#Selene Illume

[emotigonecreative]

So excited to share this! Easily the longest piece I've ever worked on, clocking in at somewhere near 70 hours in the file alone. My DM reached out to me with a request to possibly do a group shot with the intention of putting it on a shirt, and considering all the work he's put in to make me absolutely love this campaign and these characters I jumped at the chance~ It also looks so good on my shirt B)

[deathlessathanasia]

Lady of the night, Two-horned lover of nocturnal revels, Shine, Selene! Shine, and as you beam through latticed shutters Illume golden Kallistion. There’s no wrong in a goddess watching The doings of lovers. To you, she and I are happy, I know, Selene. For your soul was inflamed by Endymion too.

- Greek Anthology, Philodemus 5.123

[violettesiren]

‘I see Trivia’s [Hekate-Selene-Artemis] swift gliding car, not as

when, radiant, with full face, she drives the livelong night, but as when,

ghastly, with mournful aspect, harried by Thessalian threats, she skirts

with nearer rein the edge of heaven.

So do thou wanly shed form thy torch a gloomy light through air;

terrify the peoples with new dread, and let precious Corinthian bronzes

resound, Dictynna [Artemis-Selene], to thy aid.

To thee on the altar’s bloody turf we perform thy solemn rites;

To thee a torch caught up from the midst of a funeral pyre has illumed the

night; to thee, tossing my head and with bended neck,

I have uttered my magic words; for thee a fillet,

lying in funeral fashion, binds my flowing locks;

to thee is brandished the gloomy branch from the Stygian stream;

to thee with bared breast will I as a Maenad smite my arms

with the sacrificial knife.

Let my blood flow upon the altars; accustom thyself, my hand,

to draw the sword and endure the sight of beloved blood.

[She slashes her arm and lets the blood flow upon the altar.]

Self-smitten have I poured forth the sacred stream.

from Medea by Seneca the Younger (Translated by Frank Justus Miller)

[talmidimblogging]

What A Little Moonlight Can Do

Philodemus 5.123 (Greek Anthology) Lady of the night, Two-horned lover of nocturnal revels, Shine, Selene! Shine, and as you beam through latticed shutters Illume golden Kallistion. There’s no wrong in a goddess watching The doings of lovers. To you, she and I are happy, I know, Selene. For your soul was inflamed by Endymion too. […]What A Little Moonlight Can Do

[emotigonecreative]

Kalor session 45

[emotigonecreative]

Doodles! Soup and Boba, Victor's new scars and Lillian's heart eyes, Lumivarax honor battle scar ideas, and Lumivarax + Kiaxa giving out tickets to the gun show (much to Selene's delight)

[emotigonecreative]

Kalor session 36

[emotigonecreative]

Kalor session 31-

In which the party enter the ancient temple and fight their way past it's various safeguards to the heart of the structure. There they find a trove of ancient Sessaran knowledge, and a dark portal looming. They question the guardians they defeated and learn the Filodaxi opened the portal, and that the creature held by the leylines, Destroyer, Change-bringer, is a dangerous entity and a threat to the safety of the world.

After a long rest they brave the portal, entering into the ancient Sessaran city of Denodrosa— a temple built in the Shadow plane. Victor hears his father's voice and, sensing he is somewhere in the city, takes Kiaxa and Lillian to track him down. The rest of the party finds a large map of Kalor, different from the land they know now, and realize it is depicting Kalor in the time of the Sessarans. Through careful study they learn the locations of power points on the leyline, and notice that some of them seem to be dark- and once they locate a dark spot over the volcanic temple realize this means that whatever was there has been broken.

Victor meanwhile finds his father Aventius shackled deep in the heart of the temple. Before they can free him a voice speaks into the minds of the party as a face takes shape in the sky. The Change-bringer offers each of them a choice to work with them, that they will make their greatest desires true if they would free them from their prison.

When the party refuses a NightWalker appears in its stead, and as soon as Aventius is freed from his shackles the party realizes it was his power keeping the portal open. They make a mad dash for the closing portal and manage to slip through in the knick of time.

[emotigonecreative]

Kalor session 28-

In which the party wakes in Petrova, Vanth a little worse for wear for all the secrets weighing on her. The decide to head back to Rhew and the Lunari, hoping that the Mother Superior will be safe with the tribe until they learn how she was taken from Soldara. Once on the ship and out at sea a strange earthquake rocks Kalor, sending Soup's magic surging and wave after wave of arcane energy rocks through them. Once stable they tell the party the believe something is messing with the leylines- that there is something dormant beneath them that someone, presumably the filodaxi, is trying to wake. Lillian has a somber discussion with Vanth, who apologizes for not realizing she had been replaced and comforts her about Victor's distance- assuring her it was not her but his own shame that was driving them apart. On Rhew the party splits up, with Soup and Victor heading to the Soldaran camp while Selene guides Lillian, Lumivarax, and Vanth to the Lunari. Soup and Victor encounter a Soldaran paladin named Richard and quickly realize he is hunting the Lunari. They try to lure him from his path but he realizes their deception and a skirmish ensues in which Victor and Soup are able to quickly incapacitate him. They take him back to the camp where Victor is able to speak with his mother. Meanwhile the others reach the Lunari and they are able to heal the Mother Superior in body. Lumivarax asks the matriarch, Selene's grandmother, about his sword and possibly fixing it and his connection to his ancestors and she directs him to the Volcano on the edge of Istiria and herbs that grow there that may restore that connection. With the mother superior healed the group leave the Lunari and bring her to the Soldaran camp. They meet up with Victor and Soup and decide to head to the volcano. Back on the ship Soup realizes Victor is exhausted and confronts him, and with a little touch love knocks him out to rest and tells Lillian of his struggle. Once he is rested him and Lillian speak, and they share their first real kiss.

[emotigonecreative]

Kalor session 23-

In which Soup befriends the Lunari, a tribe of Rhew natives and refugees that worship the moon as an aspect of Sol, while Victor uses his family name to make friends with the Soldaran officials overseeing territory in the land. Vanth and Kiaxa miss a skirmish while Soup convinces the party to trust the Lunari.

The party meets Selene, a lunari cleric and granddaughter to the Lunari matriarch. She is able to lead them to the standing stones they believe are at the heart of their nightmares, where they are confronted by the Lady of Sword and Shadows- a fey lord who has been punishing them for the death of her subordinate Kiarra, the fey who had been trying to kill the king of Augustine! They try to explain the situation but the fey will not be appeased without bloodshed, though she agrees to answer three of their questions if the succeed in defeating her.

The party battles fiercely, and in the heat of battle Selene casts moonbeam on the fey- however Lillian's close proximity to the creature put's her in the spells crosshair and her form begins to warp under it's effects. She dodges the beam but not before her teammates notice, suspicions aroused.

[emotigonecreative]

Kalor session 41

[emotigonecreative]

Kalor session 37

[emotigonecreative]

Kalor session 35-

In which the party nurses their wounds from the disaster at the dragon isle, Aventius tries (and fails) to cheer up an extremely depressed Lumivarax, and Buberry returns.

Soup explains more of their origin to the party, and they decide to head to Sarket to find the flickering plinth from the map, sustaining serious injuries when they refuse to give up their weapons to the border guards.

Meanwhile Kiaxa and Selene, who had been left behind to guard the boat, attempt to catch up on foot with a bit of water walking running and end up gaining a deeper relationship.

On the night watch Vanth catches a glimpse of Shiver, Robert's familiar, leading the group to believe that Robert might not be as dead as previously assumed...

[emotigonecreative]

Kalor session 33-

In which the party continues to search for a way to save Victor from the shadow plane and their search leads them to Soldara minor, one of the locations marked on the map they found in the temple. Once there they find an ancient serpent mound- and a not so ancient purple worm. Meanwhile Victor's health is waning as the shadow plane takes its toll on him. Despite his condition he continues to investigate, and his inquisitive nature leads him to battle with the FIlodaxi's Fire Genasi, Histara. On the verge of death the Smiling Lord comes to him once more, and Victor— refusing to die in this desolate place— accepts the Smiling Lord's offer.

[emotigonecreative]

Kalor session 32-

In which the party takes a short rest in the temple, believing themselves safe, only to find themselves in combat once more as the Nightwalker rips the portal open once more in an attempt to take Aventius. The party manage to defeat it but not before Victor is trapped on the wrong side of the portal as it closes once more.

Unable to find a way to open the portal the remaining party leaves the temple to confer with the golden suns, and are caught off guard when Aknadin teleports in with a Toran army demanding the party return what they stole, publicly accusing Soldara and that any other action they take will be considered an act of war. The party refuses and the Golden Suns surge to meet his army. Vanth aims for the kill, rage at Aknadin's betrayal guiding her arrows and nearly killing him in one hit. Aknadin, wounded, holds up a purple stone and the party watches in horror as the Golden Sun's eyes begin to glow purple, the army turning in waves to face the Party instead. They flee the desert and make their way to Soldara.

Meanwhile Victor, stuck in the Shadow plane, is attacked and wounded- poison from the shadow creatures rendering his right arm useless. He decides to make the best of the situation and investigates the city, finding the missing Luminarch dead. He locks himself in a closed chamber to avoid threats as his health wanes, and when he desperately pleas to the Lady of Sword and Shadows to help him, a strange shadowy figure appears instead introducing himself as the Smiling Lord and telling Victor he will help- on the condition Victor free him.

[emotigonecreative]

Kalor session 30-

In which Lumivarax finishes communing with his ancestors and is able to restore and empower his sword. On their way down the mountain they come across the small village of Ti'aire and Vanth is contacted by Corvus with a new mission- steal a child for the court to prove her loyalty. Vanth, fearing for her family should she refuse, convinces the party to stay the night in the village to heal from their battle. Buberry returns and informs them of what he saw in his travels, including possible sightings of the Filodaxi in the desert. Once night falls and the party is asleep Vanth sneaks out, successfully stealing the child- Ursa, a tabaxi girl no older than seven- and meeting with Corvus on the outskirts of the village without detection. She senses something off about Corvus and her fears are realized when he attack's her, claiming that despite her success in this mission her will and loyalty to the court is weak and he will destroy her for the sake of the Court. Vanth fights fiercely but is at a disadvantage in close combat and is near death when Corvus is suddenly stabbed through the neck and killed, her savior revealed to be a dark feathered owlin in an Eagles mask. He reveals himself as her grandfather and one of the leaders of the court, stating Corvus was out of line and let his ambition consume him. He takes the child and leaves, telling Vanth he will be her contact and he expects great things from her. Vanth, ashamed of her deeds and cowed by the strength of the Court, returns to the village. The child is discovered missing the next morning and the party investigates, Vanth pretending to sense the child and coming up empty. They leave the village in low spirits and return to their ship to sail towards the desert. On the voyage over Victor and Selene realize that their Grandmother's were sisters and they are cousins. Buberry reveals he is an astral elf that came to this plane following Soup and implies he would harm them if it kept Soup safe Vanth successfully intimidates him in an attempt to make him think twice about it. When they arrive in the desert they find the Golden Suns waiting for them with instructions from Victor's grandmother to assist them. With the addition of a golden sun's scribe named Lucas, the party descends into the ruins.