Quick Summary
Solstice and Jerem repair Glitter, Chicory and Arye have a world-altering conversation with Belladonna, and Ellsee and Laetus finally connect. The team builds a hopeful new plan around the wish egg, and Koratana arrives with her own plan. The team learns much, including that that their astral bracelets are more significant than they ever knew.
Session Recap
The team woke on the first day of Hisimé to a city blanketed with blood-snow, and Soltura was uneasy as most people sheltered in place. Rin was able to find Lossëa the night before, and reported that the gathering of the city’s powers and authorities would take place the following morning.
The team discussed possible outcomes of the gathering of the pillars and how to impress the need to save the Avani of the Callidae upon the council. As Chicory and Arye planned to visit Belladonna, Ellsee recalled their prophetic dream in which they caught snippets of conversations, and relayed what they had heard Belladonna say: “Everything I’ve strived for, everything I’ve worked for? You want me to give it up? You don’t even know what it is you hold.” Solstice and Chicory both thought of the humble-seeming but magically potent egg that the team had delivered to Belladonna. Ellsee recalled an unprompted prophetic dream featuring an egg from the night before and encouraged Chicory to ask about it.
As the team split up for the day, Solstice contacted Jerem via palistone and met him at his workshop. After apologetically breaking the news of the existence of The Named Ones, which Jerem took pretty well, Solstice rolled up her sleeves to assist him in repairing the gilded nimblewright. While they worked in harmonious cooperation, Solstice had the idea to replace Glitter’s cracked arcane focus with the Shard of the Ethereal, and with her help Jerem was able to integrate it into her build.
After a full day of work made faster and easier with teamwork, Glitter was successfully repaired, and Jerem had grown quite fond of her and even began to brainstorm wearable protection for her. As they finished up, Jerem complimented Solstice on having “the touch”. Solstice admitted she finds artificing easier when she is working to help her friends, and apologised again for pulling him away from his family. He reassured her that he was happy to help and that he would be around if she needed anything else.
Arye and Chicory made their way to the Lamplighter, then were directed to Belladonna’s opulent penthouse. They found Belladonna uncharacteristically casual in a silk robe. When Chicory explained the gravity of the Atropus situation, Belladonna became frustrated and depressed, and agreed to trade information. They explained their plan had been to create a mirror of Soltura in the Plane of Faerie and situate themself as its ruler, using the egg to do so. Belladonna explained that the egg was the “wish egg” of legend, a seed of divine potential capable of bending reality in the pursuit of creation and positive change.
When Belladonna pointed out that the wish egg couldn’t be used as a weapon against Atropus, Chicory wondered if they could use it anyway; not to destroy Atropus, but to change it, to make it living and no longer a threat. Belladonna was thunderstruck, and Arye worried that using the wish egg to make Atropus live would only empower it; “what if some things are just bad?” Chicory stood by their theory and helped Arye to see that it was the best option, and the Genius of Soltura smiled on the moment and showed her approval through Arye’s kiss to Chicory’s forehead.
With Arye’s help, Chicory made a powerful argument on how the wish egg could save Ambar. Though Belladonna initially resisted, they had to admit that Chicory was right and that they loved this world, bringing that fragment of Ellsee’s prophetic dream to pass, and they were persuaded. When Chicory thanked them and gave the archfey their word that they wouldn’t forget it, Belladonna gave their word that if the team could find a way to reach Atropus, Belladonna would let them use the wish egg. As they parted ways, Belladonna praised the SpellSword partnership and expressed a wish to be able to stick around and see what kind of change they would bring to Soltura.
Meanwhile, Ellse found Laetus attempting his own investigation into the blood-snow. Their personalities quickly clashed and the conversation turned to the topic of what they are to each other as unspoken thoughts and feelings finally bubbled up. Ellsee admitted that she tried to see him only as the means to an end but could not forget that he saved her life, and beseeched him not to ignore her emotions. Laetus admitted that he is overwhelmed all the time and still unlearning his long practice of repression, and that he wants to be useful but doesn’t know what Ellsee wants from him. He asked her to choose who to be to her—brother, Puppeteer, or useful monster.
Ellsee responded that she didn’t want to, and that he should get to choose who he wants to be. Laetus shared his thoughts on the implausibility of how he kept a memory from the Four-in-One, explaining that he did it in order to protect the Poemme siblings because it has always been important to him that they have the freedom he didn’t, even if it put them on opposite sides. Ellsee admitted that they always had empathy for him and that their similarities long troubled her, but expressed a desire to hold onto anything they could in the face of a threat to everything. They settled on the understanding that they can’t stop caring about each other but need more time to determine exactly what that is, and Ellsee expressed her hope that they would both make it through the coming danger. The conversation ended with Ellsee pulling him into a hug.
The team plus Ishanii and Laetus gathered for a conversation to share what they had achieved and learned and to plan for the coming days. They discussed ways to potentially reach Atropus, and when Solstice wondered how to find the other Annullis devices, Glitter charged enough to come back online. She thanked Solstice for repairing her and shared that many of the Named Ones had fallen the night before, and alerted the team that Koratana was outside the shop. The Architect of the Kaliesh’erai came on the scene flanked by the nimblewright that had once thrust Arclightning through Sunny’s chest and her own second magitech body.
Koratana presented her plan: to activate A1 and re-tune A4, and then to hack the Arxtuary Engine and harness its power to create a one-time burst of weaponized energy to destroy Atropus. Ellsee countered with their plan to use “a powerful artefact” to change Atropus’ nature, and Solstice telepathically urged her not to tell Koratana about the wish egg. Solstice suggested that the weaponized energy plan could be the backup to the transformation plan, and Koratana and the team agreed that Yaanril, “The Light”, had to be dealt with to move forward with their plans.
When Ellsee wondered if Yaanril could be reasoned with, Koratana shared her history with the Voices. She also shared her thoughts on Yaanril, who is as old as the Arxtuary Engine and has grieved for thousands of years, and would do anything in her formidable power to keep her oath and maintain the Protocol. Ellsee expressed belief that Yaanril could be persuaded to hope again, and Ishanii volunteered that Yaanril had been kind to her and Basumo and offered to help in the effort. Despite Laetus’ misgivings, the team made plans to seek out Yaanril after the meeting of the Solturan pillars. In planning Ellsee mentioned the astral bracelets, and let Koratana look closely at theirs.
As Koratana looked over the bracelet in wonder she recognized them, and Ellsee explained how she had been gifted the Astral Band by the being called The Protector after sharing her hopes and fears about the Arxtuary Protocol and the future of Ambar. Koratana revealed that the Protocol was a legendarily powerful magical working called a mythal, which had been brought into being by the god Mythrien Sarath and many Ambarian mages working together, and was maintained by the Arxtuary Engine in the Court of Stars. She explained that it could only be powered down safely or permanently by using the lost keys.
Session ended with Solstice correctly guessing that Koratana was about to say that the team held the keys, and Koratana agreeing that the three astral bracelets of The Protector’s Astral Band were the keys to the Arxtuary Engine.