NoLI Recap page

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Recap page for NoLI, separated by DATE, newest bottom. This is meant to be a running narrative, and a holding place until categorization later

date

8-29-2018

The Big Ask from Mimer had been Answered, and the keystone to Thoth's temple arch was restored. Accordingly, so had Skald's Chalice, restoring the long (long) lost knowledge of the Seidhrs. This left our heroes with some free time, which NoLI used to take his family to visit Tathamet and Shara used to visit hers and make some decisions about her future. So, as Nelson, Selah and family were sailing east to Serosian, so Shara was with her family considering whether to take up the offer to be a servant to the Kelpie for two years in order to gain the right to a noble title. Of course, this is StoryTime. Things went pear-shaped fast.

The very instant Nelson’s foot hit the quay at Serosian, he got a brainwave message asking him to report to Mt. Atwood. He made sure his family was on the way to Tathamet’s palace and that there were ample soldiers to guarantee their safety, and then popped to Mt. Atwood to answer the call -- it had been difficult to hear properly, but the message was received. Unfortunately, nobody from Asgård had actually called NoLI. It took much longer than it should have to figure that out, but once done, NoLI did some cheating/hopping, landed on a nearby boat, and was permitted to transfer directly to Serosian without the five days’ penalty (which he had been anticipating). He presumed that his mother ‘intervened’ with the rules a bit. What he found made his blood run cold. In place of his family, there was a new blackened, smoking crater, where something terrible and magical had taken place. His presence on the island was registered by Tathamet, who instructed him to come to the palace at once.

There, NoLI found that the disaster had claimed his soldiers, his sailors and his personal flagship, but Tathamet had been able to at least save his family. Although devastated at the loss of friends who honorably served their country and were close acquaintances, the preservation of his family was a deep joy.

The kids (Joachim Aquila, 9; Oliver Karl, 9; Johanna Lunia, 7; Miranda Tathamet, 7) were okay, but very shaken up. Oliver took shrapnel through his neck and expected to be dead, but was magically preserved. The rest had been rubble-ized and thrown around, but were largely fine. Selah, however, was a different story.

Tathamet told the story: one of her Elders had turned and used the opportunity of NoLI’s absence to strike out against him. Tathamet discovered what had happened just a few moments too late; the kids were in a position she could save them (even Oliver with his massive neck wound), but Selah was far too injured. After obliterating the Elder, Tathamet had only one reasonable alternative: she had to give Selah some of her blood. So, Selah was alive, but burning from the inside out. She was, in no uncertain terms, turning into an Elder. NoLI was happy about that, at first; it solved a very specific problem he had been worrying about for some time. But all was not as it seemed.

Through a series of conversations -- including in one circular room that was clearly a sanctum of sorts for Tathamet, NoLI was told about the great cost that had impacted his mother and family that day. Not only was Selah’s transformation not something immediately desirable -- she would basically be absent from the world for several thousand years, and need to be monitored so she didn’t decide to boil the oceans or something -- but it was likely to change her in ways that could render her personality unrecognizable. Even once ‘back,’ she would have to be absent from the world, largely. Even worse, the Elder that had turned was Akamet. Tathamet’s last living blood relative (not counting her son), leaving her as the last native Dragon/Elder who had not been born human. Tathamet continued to project strength, power and calm, but even NoLI could tell she was devastated.

Tathamet asked NoLI to take a scepter that was with Akamet’s smoldering clothes to the room with the dragon scale, so she didn’t have to. He did so with Tathamet’s express permission to let him enter the room. Once inside, he realized that the scepter was made of pure dexenium, and along with the scale, was one of the most powerful magical artifacts he had ever beheld. Probably the two most powerful in the world. As he set the scepter on the table, NoLI had a vision that took just a fraction of a second, but was powerful in content. He saw -- he actually beheld -- the last betrayal of Calen and his curse upon The Nameless One. He walked out of the room.

Tathamet had some good news, also. Selah could be saved without needing to turn into a dragon. If all of Tathamet’s blood was removed and Selah was allowed to die, and THEN she was given a complete refill of blood from less dragon-y sources, she could live. It was tricky, and something nobody outside of maybe Vordai might even consider, but possible. NoLI was game right away. He knew that letting Selah become an Elder would be devastating to her, ultimately. She would not live to see her children grow up, and would most likely have preferred death to the curse it would bring upon her. He just had to find the right donors.

He was willing to sacrifice as much blood as possible, but Tathamet suggested he could gather the best and brightest magic users around to help share the blood load. So, he called Shara and SBoW to beg them for help. They were both willing. Tathamet had also suggested asking Melisande, but she was on a specific pathway (which narratee understood, but NoLI and Shara would not really know about). It was probably for the best -- it would not put Melisande in a position where she would feel pressured to accept even though her hatred for the Northmen would want her to refuse.

The arcane ritual took place. Selah was drained of blood and then restored from the blood of NoLI, SBoW and Shara. Even Tathamet was tired afterward. It was not a procedure for the faint of heart. However, the recovery afterward was quick and easy. In fact, easy enough that NoLI found it curious (and potentially suspicious). Not that Tathamet was up to no good, but he wondered how much of the burden Tathamet took upon herself without letting others share the load.

As everyone was feeling pretty good and Tathamet was going off to recover both emotionally, physically and magically, Shara had a few more items of business to discuss with NoLI. She had made a decision on her future, although they did not have a chance to discuss before the StoryTime session came to a close. More pressing, she wanted a weapon of some kind -- similar to Himmelsvakt, but more attuned to her skills -- that would let her focus her magic. She mentioned a spear, which seemed like a good idea, but NoLI wanted her to train for a while with the Kelpie until she found a weapon that she loved using. Unfortunately, even if she chose the Kelpie, they weren’t going to actually train her. She would be a mop/broom/cleaning person, not considered worthy to learn fighting techniques from the Kelpie. NoLI was offended for her and thought she was getting the short end of the stick.