Rumors spread across the realm, a new shard has been discovered

It would seem that a group was sent to visit a new shard that has recently emerged from the mists. This group was sent to explore it on behalf of Duchess Elavir and they return with news, stories, and plans.


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OOG NOTES
If you went to Gileania and would like to start rumors, or maybe a friend was talking and you want to post something here too, please feel free to post on this thread. This is in an effort so that all may see what you're saying, and keep informed about the mystical shard of Gileania and the beautiful Realm of Nydabeth!
 
A novella of sorts is delivered to inns and taverns across the shard. It bares the mark of the Duchess Elavir, an official publication. Compiled and authored by Midnight.

Across the front reads Compiled Notes on the Recent Expidetion to the Realm of Nydabeth, on the Shard of Gileanea.


A host of adventurers gathers at the tavern as the message instructed. Lulgrik the acting Earth Guild Master, an elderly Dwarf, makes his way to the tavern. After fetching a warm mug of cider, he announces that he will be our guide. The adventurers follow him to a cave just beyond town. The going is slow as the Dwarf is very old. We make it to a cave and in this shallow cave towards the back is a three foot tall cylinder of stone with a square grid of nine slots, it stands alone. Lulgrik makes his way to the pillar and dusts it off. Addressing the gathered adventurers with a warm smile the elderly Dwarf thanks everyone for being willing to come and see a small part of his home, Gileania. With this he produces a brown leather bag from his robes and dumps out nine large gemstones, each a different type and cut very specifically. A quick glance at the gems reveals that each of these gems in individually masterfully crafted, such a set is priceless. He explains that these gems, in combination with the beacon, have the potential to call up a location and transport those touching the beacon to that location. However, the stones are consumed in the effort of transporting those touching the beacon to the new location. Everyone gathers around and as Lulgrik places the last gem in place on the grid all those touching the beacon are swept up in a swirl of gem colored mists. The feeling of the world swirling around you overwhelms your senses, but before you know it your feet touch down and you realize that the beacon you are touching is made of a different stone.

With a slight nausea you can tell that you have just been instantaneously transported to a new location. This beacon is the same except it is made of obsidian instead of the grey stone of the cave as the last one was. Looking around the entire room is made of solid obsidian. Your footsteps echo very loudly as you move about. A familiar voice to some, Cendorn, the acting Celestial Gild Mistress stands before you, “Welcome to Nydabehth, on the shard of Gileania.” Her voice echos throughout the large room. Windows all around the chamber reveal blue skies and wispy clouds seemingly near enough to touch. Looking out the windows you see you are very high up.

A tall Human male stands next to a bright smiling Biata woman with yellow feathers.

Her refined dress flows from top to bottom and has a square neckline, which daintily reveals the luxurious dress worn below it. The delicate, buttoned-up fabric of her dress covers her stomach where the continuous flow is broken up by a thin cloth band worn fairly high around her waist. Below the cloth band, the dress opens up to the right and reveals the dress below. The front of the top dress is longer than the bottom dress and curves outwards, the back continues to flow a small length behind her and ends in a broad tip. Her sleeves are quite long and wide, their flow is broken up well above the elbow where they change color and where they're divided by simple, elegant bands, these are the same fabric and color used to outline the bottom of the dress.

His very long-sleeved, velvety jacket covers him to just above his knees and is bound at the bottom left side. The sleeves of his jacket are quite narrow and reach down to just above his wrists, they're decorated with several thread linings at the sleeve ends. The jacket has a round neckline that reveals part of the refined shirt worn below it and is worn with a big cloth belt, which is held together by a small belt buckle. The cloth belt is partially decorative, but mostly a purposeful addition. His pants are simple and quite narrow and reach down to his soft leather shoes. The shoes are made from a fairly rare leather but are otherwise not any different from others.

The tall Human stepping forward, bows politely and says “Welcome Acarthians to The Realm of Nydabeth!” The Biata woman says “Good evening to all of you who traveled here from New Acarthia. My name is Juaquina LaManie – The Grand Majestix Tailor of Velia here in the Realm of Nydabeth.” Her bow is flamboyant with a shimmer of silks. Looking the guests, she gives a slight smile to Gwen.

“Welcomed guests, my name is Lord Brom Magnasson, The Justicar to the District of Portunis at Tieveth. Allow me to welcome you all on behalf of the Most Noble Trine.” With a bow he continues, “We are on the tallest level of our Onyx Spire. It houses the northern Beacon for The Duchy of Tieveth”

Introducing themselves one by one, the Acarthian guests thank their hosts for bringing them here and share their excitement to see the Realm.

“The Realm has been a flutter with the news of visitors,” Juaquina exclaims. Leaning forward with a twinkle in her eye, “You must be rather important, we have seen them sparing no expense,” she says ignoring the glare that will most definitely come from Lord Magnasson for her divulging this information. With an unsettled look and eager to get back to what he was saying, the Lord promptly continues, “You have been received into The Onyx Spire, which continues to be used to protect the Realm from all sides coming through the mists and remains one of the many northern defensive structures, protecting Nydabeth from many waterborne threats. This fortified tower is the primary estate for the second born of the Noblest Royal Triplets, and only sister, Her Highness Eleradia Caderian. The personal guard of Her Highness operates out of the District of Portunis and is known as The Onyx Dawn.”

As you talk, you notice there is a palatable aura in the air surrounding this location. It seems to emanate from the spire itself. It is foreboding and over time makes staying this close increasingly uncomfortable. As the adventurers notice this some are unsettled, while others are intrigued and wish to learn more.

Juaquina turns with a flourish, walking lightly across the floor, she grabs a basket of items, turns and looks around to the back of the group as she says “Sho will take the first basket… however… you must share.” She continues to eye them like an aunt, as if looking for which one is the troublemaker. Gwen and Rob both make for the basket, with slightly different ideas in mind, the look through it with some interest by the other adventures as well.

Brom walks to one of the many windows that line the chamber. Crossing the room, he positions his hands behind his back, then turns and gestures out the window offering its view after pulling back the curtains. Out of this southern window, and far below, there is an absolutely massive series of buildings and towers forming one extraordinary complex. “What you see below is The Royal Academy. The largest formal school in the Realm of Nydabeth. This is the preeminent seat of academia within the realm. Appointment to The Royal Academy is a highly sought-after prize by much of the citizenry and graduating from its hallowed halls is no mere boast as just the mention of such an honor has been known to open doors. It’s wizened and illustrious faculty have claimed much of the brightest minds Nydabeth has produced and its classrooms offer as wide and varied a field of study as any other institution in all our borders.” With a smile, Brom finishes with “We are very proud of it… but we have so much more to show you! Come…!” he exclaims as he moves a few windows over and pulls back another set of curtains. Juaquina explains “We will be going many places! I promise, so much to see here!”

“It is a bit off in the distance, but to the Southwest, you can see right over there.... that is The Ivey Fjord. This very steep and narrow fjord is fed by the Sea of Rowca to the north and is completely covered, on both sides by the thick, lush ivy that this geological oddity derives its name from. This deep waterway separates The Silventis Compact and the western border of the realm. Skybridge spans the approximate line along the southern portion of the Ivey Fjord and is guarded on the eastern edge by Iron Shields,” he says as he motions out a distance maybe a third of the way to the horizon. “Its walls are steep and very dangerous… but it is a beautiful part of our Realm none the less.” Looking into the basket of goods, a dryad by the name of Panax pulls out an ivy circlet. Putting it together he exclaims, “The things in the basket tie back to a part of their home. They are giving us the products of their land!” Smiling widely, Juaquina says, “Every location you will see is within one of our Duchies, all of the items are something specific from that region. This realm is full of beautiful things… we wanted to share them with you to show you what we have to offer and answer what questions we can.”

Continuing Brom explains, “Here directly to the south of the Onyx Spire are the Morinstall Mountains. You can see that the mountains are covered with a rug of trees, green, yellow, scarlet, and orange, but their bare tops are scarfed and beribboned with snow. The snows reached down from the cap in craggy white fingers, no doubt up close there are mighty cracks in the rock deep packed with ice. The mountains lay in a great line like the spine of our land. They remain snowcapped in all seasons.”

Smiling happily, Brom moves to the east side of the chamber “And last, if you can join me here…” Pulling back the final curtain, he reveals a truly remarkable view. “May I present The Bay of Twilight.” The coastline is jagged, fingers of barnacled rock poking out with no discernible pattern. There are inlets where the water lay more still, a white silvery sheen reflecting back the newly bestowed moonlight. As the last vestiges of daylight fail, the rocky outline grows blacker against the orange kissed sky and the water grows darker too. Finally, a boat bobs, tugging against the anchoring chain, black water meeting black land under millions of stars. Juaquina says “Beyond the Bay there are four harbor towns in this Duchy... The Lions Tail river follows past the Sea of Rowca into the Duchy of Hoeveth to the far East. Now.... we would love to travel the entire Duchy with all of you in a carriage, however... we must continue on. The next place is the Duchy of Everglade Vale, we will be traveling with you to this location. We will be going to the Heathyard Spire to the southern portion of the Duchy right next to the Royal Gold Mine."

Bluwolf inquires about the Beacons and where they came from. Cendorn replying before the other two can even open their mouths, using common without her usual stutter "The beacons are a creation of many years of efforts by the Dark Elven and Dwarven nations of these lands. After many years of research and working with the Onyx Dawn, they finalized the creation and has been able to create at least three per Duchy." Everyone is shocked and amazed that they were able to make these wonders of magical engineering. Brom agrees, “The Beacons are a wonder... however it is an extremely expensive way to travel. Reserved for only a few with the means to fuel them."

There is some inquiry as to what The Royal Academy teaches, to this Cendorn continues "I have seen them teach everything from magical culinary arts to the study of elemental life spans." Brom: "The magical culinary arts are a wonder to behold! Their creations are ... simply amazing!"

Brom produces a bag of gems similar to that of what Lulgrik used, asking everyone to touch the beacon he arranges the gems in a specific, yet different pattern. As he places the last stone a swirl of gem colored mists envelop each of the people touching the pillar. With a similar experience you find yourself touching a different stone.

Blinking hard, Brom smiles and says, “Welcome all, to Heathyard Spire in the Duchy of Everglade Vale." A single thick round tower has been built for an ideal defense and easy access to the obvious mines positioned off to the northwest. Tall, wide windows are scattered generously across the walls in an asymmetric pattern. A moderate gate with colossal wooden doors and large crenellations guards the only entrance to the castle built at the edges of a large hill. Brom casually walks to a window as he begins to address those gathered. "Everglade Vale is the bread basket, if you will, of our Realm. We owe her so much...." His voice trails off as he takes in the view out a window. Out the window, there are fields far and near, each one bigger than the other. Apple, Lavender, Wheat, Cinnamon trees farm, sunflowers! it goes on and on for miles... Juaquina makes her way to a table and grabs another basket and holds it out toward the group with a smile. Brom slowly saunters over to another window as the group of adventures look through and much to their delight discover some cinnamon bread. Not just any cinnamon bread, but the best most have ever had. Soft, warm, moist, sticky, and sweet, the cinnamon bread is perfect. Though Elwin has some criticisms as to the flour/sugar ratio, he keeps them to himself as he is a guest.

Brom gestures out the open window to a complex. “Out to the north, you can see one of our culinary schools, the Sulsley Culinary Academy.” Small square towers reach twice the height of the next tallest building in this elegant school in the western part of the Duchy of Everglade Vale and are connected by fairly low, massive walls made of white stone. Small windows are scattered here and there around the walls in fairly symmetrical patterns to allow light and scents to mingle during the daily classes.

Brom continues the tour by approaching another window. "I'm going to trust you, honored guests, with a bit of a secret over here!" He peeks playfully out the curtains before throwing them open. Just out there to the Northwest, you can see one of our gold mines! The Thessapon Shelter Gold Mine." Not too far from the spire is a sprawling mine, it is a bustle of activity with people going in and out carrying tools, large fabric sheets, and carts of ore. Dotting the landscape are multiple-unit housing buildings where the workers seem to live. It is clean, or as clean as a mining town can be, though, along the outskirts, there is a visibility of armed protection. Large men and women who seem to be keeping an eye on the surrounding area.

Turning his attention to the northeast window, "And finally, to the Northeast, not quite as exciting but definitely more beautiful, I present to you The Emerbron River. The river is a sleeping cobra. It lies across the land in smooth seductive curves, beautiful in the morning light, cool and innocuous. Yet it hides a myriad of dangers, its swift undertow being the least of your concerns. It has the largest waterfall in the region. The water is icy even at this time of year since the water comes from the melts as much as from the rain.” Moving back to the center of the chamber, "When you are prepared, I believe we have one more stop to make. The eastern most Duchy of our Realm, Keldeska."

Producing yet another bag of nine large intricately cut priceless gemstones he begins to lay out another configuration of stones. Once everyone is touching the pillar again, he places the final stone, and with the all too familiar rush of gem colored mists you are swept up and find yourself in an entirely different location once again.

Shaking his head, Brom exclaims, "Treasured guests, welcome to Keldeska! We have arrived within the Windkeep Spire in our Stormkeepers Post.” A tall spire has been built within the side of a large hill, it is protected on each side with jagged rocks for an ideal defense, thick walls made of light grey stone. Rounded windows are scattered generously around the walls in seemingly perfect symmetry, along with asymmetric crenellations for archers and artillery. Brom continues "Keldeska is a little less... developed, than our other two duchies, however there is so much to offer here! To the east, you can see Lake Maldoon. Maybe one of the largest lakes I have ever heard of. It supports many settlements along its rocky shores! Lake Maldoon, sometimes called the Lake of Tears, is named for its unique shape which expands outward like a teardrop. It serves as a memory of the noble warriors who fell in battle. The waters are clear and deep and it is a frequent site for memorial services and meditation for those who fight and those who mourn. The waters are uniquely warm as there are vents that heat the rocks, adding to the mystique of the location.” Turning as if she forgot, Juaquina grabs another basket and takes to the group, “I almost forgot!” Brom continues to talk "It is a very popular vacation destination for many in our Realm! Earth formals are unnaturally strong when cast in this part of our realm. Um.... we have a very strong fishing community. What else... OH! There are several varieties of roses that are produced here, as well as various products that our roses allow us to enjoy from their components. Several beauty supplies come from Keldeska as one of our largest and most popular spas are hosted on the southern shores of the lake. We do have several hot springs that we are able to enjoy! If you look again at the lake... you will see an island at its center. THAT is where the hot springs are actually located."

In the basket it seems there is a necklace made of teeth! Juaquina’s eyes widen “Oh... those are deep dweller teeth. It is a rite of passage for many young people to dive to the depth and defeat them, using their teeth as proof of their virility." The group, uncertain what deep dwellers are asks for some clarification. To this Juaquina replies, “Well, they are large fish... with legs. I think that is the best way to describe them." The adventures looking back at the necklace of very large teeth, and large teeth??? Juaquina nods rapidly.

The adventurers inquire, “Are there other countries within this shard, or is it just Nydabeth?” To this Brom explains, "No, sir. We have a few other ... lands, that are nearby. We tend to have positive interactions with most of them." Juaquina, with venom in her words, "Unless you speak of the Slivinits Compact, they are nothing more than theiving, murdering, cut throats who will kill their own mother's for a coin." Finishing she spat on the ground at the mentioning of the Slivinits Compact, she does so purposefully ignoring the upset look on the Lords face she just knows is coming. She continues, "The worst of the worst, the ruler is a dictator that murders his own kin... He even...." She trails off as she gets a look from the Lord, jaw tightens as she gets silent and forces a smile that could kill.

Moving on, Brom crosses the room and allows the adventurers time to look into the basket before revealing the final view of the tour of Nydbeth. "Our final view, if you would all care to join me here?" Brom motions outside "These are our Firevine Fields. The Firevine Fields gain their name from not only the vibrant colors associated with the flowers that bloom on the vine but also the burning pain that can be caused by mishandling them, just as true fire. Rather than barbs or thorns Firevines exude a chemical on their petals that causes a burning sensation when exposed to the skin. This keeps predators from eating them and allows for large swathes of them to bloom in tangles of beautiful waves. There is a simple way to neutralize the chemical as once the flowers are cut the chemical becomes inactive within a day and is then safe to use for decorations."

In the following discourse many things are revealed to both sides, the following is a general summary.

Mistwalking to this shard is currently not possible. The Onyx Dawn keeps a source of magic that keeps the mists from forming within the shard itself. The Onyx Dawn is working to allow some access to the shard but that is not possible yet beyond the Beacons.

Putting pieces together from both sides of the story, together the hosts and the guests were able to cut through some pretense as to why everyone was there. The Most Noble Trine had ordered the construction of entire towns and cities, while temporary structures, they could house a very large number of people. The Trine has also ordered a means of sorting people by profession and skills to be developed. This all seems to be the result of the Trine’s recent visit to Acarthia to meet with Duchess Elavir. In this meeting the Trine offered a safe haven for the people of the shard in their time of need. Duchess Elavir was cautions and showed great concern that things seem too perfect. With fighting a war they will likely not be able to repair the damage done to the shard, when a seemingly perfect solution presents itself. While Elavir was unable to attend the visit herself she sent a contingent of adventures to get a feel for the shard. A miscommunication resulted in this being discussed while in Nydabeth. The reason there is interest in Acarthia from the Trine is because the two shards are floating very close to one another through the mists. This close proximity has caused the elemental essences of the two shard’s respective elemental planes to intermingle. This is causing instability in Gileania as their elementals function differently and are incompatible with those of Acarthia. To solve this, the Onyx Dawn devised a ritual magic to filter the elemental essences back to their respective home planes. In this process the elemental planes of each shard are linked through this “elemental bridge.” A pleasant side effect of this elemental bridge is the ability to create a physical link between the shards. This physical link will last for about one month. During this time the Trine has offered to evacuate the people of Tar’ne’kesis and relocate them to Gileanea. The option is there, but the Duchess Elavir was unable to accept without first doing some research into this new place that no one has ever heard of.



After returning to Acarthia and the tavern, the general thoughts of the people that went are that the shard is perfect, almost too perfect. Discussions are made as to positions on if Nydabeth would be good for the people. General consensus is yes, but we only got to see what they wanted us to see.

Elwin said, “Step one is stop Bramble. Step two is....” He starts making his way to the board to read what the rider had posted “if that cannot be done evacuate our people."

About this time an Acarthian Rider enters and posts a notice on the bulletin board.

The Posting reads:

On this day, the 14th of September, in the year of the Reign of King Andrew Moorefield 420

Whereas an enemy in the field is one a combatant can face eye to eye, it is the sting of betrayal that causes the most grievous wounds. Early in the evening of September 9th, the Royal Vault was pillaged by members of the once honored Order of Lucius. With respect to recent robbery of the royal vaults taken, and actions taken by members of the Order of Lucius, I, Andrew Moorefield, King of Acarthia hereby disband the Order of Lucius.

Henceforth, members of the order are to be returned to their respective lieges. Loyal members in good standing shall retain their title, but the honorific of “Paladin” is hereby abolished. Those members who do not return to report to their lieges within one month are hereby stripped of title.

Duties once seen to by the Order of Lucius shall be reassigned to members of the Vigilant under the High Marshall for purposes of protecting His Majesty, while training of nobility shall fall upon the lieges of those requiring training.

Furthermore, with regard to Jamie Whitehall, Former Seneschal to His Majesty, he is hereby stripped of all title, and divested of all possessions. He is to be remanded to the royal dungeon until his fate may be determined by the High Marshall of the Vigilant as Acting Seneschal.

Recorded this day in Acarthia

King Andrew Moorefield


Upon reading the message, all hope of actually winning the fight is gone. Elwin says that evacuation is priority number one from this point foreword. Specifically, Gwen said, “****.” Elwin said, "Son of a whore. That's...not good." Turns the room "Step 1 just got harder, focus on step two. Whatever needs to be done to build a bridge or sail a damned boat, or stick feathers up the farmer's asses and teach them to fly, get them out of here. If you're not good at that join up with me and we'll bring some ******* rabble to aid Egil. And if you don't have the stomach for either, then run. Go home, or go make a new home."





A bit of the discourse:

Elwin: "We aren't likely to win this. We might be able to destroy Dreadrot, but the damage is done. Its time to face facts..."

Midnight: "The Trine also offered a safe haven for the people of this shard. The Duchess is very uneasy that they just showed up and offered here a too good to be true way out. She has some serious caution toward them, hence the secrecy. A word out of line might tip them off if there are, less than noble motivations involved"

Korric: "Don't think we can destroy the dracolitch causing the shard to physically fall apart though."

Elwin: "When you send people into a situation like that, where you don't trust your hosts, you let your agents know what's up. This sort of secrecy is reckless. Midnight, I don't blame you for following orders, but...my Lord has always said that these secrets have costs. Take his advice, and learn to know when to open your mouth, it'll save you someday."

Bluwolf: "That's ANOTHER flag to address. They butter us up with some badass scenery and super expensive travel and the best cinnamon bread ever to lower our guard and make us think they're all hugs and flowers. Then the people get there and-what? They said they wanted to document professions. They're going to end up assimilating Acarthia."

"Worst way to look at this is a very polite annexation."

Gwen: Glares at Bluwolf over the cinnamon bread

Elwin: "If we have to move there, what option do we have but to join in their culture. Aside from for a group and try to carve out our own section of the world, a New New Acarthia." He gives a slight chuckle "Call ourselves the Scions of Acarthia...."

Bluwolf chuckles

Korric: "Please no."

Panax: "Annexation isn't the issue. If the shard is crumbling, people need a place to go."

Elwin: "I'm angry, but I'm not Scions level of bitter yet. We don't have a better option right now, and if these Nydabethians are looking to harm or enslave my people..." Purple energy wreathes his hand for a moment "We'll teach them what the Vigilant does to slavers." * He turns to Gwen and lets the energy go* "Night love, I'll be along."

Gwen: she bops him Knock it off and calm down. she leaves the tavern

Bluwolf: "I'm not from Acarthia, but I've been coming here for so long that I love you guys and your world. I wish I could do more. The fact your home is slipping away and we can't stop it is ********."

Panax: And though Strayden is less lichy than before, they're still recovering a huge war

Midnight: "I mean, there is plenty of Rumeria, most of it isn't even suspended above the void itself" "And of the floating island, we could definitely use some people, but timing is not great for settlers on the island itself, war and all…"

Elwin: "Yeah it is. Bluwolf, you're always a welcome guest, and no matter where we end up that will remain true. Land is important, houses are important, things can be important, but as long as we can save the people. He shrugs "I can build a better bakery somewhere else, teach those people how to make a proper cinnamon bread..."



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A note, I am a player, this information is strictly what my character found out in his efforts in game. He compared notes with people and created this document. Midnight is working with the Duchess to distribute this document to all corners of the shard so that all may know. Acarthian Riders deliver these to taverns and inns across the entire shard. He makes special care to have them delivered to the Dark Elves and the Dwarfs as well. Lastly he includes a copy to Aetheria, for Neysa.
 
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