Path of the MoonEvent will run from July 1rst to August 28th, with catch-up until September 9th.
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 modern times, the birthplace of aggressive beasts made of living ice.
That might begin to change soon. Following an unusually cruel winter that saw ice monsters attack Dutoria’s northern cities, scholars from Dutoria, the Land of Rivers and Xocrium have worked together to organize the Aurora Expedition: the most ambitious attempt to explore the Frozen Gates so far. They will travel into the icy continent in high summer, and do their best to unlock its many secrets. It will be no easy feat, and so the Expedition looks to hire extra hands to improve their odds of success.
The Aurora Expedition is led by Duchess Lárensína Primrose, a powerful Dutorian noble and accomplished alchemist. Using methods she has shared with only a select few individuals, she claims to have crafted a potion that will protect the expedition’s members from the dangerous effects of the raw magic that permeates every part of the Gates. Though she is deeply curious about the Gates as a whole, her primary interest is in discovering the source of the ice monsters and, if possible, finding a way to protect Dutoria from future attacks.
Lárensína is accompanied by 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, who will be providing some protection for the expedition. He has been nursing a grudge against the ice monsters since his first encounter with them, and is coldly determined to stop them from hurting anyone else ever again. The leader of the Land of Rivers section of the expedition is 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. Gloria made ready use of her connections in the mainland Land of Rivers to get extra hands for the Aurora Expedition, but the response she received was far more than she could have anticipated. She draws the attention not only of local scholars, but the Perigee and Southern League themselves. The esteemed historian Amnis Compos Mentis and his familiar Obscura agree to take part in the expedition; the Perigee sends Dancing Under a Rainy Night as a healer and representative; and the Southern League sends Padus Justitiam Moniti and his familiar Verity to represent its interests and act as extra protection. The expedition also gains members from Dutoria’s longtime ally, Xocrium. Interest in the Frozen Gates was renewed after a mural depicting their mythological figure, the Ice Queen, was discovered deep within Dura’s North Keep following the ice monster siege that winter. A religious scholar named Guy Allaire was sent to investigate the relic, and now he, as well as 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. Lastly, the Aurora Expedition hires the Copper Claws, a Merosian mercenary company, to provide protection for the expedition. Its leader, a stormherald named Markus attends, accompanied by several other members of the Claws. The Frozen Gates has many dangers, and extra muscle cannot hurt. With its members assembled, they make their final preparations and ready themselves to depart from Dutoria’s shores…
Table of Contents
Rules How to Enter & Event Points Guide Event Objectives Entry Prompts The Frozen Gates (setting guide!) Event Prizes How to Submit Entries
You can enter this event by creating an illustration, story or RP relevant to one of the event prompts (see the Entry Prompts section) provided for the event.
Your work should be clearly related to the event and its prompts. Simply drawing an image of an NPC will not be enough to count as participation. There are no minimum requirements for your entry. It should, however, be clearly relevant to the event, and you will receive EP (event points) based on a mix of effort and a random bonus score! Do not submit “EP sheets” (ie; images with multiple drawings of the same character on it with intent to grind hundreds of points in one entry) - only the first appearance of a character will be counted for EP, unless in the case of comics or animation entries.
Read about counting EP at this link!
This section goes over the motives and goals of the various factions involved in the Path of the Moon event.
There are four main groups involved; the Aurora Expedition, the whole body of the team heading into the Frozen Gates; the Nuova Cadere party, representing the Land of Rivers and its interests; the Xocrian team, who follow the trial of a mysterious religious figure known as the “Ice Queen”; and lastly the Duchess’ party, representing Dutoria’s interests and trying to lead the Aurora Expedition.
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Nuova Cadere was a far northern research outpost founded decades ago by scholars from the Land of Rivers. There, they have been studying the Frozen Gates, curious about the ancient homeland of the moonvipers. Led by their head researcher, Gloria Ex Undis, the Nuova Cadere party is made up of representatives from both the Southern League and Perigee, as well as scholars of ancient moonviper history. Gloria’s goal is simple; to learn as much as she can about her people’s forgotten past.
This is complicated by the tension between those from the mainland Land of Rivers, and with the small accompanying Xocrian party. Gloria has her hands full trying to conduct her research and keep the peace between her colleagues.
The Dutorian part of the Aurora Expedition is under the leadership of Duchess Lárensína Primrose. Driven by both curiousity and the desire to prevent another disaster like the siege of Dura from happening again, the Duchess is a driven and energetic leader.
She is accompanied by the young soldier and survivor from Aurora, Sören Rockrose, as well as a number of Dutorian soldiers. The Duchess has also hired a mercenary company from Meros known as the “Copper Claws” to provide extra security for the expedition.
It is highly recommended that you take a look at the event setting guide before starting an entry.
The story of Path of the Moon is told through four parts, each with a set of five prompts. These may be completed in any quantity and order for a span of two weeks after the part began. Completing different prompts in different manners will influence the outcome of Path of the Moon in various ways.
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Part I of the event is over! Prompts for Part II can be seen in the next tab.
I: Through the GatesPart I lasts from July 1 to July 15. After months of planning, the Aurora Expedition completes its final preparations and sets out from Dura’s harbour. Only time will tell what awaits them deep within the Frozen Gates…
Part II of the event is over! Prompts for Part III can be seen in the next tab.
II: Blood on the IcePart II lasts from July 15 to July 31. After two weeks of travel, the Aurora Expedition finally encounters a sign of life… or, well, death. It begins with scattered bodies poking out of the snow. Gloria and other members of the Nuova Cadere party recognize on their regalia the emblems of the Northern Empire, and excitement spreads through their ranks. They had long been told that Adeodatus’ heirs fled into the Frozen Gates, but this is the first hard evidence they have found. As the expedition continues north, the remains of a small settlement appears on the horizon… The event setting guide has been updated with a new section. A strange shadow has begun to follow the expedition… Background art by J-Haskell.
Part III of the event ends at midnight EST on August 14th! Prompts for Part IV can be seen in the next tab.
III: The Silent CityPart III lasts from July 31 to August 14. After two weeks, the expedition finally reaches the place where Gloria’s map told them the old moonviper capital, Achori, would be waiting for them. But nothing but ice and snow greets their eyes for miles. Was the map wrong, or was the city wiped out long ago? It is then that Guy Allaire lets out a shriek; the ice crumples beneath his feet and he vanishes into a crevasse. Shimmers of heat ripple out from the hole in the glacier. Markus and Sören leap after him, and after a moment of confusion, announce that they have found the entrance to Achori. The city lies in a cavern beneath the ice. The event setting guide has been updated with a new section. The shadow reveals itself. Background art by J-Haskell.
IV: Echoes of CalamityPart IV lasts from August 14 to August 28. The expedition locates a massive tunnel that was once veiled by runic illusions. Curious what Achori’s denizens wanted to keep hidden, they follow it north. Ancient memories dance along the walls, echoes of the disaster that destroyed the Frozen Gates. At the end of the icy passage waits the frozen heart of the Gates… and an ancient monstrosity that echoes all the terrors of the old world that will not remain dormant for long. The event setting guide has been updated with its final section. A vestige of the ancient past awaits in the deep...
The catch-up period will last from August 28th to September 9th.
PotM’s “grace period” is a week-long stretch of time where you can submit late entries for participation credits (event badge & the wildcard ☘ slot earned for submitting one entry for at least three part of the event).
Entries submitted during this time will not count for EP and will not influence the event ending, or count towards earning the prize “special slot”, so that admins may work on the PotM event aftermath while this period is ongoing. The Frozen Gates [Setting Guide]
Submit entries using the following form on Discord (in the #event-submissions channel):
**Link to entry**: **DeviantArt Username**: **Part**: **Prompt**: **Character**: (Yours/the NPC/character you borrowed) **Other Characters/NPCs featured**: (Ignore this if not applicable) **Type of entry**: (RP, art, writing) **EP breakdown**: **Total EP**: Example Entry
Link to entry:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/575757933854588931/1127257105565491210/Apollo_PotM.png DeviantArt Username: J-Haskell Part: 1 Prompt: To Go Beyond Character: Apollo Auribus Teneo Lupum Other Characters/NPCs featured: -- Type of entry: Art EP breakdown: Fullbody +20 Coloured +10 Shaded +10 Background +20 Total EP: 60 Comments are closed.
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