Chapter Text
Before the day The Hunger arrived, before this…crisis. Before Wonderland, before the time-sick town and the crystal lab, before races and trains and moon bases and gauntlets, before the beach and the sizzling and the Roost…before everything I’ve told you, there was a journey beyond imagination.
Everything stared with the IPRE, the Institute of Planar Research and Exploration, a group of seven extraordinary explorers and scientists bound on a mission to discover more about the Planar System and the origins of their world. A year ago the Light of Creation was discovered on their plane, a source of immeasurable power which had in fact brought about the creation of their universe. With the discovery of the Light of Creation brought an incredible advances to the fields of science and arcana, allowing these scientists to discover the truth of their universe. The Material Plane, the two sunned planet, their home and their world, was just one of twelve planes of existence and with the Light of Creation at hand they would be able to explore them all.
The IPRE was made of seven individuals carefully selected for their talents, each filling a vital role upon the Starblaster—the ship which would carry them between planes. These were: Lucretia, a human wizard tasked with journaling their travels; Merle Highchurch, a dwarven cleric and medic to help keep the peace in their party; Barry Bluejeans, a gifted scientist, wizard and human; Magnus Burnsides, a fighter capable of protecting those around him; Taako and Lup, the elven twin wizards powerful and knowledgeable beyond expectation in their fields; and finally, Davenport, a gnome illusionist wizard and Captain of the Starblaster and their mission.
Their party was eclectic, brought together simply though their shared goal: a driving force to learn more about their world and existence with the knowledge they had been granted. Each were brought from different corners of life but all help the same determination for their mission, though the pasts of some are more well-known than others.
Magnus Burnsides was the youngest to join the IPRE at just twenty-one years old, though that didn’t mean he wasn’t without experience. Rebellious and the first to jump into a battle, Magnus saw the IPRE as his chance to help others in ways he’d never thought possible before. When asked, he cites this need to protect others as the result of events in his childhood. When seeing three boys his age beating a mongrel dog he had to step in to protect the dog from harm, and since that day Magnus has held a love for dogs and the knowledge that he can use his strength and goodwill to protect others weaker than himself.
Merle Highchurch was one of the older members of the IPRE, a dwarf having grown up within a druidic enclave by the beach, dedicated to the god Pan. Merle’s people were devout to their god and yet for much of his formative years Merle cared little for Pan himself, simply allowing himself to be carried along on his father’s religious expectations. He would become a cleric, dedicate himself to Pan and gain magic and strength through his religion, if only to avoid his father’s disappointment. Though through it all Merle couldn’t help but feel as though the people of his home were too secular, not doing what they should to help the betterment of their world overall, caring only for their own.
As a teenager one of their people was attacked by a bear and for a time it seemed like they would not survive. If he were ever to leave the enclave Merle must be capable not only of healing but protecting himself from danger. The first time he ever left the enclave was to explore a nearby woodland where he found a woodcutter from whom he learnt to wield an axe. For many years Merle studied under the woodcutter until such point he thought himself ready to leave for good, eventually turning up in the IPRE seemingly by fate.
While Merle and Magnus had somewhat simple and easy upbringings, the same could not be said for Taako and Lup—who, at the end of the day, were the most important and only thing the other held dear. The two were twins, individual and unique, yet identical in every way. Lup had been assigned male at birth, however it became apparent at a young age that she was in fact female, choosing to transition early in her youth. For the twins identifying as a transgender woman and a gay man were the least of their troubles, they were proud of who they were so why should that matter?
Even so, Taako and Lup were by far the most familiar of the IPRE with the plight of the world, youthful though they may be—as youthful as the age of over one hundred could be for high elves such as them. During their childhood Taako and Lup were passed between family members, never staying in one place for long. A loving, welcome and stable home was not something with which the twins were ever familiar, but at least they had each other.
For a time they lived with their grandfather on his farm and at other times with an elderly aunt who taught them to cook, but from the age of twelve Taako and Lup lived on the road, buying their way as chefs for troupes of performers and bands of mercenaries. Lup was always first to prove her strength and protect her brother, causing Taako to internalise a distaste for fighting, willing to hang back whenever his help wasn’t needed. However, during their travels Taako too learnt vast magical skills which allowed both to reach the top of their class when finally they attended schools to train to become wizards. Both were powerful, smart and dangerous, willing only to trust each other.
Little was known about either Lucretia or Barry, other than their dedication to their work, but none were quite as dedicated as Davenport—who would over the years affectionately become known to the party as “Cap’nport” through his role as their leader. The IPRE’s mission was Davenport’s life’s work, everything he did was to further their goals and for the good of their mission.
A press conference was held the day before the seven were due to depart from their two month mission to explore the Planar System. Each addressing the crowd and answering questions with varying degrees of success and eloquence—including one ultimate mic drop from Lup directed at one Greg Gremoldis for the fifteen dollars she planned to collect upon her return.
After the press conference all seven decide to spend their final night together at a bar, getting to know each other before their mission begins. Taako and Lup, as is typical of them, hustle their way through games of pool and take magical shoes from the people they beat as they will no longer have a use for gold. Inevitably, a fight eventually breaks out in the bar and both Magnus and Merle receive minor injuries. Meanwhile Lucretia hides behind the bar, already recounting in her journal their story before the mission has even begin.
Their spirits unaffected by the night’s fighting—which a number of them in fact delighted in—the next morning the seven began their mission after donning robes of a bright crimson red which they would forever become synonymous with. It was while they readied to depart that The Hunger struck their planet, a dark and ominous storm filling the sky and pillars of darkness—black with veins of blue, red and green—crashing into and consuming the world below. Intent to preserve their mission the IPRE fled from the planet upon Starblaster, planning to return once the calamity was passed. However, when they came to touch down on the planet once again they found it was not the same from the planet they had left.
This planet instead was one inhabited only by animals peaceful in nature, having evolved beyond mere predatory instincts. What had happened to the two sunned planet none of them could say but they knew, for now at least, they were safe. But no longer were they able to travel from this plane, and so began their year in the Animal Kingdom.
They spend the year getting to know one and other, and striving each to do what they could to discover the Light of Creation which resided on this planet, hoping that in doing so they could return to their home. While their goals were one and the same, each planned to reach it in varying manners. Merle and Davenport headed to the mountains to search for the Light of Creation, believing they had seen it fall from the sky, and discovering it had come into the possession of the High Court of the Animal Kingdom. While the animals had been wary of the humanoid travellers to appear on their planet, together Taako, Lup and Barry befriended a family of mongoose who taught them to communicate with the animals—Taako’s first of many languages to come. Magnus meanwhile trained, working on his power and strength so that he could learn the teachings of the Power Bear, one of the Animal High Court.
Over the year they saw the Animal Kingdom grow, their society driven forward much the same as their own two sunned planet had been upon the discovery of the Light of Creation. The animals now possessed tools and simplistic buildings which had not been possible a year prior. Exactly a year after reaching this plane it became time to negotiate with the High Court over the Light of Creation, though before negotiations could be completed The Hunger struck once more.
Just as it had done on their home, The Hunger filled the sky with storms and great pillars of darkness crushing the ground. This plane was doomed, once again they were going to lose the home they had made for themselves and there was nothing they could do to stop it. Everything and everyone in the Animal Kingdom would be consumed.
Though, unwilling to run for a second time, Magnus refused to escape to the Starblaster with the others. Pained though they were, they were forced to leave Magnus behind were they to have any chance at an escape. Fighting with all his strength, Magnus did all in his power to fight off The Hunger alongside the Power Bear and the other animals, but The Hunger was too strong. He fought until he could hold out no longer and the plane was consumed, The Hunger growing larger and more powerful as it consumed the Light of Creation. His was the first of many deaths to come.
By force of will or sheer luck, the rest of the IPRE escaped The Hunger for a second time, but with that were faced with the dawning realisation that Magnus, their friend, one of their family, was dead. Though, as they passed through to another plane, something happened that they never could have anticipated. In an instant their bodies were thrown back in time, exactly a year, as if no time had passed since they first escaped The Hunger. All that remained of the last year were memories of a planet filled only with animals and the words written in Lucretia’s journal. And before them was Magnus, alive and face sporting the black eye he had received during the fight in the bar the night before their mission began.
For the next hundred years the cycle would repeat itself again and again. They would land on an unfamiliar planet—sometimes friendly, sometimes hostile, sometimes desolate—and they would have exactly a year to discover the Light of Creation before The Hunger would return. With the Light of Creation in hand they could save a plane from The Hunger, but without it The Hunger would grow stronger and consume everything in its path. Most significant was the discovery that, so long as one person survived, able to flee on the Starblaster as soon as they caught sight of The Hunger, none of them could truly die. In some cycles they would die, but as soon as the year was up and they had escaped, they would be back in their original forms once again. There it was, their Stolen Century, travelling between planes with stolen years.
From that point on they come to learn that, for them, each plane is only temporary. They have a timer in which to complete their goals, to save a plane and escape. Though to the IPRE some planes are more significant than others. One such plane was the Mushroom Kingdom, a world inhabited by giant poisonous mushrooms and humanoid mushroom people where Merle founded the First Church of Fungston, the first ever Church on the planet where he taught to his followers the teachings of Pan.
The Capital City of Jaden-Province was a point of contention for the IPRE, especially Taako and Lup. While they failed to locate the Light of Creation on this planet, what they did discover could conceivably been just as dangerous were The Hunger to get its hands on it. On the planet they found a crystal which allowed souls to be tied to robotic bodies and imbue them with life. Already death was coming to mean less to the IPRE and knowing the damage The Hunger could cause with such power Taako wished to destroy the crystal but in doing so would kill hundreds. Lup refused to allow her brother to destroy them and stood between him and the crystal. She didn’t care how much stronger their enemy got because of it, she wasn’t about to be the one to pull the trigger on an entire civilisation. In the end many souls returned to the crystal and were taken upon the IPRE with the promise that, were they to reach a world with the technology to return them to their robot forms they would be given life once more.
That cycle had scared Lup. She saw after just seventeen cycles they were already becoming something unlike themselves. They were becoming people willing to take the lives of countless people simply to reach their own goals, but who were they to dictate the lives of others? All they could do was try to help wherever possible. Fortunately their next cycle found them on the Beach Planet where they discovered the Light of Creation just days after their arrival. With time to relax, realign themselves and grow closer as a family, the Beach Planet became one of their better years.
On the world of Tesseralia Taako and Lup delve further into love for cooking. How could they not? The food here was like nothing they’d ever tried before. With one particular dish something amazing happens to Taako. As he eats it there is a pulling within him. He doesn’t know what it is but he can feel it. It’s real. His mean reels with possibilities and a bond is created. There is a long thread, tying Taako to a person, a moment. This is destiny. He doesn’t know who is on the other end of the thread, but they feel it too. So lost in thought he doesn’t hear what Lup is saying beside him, but when he comes too it’s unbelievable. Truly unbelievable.
While training to join the Monastery of Tesseralia—hoping to prove his ability to possess the Light of Creation currently in the Monastery’s possession—Merle’s final test is to prove himself by using the spell Parley to create a space to speak with an enemy. In enacting the spell Merle seeks out communication with The Hunger and in the space created by his spell meets John, a public speaker and the person from which The Hunger originated.
On his own home planet John learnt the truth of the Planar System and how his world had been created, a truth recounted and repeated through eons of creation. There was no beginning, simply creation after creation. In discovering this John lost all meaning in life and began to detest existence, speaking out to others on his planet until finally all agreed with him. Together they joined as one and The Hunger was formed with John at its heart. No longer was he the simple human man of his past, but a broken and will-less form, a plane of all consuming darkness intent on chasing the Light of Creation across existence and overpowering everything in his path.
That is, until he crossed paths with the two sunned planet, the IPRE. For the first time there was something to stand in the way of John and the Light of Creation and so he followed them from plane to plane, hoping to one day take them out as well. While in the Parley space John attempts to kill Merle, only for the dwarf to return once again during the following cycle, intent to learn as much as he can about John and The Hunger. The two agree on a mutual exchange of information but each attempt at Parley results in Merle’s death—resulting in some cycles where Merle is dead for the duration.
During that first cycle where Merle is killed by John Taako and Lup continue to practice their magic as usual, gotta keep their instruments tuned. Taako casts Blink. It isn’t the first time he’s ever used the spell, but never before had he seen what appeared in the Ethereal Plane that time. There are small white figures with big blank eyes, silently watching him, scouting him. He can’t interact with them and when they realise he can see them they instantly vanish. The Hunger had sent its scouts to keep tabs on them.
One plane they came to was the Legato Conservatory where they quickly discovered something known to the people of this world as the Light of Creation was worshiped as a god. When something of immense worth was presented to the Light of Creation is would be consumed and forgotten if deemed unworthy, but projected to all throughout the Planer System if the Light of Creation chose it. Hoping to get close to the Light of Creation all of the IPRE spent the year working on their own craft, be it dance, music or crafts.
Lup and Barry presented their work as a pair, a musical duet, an embodiment of their love for one another. Forty-seven years they had known each other. Forty-seven years they had lived as part of the small yet loving family of the IPRE. Forty-seven years it had taken for the two to fall in love—a love that transcended the realms of ordinary life. Barry and Lup were a part of each other and as much as evident through each and every note of their music. All who heard it would know, but for the first time—in front of thousands watching the presentation—it was confirmed to the rest of the IPRE with the kiss they shared on stage.
The revelation of Barry and Lup was not the only discovery made at the Legato Conservatory. The Light of Creation was not as they suspected, as they had hoped, but instead a mere moment of coincidence. In a cave deep in the Legato Conservatory they discovered the so called light, which in truth were enormous jellyfish-like creatures which came to be known as the voidfish—bodies illuminated like the stars in the sky and able to consume and project all knowledge and thought. Magnificent though they were, they weren’t the Light of Creation the IPRE sought and that meant another year wasted.
However, one small voidfish took a liking to Magnus and is rudimentary carved wooden ducks. On each of his visits the voidfish delighted in the ducks Magnus brought for it and a fast friendship was made. During one visit Lucretia was doused in the ichor of the voidfish and found herself able to recall all they had consumed but neglected to project. Finally, when it came time for The Hunger to reach the planet, Magnus chose to rescue the small voidfish he had come to call Fisher. In the past they had tried to rescue the inhabitants of doomed planes; none but themselves had ever survived the journey. Slim though his chances may be, Magnus knew he had to at least try: Fisher couldn’t be left behind. To his amazement Fisher survived, it was special in a way nothing else before had been and it became their companion for the rest of their Stolen Century, gradually growing from a baby to its adult size.
Other cycles were not so pleasant or long lived. On the Judges World the Starblaster was shot down upon their arrival to the plane. Taako, Lup, Barry, Magnus, Merle and Davenport in the presence of the Judges where they were put on trial for their past and future sins. They lived only hours on this plane when things swiftly went downhill and during their trial were all killed in an instant. This was by far the hardest year for Lucretia. She had to survive and she had to keep the Starblaster safe, and she had to do it alone. If she didn’t survive it would all be over. Her family would be dead for good and The Hunger would win. Despite all odds she succeeded and a year later was reunited with the others, but that year had changed her.
Ordinarily they would keep someone by the ship at all times. That way, if things were to go sour they would always have a means of escape. Having spent much of the mission to the side-lines to record every instance in her journal, Lucretia had often been the first to offer to stay with the ship. After the Judge’s cycle she never stayed with the ship again. While she continued to record their mission Lucretia instead took a great role in protecting her family from harm. She wouldn’t come so close to losing them again, but the pressure as the sole survivor had been tough.
Ominous though it was, it came as a relief when they reached the Empty World. There was no threat but The Hunger and for that they had a year to prepare. It was on the Empty World that Lup gave Taako her request: for him to give her the perfect day. Of course he agrees, how could he not? But perfect takes planning, and it’s for Lup. Lup deserves the best. Months pass and one day Lup wakes up to discover Taako cooking her breakfast and it’s The Day. In its essence the day is simple, but it’s filled with love between siblings. Her favourite food, naps on the Starblaster, watergun fights, taunting Davenport, magic, wine and love. It was the best day ever.
Late in the evening Lup reveals why she needed this day. She and Barry had been researching dangerous magic and it was almost time for them to carry it out. Their plan was to become liches—to combine their souls with their magic and become something entirely new. Changing themselves in such a way was dangerous and didn’t come without risk, so they needed memories—strong and positive memories—to cling to and retain their sense of self. That’s why she needed Taako. She loved Barry and he had already given her a day, but nothing could ever be as strong as a day given to her by Taako. Neither would have gotten as far as they had without the other and after all these years they remained the most important person in the other’s life. Taako was Lup’s love, just as she was his, and nothing could replace that.
Taako smiled and laughed, bringing out yet more alcohol and showing his confidence in his sister—she was fucking Lup, of course she had this down—but just below the surface he was terrified for her sake. What if something went wrong? Under the table he couldn’t still the shake of fear that ran through this legs, but this was Lup’s day, it had to end as perfectly as it started. Just as few days later Taako, Lup and Barry went off alone to carry out the spell that would turn Lup and Barry into liches. Magic ran through them, their bodies dropped to the ground, incorporeal skeletal figures rose in their place before returning to their bodies once more. It was over as quickly as it began, but now they were liches and could not truly die.
To begin with they didn’t tell the others about what they had done, but by the end of the year they were all ready when The Hunger attacked. They have the Light of Creation and they’re escaping The Hunger, watching as its pillars crash into the world below. Lup is the only one to speak up. Let’s see what this baby can do. With a wink she steps off of the deck and falls to the ground dead. From her corpse raises a red robed spectre, just like the one Taako saw during their ritual. Hordes of figures from the closest pillar race towards Lup, her fist extended towards it. Every inch of her is shaking. She’ll channelling so much power and it takes so much effort for her to cling to herself, her memories, the best day ever. Just as the hoard is about to consume her, she extends her fingers.
From the ship they can see just one black pillar illuminated from within, an explosion ripping through it completely, starting at the bottom and working its way up through the sky. When the explosion is over The Hunger is still overhead, but that one black column? It’s gone. At the start of the next cycle when they’re all reformed, Lup is beaming. Okay. Blowing it up didn’t exactly work. But we’re close. We’re real fucking close. They might just be able to take this thing out.
The Hanging Arcaneum was coming towards the end of their Stolen Century—cycle ninety-two—and there the IPRE learnt to craft weapons of immense power which they hoped to use to at last bring down The Hunger. Merle created Gilley, a magical wooden stick which, though simple in appearance, was powerful in nature and imbued with the spell Arcane Assurance. Magnus created Bear Face, a helmed adorned with rams horns and bear fangs, and imbued with the spell Retribution, along with 2-th Necklace, a necklace of bear teeth to instil him with Gambler’s Luck. Taako created The KrEpStAr, a powerful casting glaive imbued with Milligan’s Blessing. And then there was Lup who created the Umbra Staff, a powerful staff disguised in the form of an umbrella, capable of consuming the energy of defeated magic users to strengthen its own power.
In these final years of the Stolen Century all of the IPRE grew weary of the fight against The Hunger. Why run when each cycle ended the same? Would there ever be any chance for change? They didn’t know, but they had to find a way to try. Lucretia’s plan was to find a safe world to isolate from the Planar System, then with her barrier it would be free from The Hunger, but not without the price of its cut ties to the other twelve planes in the system. No, that wouldn’t do.
Instead they devised a plan to hide the Light of Creation for good. Without it to track The Hunger would be unable to find them. All they needed was to find the Light of Creation early enough for it to go unnoticed anyone but themselves. Just such opportunity came on cycle ninety-nine when the Light of Creation fell directly upon the Starblaster on their day of arrival. So they wasted no time in getting to work, dividing the Light of Creation into seven pieces, each of which would be hidden within an object of their own creation and dispersed across the world.
Those items would come to be known as the Grand Relics, magical items powerful beyond all others in creation and created by the Red Robes. Lup made the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet, a gauntlet capable of producing mystic flames. Davenport made The Oculus, an eyeglass which could turn anything made with illusion magic real. Merle made the Gaia Sash, a sash with absolute power over nature. Taako made The Philosopher’s Stone, a stone able to transmute any material into another. Magnus made The Temporal Chalice, a chalice with complete control over the flow of time. Barry made The Animus Bell, a bell capable of tearing somebody’s life force from their body and replacing it with your own. And Lucretia made The Bulwark Staff, a staff intended to create the most powerful shield spell possible.
While their intentions were to scatter the items across the planet, once word got out about their power knowledge of the Grand Relics travelled quickly. People fought over the power to possess such items, driven by an irresistible desire that only they as creators could resist. Before long fighting turned into war and the IPRE realised the true horrors they had brought upon this world. So similar to their home plane, they had hoped to create a new home on this plane, but how could they knowing what destruction they had caused? True they may have been safe from The Hunger, still absent after a year for the first time in one hundred years, but they were not safe from the relics.
It was a sober affair, but upon discovering their success at keeping The Hunger at bay, the group threw a party of sorts. Merle was relieved, willing—at least for a day—to revel in their achievement, after all what well would he do with all his party points? Magnus tried to lighten the mood, encourage Lup to dance with him. Maybe later, she wasn’t in the mood for dancing right now. Later never came.
Taako was just as dejected as his sister as he spoke to Barry. While Lup wore her remorse on her sleeve, Taako coped differently. He distanced himself and shrouded himself in avoidance. This was it. After one hundred years this would be their home, and yet he still felt homeless. Man, he was going to have to learn math again. He’d given up on that a long time ago, seventy cycles ago in fact. Everywhere did math differently and he was sick of it. Learning again and again only for that knowledge to go void and useless as soon as they moved onto the next cycle. What was the point? In a way their one hundred years had turned Taako cold, uncaring to the people and planets they visited. Taako had become number one because everyone else, they were dust. Everyone else he ever met, aside from the six of them were dust. They were talking dust! So he just started worrying a lot more about himself because what was the fucking point? But now he would have to care again and it felt strange, and unnatural, and he was going to have to learn math.
Man, they had to put things right. Once again their actions were determining the fate of millions. Too many had died already in the war over the Grand Relics and if they didn’t do something soon…well, Lup didn’t want to think about it. One night she spoke to Taako about her worries, and he told her she hadn’t known this would happen—none of them had, they hadn’t planned it. She was so downcast he had to do something to cheer her up. Singing, dancing, anything. He was ridiculous, but it made her laugh. She laughed like she hadn’t in a long time. She couldn’t have done this without him. She wouldn’t have made it here without him. She didn’t say it enough…but thank you. That was the last ever conversation Taako had with his sister and the next day she was gone, leaving behind just a simple note. Back Soon, marked with a kiss of bright red lipstick.
The Phoenix Fire Gauntlet was always one of the easier relics to track across the land, great battles followed wherever it went, marked by raging and endless fires. In the end nobody would survive these battles, all were destroyed entirely by a mighty explosion of fire which reduced towns to shining black glass, undisturbed until the next person came in search of the gauntlet. Laying down atop a grassy hill Lup watches as clouds pass slowly overhead, the conclusion of a furious battle raging in the valley below. She sighs, going to collect her creation and swearing this was the last time it would ever be used.
Now she had to hide it away someplace it could never be retrieved. With the help of a dwarf named Cyrus Rockseeker, Lup ventures to Wave Echo Cave where she intends to hide the gauntlet in a vault deep within. In that vault the Phoenix Fire Gauntlet could be pursued, yet never obtained. But she underestimated the thrall of a Grand Relic and Cyrus falls to its pull. Just as the vault door slowly swings open she feels the cold metal of a dagger across her back and the gauntlet is pulled from her grasp. In a moment of strength she forces both the gauntlet and Cyrus into the vault where they would remain locked away from the world. But it was too late. The dagger had been coated in silverpoint poison and she collapsed against the wall of the cavern, Umbra Staff at her side. She was dying.
Already she had burnt up her corporeal form and regrettable though it was it was a price she felt willing to pay to undo the damage she had done to this world. Lup could live on as a lich, even if she could not regain her body this time around. Though, as her lich form left her body the true cost was revealed. The Umbra Staff had been created to consume the power of defeated magic users and Lup’s lich form was pure arcane power. Immediately responding to her presence, the Umbra Staff inverts and swallows her whole, plunging her into a small chamber lined with black curtains. No longer could she feel fear, yet she had to fight for mere consciousness in that place—the place she would remain for the following ten years, trapped inside her own creation and held by the remains of her corporeal form.
Nobody knows what happened to Lup after she left, a simple note their only clue to her whereabouts. But she wasn’t back soon. She wasn’t back at all. As the days wore on their concerns grew and they began to fear for the worst. But she was Lup! She couldn’t be gone! Despite their worries, they never gave up their search for the missing member of their family, following any trail that could lead them to her. But it was only so long before the pain and sadness of watching her family wither became too much for Lucretia to handle.
It was Davenport’s birthday when it happened. After a hundred years without aging birthdays had lost their meaning to the IPRE, but for the first time in idle passing it occurred to Davenport that finally they would begin to grow and age once more. To think, he’d almost forgotten his own birthday, but how old even was he now? It was while playing cards with Merle, as had become a tradition between the two, that this realisation occurred.
Concerned for what their life would become now, after all nobody had ever had a life like theirs, Davenport wonders if they could ever live a normal life again, only for Merle to insist he didn’t want normal. But to Davenport, the mission had been his life utterly and entirely for a century and with their plan to deter The Hunger a success, well now it was over so what else did he have? Merle? Well he’d like to move to the beach where, with the sea, the scenery is always changing. He wanted a life where nothing would ever be the same.
Then Davenport dropped his cards, blinking, confused and stunned. Stricken with panic his breath comes quickly and no matter where he looks he can’t place where he is any more. Where was he? How did he get here? That was Merle, right? He knew Merle! But what was happening? And Merle, he sees a man before him, a gnome panicked and fearful. He wanted to help the man, he really did, but who was he? He couldn’t remember. And how did they get in the sky? Everything was fading, and fast. The world is static. Wait, who are you? I’m Davenport. I’m Davenport! I’M DAVENPORT! DAVENPORT! DAVENPORT! DAVENPORT!
On the deck of the Starblaster are Taako and Barry when it happens. Both are drained, duller then their usual selves without Lup around and Barry, he’s lent over a map pinned down and covered in marking—their search for Lup. While Taako as an elf didn’t need sleep, the same couldn’t be said for Barry and he was wearing himself thin, falling asleep where he stood and jumping with a start as Taako wakes him. But it was worth it if it meant they could find her. There was a cave near to perfectly round fields of glass, it spilled with arcane energy and tonight that would be their next stop in their search.
For the first time Barry acknowledges it, asking what if she’s just gone? As the words leave his lips Taako realises he doesn’t know who Barry is talking about. Oh, god. It was happening. Everything was fading. Barry couldn’t remember her face. What did Lup look like?! Was this Fisher? What was he doing? T-Taako! Kill me! Right now! I’ll remember if I’m a lich! Please, Taako just kill me! I’ll be okay. I can’t forget. I’m begging you! And he does it. Taako blasts Barry and throws him from the ship. For just a moment Barry’s face is lit with a pained smile. He would remember her. But as he falls Taako realises he doesn’t know who that man is and, falling to his knees he doesn’t know where he is or how he got here.
Magnus had been worried about Lucretia. As of late she’d taken to hiding away in her quarters for longer and longer stretches of times, so he brought her something to cheer her up: one of his carved wooden ducks, fashioned in Lucretia’s likeness. Walking into the room he finds her bathed in the light of Fisher’s tank, her eyes are filled with tears and wrapped in Fisher’s tendrils is Lucretia’s journal. In an instant his memories are fading one by one. God, Magnus! No! You weren’t supposed to see this. I’m so sorry! Please, this is just for a little bit. I’m going to stop this, what we’ve done to this world. I’m going to find you a place where you can be happy again. It’s just for a little while and then you’re going to remember. I promise! Who are you? I can do this, Magnus. Just please, lay down. I don’t want you to fall and hurt yourself. I love you, Magnus. I love all of you. I’m sorry. I’ll be over soon.
Not all exits are made equal. Lucretia didn’t plan to be away from her family for as long as she was. She couldn’t live with the cost of what the IPRE had done to the world below. She couldn’t watch the world kill itself over the weapons they had created, but she also could not go against the will of her friends. But most of all, she couldn’t handle what it was doing to her family: their sorrow and pain and guilt, how it made them miserable and calloused and shut off. But she could alter that anguish too, make sure her friends…her family were safe and happy while she did what she had to do.
Merle she walked to the beach in a daze. She arranged everything. A home in a society of beach dwarves he could slot right into. Merle would get his changing ocean view, he had loved the Beach World. And in that society he thrived and from time to time Lucretia would check in on him when things were at their hardest, though he would never see her. In the years that followed Merle even had a marriage arranged with the dwarven woman, Hekuba, though it would—most unfortunately—be a loveless marriage doomed to fall apart. But from that marriage came his children: his step-daughter, Mavis; and his son, Mookie. For a time he wasn’t a good father, and it was too late to reconcile his marriage, but eventually he would strive to do right by his children and be a father they could look up to.
Magnus was the easiest to find a home for. Lucretia found the most prestigious woodworking shop in the whole world, high atop the pillars of Raven’s Roost. The home she found him was humble yet cosy, perfect for Magnus and outfitted with a studio full of everything he, as a crafts man, might need. In time he would be invited for a residency at the Hammer and Tongs where the years following would be filled with joy beyond measure.
While living in Raven’s Roost Magnus leads a revolt against the mad governor Kalen whose desire for power had corrupted him entirely. Though Magnus and his forces won the battle, Kalen escaped. Before long the town fell into peace and Magnus worked for the Hammer and Tongs where, eventually, he fell in love with his mentor’s daughter, Julia, to whom he was one day married. His love for Julia grew deep and endless, she brought light to his world.
One day everything changed for Magnus. As a master craftsman he had spent months working on a rocking chair he would take to Neverwinter for a craftmen showcase, ten days ride from Raven’s Roost. The final words he ever spoke to Julia were “I love you Jules” upon his departure. Two days into his journey Kalen returned to Raven’s Roost and destroyed the support pillar for the Craftsmen Corridor where the Hammer and Tongs was located, killing seventy-six people in the process. Julia and her father were among those who had died. When Magnus finally returned to Raven’s Roost he found it deserted, evacuated for fear of a repeat attack, and the Hammer and Tongs destroyed. Despite it all, Magnus didn’t fear death and looked forward to the day he would be reunited with Julia in the afterlife.
Lucretia struggled to find a home for Taako because, well…what home is good enough for Taako? There wasn’t one. Everyone in the world deserved to be around Taako, to see what he could do, what he was capable of. He deserved it too, to be recognised and admired by every living person he ever encountered. Lucretia finds him a stagecoach, a supplier, and audience. He’s Taako, from TV! He is so, so loved!
Travelling from town to town Taako runs his cooking show, Sizzle It Up, with Taako! When his audience waned Taako had a spark of genius and began work on transmutation magic he could work into his show to add extra flare for his audience, and it did the trick. Through this time Sazed was his right hand man and Sazed though Taako hung the moon in the sky! During their travels Sazed learnt to cook from Taako and eventually proposed his idea: for them to co-host the show as equals. Sizzle It Up, with Taako and Sazed! No, no, no. He couldn’t have that. It was Taako’s brand, and there was the merchandise to think about! No, this had always been a one man show and Taako planned to keep it that way.
When they entered Glamour Springs Taako hadn’t expected it to be his last show. The people of Glamour springs delighted to see what Taako could show them next whenever he came through town and on that day forty people had shown up to see him. Taako’s thirty garlic clove chicken was famous and it was just that meal he’d chosen to prepare for his audience that day, though it just so happened he failed to taste his food himself that day by sheer coincidence. It didn’t take long for the first audience member to die after eating his food. Panicked and fearful, Taako and Sazed ran, never looking back. He blamed himself for what had happened. He was sure it had been elderberry he had used, but maybe…maybe the spell had gone wrong. Had he added deadly nightshade instead? He wasn’t sure. Oh god, all those people dead and it was all his fault. Two days later Sazed abandoned him, but who could blame him? Taako wouldn’t want to be around himself either. From that point on he couldn’t cook for people he cared for—though they were few and far between—he couldn’t risk making a mistake like that again.
All the while, Barry was gone and Lucretia didn’t know where to. Not knowing brought her constant distress. Was he out in the world somewhere, memory purged, lost and alone? She didn’t know. The alternative was equally worrisome. Just as she knew ingesting Fisher’s ichor allowed her to keep her memories, as a lich Barry too could remember, so she would have to take precautions to keep him at a distance if she wished to keep the others safe.
In truth, Barry died when he hit the ground after falling from the Starblaster, though he lived on in his lich form. And he remembered. He remembered everything! Without pause Barry takes a moment to collect a sample of blood from his body before moving on, intent to continue his search for Lup and the relics. A few months pass and he discovers and auction run by necromancers, warlocks and sorcerers dealing in unsavoury magic, the perfect place to find a relic. What he finds there is something different entirely. What he comes away with is a pod, capable of reforming a person’s body when fed a sample of their organic matter. No longer able to rely on his former means of regaining his body, Barry takes the pod to a cave near Phandalin where he sets about regrowing his body. Though he knows the moment he returns he will fall under Fisher’s influence on his memories and must leave himself message to follow, to ensure he trusts in himself as does as is needed of him.
Lup…Lup was just gone. Lucretia never stopped looking for Lup, she looked everywhere, but if Lup was truly gone, it was another reason to forget. Lup’s absence was too much for Lucretia to bare, but how hard must it have been for her brother, for her love? She could protect Taako and Barry from the pain of their loss.
Davenport suffered the hardest. Lucretia had been so careful in her redaction of their memories, erasing only that connected to their mission. Davenport’s life was their mission. In the end Davenport was left a shell of his former self, memory so severely altered he was no longer the same man. Most days he was only able to speak his own name. So she kept him close, personally ensuring his safety.
While Lucretia strived to bring happiness to her family by making them forget, she found little happiness herself. Though she recovered her relic, The Bulwark Staff, easily enough, but the second almost brought her mission to an end. In her attempt to retrieve The Animus Bell Lucretia became trapped in Wonderland, able to escape only through the sacrifice of the sorcerer she had hired to aid her there. Were it not for his selflessness then she would have died. Though she escaped it wasn’t without sacrifice and twenty of her years had been stolen from her. It was a fair price for what they had done.
But she needed help. No longer could she do this alone. With the help of the scientists they had met upon arriving on this world, the Millers, Lucretia founded the Bureau of Balance. The Millers built Lucretia a headquarters in the sky, disguised in the shape of a second moon. Just as her family had forgotten all knowledge of their mission, the relics and the endless wars, so too had the rest of the world, but in exchange for their help Lucretia inoculated the Millers with Fisher’s ichor and they were the first to learn the truth once again. She taught the Millers about the planes, helped to advance their research, shared with them a crystal from a plane she had visited so long ago, able to attach souls to robotic forms.
The Bureau of Balance thrived and Lucretia hoped the incentives she gave would be enough to counteract the thrall of the relics. Nothing was ever enough. One after another he Reclaimers were lost to the relics. It tormented Lucretia, each failure bringing with it more time apart from her family. Few people alive had ever experienced as much loneliness, hopelessness as Lucretia during these years.
Fisher was the one to provide a way out: a child. A second voidfish. With the child Lucretia would finally have a means to retrieve all of the Grand Relics and cast her barrier around the world, protecting it once and for all. The only people who could Reclaim the relics without succumbing to their thrall were the people who made them in the first place. Her family. They could drink from Fisher and learn of the relics, just enough to help her retrieve them, while the child could keep hidden the truth of their origins, to spare them their pain and guilt. They didn’t need to know they made them. She could finally bring them home.