Night Echoes
Bards gone criminals to have their revenge against the crown
Introduction
"I'm telling you, they are far more dangerous than you realize! Their leader is a bloodthirsty maniac, and he will torture and kill every one of you if you give him the chance."
A handful of bards graduate from the Traveling Notes College every year, becoming able musicians, entertainers and adventurers. Some of them decide to tackle greater adventures and dangers as a group, so they can rely on each other's strengths and be able to undertake greater challenges. One of them, the Night Echoes, was once such a group, but in a rampage of vengeance, they have recently turned to the criminal life instead.
Structure
They are a small party of 4 individuals, with the leader having the plans and the final say in every matter. Their leader goes by the alias of Night Echo, which lent the name to the group itself.
Public Agenda
There isn't anything as far as public in the Night Echoes, as they are a group pulling the strings from behind the curtain. Still, their objective is to weaken the Kingdom and take down the King, as they don't see him as a fit ruler to the people.
Members
- Lumir, the Night Echo - The leader of the Echoes, Lumir is a wood elf who stayed in Archana when his people were passing by during his teens. He is the leader and brains of the party, a great and pragmatic strategist, and also a master of the music magic.
- Eldran, the Flying Blade - Eldran is the comic relief of the party, a good-humored young man with countless stories to tell, who left Blackbourne to learn how to make a living off of that. He is very skilled with knives, being able to always hit the mark when throwing them, as he trained his whole life in the taverns of his hometown.
- Aëlla, the Ghost Tear - Half-elf and younger sister to Aria, Aëlla is an orphan who lived in Springdrop Sanctuary and moved to Hrastgar to learn the art of music. She is a great stealth fighter, able to take on many enemies before being seen.
- Seth, the Void Stare - Once the heart of the party, Seth is but a hollow shell of his former self. After being captured by the Envoys of Tiamat during a journey, he was "cleansed from magic", but that means his emotions were also taken from him. Due to this lack of emotions, he was able to become even greater opponent in battle, as he is able to take his reflexed to the limit without being hindered by fear or instincts of self-preservation.
Former members
- Aria, the Deadly Rose - Half-elf and older sister to Aëlla, Aria left the group after the Night Echo took the leadership and they began turning to crime, things she was not the least comfortable with. She was a natural one-on-one duelist and a master of seduction, able to take information from anyone foolish enough to fall for her sweet words. Since her departure from the group, she leads a solo career much like most bards in Archana.
- Yrian Griffith - Once the leader of the party, Yrian died during a journey, leaving the spot to the Night Echo. He was a typical man of the hrastfolk, who grew under the culture of the bards and wanted to learn the art to be able to better inspire his peers. The was the ablest to lead the party, so he naturally earned his place as such. He used to fight ferociously and bravely with a greatsword, the iconic weapon of his people.
History
In 491, a group of 6 friends graduated in the Traveling Notes College and formed an adventuring party. They wanted to tell stories of their own deeds instead of someone else's. For the first year, this proved to be harder than it should be, as most of the things they wanted to try, heavy regulation and legislation prohibited them from doing. Realizing that there was nothing they could do in Archana, they decided to go off to other lands in search for their adventures.
Weeks later they stopped in a small town to rest, unaware that they were already in Artalgnian territory. Seth, joyful and naive, used his Fire magic to light up the fireplace in the tavern they were staying, attracting unwanted attention from the townsfolk. Afraid of the consequences of housing a wizard, word of him spread through the people and reached the local crusaders, who broke into the tavern in the middle of the night and took him under arrest.
The next morning, the party found themselves missing a member. They rushed throughout the town in search of Seth, finally learning that he was taken to the local crusader outpost. They split and sneaked in the building in order to find him more easily. Lumir stumbled upon an office room full of documents, and among them, and official letter from King Abraham II of Archana, in which he reveals the secrets of Rune Magic - something that could easily be claimed as treason.
The whole group met in the dungeon where Seth was being kept, but he was but a shadow of his former self. The once lively boy was now a hollow shell, silent and emotionless. They realized that rune magic was used on him in order to seal his emotions and block his magic - a procedure that was probably irreversible. In their way out they were spotted by the guards, alerting the whole castle of their presence. Yrian decided to stay behind and hold the enemy off while the group escaped as he was the ablest fighter, though the idea was met with heavy disapproval. Still, with no time to chat and pressure from both Yrian and Lumir, the group rushed to the exit, leaving their leader behind.
Aria was too worried about Yrian and wanted to go back, but Lumir stopped her. There was nothing she could do to help. He offered to go in her place instead, leaving to Yrian right away. Still, Aria couldn't shrug off the feeling that she should go and went right behind Lumir without him realizing. Lumir found a wounded and stumbling Yrian coming back from the fight. Lumir wished Yrian had died back there so he could take the lead of the group, so he returned only to make sure that was so.
Lumir's blade stabbed through Yrian's guts to Aria's surprise. She backed out as she realized she couldn't be seen. Pale and in disbelief, she and ran back to the group. Lumir arrived a few moments later with the news that Yrian perished in battle, and they returned home without their dear friend and leader.
With one less member and one now forever marked by the betrayal of the King, the group was lost. Lumir stepped up as their new leader since he has always been the brains, and incited them to punish the royalty for what they did - Artalgne was a sworn enemy of Archana, handing them such secrets was a disproportionate betrayal to the people. They all backed him up, though Aria was very uncomfortable with the situation, to say the least. Their plan was to pull the strings of the main conflicts in Archana in order to weaken the power of the King, so they could finally put him down. And so they capitalized on many of these conflicts, such as the legend of the Street Fox, inciting many civilians to follow on the steps of the thief by forming The Hoods.
Among bribes, threats, riots, murders, robberies and more, Aria was tired of supporting the man who killed her friend. But she wasn't about to accuse him either. If the other didn't believe her, which was more likely, they could become enemies forever. If they did believe her Lumir could threaten their lives, as he had been proving to be more and more ruthless. She decided to leave the group then, trying to stay as far away from them as she could, and work on her own career much like most of the other bards.
Weeks later they stopped in a small town to rest, unaware that they were already in Artalgnian territory. Seth, joyful and naive, used his Fire magic to light up the fireplace in the tavern they were staying, attracting unwanted attention from the townsfolk. Afraid of the consequences of housing a wizard, word of him spread through the people and reached the local crusaders, who broke into the tavern in the middle of the night and took him under arrest.
The next morning, the party found themselves missing a member. They rushed throughout the town in search of Seth, finally learning that he was taken to the local crusader outpost. They split and sneaked in the building in order to find him more easily. Lumir stumbled upon an office room full of documents, and among them, and official letter from King Abraham II of Archana, in which he reveals the secrets of Rune Magic - something that could easily be claimed as treason.
The whole group met in the dungeon where Seth was being kept, but he was but a shadow of his former self. The once lively boy was now a hollow shell, silent and emotionless. They realized that rune magic was used on him in order to seal his emotions and block his magic - a procedure that was probably irreversible. In their way out they were spotted by the guards, alerting the whole castle of their presence. Yrian decided to stay behind and hold the enemy off while the group escaped as he was the ablest fighter, though the idea was met with heavy disapproval. Still, with no time to chat and pressure from both Yrian and Lumir, the group rushed to the exit, leaving their leader behind.
Aria was too worried about Yrian and wanted to go back, but Lumir stopped her. There was nothing she could do to help. He offered to go in her place instead, leaving to Yrian right away. Still, Aria couldn't shrug off the feeling that she should go and went right behind Lumir without him realizing. Lumir found a wounded and stumbling Yrian coming back from the fight. Lumir wished Yrian had died back there so he could take the lead of the group, so he returned only to make sure that was so.
Lumir's blade stabbed through Yrian's guts to Aria's surprise. She backed out as she realized she couldn't be seen. Pale and in disbelief, she and ran back to the group. Lumir arrived a few moments later with the news that Yrian perished in battle, and they returned home without their dear friend and leader.
With one less member and one now forever marked by the betrayal of the King, the group was lost. Lumir stepped up as their new leader since he has always been the brains, and incited them to punish the royalty for what they did - Artalgne was a sworn enemy of Archana, handing them such secrets was a disproportionate betrayal to the people. They all backed him up, though Aria was very uncomfortable with the situation, to say the least. Their plan was to pull the strings of the main conflicts in Archana in order to weaken the power of the King, so they could finally put him down. And so they capitalized on many of these conflicts, such as the legend of the Street Fox, inciting many civilians to follow on the steps of the thief by forming The Hoods.
Among bribes, threats, riots, murders, robberies and more, Aria was tired of supporting the man who killed her friend. But she wasn't about to accuse him either. If the other didn't believe her, which was more likely, they could become enemies forever. If they did believe her Lumir could threaten their lives, as he had been proving to be more and more ruthless. She decided to leave the group then, trying to stay as far away from them as she could, and work on her own career much like most of the other bards.
Founding Date
491 AE
Type
Illicit, Gang
Leader
Subsidiary Organizations
Notable Members
Related Articles
/*Bard*/
/*Traveling Notes*/
/*Kingdom of Archana*/
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