Chapter 07 (2019-09-16)
- Downtime!
- The People of the Air are migratory, following a special island.
- Now that the island colony dropped, the nomadic camp of the People is becoming more permanent.
- The kind of camping that has an environmental impact.
- Different age groups are reacting in different ways - younger ones acting out or being disruptive.
- It helps to have the Red Valley refugees here, because they have something to do
- Now that the island is down, the kids are asking - do we get to go explore it?
- There’s the tension of tradition vs. respect for the royals who literally lost offspring
- Our Fellowship has been billeted in the caves, away from people for mutual safety
- The People’s name for themselves is “macqul taxat”, which is basically “The People”…
Virens
- Virens has been interacting with Sekura - the Sacred Hunt
- Post-hunt, Sekura wants to learn more about the orc culture
- Sekura previously interacted with an injured orc from Acutus’ patrol, when they had gotten hurt a few years back
- When the patrol returned, opinions were split about whether to interact with them, but it didn’t happen
- Sekura is now getting the chance to interact with an orc again
- The people are now afraid of being colonized by the orcs of Tosk, now that they’re immobilized
- Sekura’s family is now afraid because Virens told her, and she told them, that more orcs are on the way - “are they coming to take over?”
Wynn
- How are people reacting? Fear, anger, blind superstition? Wynn is mostly staying out of sight
- Wynn seeks out the shaman, Sekura’s father - “talk to me about their culture and history”. Rowan is there too.
- The People survived while the Ohir fell, even though the Ohir found them inferior. How? Why?
- The Ohir are about finding & protecting knowledge, this is a chance to continue that tradition
- Some passive aggressiveness - “look what your people did”
- Shaman: “We survived the Ohir in many senses of the word”. Survived their aggression. We’re like water, you can stomp on us but we flow back together.
- Shaman: “Our histories tell us we were here long before the Ohir came. Our lives changed when you came, and again when you went.”
- Shaman: “You are a dark spot at the center of our history, but we came before and we are here now.”
- “You are not the only ones who tried to cage us when we would be free. You are no worse than those we encountered.”
- The people that came before the Ohir felt the same way
- The corruptor’s people were the worst & that flowed down into the Ohir
- This is true of all empires and all kingdoms - everyone hates us
- Does Wynn have any reaction to being told the Ohir were poisoned by the corruptor?
- The Ohir knew Ursula was on the move, but arrogantly thought she couldn’t come to Nelres - was she already a myth at this time?
- the violence that caused the Drolopes to retreat from Red Valley was because they were one of the Ohir’s allies, not just a subjugated people
- Ursula is a person, “the Corruptor” is a title - fairy tales and campfire stories are what associate them
- The fall of Nelres was abrupt and a literal fall
Rowan
- “That crazy Rowan is off doing horoscopes again”
- Art! Sand drawing. Clothing. Painting on walls. Weaving. Observing the stars is something the People do.
- Sekura’s father the shaman would love to hang out
- The People have ancestral spirits
- The royal family’s magical infusion pre-hatching also lets them see ancestral spirits a la Wakanda’s royal family
- The Harbingers don’t have spirituality - “magical capitalists” or people who see power as a resource
- Rowan: “this is the most I’ve heard about your people’s culture”
- Shaman: “We take outsiders in when we travel, it’s not common”
- There are times of the year when the People exclude outsiders, for the sake of their eggs
- Rowan met some of the People in the Harbingers’ Tower. There’s all sorts of people up there. The harbingers call them “avians”.
- Shaman: there’s always the young who tire of tradition and seek something else
- Were they friends with Rowan, or others? “Friends” is a strong word. Harbingers are bad at friendship. Shaman: sounds accurate.
- Were any outcast/outsider People (“avians”) on the council? Yes - Idir the Sixgale, male
- Harbinger naming convention - Rowan Greenhanded, first name (given to you as apprentice) plus self-chosen name that represents magic
- Discussion on Ekki’s name
- Shaman: “it worries me that there’s one of our people who aligned themselves with the corruptor”
- Shaman: “what does your astrology predict?”
- A servant of the corruptor speaking imploringly to a crowd of people in Chains Crossing - can’t say how they’re receiving it or what they’re talking about
- Fear is part of the point - part of the goal
- You don’t warn people you’re going to launch an attack against
The Overlord
- Chains Crossing as Morocco or Casablanca, a trade hub
- Cut to Chains Crossing - fountain dried up, stuff broken away, smashed pipes. Things were more impressive once.
- The Corruptor’s servant is conversationally talking to people as they go by, saying specific things to specific people. An ongoing stream of dialogue, intercut with remarks to people. Anger, resentment. No one stops to listen.
- They stop, draw their hood up, step down, slips through the double doors of a church-like place, a courtyard.
- A former statue/topper for the fountain is laying on the floor, in pieces, broken
- The orator regards the statue, saying nothing, but the eyes seem to stare back. The orator touches the statue’s fingers, then looks back at the crowd. “Soon”
End of session
Save or protect a community? No. Strike a blow? No. Learn more about the world? Yes.
Virens and Carabas level up