· TO EVERYONE ·

[carmesi]

[this message will arrive into the awareness of all summoned. however, given the nature of this content, with both istredd and wanda’s telepath abilities combined, they’ll make it so that the summoned can choose to read it at a later point in time when it isn’t a nuisance to them; an unread message, as it were. they will also telegraph the images linked into the minds of those reading as they read, for ease.]

This is Wanda. Istredd and I have talked about the importance of making this information available to all Summoned.

What we are going to detail here are events that happened a few months back. It has to do with Josselyn Creed—those in Solvunn would have noticed her ashes displayed in the main square of the Primary Settlement. It has to do with the abductions that took place, what happened to those who were taken, and what those of us who stayed behind were able to uncover.

It might not be an easy read, especially for those who were taken. But we think it’s important that we are all on the same page. To be aware of our surroundings and cautious of the intentions of the natives here some more. Any comment or action that may seem a little odd might be worth taking note of.

And… perhaps this can bring some closure to those who are still feeling the effects of what happened.

I can speak from my perspective as one of those who wasn’t abducted. Josselyn was part of it as the representative of the Tertiary Settlement, making her a member of the Council in Solvunn. Before all this happened, she made some… questionable decisions. Acting separately from the Council as a whole.

I went to the Tertiary Settlement at the behest of Rowan, another council member, and found a house shrouded in an aura of corruption. The boy in this house had gone to a nearby shrine in the woods and returned to be haunted by a ‘white-faced demon’. After purifying the shrine, I saw a symbol, and we would later realize it was the same as the one others found after the abductions had taken place. The corruption I found in this shrine and in the woods was present in or near areas where the Summoned and natives were known to be abducted.

This is to say that things were already in motion before this group played their hand.

And then the abductions started. Natives and Summoned started disappearing from Solvunn, and then we heard that the same was happening in the other nations. We were scattered for a while trying to find leads, but eventually it all led back to Solvunn. The borders were open during this time to allow others to help in the investigation here. Josselyn was a point of interest because she was an influential figure and she, too, was abducted.

It wasn’t until later that we found out that she was not one of the abducted, but an abductor. The leader of the movement, in fact.

Her house was a point of interest. There was a door warded with magic that we couldn’t open, and a number of artifacts in bottles and jars that were worrisome. Then there was a book, too. A ledger. I apologize for the details being very general—so much was happening at the time. We were advised to recreate a High Magic ritual to try and open the door by invoking the right god or using the ledger. When we opened the door, what we found was further proof of Josselyn’s involvement, and personal items that would be used to find her. We also found an early base of a recipe that was used to find a cure for those who were abducted.

This is something Istredd could speak of better, but there was a monster in the pit, and while it was anything unlike what’s been seen in Abraxas. I found out the following: Isar Hart, the one who took over Josselyn’s duties in the council, told me that unknown creatures can be made through rituals and magic, typically of the transformative kind and it acts on already existing objects or beings. It’s against Solvunn’s traditions, and only the Old Gods should have the power to choose what new beings enter the world.

The Old Gods, as unlikely as it may seem to some, are real. We saw one in Josselyn’s execution. Cadaevos. We’ve seen some before any of this happened, in visions, and I’ve made a pact with one myself. We can discuss the Old Gods at some later point, though, because that’s another long-winded discussion…

But it’s worth mentioning that there are newer gods. Nikodaemus was one of them. He was responsible for creating the illusions that were hiding those who were abducted. Enchantments were used to make the island and the peninsula appear untouched. There is an illustration of this god in Solvunn’s records, for those interested to see.

This is Istredd. I was one of the people captured. I apologize to the people who will see their experiences written out here, but I will be very general. If you wish to share more specifics of what exactly you went through or facts you think must be shared, please do so.

About half of the Summoned were captured and placed inside of what is called "The Pit" by many of us, a dark cavern without any visible exit, they didn't need to guard us because at that point there was no way out. There was very little food and water so we had to ration.

Any special abilities were dampened by a High Magic spell and they utilized physical and mental distractions so we couldn't focus to reach out on the network or go into the Horizon. There were monsters within the place that some of the Summoned fought off. We found special shrines within that had newly painted the symbol Wanda shared. There was a monster within it that spoke to us mentally to try and be released. We were given access to them from an acolyte who turned against them named Hydnellia, now Lorelai, and tokens found otherwise. We resolved to only let the monster out as a last resort.

The second week, the Summoned were taken and experimented on. I was one of only two who was not taken into the ritual, but I was told the details about it. The summary is that they took people and forced them to eat something. They claimed it was to help them "commune with the gods". This led them to experience lesions, fungal growths on their skin, and a changed mental state with delusions and violence.

This all culminated eventually into experiencing a vision. I believe most people saw different images, but those who talked to me referenced something similar to when the Summoned had shared nightmares last year and images we saw when the Heralds were affecting us. For example, the maze some of us got stuck in during the Heralds. The vision also showed a shadowed man at the very end.

Realizing we were definitely in too much danger to wait for rescue, as more people were put in the ritual and struggling with their sickness, we worked to find an escape. The shrine monster was released and caused havoc within the cavern, destroying much of the ceiling. There were two escape routes with portals, which is why people ended up in two separate locations. One was through the floor as water seeped in and there was enough space to swim, and another through a hole that required people to stay behind to hold open with webbing.

Those of us who stayed behind were placed within an altar room, away from the main area as it was destroyed in many places. We were trapped within and it slowly began flooding. The acolytes started to turn on the cult and help us. While a group from the outside tried to negotiate with them, another one broke their way in, but by that point the cavern was collapsing into the water. The only way we survived was a giant turtle appeared who the Thorne Summoned had helped when beached. Then everyone was rescued and reunited in Nocwich to recover.

Whether you agree with it or not, Solvunn’s customs called for Josselyn’s execution, as a way to right her wrongs. As mentioned, an Old God was summoned for the ritual and she suffered a gruesome end. I don’t think I need to specify how it happened. I know many decided not to assist because they knew she’d be executed.

The acolytes that survived were spared and are currently imprisoned. Two members of the group were rescued, Lorelai and her brother Esmond, and they’ve resettled here in the Tertiary Settlement.

Some of us got to interrogate her before her execution. Her true goal was to have the same ability that we, the Summoned, have to communicate or receive communications from the gods. At least that’s what she believed we could do. She claimed that because some of us have had shared visions, visits from the Heralds, and a powerful connection to the Singularity, that we have a connection to the divine. Ancient texts suggested that divinity could be reached through metamorphosis, so she used plants containing hallucinogens and transformative properties in hopes of providing the right trigger.

Josselyn and her sect were formally put together within a year, but these ideas have been going on for a while, though, and the research is available for anyone who knows where to look. All of her people were captured, and we have psychic assurances of the fact. But that doesn’t mean that other people couldn’t see what they did and think it’s possible to try it again.

We still don’t know who the original shrines were to, or what the shrine monster was–whether it was a god itself or a servant of a god, nor where it is now. Motions are currently being considered to be pitched to our factions requesting access to the island and the ruins to investigate. We don't know if they'll allow us, but we're trying.

It might also be worth considering more people learning High Magic in order to counter this sort of thing. Solvunn is the place where this kind of magic is prevalent, but… I could share what I know with others who are skilled with magic in the other nations so that they can teach it to those around them, too.

We’ll meet at some point–all of us–in the Horizon to discuss what we can and should do next. We will let you know when. If there are any questions or additional information to be shared in the meantime, feel free to do so.

( ooc: this means that now every summoned has ic knowledge of what happened with josselyn and her cult! we will be setting up a mingle in september for characters to get together, from all factions, to discuss things more in depth after some time has been given to digest the information. also to avoid the event log lol )

Comments

i totally lost this not if i am SO sorry

[aquaveiled]

Yes, exactly! The more people appear here, the more I'm sure of it. I think that's why we're able to use the magic here and learn each other's types of magic as well.

Have you been able to meet with these deities and spirits yourself? I think it's hard to define them sometimes. What we may call a god another person may call a spirit or a primal or anything in between.

Well...I'm confident we'll all return to our own worlds eventually. I can tell you what I can about what we did on ours to remove the effects of tempering. It wasn't without trial and error and lots of lives lost before we could, but...it did eventually prove true.

*gasp* lost tags? In MY DW? It's more likely than you think

[sleepfan]

It does make sense. There have to be some base constants in common or else we would not be able to live in the same areas or eat the same food or, as you have mentioned, use the same magics.

I have never met with Sothis, no. I've met some of her children, but we are not on speaking terms. I have always wondered about whether godhood was a binary or a spectrum. The Church is hostile to other deities, so my information is limited.

I would very much appreciate you sharing your information about Tempering with me. Any information is welcome. It is a difficult problem and I have little help at home in Fodlan. I also am certain we need to return home: If we do not, there would have been evidence of people being Summoned in our home timelines. There are not, so we must be placed back.

[Or at least that's what he tells himself so he doesn't panic.]

a rarity i know!

[aquaveiled]

Do you have a word or phrase for the source of your magicks? I'm definitely not a theologian about this, but I do think it's fun to learn.

That's fair. What sort of deity is Sothis?

Exactly! Not only that, but I can speak from experience. Some friends arrived and told me bits and pieces of my future that I, too, got to experience. I'm not sure how it all works, but everything they said was true. We are still tethered to our stars to some degree.

[ So...no need to panic! ]

[sleepfan]

In what sense? We do use words to help us focus our magic, but the source of magic is not known in Fodlan. It is theorized that some magic comes from the Goddess, but I do not know if that is correct.

I do not know what you mean by 'type' of deity? Do you want to know about her personality? It is hard to say - the Church prefers to sterilize her portrayals and documentation from the earliest years of Fodlan is difficult to come by. What little I have found seemed to indicate that she was curious, irreverent, and creative.

You and your friends are all from the same timeline in your world?

[aquaveiled]

Oh really? I'm mostly curious. On our star it's mostly manipulating ambient aether around you, but there different ways to tap into it like following leylines or incantations and whatnot. There's another world I learned of here whose magic is based on the chaos around them, though I think that's just another word for "aether". Having magic stem from a goddess does align very much with how Solvunn prefers to practice theirs.

Is she geared towards any specific element or like purpose? Like she wouldn't happen to be an ice-aligned goddess of war, would she?

Same timeline? Well, yes, albeit we seem to be coming from different points along it.

[ Truthfully she's not great at the flow of time stuff, it's all kind of wonky considering how much hopping around she's done recently. Time-travel will do that to you... ]

Wait, are you saying that you're like...they're your friends but also different?

[sleepfan]

Yes, we also manipulate ambient energy. The question is what is the source of said energy? Some say it comes from the Goddess, but I do not think that is true. I believe it is intrinsic to the world. That other worlds function similarly without Sothis would seem to lend credence to the idea of the 'aether' being separate from any particular divine being.

No. Is that normal? Sothis is the Goddess - she is responsible for everything. Her children are more like what you describe having different activities, personalities, or qualities that they favored.

My classmates are from versions of our world that differ from mine. I am dead in Claude's Fodlan. So the version of me that they know is not this version of me, and vice versa. The timelines seem to match until we went to the academy, however, so most of our personalities and preferences are the same.

[aquaveiled]

Yes, that's what I think too! I think it's the same here too since people without any connecting to the Singularity can still practice magic.

[ But it's possible that if this world really is created by the Singularity, then would all the aether within it then also be intrinsic to that? Hrm...too much to consider. ]

I thought that was normal... The Goddess? So the only one? I've never heard of that before! I know people who focus on one amongst others but to have just one. Very interesting!

[ Hold up. ]

You're dead?

[ And to put it so plainly too. ]

That mus have been a lot to take in. You seem to be handling it well, though?

[sleepfan]

Maybe the Singularity creates the aether. Or it is a natural occurrence that is a result of natural properties of the aether and its potential movement between worlds.

Only one. The Church says there is only one. I know that some societies believe in more than one deity, but I do not know much about any of them. Is your society polytheistic?

I am dead in some Fodlans, like Claude von Riegen's. I am alive in others, like my own. I am involved in a war, it is not a surprise that I am dead in some Fodlans. I see no reason to take it personally.

[aquaveiled]

That's possible too. I'm not sure how we'd be able to tell unless we could go back in time.

[ Which, you know, could be a thing. ]

That's so interesting! Yes, nearly everyone I've encountered on my star recognizes several deities even if they have a preference for one. I hadn't thought of the one being the ONLY one before.

That's rather generous of you. I feel like most people would be a lot more "what nooooo! How can I undo this fate??" about that.

What are "Fodlans"?

[sleepfan]

Magical time travel should be possible in theory. It would be very interesting to go back to the beginning of things and see how the first magic was practiced in Abraxas as well as our home worlds.

Interesting. The Church claims there is only one, but they have also restricted outside information, so I cannot confirm whether or not what they say is true of my world. Perhaps the number of deities varies on each world. I wonder if there are any worlds without any gods at all? Would they have magic or would they lack it? Are the two connected?

I am slightly miffed that my own side kills me in Claude's Fodlan, but as I said I expect I am dead in many timelines. I am a noble during a war, even if I am less of a target than some of my colleagues.

I use the term 'Fodlans' to encompass the different timelines of my home world. Fodlan is the continent three of us grew up on and the majority of our information is limited to that continent. It seems arrogant to say 'our world' when I am only considering one part of it.

[aquaveiled]

It is possible! I'm just not sure how to do it. Results have been mixed.

[ Traveling through time is easy when someone else does all the work. ]

Hmm...that's a good question. I was definitely raised and taught that the magic of the world was due to the influence of the kami, but the kami and the natural world kind of go hand in hand? Now I'm not so sure. I think that mayhaps we attribute fantastical things to gods and deities whether they're the source of it or not.

Even if it comes with the territory, sometimes it's not the same as facing it. At least that could be said of others! I'm impressed, is what I mean.

Oh, I see! That makes sense. What is your star called?