Act III: The Olden Days and the Next Generation
Scene v: The Grandmaster's Election
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CW / TW: Addiction Recovery and Relapse
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Present Party: Athena, Nytra, and Sylyeras are now the main adventuring party. Both Venus and Yera also appear in this session.
Setting: The town of Vesnurk and the cities of Delasta and Jarna in Saspar.
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| Map of Iparnord, the Northern Continent The party is currently in the east-most kingdom: Saspar |
Yera and Athena, having successfully smuggled the staff across the border, helped them get settled into new lives, either here or across country lines. Finn also assisted in this endeavor monetarily where he could.
Jack
Human, age 21
Baker's Apprentice
(Art made using Artbreeder)
- Yera also decided that she wanted some time away from home, time to really be an adult. She asked Jack if he would be willing to get a small house or apartment with her. She would return to Aldea, get Elle, and come live in Vesnurk for a while. It wasn't like she'd be alone with no one to help her with her baby either. Venus and her whole family were around. Venus's mother and brothers had even offered to get her some work at their winery. They could always use the extra hands during harvest time.
- Vanan and his sisters, Laurel and Moira, as well as the elderly tiefling woman, Silence, all opted to sail to Aldea. Silence was interested in joining Athena's faith. According to Yera, Vanan and his sisters would also have a lot of support there.
- Sora, Paprax, and Balthazar had a couple friends in Saspar that they went off by themselves to go and see. They would be able to help them get settled.
- Vonbek the dwarf and Caira the elf opted to go to Midtia, where they could get in touch and potentially work for Confidence at his estate.
Before everyone left, Yera and Venus organized a party at the winery in the form of a large picnic. During this party, Athena took note of something strange. Throughout the party, she'd seen the man she'd overheard to be the owner of the winery: Venus's oldest brother, Bacchus. For a man who owned a winery, she found it very odd that he didn't drink.
Out of curiosity, she approached him about it.
~~ CW BEGINS ~~
When Athena asked why he wasn't drinking, Bacchus admitted that he'd almost died once. Since then, he hadn't had a sip of alcohol.
"How long ago was that?"
He smiled at her. "We just celebrated 15 years sober. My family threw a little party and everything."
"How did you do it?" she asked.
Bacchus explained how he'd found other things to do, eat, or drink whenever he wanted wine or alcohol. There were mixtures and potions that tasted vaguely like wine, but had no alcohol. He also confessed that peppermint candies had been a help to him too. He also relied a lot on the people he loved - his mother, brother, and sister - to keep him sane and together.
Athena, leaving her daughter Odette with Yera and Silence, decided to go for a walk. Without even realizing, she'd ended up back at the tavern they were staying at. She ordered a glass of wine... but she didn't drink it. She only looked.
Silence came back before the others, and ushered Athena upstairs to bed. Athena went, but begrudgingly and when Silence had tried to comfort her or get her to relax, Athena very calmly refused her help. Silence, through the Sending spell, said that she cared about Athena before she left for her own room.
Unsure of how to respond, what to do, and also feeling some kind of anger - at herself, at the world, who knows? - Athena went back down to the bar. She took the glass of wine from the bar, and brought it upstairs.
She drank it, and then she went to bed.
~~ CW ENDS ~~
In the next few days, messages were sent and received by old allies from Finn and Athena to meet in Delasta, Saspar - the nearest port city to Vesnurk. Sylyeras's ship would take Yera, Vanan, Laurel, Moira, and Silence back to Aldea and then Yera back to Saspar.
Within a week, Sylyeras arrived. Nytra, a former traveling companion of the party when Boris had been away before, arrived on the same day on a boat that Finn had chartered for her. When they all met up in Delasta and were introduced, Finn gave them the run-down about Saspar, as well as what they could expect with some recent political developments.
- The country was run by an elected grandmaster. The grandmaster must be an arcane spellcaster, much like how the government in Nytra's home kingdom of Medego worked. The grandmaster was the signature needed to promise Saspar's help against the cults.
- What they really needed from Saspar was their arcane prowess and arcana-tech abilities.
- The current grandmaster is actually a good friend of Finn's... but he just retired and is no longer able to sign documents, even though he is still the current leader of the kingdom until a new grandmaster is elected.
- The party has to find one or a few good candidates and (as Finn would add quietly) it might be beneficial for them to... ensure someone they like is elected.
- Finn added that his friend and former adventuring party member - Simon Cleves - lived and ran a magic school in the capital city of Jarna. He'd know more about the political situation.
With that, the party made their way swiftly to Jarna, taking an airship that acted like public transportation from city to city. They arrived in mere hours, and Finn escorted them to Simon's school: Jarna's Premiere Arcane Academy, otherwise known as "The Premiere."
While Finn met with Simon, Nytra decided to stay behind and wait for him. Meanwhile, Athena, Sylyeras, and Odette went for a walk around the school. It was summer time, so little to no classes were being held. As they walked, the few groups of students they did pass mentioned a couple of things about the upcoming elections, including some things about one "Pharius Veladorn."
Sylyeras actually asked about him to one of the students he heard talking, and she said that he had just finished his graduate program at this school, and he was running for grandmaster. He was also in the building. She and her friend saw him go into the library with his girlfriend.
Athena and Sylyeras tracked him down, hoping to make friends. They found him: a drow with long white hair and purple skin, alongside a familiar tiefling girl. She was familiar in that she shared Venus's same skin tone, hair color, eye color, and horns. Sylyeras recognized her immediately as Venus's younger sister, Minerva (or "Minnie" as she preferred.) Believing at first that they were there for politics, Minnie and Pharius were happy to turn Athena and Sylyeras away, at least for now. However, after it was clarified that they weren't lawyers or lobbyists, they were welcome to stay. Pharius talked a bit about the politics of everything, but when the party told them they were traveling with Celorfin Lihtaur for a political thing, he offered them a chance to meet some other candidates. He knew that several of them were going to a ball a few days from now. Minnie left for a bit to go get their tickets. She and Pharius didn't intend on going.
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| Pharius Veladorn Drow Odette's Father & Candidate for Grandmaster of Saspar (Art by Shinyno on Tumblr) |
- Pharius and Odette had similar skin tones, though hers was a little lighter.
- They laugh in the exact same way, and take the same breaths.
- They both have dimples in the exact same spots.
- Athena recalled a party that she'd been to here in Jarna... about three or four years ago - nearly Odette's age. Pharius said that he'd been to many parties in his time, but stopped around that same time as well, to focus on his studies.
- Athena had always guessed that Odette's father might have been a drow, or perhaps a half-drow. Odette had pointed ears and lavender skin like some drow did.
As Odette, at Athena's request, told Pharius her age, something went off behind his eyes. He realized. He knew.
Minnie returned, and Athena whisked Odette away for a moment. Nytra also caught up with the party, and with some encouragement from Minnie, the two girls scurried off to the workshops to test some new explosives Nytra was working on.
Sylyeras asked Pharius what he was going to do, and he simply replied that he didn't know.
After a moment, Athena returned. Sylyeras offered to take Odette to get ice cream, and Odette was very pleased. They left Athena and Pharius alone.
Athena sighed, "We need to talk."
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ART LINKS:
https://shinyno.tumblr.com/post/168555192674/commission-for-stelera-of-their-dd-oc-cropped
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