#somnia.plot

CHAPTER X.

HALAMSHIRAL (THE END OF THE JOURNEY).

THE VILLAGE OF RIVER RUN, TEN MILES SOUTHEAST OF THE CAPITOL.

𝐀𝐓 𝐋𝐀𝐒𝐓, the wind down. with the pride demon defeated and hrafn’s sacrifice having been made, the black has begun to slowly but surely recede, lands returning to their former glory. pastoral lands once ravished by the black will once again soon be ready for harvest. the people that fled the capitol have slowly begun to return. repairs are being made. with the heiress now head of her household, she has been pouring money into works to update, renovate, and maintain the impoverished areas of the capitol, and has convinced many of the other noble families to follow her charitable lead in doing so. the throne of halamshiral remains empty, and broken. the company sits in the whitehall inn, the hero once again having gathered them one last time. here, our heroes are able to catch up, reminisce, and say their goodbyes.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 : close out. it’s been a month since the company has all been together, so now is the time to have a drink, have a look at the world they’ve saved, and say goodbye. at least for now.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐄 : set one month after the events of the finale. one week.

CHAPTER IX.

ATONEMENT.

THE RETURN OF THE KING.

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐘 ––– with the capitol fallen to darkness, all seems bleak. hope is lost. the stormborn will not suffer any rivals — even an unwitting one. the message he gave to the heiress was simple: the one marked as touched by fate must either come to claim the throne of halamshiral or perish.

when the heiress frantically passed on this message to the hero, — with the assistance of the hanged man and the supplicant — assuming it was meant for him, she found him home, in the kestrel isles. the hero, upon hearing such prophecy, sought to enlist the help of the others one last time.

after the events of the black city, his spirit has been broken, but he hopes against hope that the fellowship will band together this one last time. letters are sent as the crow flies to the ends of all somnia to gather the others. to the hero’s unending relief, they come. the fellowship met at caer crye in order to prepare to head south, to the capitol. all, that is, but the hermit.

𝐀𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓, as our heroes ventured south, they noticed the pastoral lands outside the city have fallen to decay. now, as they enter the city, they move through the buildings and the black as if a mist has settled over the city. ghosts of those spirits lost reach for them out of the shadows. the veil, as they’ve learned, is thin here, and pieces of the streets and buildings have begun to break off and float away. the capitol is beginning to resemble to world beyond the veil.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 : reunited, our heroes must seek to move through the city without incident, and to make their way to the winter palace in one piece.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐄 : one day.

CHAPTER VIII.

THE CALLING.

A STOLEN CROWN RECLAIMED.

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐘 ––– over the course of the past three months our heroes, having disbanded, have traveled to the far corners of somnia. while some journeyed home, others continued to work relentlessly toward solutions to the black, unable to simply accept failure, and what seems to be the inevitable.

they had thought, for a time, that the creep of the darkness over the land had stilled. for a moment the villages to the south lived in a wary sort of peace with the black. it did not recede, but it did not spread. reports of this strange change in the winds reached the capitol, where those from above toasted crystalline glass in celebration. they had been right, they thought. the black never posed a true threat.

they were wrong.

𝐀𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓, from the stillness it came like a flood. all of the south of eden is succumbed to the black — all the way up through the pastoral lands and finally to the capitol. the black moved through the city like a poisonous mist, taking the lives of all those it deemed unworthy. those who did not flee the city, or escape death, slowly gave way to sickness before disappearing in the mist.

the capitol is now littered with these spirits like shadows of ghosts, roaming the streets, lost and unaware. the stormborn has reclaimed the throne of the winter palace with a vengeance — some blood was meant to be spilled by his own hands, and the way it dripped from his dagger was regrettably satisfying.

any of the fellowship that returned to the capitol prior to the flood have thankfully survived — whether spared, in the case of the scholar, or having been driven out, in the case of the heiress, with a message to relay.

the message is simple: the one marked as touched by fate must either come to claim the throne of halamshiral or perish.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 : there are those that remain within the capitol, and those that are still spread throughout somnia. news of the fall of the capitol will have spread fast. take time to reflect on where your character’s path might lead — are they content to hide, or are they compelled to do something? as for the heiress — after losing her family in the carnage but ultimately being spared herself, she must travel to who she thinks is the one touched by fate to relay the stormborn’s message.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐄 : one week.

INTERMISSION.

THE END OF THE FELLOWSHIP.

ACROSS SOMNIA.

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐘 ––– traversing nowhere left them ragged. incurring injuries of the mind, body, and soul, our heroes faced demons of their own making: desire, wrath, gluttony, sloth — and finally — greed. it left them changed, and one number less. the sycophant’s sacrifice is one that will not easily be forgotten, not for them. if he hadn’t, they may have never made it out of the realm of chaos alive.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐑𝐄𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐍 𝐇𝐎𝐌𝐄, something they ached for, now left a hollow feeling in their chest. when they fell through the tear in the veil to return to their world, they landed not falling up from the floor of the library, but crashing down from the ceiling of the grand hall on the second floor. when they finally are able to pull themselves together to check the spire for any sign of life, it is clear that hrafn has gone. the tension in the air is palpable. they’ve failed, and the loss and heartache they’ve suffered is too much.

the fellowship disbands, and thus we have come to the intermission, a period in which we can explore what our characters lives might look like after all that they’ve been through thus far — lost hope, their fears, who they continued to travel with, whether or not that went home, etc.

what this looks like on dash: for those characters who stick together ––– write threads! running into one another at the market after all that happened purely on accident a month down the road? decided to travel home together? write threads! reflect on the journey thus far.

optional task: write a short piece about the above for everyone to read! where is your character’s headspace at? who are they with? what does their average day now look like? co-write one with someone, be creative!

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 : explore what your character has been up to in the months following the traumatic events of the black city and nowhere.

CHAPTER VII.

INTO THE ABYSS PT II.

BEYOND THE VEIL.

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐘 ––– after entering into the black, our heroes found themselves lost. by small miracles, they were able to reconvene, and enter into the black city together. however, upon exploring the black spire, they found him. the ghost of blackpool, the raven of the kestrel isles, the stormborn, the source of all the black — the last living elf. the encounter, however, was foolhardy. the company was never prepared to face a threat as powerful as hrafn. by the end of the confrontation, our heroes were thrust through the veil — as torn asunder by hrafn’s hand — into nowhere, the realm of chaos. 

𝐁𝐄𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐃 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐕𝐄𝐈𝐋, it's like a dreamscape. the world looks like somnia, but a somnia from ages long past — a somnia when elves and magic ruled the land. but it is almost as if moving through a faded memory, desaturated, and hazy; sickly and pekid. roads are missing, and land has fallen away and broken off from the earth as if everything is patched together like disjointed memories. pieces of libraries from ancient elvhen palaces float just in their periphery. to travel from one broken piece of land to the next, they must find the portals that allow them to move through nowhere. it could be a crack in the wall, the open mouth of a cave, or the tall mirrors of the sitting room that seem almost untouched by time.

in order to escape this place they have to once again find the tear in the veil that they fell through. the hermit and the magician will be key in leading everyone out; with the light of the lovers’ staff to guide them, and the hermit's apparent connection with hrafn himself. 

but be wary — along the way they may have to face their demons.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 : make their way back to the tear in the veil to return to the living world.

CHAPTER VI.

INTO THE ABYSS.

PT II. INTO THE BLACK.

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐘 ––– caper’s green was a quiet village, and despite whispers of the hermit’s family being cursed, the company’s stay has been a restful one. they have replenished their supplies, nurtured their sick, and the magician has had the opportunity to work with the lovers’ staff. with the sycophant and the supplicant in better health, the party — though with some disagreement — has decided it’s time to move on. guided by the light of the staff as wielded by the magician, they set out come morning to face the black.

𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐎 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐁𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐊, the company is swallowed by darkness as manifested in a thick smog. a strange wind whips, nipping at their heels. the further they travel, the thicker the black becomes. as they push forward, the ground beneath them turns to death and decay, grey and lifeless until it turns to ash. 

suddenly, the wind whips high and pushes them apart as if the black itself is alive, and pressing against them. their paths diverged and the party split, they must find their way out of the black without the full party, and move south in hopes of finding one another and reaching the black city.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 : with the party split into three, each group must navigate their way through the black to make their way to the black city in the hope of reconnecting with the others.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐌𝐄 : one day, one night.

CHAPTER VI.

INTO THE ABYSS.

PT I. THE VILLAGE OF CAPER’S GREEN, SOUTHERNMOST BORDER OF EDEN.

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐘 ––– in approaching the vhenan’ara ruins in search of the lovers’ staff, the party was set upon by the dragon they were chased by before arriving in caer crye. after entering a mine shaft, they discovered the dragon was nothing but smoke and shadows that spread out into the mine, leading the company straight to a basilisk — a creature thought never one to surface.

the basilisk, however, was blind — a strange inexplicable mist in its eyes. startled, it struck out, leaving both the sycophant with an impact injury, and the supplicant with a highly venomous strike; but not before the supplicant was able to strike out with a dirk, causing injury to the beast and for it to recoil, and retreat into the depths of the tunnels.

as the company rushed to the aid of their injured party members, a light shone, watery and thin from the end of the tunnel, casting the heiress in a silhouette. upon further  investigation of the thief, the hunter, and the jackal, it was discovered that the lovers’ staff was very real, and they had found what they had sought.

what is perhaps more curious — the magician seems to be able to wield the staff.

𝐀𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓, our heroes have arrived in the village of caper’s green, a village located at what is now the southernmost border of eden, along the edges of the black. with the lovers’ staff in hand, they have what they need to press forward in their search for truth. resting in the home of the hermit, they prepare to enter the black.  

the jackal’s curiosity has brought him to caper’s green, but he’s insistent it will take him no further. while the sycophant is expected to make a full recovery, the supplicant is still weak. 

as they look south, to the black city, they see nothing but shadows and storms striking a bruised sky, where the ink silhouette of dragon wings is sometimes thought to be seen, stretching out from the roof of the ghost of a palace that once glittered silver and gold.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 : collect supplies, rest, allow the magician time to heal those affected by the basilisk and work with the lovers’ staff, make preparations, say their goodbyes should they feel they need to.

CHAPTER V.

THE LOVERS’ STAFF.

MEDINAH, NORTHEASTERN BORDER OF SANDSTROM.

𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐎𝐔𝐒𝐋𝐘 ––– having descended into the deep roads, our heroes emerged with both the hanged man and the book of adaran allihies in tact. escaping the deep roads themselves, however, proves not to be such an easy feat. it takes them three days time before they see sunlight again.

in that time, the scholar spends his nights translating, and the magician spends her time working healing spells over the hanged man. the results are fruitful. by the time they see sunlight on the third day, the hanged man is mostly on his feet, though weak; and the scholar has discovered their next best foot forward.

the book speaks of a staff that can banish darkness, often sung of in old elvhen songs. based on the scribblings in the margins and the letters found by the body in the spider’s nest, allihies was obsessed with finding it. if the staff truly exists, as the book claims, the company must push west.

𝐀𝐓 𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐒𝐄𝐍𝐓, our heroes have arrived in medinah, one of the two beset glittering jewels in the deserts of sandstrom. it is here that the company has a local contact through the thief. the man, primarily known as jackal, has agreed to help the company by providing food and lodging for their stay (with a wink and a line about being a friend of the fox). 

he seems an odd character.

𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐎𝐁𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄 : collect supplies, rest, allow the magician and the scholar to continue to work with the book of adaran allihies, meet with the thief’s contact to learn about the locale and the elvhen ruins outside the city.