Session 44 : At the Shore of Dawn and Dusk Report
General Summary
Last we left off...
Seeking a way back home from Faerie, the Anemonies made their way through the Fey Wilds to the palace of the fey lord known as Arto-maglos, the Bear-King, where the pelt of "Old Honeypaws" that Hyrsam required was held. Convincing the guards of the party's strength and honor in order to gain access to the palace, they made their way through the strangely orderly grounds and in to the palace itself. After looking over trophies of various Wyldfae and monsters supposedly defeated by the king on display, and after talking with some nervous sprites, the party decided to first speak with the representative of the Summer Court, Aurora.Aurora, questioned about the whereabouts of Coral's mother, Phia, sadly explained that Summer had lost her. Her mother had returned some time ago, gravely injured and in need of much rest. She had, on Titania's orders, remained within Faerie, but had used what power she had to attempt to communicate with and keep an eye on Coral for her time there. Shortly before she had meant to return, there was an incursion of shadowfey, fey creatures whose nature has been fundamentally changed by energies of The Withering (Shadowfell) - an occurrance that has become more common lately for fey regardless of court - and she went missing. In an effort to find her, Summer had attempted to contact her sister, Rhetila ("Tila") of the Winter Court, but according to Winter, she had also gone missing. The only remaining contact close enough with Phia to give an idea of where she might be, Aphithea ("Thea"/"Aphi"), her wyldfae sister. However, Aphi has absconded to the Mortal World and avoided all attempts to communicate with her by both Summer and Winter. Aurora suggests that perhaps a familial bond will make her more amenable to speaking and suggested they work with the Summer Court to find out her location and discover what she might know.
Coral also questioned Aurora about how a changeling can become a fey. As a former changeling, Aurora stated that the transformation is gradual, but very possible. According to Aurora, a changeling who binds themselves to a court by pledging to one of the Queens can become a full-fledged fey over time. The transformation is gradual, but begins with binding the changeling's soul to Faerie and slowly losing the ability to lie while they gain traits more akin to their fey parent. After a time, tribute will need to be paid to Titania in order to continue to operate within the Mortal World, as Titania is the channel through which Summer's power is able to reach the fey who live in the Mortal World. To make such a pact, all that needs be done is to call upon the Queen of Summer, an idea that Aurora believes is unwise while under this Bear-King's roof, and pledge to Summer.
Aurora explained their role in this place: they and the representative of Winter, an archfey known as Cait Sidhe, are here of an accord to both gain favor with the king, though he seems to not care to have it, and to investigate them. They are a new lord, now suddenly finding power in Faerie, and his presence is strange and uncomfortable.
Upon leaving Aurora's room, the party decides to meet with Arto-maglos, as they expressed the possibility of working with them at the gates. Arto-Maglos granted them audience briefly. He questioned where they had come from or how they had heard of him, distrusting the reply from the group, but seeming to let it slide for the time. He expressed his distaste for the chaos of Faerie and the chaotic natures of some of the party members and that he was here to bring some long overdue order to it. He expressed a hatred of Hyrsam the Satyr Prince and his own desire to see him gone. When the suggestion of assisting him came up, he gave the party a choice. He would grant them guest-rights within his home for a day. During that day, if they chose to earn his favor, the party would speek with Salama, the leader of the sprites of the Green Court and convince her to cede her station and crown to him. From there, he and the party could continue to work together to further his plans as part of an arragement.
When asked about his ability to send them home, Arto-Maglos stated that with the power of the crown of the Green Court he could do so. However, though he could bend the temporal difference between the Mortal Plane and Faerie to be more beneficial, bending the fabric of time to ensure a precise time would not be within his power. By whatever means the party has entered Faerie, either through the power of another fey or a portal between the realms, only the source of that original portal can return them to their precise time without question. According to the Bear-King, bending the laws of Faerie is difficult and not fool-proof, rarely done at all, and challenging for even the most powerful of archfey. In his own words: "even Titania has her weaknesses..." In short, Hyrsam has the power to reopen the original portal created to the proper time, but any other fey would have difficulty.
Related Reports
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Notes
Cait Sidhe has been acting as a distraction, strictly within the laws of hospitality and the Accords, and was discovered to have been the source of growling that scared the sprites away from the entrance hall.
Leywise is a court scribe who spends most of his time in the bottom levels of the tower on the western side of the palace.
The king's most trusted guards are named Faelin and Faerin.
The throne room of Arto-maglos is a large room with a mirror-like floor, clearly reflecting the room in a much brighter, sunnier and plant-filled state, but the only people reflected back are the guards who stand by the king's throne, and Arto-Maglos, though his face is obscured as though the mirrored surface warps beyond recognition. Arto-Maglos wears a full helm with a faceplate hiding any features just like his guards.
There is another mortal - or at least mortal looking person - within the palace, seen by the party entering the throne room while they were leaving. She wore robes, was missing one arm, wore a pendant with some kind of symbol on it, and carried a rod made of bone.
Trophies were on display in the entry hall:
Leywise is a court scribe who spends most of his time in the bottom levels of the tower on the western side of the palace.
The king's most trusted guards are named Faelin and Faerin.
The throne room of Arto-maglos is a large room with a mirror-like floor, clearly reflecting the room in a much brighter, sunnier and plant-filled state, but the only people reflected back are the guards who stand by the king's throne, and Arto-Maglos, though his face is obscured as though the mirrored surface warps beyond recognition. Arto-Maglos wears a full helm with a faceplate hiding any features just like his guards.
There is another mortal - or at least mortal looking person - within the palace, seen by the party entering the throne room while they were leaving. She wore robes, was missing one arm, wore a pendant with some kind of symbol on it, and carried a rod made of bone.
Trophies were on display in the entry hall:
- A broken greatsword made of ice possibly belonging to the Prince of Frost, a wyldfae lord at the edge of Winter's domain.
- An emaciated green hand with several rings that glows a pale blue like the tower attached to Arto-maglos' palace. Likely belonging to a wyldfae lord known as the Moonlight King, a fey who was driven to madness after he continued to displease Queen Mab and is said to live in a tower that shines with moonlight somewhere within Faerie.
- The skull of a draconic being with twisting horns, and buck teeth surrounded by razor sharp fangs. This is the skull of a jabberwock, a maddening, destructive dragon of Faerie believed only possible to slay through the use of legendary weapons created to combat them.
- A giant stone maul covered in an amber-like shell that radiates warm light. This may be the hammer of the wyldfae lord Mesikammen, "Old Honey Paws", the lord whose pelt Arto-Maglos now wears.
Report Date
19 Jan 2024
Primary Location
Related Characters