The Whispering Phantoms

A Fragmented Party

Credit to Heato Hiyori for helping me write this article :)

Overview

The Whispering Phantoms are an Adventuring Party hailing from the outskirts of Val T'loré. It consists of 4 members: Heato Hiyori, Myrin Deadhelm, Serf Rhobard and Chiyo the Tabaxi. Formed after a skirmish between Serf and Chiyo's captors, Serf decided to take the Tabaxi in and raise her as his own. Not long after, with the help of a local Adventurer's Guild, the Whispering Phantoms were born, with Myrin becoming its third member, and Heato its fourth.

History

In the early months of 517 AXR, youthful musician Serf Rhobard was wandering the streets of Bellwich when he stumbled across Chiyo, a distressed Tabaxi slave only 8 years old at the time. She had managed to escape the confines of her captors for a brief period of time but before long, they came looking for her and eventually found her keeled over in a musty alleyway just beyond the town square. Something in the Tabaxi's teary, pleading eyes resonated deeply with Serf, who stood his ground and threatened the captors until they submitted and agreed to free her. Chiyo, who had attempted to escape the town's borders on several occasions with no luck, decided to stick with Serf in search of a better life, and the duo quickly became inseparable. With his help, they left Bellwich a distant memory, moving toward brighter horizons; horizons spilling with hope and destiny. Their destination: Val T'loré, the City of Gold.
Upon arrival, the two joined a local Adventurer's Guild based in outer Val T'loré, where they eventually established their own branching party known as the Whispering Phantoms in Dä'enmís of that same year. The small quests they received during the next few years not only increased the renown of their newfound party but also acted as a learning experience for young Chiyo, whom Serf taught how to throw (and take) a punch. Around this time, as Chiyo was coming into her own, she began to worship Sekura, the Estrialist Goddess of Life - honing her skills as a druid. In 523 AXR, Myrin Deadhelm, an Elven fighter who was part of the same Adventurer's Guild as Chiyo and Serf met the duo as they approached him during an escort mission. They requested to help in the mission in return for a share of the reward, with the bond that was struck between them later resulting in Myrin becoming the third member of the Phantoms.
The following year, naïve fighter yet refined runesmith Heato Hiyori approached the party in a local tavern, consisting, at that point, of a blackout drunk Serf and Myrin. He timidly neared Chiyo and requested that he join the Phantoms, driven by a lust for the funding of his rune craft. Chiyo agreed that the party needed somebody just like him, and with the drunken approval of the other members, Heato became the fourth and final member. For the next 5 years, the Whispering Phantoms became somewhat known throughout the southernmost wards of the city. It wasn't until Heato began having these dark twisted nightmares that disaster struck...

That Fateful Night...

In Heato's nightmare, it was the eve of a big job. Serf and had found this shady aristocrat, Lord Gormon Liajor, who worked directly for Emperor Barontyne and his goons, by supplying insider information on the King of Calanthe and one of two leaders of the Estrialist Rebellion: King Strividn. It's also worth mentioning that the Phantoms and Liajor weren't on the best of terms, considering that the noble had been a pain in the party's side for quite a number of weeks and vice versa, due to strained relationships between that of Estrialism and Mesilism. Yet despite better judgement and the party's wariness of the Empire's questionable morals, the gold reward Gormon offered was too great to refuse.
The plan was to break into this large facility in the centre of the city that supposedly housed documents of Strividn's next move against the Empire and smuggle them outside the city walls, where Imperial Soldiers could then take them to Terren. However, upon breaking into the facility, they were all caught by a suspicious amount of guards: too many to be a coincidence. Then it hit them. The entire thing had been a set-up, orchestrated by that backhanded crook Gormon. They tried fighting off the guards but Gormon had hired a sorcerer to help capture them. Myrin had managed to take the sorcerer's attention long enough for Heato and Chiyo to escape to a tunnel with only a couple guards chasing them. By the time they both lost them, they were back at their local tavern. But when Chiyo went in to check if the coast was clear, she was caught and arrested.
Heato woke up on the day of the mission, quickly voicing his concerns to the rest of the party. But as Myrin had told him time and time again, his dreams were just that ... dreams. Nothing had ever came of them before. What's to say anything would come of this one? Besides, this was a mission on a scale unlike any other the party had ever partook in; the last thing they needed was superstition making them paranoid. But as the day went on, more and more of the nightmare became true until eventually, the Whispering Phantoms were caught breaking into a federal building just as Heato had dreamt. Left the last renegade party member, Heato decided the only safe place left was his home, where he hid for several days before going out in search for his fallen comrades. As for the rest of them, a long and torturous sentence in Terren prisons awaited them..

"Don't let your courage get ahead of your instincts, Serf. Trust your gut. Nightmares are warnings in disguise."

— Heato Hiyori, 525 AXR

Crest of the Whispering Phantoms

c.525 AXR

Members

Heato Hiyori

Heato is a Human boy born in Val T'loré in 506 AXR to parents Kaneda and Aioki Hiyori. Throughout his youth, he had a thrilling compassion for art, which went hand in hand with his father's profession of Rune Carving. By the age of 13, Heato became his father's apprentice and quickly learned the trade of Rune Carving, proving himself to be quite the virtuoso. However as he grew older, he began to yearn for more excitement in his life - an escape from the monotony of the Artisan's Guild. So shortly after his 18th birthday, Heato Hiyori set out in search of adventure. He is now a member of the Masters of the Nine Elements on an odyssey to save his friends.

Myrin Deadhelm

Myrin was born into an Elven family with a rich history of warriors in the village of Windpeak in 404 AXR. He spent his childhood training and learning the legends of his ancestors. His father was killed in combat during an attack of the Empire, leaving Myrin and his now single mother Trisdi to fend for themselves. After maturing, he was seen off by his mother to go and adventure around Calanthe and soon stumbled upon the newfounded Whispering Phantoms.

Serf Rhobard

Serf is a Human born to parents Vincent and Ramona Rhobard in Bellwich in 499 AXR. Realising his musical talent, his parents swiftly placed him into 'Dorybar's College for Bards' where he spent the majority of his childhood with his classmates in its dorms. Due to the looming threat of the Empire, his parents moved far east and when Serf graduated he planned to join them. However, finding Chiyo had changed his plans and so he took her in; planning to visit his parents later. He later formed the Whispering Phantoms with Chiyo and the rest is history.

Chiyo

Chiyo is a young Tabaxi born in a small tribe further east of Bellwich in 509 AXR. During her early life her parents didn't care for her much and by the age of 8 she was sold into slavery so her parents could save their own skins (or fur in this case). Chiyo remained a captive for around two months before she was liberated at the hands of Serf.

Founding Date

9th Dä'enmís 517 AXR

Type

Adventuring Party

Location

Val T'loré