Records of Lumina

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Dec 2, 2019 12:28:54 GMT 10 Theytrew1, Okahey, and 1 more like this

Quote

Post by Naylor on Dec 2, 2019 12:28:54 GMT 10

Now that my magic has started to return, I feel I should keep some sort of record in case the memories I now have fade away as new ones take their place.

"You may be broken, I may be shattered, but we are still here. Together." - Lumina to Red

Where to begin?

I was born in Highforge. I am loyal to the King… But this isn’t what is vital

I first came to Threshold to work with, and study, artefacts and items of magical power. Potentially one day apprentice under the Master Mage Mortimer… The why isn’t as vital as the when and where

I was there. Back then. So long ago but also so recent. There was a plan. There was a plan! The details escape me, like motes of dust in a light breeze, just out of my reach. I had been tasked to work with some artefacts. Chaos was coming. Palpable, a literal sensation of a force come to destroy what little order that was left. I did my part, preparing and calibrating items of both Gnomish design and of a more traditional magical nature. How the tower could hold so many obscure, possibly useless items was quite possibly a function of the items themselves. Why do I have memories of moments like this and not…

… not of what matters.

There was a plan.

We did our part.

I remember a great flash behind me, brighter than anything I could have imagined. It was blinding even with my back to it, while wearing a helm. And pain. Pain down my back and legs.

It didn’t work. For some, in a way, it did. But for so many it did not. The contradiction is a symptom of what we had done. Importantly, from a certain perspective, what we are still doing.

I regained consciousness a few days ago. The details of that, and of The Inventor, I will recount later. But the things I have seen and felt since my return have led me to believe... or at least investigate the possibility of a theory: when The Plan was enacted, somewhere, some metaphysical spring mechanism in the great Clockwork of Reality was compressed to near breaking point. I posit that it is now returning to form with increasing speed and magnitude. People are being drawn back to Threshold. Unlikely coincidences are chaining one into the next. When the spring returns to its the start point, will things be restored, or will they break even further?

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Dec 7, 2019 9:22:59 GMT 10

Quote

Post by Naylor on Dec 7, 2019 9:22:59 GMT 10

A piece of parchment taken from the collection.

The first person I have met after making it to the Diner was a strange Shadow Elf who called herself a Queen. She took a liking to me and offered me quite a sum of gold to act as her “Flower Girl” and umbrella barer for a day. Having basically no money on me, I thought my pride could take following an eccentric around town for the day. Little did I know that the day would include my death, my resurrection, and The Biggest Bear.

We progressed *the rest of the page has been scrubbed with magic and then with ink. At the bottom in a shaking script is the following note*

So much effort towards order crushed by a few words. Shattered to dust by a few spells. My words meant nothing, my deeds were empty in the face of Chaos. Power is the only thing that brings order. I need that power. I must see if that cursed dress survives, or find some other powerful object to study.

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Dec 9, 2019 17:04:50 GMT 10 Theytrew1 likes this

Quote

Post by Naylor on Dec 9, 2019 17:04:50 GMT 10

Another page, small but good quality paper

There is a sketch of a woman, a warrior, with her hand on her hilt looking off into the distance. There is no colour aside from the quite detailed application of red to the hair. Gnomeish runes for "kindness", and "bonds-through-adversity" have been drawn as to be coming from her mouth.

The eyes hold a haunted look of concern.

In very light handwriting, almost as if the author was nervous committing the word to paper, is the word "Sister".

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Dec 16, 2019 5:06:48 GMT 10

Quote

Post by Naylor on Dec 16, 2019 5:06:48 GMT 10

A snapshot out of time, and an official scroll of application

Lumina sits at a small desk in a rented room in Verge, the hours paid for by the sack of goblin copper she dragged up the hill and traded. Normally the sounds of carousing that permeated the walls would be a massive distraction from any kind of work, but distraction is the point of the exercise. She looks down at the application form she is torturing herself with. The aim of the game is to avoid looking at the question regarding the ability to cast spells of the 4th circle, when the best her current strength can muster is of the 2nd circle. She lifts her eyes from the scroll with a sigh, once again having lost the game.

She looks over to her companion Phoenix. By the Immortals’ will, it would be the easiest thing in the world to fall in love with her. The half-elf in question was currently dabbling with some charcoal sketching and met Lumina’s gaze with a grin. “How many is that now?” Lumina didn’t respond and forced her eyes back to the scroll, eyes not focusing on any words as her cheeks flushed a little. That woman could be a world-class bard, or at the very least a diplomat. She certainly had the musical skill, vocal talent and charisma, wit and wisdom, and even the magic gift in a raw, untrained form. Skin perfectly unblemished, so unlike Lumina's patchwork malady. But she was, as the cliché goes, a lover, not a fighter. While Phoenix was always grateful for some "basics of magic" training (and Lumina happy to give it), it was never something for work hours.

Work hours.

Lumina forced herself to find another section of the scroll to work on. The section “Current adventuring experience” was also a bit on the depressing side, with a line “satisfactory at garbage collection [maybe should I seek a letter of recommendation from the Ranger???]” sarcastically pencilled in. The previously filled sections were not much help either. Yes, she was once an “associate/travelling member” due to her impressive knowledge of magical artefacts, especially those of a bizarre or “Gnomish alternative methods” design. But so much of that knowledge … well it wasn’t gone per se, just misplaced, hopefully? Maybe it would just take a little more magic returning, or perhaps seeing the Master Mage Mortimer, or…

Or perhaps the Black Eagles would declare an end to hostilities and a time of peace and friendship would descend upon the land. She rolled her eyes, but was then hit with an awful shudder at the memory of the “nightmare” (Lumina was still desperately looking for a term that wasn’t “vision”) that drove her to seek this distraction:

A horrible storm. Screams. Battle. A foul frog-like being pursuing one of the Black Eagle’s forces, while another blood-red one burst forth from the body of an unfortunate trooper in a shower of gore and chaos.

Pheonix saw the distress and encroaching panic and put away her drawing. “That’s enough of that for today I reckon”. Lumina unsteadily accepts her hand as she is lead slowly, at her hobbling pace, to the bed.

Wonderful distraction.

Last Edit: Dec 16, 2019 5:07:41 GMT 10 by Naylor

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Dec 29, 2019 15:28:22 GMT 10

Quote

Post by Naylor on Dec 29, 2019 15:28:22 GMT 10

A clean page made from recycled goblin-paper

A slightly comical sketch of a rather spherical looking one-eyed dwarf with a mighty axe, standing atop an absurd pile of monster corpses. There is no mockery in this picture, rather endearment. A rune for "Loyalty" is inscribed in the axe-head, and another for "Insurmountable" can be found in the design of the chest-plate.

The caption reads “The Boulder at the top of a mountain”

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Dec 30, 2019 22:32:22 GMT 10

Quote

Post by Naylor on Dec 30, 2019 22:32:22 GMT 10

Scrawled shakily on the back of a receipt

First visions of Frog-men (Slaadi?) bursting forth from the Black Eagle’s forces, now I’m plagued by dreams of another incursion of Chaos – great gelatinous cubes, metres wide, rising from the well and pond in Verge to wreak havoc and consume. Surely these things will not come to pass. But why is there a similar tinge to when I “remember” a design I’ve never studied?

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Jan 7, 2020 4:56:31 GMT 10

Quote

Post by Naylor on Jan 7, 2020 4:56:31 GMT 10

Fragments of drafts, torn to shreds

…I finally met the current leader of the Arcane Alliance! And he seemed very interested in not just my “Gnomish alternative methods” work, but my knowledge of The Incident and even me as a person. His name is…

… and this was all just being yelled in the street. I tried to council him to agitate for positive, structural change, rather than hurl accusations based on incomplete data. It appears that maybe he has taken it to heart because the public fighting has stopped and now Marshall Nassus has announced Stewardship…

… I do have a solution that may safely provide some closure on this situation. I am aware of a ritual that will work to separate (think in terms of oil and water in a single jar) an invading entity from the host for a few minutes. There are a few advantages of this method over a full exorcism…

… but he is a powerful mage in charge of very powerful assets to the town. If he is under a foreign influence, well I know you know the scope of things that could fall out. Even the finger-pointing and town discord is the very foothold that Chaos desires…

… Is he mad? I don’t know what is worse – a mage of his power who has lost his mind and is acting irrationally, or a foreign hostile force strong enough to wrest the will of a mage that powerful. Probably the latter. I regret a little telling him about my “out of time" condition and some of the things I have been privy to. His excitement towards me …

… No no no no. He came to me. I was sitting with friends and he admitted to being possessed. That he needed my help. That ONLY I could help him. That he was holding on to sanity and control by a thread. I have a plan but I never suspected I’d need to perform the full exorcism. I thought I would have time to speak to the Stewards and maybe the Cassannites. But there isn’t time to prepare AND go searching. Even my beloved Sister…

… I tried. I did my best. I said the words, just as I remembered. The artefact held, it did its job. The creature was exorcised. But the circle was broken. They crossed the circle. The ritual was no longer hidden. No longer bound. They knew. They sent one after Mink and it slew him near instantly. They tried a different tact with the militiaman and IT WORKED. He accepted the thing willingly...

… the echo is coming…

… Have I been played for a fool? The amount of necromantic energy he poured into that focal site, did he plan for this? Or whoever pulls his strings? Did they know I wouldn’t be able to perform it in town, especially under time duress? It was the most logical site for a ritual close to town. That much power, it would have lit up like a beacon to those watching…

… It can’t see me, likely because my condition makes me not quite fully in this timeline. Am I a novelty to this power? Or is it the host’s curiosity perverted and twisted? The overfamiliarity the… yearning it seems to have towards me… it that a ploy to just upset me or something more? I…

… the echo is starting. It is HERE.

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Jan 17, 2020 15:07:40 GMT 10

Quote

Post by Naylor on Jan 17, 2020 15:07:40 GMT 10

A snapshot of Lumina’s private desk in the Alliance Tower

Her adjustable chair has been specially crafted to allow her to sit for extended periods of time comfortably. Above the desk on the wall hangs a tasteful nude portrait sketch of a woman on a bed, knees curled up to her chest, her back to the viewer, looking out at small window to her left. Unlike the rest of the sketch, a great amount of effort has been put into capturing the near hyper-realistic fine details of the woman’s face and emotion: one of serene contentment.

On the left is a pile of books, papers, folders, and blueprints. One of the visible book spines reads “On the concentration of Fire Beetle internal fluids”. The folder on the top reads “Confidential: Mr Sully’s Project Smoko”

Much of the centre rear of the desk is taken up with books and scrolls on a number of topics ranging from laws and statutes, to political history of Threshold and the surrounding lands, to maps tracing obscure language fragments to different parts of the world. Magical lore is spread throughout, and a few small curios and artefacts can be seen here and there.

Lumina seems to have left recently in a hurry, and while spare parchment covers most of the writing space, a drawing (once underneath) has been revealed. Now that it is no longer hidden, an idolised drawing of a beautiful woman in the finest of fashion can be seen; a fan in one hand, and a small smithing hammer in the other. A Gnomish rune for “charisma” is part of the pattern on the fan, while a rune for “expertise” stands out like an enlarged maker’s mark on the hammer.

The right-hand side of the desk seems more chaotic. There may be a system to the seemingly random bits of paper, parchment, and blueprints, but it is not obvious. Most of it seems to be in a shaky or rushed hand, possibly written by one in a distressed emotional state, or perhaps one woken in the middle of the night by a dream that must be transcribed. Many ritual designs can be seen, often including strange languages and runes. The one outlier is a simple page on the top of the pile containing the recipe for chocolate cake.

Last Edit: Jan 17, 2020 15:10:43 GMT 10 by Naylor

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Feb 8, 2020 13:49:15 GMT 10

Quote

Post by Naylor on Feb 8, 2020 13:49:15 GMT 10

Written on a piece of Council letterhead, pasted into a journal

I’ve now reached a point where I was as strong and capable as I’ve ever been. Everything from here on is pushing past my previous limits. I’ve never been in a better place in terms of the friends I’ve gathered here, in terms of those I’m…

… close to.

Despite all the chaos (both small “c” and capital) there is love to be found here. On the same day as some new clue or revelation about a town threatening horror, the people here are able to compartmentalise and still find time to matchmake or gossip. The Unity Feast was a success, and while not the most raucous party (not that it was ever meant to be) it was an avenue for people to start to come out of their shells a bit. There are more gatherings and little events happening from time to time now. People are trading not just weapons and armour, but fashionable goods. Threats to the town are still taken seriously, but people are also taking care of their need to relax and unwind a little. Work with the Council is progressing, and we may even be starting to be in a position to take a front foot stance on a few issues.

So why do I still feel so stuck? Literally frolicking on a beach with friends in polymorphed forms, flying, *running* for the first time in technically decades and then I’m snapped back to the same sticking point – I’m not all here. Time is broken. And I’ve found no leads as yet to make progress on doing anything about it. And even if I *do* find something, it could put myself and others I care about at risk. And it is this risk that strikes me harder than the fear of The Lich, or Julien, or this daemon that has been uncovered that even archmages of old feared.

I know there are no easy answers. And I truly believe I won’t hesitate when the time is right. But I desperately wish for a guiding light through this maze so that I don’t keep finding myself right back where I am now.

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Feb 23, 2020 14:35:25 GMT 10 Theytrew1 and grunner like this

Quote

Post by Naylor on Feb 23, 2020 14:35:25 GMT 10

An entry written on Stiles Brand™ “non-disposable” paper

I went home again. For the first time since the brief visit just after my reawakening.

I felt like a ghost. I have heard the phase “the past is a foreign country” but this seems crueller. Unlike Sasha, to Gnomes and Dwarves 30 years isn’t quite the same magnitude of devastation to miss. People still knew me there. Life went on enough to still be slightly familiar. Even Inventor Stiles vaguely remembered me, which is surprising given that he can never remember that he is, in fact, running a store. I was fortunate enough to have a few moments of King Hilltopper’s time in which I presented myself as the Councillor for Baronial Affairs for Threshold and assured him that I was still a loyal subject. He was kind and respectful and took my situation seriously. But it all feels quite surreal. Unreal. Like a shadow.

Highforge is my home but it can’t be my home. At least not until my work in Threshold is done. My fantasies of stealing Sasha and Niss away to Highforge and living a life together, somehow safe while the world burns… It is beyond naïve to a level I never though myself capable. While protected, Highforge is not somehow immune from possible assault from the Black Eagle’s forces – not by its semi-independent status, nor by its geography. I fear for what may come.

My fear is never ending. I have nightmares of falling, of darkness. Of being stretched too thin over time and space. Of missing what I should have seen, trusting who I shouldn’t. The voices in my head, I hear them loud and clear, telling me to listen. But there is too much. I walked near the old keep on the road to Selenica and I heard the screams, the fear, the futile orders yelled by long dead souls. So many signs telling me to stop what I’m doing. To give up my research and run. But I can’t. The puzzles here (be they people or problems) gnaw at me more than perhaps they would at any sane person.

I need to know. I need to understand. Because if we are to survive what comes I need to know every resource, every capability, even every secret if it comes to it, of every useful person in this town. I need the correct plan.

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Mar 8, 2020 15:40:39 GMT 10 Clown likes this

Quote

Post by Naylor on Mar 8, 2020 15:40:39 GMT 10

Written below the following self-portrait

My dreams are my own once again. Just in time for war. Once again. A different horror, to be sure, but horror none the less. A King, believing he is justified. His priests, proclaiming their strength as self-evident truth that they are on the one true path. Soldiers driven by rhetoric, propaganda, and fear. A mage whose like the world has rarely seen, who has created children of power beyond the comprehension of most mortal men and women. All with eyes this way. They march in such lockstep, without questioning, like a single great axe blow. And what do they face?

They face a people not quite divided, but not united. A people who fear, but who also have confidence based on past victories and comradery. A people full of strength, bravery, and drive, but who all want to decide their own path. In times of peace, the different viewpoints, opinions, and methods are some of the greatest strengths Threshold possesses. In war it becomes more double-edged.

I know my place of privilege. I know that I’m not going to be the one striding into the woods under the cover of night to strike supply lines and terror. I know I’m not going to be the one following an informant down a shadowy path to see to whom he reports. I know I’m not going to be the one on the walls who spots the first Goth to break the tree line.

I’m the one who sits at a table, looking at maps, charts, and records. I’m the one who considers the probability of plans and signs off on others to do or die. I’m the one whose presence on the field is a last resort, something to be avoided. If we win, I’m sure I’ll be praised. If we lose, I’ll likely be one of the last to die, assuming I’m not assassinated somewhere along the line. In any outcome I’ve felt the need to do something to remind myself I’m still here. That even if I fail, perhaps people will be able to see who was once here, just as I do.

//OOC the picture is of the incredibly beautiful Morla Gorrondona

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Apr 13, 2020 20:59:45 GMT 10

Quote

Post by Naylor on Apr 13, 2020 20:59:45 GMT 10

Drawn on paper used for charcoal rubbings

It is a view of Darcy’s Diner as seen from the north-western bench outside the barracks. The view is focused on a spot with an awning, with the outlying parts of the scenery vague and sketchy, almost like as if seen through heavy rain. A comfortable looking wooden chair with green padding has been seated under the awning and a very small human is perched upon the chair, her knees up to her chest and her toes curl over the edge of the seat. Thick dark robes hide her figure, but her face can be seen under a hood, as well as a flash of blonde hair. Despite being in shadow, the faintest hint of freckles can be seen underneath fine makeup that some could consider to be like war-paint. Most striking are the silver eyes that seem to glow and stare into the viewer. An oversized hammer leans against the chair, a Gnomish rune for “tenacity” is inscribed upon its head. On the crown of the chair is a rune from some kind of Ancient Draconic script.

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina May 2, 2020 17:51:05 GMT 10 BoiledMoose likes this

Quote

Post by Naylor on May 2, 2020 17:51:05 GMT 10

Written on fine quality stock paper

Inspiration and insight can come from very surprising places. How to explain? Like most cultures, Gnomes have laws and beliefs that, should a person be missing for a given length of time (especially if said person was in a warzone or disaster), they would be declared legally dead. Mourning and grieving, dividing up of estate… all these normal processes. Where we differ however is what happens when the person turns up alive. The overwhelmingly most common response is that the person undergoes the “Rite of Return”, which boils down to legally proving they are who they claim, and a party. But there is another option. Sometimes the person who returns feels that they are not who they were all that time ago. Such a person may opt to be a “Living Ghost”. They have no family or clan name, no familial relationships. To speak their old clan name is of the greatest taboos. They will often adopt a moniker of their birthplace – for me it was “of Highforge” to replace what was lost. People like me are placed in a strange position of respect but also pity. Some see us only with sadness, like a reminder of something gone. Others see us in a fond light, remembering that death is not always the final end of all things. At the end of the day, “Living Ghosts” are treated apart, no matter how valued.

Being a Gnome in Threshold is strangely similar. Despite being near 100 years old, an Arcanist of the Alliance, and Councillor for Baronial Affairs, I’m constantly referred to as “Miss”. By people who I may have outlived four times over. Especially by men. I don’t doubt that it is intended as a fondness, but I wonder how much of it unintentionally patronising due to my physical malady? Is it more than that though? Do they see my fear, and take me as a child “playing” leader? Is it because my figure is kept well hidden by my battle robes, leading some to think I’m somehow “underdeveloped”? Statistically, my frame and secondary characteristics are on the “larger than average” side and yet, it leads me to wonder – if my figure WAS visible, given size disparity between Gnomes and Humans, would that change opinions, or more firmly cement them? Every day that passes reminds me that I will never fully understand the perspective of the humans in this town, even the ones I love and respect. I know that the way I see things, the way all the memories colour every moment, the cultural differences… I’m stuck being “other”.

But that isn’t always a bad thing. While I wasn’t able to save Sully, I was able to help a number of people – Sasha, Len, Kavar, Jax… even Julien... due to my unique perspective and knowledge. My way of thinking doesn’t HAVE to fully align with any one person all the time. And I am allowed to be angry. I have struggled with this for a long time, dismissing it as self-absorbed vanity. “Why waste time being angry when I could do something constructive?” I tried to think. But after Sasha fell to the elementals I was ready to tear a hole in the planes. And when I watched Sarah, completely drained, discarded, and crushed, curl up into a tiny ball to sleep… I wanted to UNDO that man. I don’t mean kill. I mean reach through time and throttle him as a child. Or force him to age so fast that his few months would be a life sentence. And for the first, I felt the memories of the Time Stop castings. I felt the power touch my fingertips. I stood, in the Tower tunnel, in a moment of clarity fuelled by pain and hurt for those I’ve been unable to help.

I almost gave in. I almost walked into the centre of town, to the focal point, and discharged all my energy into the fracture, screaming with pent up rage, to repair the thing or die trying, so all of this horrid cruelty would stop. But suddenly Niss was there, radiating love and kindness and knowledge. After the events of that evening I fell in love with her all over again. And it made me remember … or realise for the first time, I’m not sure which, that my place here IS TO BE DIFFERENT, and in doing so, make all of us stronger for it.

I’m glad I didn’t recklessly tear time asunder. I’m glad that I have the support that, when I’m ready, I’ll do it right.

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Nov 30, 2020 23:20:40 GMT 10 Laurnath and Troubletcat like this

Quote

Post by Naylor on Nov 30, 2020 23:20:40 GMT 10

Carefully composed on stationary from the Desert Flower Inn

It is so long since I’ve written. I’ve tried so hard to keep busy. To keep multiple lines of projects moving along at once, so I always have something to do. So I don’t have to stop. So I don't have to relive or remember. Tonight I’m staying in the quite decadent Desert Flower, all the way north in Ylaruam of all places. I have two of my girls with me, asleep in each other’s arms. But I cannot sleep. I thought today would be a day like any other presentation of my new wares but it wasn’t.

Today I was awarded the Medal of the Enduring Cog, making me a Knight Civilian of the Order of Perpetual Motion.

An honour I never dreamed of, yet His Majesty and all my friends and associates gathered there seemed to think it was the most logical and unsurprising thing. I still have so much to learn. It is hard to process how wonderful this award is. Kalisa even joked that I could insist she address me by title, as a capital L “Lady”. A Dame. How strange such a change in station is. I wonder what ripples will come from it? I have already been feeling a little more concerned after I solved the riddle of the Manticore’s poison bolts. Thankfully Highforge and Karameikos have been able to build up a stockpile of antidote, so that now only the most out of the way places have to live with the same levels of fear. I am concerned about reprisals. I had hoped that the Eagles would take the opportunity to attempt to consume the Manticores, given their ace has been countered. But strange happenings are taking place in the Territories. A great consolidation appears to be taking place. I dare not push my luck and try to find out more, lest I become even more of a target than I am. The Tower is most safe but places like this… While I know my friends and partners would fight to protect me, should I be running the risk at all? But continuing to stay in the tower…

My lines of inquiry are starting to run thinner than I would like. Even my bloodline experiments. “Woe is me, a victim of my own success”. Dear Len has placed her trust in me and, with great fortitude, has now a pair of pixie wings and a green glow. Like a part-fey, but also something unique. That uniqueness though, may be overly tantalising to the Fey of both houses. And I do worry so about her primary reaction to being confronted by a being of great power is to try to strike up a conversation. With entities like the Fey (or ORB-scions!) even starting a conversation can be seen as a kind of assent to eldritch interactions that are far from friendly. Dear Sasha too, has surprised me in that her bloodline also shows promise for something dormant to be brought forward. I will have to speak to her more on if she is ready to take the risk in seeing it expressed. But she has always wanted to know the truth of her story, so I predict she will say yes.

It does sound almost fantastic, reading over my own words. Even becoming an Archmage (yes, that is also a thing that has happened, by the Immortals), while always a goal of mine, has come and gone. Fanfare provided by my loved ones and friends. But even that is not the end of things. An achievement, but no capstone. All the work with Highforge, all the coin earned and given. To look up upon the Skyship or the lightning storage racks, knowing I helped. That I contributed to the Greater Good… It does fill me with some satisfaction. Pride, even. But there are things that still niggle at me. When I walk through the Dead Man’s Tunnel, I feel strange as I pass the eyes of the Immortals. Especially Garal these days. A strange feeling of being watched, but not passively. I feel … judgement, but not unkindly so. My own psyche, or something else? Also, concerningly, the statue of Khoronus. Less kind are his eyes. His scythe is never a threat, but the weight and importance have strange connection to me every time I pass by. Is this guilt for my part in breaking time? Or is it to do with the things I have done / will do with the Cartographers? Thinking logically, I do acknowledge my guilt, but I don’t feel shame when I look at his statue. More… a pressure, like when a great master sets a riddle for the novices. One that seems impossible at first, even second, glance.

But there IS an answer. I just need to understand what questions are before me before I can fully begin my search for answers.

//At the bottom of the page is a rubbing of Lumina’s medal. The words "Perpetual Motion" are replicated in exacting detail.

Last Edit: Nov 30, 2020 23:43:39 GMT 10 by Naylor

Naylor
Arcane Alliance

Posts: 313

Records of Lumina Apr 26, 2021 13:35:46 GMT 10

Quote

Post by Naylor on Apr 26, 2021 13:35:46 GMT 10

A snapshot in time

Note: not an entry as such, but the components may one day be collected up and stored.

A small side room for reading in the AA tower has been cleared, the contents placed or thrown haphazardly into the corridor, with only a stepladder surviving. The walls and floors have been lined with rolls after rolls of parchment, like some inverse present, with Lumina wrapped alone outside space and time. Complex portal and teleportation theories are scrawled everywhere. They are joined with knowledge of communication magic, wards and barriers, scrying and tracking, magic to penetrate and subvert, rituals to trap and return a soul. Even ideas on how to bend Time. Those who are able to grasp the magical lore presented would see something akin to a debate or argument, all written in the same hand. Proposal, counter-point. Idea, flaw. It is almost like a mandala, with a strange symmetry and flow to it. Even so, there does appear to be some sort central end, though its meaning may be alien to all but Lumina.

A message, repeating in Gnomish and Traladaran in small text flows and interweaves throughout the theories and words and runes of power, again and again. A pleading? A prayer? A compulsive repetition from a damaged mind?

"Why didn't she come with me? I need to bring her home. I must make sense of this."

Post by Naylor on Dec 2, 2019 12:28:54 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Dec 7, 2019 9:22:59 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Dec 9, 2019 17:04:50 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Dec 16, 2019 5:06:48 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Dec 29, 2019 15:28:22 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Dec 30, 2019 22:32:22 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Jan 7, 2020 4:56:31 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Jan 17, 2020 15:07:40 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Feb 8, 2020 13:49:15 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Feb 23, 2020 14:35:25 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Mar 8, 2020 15:40:39 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Apr 13, 2020 20:59:45 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on May 2, 2020 17:51:05 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Nov 30, 2020 23:20:40 GMT 10

Post by Naylor on Apr 26, 2021 13:35:46 GMT 10

Discord