Session 8: Our Father's Blade

General Summary

There was a time that there are even those that still recall - a time when it was not uncommon to walk into an enchanted doorway in one city and out of a different doorway in a different city. Though the souls of Anima traveled far and wide exploring its breadth and depth, such doors allowed them to return to one another in an instant, if only the right passageway could be found. There was a time when it was easy to find the hidden passages between worlds and all were welcome to traverse these secret magical backroads. Anima, Mortelle, and Deminatural alike wandered between the walls, sometimes as allies and, as the years spun on, enemies. These doorways began to be sealed off as the dread Revenant revealed his new face: Magner Mallact rose from the ashes of his previous lives carrying 2 lifetimes of knowledge and all of the hate he now bore the sister realms of Anima and sought to make it pay for its real or imagined transgressions against him. Not entirely unlike the Death’s Wives, if not a twisting of the magic which sees them through their solemn duty.

Not long after Magner breathed his last true breath came his trusted student Mordred II, imbued with all that he had learned from the Revenant and his mother - or at least, the creature that was once his mother. Mordred came for Camelot and greater Albion and the world of Mortelle beyond it, and one Mortelle man stood between him and his victory: the good King Arthur Uther Hereward Pendragon. All the souls of all the world know that it is rare to see a just man rise to power, and even rarer still to see him hold it, and thus all the souls of the world know the loss suffered by his death at his son’s hand. As Arthur’s body began to disappear and the blood spilling freely from his side along with it, the High Mages could delay no longer, closing and hiding the doors before ripping themselves out of the world of Albion and greater Mortelle, where no king before had proven a safe neighbor.

Years passed. The doors remained hidden. The old roads disappeared beneath secret and enchantment and the two realms all but forgot each other. Then: a low, slightly melodic creak sounded in the deep, still places of the world and for the first time in two decades, one of the doors swung on its ancient hinges to allow visitors from a neighboring realm. The children of legacy stepped through one by one and the door complained its way closed behind them, shutting Albion away on the other side.

    Our travelers step into the doorway in The Uncanny Valley one moment and the next they are up to the ankle in temperate water in a room full of light. It takes a moment to realize the light is streaming through floor to ceiling stained glass windows depicting the construction of fantastical cities, the eruption of a great volcano, a lone figure standing directly in the eruptions path, tiny and resolute, a grieving woman laid to rest in a casket of glass. Adaleis Lake recognizes the ornate Organican Chapel in the western wing of Caslean Saol. Lady Lake sighs a deep, contented sigh and takes a moment to reflect on the sweet scented air filling her lungs before turning to her friends:

“Welcome to Caslean Saol. You’re going to want to take off your shoes.”

The party is guided down a hallway of floor-to-ceiling stained glass windows depicting the sake image again and again, though its subject changes in each panel: there is always a woman, always a crown, always a lake. The last two panels on either side of the hall remain unfinished, and the Lake twins share a smile before they are interrupted by a booming voice:

"Well, if it isn't the Princesses of House An Locha?" A figure standing easily 9 feet tall, rich brown skin accompanied by glowing green-gold eyes and a substantial stature, hair neatly rolled into dreadlocks dressed with bits of moss and greenery grins and sweeps in to hug the Lake twins, who then identify him as their stepfather: Royal Consort to the Queen, Guardian Atten Ash. He reminds his stepdaughters to change their attire, waits out the sighs and groans and the inevitable change into formal wear befitting their station, and leads the entire party to the Throne room where 5 thrones have been carved from a massive tree built into the very architecture of the room. Though all can see its bottom, the water at the center of the room ripples before a woman emerges from it inch by inch, fully dry and striding confidently atop it to her throne. The Lake twins rush forward to greet their mother, who has been expecting them and is delighted to see them.

Absabeth is escorted in on the arm of Queen Morgana Le Fay of Avalon, smiling and excited to be reunited with her sister. Lady suggests the group adjourn to an anteroom to discuss their findings now that the group is once again united and they are accompanied by Decouverte members Cameo and Aurembiaix. Seated around a large smaragdine table, the group compiles the information they have:

Godiva, whose voice was lost along her mysterious travels (though this does not seem to dampen her everbright spirits in the least), goes first - in a hasty scrawl she explains that in her absence, she managed to ride out to meet the free people of Burgess and longtime friend Barden of Burgess to warn them of the goings-on in Camelot. Ivy goes on to assure those gathered that in preparation for the arrival of the literal army coming to Camelot's aid, Barden and his men have begun setting up a bivouac outside of Camelot's magical barrier - all will be ready by the time they arrive. Spurred on by her sister's excitement, Absabeth can no longer contain her excitement or the news she has learned from their aunt: not only has Excalibur's been location been pinpointed to the Uncanny Valley, its retrieval serves a greater purpose than any of them could have imagined - a woman named Vigore has apparently figured out a way to bring their father back to life, and with the sword in hand the feat is not only possible, it's probable. The frenzy grows as her friends rush to answer her with the news that yes, they know the location of the sword, and it is entirely within their reach - they need only to find a man named Caliban, who is apparently much more than a man and has apparently been holding onto the blade since the day Arthur fell at Lentre-Deux.

There's no time to waste.

Mathilde, shaking off the cobwebs as ever, quickly recalls the location of her cousin Caliban's home in Broceliande. Aurembiaix leads the group outside, cutting through the ankle-deep water at a surprising pace, and upon making their way into the beautiful metropolis of Esse's city center, Aurembiaix offers the group a ride (of sorts): their golden eye and golden hair begin to glow before their slight figure erupts in light, a beam shooting from their chest in the direction Caliban is believed to be - if they take this path, they will travel as fast as light can and save themselves a walk. With a bemused look shared between Grifflynn and Malcolm at the casual nature with which the Animist members of their party accept this mode of transportation, the group steps into the light and as promised, finds itself standing in a beautiful, florid landscape with the sun shining merrily overhead.

Mathilde draws her glaive from her back and raises it high above her head, waving it as though it requires no strength at all, "Oi! Caliban! Hello!"

For a moment there is nothing but the musical tinkling of itsmy moths as they flutter by, the slow babble of the crystal waters of the nearby river Faintree, the wind through the thick, verdant grass underfoot, and then - then. The sun flares suddenly, so bright that all beneath it must shield their eyes from it and in doing so nearly miss the moment the light dims and a glowing, burning figure steps from the center of the sun itself, gradually descending on steps of light. It is not until he reaches the ground that his image settles into that of a handsome young man with olive toned skin and wavy, carefully tousled chestnut brown hair, finally dressed in golds and browns. After a hug for his - long lost? reincarnated? resurrected? - cousin, he patiently turns warm, golden eyes on the Princesses Pendragon.

Absabeth is the first to speak, explaining the dire situation in which their kingdom finds itself and the importance of reviving their father not just to the kingdom, but as his daughters who have gone without him for the better part of their lives. In answer, Caliban smiles and reaches up, sighting the skyline between his fingers as if counting hours of daylight, and reaches out, grabbing the sun from the sky and holding it in the palm of his hand. He enlarges it and though he is still smiling, his tone sobers - he can pull the sun from the sky, but only the rightful heirs of Excalibur can pull the sword from the sun. They must be the ones to reach.

Absabeth and Godiva share a long look before joining hands, a deep and bolstering breath shared between them as all things have always been, and reach into the heart of the handheld star.

The heat is overwhelming, unimaginable, irreconcilable. Searing flames lick at the twin faces as they reach further and further, up to the shoulder in the star's core and burning slowly. Finally, their tangled fingers brush something: the hilt of a sword.

And so, with a great heave of effort, a new legend is born: the twin daughters of King Arthur pull with all their might and stumble back from the heat and the flame, their father's blade clutched victoriously in hand.

Rewards Granted

LORE KEEPER AWARDED:
Real World Experience
+2 XP to party for expanding their horizons and learning more about the realm of Anima.

Don't Be Suspicious, Don't Be Suspicious
Malcolm gains +1 String on Absabeth as her curiosity regarding the matter of his lineage

Hey, Auntie
Morgana gains (and gives) +2 Strings on Absabeth, Godiva, Mathilde, and Eleanor.

Our Father's Blade
Reunited with her twin after several weeks and bearing impossibly good news, Absabeth gives +1 String to Godiva.

Missions/Quests Completed

• Her Father's Blade  Our Father's Blade

Character(s) interacted with

• Aurembiaix An Íochtair Órga 
• King Consort Atten Ash
• Caliban Livide Fuil Na Realtai
• Cameo Adularia Alluvium-Riviere
• Queen Morgana Le Fay of Avalon
• Queen Nimue An Locha Ash of Broceliande

Notes

CONDITIONS ACQUIRED

Absabeth (x):
Adaleis (x)
Godiva (1):
Bewitched, -2 forward
Grifflynn (x):
Lady (x):
Cleared in attempting to comfort Grifflynn
Malcolm (1):
Bewitched, -1 forward


PERSONAL TRACKERS
Grifflynn (The Trickster, Feelings Tracker): 0
Malcolm (The Beast, Feral Tracker): 1