Independence Day (Graduation P2) - 28/05/2024 - Kavel

Independence Day (Sorrel's Graduation Game Part 2/2) - 28/05/2024 - A Kavel Perspective

A Temple of the Moon Founded by Elsa Darkfire

Sorrel’s mother, Elsa, had established a small temple to Selune near to the Darkfire house. I carried Leonas there for Sorrel, our friends came with us.

Leonas was buried in a plot of land that was set aside next to Elsa’s grave. I was going to get my masonry tools from my rucksack to work on engraving Leonas’s name and a few words into his plane tombstone. But then Comrade Veridian asked Sorrel what she wanted engraved on her father’s tombstone. Sorrel told Veridian, and he began casting a spell that Kelne has cast for me before, and that I know Mendal, my dwarven forge cleric friend, can cast too; the Stone Shape spell. The magical masonry turned out very well. There were magical elements to it too, that I couldn’t have made. Veridian said some of those elements were not of his doing, but likely Selune’s. Veridian also mentioned something about not having the Stone Shape spell prepared, and instead having to have casted a very powerful spell first to cast Stone Shape; the Wish spell. My human wizard friend Archie has told me about the Wish spell. Archie says it is supremely powerful, and only a few of the most powerful wizards can cast it. Archie says the Wish spell is so great that it allows a wizard to cast any spell known to require less magical manipulation, without even having the spell components prepared, or indeed previously being familiar with the spell. This sounded impressive to me. Even more impressive, the Wish spell allows you to cast spells normally only divine magic users can cast, or spells druids and warlocks are known to cast. Archmages like comrade Veridian must be very strong casters indeed being able to cast the Wish spell. Knowing this made me wonder what other top level spells comrade Veridian knew, and if I would get to see them? Magical masonry was impressive, if cheating. Show me something strong.

Velania and Sorrel were able to secure us a room to rest inside the temple. Sister Madeleine, who runs the temple, took care of us. Sorrel wanted to sit at the altar and think, while the rest of us rested. Thankfully Sorrel drank a potion of Watchful rest to get the benefits of a full night’s rest, while also choosing to stay up all night, otherwise I would have cautioned her against her plan to stay awake.

I couldn’t sleep in the room we were provided. Too cramped for me with everyone else inside, even if the room was missing one party member. So, I took my bedroll to the altar.

Sorrel seemed to be finishing talking to someone when I entered, but I didn’t see anyone else there. She was probably talking out loud to herself. It had been a rough day for her. I told her I was going to sleep here in the altar because it was too cramped in our room. I placed my bedroll next to Sorrel and told her to wake me if she needed me. In truth, the room we were provided was cramped, but I also didn’t like Sorrel being on her own, so I decided to be present next to her, even if I was going to sleep, at least I would be with her. I think she was praying to Selune about me, as I fell back to sleep.


The Garden - Headquarters of The House

Once again fully rested, comrade Veridian teleported us where we needed to go. Except, we couldn’t get direct entrance to the Garden. The House has teleportation protection spells to counter unwanted teleporting guests. We were shunted nearby. A House representative met us and escorted us to The Garden, and once there, we ended up central to a big company wide meeting.

Everyone from all the different House Colleges came out of their buildings and gathered on the south side of a bridge. Despite the mass of bodies, there was silence, utter discipline. From the north side of the bridge came the head of the thirteenth college, the college that administers the others, Master Reveill.

Master Reveill, a vampiric-looking man if ever I saw one, explained that House business had been taken outside of the House and it needed to be resolved. Master Callimar Daevion'lyrn, Head of the College of Persuasion, was likely to become Head of the House. Sorrel was Callimar’s chosen successor as Head of the College of Persuasion. However, Head of the College of Discovery, Mdm Sylviane Mallioche (The Beetle), wanted to be Head of the House too. Apparently backstabbing and bribery are common tools used to decide succession and inter house rivalries. However, it is not permitted for House business to occur outside of its walls. So, the (correct) accusations that The Beetle had been using Sorrel and her sisters as pawns in her game, were unacceptable. We adventurers were told to join Callimar on the north side of the bridge, and Master Reveill announced that a fight right there and then would be how House business was to be resolved. The Beetle chose combatants from her college to join her. Callimar chose not to have his own College members join him - this seemed noble but insane to me. Sorrel asked that we side with Callimar, and of course we agreed, since Sorrel is our friend, comrade, and in my case sister. Sorrel was told she can’t have archangels. Too bad. But she has her brother and other people who would consider her family too. And so we readied ourselves to fight for Sorrel, and her cause.


College of Persuasion vs. College of Discovery

Before the fight kicked off, comrade Veridian offered me and Beets some magic honey from Netanyeya. I refused at first, because I had drunk Messikammen’s special mead one time, and it was very potent. A few drinks in and I passed out. Passing out is not conducive to battle readiness. But Veridian said the magic honey was not alcoholic, and more importantly it was a natural performance enhancer (as natural as magical honey can be, I suppose), so I accepted the honey. Besides, honey is fast acting carbs, which is pretty good fuel for the body just before something like fighting.

When the fight started, some of The Beetle’s soldiers began disappearing and reappearing on our side of the bridge. They all knew the Misty Step spell it seemed, and when we struck them, it seemed like they all knew the Shield spell as well, shielding them from attacks that weren’t precise or quick enough. Well it seems College of Discovery is the magic fighter college - like Marto. However, no familiars.

One of the misty-stepping assassins struck Sorrel in the back with a sword. Sorrel misty-stepped herself away from her engaged assassin to loose an arrow into the combatant from a distance, and then loosed two more arrows into The Beetle from across the river. All arrows penetrated flesh.

Callimar disappeared just like our opponents, but unlike them, I couldn’t see him reappear on the other side of the bridge, or anywhere.

Another of our misty-stepping foes appeared near Velania and slashed at her twice with a blade, drawing blood. Marto intercepted the third slash with his shield. Marto looked like he could fight and shield Velania for as long as he needed to. However, Marto’s shield was not going to be enough to protect Velania, or any of us from The Beetle’s chosen method of attack, a Fireball.
I took the Fireball’s burning and exploding impact well, barely a scorch mark on my supremely conditioned body. Sorrel escaped most of the fiery explosion with quick reactions, and actually somehow Marto did manage to shield himself from most of the flaming impact. Veridian fared alright due to some magical absorption. Velania, however, was scorched badly. Someone handed The Beetle a potion to help with her arrow wounds.

From somehow deflecting the effects of the Fireball with his shield, Marto lept into action defending Velania from imminent repeat strikes from the assassin next to her. Sorrel dodged more Misty-step and strike combinations, and comrade Veridian had readied what appeared to be an immensely powerful spell. So powerful, several of our opponents tried to magically counter it, but failed.

I witnessed four burning miniature mountains hurtle from the sky above, under Veridian’s command, and explode on the opposite side of the bridge. Two of our opponents were misty-stepping and attacking on our side of the bridge, but The Beetle and the rest of her soldiers were on the other side, suffering the impact of what seemed like multiple fireballs and multiple stone buildings being dropped on you. It should come as no surprise that most of The Beetle’s team were now dead.

After Veridian’s meteors, we were no longer outnumbered. In fact, I was a little surprised there weren't more casualties in the form of non-combatant spectators. When the rubble clears up - there is going to have to be a lot of renovation.

I looked at the devastation as the dust settled. I then complimented my archmage comrade on his powerful spell, “very strong, comrade!” I said. I took another look at his work though and saw Callimar’s body on the recently devastated other side of the bridge. Very strong spell, very powerful. But very reckless.

Veridian saw Callimar too. We exchanged a look. I put my hand up, palm facing comrade Veridian, and told him, “I’ll deal with this other Beetle soldier on this side of the bridge, comrade. Save the meteors for now.” And so avoiding more unwanted friendly-fire, I sprinted towards the currently unengaged opponent and smashed the combatant’s enclosed helm against his face with my fist repeatedly, denting the steel with my strong knuckles.

Velania divinely healed us from the Fireball’s flames, and then ran across the bridge to see to Callimar who looked terrible, like a meteor had hit him, which of course it had done. But, the assassin engaged with Marto misty-stepped to intercept Velania on the bridge and shoved her into the river before she could reach the other side. I bet the arsehole was proud of that.

Beets took the initiative, and flew with haste to Velania in the river, picked her up in mid flight and carried her to the other side to reach Callimar’s prone body as intended. It was a great aerial manoeuvre. But The Beetle sent one of her remaining southside assassin’s to stab Callimar in the chest twice, causing fatal wounds.

Sorrel loosed a lightning arrow at The Beetle and several other arrows, all piercing The Beetle overwhelming her with pain and rendering the healing potion she had previously downed massively insufficient. Sorrel then ran to cross the bridge, and received a sword strike to the side once from Velania’s shover and another one from Marto’s original opponent.

My opponent misty-stepped to Veridian to try and prevent another collection of burning mountains descending. Marto intercepted with a flurry of blows, killing the opponent with his sword, and then running across the bridge to intercept the shover.

The Beetle looked at Sorrel and stumbled towards Callimar’s prone, heavily bleeding body and announced, pricked with arrows, “If I go, so does he!”

Veridian moved to get a better line of sight on The Beetle, and unleashed a beam of disintegrating magical force towards her, but the heavily wounded Head of the College of Discovery still had enough reserves of strength to dodge the incoming fatal beam.

I used my flight legs to propel myself across the river to help stop The Beetle, stopping on the bridge first to smash the shover’s steel helm deep into their face before then shoving the dead cleric-shover into the river for some satisfaction.

The Beetle looked at Callimar with a fatal life-ending spell readied. Veridian from across the river returned The Beetle’s counter of his Disintegration spell, by ending her Power Word Kill. In the intervening time Veridian had bought Velania, she began to cast the Revivify spell on Callimar. But The Beetle was persistent and nearby, and countered Velania’s divine magic from working, and then instructed her surviving soldier to cut Callimar’s head off.

Sorrel, no favours from the community here to call upon like she had done at the docks by her family home, yelled to the sky, “help me! If I’ve ever helped you, save my family!”

The sky split open with radiant light and time froze.

Je’Sathriel - The Jackal, and Andromeda - who it turned out Sorrel had spoken to at her mother’s temple, both descended. Two archangels. Another figure followed, near 20ft tall. A person, or avatar of the person who I had seen once before in Velania and Sorrel’s presence, Selune herself, the Goddess of the Moon.

Selune reminded Sorrel that she had but to rely on her faith and ask for help. It was not quite true that The Jackal was forbidden from interfering in Sorrel’s struggle entirely. It was that he was forbidden until Sorrel had fully embraced her faith, proving so by realising her faith was there for her if she asked.

Selune pinned The Beetle to the ground with her boot. The Jackal raised Callimar back to the land of the living.

The arisen Callimar slit The Beetle’s throat. The fight was over.

Master Reveill announced Callimar the new Master of The House.


Post Fight - At Ease

Spectators returned to their respective Colleges.

Selune had vanished, but The Jackal and Andromeda remained. Sorrel and Callimar went to talk privately in the College of Persuasion.

Velania introduced Marto to Andromeda, and I chatted to The Jackal after Sorrel and The Jackal did their routine of sarcastic insults to each other to hide their family-like love for each other. I think to be fair The Jackal brings it on himself, but Sorrel doesn’t help either.

I asked The Jackal if he ever plans to take back his sword from Portal Plaza, it’s been there for a very long time now. The Jackal gave me the impression that he had forgotten all about his sword. Andromeda, who is senior to The Jackal in Selune’s command, was not too pleased to hear this. Especially, I feel, since learning that the sword is in fact sentient.


Return to Daring Heights

Sorrel came back from her talk with Callimar - she was free from The House. She would not be the Head of the College of Persuasion. Instead, she chose to protect her sisters, and Callimar freed her from her ties to the House to do so.

The Jackal teleported us back to Daring Heights. Andromeda had to leave, but The Jackal stayed to socialise and eat, even though I understand it to be the case that he does not require sustenance. We were all blessed with a divine boon of a kind, while Sorrel’s bracers from Callimar were enhanced with divine magic.

Before The Jackal left, I reminded him to pick up his sword. We then proceeded to the market to get more food for later, and took it back to Sylvia’s abandoned home, where Marto cooked for us. Veridian retrieved Sorrel’s sisters to join us, as we feasted into the night in the house near the Temple of Selune.

It was good to see my sister with the weight of The House off her shoulders and surrounded by family and friends. The road ahead, defending her sisters who are expected to themselves grow into powerful acolytes of Selune, will not be easy. But for the first time in a long time, since her sisters joined her, Sorrel seems at ease. I am very pleased. I will not remind her that we have missed our scheduled training session this week. You are allowed occasional skip days. I did, however, mention that she is long overdue visiting Nathalie and I in the Damphenite Tangle, as Nathalie will be very delighted to see her, especially after the recent good news. In addition, I told Sorrel we should get Wendy a gift, we both owe her our thanks for connecting the Sending message.


The Next Day

As I was fly-jumping my way back from The Thicc Boi Compound, I glanced down at Portal Plaza to verify that The Jackal had retrieved his sword. He had not. The Jackal is surprisingly negligent about his sword.