Vereshia Nodelmiir
She's' bigger, faster, and stronger too, She's the first member, Of the Expedition crew!
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A New Dawn: The First Step
Day 1, Expedition Journal
Hello again, Meredith the Journal. I write you now from my little corner of the very sad remains of a house, forgotten by time, gods, and the ones who ones called it a dwelling. For the historians who find this it's important to seriously remark, I am on Luyost. The material plane is beneath my feet, and it's sky shining down above me. The sun is real, and while the sky remains blue, I have yet to look closely as to whether or not the sky has shifted, perhaps new stars were added in our absence? While this sounds wonderful in and of itself, there are some important topics that require further mental elaboration.
Let us start with my companions for this journey. The brave who volunteered with me for this mission.
In summation there are 5 groups that make up the explorative force. I've spoken with each group, and gotten their measure. I believe it worth noting the destination of each of these groups before getting into the details of my own.
Group 1: Consisted of; Garen Fisher(Tiefling), Tishmal Stonehammer(Dwarf), Fordina Weaver(Orc), Darri Dremmer(Dwarf), Ripple(Water Genasi) - The destination was to the north east, Port Whitecap.
Group 2: Consisted of; Tahana Fluke(Gnome), Bartok Silverjaw(Aasimar), Zilk Trinna(Bugbear), Linny Ironshell(Tortoel), Anri Creek(Halfling) - The destination was to the south west, Sirosa Harbor.
Group 3: Consisted of; Juniper Dornetti(Hobgoblin), Cyprus Dornetti(Hobgoblin),Tash Virko(Kobold),Tei Shien(Human),Girk STallar(Goblin) - The destination was the same as ours, Palessa, only an eastern route.
Group 4: Consisted of; Tael Nymree(Elf), Emilen Nymree(Elf), Caydi Springdream(Minotaur),Moz Khedir(Human),Trata Marsh(Lizardfolk) - The destination was to the northwest, to explore the coasts.
Group 5: Consisted of; Vereshia Nodelmiir(Aasimar), Sonechka Yurieva(Human), Jokra(Kobold), Helena A(Minotaur), Arbur(Minotaur) - The destination was to the the north, Palessa.
As a member of group 5, I can speak of only our experiences thus far, however I could see the resolve of the other groups with my own eyes. We got together before heading off to our assigned destination, to explore Luyost, and formed plans of prevention, ways to communicate information with one another, and plans for safekeeping the knowledge we find. I also instilled within them my own words, not that that meant much i'm sure, but I told my companions I had not prepared it, when in truth I most certainly had. It was an excellent speech too.
To get back on track, I will begin speaking about my experiences with my group, starting with meeting them. You should understand who you travel with, Journal. I will work towards that goal as we all fix our world.
Sonechka Yurieva: We have some previous history, and I find her quite the wonderful friend. To see her openly weep at the sight of the sun, her sun, filled me with such otherworldly joy. None deserve it more, as she has truly prayed for this moment to happen. She is a cleric, devout to none other than Syren & Atora. She is a skilled asset, with invaluable magics, and a good friend to boot. (Just don't get her started on a sermen, trust me.)
Jokra: A kobold with a bit of mystery. While I know little about him, I do know that he possessed quite a bit of arcane knowledge and skill. I believe he will be invaluable to this journey as he has demonstrated a fair amount of wisdom, and knowledge. It will be interesting to get to know him better.
Helena: The stature of this minotaur is truly imposing. At least in terms of physical build, in terms of personage she is actually quite sweet. Very easy to get along with, and brave to boot. Leading every charge for the scouting party, a commendable attitude. No doubt seeing her in battle will be inspiring, and a valuable learning experience. You see, i'm something of a combatant myself, and competitive to boot. Simply put, I look forward to seeing who can crush the most heads between us. (Authors note: I'll win.)
Arbur: Another Minotaur, but a bit more diminutive than their warrior kin, carrying a beautiful instrument, to which the name I cannot conjure at this moment. Still, they have already wielded it once, and brought the entire scouting party together with it. I have a feeling that their knowledge of music, art, and creation will make Luyost as beautiful as it once was. I'm glad we have at least one openly creative mind, it will be an invaluable perspective to have around.
Now, Journal, with my companions in mind let me describe to you the journey to Luyost.
To begin, I will shortly remark on the preamble leading up to the adventure. The scouting parties were gathered before the Temple of Infinite Clarity, given food to our fill(It was so good), and a rousing speech from our commander. It truly was inspiring. With that our souls, and the teleportation pad were ready for us to go.
Leaving for Luyost was a bit uncomfortable. I can only speak for myself, of course, but the teleportation to another plane was a bit disorienting. Perhaps due to my magical inclination I took to it easier than others. Still, it was worth it for the most beautiful view one can imagine. The sight of a world not seen in hundreds of years, a sight I can't wait to show my mother. This was her world after all, she is one of the few who remember it as it was. I will restore it before bringing her here. I cannot inflict anymore heartbreak on that woman, things have been difficult enough for her since father's passing. That was all I could think about, in my moment of arrival. It means the first step in restoring the world, for her, for people like her, for the entire outer planes. Order must be restored.
To put that aside for a moment, though we will revisit it Journal, everyone took a moment to gather their senses. Some wept, some simply laid down feeling the real and living grass beneath their feet, the weight of a real sky above their heads, and the beautiful glorious sun high in the space above the sky. As I stated previously after this, the groups gathered, discussed, and then went our separate ways. Our group was right on track as we made our way, due to some expert navigation and pathfinding by Sonechka, we mapped our path visually with her cartography skills.
For the most part the trip was quiet, we found some activity within the outskirts of the forests, signs of an ecosystem. Markings of a brutal predator, and the corpse of their prey. We know what these are the markings of, however we know not if they've somehow been tainted by the planar corruption. I imagine it would not be a pretty sight. One worth documenting though when we do see it. We also took some samples of living fauna from the land itself, I plan to make a meal with it to study it's properties. I tested it for corruption, and on the surface that holds true. I will check again before consumption. The fauna's name was Livium.
Eventually the journey grew dark, and troubling, and honestly quite alarming. As it had literally grown dark in a manner of minutes, an unnatural shade of night that held it's own air that was thick enough to choke on. Naturally we continued through, hosting all manner of paranoid thoughts, and actions. We kept our guard up until we stumbled upon a light within the dark, this too was a manipulation of it's trickery. As we soon enough figured out we were in the Shadowfell, well a manifestation of the Shadowfell. While the planes expand their influence on the world, they create almost pocket-like dimensions of their likeness. I doubt this is an actual gateway into the Shadowfell, I imagine it could be manipulated into one. Without a doubt, it houses all manner of Shadowfell minions, which we have avoided thus far.
Upon further inspection the light we discovered was in likeness to a campfire, perhaps a tactic to lure in the living that had worked previously? Conjecture at this point. Still, beside it was a rundown old house, it appeared at one point to be used as a hunting lodge, this information comes in the form of Helena, Sonechka, and Jokra, who did most of the inspecting of the house. Erstwhile, Arbur and I investigated the fire. A not as fruitful effort, as all I managed to garner was the school of magic fueling the artificial flame. It was transmutation, which knowing that school could mean all manner of things. Few of which would actually be in our favor, I doubt it was a ward, but one would think a ward would be made of abjuration rather than transmutation. I wanted to investigate it further, but I couldn't risk endangering the mission for my curiosity. I destroyed it then and there for the safety of my companions. Collecting the shards that made up it's remains, they still held the runes for further study.
This place is draining on the soul, I feel exhausted and we truly weren't walking for that long. It cannot have been more than a few hours, though the sky now likely darkens and we cannot even see the stars. I wonder if we should make an effort to weaken the Shadowfell's influence in some way, and how that is even possible. I must discuss this with my compatriots...another time, of course. They all settle in for bed, I imagine I am the only one who could stay up all night and have such discourse. I will let them rest, they all deserve it, coming so far. I'm proud to be walking beside them, truly.
This was a long one, Journal, and my hand is tired. So for now my scrawling for the day will end here.
Vereshia Nodelmiir, First in the door, leading the charges, officially an explorer of Luyost.
We will make this world safe again. We have to.
P.S, somehow if you're divining my journal Succisa, please grant me some guidance on how to cleanse the land of this Shadowfell, and other ailments. If we can only find the method, we can end this madness, and bring peace to Luyost by weakening the influence of the other planes.
Prologue: A Deal With a Devil
Even fewer weeks before the expedition
Hello again, Journal. I'm greeting an inanimate object, that's...probably not a good sign. Should I give you a name? Something dashing like, Ike, Jeffrey, or Meredith. The point is, this is a new entry in my journal. I thought I would not have to collect my thoughts until the journey to the other side, but circumstances have changed. There's a few very troubling topics to work though this time around. I'm not really sure how to go about explaining it, honestly.
Let's begin with the fact that I can find the confidence to go into the material plane, bring back stability to the home my Mother once lived in, and to make the memory of my father proud. I can do all of that with ease, yet I can't find the courage to tell my own siblings that I'm doing it. They deserve to know, and it's not improbable that I could die on this journey. After all no one has been as far as I'll go in some time. I know why, of course. Why I can't tell them. Helfren is the type of big brother that would shoulder all the burdens in the world if he could. The bullheaded fool would jump into a random portal without even considering the dangers, not if it meant saving someone he cared about. Which means if I get in trouble, and he hears about it, he might follow me out. I can't be the reason he gets put in danger. I want him safe, and I want him here. For Mother and for Mialla.
Mialla, most people in her situation would feel envious. Jealous and resentful that their twin sibling awoke as an aasimar and they did not. She doesn't. In fact, she's been my biggest supporter. Of course she also experienced the brunt of this "gift", having been on the receiving end of my lapses in control, and more than one time. Mia has been nothing be helpful to me. Assisting me to research and practice control methods. Growing up we both had to go through a lot because of me. I think that rather than drive us apart, it brought us together. Finding a common goal, and a common interest in this magic. She, being a daughter to the great Fialla Nodelmiir's, took well to magic. Becoming a powerful wizard in her own right, truth be told she could probably be more useful on this journey than I could. Mia is amazing, and I'm really proud of how far she's come. Selfishly though, I think she should stay at the tower. Me telling her would only make her want to come, not because of me. I'm not that egotistical, Journal! She has an adventurers spirit, a curious mind, and the skill to match. She'd be an asset the expedition, but...I don't want her to run into the same danger I am. I want her to be here, incase something goes wrong. To be there for Mother. To carry the Nodelmiir's to new heights. Heights my "chosen"-butt could only dream of. I'll have to tell them both, of course. Soon. I will, but...not -that- soon.
Now let's get into the meat of this entry. The real reason I was driven to write it. Family stuff, I can internalize and process poorly on my own. Don't need journal for that. No, but I do need to document an encounter. I believe I caught the eye of a devil. No surprise there, I am an Aasmiar. I've read about corruption before, and I always thought the ones who fell to it were weak. Yet in that moment, a part of me--a very small part of me wanted to consider that offer. That's how it starts, right? First you consider it, tell them no. No dice. Then they come at you when you are at the lowest point, they offer once more. You can't refuse, but I will. This Devil, who introduced herself to me as Mala, presenting herself as an Orc woman. Dark green skin, long black hair, that seemed to melt with the shadows she was surrounded in, and eyes red as the blood that flows within the veins of mortals. She caught me curious, and lured me to the sublevels of the tower. I resisted her this time, with the help of Succisa. She was...not afraid, no, more irritated by the presence of my Guardian Celestial. Probably would've done the same for most interlopers, of course assuming they were on the same level of power as Succisa. Still, it was an uncomfortable stand off, until Mala backed off. I have a bad feeling this is only the first unwilling meeting I'll have with this entity. I only hope in the future I'll have the strength to say no once again. I must not fall.
Speaking of, Succisa changed their shape again. After leading me out, and being their usual vague self, of course. A gnome this time, I hate when she's a small race. It hurts my neck. Seriously. I wish she'd consider being a minotaur, or like a human with a side shave haircut. That'd be easy to look at, at least. Succisa said I'd have many important things to be done. I wish they'd be more honest with me. I'd like to know the weight that's on my shoulders. It's hard to be serious when everything seems to out of reach to them. Like they almost care. At least I felt that way until the Mala incident. For now, I'll trust Succisa judgement. I have no other choice. I can only do my duty. I'm pretty decent at that. I've been complemented on it before, so I'd say that's good.
Anyway, I'm running out of room on this page, so for now I will conclude here. Main points for future Vereshia are as follows:
-Don't trust strange Devils.
-Don't make deals with Devils, EVER.
-Be more careful with your curiosity in the future. (Don't always trust your gut, it's not always right.)
-Be honest with your siblings and express your concerns with telling them. You've always had an easy time talking with Mia, but Helfren...that won't be as easy. Hard to connect with that guy.
-My item preparations are as finished as they can be. Stop checking. (So much)
-Spend more time with Saleesh. (I'm gonna miss her so much. I wish she could come with me.)
Thanks again Journal, and I hope you like the name Meredith. It's you now.
Cya later,
Vereshia Nodelmiir.
Prologue: Preparations
Days before the expedition.
Dear me, I'm writing this as a hopeful future explorer. My goal with this journal is to document my thoughts, and tribulations during whatever journey may come to pass as I leave the safety of the planar cities for the material.
Assuming I even remember I have this journal on my person to document things, it should prove a useful tool for study as a firsthand account of what's out there.
Now, you might be asking how I feel about this journey. Admittedly, I'm not nervous at all. This is what I should be doing, the power awakened in my blood is proof enough of that. (Besides which, if I have to spend another hundred years causing trouble for the Tower of Infinite Clarity, and the people I care about, I'll go completely crazy.) Confidence flows abound like the power within, which I'm coming to control more and more each day.
That is probably something I should document as a sort of self project. The power within me is still difficult to control, but I am at the point where I can willingly summon it! Dismissing it though is another beast entirely, that one might take a while to get right. Still, it should prove useful in the field, should it not turn on me and my allies entirely. I do not know how it will interact with whatever forces, planar or otherwise, that may influence it in the material world. Still, this is my destiny, so control or not I have to try.
In other news my longsword is as sharpened and polished as it can be. My gear is comfortable and made for movement and durability, it shouldn't shred as soon as I unleash my power at the very least. I am going to try and requisition some potions, my partner Saleesh, has a good rapport with the apothecary in the tower. I will ask her to try and procure me one, since I am no longer welcome in any room with loads of unstable material in glass containers. Not since...the incident about a hundred years past. I was kid, it's not important to note here anyway.
That about wraps up this journal entry. I am as ready as I can be. I will not falter in the face of danger, I will stand tall and make they who guide my path proud.
Vereshia Nodelmiir, First through the door, paving the way back home.
How could it go wrong?
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