Ain'leás A'oileáin

Prince Ain'leás A'oileáin (a.k.a. Ainle)

View Character Profile

Species

Yuan-ti

Year of Birth

1457 26 Years old

Parents

Ai'askath A'oileáin

Etshie

Children

Eyes

Yellow and green, slit pupils

Hair

Dark brown, loose mohawk

Skin Tone/Pigmentation

Dark brown

Height

6'4

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Entry Sixteen: Crustacean Frustration, and the Weather Man

• So. Admittedly we should have kept an eye out for Rahnce • He was missing come morning. Had been kidnapped by. Crab people. • Tasked us with dispatching an enemy of theirs in exchange for a ship wheel • Luckily it was quite easy! It turns out our quarry does not like lightning. • Adding injury to insult... • We did get some nice rewards out of it! Something called a driftglobe, and a beautiful feathered ribbon • Disembarked once more • Found an odd tower in the sea. Phane said it could be related to a sphinx? • Later, we came across an area of clear weather when a storm was coming • Chose to weigh anchor there while we investigated • Met "Kristoff of Rens," a weather mage • He knew of floating islands! I have never seen one, but it sounds magnificent. He gave me some titles to read. • Also an odd fascination with birds. Still, I wish him luck • Additionally — Hadriel is assumed to be Hinodae? Interesting We spent the night there. There was a beautiful reef that I swam through, until odd shapes in the water had me return to shore. It feels good to swim! It's so much warmer back home, and the winter is so frigid I hardly dared to dip my toes in — but the water is pleasant here

Entry Fifteen: The Ghost Ship

• It was an odd day • Haka reported a storm, but only she could see it. A ship was approaching • We cut the lanterns, I climbed up into the rigging to settle down with my crossbow. If we were to engage in a battle, being on the front lines would not be ideal, I believed • Griane has an ability to summon... pieces of his soul, I think. He can see what we cannot, and he saw Emmett. He registered as undead to Haka, made a motion like slitting his own throat • And then we were attacked • Undead creatures, dissolving into salt when we dispatched them • I was thrown into the sea, unconscious before I hit the water. I came to as Kestrel was hauling me to the surface • We learned this is called a Silent Squall. • A punishment for disrespecting Salt • We moored upon an island for repairs • Grateful just to get a rest on dry land

Entry Fourteen: Departure from Igari

• We found ourselves a ship • Stayed in a tavern. It was fun! Rahnce and I played music, Haka danced with us. My affection for these two grows every day. It feels like home, like being with Siklil and Enshu and sneaking away to the lakeside. I would play my drum and they would dance until Siklil stepped to deep into the mud and fell into the water. • Griane stayed back to watch. I attempted to ask him about his worship — he follows the Sun as well, though a different incarnation. He didn't say much. Whether he is shy, or secretive, I cannot tell just yet. • Rahnce met a woman — Joyce Kidd. She captains a ship, apparently. Once again, fate smiles upon us. • We slept through the night, but had to hurry to reach the ship. We were hired aboard, and promoted to fairly high positions, it would seem. I did try to upsell our talents, so I cannot complain. • There is another from Krathus here! Not Tecolocali, of course. A green dragonborn, named Moira • A few others: A large, somewhat bumbling human named Kestrel • A half-orc wearing a headscarf, named ~~Thane~~ *Phane* • A gnome, named ~~Emmett~~ Emit • It turns out Kidd knows some things about our... mostly abandoned quest. I wonder if Rahnce and Haka instead to find those two royals • She took them to an island. Why, and for whom, she does not know • I need to remember to ask her about this before we part ways.

Entry Thirteen: Battling the Kipine

• In the morning, Haka performed a ceremony to put the undead dwarf to rest. It is comforting, in a way, to know she can do such things. Should I fall on this journey, she can ensure my corpse remains in the earth. • Rahnce took his sword — Hundrumir Hearthguard • We traveled until we located the Kipine • It was a rough fight. The creatures could fly, and we were forced to run up and down a mountainside. Rahnce took a severe beating through this round, it was all I could do to keep both him and Haka conscious. I thank the gods she is a healer as well. • Still, we were triumphant • We met an elf on the way down. "Griane." Goto sent him, so I am immediately wary. Why he insists on traveling with us is unclear, but it is useful to have an extra set of eyes, I will admit. Still, trust will have to be earned, and I don't believe I will grant it until he explains his purpose here. • We took the ferry back to Primont • Rahnce did something odd to Griane. It is an innocent request. "Ill watch your back, you watch mine." But still, the look in his eyes when he shook Griane's hand. The history with devils. I do trust Rahnce, but... I do not trust what clings to him. • We were given a scroll, three vials of holy water, and a case of enchanted crossbow bolts • Additionally, I was given... a card, when I asked about further help in my quest, regarding my goddess. I do not know what it does, of course, but it bears the cup which washed upon the shore.

Entry Twelve: Arrival at Primont

• We arrived at Primont today • Mostly farmlands, with a church raised above it all • Met Marshal Exsomnus Malleus • States they are trying to bring the gods back. Is this why that chalice washed up under the moon? Is She guiding me? • We are tasked with removing a "Kipine" that is controlling their griffons • We found a monastery of sorts, and another pale oni. "Goto" • Informed us of Haka's curse. She will lose her sanity, become corrupt, and then die. Unless she is completely isolated. • We won't be letting that happen. She is our friend. We will find a solution to this, one way or another. We are working with divinity, that must yield a cure if nothing else will. • I asked about Zelox. It is not a name of Igari, though I assumed as much. Fiendish? Demonic? • Where we are headed, the planes are... thin • We are given a climbers kit. I do not trust Goto, but still I can appreciate the help he provided. • We found an oni out on the mountain, dead. Only later do I wonder why they were there. Were they isolating, running from that curse? Were they running from the monastery itself? • Then I almost died • Thank the gods Haka gave me that kit, it's the only thing that saved me. That and also her damned birds. I preferred the badger she summoned to being tossed around like your common python • Found a place to rest for the night • Guarded by a "Galeb Duhr" • An undead dwarf was present there. Just the skeleton, having attempted to commit suicide but... failing. What a cruel curse. Could Zelox have been preserved by a similar force? Just... preserved, endless and alone. He may be a maggot of a creature, but even he does not deserve such suffering.

Entry Eleven: Journey To Primont

I forgot to note this before. Haka's friend, Kurosuko? A pleasant individual. Quite a pretty face — I find myself surrounded by pretty faces as of late. I marked two promises upon my wrist. They stand as bars marked onto my skin in black ink, but only their borders. They will be filled when I complete this promise. One: Regarding Mori. It is difficult to put this into words, but I feel that I should know more about him than I do. It is clear he served a purpose, traveling with us. What that purpose was, and why it was his, these are the things I swear to know. He deserves that much. Two: This feels silly. But, still, the guilt weighs on me. The draconic creature that Rahnce and Haka toted around, that they used to free me from Zelox's prison. I feel I need to at least see what became of it. Someday. We left the city, and are headed towards Primont. Haka and Rahnce have agreed to accompany me, and I feel touched by this gesture. We left Anu, as well. I intended to bring him home, spend the magic that will take me back someday. But it sounds like the city may no longer be a safe place. We leave him with Haru, instead, the florist. She is a kind woman. I hope the gold we gave her will afford her ease and luxury. • Kurosuko secured passage by ferry — the Blue Crane • They handed us a silk package, to be delivered in Wo-Feng • We are thinking this may be where Mori is directing us. Convenient. Additionally, I had done some research regarding the chalice I found. This is what I know, as I travel to Primont • Primont holds the Steel Heart, or Ferrus Cor, or Ferriel • There is something known as the Long Sleep. This refers to the corruption of the land. Haka knows of it. • Ferriel is the first of the storm lords, alongside Hadriel and Iureal • Appeared to Igari through a rift, after the Breaking • Musters the Hallowed Wardens • Tokuga became Primont under his influence. Religious order with crusade rhetoric • Second breaking will occur when corruption sweeps over the land or when the angel can call upon souls of the dead • Literally none of this sounds good • Is this what is happening to my home? How much farther can the world shatter? It is strange, living in a time thought to be after the apocalypse. This is just the world, to me. It is not broken. It just is. I hear of Metztlitona, The Grand Empire of the Eclipse, and how we should long for those days. But this world is not broken to me. Still, I would not wish to see its pieces made smaller.

Entry Ten: The Fall of Stars

• The performance was nice, but I couldn't understand the story • Why do they not use words • We moved as a crowd, to the Twilight Gate • The Empress, Mino Azai, lit three lanterns (Is that its meaning) upon the Dreaming Gate, in the middle of the lake. It summoned great winds, and then a city emerged from the lake • A bridge formed, corporeal spirits joining us • I got... charmed? • I was lost. I admit I did not handle that calmly, but luckily I was able to reunite with my companions • We were attacked immediately after. Unsurprisingly, Rahnce has made deals with devils. Though on that note. He did surprise me, in excising the curse. I expected his stubbornness to win, but it did not, and. Well, I think I may put more faith in him from now on. If that means stabbing a devil through the back, so be it. • It helps that I understand why Rahnce talks to himself • "Vor" — a ghost, apparently attached to him. He is corporeal for now. • "Warm Potions." An odd bird fellow, gave me potions for trinkets. We ended up in that place again. Agisura? But empty, this time. Some invisible creature was present. I was eager to exit this place, filled with odd spirits I could not trust. There was an armored figure on the bridge. Something about "Silver Strings." "Waves clash on the living / Too many run from shade / Northern winds forgiving / Where tigers and horns have laid" I didn't learn until after that it was Mori standing there. Only Rahnce stopped. Regret makes me heavy, tonight. He told us that if we journey to Wo, we need to find a "fang." I wish I'd stayed. I brushed him aside so callously, without a thought for who had donned that armor.

Entry Nine: Hivermourne (The Fortuneteller, The Chalice)

There have been changes in the jungle, back home. I was uncertain what it meant, but now... We went to a soothsayer. I doubted their ability, but Rahnce's reaction... he wept. I have never seen him grieve before. And then they turned to me. "Flames against the creeping green, hunger in the roots. Foreign knowledge he must glean, the servant usurps the queen, a temple of ill-repute, he reaches for the absolute." I am more certain than ever that I am in the right place. But what does this — a servant usurps the queen? My mother has passed. My goddess could not be usurped. I heard her voice. I have not heard it since childhood. And worse, was Siklil's. That gentle rasp. He spoke so softly in life. I remember feeling the hiss in his throat when he spoke, head bent over my shoulder while I sharpened my blades. I miss him so much. I miss so many things. It was a full moon. I left to pay my respects to my goddess, staying up through the night and playing her songs. And I felt watched, through it. And then I saw a steel cup at the edge of the lake, and thousands of bodies dressed in armor, all different people, all different armor. I took the cup. It bore a griffon with its heart exposed and a crown upon its head.

Entry Eight: Hivermourne (The First Dream)

• Masatake took us down to the Black Dog distillery. • Blue oni named Red Nobu • We engaged in a foolish battle. Arrogance could have killed me. Haka was the only reason we escaped with our lives, and I am too ashamed to meet her gaze long enough to thank her for it. • "Lord Kiyowara" took an interest in us. • Haka has a tattoo as well! It does not seem to hold the same depth of meaning, it is a rather silly image. A fox with a fish in its mouth. • Anu says that the tattoo resembles his mother. A kitsune? I learned of some interesting things. She met this Kurosuko in Ieju. Allegedly, a group of blue oni kidnapped the prince during a show. More concerning is the dream I had. We had. All of us, dreaming of brackish water under a dusty gray sky. Dead bodies and sludge floated amid the white clustering of salt. We found a mirror in the wreckage of a boat, painted over black. I looked into it. And then I lost myself. Go west, to Krathus. Hungry, I said. I did not say this. Something stole my tongue. I was used as a puppet, and as I write this I can feel something sitting at the base of my throat and I fear I will choke.

Entry Seven: More of Hivermourne

• "The Emerald" ? Ostentatious building. • There is a magic institution here! I will have to see what they can offer • House Marinth? Those unicorn fellows we saw before • Temple of Miojin? "Of cleansing flame" • Amara — their goddess of marriage, or love perhaps? Three Lanterns again. I keep hearing that. And now there is word of some "Dreaming Gate." No one in this city answers questions. Haka had a nightmare. She woke, and I asked if she would like to walk with me. I understand the difficulty in shaking off night terrors. She says she is cursed: "One century untouched." A curse placed upon her for the fact she is a mixed oni — both red and blue? What a foolish reason to do harm. To suffer for such inane logic, I cannot imagine. • A temple named Shirihara, for pale oni • Took a job at The Emerald • Sold an item for more gold pieces than feel sensible, and quick entry to the college. I have purchased a scroll as well, for that scrying spell. This is exciting, I have never performed such magic before! ~~I wonder now. To have this ability. To scry. If I were to cast on Itzu, would I see something? It is best if he is dead. If he is alive, then he is no longer Itzu. But if he is alive~~

Entry Six: Hivermourne

I skipped a few days of writing this, so this entry holds the course of many days. The city is unlike anything I have ever seen. Farmlands stretch around it, orchards and rice paddies, a lake in the distance. And a city of the likes I've never seen before. The palace stands above the rest, visible from miles away. For people to look upon my home with the same splendor that I felt today, that is what I wish. • Spotted nobility of some form coming into the city. Seal of a unicorn against a bright blue field. • Haka wants to go to the theater. That friend named Kurosuko • The Fall of Stars: some upcoming ritual? • Rahnce is... acting strangely, yet again. A result of our argument, I am certain, but the fact he speaks to empty air cannot be blamed on me. • I found an envelope, with a name. Vlad Russe. We decided to stay in the city for a while, at least until this Fall of Stars. I am not certain why this Kurosuko is so important, but the quest to find this princess is barely mine. I am only aiding them in their own responsibility. I suppose I could leave, at this point. I have my next step. Primont. But, traveling alone is treacherous. I will wait and see. If Rahnce decides to see reason, then he is a valuable ally. And I quite like Haka. She reminds me of Siklil.

Entry Five: Anu

((For some reason I don't have any notes of this session. I am recounting this as best I can)) Things keep getting stranger. We found a child. • Underground settlement • Found a young boy. Grabbed him and ran from a hellhound. • He can change form? Appeared to be kept as a prisoner. Perhaps because of this shapechanging ability. I can see many seeking to abuse such a power. • He does not have a name. I asked if he would like to be called Anu.

Entry Four: The Okami

• There are fucking whales in the sky • I miss home • This was a mistake • Encountered a shrine: dog-statue, called an okami • Sea shells, acorns, food, copper coins left as offerings • Haka is a priestess of Moriko. Forests and lost children. Itzu was practically a child when he was lost, wasn't he? I wonder if this Moriko is keeping him safe. It is doubtful, but perhaps I will pray to a new god tonight. Rahnce is getting out of hand. The knife he stole clearly bears some kind of curse. I wrenched it from his hands and hurled it off a cliff. I do not trust him. He is a burden, he is selfish, he will get us killed with his bullheaded idiocy. The next time he hurtles into danger and gets his throat cut, I will not close his wounds. • Fellow named Kazushiro? Dwarven man, kindly enough. • Spent the night next to an okami. "Taka." This land is very strange. And yet, it is enchanting. • Again, that town. Primont. Zelox told me about it, and I am wary to follow his word but. It would seem I am being called there.

Entry Three: Jigo-Onna Oda

• Traveling again. Found some ruins — odd symbol. (The symbol is drawn, a U with a horizontal line through it) • New traveling companion: Masatake • Encountered his campsite. Rahnce does not understand how to talk to people. Mori left us. I do not understand his purpose. I do not even understand what he is. Dead, I understand that much. He did not eat and did not sleep, and yet traveled with us, fought beside us, cared for us as though he had a beating heart. I trusted him. He felt safe. I will miss that. • Yasumori Date • "Three Lanterns" — I've been hearing this phrase but do not understand it. It is not used literally. • Passed through to a... demiplane? • Tori gate. Dragon-tiger creatures, guardian spirits that could animate. • Whispering followed us. The sound of a crow being strangled. It was deeply unnerving • Lord Jigo-Onna Oda — red oni lord of Agisura • He keeps slaves. And the masks that his... guardsmen don. Rahnce desired one. I am certain it would have claimed him as well, had he been foolish enough to wear such a thing. • That does remind me, Rahnce also took a knife out of Zelox's prison. • I trust Haka, but Rahnce I am not certain. I miss Mori deeply. • Jigo-Onna's daughter is who Rahnce and Haka are looking for. Princess Ishi? • To marry Harukage Ieju • Both missing — the prince vanishing a month prior to the princess? I asked Lord Jigo-Onna for one of his daughter's possessions. Perhaps I can find a mage powerful enough to scry on her, and grant a better direction. He has also granted me a token bearing his symbol. I am not certain how far it will get me, but it is better than nothing.

Entry Two: The Riverboat, Zelox

• Found a riverboat • Full of undead. Disgusting creatures. • Found a gorgeous staff, but it is too heavy for me to wield effectively. I have handed it to Haka in hopes she may find better use for it. • Decided to take shelter in a cave for the night ^ This was a mistake • Met a water elemental! I am rather fond of it. Poor thing only wished to do its job. • Odd statue: four-armed oni, jade crown (necromancy magic on the crown) • Haka took a jade pawn. Abjuration magic was upon it. The statue spoke, of course. Its name is Zelox. • Bastard • Has been here since before the breaking • I am uncertain if that is his natural lifespan or if this cavern preserves it The maggot-eater tricked us. We show him kindness and he makes us suffer for it. I would cut out his rotten tongue and force him to swallow it if I were able. • Trapped me in his chamber Would I have perished there? Worse, would I have remained there, endlessly? Mori offered to take my place. It was foolish. But, still, I am grateful. Some poor creature took my place instead. • Perhaps I should have killed it. Ensured it would not suffer

Entry One

I may have forgotten to record my journey overseas. It has been approximately a month since I departed from Krathus. We have reached Igari, along its northern shore. I have been directed to a place called ~~Evermorn~~ Hivermourne. • Swamp. More murky than home. • Odd lights. I went to investigate them. I believe my companions will return home, now. I know they think this a fool's errand. • Encountered a town. Priest man named Junji Ito. He introduced me to another group. Apparently they are headed in the same direction as I. • Haka. Oni woman. I thought they only came in reds and blues. • Rahnce. Human man. He speaks strangely. • Mori. Human man. Odd fellow, doesn't seem to sleep. I will be traveling with these people at least to our collective destination. After that, I shall see. Journeying alone would be a burdensome task.

To Whom it May Concern

Should anyone be reading this, this is a simply account of my journey and findings since leaving Tecolocali. My name is, or was, Aínn'leás A'oileáin. I am of the city Tecolocali, of the Metztlitonan Empire. I left my home seeking its cure.

Aínn'leás A'oileáin of Metztlitona