Peace: Kavrika's Sacrifice

Notes from the attendant:

-“Keep Nanan” and “Keep Kvorak” are two identical castles, surrounded by ocean. They exist in a quantum rift— each castle appears to be in the other’s skyline, with the ocean appearing to curve in on itself (in the direction of the throne room window.) It is suspected that there are unusual relativistic phenomena between the two keeps as a result of this.

-The quantum curvature of the folded sea is relative to the observer (rather than in an objective physical location). Thus, travel by sea or sky between the keeps is impossible.

-Keep Nanan is within the Manifold, while Keep Kvorak is Omnifold desynced. Thus, we will only be able to port you in/out of Keep Nanan.

-The Kvorak came to their keep about a year ago. The Nanan came to theirs 3 months ago. Both were uninhabited prior.

Tech Level: Roughly Medieval
Magic Level: Commonplace Specialized Arcana
Acceptable Casualties: Two civilizations must still be left standing

Mission Objective: Broker a lasting peace between the Nalan Kingdom and the Kvorak Tribunal

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Kavrika's Prayer

As above, so below.

I’ve died twice so far. I felt myself go both times. I miss what was there before.

I’m supposed to be brave, the duty of a windcaller. I was once— brave enough to make the journey. But all I found was cowardice.

They locked me in the dungeon. Such is a coward’s lot, I deserve nothing else.

My soul aside, my heart is broken but whole. With her dying breath, my mother made two heartstones, so that I may always be close to the family I had left. She said we’d be able to hear each other anywhere, so long as we had the ears to listen.

I have no family left now. I carried both stones, but the Nanan took one before they hanged me. The last thing I heard was them calling it “worthless trash,” discarding it on the floor of the cell.

The one so very much like mine.

My mother is still with me then, even as we’re worlds apart. That at least brings me small comfort.

Esteemed Primarch seeks to destroy those greedy fools. I wish them death as well but… she has made so many journeys, sacrificed so much that only hate remains. She is too blind now to see this would only bring the end of us all.

I pray now to you mother, to El-Kvorakai above, and to anyone else listening— please, let there be peace here at the end of the worlds.

Or else all of this was for nothing.

-A prayer from Kavrika of the Kvorak

The players: Ylva the Onmyoji, Janny the Aspiring Inkeeper, Whimsy the Illusionist, and Magpie the Wanderer, arrived in the dining hall of keep Nanan as King Narshannal was finishing his announcement praising his general for his service to the kingdom. He then pulled a lever and his general was hanged by a black rope.

Whimsy stuck around in the hall and spoke to a Nanan guard at the feast. He revealed that the Nanan had developed an "infinite money scheme" due to the nature of the quantum rift. This came in two parts: Firstly, if If one hanged themself on the black rope nooses, they would reappear in the other castle, alongside anything they carried. However, this took a toll on one's soul. Second, any and all magic that was cast in one castle would be reflected and magnified in the other. Thus, the Nanan figured out they could conjure gold from gold in the other castle, and get twice the gold back in their own. Whimsy went to explore further, finding the throne room. She found the throne room, where she saw the other castle through the skylight. She tried to communicate through magic but was blown out of the room by unseen wind magic.

Meanwhile, Magpie, Janny, and Ylva journeyed down to the dungeons. Magpie incapacitated the guard and down in the cells, Ylva reached out to the spirits. There they found the soul of a fallen Kvorak who had been killed by the Nanan. He told them that he died protecting his sister and she still had half of their mothers' pendant which would allow communication between the two halves over any realm or distance. Agents found the other stone in a neighboring cell and spoke with Kavrika. She told them her plight, and warned that Primarch Mahkthi and the Kvorak were planning an attack in retribution. She also told them how she had tried to meet with the Nanan, but they attacked her and she barely managed to escape back to her castle by hanging herself. This took a toll on her and she lost the courage to be a warrior and was imprisoned by her people.

Whimsy rendezvoused with the agents in the cell. They found the noose Kavrika had used to hang herself and rather than following in her stead, they disguised it as a balloon and ventured back upstairs. Magpie found a point on the map where there was a clear link between the castles. There, they saw the returned General Rabanno arguing with a couple Kvorak Windcallers who had followed in his stead in the dining hall. Janny followed them inside while the other agents went towards the throne room, near the nexus point.

Whimsy managed to use the noose at the nexus point on the balcony behind the throne to energywork a viewpoint to be able to talk to Primarch Mahkthi and the Kvorak tribunal. They were not receptive, especially following the events of the upcoming scene...

Janny tried to quell the debate by scolding both sides, but the general was clearly not receptive and had his fire mages ready their blasts. Janny's housecarl Carl then whacked him upside the head, which prompted the mages to fire. Fortunately Janny had set up a shield wall and fire ward to protect herself. Unfortunately this blast was mirrored in Keep Kvorak, causing them to immediately begin preparing for war.

The Kvorak tribunal set to creating a wave to flood their own castle using their wind magic. This was reflected into a tsunami that was headed straight for Keep Nanan. All seemed lost as Janny ran onto the balcony, pursued by a horde of furious Nanan guards as the wave formed in the ocean ready to drown the castle. In a last ditch effort Ylva and all of the other agents combined their power and petitioned the spirits of the joined castles. With the help of Kavrika, Ylva used the nine cuts to cut through the quantum rift itself.

However, everything here has a reciprocal cost. Destroying the rift meant sacrificing one of the ones who cast the spell. Finding her courage, Kavrika volunteered for the sake of peace.
The rift was destroyed and the agents were back in the castle and the sky no longer had a sea and castle in it. Guards burst through the door and charged at the agents.

Badges pinged and they got the hell out of there.

• Whimsy

• Janny unregistered
• Magpie unregistered
• Ylva unregistered