Nations of the Realms: Misery

Misery sounds so mean to describe a place, but I think this may be a case of a name not matching the truth of the people. I spent a number of recent years in my library in the Fae Wildes, so I may have missed when this kingdom first joined our social gatherings and quests, but I do hope to rectify that soon. They seem like fun people!

Felnar Dulintel

The Kingdom of Misery

The Kingdom of Misery was founded by a mysterious mushroom lady named Bloom. Located on an uncharted island to the east, Goddess Gaia bestowed the kingdom upon her because of Bloom's pure love and devotion to her. It was a quiet place once surrounded by clouds and thunder; these days it's surprisingly loud with laughter and cheer. All are welcome in the Kingdom of Misery; we take in the old, the poor, and the evil, so long as one is looking for a path to kindness. The inhabitants include man and monster, living and undead. In Misery we strive to be the best versions of ourselves; depending on what that means to you. The Kingdom is protected by a magical Bubble that hides the island from view, for the safety of all who may wish harm to the inhabitants.

The kingdom is a monarchy, with Queen Bloom having ultimate authority over the population. The Queen appoints her most trusted and faithful followers to the Queensguard, headed by the Knight Sir Karamir and Captain Rain Holmes.

Knowing little of this island kingdom, these are the locales that the locals look to.

The Golden Pond: This is where the messenger butterflies go to die. When their magic runs out, the butterflies bodies turn to gold and line the lakebed.

The Temple of Gaia: It is located in deep in the forest. The temple is off limits to all but the most devoted.

The Forge of Ataraxia: Sits in the city center. The arms created here are made of Ataraxia Steel.

Mount Valla Appalla: An ancient volcano on the northern archipelago.

The island is temperate and thickly forested, with walled city and castle at the center. A magical Bubble covers the whole of the island and obscures its presence to the outside world.

Following the creation story of the kingdom, Misery is aligned with Her Highness Queen Bloom's goddess, Gaia. The most devout worshippers practice ritual bloodletting in exchange for a higher connection to Her power. In the spring, they celebrate Light the Sky, where they send wishes to Gaia on flying lanterns. The winter is marked by The Darkness, the season where the messenger butterflies die. Beyond this, the Bubble is reestablished on a rotating count of Miserian days.

The Kingdom of Misery’s economy is operated around coins called Flutterbucks, or affectionately called “flucks” by their people. These may also have some connection with the Golden Pond and the messenger butterflies, as it’s been noted that the seasonal replenishing of the Pond has led to massive inflation, as Miserians have taken to raiding the waters for golden butterflies.

Their regional dish seems to be something simply called Miserian Pasgetti.

Miserians wish to let others know that they want to share kindness and teamwork with the other nations of the Realms, and that they will always raise dead bodies, regardless of their national affiliation.

All are welcome in the Kingdom, so long as they are committed to kindness and act with peace to the peaceful. Joining the Kingdom is as easy as asking!

Monthly Toahscope - April 1025

 I'm here again with your monthly Toahscope. The dice have predicted some very interesting things this month. As usual, if you don't know your runes, leave a comment and we can help you learn. I'd also be curious at this point to hear if anything has occurred as prophesied.

Air
Traveling this month will have some unexpected happenings

Fall should be careful going to Neden
Spring will find results in Rhiassa
Summer may find themselves in Voraniss
Winter will find their fate in Stonewood

Day will encounter a local to the land, Night will meet someone visiting

Earth
You should try a new type of weapon. If you already use your chosen type, perhaps change between blade and blunt

Fall should look into using daggers
Spring will want to try a pike
Summer may want to pick up a bow
Winter will find hand and a half weapons of interest

Day will want to use their new style in a tournament and Night will want to go questing

Fire
Specific spells will shape your future

Fall will see results around Magic Missile
Spring should look out for Intervention
Summer may want to be aware of Call the Soul
Winter will find answers with Light

Day should watch for friendly casters, enemy casters for Night

Metal
Perhaps during poker, perhaps elsewhere, playing cards will serve a purpose for you 

Fall may want to look for the 2 of Spades
Spring should find the Jack of Clubs
Summer will find the Ace of Diamonds
Winter will have the 7 of Hearts

Day will find the card hurtful while Night will be helped

Water
Colors will impact you in the near future 

Fall should look out for red
Spring will see yellow stripes
Summer will find results around dark green
Winter will want to watch out for white

Day will find their color on an object and Night will see it on a person

Meme Monday

 by the Meme Team

What You Missed: Sanctuary Questing 2

 By: Raindrop of Soul and King Saegan of Blackwood (and Truth)

Hello fellow Adventurers of the Realms!

For those who are not aware, off the coast of the Arthurian Isles is a land known as Asteria. Asteria was once an idyllic land, but the gods of the land, the Starlords, created twelve beings to help them manage aspects of the universe. These beings decided the best way to do so was to consume it all. These beings are called the Devourers. Although, saying their name can attract their attention, so we tend to refer to them as the antis or hungerers.

Anti what, you might ask. Well, when the Starlords realized their mistake, they created twelve other beings, the guardians, who would stand in opposition to these hungerers. The idea was that when they collided with each other, they would destroy each other and the power would go back to the Starlords. At that point, the Starlords could create more balanced beings to help rule over reality.

But... then we showed up. Adventurers who made friends with the guardians, and formed relationships. We aligned ourselves to aspects of reality, and set out to destroy the Hungerers without losing our friends. Last year, we destroyed the being known as anti-truth. This year, we sought to slay anti-soul and anti-light.

We all met up in Sanctuary. I will not describe where it is in writing, only that you can find it if you need it. ((There's a lovely discord server for folks who enjoy text RP and e-questing. Although the staff does a really good job in making sure you don't need to do either one to participate in events.)) It is a demiplane that helps provide a home for those who have lost their own. From there, we ventured to the lands of Asteria, to a university known as the Onisac University, where the anti-soul had made it's home. We had a quest to do, and we had to do it quickly or anti-light could join forces and we would be fighting two gods at once.

Before we could face anti-soul directly, we had to do two things. One, we had to find all the soul boxes that it had created, freeing the souls it had consumed and trapped. This involved channeling out the souls from the boxes into hematite, then laying them to rest and sending them beyond the veil. Much of the quest involved various challenges to fight our way to soul boxes, or complete various challenges or puzzles that sealed them away. While we did that, we had to build up sufficient soul magic to destroy anti-soul. I performed a ritual which allowed us to capture the power of moments of vulnerability for us to release all at once upon our foe.

Once we had laid to rest all the souls in the boxes, we could face the Devourer of Souls on the field. We set up a place for last rites and healing in the back line, and ritual space for the ritual to destroy it in the back line, and the fighters fought hard. When we had performed the ritual, it became clear that there was still not enough soul energy. So people had to come up to those who performed the ritual and open up about their hopes, fears, desires, and motivations. Once enough power had been built up, I took it to the Devourer of Souls and it consumed me and all the magic and then exploded. Fortunately, Laika had a powerful magic item that brought me back to life.

We also rescued Perseus, a powerful paladin of an Asterian order, who had had their soul eaten by anti-soul and turned into anti-light's servant. When they were rescued, they took Jasper and one other person as their squires to their order.

From there, anti-light came out, as the sun fell and it grew dark. The fight against anti-light was a defensive one. We found the Astral Forge, a powerful artifact of Asteria, and forged swords that could be used to affect the entity. Meanwhile, Perseus empowered Jasper to lead a ritual to entrap anti-light in a circle of light forged from the astral forge and powered by the astral flame. This powerful light spell destroyed anti-light, and won the day for the heroes.

-Raindrop

~~~~

We left on a mission to destroy the Devourer of Soul, and the Devourer of Light, and we succeeded. That’s the base of things. 

Asteria, in the ruins of a college, our enemies awaited us. Served by ghosts, goblins, and even an array of chimera. The fight was a slog. The enemies seemed to keep coming; at times they felt unbeatable. 

Our powerful magics dwindled, and many of us, were sent, rendered to the Servant of the Devourer of Soul, to gamble for our lives. 

Until finally, as the sun began to near the horizon, we found what we needed to bring the Devourer of Soul to the field. Soul brought an army. We fought it back only to watch it rise in our wake to cut us down from behind. We broke through the army, striking at the Devourer, only to have them strike back with a force that would sever our souls from our physical forms, and leave us as a husks on the battle field. 

When our morale was nearly tapped, several of our casters brought forth a trap; Raindrop presented a soul bomb. The Devourer took the bait, and Raindrop all the same, Raindrop was lost, but the Devourer of Soul was defeated, and all others were freed.

As sun set we left the field, to plan and prepare.

We returned, in the dark of a dreary cold night, prepared for the Devourer of Light. But first, Laika, brought forth a powerful artifact, and with magic backed by the deep meaning of his words, he called Raindrop back from beyond. 

We cheered, our army delighted by the complete victory over Soul, and were ready to take on the Light. 

Our first task was to find the Celestial Flame and prepare ourselves with weapons of light to assault the Devourer and their minions. 

As we made a forge of light’s power, the Devourer arrived with an army of ghosts and bats. It as a terrible defense. The Devourer tapped into it’s power to turn our Friends against us, forcing us to cut down our own in terrible blood. 

Our lines were thin, and surely we would have fallen if Elizah hadn’t called on her mystic forge to keep us going midline.. My armor was barely marked before she was fixing it. And so true for those next to me as well. 

The fight carried on. More Friends were turned. More blood. More bats and ghosts. 

Until finally, we won. Having carried the Forge bearing the Celestial Flame to the Battlefield, our weapons ablaze, we struck our foes down in final victory. Not every fight can be so clear a victory, I am very grateful for everyone’s hard work in making this challenge such a success. 

-Saegan

Why I Want To Go - KosD & The Wyvern College Training Day II

By: Nixon "Jasper" Showalter

Hello friends, foes, and otherwise!

Did you all miss me? I know it has been so long since you last heard why I wanted to go to something. Thrilling, isn’t it? This time the stakes are not lower, but different! While fighting monsters and defeating the evil in the world is always important, you can never undervalue defeating the evil of missed learning opportunities!

While I do spend quite a bit of time at the Wyvern College as a student, I am looking extra forward to all of the guest lecturers coming to teach a ton of amazing classes this Saturday! I’ll personally be taking Rosetta’s Runes, Tournament Poker 101, Magic Marshaling, An Abridged History of Fae, and Oaths and Independence. While I have been in the Realms for around a year and a half, I have learned that there is always something new to learn and this is the perfect opportunity to do so. With the Realms being so diverse there will always be an expert you can find to teach you all they know, and usually they are more than happy to share what they know!

With all of the amazing rituals and lore behind Rosetta’s Runes, I knew I had to take a class to learn more about them. And with there being a follow up class on how to practically use them, it's a package deal! Tournament Poker is something that has always been intimidating to me, but I love making money and I love playing games, so I knew that would be a class right up my alley. Magic Marshaling is such a complex and interesting part of the Realms in my opinion, and to be able to learn directly from people who do it so well is an opportunity that is hard to pass up. I am always looking to hone my skills and things that are mostly learned in practice, and experience is best passed down!

On the topic of passing down experience, learning about the history of Fae is something I could spend the entire day listening to. It is one of the topics that every time I meet someone they have their own unique set of stories and perspectives and I absolutely can't get enough! And as a new player, Oaths and Independence immediately caught my attention to get a better grasp on my future in the Realms. While there are so many options, sometimes it is best to take your time and set your own path through the world!

While gaining knowledge is one of my favorite pastimes, a close second is food, and boy oh boy will there be opportunities to indulge! There are some incredible people taking charge of the college’s dining hall and I simply can’t wait for what they will cook up. There will also be a bake sale taking place with some amazing goodies for you to buy, so keep an eye out and always leave room for dessert! And while you are looking at what is for sale, make sure you stop by the auction being ran all day too. I’ve heard whisperings of some pretty neat stuff that will be available to bid on which you totally should (unless I’ve bid on it then you should totally let me have it).

Regardless of what classes you plan to take, or if you will spend your time helping in any capacity, I am sure you will have an incredible time doing so. There is so much to learn, experience, and take away from this day. After attending the first Training Day and gaining so much insight into topics I to this day reference, it was a no brainer why I want to go to the second Training Day!

Best of luck with your learning,

Jasper Sherwood of Alifon

Conspiracy MONTHLY

 By Kieran/Kyra Barry

Credit to Sean Finn for an article I wholesale got from him, no wording change needed.

Rumors April 1025

 

Rumors around the Realms April 1025

Arken

Many of the people from Arken can be seen traveling with the intention of heading to Mid-Realm. When questioned, they answer about Arken beginning to move to keep a watchful eye on the Mirror discovered during the Expedition.

Blackavar

Following the winter thaw, Baron Kurt Gautier has begun preparing for his household to move with Wilma Wilmont to the ruins on the banks of the River Archendale. A settlement is planned to be rebuilt where the ruins stand.

Eroewan

 Denizens of the land chat excitedly about a big festival to happen in June. The reason for the festival is currently unknown. 

Strange horned rabbits have been observed roaming the land, behaving similarly to ordinary rabbits.