Arc 8 Descriptions

## Episode 0: Introduction Monologue

[00:37:05]

***Tyle Times.* Umday, Spring the 11th, Year 163, Age of Eirik**

**Authored by Fernel Sacculitis**

King Alaric Eirik, Monarch of the Kingdom of Hyranor and Its Associated Lands, Third of His Age, announced his Death Ceremony and Successor early yesterday morning from atop Keep’s Canyon with High Spouse Queen Lilliana Eirik and Prime Lord Wizard Orious Loroy by his side.

King Alaric was born in Year 85, Age of Eirik, to parents King Storius and Queen Veria. Alaric spent much of his youth traveling and exploring, contributing significantly to the fields of cartography and archaeology before being called back to the Ember Keep in Year 110 AE to succeed his father. King Alaric brought his passion for discovery into his early reign. His Exploration Commission resulted in dozens of new settlements and increased the kingdom’s population by over one-third, and his strong investment in magical research made Hyranor a pioneer in reality-bending and further strengthened Her legacy.

Tragically, as the decades wore on, King Alaric’s priorities remained steady, even when his Kingdom’s needs changed. As Hyranor’s borders stretched to the farthest, most remote lands, poverty rates climbed and the land’s most vulernable began relying on adventurers and mutual aid to keep life in Hyranor free of fear and hunger. In the closing years of his reign, King Alaric enacted a gauntlet of domestic laws which only served to bury his reputation in a deeper hole. Passed 155 AE, the ***Aquatic Amendment*** paralyzed settlements across the coastline as they were forced to pour city resources into constructing underwater entrances. In Year 157, the ***Wildlife Protection Claws*** allowed monsters to terrorize nearby communities without fear of being hunted. In Year 158, the ***Som’s Claims Bill*** allowed petty crime to flourish thanks to an uniquely complex process for reporting personal theft. And in Year 160, the notorious ***Law of Assistance*** was passed, banning invididuals and institutions from providing direct assistance to the poor and suggesting they fund the government’s efforts to do so instead.

Thirty years ago, Alaric’s reign looked poised to continue the Eiriks’ legacy of saving the Kingdom of Hyranor from unstable rule, ensuring Her safety, and reaching ever-new levels of prosperity. But the cheers that erupted from the bottom of Keep’s Canyon yesterday morning illustrate more than anything that Alaric Eirik will die as the King Who Banned Charity.

King Alaric’s Death Ceremony will occur on Tomorrowday, Spring the 28th, Year 163, Age of Eirik, with the Major Council in attendance. His Successor, First Princess Sybilla Eirik, will be coronated the following day, pending Minor Council approval.

## Episode 1: Opening Monologue

[00:07:20]

We open in the Ember Keep. A sprawling, magnificent castle, nestled near the centre of the sprawling, magnificent capital city of Tyle. The Ember Keep is a sight to behold for all who pass it, and even more so for the few who are allowed to enter it. Surrounding the edges of the Ember Keep, there are plenty of trees and plant live shrubs, to make sure that when you are walking through the halls, the sights are pretty. There's one particular tree with a little bird that flies over as the sun is rising, casting morning light across the leaves and branches, and I invite you to imagine the camera panning past that bird, through the bedroom window of one First Princess of Hyranor, Sybilla Eirik.

## Episode 1: Arrival of Helga

[01:10:24]

At the edge of the road you can see a very large beast approaching you. I guess at first you can't really make it out, but as it gets closer you realise that it's dog-like, and its paws leave smoking steps, and it has rather molten drool coming out of its mouth. And atop this beast, known as a hellhound, is Helga Hatebad, astride as a very stout figure, full gleaming plate with fabrics covering it, a cape billowing in the wind, and her face is a little scary. She has glowing red eyes and a very scary looking helmet on right now, and as she approaches, she trots on up, she jumps on down - [hellhound barking] - "Settle down there! Settle down!"

## Episode 3: The Death Ceremony

[01:36:17]

Alaric, who has been seated and has said nothing throughout this entire party - cause, you know, he showed up to die, there's nothing else he needs to do or say - sits upon an ornate red and gold throne, atop the flat part of the grassy hill that sits in the middle of this courtyard. As the chatter is finally dying out amongst the attendees of the celebration, the space around you is filled with the orange and purple glow of a sunset. The red flags that are placed around this courtyard and all around the Ember Keep are slowly lowered, and black flags are raised in their stead.

You see Queen Lilliana; her dress has been transformed from red to black as she stands at the base of this hill and watches up at her husband. Also standing at the base of this hill is the Prime Lord Wizard, although he begins walking pretty soon, placing his arm down at his side with the finger extended, with a trail of gold sparks that is slowly following him as he walks in a big circle around this hill. The more he walks, the more the sparks left behind by his finger grow, and you can see this outline get more and more defined, as  he makes more and more revolutions. After doing this a few times, the Prime Lord Wizard arrives at a standstill, turns, and faces the crowd of people that have gathered to watch. He slowly, calmly, and assuredly utters a few magic command words, and this circle that he has created errupts into this arcane mist, that quickly spreads throughout the courtyard, covering up your field of vision in this swirling, magical energy that smells of mint and lavender with the sound of a cool summer breeze. You see flower petalls and leaves blowing about, if you were to reach out and grab one, you obviously couldn't, but it is all so pleasant, and natural, and eventually, it fades.

And you see that, atop this hilll, Alaric is no longer in a throne, but is laying in a similarly ornate bed, with covers pulled high up to his chin. And, after a brief moment, the floor of this hill begins to lower, and you see the bed and Alaric's body descend underground, and as the hill closes back up, Alaric is buried underneath this courtyard, where he will rest permanently.

And friends, now, finally, the king is dead.

## Episode 4: The Ritual

[01:23:35]

Magic overwhelms your body, your mind, and your soul. Your perception of the room around you, your perception of your own personhood, shrinks into a tiny little dot in a black landscape, and then it vanishes.

Suddenly, you're a teenager again. You've run out of the castle after an argument with your mother, you find yourself at the wrong end of Infernum, you feel with that Nat 20 History check, the clarity and the sharpness of getting your arm ripped off of your body by this sword made of fire, and the burn instantly cauterising your stump. It goes black.

That memory you know, that memory you're familiar with. What you're not familiar with, is the emptiness that follows, because you just popped right back up when Diarmad saved you. He walked into that room, he brought your arm back, he gave you your consciousness back. Instead of the memory of Diarmad standing above you, you feel the emptiness of the two year coma you were in after Lars removed your arm. This endless nothingness, grasping for consciousness over and over again, and never quite being able to grasp it. You feel a distant aching memory of you finally waking up, with nothing at your side. No arm, no people. You remember how long you stayed in that bed, alone, before the first nurse finally came in to check on you, and see that you're awake. You feel the crushing weight of every new nightmare for the rest of the decades that followed, caused by the endless memory of Lars's sword ripping through you, when it was the last memory you had before you had two years where no more memories could take its place.

You see a woman in a familiar location. It's not you. With a Nat 20 on history, Haley, this woman is Queen Maevir Eirik. You see Queen Maevir in her bedchambers, preparing to get coronated, after the months of negotiations following the assassination of King Pinn sent the kingdom into disarray, and she was able to rally everyone with hard long work and get them to agree on her, to let her take power, and be the one to fix the kingdom. You see your grandfather, Storius, being taught in a private lesson, when he was in schooling as a young boy. You see the teacher leave, and you see the times when Storius stayed alone in his bedchambers to study and to learn.

These, obviously, are not your memories, Sybilla. These memories, just a couple of them you see, with flashes, something else here from Maevir, something else here from Storius, these memories are private. These memories, you see things that happened when Maevir and Storius were utterly alone, with only themselves and their own thoughts to keep them company. You are imparted with information that only Storius, and only Maevir would know. It seems like to you, Sybilla, that what you are seeing with Storius and with Maevir in this moment, is not part of the rewireing of your own memories as you were changed, it seems almost as if this is part of a leakage of magic from the Prime Lord Wizard to you, as if, in a moment of high intensity, and in a moment where overwhelming magic and overwhelming energy is being used by the Prime Lord Wizard, he let a little bit of something slip, and you got to see a little bit of what was in him. You see Jim by your side, holding you, after another nightmare. You see your kids staring up at you, asking you what happened to your arm. You see your father announcing his death ceremony atop Keep's Canyon, and then, you come back.

Your eyes flutter open, the room, blurry, starts to sharpen, and you see the Prime Lord Wizard above you, looking proud, looking accomplished. "Sybilla, are you with me?"

## Episode 7: Nephila's Speech

[00:18:14]

"People of Hyranor! King Alaric is dead, but his age of tyranny is not yet over. When our heard-earned coppers are stolen, King Alaric's guards put piles of paperwork in the path of justice. While our homes are terrorised by monsters, King Alaric's guards ignore our cries as our communities burn. When our grandmothers give charity to those in need, King Alaric's guards drag them to the dungeons. even right now, they brutalise us for gathering and speaking the truth. King Alaric is dead, but nothing has changed. Through his guard, his age of tyranny lives on. Now is the time for change. It is time for us, the people of our kingdom, to fight for a new age, an age of justice, prosperity, and freedom, an age ruled by the people, for the people.

I've never expected to be defending Sybilla. We've been on each other's throats since we met, but Sybilla is not her father. Sybilla has vowed to abolish the monarchy and create a new system of governance, one where the people rule. Sybilla is no fool, she knows the power that we, the people, yield. If she breaks her vow she knows that we will burn the Ember Keep down. When Sir Up Ton learned of Sybilla's intentions, he approached me with plans of a military coup, Sir Up Ton, King Alaric's Captain of the Guard, would rather kill Sybilla than let the people of Hyranor have power.

Now, comrades, call your friends, family, your neighbours, community, Sir Up Ton's guards are seizing power and we must fight. Head to the outer ridge, seize weapons. Helga Gratz Hatebad has given you the arms, the means, to seize freedom. Now stand up against King Alaric's last act of tyranny. Together we march. We fight not just for Sybilla, but for our freedom, our grandmothers' freedom, our children's freedom. We may not be adventurers, but we can become heroes. For a brighter future, for the people of Hyranor, to arms!"

## Episode 8: Sybilla's Speech

[01:21:06]

"People of Hyranor! This is not how anyone expected today to go, but I must say, I did not think I could be this proud of a people, of a population, I did not think I could be as proud as I am right now. You have stood up for yourselves, for your families and your homes, and for your future. The man who attempted to throw it all away was being corrupted by some force, this will be investigated, he will be tried, and he will be punished accordingly. But no one has to die for it today. I am incredibly honoured to be here with you all, and I would invite everyone in Tyle today to what was going to be a rather private coronation celebration, so we may all come together and look forward for a better tomorrow for Hyranor."

## Episode 8: Coronation

[01:28:48]

You see that this space is now much more full of people that fill up every crack of this room. You see that the people are of all sort of walks of life in Tyle, business owners, students, those with and without employ. Still, just confused and whatnot - I mean, there is a coronation happening where bodies are still littering the castle, at this point, right? So, I would say that a lot of the people here are just kind of tired, and just waiting here to ensure that the queen be coronated and that all of this can come to a close and they can go to bed tonight.

You are marched up the staircase of the grand entrance, and you see a throne before you, with a crown on a pillow, on a table by its side. What you have spent your entire life working towards, what you have sacrificed next to everything for, and come within a centimetre of your life to achieve, is finally here. You sit on the throne, the crown is placed on your head, music plays throughout the hall, there are cheers, but it's a weird vibe here, Sybilla. This kingdom is going to take some time to heal from today. After the crown is placed on your head, the former interim monarch says "Queen Sybilla Eirik, you may stand. As you enter the first day of your reign, I and the people of Hyranor humbly request any edicts, laws, or initial commands you would like to give as you enter into queendom."

## Episode 8: Outside the Prison

[01:54:43]

You and your mother finally take a step out of this prison and see the sky that stretches across Hyranor. [Sounds of dice rolling, and then swooshing sounds.] A rain of crossbow bolts descends from the sky, stretching from high atop buildings on the street across from you. Five of them make purchase directly in Gem Lovejoy's chest, and she collapses to the ground, dead.

Out of the corner of your eye, you catch a glint of green light, as the sun hits Beryl Hatebad's emerald eye just so, but as soon as you see it, it's gone, along with the other assassins.

## Episode 8: End of Arc

[01:57:28]

So, this might seem like the worst place to do it, but that's where we're going to end our story. I'm sure we could go on for another eight episodes about the aftermath of what's happened here, but instead, I wanna wrap things up with a look back, and a look forward.

Back in year 1 Age of Eirik, when Queen Maevir created her laws of succession, it was with the bestof intentions, an honest attempt to ensure that transitions of power were handled smoothly and honourably. Unfortunately, from the very beginning of this arc, I think it was clear that she was unsuccessful. Despite noble intentions, the system in place left far too much room for the nefarious, selfish, and power hungry to bend the political system to their will. It also didn't help that the kingdom's top magical authority was a lich, who maintained his power by feasting on the souls of past monarchs. And so the dust settles now, on the two most influential individuals in the kingdom, the Queen of Hyranor, and the Lovejoy matriarch, dying mere moments apart, casualties to the hunger for power.

As for what's next, Hyranor is without a monarch once again. During Sybilla's assesment, she gave her husband James the power to name a successor to replace her. Of course, that successor, whoever they may be, would still have to pass a vote of heir own, and given the current state of the Minor Council, it is hard to say when or how the votes would fall. For one council member has died, one disgraced and arrested, and another no longer a Hyranorian citizen. For Penny does hold a contract signed by the late Queen Sybilla, giving full independence to the nation of Glaceria. How Penny responds to the assassination of her mother is something Reed deserves time to consider. How the rest of the kingdom moves on from the deadliest of death ceremonies is something we'll all take our time to think about, and share when we tell our next story in this new, unfamiliar Hyranor.

And that is where I'm going to call it for Arc 8 of Unprepared Casters.