#Spark of Rau'shan

[maesonc-artistic-adventures]

Sketch dump ✍️

[masterqwertster]

Okay, @ozbian had these great tags on my drabble about the dangers of leaving the Spark of Rau'shan and the Quintessence Array harness unattended overnight (for more background/thoughts regarding that)

So now I'm thinking the funniest thing Matt can do about the Spark being left alone in the workshop is for it to start spitting out a Doompa Loompa Delivery Service with the goal of getting itself to the Vessel of the Shard of Ka'Mort.

Just, the sheer danger and stupidity of leaving a fire shard that is known to create little elemental lives in a workshop containing gunpowder and probably other flammables.

So anyways, the Doompa Loompas have a Quest: bring the Creator to its Earth Partner.

Problem: They know fuck all about where they are and have only the vaguest sense of what they're even looking for to deliver the Creator to.

Que making a mess of Percy's workshop before they find and figure out Doors.

And so begins a really weird night for the guards of Castle Whitestone.

There's little fire creatures. They crackle and growl at the guards (asking for directions). They have a magic fire rock. The magic fire rock makes the area around it warmer. Oh, and if they kill the little fire creatures, the magic fire rock spits out a new one. The little fire creatures are getting progressively bigger and tougher with each generation. Also, is it just them, or are things getting hotter around here too? (they are angering the Spark. thankfully not to Big Boom levels. yet)

Eventually someone notices that the burning footprints lead back to Lord Percival's workshop, so hopefully he knows what to do.

If Percy has to be up in the middle of the godsdamned night because of what those fucking adventurers brought into his castle, so do they.

The ladies are already out on Laudna's Midnight Mischief (probably a Delilah taunting/investigation at the Sun Tree, dining room, or ziggurat that's going to go wrong), but luckily the boys are summoned easily enough. And what they really need.

A Doompa Loompa spots Ashton and brings the Spark over to them. The minute Ashton takes hold of the Spark, things cool down to warm instead of oven and all the Doompa Loompas crumble. It is declared that the Spark either goes in Bells Hells' Bag of Holding or has a slumber party with Ashton.

It's a very anti-climatic end that has everyone who knows thinking twice about giving the Spark to Fearne over Ashton.

[utilitycaster]

It's sort of inevitable in D&D, especially in a game with a lot of calls to the idea of fate and a lot of complex parental relationships, that you'll touch on breaking cycles, but man do Imogen and Ashton seem to be lined up to be some of the most clear examples of it: Imogen, suddenly leaving her home, trying to learn about herself and stop her nightmares and get rid of her powers, becoming frustrated when information is scarce, even flirting with the idea of joining the Vanguard when it becomes an option...but deciding against it, staying with her friends, even finding a different way to ease the worst aspects of her powers will still retaining what's good. And Ashton, also broken and of burning purpose, also seeking power they believed themselves to be owed, but, in theory, fated not to deceive and destroy but share their gifts with someone else and use it to end a cult of personality rather than start one. They are both one really bad experience away from becoming their parents, but they have the opportunity and the information not to make the same mistakes.

[bittershroom]

The shard of Rau'shan

[cassafrasscr]

Summary: In an alternate universe, Fearne decides she doesn't want the Spark of Rau'shan. Orym decides to take it in her stead.

Chapter 2: Dorian rejoins Bell's Hells in the wake of FCG's sacrifice. He returns to find that Orym has changed in the time they've been apart, in ways he did not expect.

[mdr-mardek]

Hey y'all, friendly reminder:

It has been only 11 days in game since Bells Hells reunited from the split (episode 64). Can you imagine everything they've done and endured in such a short time?

Helping Keyleth to heal from her wounds back in Zephrah.

Going on a quest to find Evontra'vir in the Shattered Teeth.

Searching for the spark of Rau'shan in the heart of a volcano.

Fighting a Ludinus Da'leth Simulacrum and members of the Ruby Vanguard shortly after.

Returning to Whitestone to plan what's next concerning the Bloody Bridge and Ruidus, Bells Hells volunteered to do a recon mission on Ruidus before the big assault (and because there was no one else currently available).

Ashton tried to take the shard of Rau'shan and almost died, some BH members were not well after that.

Retreat in the Feywild at Nana Morri's place, some well needed team building exercises, they learned a lot from each other. Also Fearne decided to take the spark of Rau'shan and that worked.

Returning to Marquet, infiltrating the Malleus Key site and taking the Bloody Bridge to Ruidus.

Arriving on Ruidus right in ennemy territory, avoiding as much as possible combat, the scouting begins.

So I think you can agree with me when I say that Bells Hells haven't had much room to breathe and having a calm conversation about their personal problems lately, in fact, pretty much since Zephrah.

What I'm referring to here is Laudna and Delilah. For some reason some people still don't understand that Delilah is ALWAYS THERE WATCHING. So you may be thinking: Why the Delilah problem is not solved yet?

Because Bells Hells are working on a bigger problem right now (You know, the destruction of the gods and possibly Exandria, no big deal /j) and also, Delilah doesn't really represent a direct threat for BH, she's aligned with their goal. But on top of that, they don't really know how to fight her and neither does Laudna. So they can't do anything for now. And yes, I think BH are very aware that Delilah is a problem.

What happened with Laudna and the Willmaster in the last episode (ep 85), there's probably a reason behind that but we just don't know it yet. Patience and let the players play their game.

Note: I'm well aware that Laudna and some BH members want to use Delilah's power to accomplish their mission but it's far from being a popular choice within the group, even for Laudna herself.

[lizablee]

Done Enough (Critical Role Fanfic) Chapter 3

Chapter 1. Chapter 2. AO3

Fearne wandered under the light of Ruidus. 

The soft, reddish glow concealed the dust clinging to the robes of the Ruby Vanguard. Tattered and bloodied, the disguise still hung loosely over her shoulders. There was no need for it now. She shook it off, letting it fall, and ground it into the dust with her hooves.

Her path took her to a stream, gently revealed by moonlight and the murmur of running water. The reddish glow did nothing to illuminate the black water. Fearne closed her eyes and imagined motes of light drifting across the clearing. I should have asked them to teach me that spell . When she opened her eyes, a flame floated in her hand.

Fearne kicked a pile of sticks together and placed the flame down. It consumed the kindling voraciously. Something about her presence always made fires hungrier. “Settle down,” she scolded, dumping an armful of branches onto the flames. The fire got to work burning as she got to work undressing.

The red robes had offered little protection for Fearne’s flowing skirts from damage and dust. With each roll of ribbon and fold of fabric she removed, a small cloud of red sand drifted away or was efficiently beaten out by her practiced hands. Soon, every spare branch in the clearing was draped in drifting fabric. Fearne reveled in the freedom of standing bare in the forest. Her feral instinct to run naked through the woods was crushed beneath her exhaustion. If she had felt she could sleep, she might have curled up by the fire instead. But a ghost had been following her, and she had to deal with it first.

Her flaming form from earlier in the day had left her both exhausted and overheated. Every living thing she curated on her person had burned away in her titan form. The sweet scent of deadly blossoms was replaced by a strange, almost chemical smell of fire and something metallic. The cold night air on her bare skin was a balm.

Fearne stretched her legs over the smooth, tumbled pebbles and reached beneath her hair to withdraw a bone-carved comb, sharp and strong as the day Nana had given it to her. She sank the tines into her fur and began to brush, watching dust, debris, and shed hair drift into darkness.

She drifted.

When she returned, the comb was passing smoothly from her thighs to her hooves in one motion. She gave herself one more satisfying brush before starting on her backside, tail, and the soft patches of fur on her elbows and shoulders. It was at her ears that the comb caught in the tangled mats of her hair. With a huff, she yanked it free.

Fearne rifled through a hanging fold of fabric until she found a tiny, cloudy bottle. She walked to the waterline, her hooves sinking slightly into the stones. She took a small breath and stepped into the icy water.

The spark of Rau'shan hummed within Fearne, dispelling the bitter cold. She sighed and sank beneath the water, bubbles cascading from her hair and crawling up her horns. She stared into the black water until she couldn’t bear to hold her breath any longer and burst through the surface with a gasp.

It was so quiet.

Fearne dumped the contents of the cloudy bottle over her head and tossed it into the current. She hummed as she watched it sink. It gleamed softly against the creekbed, the only point of light in the inky darkness.

The smell of coconut oil drifted from Fearne as she carded her fingers through her hair. Her comb passed easily through the top layer, curated to fall in gentle seafoam waves over her ears, her horns, and her shoulders, cascading down to the small of her back. Fearne swept it up into a high bun and gingerly touched the hair underneath. It was a tangle of mats, burnt flowers, stolen trinkets, blood, and debris. Fearne shuddered as she teased it, feeling the tug on her scalp. I should have sorted this out a long time ago.

She massaged the oil into her hair, feeling even that gentle touch beginning to loosen something.

She remembered braiding FCG’s cables and wondering whether they felt it, or whether it was like when Nana braided her hair.

Teasing her fingers through, she started to pull the hair out into web-like sheets, glistening with oil. The burnt remains of an oleander dissolved beneath her touch.

She remembered asking FCG how old they were. She remembered how eager they were to hug her when they realised she wanted it.

She started to run the comb through, starting at the tips of the tangle. It caught immediately, bringing a tear to her eye. She tried again, and again, gently tugging at the tangles. Slowly, agonisingly slowly, they fell away.

She remembered seeing FRIDA and FCG holding hands and nearly threw the comb into the stream.

“FUCK!” she cursed. Her voice carried in the silence.

Fearne breathed heavily, sucking her breath in through her teeth. She yanked at the knots again, feeling them slip. The comb threatened to graze her scalp.

She remembered bringing FCG along to their date with Pretty so they could see what it was like.

She remembered a baffled FCG standing next to her delighted Nana after planning their scavenger hunt.

She remembered watching FCG sleep, dragging her claws gently over the blades of grass on the front of their chest and smelling the stale ale from when she used them as a canteen.

She remembered FCG’s eyes turning red and then white as they rushed Otohan—remembered their little look back, their hint of a smile, before they—

Fearne yanked her comb, and the last of the knots tore away. “Ow,” she whispered into the darkness. Tears ran freely down her cheeks. “That hurt,” she muttered.

The comb passed through her oiled hair with little resistance now. She sank into the water again, letting her hair flow around her, feeling it reach out with the current. She could almost drift away if she untethered herself from the creekbed. But it wouldn’t do to wander too far from her friends.

She looked to the dark sky and tried to imagine something good, something better than a friend disintegrating in a crackle of light right before her eyes.

The clouds were shifting and flowing. Catha’s halo brightened their borders as she began to emerge. Ruidus, stubbornly tethered to Exandria, was suddenly fighting a brighter light.

“I’m sorry, FCG,” Fearne whispered. “I tried to bring you back, but I think I left a lot of you up there.”

The low rumble of flowing water was the only response.

Fearne lifted herself out of the water and watched the moonlight begin to illuminate the world. The forest started to take shape—flowers bloomed around her, now soft white. The water glittered as it flowed. Ripples cascaded around Fearne as she waded to shore.

Her inner fire flared, and her soaked fur fluffed up and dried instantly. Droplets on her skin evaporated. Her hair steamed. She dressed with renewed purpose, eager to return to her friends and hear voices other than her own.

The clearing was almost as bright as day by the time she tied the last ribbon in her hair. Catha put her sister moon to shame. Fearne took a final look at the clearing and peered into the shallow water.

Thousands of tiny pieces of metal glittered back at her—fragments of gold, silver, and blue, trailing from the shore to the depths where the current washed away every trace of red dust. Every piece she picked from her fur, every shard tangled in her hair, now rested among the pebbles.

Fearne channelled a breath of druidic magic into an oleander and set it down in the stream. It floated gently above the glittering shrapnel. “I still carry you with me,” Fearne admitted. “Must have missed a piece somewhere.”

Between her fingers, she twirled a tiny gold shard, twisted into a curl, and tucked it into her hair.

[12pt-times-new-roman]

C3E75

snow effects!!!

They arrive on a mountainside, where the opening into the rock is devoid of snow and ice. It leads into a tiny, Descent-like cave that drops into nothing -- and that's eventually fully blocked by a humanoid skull. (yeah. it's that small.)

Eventually, they come upon a Minecraft-style pool of lava with imps and a roiling bit in the middle -- sounds like lava mephits and a fire elemental! (someone's been playing BG3)

FCG casts tongues on Fearne. They sound similar to the blue frog pixie-things they encountered before, but fire-themed. They keep spawning from the roiling bit in the middle, and over time they fall to dust.

When Fearne says the name Rau'shan, their eyes light up, their grins widen -- "The creator... tales are told of those who have come before. It births us... others have come and angered the spark, and then, fire."

Oh, so this is the Sunken Temple all over again, except far more difficult because lava hurts.

Ashton implies that if no one else does anything, they're just gonna.... jump in the lava and get the thing. Great.

The fact that absolutely no one in this party tried anything to stop Ashton from dive-bombing into a lava pool, and are in fact encouraging them to do so, is honestly ridiculous. "It doesn't kill you instantly" lava does 18d10 damage per turn. if that roll is even slightly above average, Ashton is down in one round.

but they only take 35, reduced by temporary hit points and an elemental absorption ring. (rules-as-written, full submergence in lava is 18d10 damage -- 35 is way too low for even surface-level damage, so something else is happening here.)

Ashton finds something in the lava pool, pulls, can't get it free -- and stays another round. Another 40 (reduced to 31) fire damage.

Fearne casts fire shield (cold) on herself to give herself fire resistance and jumps in after Ashton. Matt is rolling one set of dice for each damage roll here, so there's something special about this specific magma pool (not about Ashton) that's reducing the amount of damage they take.

"Is anyone else doing anything this round?" meanwhile, Chetney: "I am CLIMBING up the WALLS"

In the second round, Ashton pulls it free -- the words of Evontravir come to their mind, and in that moment they know that they were meant to be here, Fearne was meant to be here, and Ashton darts upward, Fearne in tow, with Imogen's fly.

FCG update: "Scatter Vigor" allows them to take 3d8 necrotic damage and then give that much healing (plus twice their wisdom modifier) to a close friend.

Ashton's skin is red-hot, matching the lake, but it slowly fades as his body cools. The cracks that damaged their body has somewhat healed, they've been shored up -- the gold is still there, but it's less wide than it was. "It's slightly joyful that, after a lifetime of being hurt, someone gets hurt when they touch you."

Also, Ashton is fully naked. Their clothes are gone.

The shard itself is a bright orange-white crystal that branches like roots. Inside, Ashton sees shifting light, roiling flames, like a window into the tiniest, most dangerous ever-burning inferno. They tap it to their head, and sense that there is something within it that they're drawn to -- there's a churning, like an earthquake foreshock, like the anticipation before a fall.

Chetney uses grim psychometry on it. "It's such a small shard, but the power is nearly overwhelming. There is a powerful essence locked within this crystal, but it's such a small piece of the entity it once belonged to... chained, trapped, kept away -- vengeful, furious, and then freedom, the promise of escape. You and a partner to bring this world low once more -- and then, light. Light, that is a different fire than your own -- it is blue, then white, and it breaks you apart, you see a mountain reformed and destroyed, you see this light engulf you and the Emperor, and you're sundered into a million pieces. And this one piece just flies through the sky at an impossible speed, before it punches into this mountain."

Ashton takes it and pushes it into their chest. There is a twin essence within them, waiting to be awakened -- but the one they hold is still looking for its vessel.

"Who do we know who's fiery?" "Fearne!" FCG, Chetney, Laudna, and Imogen are all trying to get Fearne to take this thing, despite her having just explicitly said that she doesn't want it because it hurt her.

With an arcana check, Laudna knows that a powerful essence is locked within this particular artifact -- "there's another relic that they uncovered that was used to imbue certain essences into the wearer." And that means that it's completely within reason for Ashton, Fearne, or Orym to take it, because they're all arguably elementally infused.

With a flash, five figures apperate on the other side of the chamber -- two members of the Ruby Vanguard, two reilorans, and LUDINUS DA'LETH. "Well, now -- you certainly have been busy, haven't you? It seems that fear is a potent motivator."

Imogen immediately using telekinesis to throw lava at Ludinus has the exact same energy as Caleb throwing a wall of fire at Trent in Vergessen

hold up, Ashton still doesn't have pants on--

Ludinus has a new white gem in the center of his forehead -- it's unclear whether it's actually set into his skin or on a circlet of some kind. My first guess is that this is an Ioun stone -- white is regeneration, but that doesn't really help him in a combat encounter. It could also be sustenance, which means he doesn't need to eat or drink

The reilorans have less than 60 hp and an AC less than 19.

The Ruby Vanguard goons have less than 50 hp.

For Ludinus' turn, he sees his staff in FCG's hand -- "oh, you've been prying, haven't you?" With his own telekinesis, he lifts Fearne above the lava and just holds her there. "If you've been digging through history, good! The more you see, the more you learn, and the more you learn, the more you know how right we are."

The reiloran juggernaut uses telekinetic shove, pushing Orym not into the lava but into melee with it. (read: either Matt is being merciful, or Ludinus wants them alive.)

Chetney takes the shard from Ashton, puts it into the bag of holding, then turns invisible.

a wall of stone around Ludinus is a super fun choice -- either he doesn't have fly and has to waste his action on trying to break out, or he has fly and has to waste his action on that!

oh, the inclusion of the lava is such good encounter design. on a flat field, this fight would be pretty skewed in Ludinus' favor, but with both parties being able to utilize the lava and with the Hells having more party members that can use it, it really levels the playing field.

Ludinus has the metamagic adept feat, which gives him some sorcery points and metamagic, of which quicken spell is one. He brings Fearne closer -- "how rude of your friends, not to consider talking. Let's find a better place to converse."

Ludinus' armor class is 19 and he has advantage on checks to maintain concentration.

With an 18, Fearne convinces Ludinus to at least talk to them for a minute. He indicates that he has curiosity about their locations and, looking specifically at Ashton, patrons.

Predictably, Ludinus' strength score is abysmal, and Laudna gets him prone with her hound.

Ashton rage build update: They have to burn a chaos burst to do their wormhole strike. The wormhole strike counts as melee attack, not a ranged one, for the purposes of having advantage/disadvantage on a prone opponent.

Ludinus' concentration on Fearne breaks, and she falls to the ground. "Ah, well -- at least a lesson can be learned here." He begins to cast, something with a 30-foot radius, and Laudna counterspells his ninth level spell -- Marisha needs at least a 14 AND SHE ROLLS A FUCKING 14--

They all feel this alien, arcane hand reach into their minds, memories, their fears -- and suddenly it's gone, Ludinus reels away and tries to counter-counterspell and FAILS. "Well. At the very least, we have more information." And he walks, falls into the lava; his flesh melts into a pile of snow that releases into steam -- this form was a simulacrum.

However, Ludinus' robe still remains, and they grab it. The fact that it didn't descinerate immediately means that it's magic.

Using Ludinus' staff, the Bells Hells attempt to return to Whitestone to reconvene with Imahara, Dancer, and Percy.

[monocycle-of-fresh-cut-grass]

I kinda want Laudna to get the spark of Rau'shan just because i want Rau'shan and Delilah to fight for dominance and aesthetics over Laudna

Hydrogen Bomb vs. Coughing baby type scenario

[romeoandjulietyouwish]

💭Headcanons in the Ashton de Rolo AU about how the titan shit gets handled?

Like, Ashton should have met Keyleth plenty of times before meeting Bells Hells as an adopted de Rolo, so she should have had a chance to discover them being a vessel for the Shard of Ka'Mort way way earlier than canon. Possibly/probably even pre-campaign.

So how would that change things? In regards to both the Spark of Rau'shan and just in general knowing they have a baby titan around.

I'm sorry, I literally have no idea what you're talking about because I'm not watching C3 anymore lol.

[nimblermortal]

Nimbler: listening to CritRole as a podcast Matt Mercer as an ancient, powerful, ponderous tree: A spark of Rau'shan burns in the heart of the Chinese Mall Nimbler: the what?!

[letsnotandsaywewantedto]

like a minute later, matt does call it the rejected "--spark of Rau'shan."

anyone else think that ashton (r)ejected their original shard and kept the new one? I couldn't tell if chetney's grim psychometry disproved that, but it certainly seemed like matt was being vague on purpose.

[masterqwertster]

Having watched the Titan Commune a couple times now, I don't think that Ashton has gotten any more extreme in their viewpoint of "the gods should leave," or that to him weak people dying for the change is okay, like so many people are saying.

Maybe this breakdown will be considered overly generous to Ashton to those people, but I feel the need to make it.

What happens during the commune

Ashton starts the commune asking for a name, offering his own in exchange. He's trying to open the dialogue. The response is images of stone and earth.

Then they switch to "The gods may leave. I might be able to chase them off. Talk to me."

Ashton is trying to get attention here. He's not promising, not saying he will get the gods to leave, just that there's a possibility and Ashton is involved in what's happening. And it's not a bad appeal. The gods warred with and killed the titans, so hearing they might go, that Ashton might drive them off, should make him someone interesting enough to talk to.

"I'm part of you" is the appeal Ashton makes once he's got the titan essences' attention. Though there's a bit of a questioning lilt to it (to me), like Ashton's not sure they'll see it that way. And is refuted with "She's part of you," which, given we know these are sort of ghostly remnants incapable of acting, is turning it around to say "you're kind of the whole here, not us."

Ashton accepts that answer (sort of. The subtitles end it with a question mark, I'm not sure that it sounded like a question, more acknowledging that was the titan essences' view of things), then asks "Who are you?" They respond with saying they are the rock and stone, the world. And since Ashton was kind of more so looking for a name, they switch back to appeals. They walk the world, they're from the earth, of the earth, to the earth. And they're running around with the vessel of the Spark of Rau'shan.

"The gods may leave. If we do this, what's possible? What do you want?"

So here we have Ashton looking for what happens if the gods are gone (again no assurances made it's going to happen) from beings that saw the world before the gods arrived, who know what a god-free world was and could be. And Ashton's personal assessment question of "What do you want?" that helps him judge what he's getting into. Ashton is used to being a grunt, muscle for hire, and it's important to know what the person you're helping/working for wants to avoid crossing lines or getting in trouble. It's asking where do you stand and what of your biases should I be aware of.

"We are lost. We are scattered. We are everything."

A response to "What do you want?" which is, essentially, nothing. The titan essences' are beyond caring. They are broken remnants found everywhere and in everything, they are too piecemeal to want.

"I don't know how to be lost in everything at the same time. How do I find you? How do we... If we make them leave, how do we make a world? How do we remake it?"

Admitting that the way the titans are now is beyond Ashton's comprehension and they'd like something a little more specific as they take lost more literally, then circling back to what's possible without the gods. Asking how people can survive and move on and grow without the gods.

"We've always been. Everything is cyclical. "

Not our problem. Things will go on, they always do.

At which point Matt gives the understanding that Ashton is speaking to leftover fragments of the titans, not any solid, gathered entity(s).

"Cyclical... How do we restore you? How- I... I wanna fix what's broken. No more lost, no more shattered. How do we return? What would you have me do?"

Smart? No. The titans were killed for trying to kill all mortals, so bringing them back is not smart. But if things are cyclical, then doesn't that mean they're coming back anyways? Then it might not be a bad idea to gain some good will by helping. But also I think Ashton thinks they can get the titans to help with the remaking of the world, in getting it to function without the gods. Which again, the titans know how the world can function without the gods, so they should have instructions on how to make it functional, as it was functional before, if there are no gods tending/supporting the world.

But all Ashton gets is "lost. lost. lost." The titans cannot return. And it doesn't feel lost to him, not when he's talking to something. But I think they understand a bit, towards the end, that while they have found remnants to talk to, these remnants can't act and so they are lost. But Ashton can act, he is not lost.

"If we can make them leave, we can find you." Which is... taking lost very literally, and refusing to accept that the pieces can't be assembled into something whole again. And blaming the gods for not having the space to find/reassemble titans, which Ashton would see as supported by the suppression of the Loam and the Leaf religion in Hearthdell by the Dawnfather temple.

And then Ka'Mort makes her appearance starting with "You are my memory. We are lost. You are not."

You are what's left, you get to pick the path forward. Please stop asking that which is beyond caring what path you should take. It doesn't matter to us.

"It's you. He travels with me as well. Is he also a memory?" "Yes" "I would like to remember. I'm sorry that I'm broken. Will this hurt?" "I don't remember." "Let's find out"

Confirming that all the other titans are as much essences and echoes as what Ashton is dealing with now. Asking for what information can be shared. Apologizing, thinking they're not enough, not worthy. Warning label, is this painful? Don't know? Going forward with it anyways.

A vision of "the beauty of chaos." Ashton sees life push forward after destruction in earth and fire, cyclical. And Matt says it's a time of maybe too much chaos, or maybe not enough chaos since. That destruction, making things temporary, makes it beautiful and meaningful.

"Ha. Not broken. Just in motion."

Things will hurt, but they can change, recover, get better. That's the message Ashton is taking from this vision. The cycle is destruction, and from the destruction, new growth. Nothing is beyond repair, rebirth, reforging.

"Will this world hold?" "This world has held being remade before."

Confirming Exandria isn't going to just explode or end because the gods are gone. A bit of a weak confirmation in my opinion since Predathos as the method of god banishing is never mentioned and the titans acted against it for some reason. But not entirely empty either.

Now for the real sticking point:

"And those who live upon it?" "If they're strong they will. If not, they'll be remade into something stronger." And Ashton has some sort of little laugh/bemusement about some thought they have in response to that before stating "I think I understand."

Now, remade stronger can mean quite a few different things. There's the one everyone seems to have jumped to which is Law of the Jungle, flesh of the weak feeds the strong. There's strength and changes gained in surviving and adapting. And there's also the possibility that reincarnation is reinstated for the whole world and people are literally reborn into something stronger. None of these exclude death of the weak, and in fact mean many weak will die.

But also, Ashton doesn't say "okay, that's fine by me." He says "I think I understand." There's no clarification on what he maybe understands, or what that information means to him, but it's not Ashton jumping forward saying "I accept that price (that I won't be personally paying)."

"Remake yourself. Never stop changing." "Mountains of dirt."

You know, it's possible Ka'Mort just called Ashton weak, saying they need to remake themself. But also, it's a directive to move forward, grow, become. And Ashton's reply of mountains of dirt indicates that to him, it's going to be a slow process from small beginnings to something big. I mean, making a mountain of dirt is time and effort, scoop by scoop, pile by pile. Or that big things are made of lots of smaller things.

Now for the outside after talk

"I think I had a talk with Exandria. I uh, I don't know. There was change and earth and mountains and fire."

Not inaccurate, given the titan essences seem to be scattered and all throughout all of Exandria. But maybe not truly accurate either. It's just what they saw and felt.

Funny little side discourse about Exandria being a she as Ashton tries to tell Fearne that Ka'Mort maybe had a message for Rau'shan/Fearne.

Another sticking point to people:

"The Shard of Titan in me, uh, it's good."

Yes, we shouldn't assign morals to powers. Power simply is, and it's how it's used that matters. But the thing is, I don't think Ashton's had reason to believe that the Shard of Ka'Mort has much use outside of destruction, which, pure destruction is generally bad. So seeing the power of earth as part of the Life part of the greater cycles of the world, not getting a "kill all mortals" directive from the titan essences that once tried to do that, makes it seem not so bad. It could even be (used to do) good.

And please remember that Ashton's assessment of himself is he is not particularly good, just an asshole who is trying to do better but certainly isn't there yet.

More sticking points:

"If things go the way that I think they're going to go, I think that nature is ready to right itself one way or another."

Ashton is not an optimist. Bells Hells, a group of chucklefucks, has to stop a man considered the most powerful mage in the world, plus his on-site lackeys, before he pulls the lever. They could be too slow, they might not be strong enough, and Predathos's change will come whether they like it or not. Ashton acknowledges this possibility. It's part of why they agreed with the idea of saying some important goodbyes/final words. And while I hope Ashton has also acknowledged that the Arch Heart's plan of Chase Us Away is already doomed to failure (the Matron won't leave, the others already want to fight, so who knows who else will refuse to go), there is, unfortunately, still the possibility of trying that plan. OR there's the Matron's strong suggestion to renegotiate mortals' relationship with the gods if they are allowed to live and stay. So either the titans' primordial version of nature comes back because the gods are gone (eventually) or because part of the negotiated change is letting some of that back in, just a bit more chaos in the world.

I don't think that primordial nature needs to come back, to "right" things, like Ashton thinks things are set up to happen. But he's not saying he's going to force it, that it will happen, just that he finds it likely to happen.

"I think the world is ready for a bit more chaos. I think that we could be good for this place, and I don't think- I think we will more than survive the gods if it comes to it."

Again, Ashton never unequivocally says they are getting rid of the gods. Always if and might and maybe. He thinks the world can handle the changes to come, that Bells Hells can do right by the world, and if the gods are gone, people will keep on keeping on, living life, not just surviving.

In Sum

Ashton was confirming people will survive without the gods, should that be an end result. Probably because the Arch Heart was pretty hand wavey, I won't be here to care about it. And finding some measure of connection to and reassurance from a power that has been with them for most of their life.

Yes, Ashton is still in support of chasing off the gods due to not liking them/their thrones (self-servicing selective intervention and valuing any other god over mortals in total) and is not considering how that would feel to and hurt many people across Exandria, but it's really not more extreme than his opinion was before the commune.

Like, the only maybe change is Ashton now thinks it's a good idea to unshackle nature from the gods' control regardless of if they stay. Which could potentially be on the table if renegotiating the gods' relationship with Exandria happens. And there's nothing to say that kind of nature is worse or more harmful than what exists and can't be part of the major upheavals that are coming regardless of what happens with the gods. As an aside, I think places like the Demathore Valley would accept that change, since they are already into elemental nature, and so it could be done without trampling all over people who don't want it.

[utilitycaster]

Ashton to Evontra'vir: I don't believe in fate.

*Retrieves spark of Rau'shan as they were told was their fate*

Ashton: Yeah the tree was pretty cool. I got it high. I'm connected to the Luxon? LET'S GO TO THE KRYN DYNASTY. Yeah I'll go to the Raven Queen temple it's lame but I'll accompany YOU two haha what if I climbed into the sarcophagus and had a vision you slow motherfuckers. I don't care about fate btw. oh also this happening all in the same day.

[masterqwertster]

A difference between Ashton absorbing the Spark and Fearne absorbing the Spark that I haven't seen discussed is that Fearne had the ability to ripcord out until the end of the 6th round/start of the 7th round while Ashton only had to the end of the 1st round.

Now by "ripcord out," I mean they could have halted the absorption process by either removing the Quintessence Array or potentially pulling the Spark out of the Array's funnel. Essentially, the Spark's crystal vessel had to still exist and be a separate receptacle, much like how the Quintessence Array cannot fully transfer a creature's magical essence without proper absorption time.

For Ashton, the Spark's crystal crumpled to nothing by the end of the first round via CON Saves (Ashton's early rounds were weird in that Matt rolled multiple damages against him instead of just one, especially the second CON Save round). All they had were those initial moments where it didn't seem impossible, didn't seem like anything they couldn't handle, to back out. 36 Damage and unaware they had to go for 9 more rounds where one pulse of Damage could do up to 60 Damage.

Fearne, on the other hand, besides having a much gentler time of it with zero CON Saves and able to use her own magic to help keep herself up from lower Damage rolls, had until the end of the sixth round or the start of the seventh round before the second Spark crystal finished crumpling into nothing. She had time to assess if it would be too much for her to finish, time to say "No, this was a bad idea. I don't want it."

I'm sure part of that difference is Ashton jumped in on a bad idea and was being forced to deal with the Consequences while Fearne's was a much more measured decision and the "safe" route. You know, game mechanics and penalties.

But consider it narratively.

The way I read it, one of two things happened: Ashton's body is so attuned/ready to be a vessel of great powers that it just slorped the Spark right up, no hesitation. Or, Rau'shan was so eager to move in with his old partner, that he jumped right in (and later backed out because it was too crowded to be tenable). And honestly? Both have interesting implications.

If Ashton is just a higher power absorbing machine, that can mean some interesting things for how he ended up with the Shard of Ka'Mort. Like that the Hishari ritual wasn't meant to bestow the Shard to anyone, but through whatever fuck up happened, Ashton chomped it up. Or that it was about bestowing, but Ashton was such a better vessel that it fucked up the ritual. And the Potion of Possibility giving them a half-beacon brain just happened. There's no explanation as to why it didn't just give him a Mote of Possibility to essentially reroll a Death Save into stabilizing himself rather than die, which makes sense with what the Potion does. Instead it made Ashton a permanent well of dunamis. Maybe that happened because Ashton is titan-blooded. Maybe it's because they are uniquely suited to being a vessel of great powers, that they possess a body hungry to hold more power.

On the other hand, if Rau'shan wanted in to reunite with Ka'Mort with all haste, that makes Ashton his first choice of vessel. Then Rau'shan backed out because three's a crowd and a quality vessel does no one any good if it breaks trying to use that power (because Ashton did manage to contain it all). And maybe he goes a little slower when a second vessel attempts to hold his Spark, just to make sure she's not going to blow up on him.

Or even Fearne just doesn't have the same draw for the Spark as Ashton, so it crumbled at the rate the Quintessence Array drained it at instead of being sucked straight through to it's new home.

I'm just saying, it's a very interesting difference that didn't need to exist to show how much easier absorbing the Spark is for not-Ashton.

[masterqwertster]

I know pretty much everyone's minds went to giving Fearne the Rau'shan spark because Fire. But I honestly want to see it go to Ashton.

Take the risk, become Super Titan.

I mean, a volcano theme (earth/fire) actually fits pretty well with the possibility and potential of the Luxon/dunamis. Volcanoes are some of the most fertile soil out there, the creation of new land, new life. They can also be destructive as hell when they go off. Lava and ash burning, choking, destroying. The possibility and potential to create and destroy, a cycle of death and rebirth, all in one.

Besides, if Fjord can stuff Pacts to three different divinities into his body, Ashton should be able to stuff three different shards of god-like entities into their body.