cryptsleeper: (Default)
Alucard \\ Adrian F. Ţepeş ([personal profile] cryptsleeper) wrote in [community profile] abraxasnet2024-07-18 10:01 pm

TO: EVERYONE [mid-july]

[ The message arrives to the Summoned in two distinct styles of handwriting, indicating that Alucard and Thancred are coordinating the transmission of this important missive in tandem. ]

Apologies for the interruption, but after some time of investigating, Thancred and I have found some interesting information related to a remaining mystery that dates back to the first time many of us experienced the eternal night of Nocwich.

Alucard is granting me far too much credit, please know he’s the one who uncovered this. But yes, for those of you who were here back then, I’m sure you’ve been wondering who was truly behind the attacks on the three Summoned delegates. It’s certainly haunted me, especially given that it led to the attack on Libertas and the subsequent retaliation against Nott.

It turns out that those responsible were a Nocwich faction of Josselyn Creed’s cult, who skillfully were able to manufacture equipment that appeared to originate from the Free Cities, thus appropriately assigning the blame.

It doesn’t excuse the Queen’s lack of a proper investigation before she made assumptions and mounted her attack, but it does give us all some closure. We can’t be entirely certain what the cult’s motives were, but we can speculate.

It is worth noting here that Josselyn’s cult has roots in a more established faith here, one associated with the concept of a New Day and the Page of Pentacles. I first heard the phrase when we were invited into the realm of the Fae, and it concerned me given how much it sounded like something that could be a cult. As it turns out, there are a number of branches throughout Abraxas. Josselyn was able to turn branches towards her own ends, which in turn explains how so many of us were taken when she executed her plan.

To add another branch to this winding tree, a small village associated with Nott called the Old Emberwoods still practices this faith, and there are other similar hamlets scattered throughout Thorne and Solvunn. While they appear to be harmless and practicing an untainted version of the faith, a few of us will be keeping an eye on them all the same out of an abundance of caution.

On top of that, a mage named Oliver is apparently from Old Emberwoods. Only a few of you may recognize that name, but he was one of the mages who helped a group of Summoned escape Thorne about three years past. Beyond that, all I have been able to learn is that he is older than he looks — about a century, all told.


This information was likewise shared with Sten, who some of you may know from Luna. He was kind enough to keep an ear to the ground, and eventually found an old flyer for one of this group’s meetings. When I visited the location in Ikorr earlier this month, I was able to find another flyer that had the impression of a strong hand writing on top of it. Making rubbings revealed the plans as we have just outlined them, thus bringing this information full circle. From the looks of the location, this branch of the cult has not been active since.

We realize this is a lot of information to take in, particularly for those of you who are more newly Summoned. Feel free to ask questions and we’ll answer to the best of our ability. With any luck, this cult will never again rear its ugly head and we have the answer to a question that has been plaguing some of us for quite some time now.

Likewise, we realize that this information may seem pointless given that this faked attack and the responses it garnered offers uncomfortable parallels to our current moment. There’s no true connection between them, and we are sharing this information for the sake of knowledge and closure.

(( ooc: In case it’s not clear, blue font is Alucard and black font is Thancred. Responses will come from one or both of them, and threadjacking is encouraged as there is a lot to discuss here! ))
funbreaker: (thancred-court-025)

[personal profile] funbreaker 2024-07-19 11:18 pm (UTC)(link)
Do you know if it is a specific type of magic that causes that longevity?
funbreaker: (pic#16108666)

[personal profile] funbreaker 2024-07-19 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
It's specifically the Old Emberwoods village that he's connected to, then. As far as I understand, that's where he grew up. I'll see what else I can learn.
funbreaker: (pic#16108606)

[personal profile] funbreaker 2024-07-19 11:20 pm (UTC)(link)
It was certainly a thorn in my side, knowing that we still had not uncovered the answer. We owe Alucard much.
funbreaker: (thancred-court-003)

[personal profile] funbreaker 2024-07-19 11:21 pm (UTC)(link)
That would be the logical assumption to make, that he was some manner of collateral damage. I cannot say if he was a target or simply happened to be too close to Yennefer when the attack came.
funbreaker: (pic#16108678)

[personal profile] funbreaker 2024-07-19 11:23 pm (UTC)(link)
As Alucard mentioned, the branch seems to have dissolved some time ago. It was likely when Josselyn's plot was uncovered and her cultists were being imprisoned, were I to hazard a guess.
gynvael: (358)

[personal profile] gynvael 2024-07-19 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)
Possible, but...
Yen's injuries were burns, as were Jaskier's.

She didn't report a familiar presence nearby when she was struck.
She'd have recognized him.


[ And would have contemplated killing him herself, but that's a separate matter. ]
itookashot: (8YMHV24)

[personal profile] itookashot 2024-07-19 11:57 pm (UTC)(link)
I figured that was the safest place to hide out after they caused such a stir. No one's heard from them since, so I estimated it was somewhere they could stay without people coming across them easily.

I mean, they could've just hung out in a little village after, it just sounded like they were pretty powerful mages so it seemed strange for them to simply disappear. So I asked myself where I would run, and that was my answer.
aquaveiled: (himeka-646)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2024-07-20 12:41 am (UTC)(link)
I agree. There are so few of us left who remember those times, too.

I had wondered if that, mayhaps, the intent was for the other nations to be able to summon, not just Thorne.

And how long would it have taken Solvunn or Cadens to figure out the Summoning ritual if it weren't for our escape? But it does seem that they had an inkling of their own regardless of our arrival, from what Winifred told Estinien.
aquaveiled: (himeka-558)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2024-07-20 12:45 am (UTC)(link)
So he's from Thorne? Then his actions may simply be disagreeing with what the crown had been doing, which seems...not too difficult to imagine considering everything that's followed.
aquaveiled: (himeka-234)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2024-07-20 12:46 am (UTC)(link)
[ There's a very large arrow pointed to this. Is this liking a comment in mind space? It might be. ]
aquaveiled: (himeka-427)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2024-07-20 12:51 am (UTC)(link)
He has been a stalwart detective! Another title for his impressive resume.

But don't minimize your efforts too, Thancred.
itookashot: (ojFB7Jo)

[personal profile] itookashot 2024-07-20 01:04 am (UTC)(link)
I've heard about it from some of you oldbies, I arrived a few months later, during the peace summit.

They were probably working on it but perfected it with you lot there.

Either way, it does make sense that the attack may have stemmed from the same cult or group that caused shite for us later.
aquaveiled: (himeka-676)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2024-07-20 01:05 am (UTC)(link)
Of course! If there's anything else we can do to help in Solvunn for, well, anything else! We're happy to do so.
magicalarchaeologist: (hearing you)

[personal profile] magicalarchaeologist 2024-07-20 01:07 am (UTC)(link)
I can look into it, I think it's likely a combination of having very powerful natural magic, and perhaps some longevity spells that can only be done with that sort of well of strength. From what was said about Oliver's ability to freeze Thorne guards long enough for people to flee, he'd fit as someone that powerful.
rookvision: (push the people down low)

[personal profile] rookvision 2024-07-20 09:58 am (UTC)(link)
I'm very new that I suspect people might notice the grass growing behind my ears. There's enough that I'm not entirely sure where to start, so: who was this Josselyn Creed and what did her cult do? Besides, apparently, stage an attack on Summoned to start a bloody mess.

Also: are we certain this branch hasn't simply gone into hiding?
ordinar: (♛ 030)

[personal profile] ordinar 2024-07-20 09:03 pm (UTC)(link)
It sounds like they stopped meeting up at the place you guys found, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're gone.
funbreaker: (thancred-court-053)

[personal profile] funbreaker 2024-07-21 03:23 am (UTC)(link)
Then it may be possible that he was attacked by a second party who took advantage of the chaos and confusion, though that would mean they were aware the attack was coming.
aquaveiled: (himeka-499)

[personal profile] aquaveiled 2024-07-21 04:23 am (UTC)(link)
That was some time ago as well. Time here feels like it passes so quickly and yet!

Yes, that's what it sounds like. So mayhaps that theory doesn't hold much weight after all.

Well, let's hope this is the last of it. I think we've all earned a break.
gynvael: (395)

[personal profile] gynvael 2024-07-21 05:55 am (UTC)(link)
[ Hm. Seems as if they're missing something. But: ]

With nearly all involved dead,
I suppose it matters none.

Thorne has more troubling concerns these days.
As do we.
princessvegas: (269. shimmering beautiful)

[personal profile] princessvegas 2024-07-22 01:17 pm (UTC)(link)
Josselyn Creed's cult broke off from one of the Solvunn settlements, and they believed something that I guess is a cross between Solvunn's obsession with the gods and this New Day group. They kidnapped a bunch of people and threw them in a big underground pit, then did experiments on them to try and... turn them into gods, I guess? And then they also believed that we, the Summoned, have a direct link to the gods, and they thought maybe they could steal that, I think. So they kidnapped a bunch of us too. Plus there were some monsters, but I think some of that might have been unintentional and the monsters were just already there? Someone else can chime in on that part.

Anyway, once we started getting snatched up, then the governments cared and everyone all worked together for a few weeks to find and free them. Josselyn got ritual sacrificed for what she did. There was a big vulture god and they turned Josselyn into a sheep and fed her to it. Then we carved shit on her bones. It was kinda cool except for how freaky it was. The rest of the cult, or at least the ones who didn't flip out and turn on Josselyn once shit started to collapse, are in jail in Nocwich. Should've been hung, but the bleeding hearts won by like, one vote or something, so they're just locked up.

Oh, they made us decide what happened to them. Even though we weren't the only ones kidnapped.

Anyway, welcome to Abraxas. You're just in time for the war, but at least you missed the human experimentation. Some of it, anyway.
rookvision: (there ain't shit we don't run)

[personal profile] rookvision 2024-07-22 01:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[...what the fuck.]

Suddenly I'm very glad I came in at the time I did, because that all sounds extremely terrible. Especially given the—dream? vision? whatever that was where we were at least close to being gods.

That's not entirely fair. If you're going to put their fates to a vote, it ought to be extended to everyone else they hurt. Perhaps that might've shifted the balance.

Some of it? Joy, seems there's more on the way.
[And here he is without his hidden blade. Damn it.]
princessvegas: (031. high on legal marijuana)

[personal profile] princessvegas 2024-07-22 01:35 pm (UTC)(link)
Well, one time, a long time ago, the queen of Thorne (the one that just got knocked off by her uncle) tried to steal our connection to the Singularity and put it in an Abraxan. But that didn't work. Guy died, the Summoned they did it to almost died. Oliver saved her.

And I don't know exactly what the Free Cities are up to, but it's definitely not nothing. Militaries LOVE big empty deserts they can do creepy unethical shit in.

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