Dear us,
You’re right, apologizing to Torag helped me feel better. I was glad that he was quick to forgive me for attacking him the way I did. He explained that due to the heat of the battle, he was in a rage and attacked. I guess you could say he blacked out and took action without thinking. I could understand that but I explained to Torag and the rest of the group that I have the final decisions for the animals that are caught in my snare. Everyone agreed to this and Torag mentioned he would do his best. I also had a thought last night. Do you remember my Aunt Plume…Yes, that is the one. Sorry I can’t help but to laugh about Aunt Plume. But I was thinking about Torag and his lineage with his dwarf grandfather, human father, minotaur uncle, aasimar cousin, and I was thinking that Aunt Plume might have met one of Torag’s uncles and we could be cousins. I think a tabaxi would be a good fit in his family that pertains to many kinds of races. I am convinced we are cousins. It makes sense.
Anyway, we resumed our trek to Ellandyr. There were discussions about what to expect from the city and how we should move forward with the king. It was decided that there were two things that needed to remain a secret: 1) King Acastus must not know about the Horn of Selesnya until we give it to Aminatou as we have promised. 2) No one should know Actaeon’s real identity as it could bring unwanted attention. We also decided that Rendu and I should be the representatives of our group. Rendu is an excellent choice as he is very smooth with his words. I lack this skill but I do have more knowledge on the city, the king, and the politics. Therefore, it was decided that Rendu would do most of the talking and I would chime in when needed. I was glad Rendu was there because the political stuff makes me uneasy.
River, just curious, but did I ever speak celestial? I think I speak celestial! Rendu speaks celestial and he spoke to me and I understood! And… I spoke back in celestial! I don’t remember speaking celestial before… I wonder if there are other talents that I am currently unaware of! Think of the possibilities, River! Clio has this really cool ability to teleport. I wonder if I could teleport… Also that pen that the satyr in Altea gave me only wrote in sylvan, which is pointless because if I were to read what I wrote I wouldn’t understand it. Yes, that didn’t change. I don’t speak sylvan. Also, maybe Rendu and I are cousins too because we both speak celestial! The family is growing, my love 🙂
As we got closer and closer to Ellandyr the sky was darker, the rain was heavier, and the winds were stronger. These were clear signs of the hurricane that plagued this city. We eventually arrived at Ellandyr and the “dragonriders” led us through the city until we arrived at the castle. At the gate, there was Amalj’aa’s face in the sky and lightning struck both me and Torag. Fortunately, we survived and we were able to enter the castle. We eventually met with King Acastas, Queen Aminatou, Commander Gaius, Chondrus, and King Acastus’s concubine, Bella, in the throne room. King Acastus requested our presence to help determine their next course of action to help abate the storm. King Acastus was under the impression that we had the magic to stop the storm or pay for a large enough tribute to Amalj’aa to end the storm. We had to admit to the king that we have neither means. Commander Gaius (commander of the League of Storms) suggested destroying the temple of the five Immortals to end the storm. Chondrus (emissary of the children of the night) believed that by enlisting 70 children to the children of the night would stop the storm. I completely agree, Love. There is a lot of corruption in this court and all of these plans were absolutely disturbing. I couldn’t help to cringe when I heard Chondrus’s plan. I couldn’t help but think of Rare and if she was forced to be part of the children of the night… Queen Aminatou was also disgusted with Chondrus’s plan and she provided insight that those that were enlisted would most likely be sacrificed… Luckily, I was able to keep my cool. This was not the time to make further enemies with the court. It was also weird that the King’s concubine was allowed to be part of the conversation in the court. Further investigations are needed to determine why this was the case. After hearing these terrible plans, we asked Queen Aminatou of her thoughts on these plans. It was quite obvious that Queen Aminatou did not think well of anyone in the court as no one looked to her for wisdom as others have done in the past. She is the goddess of wisdom. She also mentioned that there is a lack of trust in the 5 Immortals to be able to defend the people from the titans. However, the queen provided another option. The five Immortals could unite and sacrifice part of their power to stop the storm. Because of Clio’s amazing abilities, my companions and I were able to communicate to discuss the plans suggested telepathically. Since the other plans were so terrible, The queen’s plan was the only reasonable one. We told the court that we voted for the queen’s plan.
Now that it was decided to proceed with the queen’s plan, Aminatou explained that we would have to persuade Torag’s father and grandfather. In fact, Aminatou already invited the other four Immortals to come as she knew/hoped that this plan would proceed. Rendu was surprised that his mother, Palladia, is here in the city. The queen took her leave for her temple and we then spoke with Torag’s family. We were asking a lot of the Immortals. We might be leaving the people vulnerable if the Immortals’ power is weakening. However, what other option do we have? But Clio did provide some insight that after the Oath of Peace is over, their power would weaken anyway. Torag’s grandfather then talked of Kiora and that she sacrificed her physical form for the good of the people and that he should be willing to make similar sacrifices. Torag’s family agreed to the plan.
While we waited for the five Immortals to execute the plan, the amazonian led us where we could clean up and eat. As we were eating, I wanted to ask this amazonion a few questions about the amazon queen and maybe a way for me to retrieve my family’s sword. Her name is Makhaila, and as I struck up a conversation with her, she questioned me about my inability to trust grass… how could I explain this without her realizing that I’m insane. I tried my best but I’m sure I sounded just like a mad man rambling. I wish Dia wouldn’t write those things so everyone could read of me and my mental illnesses. However, I was able to extract some information about the Amazons. First, I questioned why she was here. It was unheard of for the amazonians to leave their homeland. Mikhaila explained that she and others were exiled. Five hundred years ago, the amazonionas worshipped Eos, however, about ten years ago the Amazon Queen, Thesselia, started to worship Khar’shan. Those that continued to worship Eos were exiled. She also mentioned that if any male was caught on the amazons, they were enslaved, and not for grunt work… However, they are friendlier to female and fey creatures. Clio and Briar might be critical for successfully retrieving our family’s sword. I also inquired about how could Queen Thesselia gained possession of my sword. She mentioned that she heard rumors that Khar’shan would reward those that served her well with magical objects… I then asked if she knew of a safe passage for me to retrieve my sword. She said she would need to think about it.
By securing my family’s items, I feel like I am getting closer to you and Rare. Yes, it will be very dangerous, but I need to find you. I will die trying if necessary, because the life I am living currently is not worth it if you’re not out there.
Fairly soon after we ate, the clouds cleared up and there was sun. The hurricane must have ended and the five Immortals were successful. King Acastus brought us back to the throne room and gave us a map of the last known location of the ship Gjallarhorn. We were then brought before Queen Aminatou. The queen told us that the king gave us this map because he believes that we would meet our doom. He was afraid of our success and that it could eclipse his reputation. The queen advised us to be well prepared for that mission.
The queen also provided us with the latest location of the Verdant Sun’s Avatar. If we could end it and sacrifice it to Kiora, we would gain some protection against Khar’shan while we slept.
We inquired about how the king has obtained dragons. The queen told of us a story of how the king was able to befriend a silver dragon, Urianger. They made a pact and the dragon agreed to help the king restore the “dragonlords”. The queen suggested that there might be some truth in the story but she believes that there is also a lot of fabrication in the king’s story.
There was some discussion about the Great Games that will be taking place in a few weeks. Do you remember those games? Well, guess who the king decided to sponsor. He sponsored servants of Amalj’aa and Khar’shan. If any of these servants win, the titan they worshipped would get stronger. We discussed that maybe the queen could sponsor us to help prevent the titans from gaining any further power… I can’t help it, Katsy. Yes, it is a serious matter, but it sounds like a lot of fun 🙂 I would like to participate in these games.
The queen also asked us for a favor. There are bards that went missing and she would like us to investigate and hopefully find them. Also, Aminatou believes that we can make a subtle strike against the children of the night. She asked us to investigate the temple of Khar’shan and find any evidence that could be presented for the corruption within the organization… We agreed to do what we can. It feels good to have an alliance with Queen Aminatou. It feels like she is just as ambitious or more so than us and we could do a lot of good here in Ellandyr to stop the titans.
Clio then presented some interesting information. She found a book that explained that the titans are not the creators of the fey. Someone else did but the twin titans removed the original creator and took the credit… Interesting. The queen advised us to find further information by finding the library on the Isle of Yonder.
Finally, We were successful and gave Aminatou the horn of Selesnya. I will miss the food it provided…
Sorry, River, I know this is a lot. My mind is still trying to wrap around all the information we have gained in the short hours that we have been here. However, I feel more optimistic today. If we can work with the five Immortals and win the hearts of the people, maybe we have a chance of defeating the titans. Maybe I will find you and Rare and everyone will remember us again. Maybe we can sell our house in Ellandyr and move closer to our families. Maybe we can have a farm like my family and have more children so that Rare could have siblings to play with. Imagine a few more tabaxylings running around on a calm farm. Maybe we could have a normal life. A life full of joy, peace, and love. Maybe, just maybe… I miss you so. Tell Rare that I love her and I am searching.
Your black knight,
Shadow