Howdy,
You put your heads together on the topic of who the Luathans were and what their settlement was like, as you approached it. To the far West, on Sramak's River, lies the land of Luathela. Therein are the Gates of Dusk, where dwells the sorrowful Rausa, and from whence come the dreams that plague madmen and poets. Malkioni say that this place was built over the Black Camp of Introspection, also called the Danmalastan Pit, and has since been a source of trouble for the West. It is here that the Doldrums descend into the Underworld before merging from Magasta's Pool. Here too, the Celestial River plummets down into the Underworld through Rausa's Gates of Dusk. The Luathan Islands are said to have never been visited by living humans, but are known to be in the far west. Among them is Rausa's Island, or the Island of Dusk, where the great bronze gates open to let heavenly bodies submerge into the Underworld. Although some say that all of Luathela is one island; there is confusion on the geography. This fits better with what you experience so far. The Luathans live in a perfectly regimented society free from crime and disorder. They have castes. Attempts to understand their society have been met with the deaths of those attempting to do so. Luathans hate all mortals, maybe conflating them all with Orlanth, or just being isolationist (or both). They can be killed, but otherwise probably all have been alive since the Godtime; each a sort of demigod to some degree.
You cross the final stretches of the beautiful, but shadowed land of Luathela, marvelling at the many shades of the setting sun that are captured in the colours of the land and lush vegetation. Increasing numbers of elaborate constructions, too, stand alongside the path or visible on distant hilltops. Their architecture is new to you-all are great in scale, and always made of one piece of material, be it varied kinds of stone or wood or even metals like iron, but carven into fantastic shapes and with intricate runes inlaid into them; the rune of Rausa or Dusk being most common, but strange usage of patterns of Death, Fertility, Communication, Truth and Illusion runes is common.
And at last you come to the forbidding walls and tremendous Westgate of the Luathan fortress, above which looms the magnificent towering palace of the Fortress of Dusk, Rausa's Castle, luxuriantly resplendant in the setting sun. The walls are made of a single piece of stone that varies in its purplish colour as smooth wavy curves throughout its impressive extent for miles around the western side of the island, and they stretch to 30 metres tall. The double gates take your breath away with their artistry. Each is one piece of polished bronze, and together when closed, as now, they portray the stern face of the goddess Rausa.
You see Luathans in person and shiver with the magical power that emanates from them. Two stand sentry outside the gates, in exotic plate armour and bearing huge pikes and shields. They are over five metres tall, with varying shades of purple skin and violet of hair, angular of features and of thin but well-toned physique. Their clothing and armour is gorgeously decorated with individualised artistic stylings, and they wear abundant jewelry and other signs of great wealth. Magic of many forms dances about them, as if their body just normally casts magic as another routine function. When speaking among themselves, they sing in an unknown tongue that is both heard and mindspoken by all around. They are speaking at first, and then they fall silent as their alien words echo in your minds, and then they both look down at you with an unflinching, deadly serious gaze as you approach.
Ahappi addresses them, explaining politely enough that you seek to pass the gates. The Luathans scowl at your words and one sings forth into your minds, which is translated somehow into familiar words like Seshnegi, “Harsh and guttural are the voices of these debased beings; they befoul the very air. They look to be mortals; and mortals that come to the Westgate come to die. We shall not allow their disorder amongst our people. We may gift them here with the death that they seek.”
A lengthy negotiation ensues, with Boamund (aided by Ahappi) taking the lead on your side vs. the first sentry Luathan. The Luathans seek an excuse to kill you, although they might permit you to flee in terror, whereas Boamund pushes your argument to proceed, rationally deflecting their points and hammering home his. It is tense. At times it seems that all hope is lost; that the Luathans will get what they want and be able to fight you here. Boamund wears down the first sentry's confidence and resolve slowly, and the two negotiators are well matched in influencing skill and iron will, but the first sentry too causes Boamund to stumble and lose faith in his argument sometimes. Finally, as the first sentry seems to see the writing on the wall, casting a glance at the second sentry that they are in a bind, Boamund pushes a forceful argument of your mythic rights to enter on your quest and the sentry suddenly relents, all resistance evaporated.
The two Luathan sentries gracefully swing open the gates, singing calmly as they do, and the path continues inward. The city beyond is like a dreamscape. It baffles the eye to look upon it, as the dimensions seem to change depending on whether one beholds them straight-on or from the edge of one's vision. Is the city on a hill, in a bowl-like depression or flat ground? You are not sure. Are the buildings tightly packed or widely spaced? You cannot say, but the streets are not crowded. The architecture takes inspiration from the constructions you'd seen outside the walls and runs wild with it, piecing them together into conglomerate artworks of wood, stone, bone, metal and more. You have no idea what function each building might serve, but every one whether large or small is a masterpiece. There are Luathans going about their business throughout the settlement, all singing almost all the time, and some stare grimly at you as they do. Exotic music, intoxicating perfumes, gentle breezes of sweet flavour, and the caressing warmth of twilight pervade the community of Luathans.
The first sentry comments as they close the gates together, “It would be wise to follow the main thoroughfare past the Bell Tower, skirting the Silent Crowd, and passing the Funeral Procession to the Fortress of Dusk, and not deviating from that course.” And he points down one street that now looks spacious.
You walk down the pavement through the settlement, taking in the full array of sensory overload as you do. You see an impossibly thin and curved tower with a bell too large for its own diameter as the Bell Tower that the first sentry noted. As you near it, the bell swings silently through great arcs. Feelings and memories of a great feast blow through your minds-you can taste and smell a wide range of delicious foods, as if you are intaking them bite by bite with each swing of the bell, your yearning for more growing with each swing. It is a delicious sensation, but all of you resist its temptations to linger or run to the tower to find this feast; even Bog, who luckily was satiated by his feast at The Reel.
The street turns slowly past great statues and pillared halls of artistry, into a grand promenade where a dozen of Luathans have gathered around the perimeter, standing quietly. In the centre of the promenade is a group of several dozen, normal human-sized people shuffling around aimlessly, heads bowed. The paving stones of the central area are covered by rivulets of blood trailing behind the people, forming elaborate patterns across the plaza. You all see wounds on the wandering people, dribbling blood. Bog has an ugly red bleeding sore open on him, briefly bleeding, but this soon stops. [These wounds only heal magically.] You pass the bleeding Silent Crowd, repulsed and glad you have not become new additions to their “crowd-sourced artwork”.
Ahead the street becomes uncommonly thronging with Luathans in the scores. A plaintive song is audible, weaving through them, but they each sing a different tune that is out of sync with that song, not contributing to it. It looks difficult to make it through the procession without jostling Luathans, but the sun is setting and they are going very slowly. You all deftly thread through the Luathan Funeral, passing a giant grey circular stone slab that a few carry aloft, and a Luathan body lies prone atop it. You're shocked to see a dead Luathan! What happened to it? There are no clues. Surprisingly, atop the body you see a giant purple-breasted bird that has the look of a vulture. It pecks at the body intermittently, but also emits the plaintive, sobbing dirge that you've heard. As it sings, musical notes issue visibly from its beak, dancing eerily across the procession. You are moved, some of you enough to sing your own personal songs of profound grief linked to your own experiences; adding to the chorus of laments. The Luathans do not react to this, and you pass.
The boulevard at last comes to the arched entryway of Rausa's magnificent, gargantuan palace, the Fortress of Dusk. It gleams with the sinister crimson of the half-set sun now. There are twisting towers of impossible construction, and grand gardens housing perfectly cultivated plants of strange colours, and a bestiary of bizarre creatures and some humanoids in cold, grim cages, and fountains of scarlet water, and arrays of statuary beyond any mortal workmanship that depict odd myths in extreme detail, and a tent where a Luathan weaves human flesh and sinew and bone and property into luxuriant tapestries, and a lone wall where spirits paint stunning landscapes and other masterpieces that would fetch a fortune in any city but are doomed to vanish at nightfall so other magna opera may be made the next day, and even weirder places where runes and other magics prance around open spaces like parade grounds. Conspicuously, there are no tombs, cemetaries or other places dedicated to the dead. Few Luathans are around, and the few that are there merely cast you brief, curious glances before returning to intense focus on their duties around the grounds, appearing to be engaged in their artistry to create and maintain the wondrous property. At the huge archway to the main palace hall, Rausa's runes and face again adorn a red-bronze inlay above that arch, and her face scowls down upon seven great stone statues, recognizable as Orlanthi Lightbringers, all on bended knee in poses of extreme deference and debatable veracity. Shrett inspects the statues and they are very detailed and realistic depictions.
No one challenges you at the archway, which is unguarded. Security within the palace grounds is remarkably light, although all Luathans you have ever seen have been well armed and armoured. Uneasy about what may come, you enter Rausa's Castle proper. Your footsteps echo loudly on the cold stone floors of the vacant, silent palace of red stone. A long, broad entry hall leads to a very wide courtyard, bathed in the crimson sunlight. There, a group of Luathans stand still, except for two shadow-cloaked Luathans that have just set down a palanquin upon which a tall Luathan-like woman whose skin is more red than purple sits stiffly against the back of her throne-chair, attended by other heavily-armed Luathan guards, pikes and shields and swords at the ready. Through the Luathans, skulking in shadows, slink two horse-sized giant raccoons of lavender and crimson-banded fur, with bright purple masked faces and terrible twisted demonic faces.
Queen/Princess Rausa, Goddess of Dusk, waves you forward with a quick, impatient gesture, speaking tensely in words that chill your bones: “More mortals. I do tire of you. I do tire of the death that you clumsily throw around you like the golden balls in dahoori. I do tire of how those trivial deaths are a reminder of the first death; the unspeakable death. And do I tire of my duties to preside over this waste, this sorrow, and these rituals that mortals follow. But soon night will fall and I will rest again. Do not deign to explain anything to me. I know of the Golden Ship's rise; I saw its fall much as I saw its first rise. I know of Waertag the Reaver; his mother Jeleka graces you with her flawless presence [you see a particularly nobly dressed, deep violet-skinned Luathan in the back, who primly nods]. I know you wish to travel beyond my home, through the Gates of the West, and have them locked behind you. I know what I must know, except one thing. One of you has the blood of my line, of the Sky, thick on their hands. They may have washed it away but its stain cannot be cleansed. Who is it?”
You wonder what this means, knowing that it is an important moment and you must answer carefully. You reason that the point here is that someone is volunteering to act in a role analogous to Orlanth's in the LBQ, taking on a leadership role here in the challenges with Rausa. Ahappi and Fraud debate who should do it, and Ahappi speaks, saying it is him; that he killed the Talanimm.
Rausa nods. “Yes, I see it now, you had been visited multiple times by that Talanimm on the mortal plane, and then confronted it in my father's realm; killing it and many others. Another base murderer. You lead your companions into ruination, and there may be no more murder where you seek to go, for all will be dead. [Sighs] There will be one more death before then. It is demanded. There must be the usual tests if you are to pass my Gates of Dusk. The murderer will face their choice of my champions in the test of Fighting and this test shall be unto death, with no other terms save that it is honourable single combat. Then the other four will choose and challenge my people to the tests of Healing, Knowing, Communicating and Riddling, in that order. You all will name the prizes you seek to me with your challenges, and my people will name their prizes from what you have. Then any survivors will make haste to leave, for those remaining in my halls once the sun sets will never leave and their suffering will be unimaginable.” She briefly smiles thinly at that. You understand what's up here- this is another flavour of heroquest challenge, with some differences from the Orlanthi one on the Boat Planet.
Fraud reasons from an Arkati perspective: This is no Orlanthi quest; it just plays on their themes as means to an end. The Boat Planet quest has provoked mythical interactions here that, while reflective of the Lightbringers Quest, differ. Rausa is acting as the avenger of what was done in the Sky Realm to bring the Boat Planet back. This means that these contests will be HARD; they must be. Indeed, the point may not be to win; except the duel. Losing the other four contests and prizes could be seen as the prices of entry to the Underworld. BUT, as Waertag strongly cautioned you, dealing well with the Luathans here might have good outcomes-even losing with style. Showing your virtues may be the point; convincing them that you're not so bad. Rausa is bound by the Great Compromise and, much as she'd like to, she cannot straight up kill you or worse. She must adhere to the heroquest's rules and not interfere too much. Something is different about this Boat Planet heroquest, or Luathela at this time in the Hero Wars: heroquesters can challenge to pass the Gates of Dusk without being easily killed by the Luathans before they even get close, unlike in prior Ages. As long as you play by the rules, too, Rausa must let you pass if you survive. But she does not fear any questers; they are not Orlanth and the Lightbringers.
Ahappi prepares for his duel in the Test of Fighting, assessing with Shrett that the Luathan is more skilled than him by a bit, and both it and the raccoon are similar size and maybe strength. The raccoon has sharp claws and teeth and tough demonic hide, and seems very agile; it bears no weapons of defence so it must have to evade attacks. Ahappi says to the stoic Rausa that he will not spill more blood of her family here, so he will not face a Luathan but rather the raccoon. And so he does. He names his prize as the myth of The War Boat Goes to Hell; it names his magic bracelet as its.
It's a terrible struggle. The raccoon initially tries some magics; a Blinding spell that Ahappi luckily shrugs off, and a Fumble spell that causes him to stagger, losing his footing early in the fight; but he regains it in time after it hits him with a furious flurry of bites and claws. Ahappi is bloodied from head to toe by claws and fangs; and the raccoon rips open a wound that bleeds, weakening him. Yet Ahappi also deals the demon wicked wounds, eventually maiming the right foreleg (its demonic vigour keeps it in the fight), then hitting it in the head and knocking it down, but it keeps fighting and the tide again seems like it might turn, yet at last he gets in a skilled blow to its head and it succumbs. The hall falls silent as the other demonic raccoon drags the dead victim away, leaving a smear of ichor down a hallway.
Then it is time for the Test of Healing. Shrett steps up to take this on, and a Luathan challenger is found. It is made clear that the Test is to best heal the victor of the duel (Ahappi). Shrett names his prize to be restoring some of your magical energy; his opponent chooses his Triolina's Tear. Shrett does his best with a Heal spell, but the Luathan's innate mastery of magic including healing is superior to his, and Ahappi's abdomen wounds are healed best by it, first; so it wins. Shrett hands over his treasured crystal; a heavy price to pass onwards; but he is not done here. He loses with style, as Fraud recommended, by healing more of Ahappi's wounds and very competently bandaging up others. The Luathans watch, and the victor sings out a touching song of harmony that releases a Twilight spirit, who infuses Shrett with a spiritual blessing that will strengthen his life in a future struggle when evoked (+5 HP all locations for 1 scene; takes 1 action to invoke the spirit inside of him).
And now you prepare for your three other tests: Boamund will challenge in Knowing, Fraud in Communicating and Bog in whatever the final, Test of Riddling is. And then…?
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