Dreams of Rebirth XVI: The Forging of Alleron
Game: Changeling: the Dreaming (Palo Alto)
GM: Matt (ra1330)
Setting: Post-apocalyptic New York
Players/Characters:
Dreams of rebirth:
As we sped away from Harroth's castle, we saw that we were being pursued by two dragons. Riordan, who was riding Amy, turned to face them, and Sivan, always happy to have an adventure, wheeled the car about as well. Amy closed with one of our attackers, while Ursula caused the other to forget what was going on and pause in confusion. Sivan fired a missile from D, but it simply exploded in a shower of poker chips, the victim of the Dreaming's effect on technology. Riordan and Alleron both cast Grandeur, which affected most present. Amy continued to claw at the attacking dragon until it finally fell to the ground, transforming into a dead pooka. Natella, meanwhile, Ensnared a handful of poker chips and flung them at the remaining dragon, which was instantly annihilated by the hail of ceramic discs moving at terminal velocity.
We paused to catch our breath. Sivan and Riordan began to argue about what should be done next, and eventually Sivan angrily teleported Riordan an hour into the future, which caused Amy to became very wroth. Meanwhile Natella, flush with Glamour, began to slip into Bedlam, hallucinating that Amy's scales were turning different colors. Sivan, too, began to hear voices in his head, telling him that Natella was angry with him for Flicker-flashing Riordan, and ran off to find something to make it up to her with. Ursula attempted to stop him, but he soon got too far away. Natella was happily observing the perceived color-shifts of Amy's scales and began to write a treatise about it. Amy and Ursula looked on somewhat helplessly. Riordan eventually reappeared, and was apprised (with some difficulty) of the situation.
Sivan, meanwhile, had gone off to Kureksarra, and used Quicksilver to extract the blood of a hundred soldiers as fast as possible. He then saw that there was a lake nearby, and noted with interest that there was something dangerous within it. Accordingly, he cast Hidden Form upon himself and dove into the lake to see what it was. It turned out to be a hideous tentacled monster. Sivan left the lake and called Natella to get her to bring the others to where he was. Natella wanted him to come back so that she could observe his chromatic variations, too, but saner heads prevailed and we all travelled to where Sivan was.
Once we arrived, Sivan handed Alleron the blood. Alleron told us that he would need to forge the sword here at the edge of the lake, and that the last ingredient he needed was some of the water from the lake. However, he cautioned, the monster that Sivan saw was the guardian of the lake, and would attack us as soon as the water was disturbed. It was for this reason that he had brought a force of trolls along. We said that we would defend him as long as necessary, so Alleron set up his forge and started work. Sivan grabbed a vial of water from the lake and handed it to him. Almost instantly, tentacles and eyestalks broke the surface of the water, and the creature began to attack us. Natella quickly discovered that she could not directly affect it with cantrips, and so devoted her attention to the erection and maintenance of defensive walls. Sivan began by attacking it, but, seeing that the trolls were hard pressed and that our healer was too consumed with Augmen to care about them, turned his attention to saving their lives as necessary, but Flicker-flashing them away from the battle when their wounds became too greivous. Ursula, Amy, and Riordan attacked it more directly, smiting the flailing tentacles and attempting to blind the eyestalks. The battle raged on and on, until finally one of the eyestalks was taken out. Instantly, all of the tentacles disappeared under the water, and a blast of acid arced over Natella's walls towards Alleron, the forge, and the trolls. Amy and Riordan threw themselves in the way, and the acid splashed against Amy's scales, eroding the last of her Oakenshielding and some of her. But it was enough. Alleron finished the forging, and suddenly the walls and the monster disappeared, and we were at another, identical lake, which was calm and serne and beautiful.
Alleron handed the sword to Riordan who reverently drew the blade and held it so that it caught the light. All of a sudden the light flashed, and somehow all the Banality was stripped from our souls. We stood there for a moment in wonder. Then Natella, cured of her Bedlam, treated Amy's wounds, and then stepped over to Riordan, and healed his destroyed eye. Amy set about casting Omen to determine what had happened. Sivan, feeling the call of the free air, went flying and brought Natella with him. They had a long private conversation, then returned to the ground, whereupon Natella gave Sivan a hug and walked over to see what Amy had learned. Amy was having some difficulty explaining, so Ursula read her mind, then wrote it down and passed it to Sivan, who told us an allegorical tale (with accompanying chimera) of walking through the library and finding a book, and opening the book to a page with a picture of us by the lake, and the caption: "Dreams of Rebirth - the Heros."
Riordan then solemnly stood, and said that it was time. Raising the blade to the light once more, he began to call the Names of the Legion.
Addendum:
Chromatic Surface Variations: Effects of the Deep Dreaming Upon the Common Kith
A Concise Informative Essay by Lady Natella ni Eiluned
Children of the Twin Moons, in a recent sojourn to the Dreaming I discovered a most curious phenomenon present among those of the common kith in my retinue. Upon spending a short time - approximately a day, or thereabouts - past the boundaries of the Mistweir, they began to exhibit a fascinating effect. There was accompanying us a young mouse-pookess, who was the first affected. Initially, she became drained of all color. At the time, I theorized that her Changeling nature was causing an adverse reaction with the surrounding Dreamscape. My eshu, however, was unaffected. Shortly thereafter, the pooka's hide shifted several more times, becoming rainbow-hued, translucent, velvety, patterned similar to many famous works of art, etc.. The eshu for the longest time was unaffected, until eventually, upon relinquishing a beautiful jewel, he turned completely ebony. He thereupon left, and unfortunately I was not able to study him further..
I have a number of theories about this peculiar phenomenon, which I would now like to propose.
(Here I ran out of paper. This presumably went on for pages and pages. It was also illustrated. - ed.)
GM: Matt (ra1330)
Setting: Post-apocalyptic New York
Players/Characters:
- Abby (ladypimpernel)/Amaryllis: Pooka spymistress and assassin, who is far more complicated than she seems at first.
- Sarah (kalliplokime)/Lady Natella ni Eiluned: Maverick sidhe sorceress, who is devoted to restoring the honor of her House.
- Mark (electricpaladin)/Baron Riordan ap Gwydion: Unseelie sidhe Baron, who seeks to repair the legendary artifact he bears.
- Brendan (kuruniru)/Sivan: Eshu fixer and ex-Shadow-Courtier, who hides his dark past beneath a happy-go-lucky exterior.
- Aaron (2_ragged_claws)/Ursula: Sluagh childling and anarchist, who inexplicably is a demolitions and firearms expert.
Dreams of rebirth:
As we sped away from Harroth's castle, we saw that we were being pursued by two dragons. Riordan, who was riding Amy, turned to face them, and Sivan, always happy to have an adventure, wheeled the car about as well. Amy closed with one of our attackers, while Ursula caused the other to forget what was going on and pause in confusion. Sivan fired a missile from D, but it simply exploded in a shower of poker chips, the victim of the Dreaming's effect on technology. Riordan and Alleron both cast Grandeur, which affected most present. Amy continued to claw at the attacking dragon until it finally fell to the ground, transforming into a dead pooka. Natella, meanwhile, Ensnared a handful of poker chips and flung them at the remaining dragon, which was instantly annihilated by the hail of ceramic discs moving at terminal velocity.
We paused to catch our breath. Sivan and Riordan began to argue about what should be done next, and eventually Sivan angrily teleported Riordan an hour into the future, which caused Amy to became very wroth. Meanwhile Natella, flush with Glamour, began to slip into Bedlam, hallucinating that Amy's scales were turning different colors. Sivan, too, began to hear voices in his head, telling him that Natella was angry with him for Flicker-flashing Riordan, and ran off to find something to make it up to her with. Ursula attempted to stop him, but he soon got too far away. Natella was happily observing the perceived color-shifts of Amy's scales and began to write a treatise about it. Amy and Ursula looked on somewhat helplessly. Riordan eventually reappeared, and was apprised (with some difficulty) of the situation.
Sivan, meanwhile, had gone off to Kureksarra, and used Quicksilver to extract the blood of a hundred soldiers as fast as possible. He then saw that there was a lake nearby, and noted with interest that there was something dangerous within it. Accordingly, he cast Hidden Form upon himself and dove into the lake to see what it was. It turned out to be a hideous tentacled monster. Sivan left the lake and called Natella to get her to bring the others to where he was. Natella wanted him to come back so that she could observe his chromatic variations, too, but saner heads prevailed and we all travelled to where Sivan was.
Once we arrived, Sivan handed Alleron the blood. Alleron told us that he would need to forge the sword here at the edge of the lake, and that the last ingredient he needed was some of the water from the lake. However, he cautioned, the monster that Sivan saw was the guardian of the lake, and would attack us as soon as the water was disturbed. It was for this reason that he had brought a force of trolls along. We said that we would defend him as long as necessary, so Alleron set up his forge and started work. Sivan grabbed a vial of water from the lake and handed it to him. Almost instantly, tentacles and eyestalks broke the surface of the water, and the creature began to attack us. Natella quickly discovered that she could not directly affect it with cantrips, and so devoted her attention to the erection and maintenance of defensive walls. Sivan began by attacking it, but, seeing that the trolls were hard pressed and that our healer was too consumed with Augmen to care about them, turned his attention to saving their lives as necessary, but Flicker-flashing them away from the battle when their wounds became too greivous. Ursula, Amy, and Riordan attacked it more directly, smiting the flailing tentacles and attempting to blind the eyestalks. The battle raged on and on, until finally one of the eyestalks was taken out. Instantly, all of the tentacles disappeared under the water, and a blast of acid arced over Natella's walls towards Alleron, the forge, and the trolls. Amy and Riordan threw themselves in the way, and the acid splashed against Amy's scales, eroding the last of her Oakenshielding and some of her. But it was enough. Alleron finished the forging, and suddenly the walls and the monster disappeared, and we were at another, identical lake, which was calm and serne and beautiful.
Alleron handed the sword to Riordan who reverently drew the blade and held it so that it caught the light. All of a sudden the light flashed, and somehow all the Banality was stripped from our souls. We stood there for a moment in wonder. Then Natella, cured of her Bedlam, treated Amy's wounds, and then stepped over to Riordan, and healed his destroyed eye. Amy set about casting Omen to determine what had happened. Sivan, feeling the call of the free air, went flying and brought Natella with him. They had a long private conversation, then returned to the ground, whereupon Natella gave Sivan a hug and walked over to see what Amy had learned. Amy was having some difficulty explaining, so Ursula read her mind, then wrote it down and passed it to Sivan, who told us an allegorical tale (with accompanying chimera) of walking through the library and finding a book, and opening the book to a page with a picture of us by the lake, and the caption: "Dreams of Rebirth - the Heros."
Riordan then solemnly stood, and said that it was time. Raising the blade to the light once more, he began to call the Names of the Legion.
Addendum:
Chromatic Surface Variations: Effects of the Deep Dreaming Upon the Common Kith
A Concise Informative Essay by Lady Natella ni Eiluned
Children of the Twin Moons, in a recent sojourn to the Dreaming I discovered a most curious phenomenon present among those of the common kith in my retinue. Upon spending a short time - approximately a day, or thereabouts - past the boundaries of the Mistweir, they began to exhibit a fascinating effect. There was accompanying us a young mouse-pookess, who was the first affected. Initially, she became drained of all color. At the time, I theorized that her Changeling nature was causing an adverse reaction with the surrounding Dreamscape. My eshu, however, was unaffected. Shortly thereafter, the pooka's hide shifted several more times, becoming rainbow-hued, translucent, velvety, patterned similar to many famous works of art, etc.. The eshu for the longest time was unaffected, until eventually, upon relinquishing a beautiful jewel, he turned completely ebony. He thereupon left, and unfortunately I was not able to study him further..
I have a number of theories about this peculiar phenomenon, which I would now like to propose.
(Here I ran out of paper. This presumably went on for pages and pages. It was also illustrated. - ed.)