0. Festival of the New Sun

General Summary

The group started out in the town of Briarlake, following whatever winds brought them to this small town on the edge of Lake Galahad. The town, known for its titular named mead, was in high spirits as they awaited the celestial event of the century. The Festival of The New Sun, it was a common festival celebrated in one form or another around the world. Communities would come together for one day and have their fill of food, drink, and good company, all in anticipation of the eruption and subsequent rebirth of the sun. A bizarre and unexplained celestial anomaly that usually comes once every thousand years has been adopted into a meaningful event, signifying rebirth, good fortune, and a chance for new things to come.   Though some brush it off, it has been noted that this particular celestial rebirth came about a hundred years ahead of schedule.   Nonetheless, folk were in good spirits as two mysterious strangers rolled into town for the first and last time.  

  Torrence and Elaine had not known each other long, in fact they had met on the road here. Torrence's wagon had capsized along the way and was found by Elaine, who, full of pity and more experience in forest travel, decided to help him out. The two continued onto Briarlake, finding safety in numbers. They arrived just in time to attend the Festival of the New Sun, where they quickly made a beeline for the tavern to look for useful information (information Torrence wasn't keen to share). Meanwhile, an aging dragonborn was sat alone in The Singing Pilgrim Inn, watching visitors come and making light conversation with drunks as they revolved around the tables. Soaren Apollo's peaceful day was interrupted by a particularly rowdy drunk named Jalan collapsing onto his table, leaving him with the distinct honour of throwing the messy drunk out of the bar. Once outside, Soaren caught wind of a fighting tourney happening in town and couldn't ignore the itch of his sword. The seasoned veteran was easily able to dispatch with another Dragonborn woman, a gruff dwarf with a magnificent beard, and the undefeated Kevin, master of pretty good ravioli.   After a stunning victory against Kevin, he caught up with the Dragonborn woman, a rare sight outside their homeland, and conversed about shared nostalgia. He agreed to meet her for drinks after running a brief errand and set off back towards the cavern with a wistful smile.   Checking back in with Torrence, he caught a trail that led to the mayor's house, which, while bereft of the mayor himself, gave him a glimpse into the dealings of an old enemy with ties to the town. Closer than ever to the answers he wanted, he made his way down to meet the man himself after a brief run-in with his young daughter. Unfortunately, the young man on a mission didn't get long to interrogate the man before everything went black.   As the Dragonborn made his way back to the tavern, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. A feeling he had learned not to ignore. With a brief glance around, his gaze landed on a suspicious-looking man in a heavy cloak heading toward the center. He pushed himself through the rowdy crowd as they laughed and cheered, counting down to the supernova. The man pulled a long staff from his cloak. Soaren tried to grab at him, but the man effortlessly resisted. The unkempt-looking man looked up at Soaren, uttered a quiet phrase, and slammed the staff down. And for Soaren as well, everything was dark.   "Mundi Comedenti"   When the dust settled, Soaren, Torrence, Elaine, and Jalan found themselves miraculously alive in the black, glassy expanse of what was once a bustling trade town. They called out, but found only disturbing ashen piles in response. With little time to even collect their thoughts, they where soon set upon by The Reach Guard, horrified and sorrowful, the guards dragged them away with little fight from the stunned group.   The world's new sun shone brightly off the remains of Briarlake, now nothing but another scar.