Episode 39

Episode 39: Forsaken Hymn.

After exiting Wulcani’s tomb, there’s barely any time to process the ballad of the Demonfell before it’s time to get ready for Toraleth’s ceremony. Back at the coterie, everyone is clearly shaken up, Toraleth saying he will bring up what happened to his mothers sometime later. Baird takes a moment to walk away and get some air, clearly lost and confused. Wood approaches him, trying his best to make his friend feel better. They talk briefly about how overwhelmed they were at what happened, from the Demonfell, to the Godslayer, to the other weapon, to the newly changed smoke and lava color. Baird asks Wood about the journal he received from the Aquan temple back in Kahlessi, which apparently had belonged to his ancestor, Taijinn. Baird asks if when they return to the Shepherd if they could look at it together, and see if they can find out more information about that time period. Baird says not only may the Demonfell be mentioned in it, but is also curious about a possibly other ancestor he might have. Since Raktor called Baird by the name “Cataegis” instead of his own name or Luxx, he fears he doesn’t know his history as well as he thought. They also mention having a serious conversation with Taylansta when they return to the boat as well, Wood worrying about his poor friendship skills as of late. Baird reassures him that he’s a wonderful friend, and they will do everything they can to be good friends to xem and each other. Baird and Wood exchange smiles, eager to learn more, and meet back up with everyone. Remus approaches them with their ceremonial outfits handmade for them, other than Toraleth who makes his own. The new clothes bring up a new sense of joy and distraction for everyone, excitement finding the party once again.

With everyone flaunting their new outfits, everyone prepares for the ceremony that night. It begins with some words from Tofflan, who introduces Toraleth in front of everyone. They perform a hymn all together, and invite Toraleth to perform alone as a grand showcase. While coming of age dances would normally be happy and upbeat, Toraleth’s is quite angsty, playing heavy, sad music on his lyre. He dances along with the music, his eyes covered by his veil. Even with this, Toraleth looks pained and upset as he dances and sings lowly. The effort he’s putting into this performance is more so than any other dance he’s done. As he dances, the ground rises and falls, small spurts of purple lava flowing and disappearing from the dirt. Toraleth ends his dance abruptly, gasping and retching briefly before walking off stage. Toraleth then receives his tattoos: two diamonds on his chin that signify his adulthood. Everyone begins celebrating on their own after the tattooing, everyone dancing and singing on their own. There’s a bit of a change in Toraleth, the vibrance of his eyes almost faded now.

After briefly catching up with his friends, Toraleth decides to approach his mothers. He shows them the lyre, being very blunt and forthright about how he got it. His mothers are appalled upon hearing that he met with the Demonfell, and has to take it from Raktor’s stomach. They explain that they had no idea that Raktor was in there, as the inside of Mount Marack was something Tofflan could not see in her future sight. However, Xiankha knows a bit of the history of the Demonfell: Raktor was a friend of Wulcani a long time ago. They’ve pieced together, with the help of Simica, that there was someone during the war that wielded a weapon forged by demons, becoming possessed by it. This person killed the demon of Hellfire, Allmaar (amended from a mistake in the VOD where Jer said the demon’s name was Carcanum), and took the demonic spark from it. This person might just happen to be the same man locked inside of Mount Marack. They realize that if the Demonfell has been seen, then that means that the Godslayer is set to return. The Godslayer has been keeping Demonic Weapons in check for thousands of years, and seems set on finishing their war against the Demonfell soon. They advise Toraleth to stay out of the business of the Godslayer and focus on his own tasks and goals, and to avoid fighting them as much as he can. Tofflan, still visibly shaken, mentions there is something else that they need to tell Toraleth. She tells him that someone by the name of Alyks isn’t dead, to Toraleth’s panic and disbelief. She explains that he is out there, somewhere, still alive after being banished. He now wanders somewhere, masked, but alive. Toraleth is enraged by this, after all that Alyks seemingly did to him, and asks why and how they kept him alive after all of this. He snaps at his mothers, screaming that they never cared about him in the first place; that they would rather let him suffer than interfere and help. Toraleth asks about his sister, Moxie Solvan, and if she’s okay after being banished. Tofflan doesn’t tell Toraleth exactly why she was banished, but that Moxie is okay and alive, residing with the Soraringwinds family. Toraleth recalls that all Moxie did was protect him, and then may have been banished because of that. He storms away, snapping that he will never come back and will never speak to them again after they let Alyks live. Done and defeated, he walks off, very close to the verge of tears as he makes his way through the crowd.

He strains himself, trying to keep his emotions to himself, but his friends eventually find him. The tips of his fingers begin to turn an ashy black color, looking burnt and decayed. A patch of the same black color spreads across his chest as well, looking like a giant burn over his heart. He claims to be fine for so long until he finally breaks, telling everyone that he just got news about something that will change him. Seeing his past all come back to him has been too much for him, needing to go home as soon as possible. His friends try to support him, but he explains there isn’t much they can do except leave him alone to collect his feelings and calm himself down. The celebration ends and everyone returns back to the coterie. The Shepherd party begins to make their leave as soon as possible, but they are stopped by Remus and Simica. Remus, after giving more concrete armor and clothing to everyone, extends his support to his cousin, Toraleth, before they leave. Hearing a bit of what happened, Remus hands him another outfit as well, and tells him that he is always there for him if he needs it. His offer to rule instead of Toraleth still stands, with Toraleth being unsure if he can come back. The two hug before departing, Remus saying he’ll always be around somewhere. Simica explains that she will be accompanying Xavier and Rasmesus to look for Xavier’s Divine Weapon, and they will be gone for a bit, as it’s time sensitive. Toraleth is hurt by this, knowing Xavier will be gone and he can’t go with them. Andrew advises that everyone return to the Shepherd as soon as they can, seeing Toraleth angrily gripping Vulcan’s Lyre. They all return to the boat, with everyone there except for Dae, who is on their Divine Weapon quest by themself. Unlike the other, excited entrances that Ras and the twins made when they got their weapons, Toraleth’s is quiet, not even bothering to show it to anyone. He quickly goes directly to his room while everyone else gets caught up. Railund, after warning everyone about the Godslayer, has the announcement of which champions will be searching for their weapon next. Along with Xavier’s mission, the next weapon they’ve traced is Gemevieve’s.

Gemevieve immediately panics upon hearing this. Her weapon is apparently located in the ancient home of the crystal dragons, Lah'Tekai. Railund calms her nerves a bit, explaining that Lah'Tekai is basically empty, having once been home to the now extinct crystal dragon species. Gem remembers that her dragon friend from the circus, Benoa, should now live there, which makes things a bit easier. Railund tells Gem that he is sending Scrungus with her, but instructs that she can take anyone else she wants with her. She immediately approaches Ganymede and Callisto, who are both happy to tag along with her. Gem also explains that she’d like for Toraleth to come on this one as well, despite his quest being so traumatizing. The twins explain that a different, quieter quest might be good for Toraleth, and provide a good distraction for him. On her way to ask Toraleth, Analai approaches, asking if she could come as well, saying it’s been a bit since she’s gotten to go anywhere. Analai and Gem are starting to become good friends, and Analai explains that her Divine Hunter abilities will help find her weapon more easily. She also mentions that Eliyra will be going with Xavier, Ras and Simica while Praxis stays on the boat to rest. They chat for a moment before heading over to Toraleth’s room, who answers looking exhausted and drained. Despite this, Toraleth is eager to go, very much wanting a distraction while he won’t have Xavier. They have a moment together, realizing they both have a person they may have feelings for that maybe doesn’t realize it. Keeping each other’s secrets, Gem gets ready for her quest, feeling a bit better about it now than at first.

However, on another part of the boat, Baird and Wood make their way to Taylansta’s room. Inside, xey are laying in xyr tiny bed in pitch darkness, staring at the ceiling. Xey’ve been lying there the whole time everyone was gone. Baird and Wood don’t get into the gritty details of Toraleth’s quest and explain that they don’t have to go on the next one. Baird pinpoints that the weapon xey got from Onyx might be the root of Taylansta’s attitude and fatigue. Xey say that some days are better than others, but on some days xey want to kill everyone on the boat, including xyr friends. Wood apologizes for not being the best friend as of late, and promises that he and Baird will spend more time with xem to help xem feel better. Whether this is the weapon’s fault or not, they make a vow to protect Taylansta, to not leave xem alone, and to help in any way they can. Taylansta pulls xemself out of xyr slump for a bit, going with Baird and Wood to do some training to get xyr spirits up. Even with Wood and Baird’s bad feelings, it’s already time for the next quest.