Heavy is the crown (Entry 99)

by Hayley Thomas

Dear diary,

A week has passed since taking Lady Magnolia off the playing field, and our ordeal deep in the mines below Hillfield. I took some time delving deeper into the mystery that is my athame. To unlock more of its secrets, I needed to figure out what element the weapon fears above all, the one that can damage it the most, without actually damaging it. Luckily I have plenty of ways of gleaning this kind of information. Between contacting the hags, talking to Terrin and speaking with Sister Willow, I found out that it fears stagnation and imprisonment the most. It does not fear darkness however, just emptiness. Terrin told me that he had once repaired the damaged dagger by using fire and earth. So the only logical option for the element it fears is cold. The stagnation of winter.

With that little secret solved, I turned my attention to solving the problem of Liliana and Luke. For that I contacted Eileen Inkheart in her dreams, offering her an alternative to her current imprisonment. Turn her to stone and keep her safe until such a time I could find a better solution. Obviously not being keen on being turned to stone and forgotten, she demanded that I share with her a lot of information. What was going on with Keralon and the feywild, as well as our personal plans and goals.And of course the guarantee that I would turn her back. I told her I needed to think about it.

Esigius for his part spent all week helping people, doing one good deed a day as promised. Other than that he didn’t spend much time in Tarn. I guess if you can teleport to wherever you want, there is no reason to stay amongst mortals.

On a more important note, Amarra paid a visit to Luke, to inform him that she had found a way to attune all the four Elemental Hearts to a single person. For completing this ritual she would need two items and she asked us to go and retrieve the egg of a Foxant. For those who do not know, these are large fey creatures, half fox and half bird of paradise, and supposedly, some of them live not too far away from us in the Lorewood. They are very intelligent and can use magic.

Before making an attempt at this, we decided to head over to Keralon and check out the situation there for ourselves. Alistan had picked up rumors that the fey were building ritual sites all over the city, and we wanted to see what this was all about, and if we could disrupt whatever they were planning. We teleported into the catacombs underneath the city. I weaved magic around us to change our appearance, and into the city itself we went.

Since we were last there the city has expanded a bit and the flora has turned far more exotic and feylike. The atmosphere felt obtrusive to say the least. People on the streets hurried about their business and those who could afford it walked around with bodyguards to protect them. There were also plenty of fey abound, most in charge of some guards, or busy training an army. Of the knightly circles, there was no sign anywhere anymore. The effects of these were far more prominent in the richer parts of town, unsurprisingly, the poor districts, which I had called my home for a year, were less affected.

Before heading to the magic circles, we headed to the graveyard, in search of an important tomb related to Alistan’s heirloom shield. He hoped to find some information there to unlock more of its secrets. We found the tomb quickly, hidden away in one of the far corners. But it was hard to miss. A statue of a knight, standing in a protective stance, and wielding the exact same shield, was standing in front of it, as if guarding the tomb and its secrets within.

As soon as we stepped into the tomb, the air grew chill. My brother quickly confirmed that we were dealing with a ghost, trapped inside the tomb. Luke tried to contact it, but to no avail. So the only choice left was to open the tomb itself and let it out. As soon as we did so, it rose up and grabbed Alistan, trying to possess him. On a hunch, he let it do so. The now possessed Alistan turned to the rest of us and with a chilling voice, thanked us for freeing him.

Gael then did most of the talking, trying to find out more information about the past of Keralon and the leper revolt. It told us that the revolt had been started by the Alchemist Guild, led by a man in a mask, known as the Leper, whom we know to be Vincent. The aim of the revolt had been to remove the king, but not to replace him, but it quickly escalated into a civil war inside of Keralon. In the final battle of the war, the Leper fought against the King in a daring assault on the palace. An advisor to the king, a mage named Gordival, was killed and the Leper managed to wound the king in the face.

The ghost used to be a knight during this revolt, on the side of the king. But he helped Vincent’s wife to escape the city, because she was pregnant. He held back the guards as she escaped the city, and was killed while doing so. For his betrayal, the king cursed him, and had him buried among the poor. Seeing as he had done a noble thing and deserved some rest, Liliana cast a spell to release him, finally after all this time sending him to the afterlife.

With this part done, we headed back into the city. I sent Fiachna out to scout ahead, finding the nearest of the ritual circles the fey were building all around the city. She quickly reported back that they were building one close by, near a tower at the outer wall. We headed that way and what we saw was something different from what I had expected to be honest. The circle they were created was not just etched into the stone. They were making it permanent. The runes are inlaid in gold. A knight and an eladrin were overlooking the making of the circle by mages, while several guards kept people away.

Luckily Luke didn’t need to get closer to know what this would be for. We had seen similar months before, in a warehouse in Keralon. The circle was meant to weaken or even break the barrier to the feywild. With the amount of circles they were making, they would be able to drag the entire city into the feywild! There is no question that we need to disrupt this, but how? Gael doesn’t want to deal with the individual magic circles, as there are too many. In the end we decided not to attack the circles, but instead on focussing on freeing the knights. That way we can convince them to deal with the circles while we focus on Luke and Amarra’s ritual. At least, that was the plan.

I would like to note at this point that I had been urging for weeks now to scout the city, in order to have an idea what we’d be dealing with if we wanted to free the captured knights. An idea that had been dismissed out of hand several times. So now we were here, with no information and no plan.

So first off, we asked around to see what we could learn about the knights. It seemed that all the knights who had not sworn fealty to the king had been arrested. These were mostly the hedge knights. To make things worse, they were locked up in several prisons around the city, too many to hit with our small group. We used magic to contact the leader of the Long Table, to at least try and narrow down the location he had been locked up in. From that we gleaned that the two most likely places were near the harbor.

I found the information still very much lacking. We’d still be going in blind, not knowing what we’d be facing, and if we would even be able to free the knights. But the others didn’t seem to be too concerned about this, again dismissing my concerns.

So we attacked the first of the jails without a plan, going in mostly blindly. And it went exactly as I had expected it to go. I will spare you the details, but save to say, we got our asses handed to us. The prisons are heavily guarded, including by a mage and a questing knight. In the end I pulled my allies back to me so Luke could teleport us out of there, back to the mausoleum.

I turned my anger on the others. An anger I can sometimes not control. It had been an unmitigated disaster, and exactly the reason why I had wanted to be prepared. And now we had wasted the only chance we had to attempt this by surprise. The king would be increasing the guard of the prisons for sure after this, making it all the more difficult to do anything to free the knights. Not to say nearly impossible. No-one said anything. They sat defeated, nursing their wounds and unwilling to face my wrath.

As we sat there, healing wounds and contemplating what to do next, Luke got contacted by Emily. A noble lady, and mage, whom Luke used to know back in the day. She informed him that the king wanted to talk to us and would meet us in Wolf’s Rest to make peace. This screamed of a trap, but on the other hand, we could at least gain some much needed information that way. When we arrived, we only found a small pavilion guarded by two knights. They let us inside, where the king, and Emily, were sitting at a small table.

So no trap, but a genuine attempt at talking to us, for the first time since this entire farce had started. He motioned for some chairs for us to sit and quickly came to business, saying he wanted the bloodshed to stop. I am guessing we are killing too many of his guards, draining his resources too much. He even admitted that his attack on Wolf’s Rest had been an overreaction on his part, but he did not apologize for the death and destruction he had caused.

Gael stepped forward and demanded that if the king wanted peace, he would have to give the mask back. The king just laughed and said that this was not going to happen, he needed the mask. He then explained that the plan with the rituals was to unite the two kingdoms of Keralon and Neverhold, and that the mask played an integral part in this. When asked who would be in control of this merged kingdom, he reached for his face and pulled off half of a mask. A moment later we were face to face with king Ulther. We had suspected this for a while now, and it was good to see it confirmed.
He then explained that he had been in control of Keralon since before the Leper Revolt, and that the revolt had been an attempt by Vincent, the lost son of the previous lineage of kings, to take back the throne and break his control over the city. In doing so he had managed to cut the mask in two and steal one of the halves.

As Gael contemplated this information I voiced my opinion. In return for peace, we would need a formal apology, and reparations, for the attack on Wolf’s Rest, as well as a retraction of all the accusations. Aside from that, all the knights currently locked up would need to be released. He nodded, saying all of this would be acceptable. He would give us time to talk it over and that in the meanwhile, awaiting our answer, we would have a truce. Replacing the mask on his face, he stood up, ready to leave. Turning to us one final time, he then uttered a cold and calculated threat. If we accepted peace, but made any move against him, any move to stop his plan, he would bring to bear the entirety of his might on Tarn and burn it to the ground. With those words hanging in the air, he teleported away, leaving us alone in the pavilion.

We looked at one another, having much to contemplate. With nothing left to do there, Luke teleported us back to Tarn.

Continue reading...

Entry one: The trials

Entry two: The bramble

Entry 3: Rosebloom

Entry 4: Hearts and Dreams

Entry 5: of ghosts and wolves

Entry 6: Hillfield and Deals with Fae

Entry 7: mysteries and pastries

Entry 8: The scarecrow ruse
6th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

Entry 9: A betrayal of satyrs
7th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 10: The fate of twins
8th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 11: Cursed twins
10th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 12: Loss and despair
11th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Hayley's rules to being a Witch

Entry 13: the price of safety
12th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 14: A golden cage and fiery tower
13th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 15: A trial by fire
14th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Entry 16: Keralon
15th of Lug, 121 year of the Tree

Letter to Luke 1

Letter to Luke 2

Letter to Luke 3

Letter to Luke 4

Letter to Luke 5

Letter to Luke 6

Entry 17: I shall wear midnight
1st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 18: peace in our time
2nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 19: Caern Fussil falls
3rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 20: I see fire
4th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 21: Cultists twarted
10th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 22: Ravensfield
14th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 23: The Hollow Hill Horror
15th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 24: Burn your village
16th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 25: Ravensfield burns
17th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 26: There will be blood!
21st of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 27: A happy reunion
22nd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 28: The embassy ball
23rd of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 29: The fate of Robert Talespinner
24th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 30: A royal summons
28th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 31: of Dogville and Geese
29th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 32: A boggle named Pim
30th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 33: A deal broken
1st of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 34: The cost of doing what is right
2nd of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 35: A dish best served cold
9th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

entry 36: Cornu returns?
10th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 37: A letter from Amarra
11th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 38: The case of the (not) missing villagers
14th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 39: A curse broken
15th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 40: Into the Lorewood
18th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 41: Cabin in the Woods
19th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 42: Myrdin and Anaya
20th of Aran, 126 Era of the Tree

Entry 43: Into the Immerglade
21st of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 44: A tale as old as time
22nd of Aran, 127 Era of the Tree

Entry 45: The truth
23rd of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 46: Luke's Ordeal
24th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 47: The festival
26th of Aran, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 48: Trouble at the Cathedral
2nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 49: Quinn's court
4th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 50: onwards to Latebra Velora
5th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 51: Where is my cow?
6th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 52: Here be dragons
7th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 53: Dragon hoard with a side of scarabs
8th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 54: Leave the basilisks alone
9th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 55: Return to Ravensfield
10th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 56: The needs of the many...
11th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 57: Dreams of Sister Willow
12th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 58: wetlands be wet
13th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 59: Baron Perenolde
14th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 60: Talebra Velora and the lady Morenthene
15th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 61: Cypria
16th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 62: Dragon takes Knight
17th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 63: Return to Talebra Velora
18th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 64: Your presence is “requested”
19th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 65: I stand alone
20th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 66: A day of normalcy
21th of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 67: Into the Neverhold
22nd of Brigan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 68: The Warg King

Entry 69: Chased by birds

Entry 70: Whitewail

Entry 71: Nimmerhold

Entry 72: The menagerie
29th of Gobu, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 73: To the library!
30th of Gobu, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 74: The people's tournament
First of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 75: Nimmerhold party
First of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 76, The return home
Second of Mannan, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 77: A week of peace
10th of Mannan

Entry 78: The tomb of the First King
11th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 79: I had a dream
12th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 80: The ritual for Sister Willow
14th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 81: Trouble at the Briar Ring
15th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Entry 82: My day as a crocodile
21st of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

The return of the twins (Entry 83)
22nd of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Earth and Sky (Entry 84)
26th of Mannon, 128 Era of the Tree

Wolf's Rest betrayed (entry 85)
30th of Mannon

The end of a chapter (entry 86)
first of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

On the road (Entry 87)
second of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

The Red Knight (Entry 88)
7th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Dear uncle… (Entry 89)
8th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Cut the bridge (Entry 90)
10th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Home (Entry 91)
13th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

A tale of two shadows (Entry 92)
16th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Eileen Inkheart and the cursed village (Entry 93)
17th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Nidhog at the end of the world (Entry 94)
18th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Into Hillfield (Entry 95)
24th of Edon, 128 Era of the Tree

Did it have to be spiders? (Entry 96)
12th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

The burning tree (Entry 97)
13th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Deep down the city (Entry 98)
14th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Heavy is the crown (Entry 99)
21st of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Genie in a bottle (Entry 100)
24th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Bad blood (Entry 101)
27th of Duna, 128 Era of the Tree

Think about it (Entry 102)
2nd of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Arca Valon (Entry 103)
6th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Myrddin's grand plan (Entry 104)
10th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Nearly lost you (Entry 105)
11th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Who let the dogs out? (Entry 106)
18th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Land of confusion (Entry 107)
19th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Running up that hill (Entry 108)
20th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

I know what I am (Entry 109)
24th of Hagan, 128 Era of the Tree

Welcome to paradise (Entry 110)
1st of solstice, 129 Era of the Tree

Come out and play (Entry 111)
1sh of Solstice, 129 Era of the Tree

This is war (Entry 112)
2nd of Solstice, 129 Era of the Tree

Good things go (Entry 113)
3rd of Solstice, 127 Era of the Tree

Heavy is the crown (Entry 99)

Continue reading...

Find your way!

Resources

WHO WE ARE

LEGAL

Get the news

Worldbuilding Academy

Listen to our Podcast