# 4. Session Four — Personal Growth **In-game start:** Spring 57 | **Played:** 30 April 2025 [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/13 - Session Notes/Session 03 - The Swamp|← Session 03]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/00 - Home & Navigation/Campaign Home|Campaign Hub]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/13 - Session Notes/Session 05 - Dilemmas - Part 1|Session 05 →]] > [!abstract]+ TL;DR > - [[Elena]] headed to the temple as the others headed to bed. There, she met Ryla, a furbolg druid, who was responsible for the storm at [[Gambon]]. Ryla advised that [[Fink]] (real name [[Fink|Phelius]]) had a letter for the group and gave [[Elena]] a letter to take back to the others, which appears to be a map of Train with marks for where he believes laboratories to be, where loved ones may be held. > - Meanwhile, back at the tavern, [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] was sitting in a bedroom speaking with [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] about the vision that she had at the temple. > - [[Aemon]] took them into the hut and lit the incense. He started his ritual, his voice splitting into 2, 3, dozens, hundreds, thousands. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] hears her bees whisper “keeper” > - Persephone’s mind drifts to an altar of stone. > - Elena’s mind drifts and she drifts in an endless expanse of darkness. > - The group level up to level 3 and [[Elena]] devotes herself to [[Nyxthys]] > - As they discussed this, a monster made of vine and blight rose up out of the swamp and attacked the group. > - The creature dealt heavy damage to the group, spraying them with acid, with [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] falling unconscious, on the precipice of death. > [!star]- Memorable Moments > - 💔 **Emotional — Persephone:** Faced with visions of sacrifice and being “special,” Persephone finally breaks: **“Why me?”** She does not want destiny, power or prophecy — she just wants to be normal. > - ❤️ **Heartfelt — Raphius:** Raphius sees his father again and swears, on his life and his oath, that he will prove his innocence and return with the truth. > - 🤯 **Mystery — Mealla:** During Aemon’s ritual, his voice fractures into hundreds and Mealla hears something impossible from her own swarm: **“Keeper.”** > - 😂 **Funny — Pipe / Persephone:** Pipe carefully tries to retrieve a book with Mage Hand; Persephone watches the effort, Fey Steps over, takes it and Fey Steps straight back. > - 😱 **Oh Shit — Raphius:** The trial-creature batters the group hard enough to drop Raphius unconscious on the edge of death before Aemon finally ends the exercise. ## Session Notes [[Elena]] headed to the temple as the others headed to bed. There, she met Ryla, a furbolg druid, who was responsible for the storm at [[Gambon]]. Ryla advised that [[Fink]] (real name [[Fink|Phelius]]) had a letter for the group and gave [[Elena]] a letter to take back to the others, which appears to be a map of Train with marks for where he believes laboratories to be, where loved ones may be held. [[Elena]] discussed communing with her deity with the assistance of drugs, but was told [[Aemon]] keeps a tight lock on the drugs so she would have to speak to him about this and he had gone to bed. Ryla also informed [[Elena]] that the [[Gambon]] guards had found the corpses at the cabin and were pissed, thinking we’d slaughtered and desecrated the dead. So they were now hunting us with tracking dogs. Ryla said that they would be with us the day after tomorrow. They said they would help slow them down. Meanwhile, back at the tavern, [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] was sitting in a bedroom speaking with [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] about the vision that she had at the temple. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] described the vision she saw and what it felt like. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] then confided in [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] that when the lightning had struck, she herself had some sort of vision where she saw the rot covering bees, corpses everywhere and a chant of “traitor”. She explained that it frightened her. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] confided that she felt scared and alone, and [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] comforted her saying she did not know how to react either but that neither of them were on their own and that they would face this head on together. We all get a good night's sleep and wake up early, heading downstairs to the tavern bar in the morning. Rothgow, the local bookkeeper is waiting for [[Pipe]] as we head downstairs. They instantly began frantically and enthusiastically discussing the riddle and their lore, with Rothgow having come to the remarkable conclusion of self admission that he knows nothing. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] had plated up a table with breakfast for the others, which they all gathered around, at a table away from the noisy nattering. [[Elena]] showed the letter / map of labs with the group and let them know what Ryla had said to them last night. The group digested this knowledge and noticed a crowd forming outside. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] leapt into the crowd lapping up the attention, and [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] also drew quite the attention. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] followed [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] out and encouraged her to keep moving. [[Elena]] used the commotion to slink away from the crowd, relatively unnoticed aside from a few kids that she scowled at. The group met up with [[Aemon]] and Ryla at the temple, where [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] and [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] spoke with [[Aemon]] privately. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] also raised concerns about the village and not wanting anyone to come to harm because of them. [[Aemon]] assured them that the guards would be misled and turn back, never finding the grove. [[Aemon]] then spoke with [[Elena]] about the blight and [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/05 - Nations & Regions/Dharan|Dharan]] and invited them all into the temple to try and experience a vision. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] suggested that [[Elena]] was trying to force things, but [[Elena]] simply said she was seeking connection, not recognition, and that she was doing everything else she should, including reading scripture / praying etc. [[Aemon]] took them into the hut and lit the incense. He started his ritual, his voice splitting into 2, 3, dozens, hundreds, thousands. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] hears her bees whisper “keeper” Persephone’s mind drifts to an altar of stone. She is bound, held, restrained. “A child born underneath a black sun.” “Their blood spilled under a god's eye” “To herald in their return”. A man steps up with two golden suns. “A child of endless spring”. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] struggles against these bonds. “Their blood spilt under the next god's eye”. [[Aemon]] asks if she is scared of them. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] says yes. “To herald in their return”. Suggests running might not be the answer. Suggests fighting. Says she is special. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] doesn’t want to be special, says she doesn’t want this and just wants to be normal. “Why me?” The knife plunges downwards and terror strikes [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] as [[Aemon]] says “Maybe it’s you they should be scared of.” [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] reaches for the knife and pure energy erupts from her hands, pink and green blades erupts from her hands and the knife smashes into a million pieces. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] returns to the room. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] drifts to the [[Solland|Soland]] Highlands, sun burning in the sky, grass, freedom. A man approaches [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]], his father (Sir [[Dane]] Sunward). “Where do I find you now, son?” “Are you so lost that you don’t recognise your own father?” “What is this path you are on now?” “Have you lost your way?” “I never lost my way, I wish to prove my innocence.” “You ran, why did you run?” “Father, I was exiled. When I have the evidence I need, I will return and prove my innocence.” His father has lost trust in him. I Want to trust him again. Asks him to pledge his life. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] swears on his life that he will prove his innocence. His father wants his oath. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] swears he has it. Demands he honours it. The sun seems to explode and swallow the silhouette and [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] returns. Elena’s mind drifts and she drifts in an endless expanse of darkness. A silver thread forms in her hand, splitting into thousands and millions of a lattice of souls. The dark keeper shows herself to [[Elena]] and speaks of death, saying [[Elena]] has been diligent in her duties, but asks if she trusts her. [[Elena]] says she is loyal but admits to feeling a little lost since Piotr set her off on her own. [[Nyxthys]] asks [[Elena]] for her mind, which she gives, then her body which she gives, and finally asks [[Elena]] for her soul, which she again gives freely. The group level up to level 3 and [[Elena]] devotes herself to [[Nyxthys]] The group leaves the temple and speaks of their experiences. [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] and [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] go and buy rations, whilst [[Pipe]], [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] and [[Elena]] speak outside the temple, with [[Pipe]] sharing what he learned from the books and that he would like to write a letter to his colleagues at the academy. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] seems to suddenly lose control of her thoughts, speaking directly into the minds of [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] and [[Pipe]], which startles them. With the group ready to depart, [[Aemon]] leads them out of [[Mire Watch Grove|Mire Grove Watch]] into the swamp in search of a tree to use to travel through plants. As they walk through the swamp, they come across a tattered flag with a book next to it, on an island of moss. [[Pipe]] goes to retrieve the book with mage hand, but [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] inexplicably just fey steps to it and back again. Handing the book to [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] it appears to be a soldier's diary. It appears [[Solland|Soland]] is in turmoil. The soldiers here were lost and looked like they were consumed by the blight. As they discussed this, a monster made of vine and blight rose up out of the swamp and attacked the group. [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] blessed everyone and commanded the monster to focus its ire upon him. [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] began slinging psychic blades towards the creature, a new found skill perhaps? [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] on the other hand went on the assault with her bees and doused the creature in a buzzing light. [[Elena]] tried to hit the creature, but kept getting parried by debris. Meanwhile, [[Pipe]] began drawing the creature, fascinated by its appearance….. The creature dealt heavy damage to the group, spraying them with acid, with [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] falling unconscious, on the precipice of death. Eventually the group managed to fell the beast, and [[Aemon]] landed, healing them all to full and praising them for a job well done. They took his portal through the tree. ## Session End State > [!success]- Where Things Stand > - [[Mealla Glynn|Mealla]] and [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] go and buy rations, whilst [[Pipe]], [[Raphius Sunward|Raphius]] and [[Elena]] speak outside the temple, with [[Pipe]] sharing what he learned from the books and that he would like to write a letter to his colleagues at the academy. > - With the group ready to depart, [[Aemon]] leads them out of [[Mire Watch Grove|Mire Grove Watch]] into the swamp in search of a tree to use to travel through plants. > - [[Pipe]] goes to retrieve the book with mage hand, but [[Persephone Amoransia Damnari|Persephone]] inexplicably just fey steps to it and back again. > - Eventually the group managed to fell the beast, and [[Aemon]] landed, healing them all to full and praising them for a job well done. > - They took his portal through the tree. [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/13 - Session Notes/Session 03 - The Swamp|← Session 03]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/00 - Home & Navigation/Campaign Home|Campaign Hub]] · [[Lineage of the Veiled Kin/13 - Session Notes/Session 05 - Dilemmas - Part 1|Session 05 →]]