8. The Royal Wizarding Academy of Sage's Rest
General Summary
After abruptly teleporting from the Rosewall by Lady Alina, our heroes Ellri, Aldan, Elara, Oruwin & Roknar find themselves with a few weeks of relaxation, gambling & exploration in the city of Dol Gadmen.
The Broken Banner was being hosted by Lady Alina and found themselves merrily feasting on assortments of deserts & wine before Clara Wayland throws open the doors of House Thorne and lets out a thundering roar of frustration.
She vents her frustrations at Alina for being summoned by the conclave of the fifth, when they know all too well that Clara home is under attack & the Orodani are on our shores. Despite Clara’s unrest the broken banner reacquaint with Clara, managing to calm her, as they praise her triumph at the grand everglow tourney where they met some time ago.
After some discussion, Clara agrees to accompany the broken banner to Sage's Rest to gather forces for the impending war to come. Alina, very happy with the outcome, stuffs a slice of victory pie in her mouth before waving the company off to make preparations for the journey ahead.
The group, lead by Elara find themselves once again on the rickety pulley system that takes them high above the city, enveloping them in the beautiful vistas of Dol gadmen. Hundreds of gleaming waterfalls, mansions & beautifully maintained gardens and fields painted a calm over the group. The Astronomer statue that gazes over the city was a welcome site for Elara as she said a quick prayer of guidance before noticing our old friend – Fleur the researcher.
Between her frantic scribbling, note taking & annoyingly hyper attitude, our heroes gave her the wayfinder to assist with her research regarding the point of origin of the darkness.
The broken banner quickly realised that travelling by barge to Sage’s Rest wasn’t the most glamorous form of transport, as Lady Alina gave a hasty wave & cheeky smirk as she closed the doors of her manor in favour of teleportation.
Despite this, Aldan made the most of the journey, choosing to skinny dip completely naked. It was also made abundantly clear of “how cold it was” as Aldan pulled his pants back on.
The river folk swapped stories with the Broken Banner, in which we learnt of Orc raids at the Lower Rhakhis. That night on the barge, Ellri spoke with his twin brother Yughi through his dreams. Between the many insults they hurled at each other, Ellri learns from his brother that the Wizards of sages rest are conscripting the students to fight in the upcoming war – roughly 100 of the 200 students will be selected. Oruwin managed to piece together that sometimes there’s a stronger bond between these twins, that’s more than blood.
However, later in their journey to sage's rest, Ellris' brother didn’t answer the call – there was no connection for the first time since they were struck by lightning & acquired this ability.
The constant stream of people in and out of sage's rest indicated a sense of anxious hurriedness as the town made preparations for war. Making their way to the college, the banner notices large teleportation circles controlled by the porters guild that transport people & goods all over Daenfel. The company eventually reached the school gates and awaiting them was the principal archmage of the academy – Vandersar.
After some quick pleasantries, Vandersar escorted the group into the pavilion in which introductions to the head teachers were in order. A short refined man by the name of Sir Rodney Goodfellow introduced himself as the head teacher of arts, gender studies and music. Next, rustic & nurturing Professor Pumpleburkin enthusiastically greeted the members of the banner one by one with some energetic handshakes. She turns to a blushing Lady Alina and gives a big hearty hug to her former student.
Lastly, Elara’s mentor and head of the school of power, Gristworth, gave a dry cold stare down the barrel of his eyes towards Elara – ignoring the rest of the company. Gristworth, noticing Elaras newfound confidence & power simply states – “maybe one day the student will eclipse the master, but today is not that day. “
Vandesar addressed the company regarding more pressing matters – Helias is aflame, Whitehaven is poised for an attack and a new emperor is to be crowned. He also asks Lady Elara to say some words to the school to inspire them for the dark days that lie ahead.
Ellri anxiously cuts in demanding to know the whereabouts of his twin Yughi. After some hard hitting demands from Ellri and a little intimidation on Elara’s part, Ellri managed to secure the key to his brother's dorm room to investigate further.
The group split up as to not draw attention to the investigation, with Roknar, Oruwin & Aldan opting to find Ernest of the Porters guild to learn about who may have used the teleportation circles for nefarious purposes & acquire as much information as possible for the journey ahead.
Wandering through the college-like dorms of the Royal Wizarding Academy, Ellri and Elara turn the key & unlock the door. Ellri rushes to investigate, while Elara magically locks the door behind them.
Ellri investigates the surroundings – Yughi’s room is unmade but his things have not been rifled through. The only real point of interest is a locked chest by his bed. After some deliberation & frantic search for a key to the lock, Ellris decides to break the lock by force (with a little fire from the wizard too). Strike after strike the lock slowly begins to lose its durability.
However, the noise has drawn attention from one of the staff who attempt to get into the room & begin shouting from the hallway, demanding the door to be opened or else.
With a quick glance at each other, Ellri makes one final strike to break the lock & succeeds – meanwhile Elara swings open the door , blocking Ellri from view, and unconvincingly plays innocent. The teacher vows to report “lady Elara” to the school despite her best efforts.
Within the chest, Ellri notices a note that is addressed to Yughi as well as an Amethyst necklace. Snatching both, Ellri & Elara hastily depart the dorms.
Meanwhile, Rok, Oruwin & Aldan learn the whereabouts of Ernest – the Reflecting Pools; a seriesof hot springs and spas that the porters guild frequents just outside of sage's rest.
Different sections of pools & spas litter this cliffside with many townsfolk enjoying the warmth of the water. Amongst the crowds, the trio begins to notice hooded figures that have been following them – but seem to disappear as the group approach the section of pools cordoned off by the porters guild guards.
Not to be fooled by his namesake, Ernest is not a man to give information without getting something in return. He is, of course, head of one of the largest trading organizations. With Rok taking the lead, the trio strip naked and join Ernest from an uncomfortably close distance.
After some of the most inefficient haggling costing Roknar much of his wealth, Ernest begins to speak freely.
He spoke of the diplomatic unrest in Trinity with debates happening behind closed doors. Who will succeed Lavernus as high prelate? The prelate of the twins chosen (the undying) is particularly striving for a position in Trinity. Caine, the prelate of the mason is a renowned fighter & has a good standing to become the high prelate too. The prelate of the astronomer & Avlar have risen, making a pitches as well. Ernest also mentions that Na’thaniel of the Trinity guard is keeping the city together, given Trinity is now at Its tipping point. He directs Aldan & Oruwin to Talk to Bregon of the astronomers domain within trinity.
The group back together again with Clara Wayland still in tow, curiously turn to Ellri to shed some light on the note & necklace from Yughis room.
As Ellri inspects the note more closely he becomes increasingly angered – the note addressed to Yughi came directly from the Twins Chosen herself asking Yugi to meet with her.
Yughi had reached out regarding his dream journal, which details how scared Yungi is about the dreams he's having.
Having now assembled with the rest of the school of 200+ wizards & scholars, Elara steps forward. With bated breath, she begins to speak:
Uhh okay then..
People of sages rest, as some of you may know, I have spent the better part of 40 years here at sages rest, studying, learning & honing the arcane arts.
There is rarely much room for adventure & discovery in the pursuit of knowledge here within the school grounds, and so we often we turn a blind eye to the misgivings & struggles beyond sage's rest.
I came to learn that the best knowledge doesn't just come scrolls & tomes nor gazing at the stars above - it comes through the people of Daenfel and facing the truth of this world - so I left and I joined the company of the broken banner. We have faced the sons of avlar= - their dark magics & blood spewing hydras - & dealt a big blow to lord R of castle Vaethryn in pursuit of this truth.
We have discovered a terrible darkness from the north and with it comes the inevitability of pain & suffering for all those in this world. The rosewall has fallen. The emperor has fallen. Clan fury march south. Trinity is under siege. I ask of you all remember the wars of the past & recognise the threat this darkness poses.
Just as we look to the stars to guide us through the night, I am looking to you all, to be the stars that shine a cutting light through this terrible darkness.
May we call on the Astronomer for guidance & his wisdom. May we no longer look to the stars, but instill their burning light within us. and May we call on ourselves to be a beacon of hope for all those deserving.
Let us no longer idle-y retell the stories of heroes of old, but have the courage to be the heroes ourselves.
Thank you
After a warm applause and reprising smirk from Gristworth, the group begins preparations for the journey to Carrag Muine.
The Company of the Broken Banner marched south to Carrag Nuine, with Clara directing the core members to make camp atop a hilly rockside that she has camped at before.
As the group are settling in for the night, they are approached by two shadowy figures, asking for rest by the fire. Roknar recognises them as the mages that saw us at the reflecting pools and that have obviously followed us. Their faces were partly covered by wide brimmed hats, they wore leather & each had a spellbook attached to them. There was rustling in the bushes nearby, which the group heard with deft ears.
They introduced themselves as Andar and Nebula, but it was quickly found out that their story for being here was full of lies, and they lashed out at Clara. As everyone reached for their weapons, the undead surrounding them also attacked, and a brief but violent skirmish ensued.
Aldan swiftly took out Andar with a vicious blow. Thankfully so, as his sister Nebula unleashed a torrent of cold that instantly knocked Roknar and Elara unconscious.
The company either battled back against the mage or tried to stabilize their dying companions, and stood helpless as a spectral iron maiden of the shadows attempted to grab & haul off Clara Wayland – of which she quickly sidestepped
The skeletons were encroaching and with some quick thinking from Oruwin, he pulled out the wand of firewalls and unleashed a deadly fireball that reduced nebula to charred ash – but he simultaneously discovered that the wand was cursed, as fire seeped through his veins.
As the last of the wizards fell, so too did their summoned undead. The party were brought back to consciousness, and a pensive mood settled over the now bloody campsite. The politics and war felt far away in this moment, and as this hidden threat nearly spelled the end of the Knight of Flowers, it seemed her priorities were realigned.
In the coming days, as the group crested a hill and saw the first sights of Carrag Nuine - the three tiered megapolis of the once great Kingdom of Ea-Galwen - Clara declared that she believed her fate lied elsewhere than the frontlines, and that she would travel with you to Trinity to assist in uncovering the foul plot working behind the scenes. “One knight joining you at Trinity far outweighs the good that one knight may do on the battlefield.”
And so the group headed off towards the Pearl of the Empire amongst Avlar’s Folly, the ruined forests of Old Avalon where Avlar himself rose to power.
Comments