Parting the AuroraAcross the Realm, something stirs...
After over a month spent traversing Frozen Gates, a journey filled with both grave dangers and incredible discoveries, the Aurora Expedition makes its long trek back to mainland Theavia. When they arrive in Dura’s harbour in mid-September, they bring with them stories of their adventure, and lost knowledge brought back from the edge of nowhere…
Table of Contents
Event Summary Event Ending Participants Prizes Lore Updates Aftermath of PotM What’s Next?
This section summarizes player actions during the Path of the Moon event, and the outcomes of different prompts.
I: Through the Gates
In the Realm’s far north lies a forbidding, icy continent known as the Frozen Gates. Long unexplored due to its extreme climate and dangerous magical phenomena, it was once the home of the ancient moonvipers… and in more recent times, the birthplace of aggressive beasts made of living ice.
After ice monsters attacked Dutoria’s northern cities during an unusually cold winter, scholars from Dutoria, the Land of Rivers and Xocrium worked together to organize the Aurora Expedition: the most ambitious attempt to explore the Frozen Gates in history. This expedition was only made possible due the actions of the expedition’s leader, Lárensína Primrose, a Dutorian noble and accomplished alchemist. Using methods she shared with only a select few individuals, she crafted a potion that successfully protected the expedition’s members from the Gates’ wild magic. Other important members of the expedition included: Sören Rockrose, a Dutorian soldier and one of the sole survivors of the ice monster attack on the city of Aurora, for which the expedition was named. He served as bodyguard to Lárensína. From the Land of Rivers, a moonviper named Gloria Ex Undis; the founder of a northern research outpost, Nuova Cadere, and a longtime research partner of Lárensína, Gloria’s main interests are in learning more about the ancient homeland of her people. She is accompanied by the survivalist Ignis Stet, also from her research outpost; the esteemed historian Amnis Compos Mentis and his familiar Obscura; Dancing Under a Rainy Night as healer and Perigee representative; and Padus Justitiam Moniti and his familiar Verity as protectors and Southern League representatives. From Xocrium, a religious scholar named Guy Allaire attended the expedition, eager to look into the tale of the “Ice Queen”; and Lord-General Haveron Maxmour and Lady Gwenore Basil, will be travelling with the Aurora Expedition this summer. They chase an ancient legend that says that the Ice Queen left Xocrium behind and travelled into the Frozen Gates, never to be seen again. And from Meros, the expedition hired the famed Copper Claws mercenary company for further protection. Its leader, a stormherald named Markus, attended the expedition personally, not wanting to allow his employees to venture somewhere so dangerous without him. In high summer, after much preparation and the recruitment of extra members for academic and protection purposes, they departed Dutoria’s capital and delved into the far north, determined to uncover its secrets. II: Blood on the Ice
After two weeks of travel, the Aurora Expedition made its first major discovery. A sign of life - or, well, death - within the frozen wastes of the Gates.
A trail of scattered bodies poked out of the snow. Gloria and other members of the Nuova Cadere party recognized on their regalia the emblems of the Northern Empire, and excitement spread through their ranks. Old riverlander legends said that Adeodatus’ heirs had fled into the Frozen Gates, never to be seen again, but this is the first hard evidence of such to be found. The expedition followed the trail of bodies further north, until the remains of a small settlement appeared on the horizon. One of the first things noted about this region is the sheer number of bodies scattered about like so many pine needles in the frost and snow. At the request of Dancing, teams were sent to mark the locations of the bodies, which was done with great success. In the process of marking bodies, Harbinger and Qin Greygale detected and attempted to pursue the shadow tailing the team, to no avail. Anura Anguis-Pyrrhic, Psychopomp ad Astra de Morte, the team of Nightingale and Vix, Doctor Viktor Volkov, and Serene Zahari Meredith-Naumov also aided in marking efforts. While exploring this strange outpost, Olezka Pavel Molachalin-Novikov discovered that the uppermost rooms of the structure called the Grand Hall housed the answer to a mystery long left unsolved. Here he found the bodies of Adeodatus’s four lost children, frozen in an ageless rest. Remembering tales from Xocrian religious canon of an ancient Ice Queen who had disappeared into the far north, the priest Guy Allaire sought out the assistance of expedition members to track down any evidence of her presence in this outpost, however brief. Most expedition members seemed otherwise occupied during this period, but the Northern Shipwrecker Chukchi, Darkling/Shipwrecker hybrid Panpan, Sundrake/Windwyrm Angelus, and Xocrian Ameria Blakewood took the time to assist. Gloria Ex Undis considered the discovery of the outpost to be the first great achievement of the expedition, and requested assistance in searching for signs of more towns and cities in the Frozen Wastes – a map, for instance, or other hints thereof. She managed to garner the assistance of Fireworm/Moonviper hybrid Opalus Memento Vivere, High Heart Padwellan Kalastajavaris Pikkulintu, and the bonded pair Spectre and Ameria Blakewood. Working together, they found a stone map of the Frozen Gates embedded with memories that, among other discoveries, revealed the outpost’s name to be Ianua and the location of a nearby, perhaps-once-forested city named Achori, represented by an Elder Drake. While the expedition investigated Ianua, flickers of movement and strange noises are commonly reported, but it is not until a thunder of greatly mutated dragons emerges from the Vast Fissure that the source is realized. These warped, eyeless creatures attacked the expedition, mad with hunger and seemingly not expecting much resistance. But resistance they got, as members of the expedition reacted en masse and utterly routed the Moons-Cursed. The few who survived wormed back into their caves in retreat — it was clear they would not be bothering the expedition again… at least as long as their memories lasted. After the attack of the Moons-Cursed, the expedition spent some time recuperating before moving on towards Achori in the hope that it still stood. Among those preparing are familiars Llyr and Verity; Springsinger/Moonviper Borealis Prima Luce, Xocrian-Padwellan Rey Ukonilma, and Dutorian Eyvindur Maikoa; Stormheralds Scourge and Fervor Dobnov; and Seraphim Harbinger and Qin Greygale, Brookian Nikolai Arman Abramov-Sobakin, and Brookian-Hovellian Iskra Malyna Balabanov-Nikolaev. III: The Silent City
Departing the Icy Outpost, the Aurora Expedition followed Gloria’s stone map to where the location of the ancient moonviper’s capital, Achori, was said to be. But once they reached its location, nothing but ice and snow greeted their eyes in all directions. Was the map wrong, or had Achori been wiped off the face of the Realm in the intervening centuries?
One of the expedition members let out a shriek, and all eyes turned to watch Guy Allaire vanish, the ice crumbling beneath his feet, shimmers of heat rippling out from the crevasse. Markus and Sören leaped after him, anticipating having to make a quick rescue, only to stop in their tracks, confused. Only a few feet below them, Guy sat, disoriented, in a tunnel that had once been sealed over by ice. They have located Achori - the city sits in a cavern beneath the glacier. The city of Achori turned out to be much warmer than anticipated based on the rest of the Frozen Gates, largely due to the plentiful Heat runes throughout the city. After a month of travelling through the cold and danger of the wasteland, many members of the expedition took the opportunity to explore and relax for a while. A few baths in the river were had in the Achori River, some walks were taken, and the city’s lone living resident, Echo, finally made her introductions. After the ambush by the Moons-Cursed, the expedition’s security was paranoid about potential dangers in Achori. To remain a step ahead, they organized patrols to look out for hazards in the city, and required expedition members to sign out from base camp before venturing into the ruins for the day. Though most are content to leave patrols to the Copper Claws, there are some volunteers for the job: Diadumenianus the Accursed, Sovereign Audentes Fortuna Iuvat, ‘Firemaw’, Prince Xipil Padwell, and the familiar Quetz all make time to help. After the expedition discovered pieces of a journal belonging to an ancient Xocrian traveller who called herself the “Heir to the Ice Queen” at the Icy Outpost, Guy Allaire was eager to search for any signs that she passed through Achori as well. Due to the sheer size of the city, he was forced to enlist help to have any chance of success. This aid came in both conventional and more an unexpected forms; two dragons, a shipwrecker and darkling hybrid named Panpan, and a suntouched seraphim named Angelus, helped locate where Heleanor stayed in the city, while another Xocrian, Anastasia Llewellyn, assisted in search Heleanor’s rooms. Within they discovered another letter from Heleanor, left unsent on her desk, which Guy then devoted the next several days to translating. When he finished, the priest was left deeply unsettled by what was contained within. With the Land of Rivers currently undergoing a schism between the traditional authority of the Perigee and the new power of the Southern League, its representatives on the Aurora Expedition were interested in learning more about the culture of the ancient moonvipers. Namely, how they worshipped the Moon Sisters, and what their opinions on violence and self-defense were. While some groups did make an effort to look into this - a duo of Perigee members, Apollo Teneo Lupum and Sovereign Audentes Fortuna Iuvat, and the trio of Luken Oliver Samuel Hakron, Ameria Blakewood and Spectre each investigated abandoned temples - in the end there is little time left between the exploration of Achori and many members taking well-deserved breaks, and not much of import is discovered. A vast palace loomed over the city, light pouring from its walls to illuminate and warm Achori’s streets like a false sun. Since the Aurora Expedition arrived in the city, Amnis Compos Mentis and his familiar have been fascinated with this strange relic of the Elder Drakes, and are not the only people eager to explore its ancient halls. The expedition made use of its time in Achori to thoroughly explore the ruins of the Sun Palace, with dozens of individuals investigating its halls. Seraphim pair Harbinger and Qin Greygale, as well as bonded duo Filip Blagoy Abadjiev-Zhivkov (in disguise) and Sizzle, found a massive mural of the ancient Elder Drake Queen Midas along with a familiar who looks eerily similar to Obscura; meanwhile, a wide cast of both dragons and humans including Psychopomp ad Astra de Morte, Doctor Viktor Volkov, and Olezka Pavel Molachalin-Novikov uncovered a room with two strange obsidian mirrors, and a tiled floor that radiated necromantic energy from runes in its floor. Or perhaps radiating is the wrong word… summoning? The effect was almost intoxicating for those in the party with necromantic capacity, and put to the test in a series of attempted revivals by Olezka. Amnis and Obscura take the smaller obsidian mirror, curious about its use and wanting to study it further, and pack it away to be brought back to the Land of Rivers with them. IV: Echoes of Calamity
In its exploration of Achori, the expedition located the North Pass; a massive tunnel that was once veiled by runic illusions. Curious what Achori’s denizens wanted to keep hidden, they followed it north.
Beyond the wide mouth of the North Pass lay a dark expanse of icy tunnel. Strange images captured in the glacier’s walls told the story of what happened there centuries ago, just before the Frozen Gates were abandoned. Of a time when an ancient moonviper ruler and the Xocrian Ice Queen… worked together? Many of the expedition’s members were shaken after watching two individuals, from nations who are mortal enemies in the modern era, work together to face an Elder Drake. No more so than the scholars Gloria Ex Undis and Guy Allaire; both came to the Frozen Gates to learn more about their people’s ancient past, but this revelation was more than they bargained for. Already beginning to doubt what he had been taught about dragonkind in Xocrium, Guy discussed his confusion with the friends he had made on the expedition. After much contemplation, he attempted to form a stronger connection with Gloria. While the moonviper did not reject his efforts at friendship entirely, she remained wary of Xocrium as a whole. Stepping out of the North Pass, the expedition was confronted by the ruin of an enormous stepwell, its colonnaded tiers descending deep below the glacier. Though impressed by its construction, it is the two dead bodies on its upper floor that draw the most attention; the remains of an ancient moonviper empress, and the Ice Queen’s Heir Heleanor, still and lifeless on the cold stone. The expedition stopped only for a short while to examine the bodies. The moonviper’s body was wrapped in whorls of ice, spiraling out from her outstretched hand and toward the mouth of the well. Inspected closer, their twisted patterns formed the tangled shape of hundreds of hands, wings, and the faces of both dragons, animals, and humans. On Heleanor’s body the expedition found a diary - likely the very same that pages of had been found in both the Icy Outpost and Achori. With assistance from the suntouched seraphim Angelus, Guy Allaire was able to recover the book intact. Once finished investigating the bodies on the upper floor, the expedition makes its way to the bottom of the well. There they find a shimmering, pale blue liquid in a vast pool, the body of a dead Elder Drake partially submerged within it. Though seemingly innocuous at first, the liquid’s deadly nature became quickly apparent. A Copper Claws mercenary hired to protect the expedition brushed against it, and fell ill shortly thereafter. Despite this risk, or perhaps because of it, the expedition devoted a lot of time to investigating the liquid, keen on discovering any peculiar properties it might hold. Among the most eager was Amnis Compos Mentis and his familiar Obscura. With the help of several volunteers - including Psychopomp ad Astra de Morte, Iskra Balabanov-Nikolaev, Nikolai Abramov-Sobakin, Doctor Volkov, Scourge, Borealis Prima Luce and the familiar Sizzle - they subjected samples of the liquid to a number of different tests and made detailed recordings of its reactions to everything from moon child breath and harvest magic to witty insults. Also at the bottom of the well, the expedition found the desiccated corpse of an ancient Elder Drake, icy crystals decorating its withered form. For the first few days the expedition investigated the well, the corpse remained still and lifeless, despite being passed by many times while the nearby pool was being investigated. Or so it appeared, until someone disturbed the body. A wave of intense cold rushed through the air at that touch, and then the thought-dead drake began to move. It threw off its sluggishness and lunged towards the expedition, immense jaws snapping open. Behind it, smaller ice monsters emerged from the gleaming pool at the bottom of the wellspring, and followed the ice drake’s path of destruction. Caught suddenly in danger, the Aurora Expedition worked together to survive. Their security fought the ice drake and guided the most vulnerable of their members to safety, shedding blood and sweat to protect their friends. Its strength whittled down and left open for attack, the final blow was struck by the Dutorian ex-soldier, Hymir Boneset. While the members of the Aurora Expeditions proved themselves heroes when the ice drake attacked, only one will be spoken of across the Realm as the Drakeslayer - the first in five hundred years to have slain an Elder Drake.
Defeated, the Ice Drake’s corpse falls, lifeless, to the ground. The glow of the ice crystals along its body intensified, and then began to dissolve into dancing motes of light. They lit up the walls of the pass like the aurora as they floated back toward the Northern Wellspring, finding their way one by one into the strange pool at its lowest depths.
An odd sensation ripples through Achori as the last of the strange light fades. For a moment, magic flares wildly - dragon’s breath sparks in their mouths, runes and potions threaten to burst - but is soon forgotten by the Aurora Expedition. They hurry to tend to those injured in the attack, and to pack for the long journey home. No one argues or attempts to convince the expedition’s leadership they can afford to linger any longer; after the ice drake attack, all are happy to see the city of Achori fade into the distance. As they prepare to leave, the strange flare of magic felt by the expedition ripples out across the Realm. It is felt as far east as Ironbrook’s violet delta, and as far south as the flower-specked shores of Singer’s Island. A flare of power which fades within seconds. Lingering longer are strange lights, described like the dancing of the aurora, witnessed by travellers in the skies above four distant locations: the Siblings on the Island of Fire; the Plunge in High Heart; the Shimmering Wastes in the Republic of the Spire; and Ilzau Forest in Jhudsur. None of this is of any concern to the Aurora Expedition, however, as it makes its careful way back to civilization. Weeks pass as they follow their trail back towards the sea. The landscape of the Frozen Gates is the same as ever, unchanged and bitterly cold, except for… the further from Achori the expedition gets, the clearer it becomes. The wild magic, the deadly and changeable force that had haunted the continent for hundreds of years, is beginning to fade. It still storms across the sky some days, but the magic that has corrupted the earth and land and sea itself has started to lose its grip, creating short windows of safety. Was this caused by slaying the Ice Drake, perhaps? Regardless of the cause, some wonder if Duchess Lárensína’s great discovery may soon be redundant, with intermittent opportunities to explore the Frozen Gates without it. They stop only long enough in the Icy Outpost to collect the cache of supplies left there, and to gather the bodies of Adeodatus’ children and their loyalists to carry home for a proper burial. After a month of travel, the expedition reaches the ocean, where the Sea Diamond waits to ferry them back to Dutoria’s capital. Their return to Dura is celebrated with great eagerness - despite the confidence of the expedition’s leadership, none back home truly believed they would return - and a party is hosted in the North Keep to honour their success. Stories of their adventures travels quickly - of ancient cities and strange monsters, of the bodies of ancient dead found and returned to Theavia to be put to rest - and grants the expedition’s members minor celebrity status. The morning after the celebration, real life returns for most of the expedition, and its members disperse to attend to the obligations of daily life. Dancing Under a Rainy Night and Padus Justitiam Moniti set aside their differences to tend to the Northern Empire’s dead. Together they entomb each body in stone and conduct their funeral rites, committing their souls to the Moon Sisters’ care. While most of the expedition part ways and head home, its leadership still has many tasks ahead. They gather in Dura’s North Keep to discuss what the future holds; namely, the fate of the Frozen Gates. With the dangerous magic haunting its shores fading, a question has unexpectedly risen: who has the strongest claim to its land? Gloria ex Undis is adamant that the moonvipers retain a right to their original homeland and whatever secrets it may still be hiding, while some Dutorians are of the opinion that, being the closest to it in modern days, it should fall under their control. Surprising many, the Xocrian scholar Guy Allaire proposes that the region be made neutral ground; open to all researchers and explorers who come with peaceful intentions, and protected by all. After further discussion, this compromise is accepted by the leadership of the Aurora Expedition and Dutoria. Only the future will tell if this agreement holds, and what wonders and horrors still lay deep within the frozen continent, soon to be discovered.
The following characters took part officially in the Path of the Moon event. Please contact an admin if you believe anyone is missing!
To reflect the aftermath of the Path of the Moon event, the following updates have been made to the lore:
I hope everyone enjoyed this year’s summer event! PotM took a lot of work but was very fun to run and organize.
Unfortunately the timeline for Story Mode’s release did not pan out as planned. Its launch will be delayed until the fall of 2024, where it will be accompanied by a major story event. Our final story event of 2023 will be The Heron’s Ballad: it will take players to Maddox, the capital city of Padwell, where a theatre festival is underway! See the event premise below:
In the winter of 506, Padwell hosts a magnificent theatre festival in its capital, to celebrate its culture and impress several important guests invited from abroad. The country’s best performers - as well as many of its worst - have gathered upon its streets to show off their skills.
While the influx of foreign guests makes for a merry atmosphere in Maddox, darker concerns linger beneath. The Redwings fear that some visitors with less-than-pure intentions may have slipped in as well, and are working hard to make sure that no one takes advantage of the festival to strike at Padwell’s heart. Comments are closed.
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