Arc 1: Festival of Lights

On an isolated floating island named Estra, three teen heros, selected as children to become the Guardians of the Goddess, undertake their final test and take their place at her side. As the city prepares for the upcoming annual Festival of Lights, a celebration which commemorates the raising of Estra and the destruction of the world below, the Guardians begin to uncover a conspiracy that threatens the equilibrium of their world.

## Summary

After completing their final test to become Guardians, Laika, Fran and Corbin move out of the Great forest and into the city, to be with the reincarnating Goddess at all times.

When the Guardian's reach the city temple, the Goddess is immediately ushered away by her attendants and it is explained to the Guardian’s that this incarnation of the Goddess has never spoken a word. A night time escapade with the Goddess reveals that her muteness isn’t the only unusual happening in the temple, with the Guardians having to fend off shades intent on hurting her.

The Goddess' attendants, Cordelia and Cecilia, are notably suspicious, as they actively attempt to shelter the Goddess away from the public eye and are at one point heard saying, 'Oh my lord protect me.' The Guardians note that for a monotheistic religion that worships a Goddess, this is a very weird thing to say.

At the Goddess' directions, the Guardians begin investigating the Undertemple; a cave which used to be a prison for some horrible monster. They find evidence that the monster managed to escape and survive on the island. Throughout this, preparations for the Festival of Lights continue. When it is revealed that a new formula is being used for the oil in the celebratory lanterns, the party steals a vial with the intent of further investigating it.

In an effort to gain more knowledge about the Undertemple and the beast it housed, the Guardian’s throw a rager and trick a drunk woman into telling them that the monster imprisoned was the Vessel of Vioni: a shape-shifting form of the Scavenger goddess which supposedly threw itself off the side of the island. She also tells them that no one has ever seen Cordelia’s face. This obviously sparks speculation about Cordelia being the shape-shifter.

The next morning the party gets a message off the Goddess’ telling them that ‘they’ won’t let her leave. The Guardian’s break into her bedroom and find the symbol of Torva, the god of conquering, but cannot find the Goddess. In search of advice, they return to the Great forest and hold a conference with all the Greater animals. They are told to investigate the edge of the island where the Vessel supposedly threw itself off, and in doing so the Guardians find a secret escape tunnel from the Temple. In the tunnel, Fran finds a necklace belonging to her recently deceased mentor which has been imbued with permanence magic. This leads her to believe that her mentor was the Vessel as well.

Returning to the Goddess’ room, they find her alive but sleeping with Cecilia at her side. Cecilia reveals that the Vessel was used to have another god father the Goddess' most recent daughter, thus meaning that she could not inhabit it. There is a brief encounter in which the Vessel manifests and cycles through several faces, including that of Fran’s mentor, before finally landing on a man with golden hair, coppery skin and teeth as black as obsidian. The man and Cecilia disappear and the Guardians and the Goddess retreat to the Deer clan. They are told by the greater Deer, Cosu, that the man they saw was Torva the Conqueror. The Goddess confesses that she does not have any of the memories of her previous lives.

The next day is the Festival of Lights. The Guardians and the Goddess further investigate the vial of oil and find that it reflects the Goddess’ magic. Although the Guardian’s urge for the cancellation of the Festival, the Goddess refuses. In preparation for the celebration, the Goddess has her customary golden markings painted on her skin.

In the beginning, the festival goes as planned, with the Goddess lifting the lanterns into the sky. But as the lanterns touch the protective barrier of magic that surrounds Estra, it turns a deep pink and it begins to disintegrate. When the barrier finally falls, Estra falls with it.

## Characters

### PCs

* **Laika** played by Sophia
* **Fran** played by Noel
* **Corbin** played by Kaitlin
* **Literally everybody else** played by Kat

### NPCs

#### Major NPCs

* The Goddess
* Cordelia
* Cecilia

#### Minor NPCs

* Buddy
* Cosu
* Gingie
* Vasenti Johanna
* Zara Vovez
* Zarun

#### Supporting NPCs

* Bae
* Burger-Jerger
* Demora
* Haven
* Master Ice-Digger
* Persephone
* Redroof Oakstreamer

## Featured Locations

* Estra
* The Great Forest
	+ The Forest Temple
* The City
	+ The City Temple
		- The Barracks
		- The Library
		- The Undertemple
		- Secret passage to waterfall cave.