III - The Refusal of the Call - Season Ender

The wedding is moved to an earlier date.
And the rest of Concordia finds itself rushing to make changes.


Lady Songbird, Flynn Wordweaver, Sir Felix Southpaw, and the rest of the Oathcircle find themselves once more crossing paths in the Kingdom of Willows as High King David Ardry and Faerilyth ap Eiluned celebrate before numerous witnesses their marriage.


While there, the group as individuals are introduced to a host of new characters:  From the lovespat between the unacknowledged duchess Igrania, and the contesting duke, Firedrake, to the disturbing siblings Duke Siva and Duchess Kali, the sultry Sabrina Lennin-Corvald, and the tinkering Duke Murdoch.  They learn of how the Kingdom of Willows still hold much to slavery and racism, and eventually meet the charismatic King Meilge.

As the wedding progresses, Lady Songbird and Flynn Wordweaver work their magic once more to help keep the night productive, even with Princess Lenore acting emotionally distraught over her father's choice of actions.  But when the wedding takes a turn for the worse, the oathcircle finds itself at the center of a Kingdom without a High King, of warring sides declaring loyalties to varying leaders, to a Princess disavowing her right to rule, and of an Oathcircle embracing a new name.  Caliburn, the High King's most potent Treasure and the symbol of the Dreaming's favor in his rule had suddenly departed from the missing High King and had transported itself into the hands of the eshu storyteller, Flynn.  The sword, through words Flynn alone can hear, tells him that it will remain with him until the rightful bearer is found.


The Seekers of the High King is united by oath and by promise.

*

However, in the Kingdom of Apples, the young ward of Lady Songbird awakes from his feverish dreams and a new face comes to the fore.  His chimerical mein becomes fully apparent as he declares out loud, "I am Danwyn ap Gwydion, the rightful King of this realm.  Where is my Queen?"

II - The Call to Adventure - Part Three

An Oathcircle is formed.

With the goal being to rescue Sir Thortal, Princess Lenore forges an Oathcircle with Sir Felix, Lady Songbird, and Flynn Wordweaver.  The four then make their preparations for the quest.
Lady Songbird decides to offer the Trod in the Patrician as the point of entry to the Dreaming.  She realizes the other oath of secrecy that she had promised and asks for the Oathcircle to be mindful of it as well.  She notices her knights having a rivalry of sorts, and eventually agrees to rename Sir Finn into Sir Awll.

Flynn Wordweaver visits Duke Dray in hopes of having weapons and learns the Duke insists on joining him in the quest.  The Duke wears a hideous armor that blocks out his senses (in order to maintain the secrecy of the oath) which allows Flynn to leave the Duke behind.  He takes with him a set of magical throwing knives, blades which could be retargeted at the last second to strike a different target with but one's mind.

Sir Felix Southpaw gathers up the Glamour he can, including Dross which he successfully takes from Lady Songbird's knights through verbal wordplay.

The three gather at the Patrician, witness a brief outburst from the young man, Miles, and attempt to open the Trod.  It is only later that Lady Songbird and Sir Real realize that the Trod can only be opened while feeling the grip of lust.

In the Dreaming, the heroes encounter a myriad of things:  an information broker in the form of a bird who sells them information which leads them off the Silver Path, a set of statues that seem to speak of a woman and her children running away from someone, a silver river that eventually reveals itself to be a dragon now freed from its geas, and even a pirate in a sea of stars where desires are granted without a second-thought.

In each encounter, the heroes find a way to work together, or to confuse their opponents, using every skill or knowledge they have to their disposal.   Their greatest threats however, were to come from two other places:  their past.  And their future.

Upon finding the Silver Path, Lady Songbird sees the wreckage of a carriage that once belonged to her and her husband, a man named Danwyn.  Against the other's words, she tries to recover the contents of the carriage.  But when they find the tree ahead of them, she decides to bury the cask for now and to return to it some other time. The tree happens to be another one of the Ghulle Dhu, and the old one questions them for not choosing to return to the Dreaming instead.  It warns them that great threats are coming.  And leaves.

The group then finds a Ruined Arch to take home, but learn it is watched by a massive Spider chimera.  Lenore is snared into its web, and Sir Felix and Flynn struggle to find a way to best it, even as it attacks from the shadows.   Lady Songbird, on the other hand, discovers the Huntsman on the path, stalking them, and thankfully succeeds in an Ordeal against his dogs.  The Huntsman allows them to leave for now.

The Oathcircle find themselves emerging in the Kingdom of Pacifica, all the way in the other side of America.  There, amidst Justin Beiber songs and stilleto heels, the group discover they had been gone for barely a minute.

[freehold] The Seven

The Seven
With such an unassuming physical appearance, most would overlook this tiny shack in the middle of nowhere close to the Catskill Mountains.  However, if one were to step inside, one would discover six curtained walls with each curtain concealing a massive mirror.

The Seven is the freehold once owned by the Crystal Circle.  Each mirrored wall is a trod, a doorway to another place.  At least one of the doors leads deep into the depths of the Dreaming.

The freehold is currently under the watchful eye of Sir Felix, after Master Seamus handed to him ownership of the freehold.

(Holding: 1)
(Trod: 4)

[freehold] The Orphanage Activity Room

The Orphanage Activity Room
Although the rest of the freehold's physical manifestation has been burned away, the glamour within the site continues to shine.  Currently under the watch of Flynn Wordweaver, this freehold is a small, but reliable source of Glamour.

One has to wonder how such a place, deep in the heart of banality, exists.  Was it forged by the presence of the two Dreamers who used to live here?  Or was it instead the very source that transformed Sam and Aldwin into the dreamers they are now?

Holding (1)

II - The Call to Adventure - Part Two

Months have passed.

Lady Songbird discovers her dear Miles continues to suffer lapses in his memory.  From his strange state of being somewhat Enchanted and his moments where he seems to have some other personality.  She is uncertain if he is approaching a Chrysalis.  Or worse, if something else is happening to the young man.   Adding even more complication into her colorful life, the Duke Kelodin then calls for the baroness for a meeting.  There, she finds herself meeting more than just the Duke.   The Queen of the Kingdom of Apples joins them and informs her she is aware of her bid for a seat in the Parliament of Dreams.  To her surprise both he and the Queen Mab give their approval for her to become the Advocate of Goblin Town.  The Queen however stresses that Cadmium Redd must live.  Doctor Coma is not happy to hear that Lady Songbird's rise to power will not result in the Nocker's death and now raises questions to his support in the endeavor.   And just when Lady Songbird thought things could not get worse...




Flynn Wordweaver begins to have clearer dreams in the passing weeks.  More and more he begins to unearth the events that transpired that infamous Beltaine night.  He notices that Faerylith has not been present during the many interviews.    A quick trip to the Trod Away From Home exposes him to the many rumors of the High King and his upcoming wedding.  He decides to visit Queen Mab and is surprised to be welcomed inside.   To his surprise, Queen Mab knows nothing of his dreams.  Duke Dray joins the meeting and the two uncover that Flynn's visions are likely real.  To protect him, the Queen declares him a Treasure of the Apples and any acts done directly to him are actions the Kingdom of Apples will retaliate against when necessary.    With Duke Dray assigned to protect him, the Duke steals Flynn away to induct him into a secret order:  The Beltaine Blade.   And after surviving the frightening induction, Flynn learns fate has something in addition in store.


Sir Felix Southpaw is lost in the Dreaming.  His journeys bring him to strange horizons and transforming landscapes.   Strangely, the things in the Dreaming seem to recognize him in some manner one way or another.    Eventually, Felix realizes some of the landscapes he travels through are dreams, and in a savannah dream he grabs hold of the waking Dreamer and pulls himself into the world. He discovers he is all the way in Australia and there befriends a young troll child, Amelie, and her Ghillie Dhu friend Simon.    Simon admits to Felix that he recognizes him, and shares with him his failed romantic life with a woman named Helena.  Felix agrees to escort Simon to the borders of the Deep Dreaming in exchange for a trod back to the Kingdom of Apples.  Secrets and answers he learns, sadly fade away as he reemerges in New York city.  Back there, he finds Master Seamus who shares the troubles of his quest for the Lost Ones, and later Thortal who opts to accompany him in searching for Lenore.  Who would have anticipated the strange portents and search would lead them to the events Dan had mapped out for the group.


All three find their paths converging at the street corner where a particular movie theater stands.  A freak accident leads to Thortal being pinned by a car against a brick wall.  In the panic, Felix attempts to heal him with the goblin fruit he had found in his pocket.  The fruit causes Thortal to fade away, pulled into the Dreaming itself.   Flynn and Lady Songbird clumsily attempt to distract the numerous unenchanted witnesses from the events and instead make things even far more complicated.  Lenore uses a quick illusion to weave herself into a splitting image of Thortal's mortal seeming to proclaim the event as a reality tv stunt.  Flynn and Songbird realize among the crowd is Joseph van Noceti III, who at first relishes at the Escheat being possibly broken.  But when the Princess' Cantrip succeeds, the Dauntain realizes the four Changelings may be strong enough to overpower him, and departs.


Lenore demands the others assist her and the group regathers at Coffee, Biscuit, Tea to swear as a group an Oath to rescue Thortal from the Dreaming.  The beginnings of an OathCircle are born.

[npc] Samuel Arvel A. Chun

Sam Arvel A. Chun
Dreamer

The other dreamer of the Orphanage, Sam is also now under the protective watch of Duke Dray and Flynn Wordweaver ever since their rescue from their Autumn Person headmistress.  Sam loves to create images of colors and fantasy.  His vision tends to incorporate incredible mythical beasts with the harsh realities of life, merging rainbows with illustrations of death and murder.

[npc] Aldwin G. Ennis

Aldwin G. Ennis
Dreamer

The young boy named Aldwin is one of the Dreamers of the Orphanage which Flynn Wordweaver used to watch over.  But after being rescued from the Autumn People by Duke Dray, he has been under the Duke's watchful eyes.    Recently, however, a secret alliance has been established between the Duke and the Eshu, granting the storyteller free access to the two dreamers whenever he desires it.

Aldwin's creative impulses tend to toy on imagery that depict blood and violence.  His touches seem to stand in good contrast against Sam's own images of rainbows and colorful creatures.

[npc] Sir Awll

Sir Awll
Finn Montieh
Troll Knight, Wilder
Unseelie of House Fiona

This young man was a troll who was carousing in Goblin Town when the Lady Songbird called out for assistance.  She offered a title in exchange for help in traversing Goblin Town; an exchange which Finn felt to be well worth the effort.

Finnegan, however, lost one of his arms and now has to content with being a one-armed knight.  He has no family of any sort to return home to, however, which suits him just fine.

He finds himself jealous of Lady Songbird's attentions towards the young man, Miles, however, and wonders if there will come a time he should... remove such distractions before they endanger the Baroness he loves.

[npc] Cadmium Redd

Cadmium Redd
Nocker, Grump
Unseelie

Once a populist commoner leader, Cadmium has become a dangerous, frightening leader who has no fear of the insidious nature of Cold Iron and Banality.    As the leader of Goblin Town,  Cadmium commands with intimidation and power, much like the Red Queen from Through the Looking Glass.  Her favourite weapon is a large, imposing black iron rod, the handle of which is wrapped in leather, and topped by a ram's head.  The ram's ruby eyes grow in battle.  She also wears a suit of red gold armor, with spider-like legs giving her the maneuverability her actual figure lacks.

Cadmium has lost the favor of Doctor Coma, who now hopes to somehow remove her from power, and eliminate her before she becomes a threat to all Kithain.  Her recent project involves the creation of a Cold Iron cage, but as to for whom, it remains to be seen.