All Is Lost

Cover Artwork by Chris Cold

The vision begins on a mountaintop, surrounded on all sides by a rainbow mist.
Three figures facing one, his back to a cliff that plummets to a depth unknown. His face is hidden, marred as if by a blurring filter, as are the three men and women who oppose him. The first, standing closest to the outcast, is notable by her white robes and crimson hair, and the long, wooden staff in her hand. At her back, a Tien man with sprawling animal tattoos flexes his muscles — judging by his scars, he is a man used to fighting with his fists. Adjacent to him, there is only the Faded, unremarkable in any regard, barely distinguishable from the background.
The red-haired woman takes a step forward, prompting her adversary to tense. The two exchange words, but they are muddied by the same filter that shields their faces, until a shout breaks through the barrier.
???: "What did you do to me?!"

Isra: “Why can’t I go outside?”

???: "I took your shadow. Now he can't hurt you anymore..."

Jestyr: "You like this girl, don’t you Balio? I could teach you how to make her like you back…"

The Tien man clenches his fists, causing his knuckles to pop, but his words are lost. Still, each syllable seems to shake the adversary, as if struck with a hammer, and there is a somber pause before the conversation continues. The adversary's tone is a whine, strained between two sobs, but warped by something dark now, as if someone else is speaking.
???: "Sara, why don't you love me?"

Idryll: "Do you love me?"

Sara: "I don't know you... Not anymore."

Tesin: "No."

The adversary snarls, his face snapping into terrible clarity. We see a sickly young man with black hair, his features borrowed from two different faces, a red infection spread across his forehead and eyes. He looks deranged, fluctuating between regret and cruelty, as a great power begins to build at his fingertips...

Vessel by Adrian Vollbracht

The Tien man moves forward, ready to defend his friends. The Faded watches, as it has always done. Sara releases a sob, as with hand outstretched, Azkhrumdar forms into her hands.
Sara: "Bast..."

Lockette: “I gave you an answer.”

A black wind howls over the top of the mountain, and is stopped by the scarred hands of a savior. Azkhrumdar swings, lightning spreading from its crystalline blade, cutting through air and magic alike, until it buries itself between the adversary's eyes. The man stumbles a step back...
Bast: "...Sara?"

Flay: "...River?"

Bast falls back and over the cliff, and tumbles into the rainbow mist. We follow him, watching as his very essence begins to unravel, falling away from one world and into the next. We watch as two become four, broken in half by their perilous journey. We feel the Seer's arrival, and a voice speaks over the vision, echoing over the howling in the mist.
Sword of Ignorance: "You have been told a lie."

Centurion: “Very well. The deal is made.”
Faded: "They have forgotten us."

The four shapes take form, becoming the crippled body of Rufus Geldenleaf, the wispy form of Maximus Erebus, the dark mask of Jestyr, and the undead form of the Centurion, reaching out for his master's Face.
Sword of Ignorance: "What are facts, when lies become truth?"

Maximus Erebus: “You did this to me."
Faded: "They have forsaken us."

The Jester laughs, twisting creation before it can be made into law, warping a lie into a fundamental truth. The Centurion and Maximus Erebus swap places, bodies now separated from their severed heads, both tainted by their asymmetry. Chaos aligns to these new figures like lodestones, forming up existence around them, and a Petal is born.
Sword of Ignorance: "What can we rely on, when deceit marks our very origin?"

ROOT: “Downloading... Virus Detected. Hard Reboot Intiated. Requesting Admin Interference..."
Faded: "All is lost."

Sara No-Name leaps from the edge of the cliff, falling after Bast, the wind howling at her back. The sky breaks open behind her as the mist parts, the magic in it separating, the Song in it stilled. She reaches out a hand, stretching desperately to reach him, fingertips blocked by a field of aurum energy.
The vision ends...
But the camera reel spins forever and always, catching on the tangled mess of film in its gears, displaying a mess of broken memories and light.