Legacy-103

25th Day of Ascending Wood, RY 766

• The companions and their party with Lin's crew depart Del Brannan on her ship and travel upon the river towards Lookshy. Having completed the Tiger Warrior Training Technique for dexterity, Aapo plans to initiate another training session focusing on martial arts. Lin wishes her crew to partake in the training, though a few minor problems arise. It turns out that Weeping Peony is preggers and River Sword considers himself bound by some sort of honor to decline any instruction from someone other than his own mentor who cannot first best him in combat...so he challenges Aapo to a duel.
• Aapo agrees to Lin's terms to not use his powers on River Sword and adopts a wooden sword to fight with. The entire ship assembles to watch the duel. Sword Lin does quite well for himself and gives Aapo a few scrapes & bruises in the fight. Aapo, enjoying himself, finds it difficult to strike Sword Lin - and when he does it is deflected to only inflict minor harm. In his usual, fashion, after two relatively failed blows, Aapo channels essence into an attack, unseen by watchers, and lands a blow on River Sword who yields. Lin, standing nearby holding her soul blade ready to engage at any moment if things got ugly, glared suspiciously at Aapo's innocent grin.
• The duel out of the way, the training commenced.
• That evening Sapphire Veil invited River Sword to join her for tea and they discussed martial arts.

Resplendent Wood, RY 766

1st Day of Resplendent Wood, RY 766

• During another evening of the river journey, Crimson Slate's continued frustration with her secret, yet thus far nearly useless book, finally hit a mile stone. When the light of the full moon struck the pages of the book, silvery writing appeared on the pages. She snatched the book up and began reading the secrets that had been hidden upon the pages.

5th Day of Resplendent Wood, RY 766

• Aapo wakes everyone up early and starts the Tiger Warrior Training Technique for strength.

8th Day of Resplendent Wood, RY 766

• Lin finds Thorn below deck hiding behind crates crying. She speaks with him of his concerns regarding Ginger and Bronze Dusk, one of Lin's crew that she had taken to following around, as well as Ginger threatening to sick snakes on him. Lin puts Thorn to work on the ship in order to keep his mind off things and then goes to find Aapo to discuss Ginger's serpentine threats. Lin does not quite receive the responsible guardian reaction she had expected...instead Aapo laughed in her face about it, finding it rather hilarious. Lin, seeing that Aapo was not going to impart her wisdom upon Ginger with any real effect, asked Kanji to do so instead. Kanji nodded sagely at her and nodded. He then bounded off after Aapo. Lin swears that she could soon hear foxy laughter and Aapo chuckling.
• Aapo did speak to Ginger about the threats...but seemed more to stress not getting caught more than not making the threats in the first place.
• That evening Sapphire Veil, Grace and one of the monks from Mahanaga had tea to discuss a few matters regarding the monks faith and his feelings for Grace. It was revealed that his faith had been faltering just as his feelings for Grace had been growing. After he had been sent away, Sapphire Veil asked Grace what she thought of him. Very coldly she laid it out that she would never have feelings for someone who could not even adhere to a sworn oath. What good would he do if you could not depend on him? Sapphire Veil, looking pleased, asked if she would sleep with him. Grace replied that she would if she needed to, but did not relish the idea. Sapphire Veil continued to sip her tea, a smile hidden on her face.

9th Day of Resplendent Wood, RY 766

• Weeping Peony, still preggers, needed a truly warm place to rest and the ship stopped in the village of Reverence. They went into an inn to sit & talk & procure rooms...as well as further spread the glory of Taruzake's wine.
• Not long after having sat down to talk, a group of rather tattered Immaculate Monks entered the inn and were bullying people for their coin. Ignoring Lin's pleads for restraint & caution, Crimson Slate picked a fight. Tensions were rising and the "Immaculate Monks", drew their weapons. At that instance, Aapo summoned Slaughterous Prelude from Elsewhere into his hands. The one dragonblood amongst them gaped, cried out "Anathema!" and attacked. The fight was very short & very pathetic. The entire inn was also empty within seconds, the people screaming and fleeing in terror. Storm clouds above her head, Lin stalked back to her ship with everyone following and they made haste to leave Reverence behind them.

10th Day of Resplendent Wood, RY 766

• Crimson Slate summons a sobeksis named Gold in the Shallows (aka, "Goldie" or "Save Point") and binds him for 101 days to be the ship medic. Goldie hunkers down and goes below deck where he heals Weeping Peony and Winter Duty of any ailments.

12th Day of Resplendent Wood, RY 766

• Yet again Aapo wakes everyone up early and begins the Tiger Warrior Training Technique for dexterity.

18th Day of Resplendent Wood, RY 766

• As the ship begins to near Great Forks it is apparent that the weather is taking a hasty turn for the worse as the sky darkens and the temperature begins to plummet in preparation for the annual final blizzard commonly called Mela's Last Gasp.
• Two hours from port, the blizzard strikes. Crimson Slate summons a doldrum, a kind of air elemental. The spirit creates a bubble of calm in the storm around the ship and they sail relatively safely into port where they dock, with considerable trouble due to the churning waters. Lin managed to dock the ship and they tied it down. The hollow immediately vanished and the blizzard came down upon them once again in full force.
• The companions and crew trekked through the blizzard in search of a place to stay. After two packed inns turned them down, they were approached by two men with serpent tattoos who said that they had been expecting them. They explained that they served the god Scales Beneath the Water who had predicting their coming. They followed the two priests into a small temple. On their way there, Lin, Crimson Slate & Alabaster Mountain took note of a shrine to the Unconquered Sun in an alleyway & made note to check into it later.
• Once they were all gathered into the temple, the two men sent numerous priests out to scout for lodging and soon returned, having found that the Rising Vine Lodge still had rooms where another party had canceled. Everyone was led to the lodge, but the five Solars and Ginger were requested to remain.
• After the others had departed, the god Scales Beneath the Water manifested to them and requested them to stay and dine with him and inquired if two of his peers would also be allowed to accompany them. Two more serpent gods manifested and joined them at the table. They spoke at length of Potrimpos, who they obviously regarded very highly and they showed a great deal of respect towards everyone, especially Ginger who they called the Avatar of Potrimpos. They also informed the party of the very unusual snake outbreak in the city of Lookshy making them all suspect that Potrimpos was being held prisoner there. One of the snake gods spoke with Lin about a dream she had had about her which sounded very much like some of the lines of Lin's prophecy. After dinner was concluded the companions were led to the lodge for some well deserved relaxation and warm baths.

19th Day of Resplendent Wood, RY 766

• Before they had even had a chance to get a good nights rest, Aapo was hammering on everyone's doors, waking them up and dragging them out into the snow for five hours of intense Tiger Warrior Training Technique stamina training.
• After the training was completed and they had a chance to properly attire themselves the Solars sat at a table in the commons to have some breakfast. While they were all discussing their plans, a woman approached the table calling Aapo, "my little Pony". Aapo, without blinking or even looking, gracefully stood up approached the woman, taking her by the arm and began to escort her away while the table looked on and Sapphire Veil asked who the visitor was. Before Aapo could walk three feet the woman had disentangled herself from him and taken his seat at the table. She pulled up a chair next to her & a disgruntled Aapo sat next to her.
• Introduced as Lily, a childhood friend of Aapo who had also trained with him, the woman was a rising & ambitious member of the Guild. The longer she was present, the deeper Lin seemed to vanish into her hood at the opposite end of the table. Lily, based in Nexus, had been visiting her mother while attending to some business in the city. She & the Solars discussed a variety of matters, including her nickname for Aapo, which she refused to discuss further since it was obvious that he did not wish the matter known. Lily charmed the table (except for Lin) and invited them all to join her the next day on the balcony for a Masque, an offer Sapphire Veil quickly accepted for them all before anyone else could speak.
• A fat painted dandy of a man then appeared calling for Lily and was introduced as Loquacious Suitor, the owner of the Masque. He and Sapphire Veil took an immediate interest in each other and oblivious to most of the others at the table, they began a complicated & subtle game with their fans, communicating privately with each other about martial arts & a request that she perform for him. The conversation ended abruptly when Aapo, who had been watching & somehow understanding, audibly joined their silent conversation. They ignored him in a manner he had grown rather used to from Sapphire Veil.
• After Lily and her fancy companion left them, Crimson Slate & Sapphire Veil vanished upstairs to have a private discussion. Loyal Ash invited Alabaster Mountain to join him at a steam & spa he had seen. Aapo wandered off on his own, leaving Kanji to babysit Ginger & Thorn. Lin, after being assured that Crimson Slate had the resupplying of the ship well in hand, left to investigate the Unconquered Sun shrine she had glimpsed the previous day. Sapphire Veil left to find Loquacious Suitor to continue their conversation that Aapo had so rudely interrupted and Crimson Slate left to go shopping.
• Aapo strolled by the dojo he and Lily had once trained at underneath his uncle to find it had been converted to a perfume & scent shop. He then went on to spy on his parents shop from afar and took up a position leaning upon a building across the street where he could watch them for a while. Wondering if they would recognize him or not if he went in to buy some sweet cakes...the last time they had seen him him he was not even ten years of age.
• Crimson Slate went about her business and with her unparalleled skill & some luck, was able to find everything they needed, purchase it with Alabaster Mountains funding & arrange for it all to be readied the following morning.
• Lin found the old shine to the Unconquered Sun was tended by an old blind man named Vision of Steel. He had lost his vision in the war and afterward was only able to see the sun in his blindness. Even his dreams were void of sight, save for the sun. And the dreams led him to the shrine. They spoke at length about the Unconquered Sun and his lack of worshipers until he admitted that he could see the sun now when he looked towards her. He then began to teach Lin the four prayers of the virtues of the Unconquered Sun.
• Alabaster Mountain & Loyal Ash were enjoying themselves in the steam room when another man, a dragonblood, joined them. They spoke of a variety of things and the man inquired about purchasing Loyal Ash. Alabaster Mountain explained that he was not for sale & claimed that he was no slave, but his servant turned companion. After some more talk, the three of them adjourned to another room with one of his slaves for some more intimate interaction.
• Shortly after Crimson Slate had finished making the arrangements for the following morning, an old woman approached her, stating that she was a messenger with a private message for Crimson Slate alone. They adjourned to a more private location and the woman shapeshifted into a man with the silver markings of a Lunar. He introduced himself as Anointed Starfall and stated that he was here regarding the debt owned by the demon Crimson Slate had freed, Sondok She Who Stands in Doorways. He asked why Crimson Slate had freed the creature & she admitted to the folly as based largely on ignorance & inexperience. Anointed Starfall offered to be her teacher in celestial sorcery, but only when her essence was more refined. But first he demanded an oath from her that she would never willingly or knowing speak of his lodge or teachings to anyone save for himself.
• Sapphire Veil sent Grace forth to find Loquacious Suitor and was informed that he was at a slave auction and wished for her to join him. She arrived, quickly making use of an orange offered by Grace to combat the stench of the place. Loquacious Suitor asked if Sapphire Veil would use her keen eye & people watching skills to pick out the most promising slaves from the bunch. Sapphire Veil scanned the slaves, assessing their movements, their grace & poise & told him which ones he wanted. He purchased them all & thanked her by gifting her one of the slaves.
• After watching his parents at work for sometime, Aapo mustered up the courage to approach them, guessing that after so many years they would not recognize him. He purchased a box of sweet cakes from his father and in the process, discovered that he had a younger brother. He snacked on a sweet cake while walking back to the inn deep in thought...a brother. Interesting. He got to the inn and surprised Ginger & Thorn with the sweet cakes.
• After having had his fill of the steam house entertainments, Alabaster Mountain left and decided to go visit the shrine to the Unconquered Sun. He met Vision of Steel and they discussed the shrine and how he had come to be there. Vision of Steel told Alabaster Mountain how he too, like the woman who had visited earlier, shone like the sun in his darkness. Alabaster inquired of the woman & identified her as one of his companions. Vision of Steel then showed Alabaster the prayers and taught him the prayer of the shield. Alabaster Mountain departed, but not before making a generous donation to the old blind man for his good works in keeping the shrine.
• That evening it was time for them to all (minus Lin who adamantly refused to patronize such a barbaric event that was surely to rot all of their souls for attending) meet Lily at the Emerald Masque. They gathered and met Lily on her balcony. Lily introduced Aapo to General Blood Linnet, who was in charge of Great Forks military. She informed him that since the war their military has been lacking & was interested in his training capabilities that Lily had bragged about. Aapo expressed his interest & told her that he may pursue the matter after his current task was concluded.
• They watched the shows and bouts until Loquacious Suitor came for Sapphire Veil. It was time for her to perform. Sapphire Veil, disguised with a mask, did a stunning essence enhanced performance, delivering feelings of loss into the hearts of all who were there. Even Aapo, who once he'd seen her take the stage, had busied himself singing a song about beer, staring at the ceiling with his fingers in his ears, could not help but tear up a tiny bit, able to FEEL the power of her performance.
• At the end of her performance, a dark & mysterious woman on a balcony opposite the others, broke the somber silence with applause and tossed a single black rose that landed at Sapphire Veils feet. Sapphire Veil immediately knew what this woman was, somehow just by looking at her...a death knight of the nearby shadowlands...and she shuddered inside as she took the rose and bowed. Alabaster Mountain looked and saw his missing brother standing next to the woman and immediately began to make his way around to her balcony. The event was concluded & people began to egress. Alabaster Mountain was stopped by two grim looking guards at the door to the balcony and called for his brother. His brother summoned him in, and from a glance from the strange woman, the two guards allowed him entry.
• Aapo asked Lily and General Blood Linnet who the woman was. The General told him she was called Ebon Midwife of Wormwood Dirges, an emissary from the shadowlands for one of the Death Lords seeking to establish good relations between their two realms. Aapo, seeing Alabster Mountain with the woman and infused with curiosity about her, made his way towards them.
• Crimson Slate joined Sapphire Veil below where they discussed and kept a wary eye on their companions, wondering why in Creation they were with the woman and dreading that it was THEM who was with her.
• Aapo arrived and noted that the two guards were not men, but nemisaries, ghosts wearing corpses - terrible creatures from the shadow lands that serve death knights. He called for Alabaster Mountain and with her permission was allowed to pass by the creepy guards to join them on the balcony. Alabaster Mountain was catching his brother up on what all had happened & chastising him for having just left, though his brother pointed out that he had done just the same. Their argument went back & forth with no real conclusion save the observation that his brother was enamored, quite possibly unnaturally, with the Ebon Midwife and that someone, quite possibly again the Ebon Midwife...or her undead, was leeching his blood. Alabaster Mountain was rather disturbed, but also determined to ship his brother home to the family. While Alabaster and his brother spoke, Aapo started up a conversation with the Ebon Midwife asking questions about the shadow lands, her role, the people who lived there, the dead who unlive there, their intentions and a few other things, genuinely curious about it all. She spun a very good sales pitch and Aapo was left wondering exactly what all the fuss was about. Yeah, they're kinda creepy, but hey - if their exports are good, why not. Alabaster Mountain and Aapo began to take their leave when she stopped them and spoke a few words to Alabaster about how poor a ruler his brother would make & that his place was with her. Alabaster, in a moment of uncertainty, fell prey to her words and decided to the Abyss with his family - they could fix their own damn problems and his brother could make his own way, more likely to an early grave, but it was not his problem. Aapo, a little stunned by this sudden change of heart, pressed his hand against Alabaster's forehead to check for fever.
• Alabaster Mountain and Aapo rejoined the two girls below and they discussed the strange woman and their concern that Alabaster had happily provided her with their currently temporary residence. Loquacious Suitor bid them fare well and when asked give his dismal opinion about the Ebon Midwife. It was obvious that she was not very popular. The Solars discussed the matter further and what it could mean to their plans & what to do about the throne of Keldin as they left the complex.
• All but Aapo decided to attend a private after party being thrown by Loquacious Suitor. Aapo wished to return to the inn, check on Kanji & the kids, and have a few drinks in the common room rather than socialize with a bunch of painted art snobs. As soon as he arrived, the inn keeper informed him that Lily had come by and left him a gift in his room. Aapo went upstairs and opened the door. Ginger, Thorn & Kanji were fast asleep in the corner bed. Then he noticed a man wearing a slave collar who stood up and faced him. Aapo wasn't sure if he should laugh or strike something, for Lily sure had developed a very sick sense of humor. The man was his uncle, his old mentor & first lover, Capering Puma...the once proud man he himself had left to be sold into slavery.
• The other three arrived at the party. Sapphire Veil quickly lost her companions and began work on a plan she had hatched. She posed as an agent for the mysterious masked performer that had captivated the audience that night. She began to spread word about the mysterious performer, about her mysterious background & her current journey of tours across the land. People were captivated about this mysterious performer and after a few short hours she was the talk in many a cloister of people. Sapphire Veil's plan to gain worshipers had begun well.
• Then the Ebon Midwife showed up. Alabaster's brother approached him and they began to speak about the family and the throne. The Ebon Midwife began to mingle and made her way towards Sapphire Veil, commenting on the mysterious performer to some that she had passed, praising her, all the while with her eyes on Sapphire Veil.
• Alabaster Mountain, having rediscovered his temporarily wavering sense of family duty, tried to convince his brother to return home, but he continued to refuse, obviously because of his being smitten with the death knight. The Ebon Midwife approached and hearing the conversation, summoned Alabaster Mountain out to the balcony where they could further discuss his brothers fate. As soon as Crimson Slate and Sapphire Veil saw them go, they ascended to a higher floor where they could spy on their conversation.
• The Ebon Midwife made her offer, his brother would return home as asked, if she was allowed to spend one night of sexual pleasures with Sapphire Veil and that he argue in her favor when offering this deal to her. Sapphire Veil, hidden & listening above, was in shocked and horrified by the concept. As soon as the Ebon Midwife left, she had a very icy conversation with Alabaster Mountain as he lived up to his agreement and spoke in favor of the offer. Sapphire Veil ended the conversation stating that she would not do this. But that she felt obligated to decline the offer in person on the morrow. She left them then without another word.
• While the others were at the party, Aapo was left to his awkward conversation with Capering Puma. Before the conversation goes on very long, Aapo rips the slave collar off of a shocked Puma, effectively freeing him from slavery. When asked why, Aapo simply states that a great deal has changed and that the concept of Puma being HIS slave was disgusting. Aapo gives him the choice to leave & strike out on his own now, or travel with them & help protect his children. Puma accepts the offer to travel with them for now and so Aapo explains a few things to him; such as the fact that he is one of the chosen of the Unconquered Sun, a solar exalt, who are wrongly called anathema by those who created the immaculate philosophy lie to suppress the solars in order to keep themselves in power. Puma receives this information with little shock and remained in the room while Aapo went downstairs to drink. Aapo later drunkenly stumbled upstairs & was quietly pleased to see that Puma was still there, sleeping on a palette he'd made on the floor. His last coherent thought before bed that he actually remembered mecha-horsie's name. His name is Fidelis. Yays!

20th Day of Resplendent Wood, RY 766

• Everyone rises the next morning and convene downstairs for breakfast. Capering Puma comes down with Aapo and the children and somewhat awkward introductions are given. Sapphire Veil sends Grace with a letter to Ebon Midwife requesting a meeting. While awaiting a response, she updates Aapo and Lin on what had happened the previous night. She was planning on taking Crimson Slate with her to decline the Ebon Midwife's request and in hopes of being able to strike up a different deal to free Alabaster Mountains brother from her entourage. Grace returned with another letter and after reading it Sapphire Veil had a change of heart and wished to go alone. Crimson Slate refused and rather heatedly talked her out of it.
• Crimson Slate (with Kanji on her shoulder) and Sapphire Veil left to attend to their business with the Ebon Midwife while Alabaster Mountain, Lin, Aapo, Ginger & Thorn all went together to visit the shrine to the Unconquered Sun.
• Crimson Slate and Sapphire Veil are received by the Ebon Midwife who seemed only momentarily surprised that Crimson Slate was in attendance as well. She graciously welcomed them both and Sapphire Veil wasted little time in declining the offer, but that she sought to make a different deal. The Ebon Midwife was not having it. She did not invite Sapphire Veil there to talk politics, or make deals for her master, she wanted her for herself. She had been moved in a way by her performance that she had thought impossible and in that moment a new want had been born. She wanted Sapphire Veil in a bad way and pulled the strings of the conversation just so, but every time Sapphire Veil's original resolve had begun to falter, Crimson Slate would pop into the conversation and drag her friend back out of the clutches of the death knight. Ebon Midwife changed her strategy slightly & offered to involve Crimson Slate as well...and something in Crimson snapped. An icy resolve took hold of her and she was invincible to the woman's charms, causing the conversation to become somewhat heated. Unawares to them all, Aapo who had been listening in on the conversation via Kanji called a halt on their trip to the shrine and did not continue until he felt the conversation had again cooled down and the danger passed. Sapphire Veil began to scope out what she might be able to gain personally from the Ebon Midwife, but found Crimson Slate blocking most avenues of conversation and negotiation at this point. The parlay had been concluded so long as her friend was present so they made their farewells and departed.
• The others had arrived at the temple and a somewhat unsettled Vision of Steel at meeting yet another glowie-person and Aapo were introduced. After some conversation, the three solars set to work transcribing the last two prayers. Lin quickly discovered that, while fluent in both Riverspeak and Old Realm, Aapo did not know how to read or write and began instructing him while copying the prayers.
• When Crimson Slate and Sapphire Veil arrived at the shine following their visit with Ebon Midwife something strange began to occur. Once all five of them had entered the shrine, Vision of Steel became unnerved by a strange sound. Only those able to sense the spirit realm were able to hear it, a slight musical chorus, barely audible. Out of curiosity, Lin flared her caste sign and Vision of Steel jumped and then reached towards her, asking if she had done that. He had seen her caste sign. Aapo did the same and he saw his as well. Crimson Slate stepped out of the shrine and the light and chorus ended abruptly. She stepped back in and they all flared their signs at once. Suddenly, they could all hear the chorus, four distinct voices singing a very complex song and the shrine began to fill with brilliant light.
• Suddenly, overcome with emotion at the beauty and complexity of the song, Sapphire Veil fled the shrine leaving her shocked companions within. Lin tried to comfort her and was brushed off, but when Crimson Slate went to her, she turned and hugged her. After a moment she had regained her chilly composure and returned to the shrine, ignoring any inquiries to her well being. Once she had entered again the song and the light returned. Ginger and Thorn looked in and were amazed by the light that did not pass the threshold of the shrine. Aapo called them in and they were assaulted by the song which they had not been able to hear just outside the door. The solars were all glowing, their cast marks shining and Ginger's serpent sign given to her by Potrimpos also began to glow. Sapphire Veil was given paper and pen and she closed her eyes and lost herself in the song. She began to write, documenting the music of the song, pages and pages of musical notes until finally she stopped and opened her eyes to look at the stack of pages she had generated. She then took up her instrument and began to play in accompaniment with the music all around them.
• Vision of Steel who had been in awe all this time, bent to his knees and began to pray, requesting that Alabaster Mountain (who had been pointed out earlier by Aapo as a priest of the Unconquered Sun) pray with him. As they did so, to the ethereal chorus echoing to Sapphire Veils hauntingly played melody and the light of the solar exalted (and one small greenish snakey light)..and Thorn, Vision of Steel began to weep what looked to be molten gold. He removed his blindfold and everyone could see that his eyes had regenerated, but the iris' were bright metallic gold.
• He could see again and the rightful rulers of Creation renamed him Vision of Gold.

Next Chapter

• Chapter Four: The Ruins of Hollow