All 36.0 - Raiding Riolythe

Over the course of the night, Ryuji had a crisis of conscience and ripped out his heart, wanting to cancel the bargain he had made. In the morning, Ryuji, Cohen and Victor called Ratik’nun once more. Ryuji stated his intent to back out of the deal, which provoked Ratik’nun to attempt to wheedle some more. Eventually, they came to the agreement that since the devil had cast a spell, he was owed something, but since the sword was to be payment for the whole spell, it was obviously payment too great. Ratik’nun returned the sword, but gained a sworn oath that Ryuji, his family, and all of his heirs forever, would never speak of or interfere with the workings of the Kamun family as his payment for services due. With his business on Materia complete, Ratik’nun returned to Hell.
Now, the only question remained was how to vanquish the All. The group cloaked themselves and investigated the land, using magic to speed their journeys. They found that the All had conquered all of Mirilarin; cities in particular were overrun with Shares, Completes and other creatures who had been busy moving people and objects to satisfy their alien desires, but it was in central Asanon, where they had first entered, that they swarmed with extreme number and purpose. Trees and structures had been moved about wantonly, stacked and bent and jammed together in ways that defied mortal sense and sometimes physics. Arlington, Kalleandar and all of the cities and landscapes between had been altered significantly, and were infested with countless All who continued to shuffle things about. The rift that had allowed them in had become stretched and skewed, enlarging and becoming tangible even to non-sensitive mortals: it would be difficult to seal. In Kalleander, they found something even more distressing: a city block had been flattened, and a huge arcane ritual had been transcribed in the ground. Pierce and Nisa investigated it surreptitiously, and found that it was a two-fold spell with massive consequences: it would plunge the world into the frozen state induced by the Completes, and anything that resisted would be shifted to the All’s home plane, effectively stopping any further rebellion against them. The spell was very close to completion; they hadn’t much time.
Pierce hypothesized that they could still seal the massive rift, but it would take multiple foci, arrayed around its perimeter and triggered at the same time. They would need one more moon pearl in order to do this. Cress figured that Riolythe, for all of its fancy, ancient magic, should have a moon pearl somewhere, or an echo. When asked where it would be most likely, he supposed it would be in the antique meeting chambers of the high houses, where the most elite gathered to discuss matters. Deciding that their best bet was to teleport there and hope there was an echo to hide in, the group departed.
They teleported to the hall, where they were immediately spotted by several Completes. However, Lucca could see the echo in his mirror. The group all focused, and disappeared before the confused All could react.
The interior of the echo was a sepia replica of the room they had just been in, almost identical in every way. Now, however, it was filled with men and women in intricate clothes, obviously bedecked with enchanted jewels and accessories. The echoed people all moved around to take their seats, pulling out complicated reams of arcane notes and spell components. Those with the knowledge to do so investigated; it was quickly surmised that this must be the point in time where the great Valparisian wizards of the past conducted the ritual that made them the first elves. Nisa and Cohen were ecstatic, and began to copy the notes of the people gathered, desirous of the lost, ancient feat of magic that was lain before them. The rest were sent on a two-fold mission: to search for some sort of moon pearl they could hopefully extract from the echo, and to delay the proceedings until they had it.
Lucca, Cress and Pierce left the room, investigating the greyscale replica of the building; Victor and Ryuji stayed to distract the wizards to prolong their stay in the echo, while Cohen and Nisa continued to copy the spell that tantalized them. Eventually, the three who left did indeed identify a moon pearl from among the copious amounts of enchanted jewelry worn by the people in the building. Returning to convene in the assembly hall, the group debated over what to do.
A plan was made: Pierce, being the only ascended arcane spellcaster, would have to go to the giant world-ending spell and prevent it in some way. Cress’ suggestion of somehow reversing it, to banish the All instead of Materians, seemed to be the plane’s best chance, if not a nearly hopeless one to achieve. In order to cover for him, the others would have to seal the rift visibly, hopefully drawing the All’s attention away from Pierce. The rift had to be sealed simultaneously from three different locations. Lucca, Nisa and Cohen would have to conduct the rituals, while Victor, Cress and Ryuji protected them respectively.
With the plan decided, the group decided to rest in the echo, preparing themselves for the final assault the next day.Category:Advent of the All