Forgotten Suns: Log - The Machine

previous chapter

Home

15th day of Resplendent Fire, RY 769
Forgotten Manse	28 Nov 2007

Fly to the manse, taking pains to fly high enough to avoid being spotted. On the X hour trip, they checked the communication water at noon. Ranesk answered, but no Cruxis or Regret. Transfered booty to manse.

16th-28th day of Resplendent Fire, RY 769

Spent two weeks combing over the books and investigating the tech (warstriders in particular). Doing other training. (Specifics still need ironed out.)

After a ton of arguing, decided to remove the original page of the Empty Canvas recipe and give that to the lunars, without making a copy. Jorias secretly memorized it. Varden also secretly made a copy.

1st day of Descending Fire, RY 769

Circle takes Cloudwalking Ingot (and Ranesk) to the lunar camp. Varden stays behind with Forgone Vitriol to "work on the warstriders". Ranesk makes a big impression, and Korlysto has a very long, private talk with him. During the feast held in the circle's honor:

• Guen tries to clear Iron Monsoon's name, and is very successful.
• Gutts tries to make himself (and only himself) look good, and impresses those impressed by physicality.
• Stag tries to be unnoticeable, and succeeds perfectly.
• Adrios tries to come across as a strong silent type, but fails to make much of an impression.
• Jorias says very little, but fills in details of Guen's story on occasion. He attempts to paint Guen in a good light, and succeeds reasonably well.

2nd day of Descending Fire, RY 769

After resting, the group meets with Korlysto privately. He suggests that the attack on Wyr'palja may have been a precursor to the Usurpation. He also wonders aloud about what the correct choice is between loyalty to your mate versus those around you. Guen makes a long, impassioned case that Iron Monsoon acted correctly in killing Wyr'palja.

Korlysto eventually asks for the formula, which is handed over. He clearly realizes that it must be a page from a larger work, but comments on it only briefly. He then asks them what they want.

• Guen asks for the cunaria plant, or information on how to acquire one. Korlysto suggests that he has contacts in heaven that he can ask, and will do so.
• Gutts asks him to locate Cruxis and Regret, indicating where they were last seen. Korlysto doesn't know much about that part of the world, but has heard rumors that a strong lunar there, Ten Stripes has vanished as well. Thinking they might be connected, he gives Gutts a skull covered with writing that he claims will allow them entrance into Ten Stripe's territory without being eaten.
• Stag, told a favor is due him, asks if he might take it later on, to which Korlysto agrees.
• Adrios stoically says that he "needs nothing", which impresses Korlysto.

After the meeting, the circle heads back to the manse and plots their next move.

3rd day of Descending Fire, RY 769 - 26th day of Descending Air, RY 770
various	18 Dec 2007

The circle's next move turns out to be self-exploration. After so much time together in the Wyld, they all go in separate directions to get in touch with their inner magic (and thereby raise their Essence). These journeys take four months, after which, they agree to meet back at the manse.

On his essence trip to Yu-Shan, Adrios discovers that blue cunaria in two places: a field on the grounds of the palace of the Maiden of Endings, and somewhere within the Violet Bier of Sorrows. Edict prevents it from growing elsewhere. By now, few have heard of it. Finds out possible allies who might be willing to get it: Lytek, god of exaltation, who hates the deathlords. Nara-O, head of the Forbidding Manse of Ivy, who would be interested in the process. Both would ask for serious favors in return. Lytek would probably be more discrete.

On his way home, Jorias retrieves a note from Bezul, suggesting business proposition: essence containing gems for artifacts of similar power level. Or, refills of two levels lower.

Meanwhile, a new character enters the story. Juuken, having been tasked by the White Queen to find out what happened in Gem, uncovers information about Dense Effulgence Root. On the way there, he runs across a small remnant of the force that attacked Gem, mostly dead from some kind of disease. The dead all had holes in their foreheads, where gems that had been embedded there were pried out. Though barely alive, one creature with a body of clay with machinery of some kind worked into it remained. Through delirious eyes it called to Juuken as if his name was Darkly Fluttering Eyes, identifying itself as Flawlessly Wrathful Sunrise. It hands a bag containing the gemstones from the heads of its unit to "Darkly Fluttering Eyes", with instructions to make sure they are returned to Ot. It gives a pass-phrase to get the gems into Ot: "the light is too bright for my huge, underdeveloped subterranean eyes", then dies.

27th day of Descending Air, RY 770
Forgotten Manse	15 Feb 2008

After getting their affairs in order, the circle uses powers provided by Wyr'palja's Caduses to fly in glory to Last Basalt. They find the place in ruins with a suggestion that Kardak is dead. While they ponder this, they are ambushed by Synergistically Industrious Combine, whom they ultimately dispatch.

27th day of Descending Air, RY 770
Last Basalt	5 Jun 2008

Investigate mine: populated by slaves mining and refining orichalcum. Juuken introduces himself as part of the Imperial Army, running from political "trouble" should he go back. No one trusts him. Eventually communicate with them. All from tribe to the south. They have heard of Ten Stripes, but know she was defeated. Return tribe to home using hover vehicles.

28th day of Descending Air, RY 770

Meet tribal elders. In broken Old Realm, relates story of Ten Stripes and the name of her killer: Excessively Righteous Blossom.

Go to heat of Ot from directions from elder. Juuken walks right up and offers the bag of souls and the passphrase. Ot will allow his companions in if they show him their souls. All flare anima except Stag, who belligerently refuses for no reason. For a time, he waits outside while the others go in, but eventually consents when the others won't move on without him.

After a decontamination process, they move down a long metal hallway. The place seems abandoned, and they see several doors marked with "quarantine" in Old Realm. Eventually find a dead body, green with sickness.

Stag identifies it as the Great Contagion.

28th day of Descending Air, RY 770
Yugash	15 Jun 2008

Proceed on, reaching a "town center" of sorts. Stairs leading to it covered with the dead. Group pries out the gems in their heads and adds them to the bag. Gutts uses some brawl charms to "clear" the bodies, essentially smashing them to gooey bits that wash to either side of the stairs.

Voice contact with other side of door, eventually with Regret. Regret lobbies to let them in, largely on the idea that they have the power to heal the disease. This argument takes a while but works. More decontamination. Meet Gloriously Still Alloy and Unrepentantly Battleworn Servant. Regret takes them deeper inside, brings them up to date, hinting that they are being monitored (which Guen fails to notice). They try their communication water and actually get ahold of Cruxis. He tells them where he is and they resolve to join up.

They meet Kerok, Grand Autocrat, and Silkily Descending Mountain. He asks for help with the disease, and defends the invasion. Also tells them about souls. Leaves the circle to debate amongst themselves, trying to figure out what to do in the face of:

1. Autochthonians clearly intent on conquering enough of Creation, steal its minerals and incorporate the souls of its inhabitants into their system.
2. Autochthonians maintain Autochthon, and the disease clearly must be hurting him. Unknown what will happen if enough Autochthonians die to cause massive harm to the Primordial. Probably epic bad juju.
3. How to handle the disease. Jorias thinks a charm in Wyr'palja's style book will help to create an anti-disease.
4. How to enforce any deal made, such as helping with the disease in exchange for them leaving Creation.

1st day of Ascending Water, RY 770
Yugash	???? 2008

Spend much time debating. Eventually decide to meet Cruxis. Take a vehicle. Run across gremlins. Destroy them.

2st day of Ascending Water, RY 770
Yugash	19 Sep 2008

Meet Cruxis. More debate. Decide to get "breath of Primordial" in Pole of Smoke. Repair and use train to get there. Fight three destroyers. Regret uses new MA style, Cruxis reveals combo, Stag possesses one destroyer to fight another.

2nd day of Ascending Water, RY 770
Yugash	19 Sep 2008

Descend into smoke. Gutts flies to grab the smoke while rest of group attacked by smoke dragon. After some acidic smoke breath and damage, dragon flees. Circle returns with smoke. Takes train back, discusses more options.

3rd day of Ascending Water, RY 770
Yugash	Nov 2008

Spend a lot of time plotting. Eventually decide that the thing to do is to heal Autochthon. To this end, they figure they need to find out more about the religious texts and other secret information, so they make a deal with Grand Autocrat Kerok, suggesting that they might be able to heal the plague if they can get access to information about the earliest days of human habitation in Autochthonia. For obvious political reasons, Kerok makes a show of assisting the circle in the main temple of Yugash. Some aren't pleased, but the circle gets access to the inner secrets. The plan is to find some excuse to have Jorias fire up the cure, while they look for clues on how to help Autochthon.

3rd to 7th day of Ascending Water, RY 770
Yugash	Dec 2008

Stag, Jorias, Guen, Juuken and Fern start looking through the Tome of the Great Maker. Jorias secretly makes a copy, then finds a "clue" to give him an excuse to start using Infectious Cure Method to tackle the plague. The rest keep reading. The others spend their time guarding Jorias' inert form and training.

As the research is wrapping up, a loud, deep noise rumbles through the whole of Yugash, a metallic groan, like large masses of metal rubbing together. Seconds before, Regret is startled by a feeling that he shares once the noise stops: a shadowland just opened nearby. Ignoring the noise entirely, most of the circle rushes to the site of the shadowland, leaving Cruxis behind with Jorias.

After winding through numerous corridors, the circle finds a large room filled with corpses. Most were clearly victims of the plague, but others were obviously killed by edged weapons. It appears the place was being used as a hospital of sorts, but some force came in and slaughtered those who were still alive. After Stag disposed of the bodies, the group split up at this point:

• Regret went back to tell Cruxis what had happened, so that he could summon some locals to a party in the shadowland in the hopes of closing it. The group also figured that Regret might be better off further away from the shadowland, so he would stay to guard Jorias.
• Varden and Adrios stayed in the room with the shadowland to prepare it for the party, with Varden going all out with Craft charms.
• Gutts, Guen and Stag tracked the scent of the force that attacked the room, finding an "airlock" sort of setup. Stag eventually possessed the door to open it, revealing a number of Autochthonian soldiers. Still in the door, Stag rolled through the other side of the airlock, revealing a large storage area that had been converted into a field barracks. Within, more soldiers scrambled, while Excessively Righteous Blossom and a strange, fiery woman rose to meet the circle.