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''“As it would turn out, it is in fact not a good idea to participate in unnecessary, exceedingly strenuous events when harboring a fraction of an eldritch abomination in one’s soul. It is perhaps even less of a good idea to do so when one has recently experienced stress onset by the knowledge that the cult associated with the Far Realm that they’re hiding from has taken residence in a tower connected to said realm. All of this is, of course, compounded by the fact that the day’s events were broadcast to countless individuals throughout the land. Truly, the level of foolishness I have displayed is astounding.'' | ''“As it would turn out, it is in fact not a good idea to participate in unnecessary, exceedingly strenuous events when harboring a fraction of an eldritch abomination in one’s soul. It is perhaps even less of a good idea to do so when one has recently experienced stress onset by the knowledge that the cult associated with the Far Realm that they’re hiding from has taken residence in a tower connected to said realm. All of this is, of course, compounded by the fact that the day’s events were broadcast to countless individuals throughout the land. Truly, the level of foolishness I have displayed is astounding.'' | ||
''I, for some unearthly reason, attended the Olympia Magisteria games. I was given a VIP ticket—likely for helping | ''I, for some unearthly reason, attended the Olympia Magisteria games. I was given a VIP ticket—likely for helping Seglock during the Goblin/Tiamat crisis—and decided that I had nothing better to do than prevent an incoming nervous breakdown by drowning myself in a crowd of fans. Unfortunately, members from both teams went missing, and VIPs were called to fill the missing spots. Despite showing a hint of intellect when I was apprehensive about participating, I lost all shred of caution and agreed to fill in anyway.'' | ||
''I was on a team with | ''I was on a team with Cecil, a rather eccentric gnome, and a dragonborn fellow named Volrac. The latter was one of two among us who looked like they belonged in a sporting event: the other was a tiefling called Igniticus—I thought he was rather full of himself at first, but from what I saw of his performance, his arrogance may have been justified. During introductions, I’m afraid I nearly blinded the cameraman with an Eldritch Blast. It’s disquieting to know the spell still comes so naturally to me after all this time.'' | ||
''The goal of every game was to steal a shrunken version of the opposing team’s mascot and bring it from their side of the field to ours.'' | ''The goal of every game was to steal a shrunken version of the opposing team’s mascot and bring it from their side of the field to ours.'' | ||
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''“Elves are not supposed to need sleep. For some Fey related reason, we usually go into trances instead. What I know of the logistics is rather fascinating, but it’s hardly relevant. The fact is that I’ve never slept in the traditional sense. I’ve never had the time to. That is to say, I slept last night, and it unsettles me deeply. I was assisting with medical needs in Seglock—as I have since I arrived—and at some point I nodded off. Thankfully, I wasn’t assisting anyone when it happened. I’m particularly put off by the dream I had.'' | ''“Elves are not supposed to need sleep. For some Fey related reason, we usually go into trances instead. What I know of the logistics is rather fascinating, but it’s hardly relevant. The fact is that I’ve never slept in the traditional sense. I’ve never had the time to. That is to say, I slept last night, and it unsettles me deeply. I was assisting with medical needs in Seglock—as I have since I arrived—and at some point I nodded off. Thankfully, I wasn’t assisting anyone when it happened. I’m particularly put off by the dream I had.'' | ||
''It began with me wandering through the woods, which I’ve been increasingly inclined to do as of late. The scenery was familiar, but it was really too familiar. The trees and flowers were blurring by, which tipped me off that I was running. I saw people up ahead and finally realized that I was reliving my encounter with | ''It began with me wandering through the woods, which I’ve been increasingly inclined to do as of late. The scenery was familiar, but it was really too familiar. The trees and flowers were blurring by, which tipped me off that I was running. I saw people up ahead and finally realized that I was reliving my encounter with Tordek, Violet, Varryn, Boros, and Siohbhin. Despite that realization, the people I saw didn’t have faces. In fact, when I asked for their help, they didn’t respond at all. An Eldritch Blast hit me, just as it had back then, and everything went black.'' | ||
''When I awoke, though I was still within my dream, I was struck by the strangest sensation. I was awake and I could see everything around me, but my body seemed to be moving on its own. I went about my typical routine: checking in with the hospital efforts in Seglock and assisting sick and weary refugees. Despite my commitment to being a cleric, I could tell that the day’s efforts were exhausting me. No, rather, it was more that they were boring me. I was upsettingly dismissive of an old woman who’d had her legs cut off and I outright ignored a man complaining of a terrible stomachache. Though I now know it was entirely my imagination, it was horrific to see myself act so callously.'' | ''When I awoke, though I was still within my dream, I was struck by the strangest sensation. I was awake and I could see everything around me, but my body seemed to be moving on its own. I went about my typical routine: checking in with the hospital efforts in Seglock and assisting sick and weary refugees. Despite my commitment to being a cleric, I could tell that the day’s efforts were exhausting me. No, rather, it was more that they were boring me. I was upsettingly dismissive of an old woman who’d had her legs cut off and I outright ignored a man complaining of a terrible stomachache. Though I now know it was entirely my imagination, it was horrific to see myself act so callously.'' | ||
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Reylendor sighs and heads back to the room that’s quickly become his. Something he misses about Seglock is all the noise. There was so much to be done and seemingly little time to do it. His time was occupied by patients, not errant thoughts. | Reylendor sighs and heads back to the room that’s quickly become his. Something he misses about Seglock is all the noise. There was so much to be done and seemingly little time to do it. His time was occupied by patients, not errant thoughts. | ||
Surrounded by woodland quiet as he is, the attack at Muso steadily creeps back into his head. He had wandered aimlessly for days when Oxan spotted him. Then | Surrounded by woodland quiet as he is, the attack at Muso steadily creeps back into his head. He had wandered aimlessly for days when Oxan spotted him. Then Flame reared his terrible head and, perhaps foolishly, Reylendor abandoned every apprehension to make a break for the town about to face fire and death. He hardly offered any help: the only spell he managed to cast against the dragon missed. It was Ona, not him, who held a crumbling tavern together and convinced civilians to flee for their lives. At the very least, Reylendor had healed the injured when everything was said and done. That, if nothing else, is something he’s always capable of. | ||
Reylendor shudders when he remembers blacking out. He had almost grown accustomed to it by then, but it had never been forced onto him. Yet, | Reylendor shudders when he remembers blacking out. He had almost grown accustomed to it by then, but it had never been forced onto him. Yet, Silent had merely said the word and his body was ripped away from him, thrust into the hands of that thing bubbling beneath the surface. | ||
If Silent had the power to set [[Att-Annalo]] loose… the threat of ensuring that Flame lived through the battle was venomous. He accepted their terms not for himself, but for the townspeople who were having their homes razed right in front of them. | If Silent had the power to set [[Att-Annalo]] loose… the threat of ensuring that Flame lived through the battle was venomous. He accepted their terms not for himself, but for the townspeople who were having their homes razed right in front of them. | ||
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That’s ''if'' he isn’t executed for the crimes he intends to commit. | That’s ''if'' he isn’t executed for the crimes he intends to commit. | ||
<u>''On the Results of My Time with | <u>''On the Results of My Time with the Protectors of the People (12/2/22)''</u> | ||
''I have decided to start writing again. I do this not out of some desperate hope that someone will pick up where I’ve left off, but simply because I enjoy writing. And no one, not Mel Netheroe or [[Att-Annalo]] itself, will take away the things which I enjoy. In this entry, I will document the events that have occurred among the Protectors of the People since I joined their ranks and ruminate on… recent internal developments.'' | ''I have decided to start writing again. I do this not out of some desperate hope that someone will pick up where I’ve left off, but simply because I enjoy writing. And no one, not Mel Netheroe or [[Att-Annalo]] itself, will take away the things which I enjoy. In this entry, I will document the events that have occurred among the Protectors of the People since I joined their ranks and ruminate on… recent internal developments.'' | ||
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''When I joined the Protectors, I did it solely for access to resources that would help me kill a certain person. Now, I regard them as family. It’s funny how much has changed in just a few months.'' | ''When I joined the Protectors, I did it solely for access to resources that would help me kill a certain person. Now, I regard them as family. It’s funny how much has changed in just a few months.'' | ||
''Things went awry almost immediately when I was named a council member. From there, I joined forces with | ''Things went awry almost immediately when I was named a council member. From there, I joined forces with Hugo Clarion, Claw of the People, on a not-so-successful mission. We attempted to coerce other adventurers into divulging the locations of dragon eggs when, in all honesty, we should have talked to them without the implicit interrogation of Zone of Truth. Neither of us was the most charismatic in that endeavor.'' | ||
''At some point, I decided the mantle of grave cleric suited me more than life cleric. My driving goal after the encounter with Flame had been to bring about one man’s death after all.'' | ''At some point, I decided the mantle of grave cleric suited me more than life cleric. My driving goal after the encounter with Flame had been to bring about one man’s death after all.'' | ||
''At some point, other adventurers went to | ''At some point, other adventurers went to Relith Tower and the whole structure had come crumbling down. Perhaps if I had been proactive rather than insisting on hiding away from my past, I would have been among those who drove the Servants from their acquired base. Instead, it was all I could do to hound those involved for details. There, I discovered a prayer to [[Att-Annalo]] and even now I can’t help laughing at the pretentiousness of it all; they truly believed they were bound to achieve some sort of enlightenment by worshiping something they barely comprehended. I know more about [[Att-Annalo]] now than Mel Netheroe ever will, and I am damn certain it can offer no one “enlightenment”.'' | ||
''Then came the deaths of council members | ''Then came the deaths of council members Markoth and Asger, the Hoard and Scales of the People respectively. However, I doubt that they’re truly dead. If they were, the Sending spell wouldn’t have been able to reach them. When my business with the Servants is finally laid to rest, I’ll return to trying to locate them. Perhaps, by then, Silent will have more knowledge about where their souls are.'' | ||
''When | ''When Drang, the Heart of the People, returned from the battle that killed Markoth and Asger, Feyjin, the Mouth, was quick to deduce that he was suffering from severe illness. We performed a risky surgery to remove the bad tissue that was infecting him, and though Drang lived it wasn’t without remnants of the corruption infecting him. The corruption whispered to us—much like [[Att-Annalo]] sometimes whispered to me—and showed us images of what I now know really was Drang’s past. At the time, I was too focused on the surgery to put stock in the words of yet another mysterious, dark force. But this corruption was right. Drang slaughtered many in his time.I have since reconciled the dissonance between Drang’s past and his present because, in some respects, I am now like Drang: bearing the burden of souls taken. Drang survived the surgery. The Bugbear is hearty despite his real age.'' | ||
''Too soon afterward, the Claws of the People rebelled. Again, I was missing from the action when I was needed, too preoccupied with a cabin in the woods to attend to my duties as a council member. Of course, it is likely a good thing I was in the woods that day. Or maybe thanks should go to Feyjin for calling me back to base when she did. Had I not left in such a frantic hurry, it’s possible that Watcher wouldn’t have come with me. On my way back, however, a member of the Claw—acting under Hugo’s command—used a prayer recovered from Relith Tower to attempt to summon [[Att-Annalo]]. I resisted at the time and kept control over my body, but my trust in Hugo was severed.'' | ''Too soon afterward, the Claws of the People rebelled. Again, I was missing from the action when I was needed, too preoccupied with a cabin in the woods to attend to my duties as a council member. Of course, it is likely a good thing I was in the woods that day. Or maybe thanks should go to Feyjin for calling me back to base when she did. Had I not left in such a frantic hurry, it’s possible that Watcher wouldn’t have come with me. On my way back, however, a member of the Claw—acting under Hugo’s command—used a prayer recovered from Relith Tower to attempt to summon [[Att-Annalo]]. I resisted at the time and kept control over my body, but my trust in Hugo was severed.'' | ||
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''I may never be able to fully comprehend it, but [[Att-Annalo]]’s essence has stopped pushing against mine. I no longer feel a tug on my soul. My vision doesn’t cloud with visions of eldritch horrors stalking every shadow. We’ve joined, in a way that is greater than the way we were bonded before. I don’t fear being overtaken by its will because its will is mine. I believe this was only possible because it was a piece of [[Att-Annalo]], rather than the entire grotesque thing, that latched onto me that fateful day. As Watcher would put it, a heart in pieces is no match for the strength of resolve.'' | ''I may never be able to fully comprehend it, but [[Att-Annalo]]’s essence has stopped pushing against mine. I no longer feel a tug on my soul. My vision doesn’t cloud with visions of eldritch horrors stalking every shadow. We’ve joined, in a way that is greater than the way we were bonded before. I don’t fear being overtaken by its will because its will is mine. I believe this was only possible because it was a piece of [[Att-Annalo]], rather than the entire grotesque thing, that latched onto me that fateful day. As Watcher would put it, a heart in pieces is no match for the strength of resolve.'' | ||
''Speaking of Watcher, I now know what he is. He’s only told me the short version of the story, but I’ll inquire after everything in short order. Apparently, an archfey who was partial to druidcraft liked him enough to bestow him with some of her power. This turned him from a regular rabbit into a fey spirit of sorts. He fancies himself a guardian spirit who watches over the druids who make their way to the cabin where that archfey once dwelled; as for where the archfey is now, Watcher has no clue. Apparently, she left without warning and hasn’t been back since. I’m not certain, but I wonder if the old ring I found was actually a trinket of hers rather than the gnome who lived in the cabin before me. I should press Watcher for details next time I ask about his past. I feel as though he’s hiding something.'' | ''Speaking of Watcher, I now know what he is. He’s only told me the short version of the story, but I’ll inquire after everything in short order. Apparently, an archfey who was partial to druidcraft liked him enough to bestow him with some of her power. This turned him from a regular rabbit into a fey spirit of sorts. He fancies himself a guardian spirit who watches over the druids who make their way to the cabin where that archfey once dwelled; as for where the archfey is now, Watcher has no clue. Apparently, she left without warning and hasn’t been back since.I’m not certain, but I wonder if the old ring I found was actually a trinket of hers rather than the gnome who lived in the cabin before me. I should press Watcher for details next time I ask about his past. I feel as though he’s hiding something.'' | ||
''Honestly, it’s hard to believe that I’m still alive. When I first ran from the Servants, I thought they would hunt me down in a matter of days. Things are far from over, but I don’t fear them anymore. On the contrary, I’m almost excited by the notion of seeing Mel again. I’ll slaughter them when they inevitably threaten the family I’ve found, but before that, I want the man I called Father Netheroe to have the intimate encounter with [[Att-Annalo]] he has so fervently been chasing. It’s unfortunate for him that it won’t end the way he wants.'' | ''Honestly, it’s hard to believe that I’m still alive. When I first ran from the Servants, I thought they would hunt me down in a matter of days. Things are far from over, but I don’t fear them anymore. On the contrary, I’m almost excited by the notion of seeing Mel again. I’ll slaughter them when they inevitably threaten the family I’ve found, but before that, I want the man I called Father Netheroe to have the intimate encounter with [[Att-Annalo]] he has so fervently been chasing. It’s unfortunate for him that it won’t end the way he wants.'' | ||
