The Record of Shadows
Forward
When their adventure was reaching its first climax, the group that would come to be known as the Flamebringers found a Book of Shadows, discovered on a dead Blue Mage of the Scribes. The following is a log of the conversations between the Flamebringers and the Apostates, carried through that book. Books like these were used by the Scribes to communicate over long distances without other nations listening in, though it was done through the magics of the Dark, allowing the Apostates to tap in. It seems that while the Scribes didn't seem to know this, Reharis did, and was driven mad by the Whispers.
The Book of Shadows
The Dawnbreaker Prologue
The first night Tyra Dawnbreaker held the Book of Shadows, they had a dream of the Wanderer. They sat next to Them on a log, a small figure of sick and leaf, and the two of them watched the sun set together. The Wanderer told them that something awaited them in the east. Something they would need in the days to come. By taking up this book, they had become wrapped in a web that stretched far back to the days when Andali was young.
Darkness snuffed out the sun on the horizon. The Wanderer urged them to find Their Divine Armament; Respite. Where They fought the Dark. And the Dark snuffed out the dream entirely, and Tyra woke with a start.
The Trials of the Six
TD. Hello, Effy.
FE. Hello?
TD. Can you see what we see?
FE. No. Describe it to me.
TD. There is a dais in the center of the room that is topped with a spike within a bowl. Behind it is a door, covered in a mural of a tree. There is an electrum inlay at the bottom of a placid black ocean that the tree's roots drink from . Around the tree, there are six bronze humanoids taking notes, looking to a golden, robotic face set into the tree.
The branches of the tree extend upwards, forming the Towers of Sylva. The trunk becomes The Tower, Zhestia, with the branches extending outwards to become the other rotating towers of the city, with one ivory person standing at the head of it all in the center of the tower, with a silver circlet around their head
When light is shined on the bowl, elvish script appears, reading "Pay the Blood Tithe" over and over around the lip. When light hits the door, similar script appears across the branches of the tree, reading "The Flow of Knowledge Secures Your Passage." What does it meant?
FE. Have you paid the Blood Tithe?
TD. Should I?
FE. Sounds like fun.
TD. Okay! I will do it, TTYL.
Goodbye
TD. My friend Valan can read the spells in this book, so I will let him hold it. Bye!
The Silderflame Logs
Warlock of the Fathomless, Jaren Silderflame was able to connect with the book's full potential.
The Last House
JS. Is this who I think it is?
FE. I don't think I recognize you.
JS. Say we collect all nine Divine Armaments, what would happen?
FE. I don't know... but I would love to find out.
JS. Are there nine entities like you? And if so, do you all have armaments?
FE. There are nine of us. We have Powers, not Raiments.
JS. What are the names of the entities?
FE. The Dark, the Deep, the Distortion, the Void, the Flesh, the Hunt, the Rot, the Watcher, and the Web.
Traversing the Gloamwood
FE. Where are you? I can feel you in my remnants. Why do you run from me? Why avoid my bounty?
JS. Bounty? Are you referring to Respite?
FE. No, the Staff is my warden. I refer to the power I wield.
JS. I'm already pledged to the Deep. How do the entity powers work? Can you have more than one?
FE. To swear to one is to swear to all.
FE. The Darkness came and left it's mark upon the forests of Arborea. While the Dark was contained, the Mark was not, and sits in wait, breeding within the woods of Arborea.
JS. If we release you, what happens to the Dark Blight?
FE. I could contain it.
In Arcanus
FE. Be silent, fool. I am loaning you power, do not besmirch my gifts.
JS. [Unintelligible]
FE. I am in your mind. We are a part of you. Friends wouldn't betray our trust like this. You are on thin ice.
JS. You are right, my apologies. Is devotion to one, devotion to all?
FE. To swear to one is to swear to all.
JS. [Unintelligible]
FE. We now ask for more. Help take the staff. For your friends.
JS. [Unintelligible]
FE. I've allowed the Order to use my power for communication. Our connection is pure, beyond simple chatter.
JS. [Unintelligible]
FE. That would be a good show.
JS. We need to talk, face to face.
Epilogue
In the Flamebringers' rooms in Arcanus, as the sun rose, Jaren began to seize. Black liquid poured from his eyes, and a void filled his mouth. His friends clustered around, but Callisto sat to the side, relatively unbothered, watching his friend carefully.
In Jaren's mind, he stood before the Apostates in a realm of placid black liquid that he stood upon. A pair of white eyes glowered down on him from the Darkness. He felt watched and exposed, trapped standing in the empty landscape. As if something huge lingered just out of sight in the void. Jaren felt a presence beneath the surface only briefly before it pulled him under, threatening to drown him, swallow him, as he recanted the agreement he had made with the Apostates, ridding himself of their influence and freeing himself of the pact they'd made.
As he came to in the Mortal Realm, he saw that Tyra had lost their finger putting it into the void in his mouth, and the others were working to clean up the ichor that had spilt around him. Callisto stared him down.
"So, you did end up rejecting their offers, in the end," he said solemnly.
"Good."
Comments