Memoriae Arc

Memoriae Arc is the third arc in the Crusaders of the Truth campaign.

The group, now known as the Crusaders of the Truth, meet again for the first meeting of Lux Aeterna. They are quickly pulled into some kind of simulation, where they learn the beginnings of the world, and two of the members are confronted with their past.

## First Appearances

### **Party Members**

The names of the "Modern" Campaign players will go here

### **Allies**

Byte

Alucard

Lord Goofenstein

### **Villains**

AINSLEY

Misere

### **Other Notable Characters**

Lord Treescape

King Krink

## Soundtrack

The soundtrack of the entire thing was created through finding the most fitting music to the campaign, which required lots of techno 80s stuff. This is the soundtrack, compiled for the different eras. Anything not synth was likely used for the Futuristic events, while the synth, in particular music from Furi and Tron, was used for the simulation world.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLmYexeJSOAdAMN5mdaahNs1U3PJ\_Xif48

### Significance of chapter names and music

Each chapter had a corresponding song that fit into its narrative significance. All the chapter names use a matching Zack Hemsey song, which were specifically chosen due to the inspiration they brought to the creation of the plot. In fact, Eddy wrote much of the plot around the songs, and found songs that better described what he was writing. In turn he found more fitting songs to edit the story around.

* Chapter 1: Beyond the Throne. Chosen for its values of the corruption of power, and things falling due to it. Lux Aeterna is bickering and has many leaders who simply wish to use this alliance for their own gain, or wish to gain power so the meeting is more of a joke or insult. Additionally, many evil leaders arrived to show themselves in this chapter, once again showing the reach that they have beyond their own throne, and the effect that their power brings.
* Chapter 2: I Can Get It Back. The song is about purpose, and someone losing that which gave their life meaning. This is similar to how ALLAHN wishes to get back his original meaning by finishing his mission objective through the party, same goes for AINSLEY who had simply wanted to get his meaning back, his reason for creation. The music is both melancholy and aggressive, which is identical to the emotions running through AINSLEY.
* Chapter 3: Lost and Found. The song is about the haunting of the past, and is meant for the pre-cataclysm era characters. They left a world of pain and fell into one a little similar, but they were given the opportunity to help, to become more than they were before the destruction of Earth. The chorus is also an echo of Byte's choices to become someone new to forget her past.
* Chapter 4: The Way. The song originally just had 1 meaning, but after the session of Chapter 4 ended up perfectly describing the character Kid's emotions. The original song was for Byte, who essentially forged her own path once she crashed into the world, even if it meant betrayal of Crack and her party. She knew it wasn't the right thing, but she had lived a life in which she forged the future. For Kid, this song represents the final struggle as he realizes his entire search for Byte was for naught. After everything he realized it was all useless, he shoots the artifact. The internal struggle between everything, past and present, had bubbled into the perfect cataclysm. The wrong way was taken by Kid, but it was his, he forged the future.
* Chapter 5: Into The Valley. Literally and to match the name of the song, the "valley" entered is the simulation, which has now become like the valley of death. The song itself is about finding meaning in a fake world, which not only describes the party trying to exit Memoriae, but additionally them learning to face the reality of their futures and the world that they are shaping.
* Chapter 6: Fade Away. The song is simply about not being forgotten, and not being let go. It describes the slow deterioration and madness of AINSLEY after a hundred thousand years of waiting for a reason to continue existing. He did not want to be left in Memoriae for the party to forget, he would make sure he didn't fade into oblivion.

### The Theme Song: A Phantom Pain.

The first song in the playlist is a bit out of place, but it makes sense once the party had finished the story. Not only does the 80s synth match the TRON aesthetic of the campaign, but the lyrics' meaning are critical to the meaning of the future and the past of Doluna. The song is about the phantoms of multiple significant characters, as they all had a "phantom pain" they dealt through. Joseph Baxter, who is now known as [INFO LOCKED], has the phantom of Byte to torment him. Byte has the phantom of the real Marisha, who died long ago in the cataclysm, she *is* the phantom of the original Byte. AINSLEY's phantom was his father, Joseph, whom he was designed after. He was living in the casket of his own design, by the true Joseph.

## Trivia

* The majority of this campaign played through a different set of rules from 5E D&D. These rules were created by the DM Eddy.
* Misere is classified as a villain here, even though there is no hostile interaction with her by the party until the next arc.