Session 39
The Flame of Hope
After their jump, the group quickly descended from the Academy grounds unto the earth, and although not all of them landed as gracefully, they came out relatively unscathed.
They quickly determined that they were somewhere on the road between Diremound and Elderwalk. It was the late afternoon, and the Four Feathers contemplated on whether they should make up camp somewhere or try to reach a settlement before dark. Planning to find wood to make into a carriage so that Cerrule could pull them wild-shaped as a warhorse, they stumbled upon an old dilapidated outlook post. While seemingly desolated at first, Aragir soon noticed a dragonborn man lying with his back somewhat propped up against it. Upon closer inspection, he appeared to be stabbed with a dagger that looked like it had necromatic properties, and was barely holding on to life.
Aragir and Cerrule swiftly stabilised the man, and when he regained consciousness he introduced himself as Undu from Elkenveil. He and his allies had been fighting with some members of the Skullmasters before he got stabbed.
Delbellis and Aragir determined that the wound Undu had was tainted by necromancy, and that he needed help before succumbing to the curse. Knowing they were not likely to make it to either Diremound or Elderwalk in time, they decided to go to a lighthouse nearby and seek to spend the night there.
The owl-like aarakocra that resided there seemed suspicious at first, and had the group register their names on a scroll before he would open the door. As evidenced by the warning on the door, the lighthouse had been attacked by pirates several times and he had to take some precautions.
Inside, the aarakocra quickly tended to Undu’s injuries and then introduced himself as Tisker. Curiously, Delbellis asked him if he was a priest of Solis, and to her surprise he admitted that he was. He also told her that they had their own equivalent of churches in Avalon. The owl was pleased to hear that Delbellis was one of Solis’ followers too, given that there weren’t many of them left. When asked about Solis, he told her that it was a faith passed down through generations, telling them of the everlasting warmth of Solis, champion of the sun.
Delbellis told him about her own beginnings with the religion. Of the amulet and books she found, and her dreams of Solis. The latter grabbed Tisker’s attention in particular.
Cynic seemed interested too, and asked Tisker what the religion was all about. He was later given a book to study.
When he was finished with Undu, Cynic asked if he knew about the Skullmasters. Though he knew a few things, he wanted nothing to do with them. He warned them to not travel at night when going Northward.
Tisker offered them refuge for the night, and added he would be watching the ‘flame of hope’ atop the lighthouse. Intrigued, Delbellis requested that he show it to them. Tisker briefly noticed the amulet that Delbellis was wearing, and decided to take the group upstairs.
When they arrived at the top, they noticed the bright flame that was held there. Around it, a mechanism rotated around it to selectively block the light. From where they stood, they could easily spot landmarks such as the Silver Sea, Elderwalk, Diremound and the White Mountains and to some extent the Eye of Calamity. In the far north, they could also vaguely discern the large towers of Elkenveil.
While Tisker spoke about the hope the flame gave and represented, Delbellis took a closer look at it. It seemed somewhat unnatural, with its white core and surprisingly low temperature. She asked the owl to tell her more about it, and he explained that the flame was lit since the Calamity and hadn’t been extinguished since. Hence, it was called the Eternal Flame. It was his job to safeguard it.
Cerrule asked what kept it burning, and he pointed at its core, adding that it was crafted by their forefathers during the calamity, using materials from the White Mountains. Delbellis mentioned the glow stones, and Tisker agreed that it was a similar material.
As the owl turned to bring the group back to their room, Delbellis quickly used her own glowstone to take a portion of the flame, which was absorbed by it.
With some persuasion, she then managed to convince Tisker to allow her to meditate near the flame, but he seemed more on edge about the question that followed;
When inquired about the Illuminus Lux, he was reluctant to answer. He told her that he did not know of it, and asked her where she had heard of it. She told him about the prophecy, and of Solis’s words. He maintained that he knew nothing, but told them to find Kora in Elderwalk if they wanted to know more.
As the group returned downward, Delbellis stayed with the flame to meditate. A vision soon came to her, and she could feel two hands on her shoulders. When she opened her eyes, she was floating in an open space filled with stars. Before her, she could see an illuminated humanoid shape. It pulled its hands from her, and floated a bit further away.
Delbellis asked the figure about the Illuminus Lux, and the figure reached out to her. From within the aarakocra, a tether sprung and reached beyond the horizon. The figure gracefully danced on the tether, moving further and further away.
Delbellis decided to follow the figure’s moves, and her surroundings soon changed. The light returned, and she could see the sea beneath her. She now seemed to be traveling at high speed, across the Silver Sea. As she traveled, the sun rose behind the illuminated figure before her.
She found Avalon, and quickly passed a large city divided by a river, as well as the several jungles and plains that lay beyond. As she traveled further, she could feel something trying to pull her back, but it seemed powerless against her.
The sun in the distance split, and formed into a tower of light. Something continued to try and pull Delbellis back, but she could not see what it was. As she looked down, she could see that between the mountains there was a stone ring in the earth, at the base of the light pillar.
The force pulling the monk back grew stronger. From the light pillar, she could see a humanoid figure being ejected and thrown to the ground before the pillar disappeared. As cloaked aarakocra approached it, Delbellis could see a glimpse of what it was; Though young, with her blue skin and cloud-like hair, the girl looked awfully familiar.
Like the stone circle, the tether then crumbled, and whatever was pulling at Delbellis finally managed to take her back. At an incredible speed, she flew back and woke from her vision at the lighthouse. She noticed that her amulet was floating shortly before it fell back down against her chest.
What did this vision mean? And what exactly tried to pull her back? It seemed like Delbellis had plenty to think about…