## `=this.Storyline` **`=this.Short`** > Date: **`=this.SessionDate`** | Players: **`=this.Players`** > Location: **`=this.Location`** | Game: **`=this.Game`** ##### Summary Long after [[The First Guild War]], [[Eldreth]] was on the verge of [[The Second Guild War]] due to the rising power of the [[Magic Guild]]. A [[Miracle Box|strange magic box]] was brought to the land by a man named [[Tai Pai]] and the [[Artiston Pilgrims]]. The Miracle Box was said to be able to render magic useless, and this greatly upset the balance of power in the region of Tameda. This war saw the arrival of the until-now-secret [[Blermigian Mages]] and their leader [[Emperor Falon|Falon]], who would see this as the first step on their way to becoming the Immortal Emperor. The war ended and the box was destroyed in the [[The Fishmarket Battle]]. > [!NOTE]- Full Story > #### **The First Guild War** > > It started, like many things, with a war. > > A guild war to be precise. You see, guilds were a relatively new thing. They formed around the crafts that civilization was built upon: the Potters, Stonemasons, Blacksmiths and others. Artisans and Craftsmen. These organizations were displacing the traditional seats of power and wealth - the Lumber Barons and Quarry Lords. > > A power grab by the Stonemasons brought the world into conflict. Many years of bloody fighting took their toll on the land. In the end, the Potters were mostly wiped out and their main village, Hill Hollow, remained a smoldering ruin no matter how much time passed.. Those that remained were exiled to [[Potter's Island]]. "You can't trust a Potter." > > Though the First Guild War had passed into recent memory, a new conflict began to take shape centered around the rapidly expanding Magic Guild. Some say that the Magic Guild is growing too powerful and that they need to be stopped from getting too big. Sabotage is the order of the day. > > Such was the march of progress and with it, tumultuous change. The future was coming. Though the war was over, the unease remained. > > #### **Bonedust Feud** > > Meanwhile, two powerful families, the [[Ventik Family]] and [[Orben Family]], were embroiled in their own conflict - a feud that has sustained itself over many generations. As these things go, neither side really knew ow it started, though they conveniently blames the other. A [[Blood Curtain]] marched for miles between the two neighboring families. > > A travelling theater troupe began touring with a new production that explored the feud through the story of a deep and forbidden love. As an innovation, the production involved the audience in deciding how the play ends. Some nights, the feud has a tragic ending, other nights the animosity would be defused and the families live happily ever after. It started a region wide dialog that reached both families, who take note of a positive possible future. > > Once the turmoil in the region heats up, the two families decide to finally put their feud to rest. An arranged marriage solidifies their new union and the two families form a corporation that they hoped would protect them from the anticipated battles - [[Ventikorben Corp]] > > #### **A Sacred Pilgrimage** > > There were some who escaped the Guild Wars. These craftsmen and artisans founded Artistown on the other side of the great sea. A contingent of these people began a pilgrimage to their homeland and arrived just as our story takes place. They bring a new luxury item with them - paint. Soon, the scattered shrine and cairn would become colorful celebrations of the dead. > > Among the pilgrims is **The Outsider**, who carries a box that they claim will make magic useless. It is said to manipulate reality and doesn't have the time cost of traditional magic. Some say that the box is a hoax and any demonstrations of its power are all clever tricks. It is known as the[[Miracle Box]]. > > #### **A Humble Beginning** > > **The Hero** came from Potter's Island. > > **The Scholar** went to Potter's Island to learn and soon became fast friends with **The Hero**. The Scholar learned much from The Hero and their people. But more importantly, The Scholar told The Hero of a hidden path through the sea, away from the island. The Hero escaped with **The Firstborn** and **The Rescued** to the mainland. They ran into **The Spy**, who claimed to be a wood-carver pilgrim from Artiston. They were, in fact, a mage from Blermig. The Spy was falsely accused of trying to infiltrate the Magic Guild. > > The Hero did not stay though. Their place was back with their people on Potter's Island. The Rescued was tasked with watching over The Firstborn, though they did not honor their obligation and is rumored to have joined an acting troupe. The Firstborn sought to hide their pottery roots, though continued to practice the craft with the family heirloom tools in secret. They made pots and other essentials for those that couldn't afford it. It is also said that they had sticky fingers. > > #### **Some More Acquaintances** > > The Ally was a member of the Weaver's Guild. They discovered hints that a second Guild War was brewing. They tried to bring this to light, but were instead blamed of trying to foment violence. The ensuing trial was a kangaroo court. The Hero breaks them out of prison and the two travel together to try and stop the war. > > **The Lover** had known the hero since they were both 11. There are many bawdy tales of their younger days, but those are for a different time. When The Hero (with the Ally) showed up after many years away, looking for a place to lay low, The Lover took them in and kept them safe. They did not stay long and soon The Hero was gone again, promising to return soon. > > **The Entwined** was also accused of sabotage against the Magic Guild and also had a sham trial. The Ally rescued The Entwined, much as The Hero had once done for them, by making a copy of the key out of clay. > > #### **Tension Grows** > > **The Stranger** came from the forest to the west. They had been thought long dead after disappearing in the forest a decade ago. They brought a tale of a secret underground city, called **Blermig**, supposedly a society of mages. > > **The Nemesis**, Blermig's head mage and reportedly dead sexy, hears word of The Outsider's miracle box. They mobilize an group of Blermigian Mages and begins leading them into the region. The Hero and the Ally attempt to stop the march and barely escaped thanks to an auspicious volcano eruption. > > While trouble was brewing on the mainland, the potter's went on strike. They overthrew their captors and captured the lead guard. A majority of their numbers boarded boats to head back to the mainland. > > #### **Fight! Fight!** > > Fighting in and around the Fishmarket had begun in earnest. The first battle saw the Blermig Mages ambushed in the night by the Venikorben Corp. > > The fighting in Fishmarket became violent. There are Pilgrims, Potters, Mages and other Guildsmen, all fighting for a piece of the future. The Outsider is killed in the battle and the Potters claim to have recovered the miracle box. > > The Entwined escaped the fighting with a strong need for vengeance against The Hero. They murdered the Firstborn. > > At the end of the fighting, The Nemesis had come out on top. They made themselves known as the greatest mage in the land and subjugated the rest of the guilds under their rule. > > #### Epilogue > > A 1500 page epic in iambic pentameter was written about the Nemesis, glorifying the Blermig mage. The Entwined worked with the poet to insert a secret code - places where the rhyming meter was wrong- that told the true story of The Nemesis and The Hero. > > The rescued returned to Potter's Island, now no longer a prison island. They remade the island into a pace the potter's could be proud of. > > ### **Appendix** > > #### **Magic** > > Magic always has a cost. With the way that Mages of this era learned to manipulate reality, that cost was time. Once a spell was started the caster would be frozen into place until the spell's completion. For smaller spells, this could be just a few moments or hours. Some bigger spells might require months or years. It is not unknown for a mage to "run out of time" before the spell can be completed and become a stone statue. > > #### **Ancestor Day** > > This important holiday is celebrated with festivals, solemn ceremonies, and fried dough. The cairns and shrines scattered about the land are cared for and each shrine has its specific traditions and food offerings. It is considered bad luck to fight on this day. > > #### **The Ghost Shepherd** > > Hushed rumors speak of a spectral shepherd that roams near the smoldering remains of Hill Hollow, leading a flock of ghostly sheep. > > #### **Eternal Mural** > > A mural of what the world should be. Multiple iterations of the mural are spread around. Sections of the mural are painted and then replicated on he other murals. The result is a living, evolving and collaborative mural that is a symbol of a hopeful future.