THE TITHE

Catch-up: desperate villagers are revisiting human sacrifices in hopes of swaying the Ke-Sanwon volcano’s eruption. The rites were stalled for a few years, during which a traveller’s cure for droughts was purchased with tributes collected by the undead Beastmaster. The witches of the Fetters gained their power and animal hybrids began to roam around this time. Wrath and Emilia discovered the volcano contains magical energy and tormented spirits that have been capped by a fracturing dark mirror. The group stole keys to enter the House of Ravens sacrificial temple — which now opens for the eruption.

In family drama, it emerges the Beastmaster was once married to the Huntress (formerly Anui), who offered their son to Ke-Sanwon without his father’s say. The child disappeared. Both parents hope to find him in the House. Wrathion, Daenerys and Viktor have all will be sharing juicy details by 18 May, once NPC threads wrap up.

Upcoming:


THIS HOUSE IS YOUR HOUSE

The party must infiltrate the House of Ravens overnight and wait until dawns, when the temple dais slowly opens to reveal the mouth of the volcano.

■ Those who enter the House are fully or partially depowered and have their ancestral curse immediately lifted.

■ In the midnight to dawns period, characters are supernaturally tempted to act on their greatest individual sin.

■ They are chased by the temple’s… unusually large defenders, if they succumb to these instincts. Good luck til dawns, folks.

LET THERE BE BLOOD

The cultists of Ke-Waicai greet dawns by exposing their first chosen sacrifice to Ke-Sanwon, showcasing exactly what happens to their ‘Chosen.’ Roughly two hundred villagers attend the rites, along with eight powerful priests who use elemental magic.

In good (?) news: seeking his missing son, the Beastmaster bring his xenomorphic creatures to attack the House of Ravens.

Characters should:

■ Dress up, join the crowd and free the remaining tributes during the beastly skirmish.

■ Take control of the House’s dais by defeating or killing the priests.

! Characters can remain partially or fully depowered throughout, if you prefer.

FIRE AND BRIMSTONE?

The dais remains under the party’s control as long as a character (literally) shoulders the head priest’s ancient white raven and holds its leash.

■ Whoever carries the raven becomes the target of the village mob and of the Beastmaster’s creatures.

■ The raven should be passed around. Defend the bird’s current holder and throw off their pursuers.

■ If the bird dies, the dais closes, and the volcano erupts. No pressure.

For those looking to stop the eruption, options include but are not limited to:

■ Throwing more dark water into the volcano to fix the mirror crack.

■ Using ice / cold magic and scientific processes to cool down the volcano’s warmth and help the mirror regenerate itself.

■ Exorcising some of the spirits within the volcano.

■ Absorbing some of the magical power contained by the volcano. IMPORTANTLY, this can lead to substantial or permanent effects for your character, detailed here.

■ Persuading and guiding sane villagers to bring sea water. Helpful tips: remember those cool phoenix rides and the very fast Ke-Waiar werewolves.

■ PLOT HOW TO TACKLE THE VOLCANO. You can come up with your own solution. Calming Ke-Sanwon is a huge enterprise, so the more help, the better.

THE BEASTMASTER

Group up and pitch a plan, if you want to slay the Beastmaster.

He will drive his animal to raid the House of Ravens and devolve into a fury when he does not locate his son. Grief renders him vulnerable and unpredictably violent. He is also significantly less powerful in the House of Ravens.


WILL SOMEONE THINK OF THE CIVILIANS?

Beyond the House of Ravens, villagers need help safeguarding their possessions or preparing to evacuate aboard incoming ships. The gradual spread of Ke-Sanwon’s seeping magic will infect some villagers, leading to animal hybridization in the farmers’ ranks — stay safe.

Whoever stays in the villages can also coordinate water and supply deliveries with those at the House of Ravens.


UPDATES & DROPS

The Arc III beacon will briefly open, allowing characters to head home before sadly faltering. All characters dropped or AC swept in May will be said to have safely gone home through the beacon.

COMMENT HERE if you want a canon update for your character. They will briefly go to their home world, then return when the beacon fails. Characters do not retain memories, items or powers gained in game while they are in their home worlds, but they recover them on return.

QUESTIONS

It’s an Arc finale: go BIG, and you might go home. Respond with your very own shiny plotting comment, featuring:

<b><small>PLAYER</small>:</b> <b><small>PREFERRED CONTACT</small>:</b> <b><small>CHARACTER & CANON</small>:</b> <b><small>WHERE THEY’RE SPENDING THE FINALE</small>:</b> <b><small>ANY PLANS</small>:</b> <b><small>NEED HELP WITH ANYTHING</small>?</b>