Echoes of Power, Part X: Sea and Soul
As the Curator toiled to some unknown end, secluded from all of Sapience, the realm continued to suffer the consequences of his hubris.
Released by some unknown means, the souls of some of his exhibit subjects began breaking away from their mortal shells. Tormented as a majority, the spirits wandered Sapience as geists and confused spirits, for the most resentful of other mortals who yet still walk free from Morvaethe’s machinations. At first, adventurers did not even recognise the turmoil, leaving naught but the wind to hear the cries of these lost souls. These hauntings grew so frequent as to be commonplace over the coming weeks, giving rise to concerns and plots regarding these new byproducts of Morvaethe’s horrific ‘preservation’.
Among the first of such soul sightings to be found upon a broader scale was that of a pair of Menedu spirits wandering the Ayhesa cliffs, the shouting from Spellshapers drawing those curious to spectate these entities and those intent on culling them from existence. Calling out to the living, these ghostly raiders demanded to know where their homes had gone, for their domiciles were built into geography just the same as they had found here, just a stone’s throw from Tasur’ke and the oceans beyond. Even as some adventurers cast these spirits to death anew, it wouldn’t be long before they emerged once more some paces away. This repetitious process led nowhere but to confusion and a brief dustup betwixt nations vying for what information could be gleaned from the distraught, hopeless souls.
Then, in the opening days of Dharos, an oily fog crept across the Soul Mirror’s surface. A large, ever-growing throng of souls began gathering before it, and distorted imagery soon played out behind the gloomy film that now covered it. Adventurers intimately linked with the Mirror’s purpose realised a change in its sensations, adding to the alarm already rippling throughout the Underking’s following and even those adjacent to His teachings. Observant adventurers noticed, too, that the crowd possessed the souls of all races in the Curator’s captivity aside from the Seyda. Theories raced across the realm like wildfire as every city-state learned of this new development, prompting some to wonder how they might turn such a thing to new, beneficial ends. The Sanguine Fist swiftly attempted to capture one of the souls, intent upon studying or utilising it, and rumours of a lone Pixie soul taken into their possession soon spread throughout the realm in the days following the beginning of this spectral phenomenon.
Later that next week, another spectral disturbance drew Sapience’s attention – this time to the Liruma, where a growing gathering of Seydan spirits stood vigil before the abandoned Temple of Renewal. Silent and patient, the spectral silhouettes awaited something unknown, and their mere presence brought sorrow to the few remaining within the Pleianes Complex. Though the Heartwood were the first to respond, representatives of all other city-states passed through to investigate the quiet spectacle. Those protective of Lleis’ sacred ground violently ejected at least one adventurer deemed unworthy of accessing the temple and warned the realm to show respect, escalating interstate tensions during an already tumultuous time.
The Hammer of Dawn set off on a naval expedition as spring calmed the oceans, intent upon recovering the Dawn’s Promise. Fourteen of the city’s adventurers joined Captain Keldyr, Lint the Praexi, and Grain the Kelki aboard the Dawnbreaker and swiftly divided themselves along the ship to help man the helm and crow’s nest, adjust the sail rigging, and even aid in complex aquamancy and aeromancy to speed the boat along and out of the city’s harbour. Upon the open Beryl, the vessel hastened yet again by their efforts, cutting a clear course up the coast so they could drop anchor off the coast of Mournhold in all haste.
Once more, Ayastia, Eaku, Benedicto, Xavin, Inthirath, Sryaen, Jhura, Eoros, Saidenn, Lysaira, Arabella, Gael, Saiyasit, and Grull split themselves into two teams: divers who would immerse themselves in the dark depths of once-Shastaan, and deckhands who would remain on the ship and haul the divers back up, as well as protect the Dawnbreaker from any threats that could arrive. Organised and thoroughly prepared, half the ship’s crew dived underwater with the help of protective shielding magic and set about unearthing the landmark from the seafloor – an act that attracted parasitic thrimspawn bound to waterlogged corpses and spare bits of nightmarish flesh. Beset by ravenous hordes of brine-rotten raiders and parasitic spawn, the diving team fought for their lives with effulgent prayers and pyromancy so sanctified as to be unquenchable.
Meanwhile, the deckhands were assailed by a similar threat: gigantic masses of lost appendages woven together by more parasitic thrim, creating flailing tentacles that slammed against the ship and disrupted the dive team’s work safety. Calling for covering fire from Grain and Lint, the other half of the crew moved from point to point on the deck, battling raiders and marauding tentacles with the aid of the city’s attached witchhunter mages. A hectic high seas battle ensued soon after as Enorian warded off the eldritch threats that emerged from their ruined warrens and shattered coves, allowing those divers who focused on excavation to steadily free the Dawn’s Promise from the sea’s mired clutches. Even as their fellows fell and only four divers remained, the crew triumphed over a final wave of foes and coordinated the final hauling effort to bring the landmark aboard. Exhausted and triumphant, they set sail for home and discussed the following steps to utilise their excavated prize on the voyage.
Unbeknownst to the Dawnbreaker’s crew, an ancient runemaster finally made a breakthrough…
Penned by my hand on Tisday, the 15th of Omeian, in the year 11 AC.
