Ad Elementis

Real Dates: Started January 2023, ongoing.

In-universe Timeframe: Early winter/late fall 251, current time is early spring 252.

People:

• Eskel
• Pyrrha Kelshanne
• Wan Tian Kuo
• Yonas Akrotiz

Events:

• Late fall 251 AC:
  • Party met at Rampant Gryphon Inn, at Crossroads, a merchant town ~ 5 mi outside of Rauviz City. Hired to guard 3 Mountains, Inc. caravan to Fuar Uulan.
  • Passed through Folsom Village, which had committed murder-suicide in an attempted (although botched) blood magic ritual to "bring things back to normal".
  • Rescued Naimanzuunnadin Tsetseg from kidnappers, recovered a Rune Anvil (the one formerly in Kaelthia), and helped him become Smith Exemplar of the Uulani dwarves.
• Early winter 251 AC:
  • Participated in the Festival of Virtues. Lotsa drinking.
  • Caught rumors of a place called Grimhold, a lost dwarven city, and decided to investigate.
  • On the road, encountered a number of interesting and hostile creatures. Rescued some deep gnomes of the Plane of Coal, servants of the Gnoman.
  • Reached Grimhold, encountered plant/fungus monsters and strange singing.
  • Learned the sad and terrible secret of the clanhold's death.
  • Defeated a Daughter Tree, offspring in despair of the Mother Tree, mother of hags, reclaiming the town.
  • From there, headed south through Harmony, and then west to Guildtown. Discovered military buildup in the Holy Kaelthian Republic but avoided detection.
• Mid and Late Winter 251 AC:
  • At Guildtown, found the city under siege and snuck in.
  • Participated in a raid on Kaelthia, entering the Granite-Flame Academy. Found it to be under siege from celestial forces, with a few survivors holding out in the library. Assisted Katheryn Archmagus (or her spirit, anyway) in restoring the Lost Stacks and evacuating the people. Library now hidden away in a demiplane, out of reach of anyone.
  • Guildtown evacuated.
  • Headed to Crisial City for a concert by Dilligas Husty.
  • Got news of an impending attack by the Horse Clans against Vaeltaa and the eastern edge of Safehold. Went with Crisial Rangers and adventurers to assist. Note: Holy Winter Crusade occurs at this time.
  • Were sent on scouting mission into the Lupaus Plains. Discovered true goal of the invasion--to wipe out the clans in a furious blaze of blood magic so their "god" Vetel could Ascend as a demon prince.
  • Visited several "Taboo" sites along the way, including making friends with a nice pond nymph. Defeated a Green Knight who had been imprisoned by the old Vetel for centuries who wanted to wipe all humanoid life from the plains.
  • With some help from Wylda (incurring a debt), they freed the last Vessel from Vetel's control.
  • Penetrated into the holy city of Pyhin and defeated Vetel herself. Discovered gnomes.
  • Gifted fine horses. Also 3/4 (not Eskel) had liquor-enhanced omen dreams (relevant later).
  • Began overland travel down back to Fort Hope and on to the Blood-thirst Wildlands.
• Early spring 252 AC.
  • Traveled into the wildlands. Encountered harpies, took an egg. Left one alive (that won't come back to bite anyone, certainly not).
  • Traveled via Moonpath into the north-central wildlands. Took on a quest (to pay Wylda's debt) to "fix" other moonpaths.
  • Reached the Place of All Gods, an ancient holy site with many temples.
  • Faced a shadow dragon in the temple of flame, delved into an unholy vampiric/Twisted nest and destroyed some. Were only saved from the influence of Dark of the Moons by influence of stone elementals guarding a shrine to elemental earth. Destroyed that ancient corruptor.
  • Visited the Temple of the Wanderer, learned about the 16-fold Great Cycle (relevant to Wan Tian Kuo).
  • Fled west (to avoid the local forces' anger at destroying their "patron"), encountered the People, a cult-like group of shifters and goblins expanding in the area. Led by Basarab, a darkly-charismatic shifter and brother to Perra, high priestess of the Carmine Path.
  • Cleaned a Moonpath south of Freeport by removing necrite shards from a fey tree.
  • After exiting, the harpy egg hatched into a female fey-aspected harpy chick. Kuo named her Wan Tian Cho. After Wylda's intervention, she was delivered to the keeping of a pair of gnomes native to the Isle of Beasts.
  • From Freeport, headed into Southmount to investigate both the supposed Tomb mentioned in a dream of Yonas's, as well as the increasing earthquakes from one of the Three Crones, the great mountains there.
  • Discovered that the Skydragon, an ancient (like...early 2nd age) dragon who had bonded with the central Crone's spirit, was dying, running the risk of making a real mess of the area if it fell. Encountered kobolds. Nice/cute fellows. Took up a quest to prevent the mountain from crumbling.
  • Entered the Plane of Stone to seek aid (and go shopping).
  • Gained the aid of several stone-aligned entities.
  • With __, they discovered and cleared the Tomb of Korokonolkom, the place where that entity ascended to the role of Elemental lord. Took many notes.
  • Saved the Central Crone. Shockingly.
• Late Spring/into Summer 252 AC
  • Took ___ up to Zhapai Karmap and then on to the Tuura Adam, with a stop at the Halls of the Dead, where the finished the cleansing by freeing spirits trapped there.
  • Also ran into Eskel's adoptive family. It...didn't go well. More evidence of his past emerged.
  • Cleansed the Titanwall at Kozhuyn
  • Acquired the Jade Phoenix, which reacted very strongly to Pyrrha Kelshanne, revealing that her fire-cat is actually part of the Firebird dwelling inside of her.
  • Approached by two groups:
    • Rhys of Tal Elamor, who wished to hire them. They ended up accepting this invitation.
    • The Circle of Purging Flame, who wished to recruit them. They rejected this group.
  • Discovered evidence of Pyrrha Kelshanne's actual parents, as well as traces leading toward Eskel's past. He grew into his markings and they got engaged.
• Working for Rhys, Summer 252 AC
  • Asked to visit two volcanoes--one on the Isle of Fire to the north and one at the entrance to Moon's Vengeance and retrieve sensors.
  • Took ship from Honedaxe with a group of scholars to Isle of Fire.
  • Found Pyrrha Kelshanne's tribe, where her uncle had tried to sell them out. Also eventually met her parents. Didn't blow up a mountain. Making this somewhat of a pattern...
  • Teleported to the wasted lands of the northern Moon's Vengeance, where they met some lovely goroesi women.
  • Rescued a ghost who is now possessing her own (magically-preserved) body.
  • Met a bronze dragon. Also met and made a deal with an angry red dragon to humiliate the bronze in exchange for the sensor they wanted. Which they did. Including stealing his hoard and his followers. Dragon's not dead, last seen flying off in a rage.
  • Turned the sensors over to Rhys, who turns out to be a lich.
• At some point here they went to the Plane of Cloud in an effort to get memories back. It only sorta worked.
• Traveled east to meet Pyrrha Kelshanne's brother in Ocieli, where they foiled a plot by the Circle of Purging Flame to break the barrier and release the Hagfen. Also killed Wan Tien Cho's harpy mother, now twisted into a siren-creature.
• Tried to go to Tal Elamor, but ended up nope-ing out of demon area. Ended up in the Plane of Lava.
• Plane of Lava, Late Summer 252 AC
  • Found Eskel's mom, as well as the woman who had "rescued" him from the Special School. Turns out it was all part of a plan by Alastor, World Judge.
  • Rescued slaves from a really nasty Cog Priest. Including Leilana of Tuatain, who turned out to like Yonas Akrotiz a lot (and the feeling is mutual).
  • Took slaves and mom back to the Kelshanne place. Wedding planning.
• Decided to take Leilana back home and investigate the place said to hold the key to stopping Yonas's nightmares. Stopped in Auringon, where they met a story-obsessive dragon at the Elder Library and Kuo got sniped by an amorous princess/priestess.
• Headed north into the Lost Coast. Found the Tuatain under threat from hag/demon-warped neighbors.
• Fought through shadow into the heart of the Black Tree, one of the children of the Mother Tree, which was broadcasting doom and paranoia and hate. Found its heart in the Abyss and defeated it, but not before Eskel made a deal with Nidus for some much-needed juice.
• Returned to Auringon, decided to try to qualify for land-holder status by doing a good deed.
• Into the Drowned Coast, Fall 252 AC.
  • Headed south, obliterated a demon-worshiping tribe and rescued the slaves (sending them back to Auringon).
  • Got thoroughly creeped out by the Tlalocana, decided to head to the monster-infested hills instead.
  • Found the Vale of Karmeth, which had escaped the Cataclysm War by activating four necrite obelisks created originally by Nidus, which had the effect of warping time around them.
  • Successfully de-fused the time-warping ritual, returning the vale back to real-space
  • Discovered that the Tlalocana are actually controlled by a network of many many Mkhulu bent on expansionist domination.
• Tal Elamor, Late Fall 252 AC into winter.
  • Entered the Oubliette, a demiplane constructed by a mad mage who liked "jokes"...the kind that kill. Retrieved the Portal Network core for Tal Elamor.
  • Discovered that the artificers were making the MADman system, a mobile weapon that would use the portal network to lob retaliatory bombs. Told them it was a bad idea, but they didn't listen.
  • Helped Rhys with his experiments and discovered that he was not alone in his body. Later discovered evidence that the jotnar inside of him had become sapient and free-willed, and was puppeting him.
  • Discovered that someone acting in Rhys's name had started undermining the Primal Forest in search of the aether plague remnants. Defeated those undead agents.
  • Wan Tian Kuo went to the Hall of Frozen Memory and got his memory back.
  • Made allies with the rest of the leaders of the city.
  • Worked to put together a cleansing mechanism leveraging the Firebird's power.
    • Required going to each of 4 elemental planes to attune to it.
    • Eskel made a deal with Alastor, World Judge to become his ascended Hand.
    • Made friends with a dragon turtle.
  • Was made by Naimanzuunnadin Tsetseg
• Wedding planning and hijinks
• Kuo visited the Plane of Flame and ended the Great Cycle, choosing to live out his remaining life and ascending as a fire elemental devoted to helping
• Showdown (winter 252 AC)
  • Actively cleansed the remains of the aether plague in the Primal Forest of Tal Elamor. The archdruid and the jotnar were reborn as infants--Archibal Kelshanne and Bianca Kelshanne and adopted by Pyrrha Kelshanne.
  • Rhys acknowledged that he was possessed and assisted the party in sabotaging the elemental conduits feeding the phylactery, weakening Nihil (as the jotnar was named).
  • 1st of Winter Dying was both a test of MADman and Nihil's ascension ritual, becoming a "real boy" with an elementally-created artificial soul.
  • As it turned out, MADman had been sabotaged to become actually active with live ammo, and Nihil opened portals to the Abyss, leading to a demonic invasion. The party was involved in fighting Nihil and his undead/demon allies.
  • Victorious, the party cleansed Nihil, which resulted in ... backlash.
  • Rhys was permanently etched into his spellbook/phylactery, gaining some ability to sense his surroundings and telepathically communicate, but otherwise rendered harmless.
  • Nihil was reborn in Rhys's (now teenage) body, minus any jotnar powers or memory. It's believed that he was reborn in the former Phoenix Empire.
• Wedding, with guests
  • It went well. Dilligas Husty played, Tsun Azur did security.
  • Representatives of the demon princes, elemental lords, and congregation attended.
  • Wylda tried to meddle with Wan Tian Kuo's firstborn (which turned out to be twins). This was partially stopped by Kela Loran's intervention.
• Afterlife
  • Kuo and Yelena had 6 kids and ruled the area.
  • Eskel and Pyrrha settled down, taught (druid grove and arcane school). Archibal becomes a druid (duh), and Bianca becomes a sorcerer/arcanist. Had one other kid who became a warrior.
  • Yonas and Leilana had several kids, and Yonas worked with the burgeoning military of Byssia, especially against the threat from Tlalocana.