Aftershock

"Aftershock" is the sixteenth episode of Regolus: Dark Age. It is the first episode of Book 2: Courting the Divine. 
== Official Description ==
"In the Lighthouse of Longing, our brave sigil bearers felled the Herald, securing the Beacon of Longing as their hard-won prize. Yet, as they sought solace and respite, treachery awaited. Their once-steadfast ally, Hareem Lord Hareem, turned on them, wresting the Beacon from their grasp with promises of the Court of the Star’s hollow gratitude. With a single, ruinous stroke, he brought down the Lighthouse, entombing our courageous travelers within. Now, lost to the dark depths of the desert, their fates are unclear. What awaits our valiant Legionnaires? ”Aftershock (YouTube).
== Plot ==
=== Prologue ===
=== Part 1 ===
* Theagus is the first one to wake up after the stones of the Lighthouse crashed down onto them. When he opens his eyes, he can see the Spirit of Hope above him, who made sure he did not die again. Hope tells him that they want to explore and live through him. Theagus tells them that he is worried about what he has done and wants to understand it better, so Hope takes on the form of a penguin similar to his. This way they can experience life through Theagus‘ eyes, because they just wants to live and can‘t do that on their own, so they need him for that. Hope then coalesces into a ball of light and sinks into Theagus‘ chest.
* Exhausted, he tries to wake up the rest of the group. When Aelys awakes, the first thing she sees is the Xilyreon, who says „They grow large, our children. Fix them“. When Synnove wakes up, all she sees is the image of a reeducation chamber before her vision goes back to normal. Theagus tells them about Hareem and his betrayal. 
* All of their Sigils begin to glow more and more, as threads of green light come out of them and begin to create a projection of a large looming figure in front of them. It speaks „Sigil Bearers, good, you yet persist“. Theagus interrupts to ask who they are. „I am the Herald of Knowledge.“ They saw what happened and that Longing has fallen. They can rest now, but there is still so much more to do for the rest. Longing‘s burden, their Oculus Beacon, lies in the hands of interlopers, of the envoys of change, and so it joins Solace and Regret. Knowledge says that the Sigil Bearers were changed,  but not yet enough. „Seek us“, they say as the image shifts and forms a second figure next to them, a familiar one that they saw in one of the visions, Cheriavar. „Seek Knowledge in the city of black stone. We linger in its inversion and wait for your arrival.“ The Herald gives them the opportunity to upgrade their heraldic abilities to help them get out of here. After a bit back and forth, they all agree to submit to the change, the Second Awakening for their Sigils. The Herald helps them to direct their power to form an entrance back up the stairs. As they each leave the room, the figure disappears more and more, until they all leave and nothing is left of the Herald. 
* Back in the Veil of Unknowing, the room and the murals are destroyed. An investigation reveals not only 2 magic items that Theagus identifies as Bracers of Entropic Harmony and the Leysplinter Cloak, but also three pieces of orichalcum. JB hears a hum that gets louder and louder, as one of the Orrery Drones appears out of the wall that somehow survived. It connects to JB, which makes it possible for him to understand it. They introduce themselve as Gold and they are here to help. JB allows him to stay so it floats above his shoulder. It scans the others too, only Katari and Lenore deny. Lenore‘s tattoo starts to squeeze tighter, as if V does not want it, but she later decides to connect to Gold nonetheless. 
* During the investigations, Aelys is able to see a translucent blue penguin behind Theagus that appears only for a second before it is gone again. 
* They try to find a way out but all entries seem to be blocked. It is a sealed, ruined room with absolutely no way to get out. After realizing that, Aelys sits down to think when Theagus approaches her. Theagus noticed that Aelys seemed to see Hope behind him and tells her that he thinks he died and Hope helped him but he is somehow connected to them now. Aelys tells him to try to talk to Hope again if he has more questions.
* Theagus finds a corner to speak to Hope again. When he opens his eyes, they sit right next to him. He starts talking about how Aelys, or as Hope calls her, Sorrow-Sworn, is able to see them. Before they can answer, Theagus asks about the names for the others too: Hope does not seem to be able to see Synnove, but JB is called the One from Far Away and Lenore is Shadow-Touched. Hope tells him that it depends on the connection to where they come from, the place which is now fading, if the other person is able to see them or not. Theagus is keeping them from fading because they would be if they went back to where they came from. Hope thinks they are all meant to make it unfade, at least that's what it seems like.  
* Synnove and Lenore try to pray to Stella. V does not seem to like that and the tattoo tightens again, but she still does so. While Stella appears in her usual adult form to Synnove, for Lenore Stella looks like a copy of Synnove. Lenore asks where Stella comes from. From the heart, a place of healing, she answers, something that Lenore does not seem to know really well. Stella sees that she is wounded, so she offers to heal Lenore, but Lenore denies. Stella wants her to be like a sister, just like Synnove is to her, which would stop her from wounding her other sisters in her family. Lenore asks about Stella's parents, so she tells her she lost them quite recently. But it doesn't matter anymore. When Lenore mentions the idea of other gods, Stella gets louder: „There is only one, and it is Us“, as she looks to Synnove. Synnove agrees with her, as there should only be one god. Lenore‘s vision of Stella shifts to silhouette Synnove, before she emphasizes again that there is only one. Lenore thanks Stella for letting her meet her. Stella asks again if she wants to get healed or not, but when Lenore declines again, the visual of Stella disappears for her and only stays for Synnove. Soon afterwards Lenore leaves her alone so Synnove can talk to Stella a bit more. Stella tells her that Synnove did good today, that the pieces are setting into place. Synnove is still questioning a few things but Stella tells her that they need to grow faster and greater than the gods that left and that they can do it, together. 
* After JB is done taking a few minutes to calm down and rest, he checks in on Aelys, who feels something drawing her in a southwestern direction. JB tells her that they‘ll find a way to get out. Aelys asks JB how well he knew her sister, Maravix. She did not really mention Aelys, but they trained together, in a flirty way, at least that is what JB says to distract Aelys from the situation. 
* Suddenly, they all hear digging noises coming from above, as a hole opens in the stone ceiling. A rope drops down and sliding from it is that familiar hooded figure that tried to stop them at the Keep. They pull down their hood and mask and say “You‘re still alive. Thank the gods. My name is Værina. You‘re coming with me.“
=== Part 2 ===
* Værina can get them out of here and they all agree to talk about Sentinel and everything else when they are outside. As soon as they reach the scorching heat of the Lifeless Sea, Værina closes the entry to the Lighthouse she created. She asks what happened down there, so they tell her that Hareem betrayed them but that they are not sure how much to tell her and if they can trust her. She wants to bring them back to Faleeria as things have changed. The group realize that much more time has passed since they entered the Lighthouse, because Værina tells them they left a week ago. Commander Bertrand told her where she could find them because they are needed in the city. She does not ask for their trust but for them to do right by the copper they bear and help the people in town who are butchered by horrors they don‘t understand. They all step onto the raft and make their way back. 
* While on the raft, Værina introduces herself and the reason why she left. She had a few questions about what was going on under the surface of the Legion so when Hareem showed up, everything moved too fast and she stepped out. She found out a few things along the way and came back to work undercover for Bertrand as part of Sentinel. Sentinel is what the Copper Legion was originally founded to do, something to do with the Beacons but the Commander will tell them more about that later. The problem on the train was on them, as they were specifically told not to talk about the stone they got from the college. The team just did not get enough information from anybody. But the Commander has hope that there still might be something to be salvaged out of this and they need their help. 
* Bubbles explains everything that Hareem said to him when the others were unconscious, including the mention of the Court of the Star. Aelys explains that that is the inner circle of the Elgariis, the Spirit Leader of the Elvhenan. Sal was a related party to them. The Elgariis has five hands: The Speaker, The Seer, The Keeper, The Weaver and The Eater of the Star. Værina needs them to explain that again to the Commander because this is important news for them. But the group has been asking so many questions that nobody wanted to answer and trusted someone with information who now betrayed them so she has to understand that they are hesitant with what they share. Aelys is lost in her thoughts since the Court of the Star was mentioned, because her mother is one of the hands and that means she knows where her daughter is. The last time they spoke was two days before the group met each other and she thought that she was kicked out for one reason but now she thinks they chose to kick her out. Aelys hears the Xilyreon in her head saying just one word: “Weak“. 
* They ask for more details about what is happening in Faleeria. Værina explains that around 24 hours after they left mist started to come out of the train and clouded the town. It sticks to the town and does not go above the walls. Things made of pale decaying matter and pieces of metal came out of the train and a lot of people died. The Commander will give them a briefing and then wants to send them into the town. 
* Katari wants to know the groups motivations behind all of this. She is here to try a path to where she believes she belongs and prove her worth. JB tells her that they have been put in a situation they do not understand and they have to make decisions. There is no right way to do this but they try to make the right decisions. Katari is currently choosing to not do the right thing her code of living would tell her to do and she is struggling because of that because the people she chose to align herself with in this moment are questioning if the path they are walking is the one they should continue to. She asks again why they are doing this so they all try to give her an answer. 
* Theagus is still trying to figure out the new information he got and gives them a quick overview about what/where he thought he was from. For him it is important to find out the truth but for Lenore and JB it is more about the people and not about the place. 
* They start to see a pale white cloud on the horizon in front of them and soon after the sandstone walls of Faleeria. They reach the refugee camp near the stables of Spearhold Keep and make their way straight to the Commander‘s tent. Aelys feels some kind of familiarity to the cloud but at the same time it does feel different than before and almost wrong. 
* In the tent are currently five individuals: Commander Bertrand, Dr. Iridia Thane, S-Rank Acastarok, S-Rank Arcturus, and an unfamiliar face, the other S-Rank leader. Bertrand looks up and greets the rookies. She sends Iridia out of the tent for now and Acastarok to guard the door. Værina stays outside. Bertrand asks how much they knew about where they were going. They give her the orichalcum spear back and tell her that they were told that two, now three, have been taken and they needed to find the rest. Hareem betrayed them and they relay everything he said, including the Court of the Star. Things are unraveling faster than Bertrand thought. She tells them that it is their duty to keep things the way they are supposed to be. The Copper Legion was founded by Xenarius, a devotee to Hylan, who was guided to the Lighthouse where she was spoken to by a Herald, at least that is what the records say. She was given this spear and was told to keep the Lighthouses in sanctity and secret. The Copper Legion was founded to do just that. Normally, only a few selected members get to know this information. 
* Synnove reveals that they were told to trust in Sentinel, but when they tried, they were attacked, so Bertrand has to understand that they were not immediately trusting her when they found out the Commander was associated with Sentinel. 
* Bertrand tells them that the town is beleaguered by a plague. All of the Elvhenan people in the tent suddenly feel a weird pain in the back of their necks. Whatever they did on the train, and she knows that it was not Sentinel, has infected the whole town. She wants them to solve this before more people have to die. The sudden pain returns for a second time. Aelys reveals that they have been spoken to by a Herald too and they told them to go to the City of Black Rock. Bertrand does not know what that means but she knows where the other Lighthouses are, so once they return from clearing out the train they will have a longer conversation about this. The group has been chosen by a Herald for a task that they do not fully understand. Bertrand offers them help and information under the name of Sentinel if she knows she can rely on them. 
* JB can feel some kind of weight in the air. He reaches his hand up and sends a little shock through the air. The sparks synaptically fire to all the Elvhenan in the tent, their eyes rolling back in their heads.
* All the affected individuals find themselves in a vast space, gentle flowing grassland, a sky of fluctuating dark blue aurora and virulent green, and in the foreground the bulk of the massive impossible tree known as Heart of God, crackling stormcloud canopy ahead. With them on the grassland thousands of people, Elves of all varieties, Isskari of all varieties, Dwarves, Illithids, Dragonborn everywhere. A green bolt of energy shoots through the cloud. 
* During the speech, the cloud first shifts to form an image of a green crack with roots reaching into it, the Dreamscar, before it shifts again to form into six glowing green orbs. The cloud then spreads over the whole expanse, as Aelys and Synnove see a familiar face somewhere in the distance. Salvador looks to both of them and holds up a hand framed in a small almost yellow singularity. 
* In a flash of light, and only a few seconds after their eyes rolled back, they are back in the tent. Aelys immediately wants to go and tries to get out, but is stopped by Acastarok. She is needed at home, but Bertrand cannot let her go, she is needed here and they don‘t know what they just saw. Bertrand has her suspicions that this was a message from the enemy. She tells the rest of the group to not leave Aelys out of their eyes and to find a tent to rest before she gives them the briefing for the town mission. Aelys is frustrated, she was born to seal that scar and must be there before it can grow even further, but the others tell her that they have to fix the town and help the people in town first, but assure her that they will help and go with her right afterwards. Aelys hears one more voice in the back of her throat, so only she hears: „They are roots. Dig them out. They dig into the sand and stone. They don‘t want you anymore. Teach your children, daughter of the Scholar“. She tells the Xilyreon to bring the rest of them to her, the ones that are not here, but it just says “No“.
Level up - Level 6!
== Characters ==
=== Player Characters ===
* Aelys Sa’Viraan
* Bubbles Bathington
* Jean-Baptiste
* Lenore
* Synnove Oleander
=== NPCs ===
* Court of the Star Members: The Speaker, The Seer, The Keeper, The Weaver and The Eater of the Star 
** Alara Ir'Viraan
** Bathriel
** male silver Dragonborn
** Isskari woman
** Illithid 
* Elgariis 
** Era'Harel [Elvhen translation: That-Which-Was-Forged-in-an-Empty-Sky, or, Mage Feared By Divine]
* Hareem
* Katari
* Spirit of Hope
* Xilyreon
* Herald of Knowledge
* Cheriavar 
* V
* Gold
* Stella
* Værina
* Commander Bertrand
* Dr. Iridia Thane
* Arcturus
* (no name yet, other S-Rank)
* Acastarok 
== Locations and Organizations ==
=== Locations ===
* Lighthouse of Longing
* Lifeless Sea
* Faleeria
* Heart of God
=== Organizations ===
* Copper Legion
* Sentinel
* Court of the Star
== Tarot Card and RP Warmup ==
The tarot card for the episode was The Hierophant, drawn by Rachel.
The roleplay warmup question was: "What superstitions does your character have?"
== References ==