood panel motif and metal edging with rivets. The center of the shield has Ashenmark’s flame and sword.

How long have you had your shield? 

Pretty sure it came from the pandemic times. I’ve had trouble finding photo evidence on when it was received.

Is this your preferred shield style? 

It fits my mobile, agile form of fighting better than a strap shield. The ability to quickly adjust the distance/position of the shield on my body to change from a defensive stance to an offensive stance make it far superior to a strap shield of the same size.

Have you ever tried a different style of shield? 

As a dedicated fighter it would be poor form to not try all the different styles of shields. I was a 1 path for many years and loved the buckler. Strap shields are enjoyable and were the only real competitive option back in the days of heavy shields. Kite shields are way too defensive in my opinion so I’ll use mine for NPCing. And tower shields are the worst by far. My knees can’t handle tower shield walls.

Who made it?

Callahan “Syruss” “O’Leary” Marsden

Have you ever had to fix/repair/refoam it since it's original creation?

It has held up amazingly for the amount of use and time I’ve had it. No repairs needed so far.

What is your favorite move with the shield?

I will say, during a full weekend event I can perform the move 6 times before my back gives out on me. You’ll just have to figure out the move and keep count yourself.

Do you have any interesting stories about the shield?

Cal asked for a set of Neden cornhole boards so we traded. I got my circle shield I always use and a kite shield I sometimes use for NPCing, and he got a set of Neden cornhole boards.

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team