HeroesofChaosChapterOne
Chapter 1 "Hearts of Gold, Dreams of Jade"
Our story opens up in the tiny town of Eyrie, population of 1,000 or so. Rather, it opens on board the Luna's Graceful Scimitar, a small converted blue water yacht that serves as the current home of the dread Mako the Shark and his unruly and unorthodox crew of 2. Less than a month before, an anonymous letter had made it's way to Mako, from a 'Friend'. The letter informed him that the town of Eyrie was going to be in dire need of heroes in a very short period of time.
The situation was as this: The town of Eyrie's economy was on the brink of death. As such, Mya Brumagim, hereditary ruler of Eyrie, went to her Satrap in Cherak and informed him that she had discovered an immense vein of jade just north of her town in the mountains. In point of fact it was not just discovered, but rather a closely guarded secret thanks to the local hawk spirits who claimed the nearby mountains as their undisputed domain. That was a year ago. In that year Mya was told by the Satrap, ruthless bastard named Mnemon Rofel, to finish the excavation on the mine and then a representative from the Treasury would arrive. As the local townfolk began their mining efforts however, the hawk spirits grew outraged at their betrayal and began attacking them, killing some and kidnaping others. Progress on the mine had slowed to a halt, and the Treasurer was merely a week off from his scheduled arrival.
The situation was such that there was no clear-cut bad guy. The townfolk desperately needed the income the mine would provide, and the hawk spirits had every right to claim those mountains, as they were there first. To add insult to injury, Vudra, leader of the hawk spirits, had been spurned by Mya when he proposed a strategic marriage between the two. And so, with the Realm a hair's bredth away, the town stood on the brink of extinction.
Thanks to the efforts of Mako, Kaiju, Jasala, and the newly arrived Chahailis, they managed to do the impossible and get the two willful leaders of the factions to talk and negotiate. To get Vudra to the table, Kaiju was forced to perform a deed of impossible bravery to satisfy Vudra of his worth as an Exalted. Kaiju was forced to walk across a narrow ledge, about a thousand feet high to a nearby rock outcropping to retrieve a charm Vudra had thrown over there. The ledge was less than a foot wide and was open air on either side. If you've ever read Elfquest, this should sound familiar. Oh did I mention that there were ferocious gales blowing at about 50 MPH? Can't forget that. Vudra was so impressed with Kaiju's success that he allowed him to keep the charm as a gift and Kaiju wears it to this day.
Getting Mya was a much more difficult task. A willful young girl who was really not ready for the position of leadership her father left her with, she proved bullheaded and stubborn when Mako and co. tried to talk with her. In the end, it took a combination of everyone's efforts to bring her to. The ones who really stood out though were, again, Kaiju, as well as Jasala and Chahailis.
Jasala and Chahailis coldly informed her of the reality of the situation. She either made a deal with Vudra for their protection, or else she would discover what a life under the yoke felt like. Her and her people.
Kaiju, himself thrust into the unwanted but necessary role of leader of his people, related to her sympathetically, and tried to impart upon her a sense of the same strength that pulled him through all the dark times.
With a little added help from Mdm. Judora ("Where's the starch in your panties girl!? Stand up! Don't slouch! Lemme see some spine!"), Mya was ready to deal with Vudra.
The day of the arranged meeting between Vudra and Mya came. All of the characters were tense. It had taken several days to get this far and the Realm wasn't far off at all. It was going to be all or nothing. As the entire town gathered in the square where a platform was raised, the appointed meeting time of noon drew closer and closer. Neither Vudra nor Mya had shown yet. Kaiju had gone off to find Mya while Mako, Jasala, and Chahailis waited impatiently on the platform. Finally, as the sun peaked at it's zenith in the clear sky above, a slow rumble began to shake the town. Vudra had come. He and his entire host of loyal hawk spirits (which numbered in the hundreds) and hawks (which numbered in the thousands) converged in on the town. As the host circled high above, Vudra shifted to his human form and stepped foot on the platform, bellowing forth a challenge to Mya to come and negotiate with him. Mya was yet to be seen.
That soon changed. A voice, clear and strong, issued forth from the crowd, which swiftly parted to make way for the approaching Mya and Kaiju. Mya accepted Vudra's offer and the negotiation began in earnest. Both sides were unwilling to give, and both parties began to show signs of quitting the talking and starting the hitting. It took a last minute intervention from Chahailis to bring the two to their senses. Her cutting words and blistering insight chastised the both of them as if they were children and when she stopped talking, there was a silence so thick a knife couldn't cut it. All waited with bated breath. Then the talking began again, much more civil.
What it finally boiled down to was this: Mya would marry Vudra, and would erect a shrine in the nearby mountains where her townfolk would provide worship. In exchange, Vudra and his host of loyal gods would provide protection from the Realm and it's abusers.
When Vudra laid those demands down in no uncertain terms the choice was left to Mya.
All was quiet. The townfolk, Vudra, Mya, the player characters, the PLAYERS, everyone. There was a moment of silence so tense, so in-depth, so dramatic, that it will forever be remembered at our table.
And then Mya accepted. We had to stop then for a minute while the player OOC rejoicing took place. Cheers, hand slaps, and other signs of revelry briefly derailed our game. It was all good. They had earned this victory. In character it was much of the same. The townfolk let out a booming cheer and Vudra's circling host screeched in joy. All was happy. For a brief, brief moment, all was right in the world.
And then it came time to face cold, hard reality. While the townfolk and lesser gods celebrated in the streets outside, in Brumagim Manor, Mya, Vudra, Judora, and Mako's circle sat gathered to discuss the oncoming Realm. The beginnings of a plan were made to deal with the Realm as it arrived.
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