Of life and death Report

General Summary

And so the long-awaited audience with the king and queen has finally arrived! And indeed, the monarchs are the same children that the group rescued so long ago. That they have changed much since that first encounter is undeniable though; what once were two confused and scared children are now confident monarchs. Besides the clear increase of confidence, the children both radiate some otherworldly power that appears closely related to the crowns they wear upon their heads. Curious pieces of jewelry indeed, the crowns are pre-aether artifacts and the royals confirm that these are closely tied to their newfound ability. According to them, the crowns allow them access to the "thoughts".   They are able to shed new light on the working of these thoughts, and how they function. Collected from the spire, the king and queen can apparently transport them out of the tower and bestow them upon their subjects, increasing their mental capacities. But not all thoughts are created equal, or afflicted equal. The queen indicates that some of the thoughts are corrupted somehow, afflicted with what she calls an echo, likely caused by some great magical working. Working together, the king and queen are able to remove the damage done by this echo. But strangely enough, this echo is only present in thoughts that they believe are from around the aether storm but also some of them much newer.   They both indicate that the spire is the source of the thoughts, but that they have not yet fully explored its reaches. The fellowship is granted access to the spire as repayment of the outstanding debt, now paid in full. The monarchs to issue a warning, that they will not respond favourably to any interference in the operation of the spire itself. While they would regret having to act, the spire is essential to the survival of their people.   The conversation is rudely interrupted by the general of the palid banner charging in and warning his monarchs of an coming attack. Displaying curious abilities; the king and queen are able to somehow take memories from the general that he in turn has taken from officers and soldiers. They are even able to share these with he fellowship, revealing what is going on in the city. Great beasts of hoof and claw have rampaged through the city, tearing through the defences and clearly moving towards the royal island. At the same time, equally impressive insectoid and chitinous creatures are attacking from another direction but with the same destination in mind.