Aerois - Episode 158: Sorrow Incarnate (Part 1)

Katie Morrison as Aila

Kim Richards as Nova V'ger

Rhiannon Frost as Sentry

Tom Hazell as Qillek Ad Khollar

**Sorrow Incarnate (Part 1)** is the 158th episode of the Aerois Campaign. It was pre-recorded and broadcast on the highrollersdnd Twitch channel on 28th August 2022 from 5PM to 8PM BST.

*The desperate battle against Kellara continues...will the Stormchasers be Lightbearers or fall to the shadows?*

## **Summary**

### **Announcements**

* Mark welcomes everyone and introduces the players.
* Because a few of the crew are busy and away for the next few weeks, this week and a couple following are pre-recorded. This week’s episode will be slightly shorter than usual.
* Merch: The "High Rollers Club" shirt (totally original IP) is still available.

### **Recap**

*"The Champions of Aerois took a brief respite following their battle against Sir Godric from the Order of the Blackened Rose. Equipment needed repairs, rest was taken, romance was… kindled (perhaps?), but ultimately the Champions had to once again prepare for battle as they entered Kellara’s demi-plane to put her to rest. Entering The Mourning Garden, the party have engaged with the titan of death but soon realised that it would not be a simple affair: using a discarded lantern and divine motes of light, Kellara has been weakened, but upon her return, she transported Valla away somewhere, leaving the party unprotected in her domain."*
### **Part 1**

*The battle against Kellara and her overwhelming darkness continues as the Stormchasers race for motes and hide in the light!*

Valla has vanished, screaming as she was taken away by Kellara, and they can see that the edges of the domain that Valla was holding back to protect them are starting to break down. Now that Valla is not there to protect them, they all start to take planar damage.

Aila hits the nearby banshee, destroying it and causing it to drop a mote of light. She runs to another banshee, killing it as well: she leaves the new mote that is dropped. Kellara holds her hand up and calls, “The scales must be balanced!” – a set of scales appears in her hand with the rune for the number 3 showing and two large areas of light appear on the ground under a group of them. Sentry kneels down, places her hand on the ground and attempts to *Commune with Nature* to ask the plants if they know where Valla has gone. The nature spirit withing the demi-plane is a haunted, whispering voice, “The daughter of Siaska is within one of the God tombs of our Mistress, far to the east of here.” She shouts this information to the rest of the party. The number on the scales drops to 2.

Nova sends Tiangong over to the tomb that they suspect contains Valla and raises the Lantern of Kellara to use the *Grace of Light* ability on Lucius. A cascade of light falls over him, burning away all shadows and darkness that cling to him, turning them into flickering embers. Lucius loses all stacks of *Shadowbringer*. Tiangong attacks the stone sarcophagus, attempting to smash it open, but while they cleave chunks of the lid away and are close to opening it, they are unable to open it. The countdown drops to 1.

Max attacks a nearby banshee and Quill tells him to move from the circle of light he is in to the other one near Nova – he tries to comply but hits a barrier that stops him from leaving *(Force Cage)*. The countdown goes to 0.

Lucius runs to the tomb and pulls the broken parts asunder – initially it is simply a black void, but once the lid is removed, he can see Valla alive and well inside, and she calls his name. He grabs Valla then dashes to the nearby circle of light with her. A wave of necrotic energy but because there are 3 living creatures in both circles, there is no effect on anyone in the demi-plane.  Kellara, angered by this, casts *Life Drain* on Lucius, siphoning the life from him. Valla is now able to prevent them from taking the planar damage, however. Quill casts holy weapon on Aila’s hammer then casts *Sacred Flame* on one of the banshees, which is destroyed and drops two motes. Kellara attacks Quill, missing with the first attack, but hitting with *Creeping Darkness* – he manages to maintain concentration. Kellara ends *Holy Weapon* with her *Wallow in Darkness* ability.

Aila moves to Nova and infuses the lantern with a mote then runs to Kellara and prepares to attack her if the shadows disappear from around her. Kellara teleports Aila away with her *Scatter the Light* ability. Sentry, realising how desperate the situation is casts *Aura of Life* which will give the surrounding people some resistance to necrotic damage and prevent their maximum health from being eroded. Nova moves to the group of Max, Quill, and Sentry, using 4 stacks to cast *Grace of Light* on Max, Quill and Sentry, removing their stacks of *Shadowbringer.* Nova prepares to cast *Mother’s Light* using the lantern if 5 motes are infused into the lantern.

Max infuses the lantern with two motes of light then places his hand on Sentry’s shoulder and heals her with *Healing Flames.* Lucius moves to grab two extra motes then places his hand onto the lantern and infuses it with three motes: Nova is prepared and shoots a beam of light from the lantern at Kellara. The swirling storm of shadows around Kellara is burned away to her chagrin.

Quill, seeing Kellara now vulnerable, casts *Guiding* at her – he misses, calls on Valla to use *Fate’s Reversal,* and misses again as one of the vines around her thrones jerks and knocks the spell up into the starry void above her. Quill, out of desperation, grabs two nearby motes and imbues the lantern with them. Kellara hits Sentry with *Creeping Shadows* then calls four new handmaidens to her side.

Aila runs back to Kellara’s throne, hitting her with the hammer and lightning. A banshee tries to steal Lucius’ mote but fails before Kellara uses *Scatter the Light* to push Max, Lucius, and Sentry away from the lantern. Sentry calls forth Starbreaker and charges at Kellara – she hits Kellara with two massive blows, breaking away parts of the throne and causing Kellara to clutch at her chest. Kellara attacks Quill with *Life Drain* but Elder Quill jumps in front of the attack and sacrifices himself to save Quill. Nova swaps places with Tiangong, dropping the lantern next to Lucius, then she rushes to Kellara and attacks her. Nova hits Kellara, adding an *Eldritch Smite*, but as soon as she is hit, Kellara yells, “No!” and vanishes again. Tiangong then attacks the banshee next to Lucius, destroying it and causing it to drop a mote. A banshee hits Nova, Max moves back towards the party, and Lucius picks up the lantern giving him the *Lightbringer* trait – he infuses the lantern with the mote that he is carrying. A banshee then tries to attack Lucius but misses, Quill then destroys the same banshee with *Sacred Flame* causing it to drop a mote before casting *Healing Word* on Lucius. Another banshee misses Nova with an attack.

Aila destroys the banshee near Nova, causing it to drop a mote, then moves to the final banshee before blasting it with lightning. Sentry moves to the middle of the plaza to ensure that all are in her aura then heals herself. The last banshee hits Aila, Nova grabs two motes and manages to infuse the lantern with both just before Kellara reappears. Kellara lets out a terrifying banshee shriek, causing damage to all of them and giving them further stacks of *Shadowbringer*. Max moves to the middle of the party and uses *Crusader’s Mantle* allowing many attacks to do extra damage.

Kellara, realising that Sentry is protecting the party with her aura, attacks her. Lucius takes damage from the lantern and casts *Mother’s Light* at Kellara, once again dispelling the armour of shadows around her. He casts a cold *Chromatic Orb*, doing half damage because he is carrying the lantern, however it damages Kellara. As he flicks his dichromancy at the last banshee, destroying it, he falls unconscious from the lantern damage. Kellara, seeing Lucius fall, casts *Life Drain* on him. Quill flies to Lucius and casts *Cure Wounds* then moves closer to Sentry. Kellara attacks Lucius with *Creeping Shadows* but misses both times thanks to Quill’s *Holy Aura.* Aila throws The Howling Tempest at Kellara, but she knocks it away mid-air before it can hit her. Kellara attacks Lucius again with *Life Drain*, sensing that he is weak and near death*.* Sentry charges forward with Starbreaker, and with two massive hits, she breaks the throne that Kellara sits upon, and Kellara tumbles to the ground.

Kellara falls from her throne, her frail form, clearly in pain and anguish. "No, no, Mother for once I made my own decision, why?" Her body turns to shadow, and re-joins the void beyond Valla's dimensional shield, and her voice calls out. "You are powerful and clever, Champions. Defeating Zephyr, aiding Valena. With our little sister's help and your protection, you have done more than any of us could have anticipated. But I am one of Siaska's eldest, charged with one of her most important duties and given truly divine powers to accomplish it. You are still mortal, Champions, and I can take you somewhere even Valla cannot reach." Before they can react, the whole demi-plane fills with bright white light, and after a second or two, blinking furiously, that light fades.

After a second or two, they blink furiously and the light fades. Before them, they see Aerois from space, a beautiful world surrounded by the prismatic energy of the Cradle, floating in the twinkling black, violet expanse of the Astral Sea. They see distant stars and planes, but as tiny, brilliant points of light. They stand on what appears to be pure light, a golden glowing radiance in the shape of a flat disc that seems to be leaving a trail, a luminous pathway that twists and descends back down to Aerois, almost like a comet. For Quill, there is something very familiar about this place: this view of Aerois, this sensation of light and travel.

They see at the very edge of the disc, Kellara's thin, frail form, reappears, but still surrounded by that shadowy, invulnerable armour. Valla is not with them, Tiangong is not with them, and there is no lantern. Quill and Nova recognise that they have left the demi-plane and are now on the Pathway to the Light Beyond, the afterlife: this is this is the journey that one takes to death, but Kellara has managed to bring them here physically.

Kellara speaks, "I love to watch things grow, to see them live and flourish. I was the life-bringer once, the very concept of death was like heartbreak to me." As she speaks, the swirling mass of shadows is drawn into her body. It regains its strength, her muscles and cheeks fill, her hair grows thick and long and turns ice white from midnight black. She stands, now 10-feet-tall as black plate armour begins to form around her, sleek and angled with streaks of glowing starlight passing through it. The mantle of vines and flowers that were once around her shoulder, but withered and dead, now blooms back into life and colour, flowing down like a cloak around her. "Why then did Mother choose this destiny for me? Did she hate me? Did she love you mortals more than she loved me? Why else would she make me endure this suffering? That matters not now. I've tried to resist my fate, tried to try to hide the pain I have carried in this duty, tried to care, and feel for the living and the dead. I've carried their grief alongside my own in the shattered remains of my heart for too long."

A black visor helm forms over her eyes and flares to life with a deathly blue glow as she begins to hover, now silhouetted by Aerois itself. She holds her hands out as Godric's scythe appears. "My champion, my beloved knight, you knew, didn't you? You knew I suffered. I heard your prayers for me, I felt your love and your worry, but it's all right, there's no pain now. I will not hide from my destiny any longer."

Gripping the scythe in both hands, Kellara suddenly pulls her hands apart, and with a flash of spectral magic, the scythe turns into two long, slender swords. "All my grief is part of me now. I cannot ever be the Life Bringer again; I am what she made me. I am every weeping loved one left behind, I am the regret of those taken before their time. I am Kellara, Sorrow Incarnate, and I will unite the living in the bliss of death before the end."

The party feels invigorated now that they are out of the demi-plane of shadow, but Kellara stands before them looking stronger than ever, dual-wielding swords and protected by thick plate armour that has been formed from the shadows that once protected her.

Kellara rushes towards them and aims for Aila, moving ever so gracefully, like a dancer as she swirls her *Eclipse Twinblades* through the air. She appears now to be attacking the strongest of the party, almost to prove a point – three brutal attacks later and Aila is badly injured. Nova puts *Hexblade Curse* on Kellara and while her first attack is parried by Kellara, her second and third strike true and she slashed Kellara with an additional *Eldritch Smite*. Kellara reacts with *Dance of Sorrows* after the second blow, hitting Max and knocking Lucius unconscious. The smite catches Kellara’s armour where there is a streak of starlight, and a mote of divine light bursts from her.

They hear a soft, weak, but familiar motherly voice coming from somewhere around them, “My poor daughter. I did not see how much this duty would break her heart. Champions, I beg you, release her from the shadows of her sorrow and the burden I have placed upon her. My form is still weak, but you are close to my domain now and I will grant you what aid I can.” They are all suddenly infused with the *Light of Siaska* and a mote of light falls from the heavens, touching each of them. Kellara suddenly uses *Gallow’s Call* against Quill, summoning him to her against his will, before slashing at him with one of her swords – she hits him, but he manages to retain concentration on his *Holy Aura* spell. Aila misses her first attack but hits on the second, expelling another mote from Kellara, she then begins to charge her mote: Aila begins to glow as star light begins to collect around her and she feels the presence of her allies around her.

Kellara becomes insubstantial, like a ghost, before moving through Aila, Max, and Sentry – Aila is unaffected because she is charging her mote, but Max and Sentry feel slower. Sentry hits Kellara twice, both times with *Divine Smite*, and causing her to drop two more motes, before Sentry begins to charge her mote. Kellara hits Sentry, who manages to retain her concentration. Lucius absorbs a second mote, begins to charge one, and throws a cold *Chromatic Orb* at Kellara with deadly precision: two more motes are torn from her, and she says angrily, “No, no! Time runs out for you, Champions!” She vanishes and reappears 60 feet in the void beyond the disc – she throws her hands to the side as eleven duplicates of Kellara appear around her as if on a clock face: they all lower a blade, ready to dash forward and strike…

## **YouTube Timestamps**

0:00:00 - Intro
0:01:57 - Dun Duns
0:02:56 - Part 1

## **Featured Characters**

#### **The Stormchasers (Player Characters)**

* Aila
* Lucius Virion-Elluin Elenasto
* Nova V'ger
* Qillek Ad Khollar
* Sentry

#### **Returning NPCs**

* Valla
* Maximillion Taldros
* Kellara
* Siaska

## **Featured Locations**

* Kellara’s demi-plane
* The Pathway to the Light Beyond

## **Trivia**

* The sound of a fan can be heard faintly in the background. This is due to the hot weather that has been occurring in the UK recently.
* This week’s episode, being pre-recorded was 2 hours long with no break.
* The planar damage that they start to take because Valla has vanished is unavoidable and unable to be resisted. As long as they do not have Valla’s protection, this damage will increase by 5 every combat round.
* Mark stayed up until 1.30am to repaint the Kellara mini just for this episode.
* Mark was a most generous DM, allowing Rhi to have an instant cast of *Commune with Nature* when normally it takes a minute to cast.
* Picking up the lantern removed all stacks of *Shadowbringer* from Nova.
* There is a discussion about whether Tiangong can open doors and interact with objects. It is decided that they can attack objects even if they cannot open or use them. Tiangong cannot pick up motes (cannot interact with objects).
* Lantern ability: *Grace of Light* – a character must be within 5 feet of the lantern. A cascade of light falls over the target(s), and all shadows and darkness that cling to the target(s) are burnt away becoming flickering embers. All stacks of *Shadowbringer* are lost. This takes 4 mote charges and can affect multiple targets as long as they are within 5 feet of the lantern.
* Trott almost accidentally smacks Kim in the face – potential retaliation for a couple of weeks earlier?
* If the circles had been unbalanced, only those in the circles would have been affected. It would have been less damage if there had been nobody in the circles at all.
* Kellara is confirmed to be a Celestial, not undead.
* After Sentry attacked Kellara, she was 1 HP off her teleport/transition.
* Note: all known information about Kellara’s Phase 1 attacks, handmaidens, and the lantern are in the trivia for episode 157.
* A 13 charisma check was *just* enough to imbue 2 motes into the lantern.
* When the party starts phase 2 of the Kellara fight, they lose all stacks of *Shadowbringer*, their maximum temporary HPs reset (but they are not healed).
* **Magic Item: Eclipse Twinblades.** Used by Kellara who has 3 attacks. Mark uses flat/average damage for ease in the encounter, and each hit does 18 slashing, 7 necrotic, and 7 radiant damage.
* Kellara’s abilities (Phase 2)
	+ AC 24
	+ *Dance of Sorrows* – reaction - first time Kellara takes damage, she spins around and returns with a slashing blow. All characters within 10 feet of Kellara must make a dexterity saving throw (DC 24). A failure results in 18 slashing/7 necrotic/7 radiant damage. Success negates all damage.
	+ *Gallow’s Call* – Legendary Action – Kellara chooses one target that has to make a wisdom saving throw. On a failure, the target is pulled next to Kellara who makes an attack against the target (if successful, doing 18 slashing/7 necrotic/7 radiant damage).
	+ *Unknown name* – Legendary Action – Kellara becomes insubstantial and can move through players, reducing their movement speed by 10 until the end of their next turn. Players may not make attacks of opportunity against her if she moves away from them.
* *Light of Siaska* – each character regains 25 HP, a mote of light falls from the heavens, touching each of them and giving them one charge of motes. With their motes, the players can, as a/an:
	+ reaction - on a player’s turn they can spend a mote to invoke the protection of Siaska to reduce damage. The mote is expended on use.
	+ action - Spend a mote as an to make a special melee or ranged attack – you channel the light to surge out from you
	+ bonus action – charge a mote that you are holding. If you begin to charge a mote, your speed becomes zero until the end of your next turn and you automatically fail dexterity saving throws. Note that the mote is only charged *while you are charging it*. If you stop charging a mote, it does not retain a charge.
		- action – Limit Break - expend your mote and 4 charged motes of your allies to perform a unique power for the user (this power would be unique to the class of the user and to the character and things that are connected to the character). Note: only 4 motes need to be charged: the user's does not.

## **Quotes**

* Mark (as Kellara): "All my grief is part of me now. I cannot ever be the Life Bringer again; I am what she made me. I am every weeping loved one left behind, I am the regret of those taken before their time. I am Kellara, Sorrow Incarnate, and I will unite the living in the bliss of death before the end."

* Everyone: "We're not rolling initiative. Take me. She wins! We're not worthy!"