Lore24 Roundup 14
- Aelyrya Payne
- Jun 5, 2024
- 10 min read
April 1st - 7th (Days 92-98)
Welcome to Lore24 Roundup 14!
We're starting a new theme, artefacts and legends, beginning with a couple of my favourites, and deepening some already established lore. If you want to see the original post, they can all be found on my Mastodon.
Remember, all Lore24 posts are initial thoughts - they are not finalised at this stage!
Breakdown of Lore24 Roundup 14
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92. The Harbinger; A Sailors' Legend
The Harbinger. Bane of Buccaneers. A quad-masted, tri-tiered Super-Heavy Frigate that patrols the seas and oceans, far and wide, seeking wrongdoers and evil intent. She is naught but a ghost; black wood and sails that move in absolute silence, resolute in her mission. She stalks her prey, waiting for the perfect moment to strike, a green-tinged fog your only warning that this doombringer is near. The good, the righteous and the innocent have nothing to fear from the Harbinger; she will simply pass you by, her silent shadow a warning to remain untainted. But those whose deeds run darker… You have no hope, not even to flee. She will find you and send your damned souls to the deepest, most fathomless depths.
None know where she hails from, nor where she makes berth. Not a soul knows the name of her Captain, and none have come close enough to see her herald and live to tell the tale. Be cautious, sea-going friends; ensure your deeds are pure, left the black-sailed ghost ship delivers its judgement upon you and yours, bringing doom to vagrants across the seas and delivering vengeance where others dare not.
Harbinger was one of my first "myths" that I created, and she remains my favourite to this day. This is partly because I love ships, but I also love ghost stories, and myths about ghost ships are that perfect combination of both! I intentionally made Harbinger using the concept of a Ship of the Line, which is a military warship and wasn't really a thing outside of navies. This is because of how impressive they were, and Harbinger was always going to be big and scary!
93. The Gods' Beacons
Created by the A’arden Deities at the beginning of the Age of Renewal, shattered shards held in proximity to each other by powerful forces are all that remain of these Celestial tools. The Beacons were built to act as a messaging system, sending out a call across the Far Realm and inviting those without a place to call home to visit. Aegis did not pass on the secret to creating new souls before he entered his slumber, so the A’arden Gods built the Beacons in order to repopulate A’arde. It is believed that there were previously over a thousand Beacons placed throughout A’arde, but only around a hundred of them remain, albeit shattered and powerless. This is because the Beacons were destroyed at the end of the Age of Dragons, after the Interloper Dragon, Ythrynaar, used them to force his way out of his Astral Prison and bring the Reign of Ash upon A’arde. Despite being dormant, the Beacons could still be utilised to connect to other Planes, a flaw that Ythrynaar exploited. Fearing a repeat of the Interloper’s assault by other powerful beings, the A’arden Gods destroyed the Beacons, leaving only scattered remnants of the once powerful items. One of the most famous examples rests at the top of the Amaranth Tower in Fuldair, a city in Curtana, West Eirinn.
It's always been a thing in A'arde that the only "natives" to the Material Plane were some species of animal and the Gods themselves. So how did A'arde repopulate? Well... the Gods got altruistic! "If our home was almost destroyed, then surely there are those out there whose homes have gone, and they need somewhere new?" That's where the Beacons came in, sending out a message of hope into the Far Realm. But in the end, even technologies created in the name of hope and love can be used for destruction. This is why we can't have nice things, Ythrynaar...!
94. The Huntsman's Call
The Huntsman’s Call is an artefact that once belonged to the Green Lord, Euane, an incredibly powerful Archfey and the beloved adopted brother of the God-King of the Fey, Oberon. It is a magical whistle that allows the user to summon part or all of the Wild Hunt from anywhere in the Planes. It also allows the user to see through the eyes and hear through the ears of any Hound summoned by it. In addition, simply having the Huntsman’s Call upon your person was said to protect the bearer from the enthralling effects of the presence of the Wild Hunt.
The artefact was a gift from Oberon to Euane, and its location after the Green Lord’s murder is unknown.It is said that the next time the Huntsman’s Call resurfaces, Oberon will choose a new Green Lord. Treasure hunts seeking glory gave rise to many imitation objects, now known simply as Huntsman’s Whistles, but the location of the actual Huntsman’s Call remains unknown. Nobody is entirely sure what it looks like, only that it was crafted from the wood of a rare Sylvan Elder tree by Oberon himself, then filled with the Blessings of the Wild Hunt, including Herne, Arawn, Gwynn and Cernunnos.
This item is special to me, though I can't really go into detail as to why without ruining the plot of, like... book seventeen! I kid. Or do I...? Anyway, this item is important to me because the Wild Hunt is just... incredibly deeply embedded within my heart. And the story of the Green Lord, and how he died, is one that I both loved and hated having to write. Loved, because it's such an important story that had to be told; the why. Why are the Green Knights gone? Why does the Hunt no longer ride? Why is Oberon so obviously absent from certain places within Tìr na Sìthe? But hated because it was so sad, so painful to put into words... all the horrible things that were done. This item became a bit of a symbol for me, and it's one of my favourite artefacts.
95. The Hunt of Deadhallows
It has been 10,000 years since the Wild Hunt rode freely upon the world of A’arde. Tragedy led to the Fey Retreat, and the Hunt all but vanished into myth. As the Age of Chaos reigned, Spirits of all kinds found it easy to shed their shackles and roam freely, bringing yet more troubles to the already struggling world. Arawn Farchognos, the Elven God of the Dead and the Hunt, hated that he could no longer pursue the wayward spirits as he once had, and was not permitted to petition for a Hunt himself. Instead, he sent his Chosen to do his bidding, imbuing them with all the power that he could. But it remained inadequate. Until one of Arawn’s Chosen, a Wild Elf by the name of Nosddu, decided to petition the Gods for a Hunt himself. He used all his skills to find his way to the home of the Hunt, and bargained for Arawn’s bindings to be released, offering his own soul as collateral. Arawn attempted to dissuade them, for he valued the life of his Chosen, but the other Hunters saw sense in Nosddu’s request. The Spirits were running rampant; a Hunt was needed. So the Hunters made Nosddu the first of the Shade Host, and allowed Arawn to ride on but a single night; Deadhallows, when his power was strongest. And so began the ride of the Shade Host, the last remnant of the Wild Hunt, and the one thing keeping spirits in check.
Keeping with the Wild Hunt theme, I've already established that Deadhallows is when the last vestiges of the Wild Hunt, the Shade Host, are able to be seen. But why is that? What happened that made the Gods do a little backtrack for Arawn? And why him, of all the Hunters? Well, it has to do with Dead Things. So of course, the only God of Death within the Wild Hunt took precedence on this one. But the reality is that for a while, there was no Hunt whatsoever, and that ended up causing more problems than it solved. The Gods can move about on A'arde; that's well known, but the issue is with large groups of powerful beings making organised events across the Material Plane. And the Hunters, even those not of the Godly variety, are potently powerful beings. The Wild Elf Nosddu (pronounced nos-THEH), was the one who decided to do something about the chaos that was being caused by the excess of naughty spirits, and so because of him, we now have fewer rampaging ghosts to worry about!
96. Star of Syntyche
The Star of Syntyche can refer to two things; first, the Divine Artefact gifted by the Gnomish Goddess, Syntyche Farseer, or second, one of three items created by the Gnomes when the Star was broken up. The Divine Artefact was a large faceted crystal of swirling blue and white that glowed like a star. It granted the bearer incredible wisdom, the power to see into the minds of others, and the ability to see into the near future. For centuries it was used to guide the Gnomes in their new world, but then a trio of siblings, a King, a Priestess, and a Champion, squabbled over who should hold the Star. The King believed it should be him, because he was the ruler of their people and therefore in charge of their wellbeing. The Priestess believed that she should hold it, because it was her duty to maintain the spiritual health of their people. The Champion believed that he should, because he had already been Chosen by the Goddess and was the first line of defence for the people. As the squabble continued, Syntyche knew that they all had valid points, so she split the Star into three and gave a piece to each, along with the words, “Alone you are strong, but together you are whole.” Those three pieces now make up the three “Stars of Syntyche”, the Crown of Avaharr, the Sceptre of Stars, and the Amulet of the Farseer.
This item was a tricky one for me, because I knew I wanted it to be a trio of objects that became stronger when reunited, but I wasn't sure about why such an item would be broken in the first place. Conflict or war made sense, but I didn't want it to be quite so dramatic. I wanted the message to be pointed, but not necessarily soaked in blood. Then I remembered the squabbles I used to have with my sister. When we were growing up we only had one computer, and there was a day we both wanted to use it. She bit me, I headbutted her... ah, those were the days... That's how we ended up with a computer schedule for us both. I won't say we never argued again, but we never actually resorted to teeth and headbutts after that! The concept of siblings arguing just seemed so right in the context of the Star, so it stuck!
97. Hallbera Steindrottning's Hammer
A cursed Stone Golem’s Hammer, this artefact once belonged to a fallen Giant Queen, who consorted with dark entities to further expand her power. The Hammer itself was once typical of its kind, but over time became infused with the jealous and greedy nature of Hallbera. In time, the Hammer developed a curse upon it that caused great destruction wherever it went. Once attuned to Hallbera’s Hammer, everyone that ever wielded it was cursed with insatiable bloodlust and greed that corrupted their very soul. Once fully corrupted, they would turn into a monster and the cursed Hammer would abandon them, seeking a new owner to further the destruction. While the Hammer gave great strength and magic resistance, if its wielder did die while in possession of it, their bodies would turn to stone and explode. The last known wielder of the Hammer, before it was sealed in the Vaults beneath Fuldair, was Valdemar Stormbryder, a Dwarven warrior who came upon it by accident. Valdemar killed every last one of his Battle Brothers before he was brought down by an unnamed Elite Strike Force and the Hammer taken from him. Freed from the curse by the Strike Force’s unnamed priest, Valdemar willingly gave himself up for punishment, and the Hammer was sealed away.
Players in my Sunday game experienced this artefact long before I cemented the lore behind it. When I posted the lore about it, one of I players even commented, quote:"Hey wait a minute!.... I remember the unfun of this bastard thing!"
I think I did well! Mechanically, the artefact is "cursed" due to Corruption, as opposed to an actual curse, making it worse than a curse because it cannot be removed by any means, other than complete destruction.
98. The Satellite, Sybil
It is said that only 67 souls survived the initial onslaught of the Primeval Titans, and that those 67 became the Deities of the True A’arden Pantheon. But when Aegis arrived, there was at least one other still alive. We know her as Sybil, the beloved wife of Boone and the mother of his daughter, Eislyn. She too was among those that Aegis helped Ascend; but in a tragic twist, she did not survive. Perhaps her Ascension was interrupted, or perhaps she was simply too weak to take the power given to her, but whatever happened, Boone’s wife passed, and his grief was immeasurable. He formed a crystalline tomb to preserve and protect her body, and when the war was won, he returned to mourn. But as the Beacons sent out their Call to the Multiversal Cosmologies, Boone saw potential futures in which Sybil’s Tomb was ransacked. Unable to bear the thought of his wife’s resting place being desecrated, he lifted her Tomb into the sky and hid her among the stars, turning her into his most powerful omen for Mortalkind. Nobody can predict when or where in the skies Sybil will appear; it is Boone’s decree, but when she shines above, she brings messages both great and terrible.
Perhaps it's a strange way to do things, but I create the satellites, constellations and celestial bodies, then build the lore. So from the beginning, I knew that there was a mysterious satellite that only appeared for special occasions, and that it was named for Boone's dead wife. The decision to turn it into an actual tomb for her was a spur of the moment decision, as was the idea that perhaps, the 67 were not the only ones there in the beginning. This idea that there were others, others who for whatever reason could not join the 67 in their Ascended existence, makes the whole thing a lot sadder, because we don't know who the Gods lost, when they believed they were saved. All of a sudden, we're more aware of there being a before for them - they had a world, lives, families, friends... which they all lost.
Next time, we visit more tales and artefacts from the world of A'arde. Head on over to Mastodon to see the catchup posts as they're released!
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