Anarion

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Tristan and Constance

The lady Sauvage grimaces noticeably in response to Tristan, a cold square expression of dismay. "That one is beyond the power we hold here. Ask your lady of her nature if you wish to know more. Certainly, we would welcome it if she received her just punishment, but it may be that such is not reserved for our time."

She turns then, to Constance, and for the first time there is compassion in her eyes. "As to you, lady Constance, we are honored by your presence and hold you blameless in the events of the summer that called us all hence. Your judgment was true, and if at the end your efforts are inadequate, we grant you the freedom to be at whatever place you deem most appropriate at the time."

She looks to the both of you. "I will take any questions that you may have for me at this audience, but know now that you have my gratitude for your aid, and that of my retainers as well. When you are ready, Sir Harold will show you to your rooms." She gestures to the stocky blond man, who offers you the most jovial smile of anyone you've seen in the castle thus far by a wide mile.

Robena

The young woman smiles when you greet the dogs fondly, though the taller woman scowls at the familiarity you've shown. Perhaps she keeps the dogs? At the least, the hounds themselves have determined that you, with a free hand for tummy rubs, are deserving of the highest honors, which they shower with through repeated licks and happy barks, quite nearly tumbling you over in their fervor. Lady Sauvage, for her part, awaits your finish with an air of calm patience, sitting upon her horse for all the world like a statue of a lordly knight.

When you do offer your answer and your introduction, she gives the faintest hint of a nod. "Very well then, Robena Coilleghille. Please take the lead. The villain has surely gone to ground, so we must drive it out and set the dogs upon the scent."

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Robena

The rider, for her part, gives you an appraising look as you answer. There is the slightest flicker of her gray eyes when your gaze passes over the group wondering whether they themselves are in penitence, but her mouth twitches in the slightest sign of a smile when you politely ask for their will.

"I think you ought to join us" she says, gesturing to one of the squires, who walks his horse forward and offers you a spare wooden shield for bashing to help drive out the fox. "We cannot return home to the castle Sauvage today until the noxious beast is caught and killed. I require of you but two conditions. First, that any catch you make in the hunt shall belong to me, Lady Sauvage, who is lord of these lands, and you shall present it to me at my castle. Second, that you shall not depart your rooms once we have retired for the evening until sunrise, whatever may befall you."

The lady and her knights look to you, the only sound in the air the panting of dogs catching their breath as they await your decision.

Constance, Tristan

"I thank you" Lady Liana speaks quietly and, if you are not mistaken, there is the tiniest blush upon her cheeks at Tristan's praise.

The Lady Sauvage, however, offers the answer, beginning with a slight scoff. "I do not deal in hope. That is not my matter. Surely, Lady Constance, you at least can see the doom that hangs over this place and over me, and so it is time we got to our business properly." She folds her hands in her lap and speaks with a low, almost lyrical formality to the hall and to Constance.
"We are gathered for the cause of a knight, who you know well. She will arrive within a fortnight and stay in our castle. She will not be a prisoner per se, but her oaths and her honor are most liable to keep her here, where the doom that hangs over her will ultimately be delivered at the end of her stay, and so she will not depart. I and my retainers will see to her by day while she is our guest. You are to see to her by night. She will await you, whether or not she wills it."

She pauses, for a moment, and, with a little less formality and something that almost resembles a smile, she looks at Constance and then at Tristan in turn. "Sir Tristan speaks truly, at the least. If there is hope to be had, it is you who has the duty to provide it. Test her well, and perhaps we will, all of us, be surprised."

She looks to each of you then, for agreement.

Sunshards

"But why though?"

Chen's why is so many questions. Of course, it's the why of the hero who just doesn't understand the villain's motivation and is supposed to stop them. That's in there with a little tone of defiance. But it's petulant too. It's the why of a frustrated little girl. It's why can't we just hug and snuggle like this?, plus some why can't I just do what I want instead of being stuck having to deal with you?! And if Chen weren't still leaning into Qiu, the other Princess might almost have expected Chen to stamp her foot in frustration the way her body shivers as she asks it.

Qiu might think that this is her shards at work at first. After all, Chen's used to both her mothers, especially Ysel, so Qiu dropping herself as the single dominant point in Chen's world like this might be pushing her into frustrated daughter mode. But here's an insight that Qiu might have. The way that Chen responded so fast and so honestly, that's not just shards. Chen might be a superb sword duelist and top-tier when it comes to navigating magical puzzles, but she has no conception of being in charge of anything. She's lived a life of expectations and demands and she doesn't like it. So her reaction asking why you'd want to conquer everything, that's because she really, honestly doesn't share those desires at all to the point that she can't even get in the headspace of someone else that has them.

This probably is not the intended effect of the impressive army. Chen's impressed, sure, but...exasperated might be a better word? She just doesn't get why you're doing all this, and her body language is a bundle of tension. She doesn't stop leaning on Qiu because...well, she doesn't know either, it feels nice and she wants to live in a world where it's okay for her and Qiu to just hug each other and nothing bad will happen, but it's obvious she doesn't believe, in the slightest that's the world she's in now.

Sunshards

I am in a rapid river, the water threatens to drown me.
Chen smiles and suffers a slight blush. She can't decide if Qiu is being affectionate and this makes her feel special or if Qiu is treating her like a kid sister and she ought to get indignant. She settles for the smile and that pleasant sense of relaxing into Qiu's strength and the wonderful warmth of her body. Really, why even make a decision when the right choice is to let herself be led along either way?

The light twists when it strikes the water, I see only reflections
It was flattering that Qiu had actually done the painting. Of course she had, she was a Princess of her word, but Chen was excited to see it, excited to even get a chance to do some of her own work. She hadn't had much chance of course, she had been tied and bound much of the time and constantly in transit the rest, which did not make for a good opportunity to do an activity with a steady hand and careful mixtures.

The currents swirl and drag me deeper, I cannot swim against them
"Oh gosh, no I haven't had any chance. I can't wait either, would you believe I've never been more inspired? I even made a fox deal while I was out and it gave me so many ideas. I've got a perfect memory of a group tea as well. There's something about a relaxing tea, it's just this perfect way to express calm and that feeling, I don't even know what you call it, but when you realize that you've been holding your shoulders all tense and you didn't even know it and then you let them go and it's like a huge weight that you were carrying on your back just falls off you all at once. I want to paint that, the way everyone was smiling and at ease. I'd never have thought it, a princess and a village girl, a handmaiden, and an ancient huntress, and two different foxes to boot! It's really an odd one. Oh and I want to see your works too, then maybe we could do something together!"

To swim a river you must trust the water
The painting room is incredible. Chen ought to be taking in all of Qiu's works (and she's going to), but she's too busy ogling the selection of colors and the entire wall of brushes, picking up one and then another, imagining the combinations she could make. Oh, gosh, just look at this red, a little bit of this mixed into a pool of white would make the perfect color for the sunrise sky. And this amber color, where did she even get that, it's perfect for one Yue's little stones. She leans against Qiu, who hasn't stopped holding her close and lets herself rest against that body's strong support. Qiu could be someone's whole world, the earth, sea, and sky that's there for you whenever you look for it.

A river cuts the world in two, the able swimmer crests and dives
Qiu could be everything, but Chen didn't want everything like that. She's with Qiu, but she's alone, all her traveling companions each separated. No comfort from Rose like their ride with Zatoichi, no friendly smile and eager offer of help from Yue. She looked up and there was only Qiu, herself and her paintings. Chen took a deep breath and looked back at the paintings. "Tell me about what you've made, I do want to see. You must have had all sorts of interesting subject matter. You didn't just paint all the places you were going to conquer once I got back, right?" Chen giggles because that would just be silly.

[Trying to figure out Qiu: 2+2+0=4]

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Robena

You hear the hunting party long before you see them. A horn sounded in the distance halts you amidst the snowy forest trail, evoking long-past memories of the thrill of the chase. Then there is the low thundering of hoofbeats, the clapping of swords on shields to chase the beast, and the merry jingling of saddle and harness in the crisp winter air.

The party is not large. The lead knight, obviously the lady of the castle, rides a white courser, wearing a tabard bearing a green tree upon a snowy white background with gold thread woven in around the border, the symbol of the forest in which you now find yourself. She is accompanied by a three other knights wearing similar tabards without the gold: one tall and dour lady with long raven hair, one short and stocky man with a jovial smile and blond hair pulled into a ponytail, and one earnest young woman with tousled brown hair and blue eyes that mirror the sky. They in turn each have a page and a footman accompanying them, the footmen carrying drums and bells, and the pages banging on their wooden shields. a handful of hounds are panting alongside the horses, held on leashes, steam coming off them.

The party rounds a bend in the trail and comes upon you all at once, drawing up short, reigning in their horses, and ceasing, for the moment, their noise-making, save for the panting dogs.

"Ho, mendicant knight" calls the leader, recognizing your attire. "Have you seen a fox pass you by in these woods?"

Constance and Tristan

The Lady nods at Constance, and then barks out a surprised laugh at Tristan's addition, a sound she's clearly unaccustomed to making. It reminds you vaguely of King Pellinore, though you never heard her laugh during your hunt. "Yes, we have musicians, though little call for them. Still, we will not be said here at Castle Sauvage to deny our guests hospitality." She looks to one of the retainers below her dais, a stocky man with a blond ponytail and gives a single clap. He nods and steps from the room, returning a moment later with a young woman with unkempt brown hair and sky blue eyes. She's carrying a lute, though she looks rather hesitant.

The Lady Sauvage speaks: "Sir Liana, a song for our guests, if you please."

Then the young knight strikes a chord on her lyre. Though you might have hoped for joyous entertainment, Tristan, what you hear is a minor key, and she launches into a poem of times long past.

In olden times, there once stood Rome, who held our land in sway.
And over all an emperor, who ruled from far away.
In golden times, the city shone, a bright and shining gem,
her hills and rivers sparkling, her holy temples solemn.
But mortal was her emperor, who passed beyond the veil,
and mortal still the next in line, until the line did fail.

Her soldiers once were once pious men, loyal, strong and true.
They came to great Britannia, up from the seas of blue.
They came among the forests, and cleared the land to stay.
They built among the giants and bargained with the fae.
But bargains from a distant lord could never hope to last,
Gone as the line imperial, her knights could not hold fast.

Her promises were filled with hope, a golden age's vision.
They offered us a greater place, a land without division.
The ladies loved her offer, the knights they loved her dream
the druids heard her singing, and the priests her song did sing.
But soon there was disharmony, and quickly then decay,
As empty forts and barren keeps each turned to fade away.

Her power was of many gods, some greater and some small,
this too was her failure, and cause of her great fall.
For never pleased are many gods, demanding each their due,
Until at last their offers end, protections turn untrue.
Here we act more kindly, sharing with our neighbors,
Not gods are they, but fairer folk, who do their share of labors.

Her lands were rich and wealthy, her farmers hale and strong.
But as her days were waning, their strength too was not long.
Her throne beset by warfare, her generals lost to greed,
Her people fought amongst themselves, and no one stood to lead.
Thus do we remember, a kingdom that once was,
imperial its vision, but mortal still its cause.

Sunshards

"I uh...yeah, I did."

Despite being far away and below Qiu, Chen's whole body hangs like someone who was about to open a door and just realized that somebody was on the other side and grabbed it as fast as they could so they didn't slam into anyone. She almost looks like she's going to fall over for an instant, before she manages to settle her weight back and keep her center of gravity over her feet. She just...she was ready for a lot of things. Like, surprise attacks from her supposed arch-nemesis! Or, or sudden hugs to create lots of confusing emotions! Or maybe...um...a big showy grand entrance with flaming pillars and stuff! But, you'll have to forgive her because she was not ready for the hot wet hair look and this weird sort of restrained tension where she knows Qiu wants to have a duel, but she's clearly being nice and it would be incredibly rude to push her when she's trying so hard and...and...eeep! Yes eeep! That's what she was not ready for!

Okay, deep breath, everybody is looking at Chen and she's got to say something more than just uh yeah to fill the silence. "I have, um, very technically, fulfilled exactly what you asked of me. I have found Yue and she is here, now, with me, in front of you. But...I don't think I should really collect on the prize because she only came here to tell you in person that she's not interested in being your handmaiden. Or anybody's handmaiden I think. A-Anyway, she's really special and I totally get why your demon advisor said she's special (reader: Chen has no idea why the demon said that) but I think she should get to choose what she wants, so I'm here to let you know that I promised to protect her whatever she chooses. Oh also, just like, please don't let Yin go looking for random innocent girls again. She is seriously a lot and I'm pretty sure she freaked out, like, everybody here with me."

Chen looked like her brain was just catching up to her mouth and, before her brain could manage too much thinking of how sideways that had just gone, she turns to the group. "Well...um, anyway, you already know what she looks like, but this is Yue, just Yue. Yue, above you there in all her...glory is Princess Qiu Tian, the three shard-princess. And uh, the person whose weird old world demon advisor started this whole mess by saying you were the most valuable thing in Qiu's new kingdoms. You should introduce yourself."

Well, that was something at least. Both her parents would be horribly disappointed, and she still couldn't tell why Qiu was being so nice about this, but she was very definitely putting a lot of effort into it and it was really throwing Chen off her game. But...maybe it meant this was all fine and there wouldn't be any big fights?

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

There are times when things move so fast that the world feels as though it could turn full roundabout in the blink of an eye. But those are rare times. Most often, the world moves at the pace of seasons, and the land, even sickly though it may be, does not change in an instant, but over long slow time as work and toil cannot keep their pace. So the summer storms give way to the harvest, meager though it may be. There is no war to be had, and the hand upon shaft is the scythe swishing through the fields. There is not enough. Of course, there is never enough, and belts will be tight. A hard year for the old and the young. Then there is an early chill by late October, and then the snow. It comes first in flurries that do not stick but merely offer an unending sense of damp. Later, by late November, it comes properly, thick and heavy, blanketing the land and hiding its colors. Icicles dot the rafters, and the paths are perilous. There is darkness, and the brief light of the holidays as candles and wreaths fill the halls, and then into a new year met with hope, but also with dread.

*****

Constance and Tristan
But perhaps let us look back a moment. On that fateful summer day, there were harsh words, and a parting upon the field. Constance, you were in no doubt from what you'd seen that King Pellinore was dead, your champion lacking, and High King Pendragon beyond your reach. You pronounced King Pellinore departed, only her doom lingering in this world. You offered what ceremony you could for the burial, as was your right and duty. Robena had left the field and the Lady Sandsfern did not linger long after. Pellinore's knights paid you begrudging respect (they do not think well of your lady, but they do of your station) and when you were done and the eulogy complete, Mort followed you, no longer bound by his oaths to his liege.

Tristan, ever the lady Marianne's loyal servant, remained with Constance, observing the ceremony and paying what respect he could, though he knew in his heart that Pellinore was lost long before Robena's axe met her neck. It is a sadness to the world that one such as she, her humanity long-buried, nevertheless supported several loyal knights of good bearing and earnest belief. Theirs was not the fault of their master, though neither did any save Mort depart their service and most returned to Camelot after all was done.

So you both returned to Marianne's castle of Lostwithiel, where Tristan made himself useful and found a hunting party to drive off the badger. It went without much fight. It seems that the questing beast was no longer near, perhaps itself mourning Pellinore's loss, and so the Badger returned willingly enough to the murkier forests. Constance and Cath Palug brooded, for there was no champion to save Britain as she imagined it.

It was in this manner that the messenger found you both in the castle yard, Constance distracted and Tristan training nearby. The messenger wore greens, but not those of Lostwithiel, rather a long cloak of verdant green like the color of sunlight through thickset leaves. She did not speak, but placed a note in Constance's hands. A short letter that bade her come to the Forest Sauvage as quickly as she could, that her counsel was requested as to the Knight's Doom.

She took you, Tristan, as bodyguard because you understood the things that you and she might face, and she took the cat that she called Cath and who would not deign to be held by anyone but Constance. She took Mort as well, for her had become her page and waiting man, knowing no other cause to which to give himself. And she took three fine horses, if begrudgingly at her Lady's insistence, and you set out for the castle.

It is now the new year and you have just arrived at this foreboding place. But there was a young page at the entrance dressed in finery of that same verdant and he beckoned you to come rest your horses and enter the hall of this snowy castle.

Castle

Now, you stand in a grand hall (if not so grand as either Lostwithiel or Camelot for its remoteness). Thick woven tapestries of linen line the walls, vibrant scenes of great animals: stags, foxes, boars, wolves, and bears. A noble lady sits upon the throne, pale and stern, her green dress with it slow flowing sleeves speaking of skilled seamstresses. She sits upon the high seat alone, you might have expected a partner, but all her attendants and advisors stand behind and below her, only a small handful.

"Lady Constance Nim, I bid you welcome. And welcome to the guests you have brought as well. Please accept the meager hospitality of my home, though it is indeed too meager even to have a proper name beyond the forest in which it resides. Please, tell me of your journey and what I may do to make you comfortable before we talk of more serious matters."

Tell us then, what you gained from the passing season and what you hope to find here, and then we will turn to the business of Robena's doom.

*****

Robena

You stalked from the field, your death already upon you, your oaths completed. Whither then, for the next months? Surely not back to Lostwithiel? Did you seek solitude or company? The times may be dire, but that merely attracts the more mendicant travelers, and one more pilgrim, even one with a fine horse, is not so remarkable among them.

Wherever you were, the messenger in the verdant cloak found you after the turning of the New Year, at least two weeks after she met with Constance and Tristan. She did not speak, but handed you a note. Yours was written in a strong and flowing script and offered only this:
If you yet have your honor as a knight, you will come to face your appointed fate
There is a castle deep within the Forest Sauvage
Follow the King's road from the South, then stay by the river and turn West when the trees grow so thick that you can no longer continue North and you will come upon it.

You have not yet arrived, but as you follow your appointed path, tell us how you passed the season and how you appear within the forest.

Sunshards

Chen steps from the car after Yue tumbles out, sword drawn, knuckles white on the hilt, breath tense. In comparison to what had just happened, Ysel seemed tame and restrained, and Elkibrand must have been an angel gifted specifically with driving skills for Chen's personal comfort earlier. Chen had drawn her sword around one particularly tight corner on a steep curve, absolutely convinced that the car was going to flip and she was going to need to either try and right it or pull everyone out before they crashed to the bottom of a nearby ravine. Somehow that hadn't happened, and she couldn't remember if she had panicked and helped with the cornering herself, or if she'd simply been clinging to Rose the entire time, sword clenched tightly in one hand as part of the tightest hug of her life.

A-a-anyway! Clinging to Rose had been the perfectly sensible choice. She was by far the strongest, so if there was a crash, having her and Chen together gave them the best chance of weathering it, getting out, and being able to save everybody else. S-so, it made sense that she would hug the huntress as tightly as possible, and squeeze with all the might of her tiny little arms compared to that thick, deep chest. So, that was totally normal, smart, and sensible and everybody was perfectly fine with that.

Oh, right, they were out of the car now and she had let Rose go so that they could all get out because that was also what normal, sensible people did and now she was stepping a few feet away so everybody else could get out and taking in the new scenery. And they were...oh for the love of the suns. This entire space just screamed arena duel. Each of those pillars was thick enough to hide behind and sturdy enough to bounce off of, creating a hundred different angles for surprise attacks. The pyramid offered a perfect landmark to orient yourself from any angle and a potential goal if the contest was more than just a sword duel (maybe a race or offense/defense sort of contest?).

Chen already had her sword in her hand, the crystal blade sparkling merrily, her own stance not quite staying still, keeping light on her feet and ready for a sudden movement in any direction. She could feel the sort of hunger that Qiu had for this contest reflected in the landscape all around them. Was she going to have to defend her new friends in a duel after Yue refused Qiu's coterie? She didn't think she could beat Qiu straight up, even if the three-shard princess didn't use any sort of shard cheating, but she could make a fight of it and give the rest time to escape. She knew Qiu wanted that badly, Chen had danced around ever facing her directly and the tantalizing prospect of that duel had kept Qiu's interest even before they'd shared art tips on the boat and Qiu had wrapped her tail around Chen so...enticingly.

A blush was creeping onto Chen's face, when she was saved by poor, sick, blessed, wonderful, Yue, asking for flowers and peach trees. Chen laughed, covering her blush. "Oh, this isn't for decoration. This is a dueling ground! Qiu loves a personal contest of skill best of all, that's how she won all her shards." Chen's levity let her at last relax her white knuckle grip and settle herself, though she did not put her sword away just yet. Something about the place held her back from that, maybe the first creeping of Qiu's shards already influencing her, and that took the smile right off her face. "Be careful when you meet Princess Qiu Tian. She has three sunshards and even more than Yin they let her influence the whole world around her. You might find yourself feeling things you've never felt before. Right now I'm still sort of on an errand for her, but when she realizes that's not what's happened, she might try to push any of us into competing with her. So, be ready for the unexpected and don't try to confront her directly."

Chen spares a glance for Hyra and Rose in turn, the other two most likely culprits to do something stupid in this scenario besides herself. Then she looks up to the pyramid, wondering where the three-shard princess has gotten herself.

Sunshards

“Thank you so much, Rose, you’re an incredible friend and it makes me happy how you’re so kind to me and such fun to do things with” ...is what the calm, thoughtful part of Chen’s mind wanted to say. However, that part of her brain was, at best, around 10% in operation at the moment. The other 90% was too busy having an extreme meltdown for coherent words.

It was somewhere around “polite little girls” that Chen just started imploding completely. Her blush, already building, completely overtook her from neck to forehead, her cheeks like bright little tomatoes. She vacillated between wanting to jump directly into Rose’s thick, strong arms and desperately begging the ground to open up a hole and swallow her quickly so that she wouldn’t have to endure a second longer. The result was Chen unable to meet Rose’s gaze and unable to stand still as that strong, firm hand cupped over hers held her firmly in place. She moved her shoulders, she shifted her legs, pulled her feet apart, brought her feet back together, and progressively started shaking more and more in that grip. She loved this, the games and the teasing, and the strength that Rose emanated. It was too much, aaaaaaaaah!

What came out when Rose paused and looked to Chen to use any words at all was something like “mmnnrrrfff” which might have made you think the gag was already in place, and then a high-pitched squeaking and shaking her head as Chen tried her absolute bestest to respond to Rose with something and failed utterly.

Sunshards

“Oh no, I couldn’t possibly...” Princess Chen grew immediately flushed and cut herself off.

Of course, Chen didn’t need an allowance. Of course. She carried some coinage in her bags for travel needs, and her reputation alone, people would happily trade her for a future favor or a good word with one of her mothers (though the cactus episode had taught her to spend that currency carefully indeed). Besides that, it would be incredibly rude for her to accept gifts like this given her station, and on top of that accepting a gift would mean that she would owe Rose a favor, which was out of the question given everything she knew now. It was definitely improper and she shouldn’t do it. But...she wanted Rose to give her a little gift and make a big deal of it. She sort of even wanted Yue to laugh again, even at her.

“That is...I...um...it would be rude...but...er...if you insisted...” Chen is barely getting words out in between short breaths as her embarrassment grows and her voice gets progressively higher as an embarrassed squeak builds in her throat instead. She can’t bear Rose looking at her that way, but can’t take her eyes off either, and with words failing her, she manages just the tiniest little nod that yes she wants this very much. The cherry tomato flush making her want to sink into the earth (or into Rose...aaaaah) finally becomes too much and she yanks her eyes down, looking back up just a sliver to see if Rose is indeed giving her anything.

[Chen is very much enticed and now flustered]