The Tragedy of Tiphareth and Nureyev.
Third post in a row bay beee
Too bad this one's sad.
During the second arc of this campaign, when the players were still trying to find special magic items to let them pop the magic bubble they'd lived their entire lives under.
It turned out that one of them was the price (a tiara) for winning a race. So first they had to secure a sponsor (They got fantasy Budweiser) to basically give them a spot in the race.
Plot conveniently, they needed 3 people. We have 3 players. They already had a driver, too!
His name was Tempest. I had already picked his personality out, and then realized I had basically made an Aasimar version of Peter Nureyev from The Penumbra podcast's Juno Steele and the _________ line of stories.
That image stuck with me, as you'll see. I even did my best to do his voice.
So, the day before the race... Tempest, who had already been flirty towards Tiph, the Paladin, asked him on a date. Tiph blue-screened for a minute, and had to go call his older sister on a stone of far speech to say like "Hey what do I do if I like a boy and a boy likes me and he asks me on a date and I want to go?"
So their date mostly consisted of Tempest doing cool driving tricks, and claiming to be from outside the bubble, but then laughing about it. They had a cliffside picnic, and they shared a brief kiss before Tempest ominously insisted that "No matter what happens after the race tomorrow, all of this was real. These feelings, these moments, that kiss."
I should note at this point that I had NO IDEA where I was going with this character at this point, just that I knew he would be tied to the main plot.
So they do some cool whacky racers stuff, and win the tiara. Tempest takes it, and dives off a cliff. When they look after him, they see a portal close, and nothing else.
BUT dun dun dun, turns out the tiara he stole was a fake that they bring to the physical race. The real one is back in a vault for safekeeping, specifically to keep ppl from stealing it like this.
So they go to the vault, and find a note that just says "I know it was a fake" along with the real tiara. Which means he intentionally stole the fake. Why????
SO during the next arc, it turns out that Tiph's family has some dealings with these artifacts. That his family is trying to stop the party from collecting them, and they have 2 out of 3 now. The track the third to an auction house. It had been sold. Who else could be there investigating but Tempest. They ask him, "Like, what the fuck?" And he basically says "Tempest? Never heard of him. My name's Defiance." And he grins and I ended the session.
Next session, while Tiph was busy losing all his trust for everyone and everything and blue-screening, The Warlock cast Suggestion and basically made Tempest/Defiance leave for the rest of the arc.
They track down the item, it turns out Tiph's family are drug dealers and popping the bubble will interfere with their business plan. See, they have a deal with someone on the outside. They basically push a cart full of supplies through every now and then. No sapient life can go through, but cart's full of Fantasy Meth can.
So Tiph doesn't hardly trust ANYONE now. But then Tempest/Defiance shows up. He says that he was working for Tiph's family to help the party. He says they won't believe him without proof of what he has to say next. So they pop the bubble and, at Tempest/Defiance's word, go to a town further from home than they've ever been.
They are looking for a book, one that doesn't exist inside the bubble. A history test. A specific history text. On the way, Tiph and Tempest have a moment. Tiph basically says "Look, I really liked you, and I've never liked anyone like that. So for you to go and just disappear, to not tell me what's going on... I can't trust you. I don't even know your real name."
And that's when Tempest just sighs and says "Nureyev. Peter Nureyev."
Tiph laughs and says "That's a horrible name."
Nureyev laughs and says "I know, that's how you know I'm telling the truth."
So they go to a library, kill some devils, and find this 400 year old history book. It's written by....... Peter Nureyev. And it has an illustration of the four of them, labeled something like "The heroes who formed the bubble"
Dun dun dun....
SO, Nureyev is like "OK, now that you know that you have been to the past, and that I met you then, and that I am 400 years old, I really have no more secret. I will answer all your questions."
Of course, this absolutelt SHATTERED what little trust Tiph had left. He was a very broken man for a while. The only details important from this next part are that
1. Tiph and Nureyev had been at least sort of dating when they met before, the degree to which they were together was not clear.
2. Nureyev had just wanted one more day with Tiph, because he knew he wouldn't likely get more. That's why he was shady about it at first. It was the best explanation I could give since I didn't really plan at all, I just opened my mouth and plot came out.
So the three of them travel back in time. They meet young!Nureyev. Unlime his future persona, he is a timid priest of Torm. He is a huge need, and he specializes in monster lore. He's awkward and shy and, if I may say so, very cute.
Tiph and him do grow closer. It takes Nureyev literally six months to work up the courage to ask Tiph on a date. That went well, but I OOG ruined it by making a small joke and then ugly laughing about it for 10 minutes (which I hated.)
They go through a lot together. About a year in, when Nureyev has already fallen painfully in love with Tiph (I'm skipping a lot here), He finds out that Tiph is from the future. They argue just a little bit, but ultimately, Nureyev is fine with it until the moment Tiph says something about how they'll never work out because of it. He knows that Nureyev has to spend the next 400 years doing spy shit, and becoming a very very different person. And he's right. So Nureyev reluctantly leaves. They continue to work together for 4 years, until they form the bubble and accomplish all their goals in the past (Including acquiring the Book of Exalted Deeds). They go back to the present.
It had been about 15 minutes for Old!Nureyev. And he looked like he hurt so much more. He just simply said "I'm glad you're back." But the pain, the love, the longing in his eyes was clear.
So they had two weeks before the final attack on the Lich's tower. Amidst preparations, which Nureyev was gone for half of since he had to go rally the armies, Tiph and Nureyev finally talked. It was the night before the assault. Nureyev wanted to ask, one more time, if it could ever work between them.
Tiph assured him that it could not. Nureyev nodded, and switched to talking about tactics and such.
It's going to be really tough because in one of the games, which I will eventually detail the rules for, you see multiple copies of "The person you love most".
For Tiph, that's probably his older sister.
For Nureyev.... His family has all been gone for centuries. Tiph is the only person alive he loves at all.
And at this point, I'm wondering if it's better to complete the tragic arc and kill Nureyev in the final session, or if he really can go back to his quiet coastal home town, and just be a priest and a nerd for monsters again. The party has known him both when he was too afraid to lift a sword, and when he was prepared to ramp a fantasycar off a rock to do a sick flip in the air. They knew him when he shook at the idea of seeing a Beholder in person, and at a time when he isn't even flyinching in front of a lich.
I guess the question is... Does Nureyev even know who he is anymore?
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