Autumnal Wonder

The magnificent Lady in her Autumn aspect

Seasons and rhythms are very important in Sylvaeon. Everything cosmological, if in harmony with the Realm, occurs at its appointed time. As such, it is only appropriate that this blog's theme change as it always does with the passage of one phase of the mystery to another.

The Autumn Court is a time of festivity for the Fey Folk of Sylvaeon, when they present themselves before the Lady, whose raiment has changed into the colors of Fall. During this season, the Lady is known as She of Auburn Hair, for her appearance has changed - and the Realm matches it with its own display. Lovely and serene as she mingles with her loyal Fey subjects, the changing of the seasons gives great pleasure to the Fair Lady. During it, she shows her most generous aspect to them. Gifts are given to the myriad citizens of the realm in appreciation of their devotion to the magical Fairy Queen. All are thankful for the peace and the magical land she has created for their benefit. All love her and rejoice.

This little fairy on the blog background is prepared to see her Queen and partake of the feast and fun that only the Fey know. Mortal man and others thank the Lady for her blessings of the harvest and prepare for the Winter ahead, confident that all will be well.

Wallpaper in public domain at: http://www.myhdwallpapers.net/autumn-little-fairy/2367/

Cultures of Sylvaeon - The Folk

Cultures of Sylvaeon - The Folk

The Folk are the descendants of the oldest human race to inhabit the Realm. The Folk generally have a ruddy brown or fair-skinned in complexion. Most range from 157 to 177 centimeters in height. Common hair colors vary from black, brown to red. Their builds tend to be medium, but that also can vary. The Folk are mostly farmers, fishers or tradesmen. Their dwellings and villages are homey and tend to impact the environment minimally.

They first appeared approximately 4000 to 3500 years prior to the current year 10,000 of the Sylvaeon Revised Calendar. In the past, the Folk quickly became allied with the various Elven tribes in the areas that the Folk initially inhabited upon their arrival in Sylvaeon. The Folk are not a particularly warlike people, but during the Great Wars 3000 years ago, the Folk joined with the Elves to fight in the great conflict that swept over the known lands of the time.

The Folk almost as a whole have reverence and love for the White Lady and hold a deep respect for the Aeternal Realm of Sylvaeon. The ones that felt the most affinity with the land became the first of the Druid and Foresters, who worked to preserve the Balance of nature and the harmony of the Folk with all of the creatures they dwelled in the land with, whether Fey or feral.

The Great Wars decimated much of both the Elven and human populations. After that time, the surviving Folk emigrated from the decimated land to other portions of Sylvaeon that were less tainted. Over the millennium, the land has become restored. During the past few centuries, some of the Folk have returned to their old places of dwelling. Some of the past monuments to the heroes of the Great Wars remain, but little else. The past culture of the humans in these areas has effectively been erased. Having preserved the ancient lore and traditions of the Realm, something calls the Folk back to restore what was.

Session #9 of the Aeternal Realm of Sylvaeon

Session #9 of The Eternal Realm of Sylvaeon

Last time, the PCs had just defeated the Goblinoid horde which was melting some sort of slag from a nearby mine. The two large large hulk-like goblinoids that the PCs killed were dumping it into a hole in the ice into the Moon Well. The tribe's shaman had summoned the Red Moon with power drawn from the Moon Well through an elaborate ritual involving a shine placed at the center of the Moon Well, the burnt sacrifice of an Elf (which the PCs were sadly unable to stop) and a desecrated standing stone devoted to the White Lady, which had a red moon crescent drawn on it with the elf's blood.

The first of the obstacles to the liberation and restoration of the Moon Well had been overcome; namely the defeat of the Goblinoids. Now the PCs set to disabling the red aurora and its pillar manifestation that emanated from the center of the Moon Well. The Sword Sister Airyka thought that the pillar might be some transport to the Red Moon and placed her hand inside of it. Whether it was a transport or not, she did not figure out, because she was violently thrown back and went skidding unconscious across 70 feet of the ice.

Some of the party began to chop the ice around the aurora pillar & the goblinoid shine at the heart of it with the aid of the newly arrived Nord-Lander Warden, Erel Jolfsen, and some of his fellow clansmen. After an hour's labor the shine fell into the lake with a steamy explosion that rocked the ice, sending Nord-Landers tumbling into the cold water of the Moon Well. These were rescued by the mighty aid of Brynn, a Sword Sister of such prowess that she almost effortlessly drew several of the large Nord-Landers from the waters.

Smyrynel dove into the water to rescue one Nord-Lander that had sunk. As she tied him off to a rope held by another Nord-Lander above and signaled that the rope be drawn up, she spied a water nymph struggling to break free from the slaggy muck that now polluted the bottom of the moon well heavily. The evil shrine that had sunk to the bottom was pulsing fading light and had illuminated this scene, so Smyrynel caught the Nymph's ethereal hand, which became tangible in her grasp and plucked her to the surface of the small lake. The Paladin of the WHite Lady, Smyrynel cleansed the nymph with the water that she had gotten from the magical stream in the druid's grove. When she saw this was effective, she swam back to the center of pollution at the bottom of the moon well and cleansed it by releasing the stream water into the heart of the moon well. This caused the pollution to scatter almost sentiently, but it did dissolve the pollution of the moon well in a brief period of time.

Kelvin the Curious wizard had searched the shaman's body and found he wore a carved bone ring that said "Me No Sleep" upon it. He deduced that it was probably the reason his sleep spell upon the shaman failed in the battle that had recently raged. Kelvin also found the scroll that the goblinoid shaman had used to perform his summoning ritual. The scroll contained lore and spells of the goblinoids that Kelvin decided to decipher better at a later time.

In the shelter structure near the moon well was found a druid acolyte that had previously been tasked by Mellion to seek out the forgotten moon well which now lay in goblinoid territory and to discover its plight.  The moon well had alerted the the great druid to its distress somehow, but Mellion was nearing his time of Winter hibernation and could not go himself. The acolyte was beater and cut, but was alive. Kelvin aided the young druid in removing the body of the burnt elf for burial.

Sir Parcifal helped Brynn, Airyka and the Nord-Landers to tie up the remaining living goblinoids that had either been entangled or had emerged from the mine in surrender. Gildaril, the Warden master and Lydia, the elf maiden that had been rescued from the sink hole, arrived on the scene around this time. Gildaril agreed that Parcifal could attempt to reform the prisoners at the Outpost and placed him in charge of this task. Lydia gave Parcifal a white scarf to carry in her name and told Parcifal that she wished it to bring him good fortune. Being gallant, Parcifal kissed the maiden's hand and the two set about calming and herding the very frightened goblinoids in preparation to take them to the Outpost. Parcifal did need to recapture one of the frightened creatures, which slipped its bonds and tried to run off.

Erel told Airyka that a couple of the Nord-Landers wanted to know if she was interested in marriage. She politely declined, but was given a Nord-Lander axe as a sign of respect for her battle prowess.

The Pcs finally managed to clean up the desecration of the Moon Well. The aura obove it is a now a faint white, but the smallish red moon still glows in the night sky…

(more to come)

Encounters in the Wilderness

Giant Snowy Owl

Today was session #2 of the Aeternal Realm of Sylvaeon campaign. The party is made up elves and humans: two chivalric Paladins of the Order of the White Rose, a brain-addled but resourceful Mage of the Hermetic Order of Wizardry, A skillful and deadly Sword Sister and a cunning Ranger/Thief.

Being inducted as recruit Wardens in the first session, with fanfare at a celebration located in the village of Arrowmouth, the recruits received their marking as a Warden - the Glyph of the Silver Moon. This was placed upon their hand by the Druid Mellion at their swearing in ceremony.

The PCs left Arrowmouth the next day, traveling roughly Northwest, by the old road that follows the Broken Arrow River. Making camp for the night, the party built a sturdy, large lean-to shelter and a fire to protect them from the freezing Winter elements. After a bit, they heard a hooting noise in a nearby oak tree. The Huge round eyes, reflected in the firelight, were seen in the tree....

As the clouds parted some, partial moonlight revealed the silhouette of a large bird-like figure in the tree. The ranger, Oban,  knocked an arrow as the sword sister lit a lanterns for better illumination. The creature spoke, asking the ranger to please not shoot it as the lantern reveal a giant snowy owl in the branches of the oak. The creature introduced itself and said that it had seen their fire, so it knew they were there. Mistaking all of the adventurers as "Parcifal"s, because the male elven paladin introduced himself first, but the bird quickly learned that they all were named differently, which amused him. Smyrynel, the female elven Paladin, tried to read the birds aura, which was somewhat hidden to her for some reason, but she did see a bluish-white aura and felt no malice from the bird. After some banter, in which the snowy owl said it was sent to tell them something, but could not remember, a howling was heard in the night. This jogged the memory of the bird, who said that he now remembered that the Dark Wolves were coming to waylay the adventurers journey to the Warden outpost.

malevolent Dark Wolf

As the beasts were crossing the river to the PCs by leaping across on boulders in the water, Kelvin, the magic user put two to sleep and they fell in and drowned in the rough-flowing river. After a vicious battle, in which three wolves of the pack were slain (the Alpha almost becoming another!) the Dark Wolves were routed. The Paladins and the Ranger took some severe bites. The mage used fire to hold a wolf at bay and the sword sister, Airyka, showed her prowess, along with the other fighting types, in cutting wolves into several pieces. The pack howled off into the darkness, but as the leader left, it spoke in a foul voice, telling one of the paladins that he would slay him yet!

The owl had been hurt badly by one of the wolves, as it tried to intervene between one of the PCs that was trying to bravely help another. The paladins healed the bird a bit and it showed them a power of the Warden glyph: he instructed the hurt PCs to raise the glyph to the moonlight and beams shone to their palms from the orb. Within a short time, the PCs were completely healed of their wolf wounds. The owl took his leave, saying he had been called elsewhere to serve.

The PCs placed 2 more small watchfires around the camp and as they were doing so, they found a moderate-sized stele on the far side of the oak tree, facing the river. The elves of the group were confused, as the carved runes on it was very similar to their own, but it seemed like an ancient variant, by the looks of this weathered stone.  There was a battle scene on the stone, depicting humans and elves joined against dark wolves and goblinoids - something vaguely similar to the recent encounter, minus the goblin-creatures. The mage a took a rubbing of the stele with parchment. After searching around the stele, two ancient elven arrowheads were found. They were made of an unknown silver metal and were not tarnished after perhaps many centuries of lying upon this battlefield.

After an eventless rest of the night, the sun rose on a clear day. The temperature was just above freezing that morn. Breaking camp, the party continued on the next leg of the journey along the river road to an isolated inn on their way to the Warden wilderness outpost...

(more later)

Wardens of Sylvaeon

  In the past the entire Realm of Sylvaeon was a place of peace and balance… everything and everyone had a place in it. There was no blight, only natural cycles and the ways of the Fey. The Corrupter introduced foul creatures and dark designs upon the land.  Since the Great Wars, corruption had been driven back to far reaches of the Realm. However, the armies of the past are no more and corruption has reached its tendrils back into places where it has not existed for some time. Recently, (ie. -within a few generations of men) the introduction of new "interlopers" into the Realm has destabilized the Balance even more. The need for a way to deal with these problems has become clear to the White Lady and those who swear at least passing allegiance to her. Out of this need was born the practice of the Wardens.

The Wardens of Sylvaeon are sometimes all that stands between the forces of Darkness and the good Folk of the Realm. The Wardens are recruited from the local populations and sent on missions to root out evil, to help those in trouble or to patrol an area on the lookout for the machinations of the Corrupter.

While the Wardens do not have power over the local magistrates, if they exist in their area, they are generally respected and there advice and assistance is desired - if not outright needed. Local rulers and ruling bodies that exist will generally work closely with the Wardens, giving them what material assistance they can, as well as the recruits they need willingly. Wardens are not "the cops" in settled areas, but they are the vanguard of the wilderlands, acting as agents of the local populace, and if they are true to the Balance, as the hand of the Lady herself. Recruits are given latitude as to their actions in service, so long as they adhere to the general orders of the Master Wardens.

Recruits pledge themselves to at least one year of service to the Wardens. After the year is up, recruits may freely leave or they may choose to be inducted as full Wardens. Service in the Wardens is considered a great honor and those who do so well have good reputations among the locals and are accorded with respect. A Warden that acts corruptly or through cowardice allows harm to come to their compatriots or the local populace is severely disciplined.

Many former recruits have come back with tales of strange magics, wealth, hideous monsters and of the encroaching evil that is spreading across the Realm; just as many have been killed in service or never seen again.

It is hoped that these groups of allied defenders of the Realm will help unite Sylvaeon once again through their valorous deeds. Even if a recruit does not have such lofty aspirations, seeking only adventure, fame or wealth, they still can vicariously help the cause of the White Lady and the Balance. If anything, they will have some stories to tell their children or unbelieved tales to brag about in the pub when they grow old.  ;)

The Fey: The White Lady

The White Lady is the acknowledged Sovereign among the fairy and woodland creatures of Sylvaeon.

She is generally benevolent, but her ire is something to be avoided. If the Balance is threatened, her subjects are treated cruelly by the servants of the Corrupter or trespasses against the Fey realm are perpetrated by foolish men, the consequences will be dire. Some things are to be feared more than evil and death... the wise White Lady knows how to teach lessons to those that need to learn respect for things beyond their ken.

The White Lady, the Queen of the Aeternal Realm of Sylvaeon, is truly beautiful, but there is a wild side to her, as there is in all of the fey.

(poster created using The Motivator http://bighugelabs.com/motivator.php )

Solstice in Sylvaeon

On the Winter Solstice, the Northern lands of Sylvaeon are filled with many sorts of celebrations and dread:

The Druids meet this shortest of days at special cairns, constructed to face the rising sun. The Druids meet in conclave this day and discuss the past year's events, pass collective knowledge to each other and hold mysterious ceremonies throughout the night.

At the palace of the White Lady, the Winter ritual of the passing the Staff of Seasons takes place in the Shine of the Seasons. The silver leaves on the staff fall to the floor of the shine, leaving only the few golden berries on vines which cling to it, still. The passing of Autumn in Winter marks not only the changing of the season, but also the two week long celebration of the royal lady's Winter Court. This is a time of great feasting for her subjects and contests of wit and prowess amongst the knights of the Fae.

In the city state of St. Valens, the Templars prepare for Christ Mass and are already well into Advent time. It is a time of pious reflection and planning for the next year. The people of the city state practice greater charity and turn their thoughts to thanksgiving for another year of survival in the strange world that as become their home.

The Viking clans prepare to celebrate Yule and are conscious that this is the time of the Wild Hunt… laying low and avoiding anything that might bring an inauspicious Wyrd upon them. The Yule fires will soon be lit and epic tales are told, songs of heroes sung and great drinking will abound!

Elsewhere, in the Wilderlands, the packs of wolves and night-lurking snowy owls will look for their next meal as prey animals try to make it through the Winter. Some fairy creatures frolic in the icy forests, while some begin to sleep, dreaming of Spring and the new life it brings...