Dantia/Storylines/Mana Surges & Wild Magic/Phase 6: The Sorcery Messengers

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This page relates to phase 6 of the 10 phase event known as Mana Surges & Wild Magic.

Many of these individual "events" are times when one or more of the Sorcery Messengers arrived unannounced, and chatted with those who gathered. In an effort to keep this page streamlined, and since the Messengers are largely giving their same talking points each time, the details of each conversation are documented on the Sorcery Messengers page.

Asildu at Overhealers Anonymous Meeting

Date Summary Link
449-09-36
Jul 28, 2024
Breath of the Heralds Asildu, a Human Scholar, made their first public appearance at an Overhealers Anonymous meeting.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for a more detailed account of this messenger and their interactions.

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Valenal at the Crossing Empath Courtyard

Date Summary Link
449-09-36
Jul 28, 2024
Avatar of the Summoning Valenal, Elemental Conduit of Elanthia made their first public appearance at the Crossing Empath Guild Courtyard.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for a more detailed account of this messenger and their interactions.

Log courtesy of Allye

Log courtesy of Kethrai

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Player Story: By Saragos

Date Summary Link
449-09-40
Jul 29, 2024
Saragos is desperately trying to open a portal to rescue his wife Navesi and the others who have disappeared. He's working against time and his own limitations, attempting to accomplish in a short amount of time what previously took a team of adventurers much longer. Despite feeling the task is impossible, Saragos continues to strategize, practice, and even considers using dangerous shortcuts, all while others around him offer support he barely acknowledges. Full story on Pastebin

Player Letter: Daervlan eth'Riel to Saragos

Date Summary Link
449-09-40
Jul 29, 2024
Saragos receives a magical message in response to his previous communication with Daervlan eth'Riel. The message, appearing as a glowing sheet of paper, offers condolences and support for Saragos's efforts to rescue the missing individuals, while also confirming his suspicions about the nature of their disappearance. However, before the message can be fully conveyed, it abruptly vanishes in a flash, leaving Saragos with incomplete information and a warning about caution and surveillance. Full letter on Discord

Player Story: By Nawain

Date Summary Link
449-09-40
Jul 29, 2024
Nawain, exhausted from days of continuous work, is pouring immense amounts of holy power into a complex magical structure at Arhat's Tower. She's creating a metaphysical construct that she hopes will serve as a bridge or beacon to find and bring back the missing individuals. Despite her fatigue and the physical toll it's taking on her, she persists in her efforts, praying to multiple deities and sending an antinomic godling on a mission to pierce through the planes and locate the lost ones. Full story on Discord

Miraena at the West Gate of Crossing

Date Summary Link
449-09-40
Jul 29, 2024
Messenger Miraena, Voice of the Heralds of Elanthia, made her first appearance just outside the West Gate of Crossing.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Casari

Miraena at the West Gate of Crossing

Date Summary Link
449-10-04
Jul 30, 2024
Miraena returns to the West Gate of Crossing to speak with more adventurers.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Casari

Player Event: Wild Seaside Mammoth Ride

Date Summary Link
449-10-04
Jul 30, 2024
Shaylynne and Allye organized an expedition to investigate wild magic, gathering a group of adventurers at Acenamacra Pier to board a sea mammoth. Unaka served as an interpreter, questioning the Merelew driver in Asaran about wild magic, riptides, and missing people. The driver confirmed issues with magic and riptides but claimed limited knowledge on most topics, including any information about missing individuals. Log courtesy of Allye.

Asildu and Miraena at Gaethrend's Court

Date Summary Link
449-10-08
Jul 31, 2024
Miraena and Asildu meet for the first time in Gaethrend's Court.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Maraisel

Player Story: The Messengers by Tirost

Date Summary Link
449-10-12
Aug 01, 2024
Tirost and his sister Lymira discuss the various messengers promoting their views on sorcery and wild magic. Tirost expresses concern over the sincerity and motives of these messengers. Despite their doubts and disagreements, Tirost and Lymira resolve to remain united and continue their efforts, each stepping back into the night with their own concerns and responsibilities. Full story

Player Event: Wild Magic Negotiations and the Arbiter in Darkness

Date Summary Link
449-10-12
Aug 01, 2024
Urbaj invites all interested parties to discuss possible violations of the Agreement made between the Traders and the Arbiter in Darkness, and how this may be able to be used in the search to better understand Wild Magic. Urbaj provides a history of the existing Agreement and begins a collective editing of his first draft notification.

It is at this event that Steward of Recursion Liraxes, Warden of Adaptation, makes his first appearance.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Expand for details.

Originally posted to Discord by Urbaj:

Fingers steepled and brow furrowed, Urbaj rereads the words written on a piece of parchment paper.  Several spent glossy axinite runestones litter the floor around him.  Eventually, he sits back, lets out a long exhale, and nods to his patient aide. "This is just a draft. Please make a few more copies for the meeting tonight so we can discuss it."

As the aide rushes down Bank Street toward her destination, one of the sheets slips from her ledger to the curb.  It reads:

   Day 374 of Year 449
   TO: The Arbiter in Darkness
   CC: Guildleader Ansprahv Drensyld; Lord Veahmic Turmar
   RE: NOTICE OF BREACH OF CONTRACT

   Arbiter in Darkness:
   This correspondence pertains to the contract executed in the 425th year between the Arbiter in Darkness and House Turmar on behalf of the Trader Guild ("the Agreement").

   Specifically, you have breached the obligation under the Agreement to preserve access to Lunar magic for all Trader Guildmembers in exchange for their non-interference with the Plane of Probability.
   
   Whereas the Trader Guild has dutifully adhered to its obligations, on or about the 186th and 354th days of the 449th year, for extended periods of time, all Guild access to Lunar magic was fully severed, potentially as a result of interference from the extraplanar entity known as Liraxes.  While we have no evidence this was done with your cooperation, it remains your liability.
   
   Subsequent instruction from the Negotiants affirmed that the Agreement remains in effect.  Therefore, unless you remedy this breach of contract, we will take measures to protect our rights under the Agreement.  Suitable remedies may include, but shall not be not limited to:
   1. Demonstrable efforts to destroy, weaken, or restrict the entity known as Liraxes.
   2. Strategic tutelage regarding the entity known as Liraxes.
   3. Additional magical tutelage heretofore withheld.
   4. Reimbursement of 1,000 platinum Kronars to each affected member of the Trader Guild.
N/A

Player Event: Paladin Meeting Regarding the Bulwark

Date Summary Link
449-10-12
Aug 01, 2024
Madigan and Khearkrash call Paladins to join them in an attempt to reach the five missing adventurers. While attempts are being made to harness holy magic, the group receives a vision, and the are joined by Unaka.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Expand for details.

The vision received:

Thunderous steps approach, and you hear an ox snort loudly.

Your spirit sings and you feel a comforting weight squeeze your shoulder, a stern but encouraging hand pushing you forward.  

A kind and deep voice echoes all around you, The security you seek is forged in sacrifice and tempered in purity.  Those that threaten our world cannot and do not diminish your achievement.

A massive ox muzzle snuggles against your cheek, nearly knocking you over, the enormous horns stretching over you.  Entirely black eyes gaze down at you, and the ox snorts amiacably before turning and vanishing.
A brilliant flash of light momentarily blinds you.  When your vision clears, you see a confused looking Gor'Tog woman standing nearby, radiant and proud. 

The voice echoes, She will guide you.
Log courtesy of Gretae

Asildu at the Temple of Light, Charges of Heresy

Date Summary Link
449-10-16
Aug 02, 2024
A vigil is held by Ezerak for his missing wife, Ayrell, where Asildu attends.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Anuril
449-10-16
Aug 02, 2024
Immediately following the vigil, Briaen issues charges of Heresy against Asildu.

Expand for details.

CHARGES OF HERESY:
Asildu has publicly confessed to heretical beliefs, declaring devotion outside that of the Immortals. Such a proclamation starkly contradicts the principles of faith and the veneration of the Immortals, amounting to a blasphemous affront to our sacred traditions.

The Holy Inquisition unequivocally denounces Asildu's blasphemous declaration. His misguided pursuit of power and existence outside the reverence of the Immortals reveals a grievous departure from the path of righteousness and a blatant defiance of the divine order.

Asildu, Seeker of the Heralds, is hereby called to repent for his heretical actions. Let him seek the mercy of the Immortals and renounce his blasphemous ways. The path to redemption lies in the earnest return to faith and the veneration of the divine beings who guide and protect us.

Let this edict serve as a solemn warning to all who may be tempted by the lure of heresy. The pursuit of power outside the divine guidance of the Immortals leads only to spiritual ruin. Remain steadfast in your faith and dedicated to the worship of the holy deities who illuminate our path.

The Holy Inquisition remains vigilant in its sacred duty to protect the purity of our faith and the sanctity of the Immortals' worship. Any actions or proclamations that undermine these sacred principles will be met with the full measure of our divine authority.

In the unwavering light of the Immortals, let us reaffirm our commitment to faith and veneration. Together, let us stand as a bulwark against the encroachment of heresy and uphold the sanctity of our divine traditions.

Issued under the Seal of the Holy Inquisition, this Day in the Pursuit of Righteousness, 16th day of Nissa the Maiden, 449 AV.

Signed & Sealed,
Knight Penitent Briaen Huns, Dawnsworn of Berengaria
[Full letter] on Discord

Unaka at the Glaes Spatula Cooking Competition

Date Summary Link
449-10-20
Aug 03, 2024
Unaka attends the Glaes Spatula Cooking Competition.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Allye

Nawain Receives Messages from the Missing Adventurers

Date Summary Link
449-10-20
Aug 03, 2024
While performing one of her ongoing ritualistic processes in Arhat's Tower, Nawain feels a moment of magical disruption then hears brief messages from the missing adventurers, which she relays to others.

Expand for details.

Message from Ayrell:

"Ezerak?  Ez, if you can hear me, I am alive.  Tell our children... tell them I will find a way home.  Protect them, please.  I beg of you.  We are trying to find a way out, but the world is in danger and in desperate need of your help.  You must keep fighting!  Do not give up!"

Message from Dantia:

"We are alive, together, and fighting. Ours is a battle, but you and the world are at war. You must take action, not just talk! Fix the imbalance! We will fight together again, my love."

Message from Mazrian:

"Anuril.  We are alive and will escape if possible.  You know your duty.  Don't miss your shot at killing them to save us, and don't let anyone else.  If I don't make it, tell those punks I'll see them in the void."

Message from Miskton:

"Vaerek, hope this reaches you. Spread the word. We are all still alive. Our magic is suppressed. No physical restraints, but no objects or landscape to interact with. Passage of time difficult to gauge. No sign of captors. Do not believe we have moved far from initial entry point, but difficult to judge."

Message from Navesi:

"We're still alive. We've searched, researched, experimented exhaustively, and there's no way out from this side. The others seem optimistic but I think I may see things more clearly than they do, and I am losing hope. Take care of our children. I love you."
[Log] courtesy of Nawain

Log courtesy of Allye

Asildu at Overhealers Anonymous

Date Summary Link
449-10-24
Aug 04, 2024
Asildu returns to Overhealers Anonymous to discuss his viewpoint on sorcery.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Valenal on the Streets of Crossing

Date Summary Link
450-01-16
Aug 12, 2024
Valenal reveals that his connection with Elemental Plane entities led to their influence over his mind, and they are now concerned about recent energetic disruptions between their planes and the Plane of Abiding amid the chaos of wild magic.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

[Log] courtesy of Avrenka

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Story: By Miraena

Date Summary Link
450-01-20
Aug 13, 2024
Miraena, protected by the Heralds, struggles to convince adventurers in Crossing to forsake sorcery, as they largely ignore or even violently reject her pleas, leaving her disheartened. Despite witnessing the devastating effects of sorcery on her village and others, she realizes that words alone may not be enough to change their minds. With renewed determination, she resolves to take more drastic measures to protect her family and the common people from the looming calamity caused by unchecked sorcery. Full story

Player Event: Beseeching Elanthia to Find

Date Summary Link
450-01-20
Aug 13, 2024
Waydren gathers Rangers and Empaths at Arhat's Tower in an attempt to beseech Elanthia itself to assist in locating the missing adventurers. As they connect with Elanthia through the Empathic link, they feel its essence as a vast collection of living things, syncing their heartbeat with the planet's pulse. They become aware of Elanthia's perception of time as layers of sediment that tell the story of ancient, vibrant life and the rise and fall of civilizations. However, this balance is disrupted as civilizations begin harnessing mana, leading to localized extinctions and spreading unnatural blights. The primary guardians struggle to contain these wounds, and as a result, Elanthia now harbors only cursed, blighted life that continues to drain its vitality. As they focus on Arhat's crumbling tower, they witness the event that traps their compatriots in the Null Prison, sensing their presence in the vicinity but remaining unreachable.

Expand for details.

The visions received by Empaths and Rangers:

From the familiar grasp within Elanthia's soil, you find something different -- something deeper.  As the vines encase your body, you can feel the presence of Elanthia as one large collection of living things.

With the aid of the Empathic link, you feel as though you have connected with Elanthia itself.  Your heartbeat slows, matching the pulse of life covering the planet.  Though searching for information on a specific moment in time, you become distinctly aware that Elanthia perceives time on a scale unfamiliar to you, as layers of sediment each sing their own song of epochs and days from before the rise of humanity on this world.

Your senses reach back to a time when the planet was teeming with wildness.  Vibrant, uncontrolled, untamed life was once present here, in this very location.  You sense the rise and fall of countless civilizations here, in this very soil.  Under the careful watch of a cultivating eye pruning and fertilizing the natural life on the planet, you feel the influence of guardians maintaining the balance between wildness and civilization.  Existence, self-contained and free of outside influence, remained in balance such that life could thrive.

However, you also sense that this time was short-lived.  You feel a distinct time when these gardeners sustaining the balance could no longer entirely fight off outside influence.  As each civilization learned to harness the flowing streams of mana, it crumbled beneath a localized extinction, leaving a bleeding wound where no life could bloom.  What was an embrace of wholeness now twists into a litany of trauma, as unnatural blights spread from festering eruptions long forgotten.  You feel the overwhelming loss of Life within each wound, as disease propagates alien, twisted life from outside of the plane in each laceration.  As portions of Elanthia have died, outsiders have planted their seed and begun cultivating to expand their own presence through new pathways into existence from elsewhere.

As new pathways came to take what was here, lesser guardians attempted to assist the caretakers.  They attempted to contain the wounds, and to cultivate life, but their impact was severely limited, as it was dependent on a connection to the outside, as if drawing from a well some distance away to put out a raging fire.  The wounds continued to fester and bleed.  The primary guardians, who were reliant on the balance of life to continue cultivating, focused on what good they could do, leaving the outsiders to attempt to contain the blights.

Within each of these wounds, Elanthia has never recovered.  Only unnatural life, blighted and cursed, can thrive in these conditions.  They are no longer part of the balance within Elanthia -- and they take more from Elanthia with every iteration.

The pain now grows, welling to an unsustainable level, and you find yourself feeling the weight of Arhat's crumbling tower above you.  Your senses focus on this location, and your connection with Elanthia helps guide the memory of the nature surrounding this tower to the specific point in which your compatriots disappeared. 

Pushing out the influence of everything outside of this focal point, your senses sharpen.  You witness the flash that rent many into the Null Prison, and the return of all but five.  Curiously, you still feel the influence of their life in this very moment in time and in this very space.  All five beings strangely appear to be here within the vicinity of the Tower -- but entirely out of reach, as if in a space that is not tangible in any meaningful way.

Your spatial awareness slowly returns to normal as the link with Elanthia fades.
Log courtesy of the Grey Dragons
450-01-20
Aug 13, 2024
Liraxes and Valenal make a joint appearance at the conclusion of the Beseeching Elanthia to Find event.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Player Event: A Picnic: A Wild Mystery

Date Summary Link
450-01-24
Aug 14, 2024
A picnic is held at the center of the excavation site in the Crossing as an open forum to discuss and debate wild magic and the current missing adventurers. Unaka arrives and participates in the discussion.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Amailia

Log posted as text file to Discord, courtesy of Avrenka

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Player Story: Nawain Chooses Life

Date Summary Link
450-01-28
Aug 15, 2024
Nawain struggles with self-doubt and frustration after a failed battle with necromancers, haunted by memories of her past and feeling helpless despite her training. As she works on her alchemy, she finds solace in her father's reassuring voice in her mind, reminding her that losses are opportunities for growth. Determined to overcome her fear and keep a promise to Enelne, she pushes forward, casting aside thoughts of vengeance to focus on her mission. Full story on Pastebin

Player Event: Prepping the Contract Proposal to Liraxes

Date Summary Link
450-01-28
Aug 15, 2024
Parkons invites interested parties, especially Traders, to begin collaboration on a contract with Liraxes. That contract can be found here. N/A

Player Event: A Diplomatic Approach to the Heralds

Date Summary Link
450-01-28
Aug 15, 2024
Ruea organizes an event to attempt peaceful communication with the Heralds. Asildu attends and offers to act as a connection to the Heralds. Through this connection, it's implied that the Heralds want sorcery to cease but don't seem to have or care about the missing adventurers. This led to debate about whether the Heralds actually have the missing people, or if another entity might be responsible.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Player Letter: From Sir Madigan to the Grey Dragons, ODS, Iron Circle, Black Foxes

Date Summary Link
450-01-32
Aug 16, 2024
Madigan expresses concern about the world's current state and the lack of decisive action. He presents three potential courses of action: assisting Liraxes in building a device to attain balance, supporting Asildu's call to cease sorcery, or promoting Valenal's approach of increased sorcery use. Madigan urges the recipients to provide input on these options, emphasizing the need for action and a unified front to either prove a chosen path correct or allow for adjustment if proven wrong. Full letter on Discord

Player Letter: Saragos to Valenal

Date Summary Link
450-01-32
Aug 16, 2024
Saragos writes a letter to Valenal, asking him to pass a letter on to Daervlan eth'Riel. In the letter to Daervlan, Saragos asks what we should be ready for, opinions on the causes or resolution of the problems with Wild Magic, and the identity of the kidnappers of the missing adventurers. Full letter on Discord

Miraena at Gaethrend's Court

Date Summary Link
450-01-32
Aug 16, 2024
Miraena visits Gaethrend's Court and speaks with adventurers.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Liraxes at Asemath Academy

Date Summary Link
450-01-32
Aug 16, 2024
Liraxes meets with adventurers in Asemath Academy.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Player Event: Evoking the Missing

Date Summary Link
450-01-32
Aug 16, 2024
Saragos requests Bards to Evoke the kidnapping itself at the site of the disappearance, in search of clues about the culprit and their reasons. Bards are able to determine that the kidnapping was a lesson in the dangers of meddling in extraplanar matters, and that the only way to help them is to facilitate stability with magic.

Expand for details.

Bard Evoke:

Once the home of the Warrior Mage Guild, this tower was nearly destroyed by the Fire Wizard Mibgluc in a testament of experimenting with dangerous magic.

In a reiteration of this, five adventurers were taken from this location in an experiment with sorcery, a lesson in the dangers of meddling in extraplanar matters.

The more attention you pay to this location, the more you believe you can hear their voices coming from one specific stone -- "YOURNAME, help us!"

However, you believe that the only way to help them is to facilitate stability within magic.

A new stone was now present in the room:

>look stone
This worn stone is the one-hundred thirty-ninth stone in the pattern on the floor, precisely where Navesi stood when she was taken.  Absent the strange markings and glow present across the rest of the room, it has five circles marking the points of a star on its surface.

>study stone
Counting precisely 139 stones, you find the exact location that Navesi stood when taken.

>recall stone
Five pinpoint marks represent the five adventurers who once stood in this exact spot.  You imagine each one in turn calling out to you in a plea to help them.  "YOURNAME, help us!"
Log courtesy of Ayrell

Miraena at Taelbert's Inn

Date Summary Link
450-01-40
Aug 18, 2024
Miraena discusses ceasing sorcery with adventurers at Taelbert's Inn.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Valynn

Asildu at the Silver Eye

Date Summary Link
450-01-40
Aug 18, 2024
Asildu speaks with adventurers at the Silver Eye in Shard.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Player Event: Holy Magic Discussion

Date Summary Link
450-01-40
Aug 18, 2024
Nawain and Maintain discuss the implications of Truffenyi's guidance on the use of magic as it relates to Holy magic users, as well as other questions arising from the effects of Wild Magic on the guild's spell matrices. They invite interested magic researchers as well as Clerics and Paladins of all levels of practice share their experiences with their magic since the arrival of Wild Magic. Unaka joins the discussion. Log courtesy of Ayrell

Liraxes and Valenal at Grassland Road

Date Summary Link
450-01-40
Aug 18, 2024
Liraxes invites adventurers to cast sorcerous magic at a specific location along the Grassland Road. Valenal joins and answers additional questions. After a time, the following is felt by magic users:
You feel a stronger connection to magic and a small, fleeting bit of relief.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

[Log] courtesy of Avrenka

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Player Letter: Saragos to Everyone

Date Summary Link
450-02-04
Aug 19, 2024
Saragos warns against conducting magical experiments at Arhat's Tower, stating that the location has no magical significance beyond being where his wife and friends disappeared. He threatens to kill anyone who attempts experiments there, asserting that such actions would hinder his efforts to recover his loved ones, and promises worse consequences for anyone who prevents him from recovering his wife. Full letter on Discord

Player Letter: Imroth to Saragos

Date Summary Link
450-02-04
Aug 19, 2024
Imroth responds to Saragos by explaining that the significance of the location was precisely why it was chosen for the upcoming Party at the End of the World. He urges Saragos to join the celebration, to catch the eye of the enemy and stare it down. Plus, it might do him some good to have a social evening of indulgence. If Saragos still chooses to oppose the event, blood is "already on the agenda." Full letter on Discord

Player Story: By Nawain

Date Summary Link
450-02-16
Aug 22, 2024
Nawain is meticulously weaving a protective cocoon of holy mana around a volatile aether snarl to safeguard it until the "party" is ready. Despite her exhaustion and doubts, she draws power from surges created by nearby alchemists to reinforce her efforts, aware of the immense challenge she faces. As she finishes her work, she plans to enlist Paladins to strengthen the cocoon, ensuring its survival for a little while longer. Full story on Discord

Player Event: A Recital for Truffenyi

Date Summary Link
450-02-20
Aug 23, 2024
Harsh led a vigil to seek guidance from Truffenyi. Unaka joined, and during the ceremony, adventurers experienced a shared vision of an ox (battling a dragon, which sparked discussion about its meaning and potential threats like the Heralds or the World Dragon. Afterwards, people debated how to interpret the vision and what actions to take, with some suggesting spiritual protection spells or continued vigilance.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Expand for details.

The vision:

A golden radiance washes over your field of view as a vision overtakes you.  Before you stands a stalwart ox, its shoulders bunched with muscle and its noble head upraised to gaze at an enormous dragon looming overhead.  The ox snorts and lowers its head, long horns pointed forward, poised to charge.  The dragon rears up, wings outspread, its form blotting out the sun.  Shade is cast across the ox.

As you continue to watch, a battle ensues between ox and dragon.  The ox, tiny as it is in comparison, is battered by the dragon's claws and sent sprawling to the ground.  Over and over again the dragon attacks and the ox takes the blow.  By the end, it is bleeding and broken, and it lies panting for a long minute.  Its skin shivers slightly, then it stands again, shaking its head and readying another charge.

Your vision returns to normal as the scene before you fades away.
N/A

Player Event: Blue Iris Charity Ball

Date Summary Link
450-02-20
Aug 23, 2024
Attendees gather to support the cause of aiding those affected by Wild Magic. Allye and Shaylynne delivered opening speeches, highlighting the dangers of sorcery and calling on adventurers to help mend the damage caused by it. Miraena shared her personal story of how sorcery has devastated her village and urged attendees to cease their use of sorcery to protect the world. A discussion ensued between those gatheres, Miraena, Asildu, and Unaka, about the role of the Heralds and Immortals, which ended in some underlying tension. The evening concluded with pledges from some adventurers to stop using sorcery.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Player Event: Meeting in the Den in Crossing

Date Summary Link
450-02-20
Aug 23, 2024
Crobin invites those with the shadows to gather and seek Damaris's guidance and aid to restore balance and help find the missing adventurers. N/A

Player Event: Beseeching Lemicus

Date Summary Link
450-02-20
Aug 23, 2024
Nawain gathers a group on a boat for a ritual seeking the blessing of Lemicus. The ritual includes contemplating water's qualities, praying for divine guidance, and making offerings to find the missing adventurers. N/A

Player Story: By Elurora

Date Summary Link
450-02-24
Aug 24, 2024
Elurora creates a protective shield around "stone 139" using a combination of holy mana, despite the physical and emotional toll it takes on her. As she carefully weaves the shield, she battles uncertainty about whether her efforts will be enough to keep the stone safe and aid in their mission. Exhausted but determined, she resolves to continue trying, driven by hope that her actions will make a difference. Full story on Discord

Player Event: Laying Bait at Zengmodaleth

Date Summary Link
450-02-24
Aug 24, 2024
Kethrai gathers adventurers at Zengmodaleth for an experiment to test the theory that mana surges are a theft of energy out of the Plane of Abiding. N/A

Player Story: By Briaen

Date Summary Link
450-02-28
Aug 25, 2024
A man, haunted by his violent past, approaches a vine-choked tree and reflects on its futile resilience, a metaphor for his own struggles. As he enters an old, dusty cabin filled with memories and instruments of his dark deeds, he is confronted by visions of torment and fleeting moments of peace. Gripped by a ritual knife, he hears a mysterious voice urging him to "purify it all," leaving him in a state of eerie contemplation. Full story on Discord

Player Event: Beseeching Elanthia to Reveal

Date Summary Link
450-02-28
Aug 25, 2024
Waydren again calls together Rangers and Empaths to Beseech Elanthia to Reveal the Gardener's (Herald's) original intent for Primal Elanthia, this time with the aid of Asildu. Rangers and Empaths see a vision that reveals primordial Elanthia, where a lush, interconnected forest thrives with lifesculpted spires housing diverse flora and fauna in perfect harmony. Everything works together to cultivate and maintain this pristine ecosystem, demonstrating a deep connection with nature and each other. This untamed yet orderly world, teeming with life from the depths of the ocean to the canopy of the forest, represents Elanthia's cherished memory of its original state as envisioned by the Heralds.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Expand for details.

Your vision fades, the intention of forming a connection with Asildu assisting you in connecting with a primal Elanthia.  The connection overtakes your consciousness -- a vision of what was and could have been.

A strong breeze stirs, and your senses flood with floral scents that belong to no plant you have ever experienced. As you allow this connection to fill your senses, your vision returns, depicting a thick, verdant forest in the spot you once stood.  Branches and shrubs part in front of you, revealing a harmonious grove of wild growth that seems untamed, and yet orderly -- as if all somehow connected.  At the center of a wooded grove, a spire of twisting branches towers above you, growing inward to create a lattice upon which you now see hundreds of animals living inside an ordered existence.  Crouching low, a mother clad in woven vines kneels next to her child, her deliberate movement fostering a jadice seedling to sprout -- and the child mimics her gestures, causing the flower to blossom.  You sense Empathy within both mother and child, and as you expand your perception, you feel an Empathic connection with countless other humanoids inside the tower. 

A tropical bird of no species you are familiar with descends from a tree, landing deliberately on your hand.

Upon touching the bird, your consciousness now flows into it.  You soar upward along the spire, and as you reach the canopy of the forest, the massive form of a green dragon swoops along the leaves above you, rustling them in its wake.  Pausing to regain stability in your flight, you flap your wings and settle yourself on the tip of one of the highest branches.  Surrounding you, you observe dozens of similar lifesculpted spires stretching across the horizon, surrounded by forest as far as the eye can see.  You hear the nearby roar of two rivers meeting, and in a moment, you send youself flapping toward it.

Beneath you, you observe predators stalking prey, but nowhere do you see waste or excess.  There is a balance teeming through this life -- one in which every being participates in actively.  Where you expect a bustling city, you find more lifesculpted spires at the intersection, and atop one, you witness a dragon speaking words of creation to assist a Druid in merging the spires.  With those words, the branches of each grow and intertwine, forming a nexus of life te you, as if a voice urges you to nest in this place.

From this perch, you see out to the glistening ocean, and watch as an ancient Leviathan leads its young to nest inside the Segoltha Bay, coming incredibly close to shore.  You hear its call sound proud and loud, relishing in the untamed ocean that belongs to them and them alone.

This Primal Elanthia, pristine and glorious, quickly fades.  You sense that Elanthia holds this memory dear, and identifies itself by a time when it was a primordial, cultivated, and untouched garden tended by the Heralds in what they intended to be a perfect balance, unspoiled and untamed.

Your vision abruptly returns to you as your connection to Elanthia fades.
Log courtesy of the Grey Dragons

Player Event: Party at the End of the World

Date Summary Link
450-02-28
Aug 25, 2024
Imroth invites everyone to a chaotic celebration of mass sorcerous casting. Asildu and Miraena appear and beg for the event to be stopped. Despite their warnings, mass sorcery was cast and the Heralds responded with a show of force, which included a drake invasion. After the invasion, all adventurers felt:
A refreshing calm washes over the land, and you feel a sense of pervasive balance.  Everything feels more stable.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Expand for details.

Invitation originally posted to [Discord]:

Brothers and Sisters, 
A scourge has befallen us. A blight not just upon magic, but the very fabric of our world, and we all hang in the balance.

We are at a crossroads of destiny.

We have a choice:
To quietly clutch a blue flower and hide in a cellar, hoping that we survive as this storm passes over us,
OR
To stare into the very eye of that storm and show our enemies the fire that burns in our souls. Show them that we, too, are a storm, and they will regret ever crossing Elanthians.

I will not huddle quietly,
I will scream in defiance, 
and sorcery is my voice.

I wish for members of every province, every order, every guild to unite like the different mana types and become the furious power that is sorcery. We will stretch every limit of magic. We will research beyond the edges of the known. We will bathe in blackfire, and summon godlings. We will sever our thread of connection with fate, and WRITE OUR OWN!

I invite everyone who reads this to a join me in a celebration of sorcery and defiance at Arhat's Tower: 
A "Party at the End of the World".
 
Unity in Chaos,
Imroth Rubywings

At the event, the following was felt:

A soft surge can be felt, pushing at you.  You feel momentarily disoriented.

A ripple of unreality surges outward, leaving behind no-color afterimages.

A faint thrum of energy courses through the air around Asildu.  Reflexively, he blinks, his eyes going somewhat glassy, weaving unsteadily on his feet.

What little color remains in Asildu's face drains away, leaving him a sickly shade of white.

Jerking slightly, Asildu grimaces, his hand rising to press against his temple, struck by some inexplicable pain.

Miraena frowns.

The discomfort seems to travel through Asildu, the agony in his eyes a sign of the lingering pain in his head though his hands move to clutch at his stomach, a tortured groan escaping his now-colorless lips.

It builds, an intense pressure, and you swear you see a black wolf watching you, its tail wagging.  Odd -- the wolf is gone.

Something tears, a rending light that shudders across the area, smelling of brine and sage.  You hear a furious roar in the distance, though, it quickly fades and you cannot recall what it sounded like. 

Asildu painfully exclaims, "You must stop!"

Asildu's mouth opens in preparation to present another plea to the assembly, his words cut short by the strange thrum of energy still charging the air, the intensity of it building at an alarming rate.  Like a strong gust of wind, it whips around and seemingly *through* Asildu, the sheer strength of it stealing his voice as his expression twists into an anguished grimace.

Imroth darkly says, "More."

Miraena's form beisde Asildu grows rigid, her muscles tensed as if seized by an unseen force.  Her eyes glaze over, pupils dilated, as she stares blankly into the distance, her gaze fixed on something far beyond the immediate area.

You feel a surge of unbridled confidence, and a strong hand grips your shoulder lending support.  You look back, but no one stands behind you.  

A sudden, unseen force appears to rack Asildu's body from within, causing him to lurch slightly, unsteady on his feet.  Reaching his hands up, he grasps his head, eyes screwed shut, crying out in a mix of surprise and pain.

As whatever it is releases it's hold on her, Miraena's body jerks violently, her chest heaving as she gasps for air like someone breaking the surface after a deep dive.  Her eyes dart wildly around the room, her hands trembling uncontrollably at her sides.

Asildu painfully says, "No... no, this is wrong... this is bad..."

Miraena fearfully exclaims, "No, please. They see what is being done here. They tell us to stop!"

Miraena just hugged Asildu.

Stumbling forward, Asildu falls to his knees, the tips of his fingers digging into his hair, desperately attempting to fend off the unexpected affliction that continues to plague him.

Asildu painfully says, "They're so angry..."

No longer able to bear the torture, Asildu collapses to the floor, writhing in agony that seems to worsen with every powerful rush of the energy around him until he finally falls still, gazing absently up at the ceiling, alive though teetering on the edge of unconsciousness.

Miraena quietly says, "So angry..."

A gong is struck, massive, deafening, and you feel something *snap*.  The worn floor stone expands wildly, pulverizing adjacent blocks!

The large, transparent image of a tilted almond-shaped cat-slitted amber eye wavers in the sky above.

Asildu falls over.

They have noticed, and they are not pleased.  Time slows, and you feel your fearlessness like a cleansing fire.  You feel free and aloof, your muscles and mind singing with potential.

Everything changes.

Asildu groans.

From here, the vision changed depending on Guild:

Bard

A melody plays at the edge of your hearing, the symphony of magics arranging themselves into a strange concerto.  The tune is haunting, tempting, and for a fleeting moment, you demand silence, relishing in the peaceful emptiness, the song of your heart echoing in the absence.  What joyous silence, cleansed of distraction.  The feeling does not quite pass, and you remain drunk with hubris.

Cleric

The old prayers and rituals return, and you remember what it was to be a God, a bound and crafted being serving you, idolizing your will and way.  The feeling is simultaneously sickening and exhilarating - they belong to you, and they heed your every whim.  Life is yours to mold, creation yours to craft, nothing is impossible, for you, and only you, decide what is and will be.  The feeling does not quite pass, and you remain drunk with hubris.

Empath

For a fleeting moment, you realize a new application of your Empathy, a forcing of your will onto others to bend *them* to your will.  Swimming upstream, you feel the vine growing, choking the tree, but before the tree dies, the vine tightens, bending the trunk and shaping the branches.  Life is malleable, a garden to be controlled, and you are the gardener.  The feeling does not quite pass, and you remain drunk with hubris.

Moon Mage

You see it again, the familiar vision, a potter standing before a wheel, splattered in wet clay, the wheel spinning faster and faster, its edges gouging a deep groove into the shop floor.  The potter watches for a moment, but this time, grabs a long wooden rod and rapidly pushes on the edge of the wheel, increasing its speed!  The potter grabs a lump of clay, and begins to work.

Everything blurs, a thousand deviations spreading outward, creating possibilities within possibilities.  A gust of wind catches a bird, and sends it north, or west, and a hunter shoots it down, or goes hungry.  You trace these outcomes, these worlds within worlds, and place yourself in the path of opportunity, never-were's dying on the vine.  A pale red-haired man screams in impotent rage, but you cycle past his bound and useless will, for you are the spider and all of time is your web.  The feeling does not quite pass, and you remain drunk with hubris.

Necromancer

It works.  Everything you imagined neatly falls into place, and as your mind opens, you see it, the pattern, the perfect solution for capturing all of creation and purifying yourself of these mortal shortcomings.  The Immortals are nothing more than one of the answers, and each cut of your knife traced the lines of yet another answer, yet another outcome.  You feel your body fixing itself of blemish as the Precipice calls, and hear Demon and Immortal alike cowering from your epiphany.  You will sit before the edge of it all and watch the final star gutter to ash.  The feeling does not quite pass, and you remain drunk with hubris.

Paladin (note that the original message that went out included: "Your array chimes again, sterner." That was confirmed by [GM Koror] to be in error, so it has been removed from this copy)

Brilliant law and codified order stretches before you, a banner proclaiming all that must be, all that is just.  For a fleeting moment you find yourself reconsidering, and feel uncomfortable as you consider means to utilize the Bulwark to protect yourself against harm.  Your shield arm spasms, and you dream of the evils you could slay with the entire Bulwark as your shield.  The feeling does not quite pass, and you remain drunk with hubris.

Ranger:

For a fleeting moment, you feel a sense of...  boredom?  with the pace of the growing vine, the opening bud, the ripening fruit.  You can will it faster, slower, to stop entirely.  You can stop disease from taking the flock, make the grass grow year round, instruct the trees to bear fruit when you say so.  And why not?  Are you not the better steward?  Life is malleable, a garden to be controlled, and you are the gardener.  The feeling does not quite pass, and you remain drunk with hubris.

Traders:

You hear the Negotiants chiming along your avtalia array, reminding you of the contract.  Several loopholes stand out, claims and clauses that bear, perhaps, a bit of interpretation?  And why not -- the flow of energies, the exchange of currency, it remains nothing more than a process you can draw from, utilize.  Though mere profit falls short.  For what good is profit in the face of dictating the terms of the market itself?  You could remake it, control the parameters themselves.  Your array chimes again, sterner.  The feeling does not quite pass, and you remain drunk with hubris.

Warrior Mage

he laws and the symbols that define the value and characteristics of all that you know blur, reconfigure.  Fire is cold, Water flows upward, Earth is a gas.  Everything is made of the elements, and the elements are whatever you want them to be.  You feel yourself blending pure substances, redefining its base nature, crushing opposing forces together and pulling attractive pairs apart, until everything is a smooth metal, responsive and malleable, full of potential.  The feeling does not quite pass, and you remain drunk with hubris.

Messaging continued:

Miraena sobs.

A voice roars "You dare!" and you are momentarily overwhelmed with a strange feeling of disgust.  You cannot recall what the voice sounded like, though it echoes all around you.

A thunderous clamp ratchets around you, crushing your senses as reality seems to contort.  A migraine begins to build, your nerves sing, and your legs give out as you fall!

The large, transparent image of a tilted almond-shaped cat-slitted amber eye wavers in the sky above.

Asildu painfully says, "They are angry... they warned... we warned..."

You feel rather than hear a heavy rumble, a massive thud shaking the land.

The aftershock races across the land, throwing you off balance!  

[Everyone falls down]

Everything continues to shake, a deafening roar as the land roils!  

Miraena rises to a kneeling position.

Miraena crawls on her knees to Asildu's side, leaning him against her own body.

The land calms, and everything goes quiet!  

Asildu painfully says, "Their message was clear... We tried to protect you."

Asildu groans.

A cloud of winged creatures can be seen approaching from the distance, heading right for the Crossing!

Miraena fearfully exclaims, "We tried!"

A painful ripping sensation erupts through your abdomen!  You seem unharmed, but something terribly... wrong just happened.

A mass peels off from the cloud, heading straight for the tower!  

The pristine drake crashes down from above, arresting his descent with a powerful flap of his wings which he quickly furls to his sides.

And then drakes attacked Arhat's Tower and Crossing.

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Player Event: Sharing the Vision

Date Summary Link
450-02-32
Aug 26, 2024
Medir holds an experiment to see if Empaths can link with Miraena to see her vision first hand. Although the experiment does not work, she does share more vivid details about her vision.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Ayrell

Player Event: Zoluren Defense Council

Date Summary Link
450-03-04
Aug 29, 2024
Tirost hosts a meeting to make preparations for anything that might happen in the upcoming rescue attempt, including triage locations, preparations in case magic is turned off, and combat strategies. Unaka makes an appearance towards the end.

Visit the Sorcery Messengers page for more info about this messenger and their interactions during this event.

Log courtesy of Valynn

Player Event: A Rescue Attempt

Date Summary Link
450-03-08
Aug 30, 2024
A group of adventurers, led by Saragos, attempts a complex ritual to open a portal and rescue missing people. They begin with a prayer to Damaris, followed by Nawain leading holy casters in channeling divine energy. Saragos then directs the creation of an "Aether Loom," with participants holding various positions to weave strands of aether.

As the ritual progresses, tension builds and strange phenomena occur. A Godling appears and grows to an enormous size before vanishing. The weave of aether becomes unstable, leading to the appearance of a dangerous anomaly. which kills several people who try to interact with it. Meraud briefly appears and indicates that while this wasn't the intended outcome, it was a "necessary step".

The ritual's consequences are immediately apparent as enraged voices boom from the sky, promising wrath for the adventurers' actions. Meteors fall from the sky, heading towards Knife Clan. On investigation, adventurers find the area that was once Knife Clan was now a crater from which a lifesculpted spire of thorny vines grows. At the top of the spire erupts a golden beam of light.

At the end of the event, the following was felt:
A refreshing calm washes over the land, and you feel a sense of pervasive balance. Everything feels more significantly more stable.

Expand for details.

At the event, a series of messaging occurs, with individualization based on Guild.

(Everyone)
A low thrum echoes across the area.

(Everyone but Clerics)
A strange whisper echoes across the area.

(Clerics)
You hear the Immortals grumbling at your hubris, begrudgingly encouraging you to continue.

(Everyone)
A loud thrum echoes across the area as lines of softly glowing energy begin to coalesce around those present.

(Everyone but Clerics)
An uncomfortable whisper echoes across the area.

(Clerics)
You feel the Immortals wince, and sense a measure of their...  awe.  They are impressed, you are sure of it.

(Everyone)
A haze of energized aether swirls above, pulled down and spun into a fine cord.

(Everyone but Clerics)
The Clerics present smirk haughtily, their eyes shining with confidence.  You hear laughter, growing closer and closer.

(Clerics)
You are sure it is just a little further, and you will accomplish greatness.  You hear Their concern, Their fear, and Their confidence, much the way a parent watches a child take their first steps.

(Everyone)
The haze of energized aether continues to spin into a long fiber, stretching between the Warrior Mages present.

(War Mages)
You feel the subtle pull of the fiber, your manipulations guiding it into the beginnings of a simple tapestry.

(Bards)
You feel the subtle pull of the fiber, your manipulations guiding it into the beginnings of a simple tapestry.

(Everyone)
With a loud *snap*, you suddenly see that which was hidden.

(At this point, a "growing aetheric weave" and "a hunched Godling" appears in the room)
>look weave
A growing tapestry of woven strands of softly glowing blue energy, oddly pushed about by unseen winds.  Periodically, flashes of silvery light flicker along the weave, pushing the threads apart and around.  The tapestry is growing as the experiment proceeds.

>look godling
No matter the angle from which you view the Godling, it remains hunched with its back to you.  It moves erratically, with sudden unsettling twitches, leaving behind a streaming trail of afterimages.  Loosely wreathed in a hazy silvery light, the Godling can be heard softly muttering to itself.

(Everyone)
The haze of energized aether crackles with silvery sparks, as it continues to twist into a fine cord.

(War Mages)
As the tapestry grows, the fiber becomes trickier and trickier to weave.  

(Bards)
As the tapestry grows, the fiber becomes trickier and trickier to weave.  

(Clerics)
The Godling steps away, and you hear its voice echoing, "Without you, none of this is possible."

(Everyone)
The haze of energized aether is stirred by unseen winds, delicate wisps trailing off into nothingness.  

(War Mages)
A silvery light winds its way through the fiber, causing it to kink oddly.

(Bards)
A sharp brassy note reverberates across the fiber, causing it to jangle oddly.

(Clerics)
The Godling begins to laugh, and while you cannot recall what you said, you are sure it was funny.  

(Everyone)
The haze of energized aether is crisscrossed by several bolts of silvery lightning, the cord snapping about wildly a moment before it is brought back under control.

(War Mages)
Several bolts of silvery lightning seem to energize the aetheric haze, causing the cord to convulse!  It takes a moment, but you are able to wrest it back under control and continue weaving.

(Bards)
Several bolts of silvery lightning seem to energize the aetheric haze, causing the cord to convulse!  It takes a moment, but you are able to wrest it back under control and continue weaving.

(Clerics)
A momentary slip in your concentration results in a discharge of energy across the area.  No matter, you are sure it will not happen again.  The Godling giggles, and says "There are no accidents, only opportunities."  Weird.

(Everyone)
The haze of energized aether begins to compress, snapping back and forth as if buffeted by strong winds!

(War Mages)
Something is not right -- the aetheric haze seems to take on a new property, and you feel yourself losing control of the cord!

(Bards)
Something is not right -- the aetheric haze seems to take on a new tone, and you feel yourself losing control of the cord!

(Clerics)
The Godling suddenly turns around and looks at you, its eyes burning with cruel intensity, and it smiles.

(Everyone)
Several things happen at once.

(Everyone)
The aetheric haze erupts with no-color, crackling and snarling along the entirety of the cordage, burning the tapestry!

(Everyone)
The Godling begins to grow, the size of a house, the size of a tree, the size of a mountain, and you find yourself staring upward at the gargantuan creation.  It stands, and begins to laugh at the sky.

(Everyone)
The weave evaporates into motes of aetheric energy, and the Godling simply vanishes.

(The weave and Godling disappear)

(Everyone)
A moment passes in silence, and suddenly, an explosion.

(A "jittering sorcerous anomaly" appears.)

>look anomaly
The jittering sphere seems to twist and contort as it hovers in space.  Snarled bands of light ripple over its form, though you have a hard time getting a detailed view.  You think you might be able to study it more carefully.

(Different Guilds received different messages when focusing on the anomaly)
(Cleric)
You close your eyes, and the anomaly floats emptily against your magical senses, a smoothly drilled hole against the background of radiant silver Holy mana, wrung in encroaching fire.  No matter which angle you view it from, the anomaly appears as a perfect circle of Your grace, a hymn sung in a caught voice with slurred words.  While there is praise and glory to be had, it also feels strangely unfulfilling.  As soon as you can make sense of any pattern, odd flashes of doubt and unintelligible devotion flicker around the anomaly, slowly unraveling the odd collection.

What potential, what wasted possibility.  You could stand before your flock and accept their invocations, but the thought seems to twist away as soon as it forms in your mind.  This once made sense, but something is missing, a critical concept.  The sphere struggles to reassert itself, twisting erratically, and you sense it shrinking.

Peering deeper into the circle, you begin to develop a headache at the twisted half-truths and empty platitudes, the mana mixing and reacting in ways you cannot understand, further undermining the orison in your name.  With each shift of the silver light, the conglomerate mess seems to detangle, though it is quite a mess to behold.  You take a step back, and remember what this odd thing even is, and the circle seems to slowly evaporate.

(Warrior Mage)
You close your eyes, and the anomaly pulses brightly against your magical senses, illuminating the area in an opalescent glow.  Playing against contours of your form, the energies of the anomaly unmask the dendritic lattice underlying your body, suffused with Elemental energies, your every vein and sinew coursing brightly against a comparably murky outline of the room.  A vague pattern begins to emerge from the anomaly, a rhythmic periodicity reminiscent of a slowly beating heart as the edges of the anomaly shift and strain against the competing reality of this plane.

A smoothly bored hole in reality, the anomaly appears to be a knotted mass of raw aether and empty space that mixes, snarls, and reacts with the accumulated aetheric energies.  Blinding flashes twinkle in the mixture, and while the structure appears to be slowly detangling, it is quite a mess.  The knots within knots seem to exert an outward pressure as they pull at the edges, the admixture difficult to follow as it slowly runs its course.

Probing deeper, you begin to develop a headache as the twisted snarls of unresolved mana mix and pull at one another.  With each blend, each knot undone, the conglomerate mass seems to slowly resolve, though it is quite a mess to behold.  The edges ringing the anomaly continue to press inward, and the structure seems to be gradually closing in on itself.

(Necromancer)
You close your eyes, and the anomaly floats emptily against your magical senses, a swirled knot of oozing Arcane mana tangled around an empty sphere.  The thick ropes convulse in peristaltic waves, writhing as they twist themselves into an increasingly convoluted skein, trailing evaporating filaments that billow in unseen winds.  The knot swells grotesquely, nodules and horned protrusions calcifying, crackling as they grow and slough off, cascading to the ground and shattering into nothingness.  The anomaly pulses like a heartbeat, pressing against the choking ropes of Arcane energies clinging to it, which seem to be drawing from it, forcing... something... back into the emptiness.

A perfectly spherical gap in your magical senses, the anomaly appears to be attracting the coils of mana.  As you focus on the edges of the anomaly, you watch as the Arcane mana looping around the structure periodically snaps and withdraws, as if burned, though you cannot tell what is causing this reaction.  The lines periodically constrict tightly only to be repelled.

A long slit appears in the no-space at the sphere's border, and a large eye opens, revealing a distorted pupil.  It scans the area, and gazes upon you for a long moment before closing and vanishing.

(Paladin)
You close your eyes, and the anomaly floats emptily against your magical senses, a smoothly drilled hole against the background of radiant golden Holy mana, rung with broken glass.  No matter which angle you view it from, the anomaly appears as a perfect circle of emptiness, a reinforced and stable violation.  Thin filaments of light crackle off the internal edges of the circle as it contracts and expands like a heartbeat, each beat hammering against the boundaries.  A vague pattern begins to emerge against the backdrop of light, forming and shifting as nested geometries move with precise intention as they appear to radially reinforce the gap, mending its own cracks and gradually repulsing the anomaly.

There is no honor here.  Order has been violated, and you are filled with a profound sense of apprehension as the glorious golden light continues to struggle to reassert itself and drive back the anomaly.  The circle pulses, shrinking and expanding against the Divine, inchoate law and halting decree snapping and popping at the edges as the rules beyond wrestle with this plane.  While you can sense the circle slowly constricting, and the nascent patterns dissolving almost instantly, this is not right.  Your shield arm twitches, and you are filled with a selfless desire to throw yourself into the anomaly, though you recognize the futility of such an action.

Peering deeper into the circle, you begin to develop a headache as the twisted snarls of unresolved mana mix and react.  With each shift of the golden light, the conglomerate mess seems to detangle, though it is quite a mess to behold.  The cracks ringing the anomaly continue to slowly heal, and the circle seems to be gradually closing in upon itself.

(Bard)
You close your eyes, and the faint ringing of the anomaly surges warmly, a resonant cacophony winding along a range of scales, settling into a shifting single note.  The note pulses, a complex series of triplets and alternating intervals, and you are able to tease out the origin from the echoes around the area, the reverberation emphasizing various structures in the area, enclosing you in a wall of sound.  A vague pattern begins to emerge from the note, a rhythmic periodicity as the anomaly slowly expands and contracts, reminiscent of a slowly beating heart as the edges of the sound shift and strain against the competing reality of this plane's acoustics.

An echoing tunnel bored in reality, the anomaly reverberates with competing overtones, a woodwind stridently competing with a plucked lyre.  The dissonance echoes all around the anomaly, imperceptibly softening over time as it winds along jangling arpeggios, sounding more of isolated performers tuning their instruments.

Concentrating on the source of these otherworldly sounds, you begin to develop a headache, hearing the anomalies breathy exhale as it vibrates between harmonic eighths, a curious minor scale, then decaying.  The flow continues to shift, never falling back to previous patterns.

A sibilant hissing begins to build in the distance, drowning out the sounds, and the anomaly pulses gently, rattling chaotically.

(Moon Mage, Trader, Empath, and Thief messages are currently undocumented)

(Everyone)
Time slows and the air takes on a golden light.  Everything goes silent.

(Everyone)
A hooded figure in darkest midnight black stands before you holding a tall staff that crackles with energies.  You cannot see his face, though you hear a growl as a huge black wolf steps forward and cocks its head at you.  He nods and says, "This was not the answer you sought, but it was the action needed to begin bringing them home."

(Everyone)
The man nods, and points up with a grin.  Suddenly, the man and wolf vanish.

(Everyone)
The anomaly shudders as if caught in a strong wind, and glows a blinding no-color!  It vanishes without a trace, a booming echo reverberating in it's wake!

(Anomaly disappears)

(Everyone)
A voice roars "You were warned!  You will now feel our wrath!" and you are momentarily overwhelmed with a foreign feeling of rage.  You cannot recall what the voice sounded like, though it echoes all around you.

(Everyone)
A voice roars "For eons we have maintained these lands, our perfect balance!  Your filth and audacity knows no limit!" and you are momentarily struck with a foreign feeling of revulsion.  You cannot recall what the voice sounded like, though it echoes all around you.

(Heard by everyone in P1)
The sky splits, and several writhing meteors fall from the sky, tearing to the west!

(Heard by everyone not in P1)
The sky splits, and several writhing meteors fall from the sky, falling west of the Crossing!

(Everyone)
As the meteors tear across the sky, they leave billowing lines of ash and they curve downward, impacting to the west of the Crossing!

A deafening explosion to the west washes over you! (direction on this changed based on your location to Knife clan)

The path to Knife Clan ends with this:

[Wilderness, Edge of the Primal Encasement]
An abrupt line slashes across the forest here, the tree line ending with a stark immediacy and with the ground cleared.  To the north, a crater descends gently downward, encased in a veritable wall of snapping and writhing thorny vines that constantly churn the land and create an impassable barrier.  Extending upward into a vague teardrop pinnacle from which erupts a golden beam of light, the lifesculpted spire occupies the same space Knife Clan previously occupied.

A visual representation by GM Koror: Lifesculpted Spire Encasement

Log courtesy of Ayrell
450-03-08
Aug 30, 2024
Following the discovery of the state of Knife Clan, adventurers were beset upon by immaculate drakes. N/A