S11 Finale: Vignette F - The Shattered Star
Dec 7, 2022 20:20:06 GMT
Grimes, Velania Kalugina, and 4 more like this
Post by Lykksie on Dec 7, 2022 20:20:06 GMT
The ragged and worn purple bell tent is bigger on the inside.
You see miles of dark forest stretching out under a deep, deep purple sky. When the tent flap closes behind you, it disappears entirely.
You are stood in a small clearing. In the centre of it, a large, thin, gold-plated bowl sits on the forest floor.
It’s filled to the brim with golden motes of light, small as grains of sand. Resting gently atop it is a cracked, purple crystal.
You see miles of dark forest stretching out under a deep, deep purple sky. When the tent flap closes behind you, it disappears entirely.
You are stood in a small clearing. In the centre of it, a large, thin, gold-plated bowl sits on the forest floor.
It’s filled to the brim with golden motes of light, small as grains of sand. Resting gently atop it is a cracked, purple crystal.
The glowing sand rises up, swirls in the air and forms a flat surface. From the surface, a hill rises. Above it opens a rift, a portal, shining like a star. Two figures step through it.
“The founding of Daring Heights.”
The hill is surrounded by humanoid creatures. They are corrupted, mutated by a creeping shadow weaving around them. But the shadow is defeated.
“The rise and fall of Twilight.”
An army of large, hulking figures rise up in their wake, egged on by a group of smaller ones. The army surges up the hill and overtakes it. The star above the hill goes out.
“The sack of Daring Heights.”
A large bear charges across the sand, besting the orcs, and they disappear. To the east another star is lit, as a ship sails into Port Ffirst.
By the hill, another figure looms. Old and bent, crooked. A woman. A grandmother. She possesses an item of indescribable power. Another figure rises up to face her; a man wearing a long leather duster and a cowboy hat, leading a group of adventurers in the fight.
“The defeat of Granny Longtooth. But then - betrayal.”
The man in the leather duster takes the item for himself, and vanishes. The sand clears again, and around the hill five new figures loom large.
“The Queen of Summer. The Bear King. The River King. The Queen of Night and Magic.”
The fifth figure is mechanical, with too many arms - a hexadrone.
“The Fool. The Amaranthine Games.”
The Queen of Summer is crowned the winner, and the sand clears. The hill shrinks as the perspective shifts and to the east you see another continent - Joran. Massive giants lumber across the nation of K’ul Goran, trampling all in their path. Ships set out from Port Ffirst to lend their aid.
“The Winds of War.”
The giants are defeated, but as they fall the lands of Kantas and Joran are lit up with glowing runes and sigils. They rip the ground open, opening up to the very Hells themselves. A horrifying woman with horns and shredded wings ascends.
“Zariel. The Archduke. Avernus Rising.”
Zariel is defeated, and as the tears in the ground close up they leave plain lines behind. A line connects Kundar to Vorsthold, Vorsthold to K’ul Goran, K’ul Goran to a new place in the heart of the Dawnlands: Fort Ettin. A tall woman bears witness, and is immediately killed.
“The signing of the Aegis Accords. The death of Queen Sarastra.”
Another layer is placed upon the world. In the Feywild, a war is fought - a war of politics.
“Pandemonium.”
A single victor is crowned.
“Nicnevin. The Moonweaver. The Queen of Copper and Crystal.”
The layer is peeled back and over the Dawnlands, two figures appear again - The Fool and the Cowboy. They wield between them the mote of tremendous power. From the heavens, a divine arrow is loosened that tears through the very fabric of reality.
“Hook, Line and Sinker.”
The Fool and the Cowboy reach for their self-appointed fate but ultimately fade away into dust. To the west, a city rises into the sky. From the stars, dragons and their riders descend.
“Ex Astris.”
The dragons bathe the Dawnlands in fire and leave behind charred, scorched destruction.
As you stand there - some of you having lived through much of what you’ve just seen personally and some of you having only just arrived in these lands - you behold the destruction with dread. And then, slowly, shoots and little plants grow from the ashes - life born anew.
The voice calls out again;
“Why do you call this place home?”