Episode 69: THE LORE EPISODE

## Plot

Sarrek and Kairos continue to take out their frustration on the dome until he turns to his friend and asks why they are there but Kairos is stoic and remains silent. Sarrek finds a small rock and gazes through the dome at the world beyond looking for a sign that they can get through. He voices his idea to just head out and leave Yre behind them, and Karios walks up to him and slaps him in the face.

Kairos reminds him that he has friends and their responsibility to each other and calls Sarrek out on giving up. The rogue points out the times and ways they have all died and his desire to get back to normality and stop killing things. Kairos regales him with the knowledge he gained as being the 13th chronicler of the legion, that even if there are only two beings on the planet, they will try to kill each other, but as he is Sarrek's friend he will help him. Sarrek beams and invited Kairos to attempt to walk through the dome first and he does so, passing through unharmed and begins to walk through the woods beyond the dome. Seeing his friend, Sarrek briefly contemplates seeing if killing Kairos he will still respawn, and putting that thought away. pushes his head through first and then quickly back. Still alive and well Sarrek boldly strides through takes a few steps and the world goes black.

Back in the Skull Chamber of N'zune, Aya and Enkara go to find the others and are stopped by the Herald of N'zune, who calls them back. He speaks of a bond he feels toward the group and how they made him feel like the High Priest was coming back and presents Enkara with a gift. They reach into the skull, The Font of N'zune, and pulls out a small glowing white shard and gives her a Mind Palace, a repository of knowledge she can travel into and recall all the things that she knows. The Herald then turns to Aya and says his other gift for the whole group is the Font itself, that they can "*release your current knowings and receive them back anew, letting N'zune strip away some of what you are and let you grow in ways you have not imagined, or let N'zune taste of your knowings and he will give them something brief, in return."*Aya immediately sees interested but picks up on that the Herald is not being completely honest and though voices that she knows something is up, is more than happy to let the spiritual remains of the god taste her knowledge in exchange for power, and heads inside the skull

Enkara inquires about getting in and out of the Memory Palace while Aya goes under the scrutiny of the deity, feeling a Living spell nest itself in her mind, *Contact other Plane*, as well as an increase in Wisdom and with it startling insight on her actions as of late and those of her friends. Exiting from the skull Aya surprises Enkara by voicing that the group need to work on their interpersonal relationships and must put aside their differences if they are to work together to save the sun. Recalling the voice of Marshmarrow in her head, Aya also realizes that she owes the little familiar an apology though she still finds his appearance and demeanor upsetting.

She turns to a confused and wary Enkara and purposes they find their friends and investigate the Memory Palace when she realizes the walls of the chamber are Obsidian and discovers a Darkling Mirror, which the two activate. The two then bid goodbye to the Herald and use the mirror to travel, Enkarra giving Aya advice on how to broach her newly found wisdom politely. They encounter an Arcane Rift and Aya pulls from it 4 flux before exiting out in the room below the Barbican, and head towards the edge of the dome, but do not see any sign of their friends.

Sarrek experiences a memory of his pas. Back in the City of Ur, his noble family has fallen on hard times, and he himself the eighth child was called on by his family when Queen Tanith called upon her nobles to investigate Yre. His family eagerly offer him up to the task to curry much-needed favor. He recalls the day Queen Tanith and her royal guard visited the family's country estate, after the death of his grandfather and the loss of the main estate in the city, and witnessed his parents make the decision that sent him into the Dome. After being brought to the palace and prepared alongside others who are to make the journey, the night before he is to leave for Yre the Knight Captain, Byron barged into his room and asks if he is loyal to the Queen and the city. Sarrek's answers please the Knight Captain who goes on to say that Sarrek's duty is to discover what is affecting Yre, and not to stop it, but to accelerate it, a direct order from the Queen herself. Sarrek agrees and Byron leaves him to his slumber and the memory ends, as he begins to awake on the Gardens of the Moon.

Karios also recalls a distant memory, his tribe brought into the legion after losing a war, and as a child being chosen by the chroniclers to become one of them, their long years of battle needing to replenish their ranks. As a chronicler, his purpose was to keep the records of the legion which over time was lost as their numbers suffered being taken advantage of until near non remain. The beliefs and the faith of the legion presented him with a feeling of belonging, and purpose that put him on the path of becoming a paladin. With those thoughts, Kairos' senses return to him and he awakes on the Gardens of the Moon.

At the border of the dome, the two investigate and see their friend's tracks heading into it before vanishing, and Aya voice the foolishness of just going through the dome without knowing the consequences while Enkara experiments. The two discuss what to do before leaving a message on the ground and Enkara asks Aya to stand guard a she goes inside the shard. She finds herself before an upside-down crystal palace and heads inside and explores, discovering rooms filled with memories and places that she has encountered and can reshape to make connections. Amazed at the wonders inside, Enkara exits and after discovering no time has passed, invites Aya inside to shows her around, the two conjure memories of their allies and start discussing as a group their mission so far and the things they still need to discover.

With conflicting information about Astaphon and the origins of the sun, they decide on a series of question for Ihraman, about the King, the Planar Scope as well as to inquire with The Patient Hearts to discover why they left the Dust of the Earth and what they know about Ihraman.