#maybe keyleth is ruidus born

[finncakes]

thinking about her (will of the air ashari)

[3hobbitsinatrenchcoat]

I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the very heart of me

Dorym Week, Day Two! (we aren't talking about these early EST upload times >.>) Today's work was inspired by the song prompt: "My life was a storm since I was born, how could I fear any hurricane?" ~ Francesca - Hozier

Title is from Aragorn's speech before the black gates because I couldn't help myself XD

I’ll post all my drabbles to AO3 later, but for now enjoy them here on tumblr.

(Beware minor spoilers for Episode 95)

-----

The first thing Orym noticed as he felt the snap of teleportation magic release was the bitter, biting cold. 

He thought he was used to the cold; Zephrah’s place above the clouds meant that even the longest summer days were cool and the winters could be brutal. But Zephrah had nothing on the endless expanse of blinding white he saw when he opened his eyes, the air so cold he could feel his breath become brittle before it ever left his mouth.

Suddenly glad for the layers he had bought before leaving Zadash, Orym wrapped his arms tightly across his chest and squinted across the barren landscape. In some deeply unsettling way it reminded him of the desert surface of Ruidus, only cold and pale instead of vibrant bloody red. 

Behind him he could hear the murmurs of the rest of the Hells getting their bearings. Well… some were murmuring.

“Fuck! That’s frigid!” Ashton’s voice rose above everyone else for a moment and Orym bit back a laugh. 

“I’m not sure what you expected from a snowy wasteland,” drawled Dorian, a familiar lilt to his tone that told Orym he was also holding back humor. 

“I mean. Snow. Obviously.” snapped Ashton, though there was little bite to their words. “Shit, godsdamn it… I’m sinking. Fearne can you…”

“Well, if you wanted to climb me like a tree all you had to do was…”

Orym tuned out whatever Fearne said next as a gloved hand landed on his shoulder, squeezing lightly. He looked up into Dorian’s face and felt his heart skip at the small smile he found there. Reaching up, he patted his own mittened hand against Dorian’s. The genasi’s smile widened a fraction before his gaze flicked away to take in the desolate view. Orym watched uneasily as the smile fell into a grim stoicism that was becoming more and more common with his friend.

“When Lady Keyleth said we would be heading to the ruins of Aeor I honestly expected a more visible city,” he said after a moment.

“That is because most of the city is buried,” Essek said, gliding past them to peer into the distance. He turned his head slightly to glance over his shoulder with a small twitch of his lips. “And to avoid scattering our remains across several miles of tundra wasteland I had to teleport us well outside of the crash site. As my dear partner would say: Magic does some… funny things closer to the ruins. ”

“Well that’s good to know,” muttered Dorian under his breath, quietly enough that Orym knew no one else could hear. “It’s not like every single one of us relies on magic to survive or anything.”

Orym squeezed his hand tighter. “It’s alright, Dor. We have each other’s backs if things go wrong.”

“I know. I just…” Dorian let out an explosive sigh, breath a cloud of fog in the frigid air. “It’s strange, I think. To be venturing into the ancient ruins of a city so much like my own childhood home and yet so very alien.”

“It’s alright to be worried,” Orym said. “I think we all are, especially after the last few days.”

Dorian turned to face him fully, pulling his hand away only to kneel in the snow in front of Orym, bringing their eyes level. “I’m not afraid,” he said, taking Orym’s hands in his own. “How could I fear Aeor… how could I fear anything with you by my side?”

Orym ducked his head, breaking the eye contact that made his heart flutter in his throat. “Quite easily, I’d imagine.”

“Maybe,” Dorian’s hand cupped the side of Orym’s cheek, warm through the leather of his glove. “But it won’t be so bad if we face it together.”

“Maybe not,” Orym agreed quietly, letting Dorian lift his face back into eye contact. “We’ve weathered other storms before, how is this any different?”

Eiselcross’s chill might be biting and bitter, but Dorian’s gentle smile warms Orym all the way to his toes. “Because this time I’m not leaving your side.”

[aeruthien]

To add on to my other post, it totally was Orym's call to tell Keyleth about Imogen and Liliana, especially because he immediately followed it up with "I vouch for her".

Imogen is walking around displaying the Ruidus born lighting marks, and has clothes that match her purple hair. She looks a lot like Liliana and she is not exactly trying to hide it.

Keyleth is Orym's leader and commanding officer, especially now that they are at war. He has a duty to tell her everything. It was also reasonable to expect that Keyleth already knew, so it was better to be upfront about it and dispel any doubts.

Would it have been nice if they'd discussed it before hand? Maybe. But Orym does not need Imogen's permission to tell his leader about her connection with the woman that trapped the Champion of Ravens and helped kill more than two dozen of their people, especially because he did it to make sure Keyleth knows that he trusts her.

[skeine]

So the Tree of Atrophy's vision implies that Exandria will survive Predathos's release and abandonment as it chases the gods: "left below, the blue waters and green of the world lay bare". Implying left uncorrupted, but no longer protected by higher powers from greater threats. But what's to prevent new gods from sliding into the vacuum left behind? Or new elder evils from razing the world? Or other planar threats like mind flayers or githyanki or demon hordes?

I wonder if Ludinus accounted for this in his plan. Because according to Ira, the Malleus Key was designed to moor the moon. We're assuming that was for long enough to use the solstice to break the cage around Ruidus, but what if it was also designed to do exactly what it's doing now? Open a crack and just hold it?

The leyline disruption Keyleth and Imogen are sensing suggests that, much like Moleasmyr's spreading corruption, Predathos's power could be infecting the whole leyline network and spreading its influence across the world.

Ludinus's notes went on about his admiration of Ruidisborn and their power, its source something intrinsically antithetical to the gods. How many children have been born near a Ruidis-infected leyline or nexus in the last couple weeks? How many regular folks living their lives near a leyline or nexus have been continuously exposed to Ruidus's flare through it for days on end now? This could be creating a massive new cohort of Ruidis-touched, maybe even Exaltants, all across Exandria.

I wonder if this extended solstice isn't just due to the Bells Hells' interference, but was actually part of Ludinus's plan all along—his gift to the world. A massive part of the population now manifesting powers that brand them, willingly or not, as enemies of the gods. Who pass this inheritance on to their children and grandchildren. A new breed of mortals beholden to no divinity, with the power to defend their independence from any threat that comes in the wake of the gods' abandonment. With the power to challenge the dominance of the gods' chosen, should Ludinus's plans fail, or if he succeeds, to defend themselves against new gods and new planar threats that may rise from the void left behind.

After all, why rely on a capricious eldritch horror to save the people when you can give them the means to save themselves?

I love the possibilities this could open up for the future of Exandria. Ordinary people with these strange new abilities popping up across the land, challenging the social order, threatening vested interests fighting to hold onto their position and influence, being conscripted by the powers that be to prop up their rule, trying to just live their lives and realizing that power also means those who will try to exploit it...

Yeah, very interested what this could mean for campaign 4

[12pt-times-new-roman]

y'all I'm not fucking ready for this.

How many weeks in a row is this with no DDB sponsor?

Matt is dressed in Ruidus colors. fear

personally? I think it would be very funny if somebody replaced Liam's chair with one that's a foot shorter than everyone else's.

I'm fully expecting Ira to be a Garmellie/Artagan situation. This motherfucker is an archfey slumming it on Exandria and ancient god-killing wizard dilfs are his dive bar of choice.

Ira was around for at least one previous apogee solstice, but he was in the Feywild when it happened so he didn't get to see the true extent of is power.

"What do you think about the gods?" "I don't think about them." good answer, good answer

Aberrations and other "mythological creatures" born on solstices (even normal ones) are particularly powerful.

The circlet prevents Imogen from hearing the thoughts of people around her. It just eliminates that entirely. And with it goes most of the reasons she'd have to side with Ludinus and Otohan. Truly the peak of non-wizard mortal hubris, to consider killing the gods before looking for an item or a spell to solve your problem first

Sending to Keyleth from Imogen: "We're a couple hours out, to the southwest. Are we meeting up? Just going for it? Help?" "I'm gathering those of able-body who recovered from our last endeavor. I'll look for a tree. Let me know when you need the cavalry; our arrival isn't quiet."

"I go over and give Fearne a big hug." "Aww—" "I reach into her pocket." never change, Ashton

A ways out from the crater, the Bells Hells come upon a structure in the storm — the wood and stone wreckage of a skyship that carried a cathedral on it. It's mangled and burned; the brumestone has been scavenged. It looks recent, and the outer hull is covered in mounts for heavy armor, harpoons, and cannons, but it was brought down by battle on the deck, not by massive damage to the outer hull. The iconography indicates that it was from Vasselheim, possibly a Judicator ship.

jesus fucking christ. Matt could not say "DO NOT GO THROUGH WITH CRASHING THE SHIP" any more clearly.

if that dispel pulse is shutting down the automatons briefly, then maybe it's not actually intentional. maybe it's a by-product, an unintended consequence.

it never ceases to amaze me that without fail and across all of his characters, Travis manages to be both the voice of "fuck it we ball" and the person who slows down combat to calm players.

like, does CritRoleStats keep track of how many combat encounters each PC has started? bc Chetney has got to be up there with Imogen this campaign

this battle music has the same opening notes as the 2001 theme and now I can't hear anything else

The spellcaster has a +6 spell attack, but also cast hold person at 5th level and did 15 damage on a fire bolt, so they're most likely 9th level with a +2 spellcasting ability modifier.

Ashton rage build update: 2 on the d4 is the space build (portals!). they took the Crusher feat for their 8th level ASI. also, when the space build is active, they can use portals (either as a bonus action or as a result of hitting a creature or as a result of bringing a creature to 0 hp) to teleport to any space they can see within 30 or 60 feet of them.

As a reminder, shock flare is a reskin of arms of hadar, but it pushes creatures away instead of preventing them from taking reactions and deals lightning damage instead of necrotic.

Tal saying "five foot step" gave me hella flashbacks to Pathfinder 1e

"Well, I don't get to choose, do I? Let's just go with it." god fucking damnit. Ashton's rage abilities and how fucking random they are is so poetically and narratively intwined with the themes of this campaign, it's wild

it will never not amuse me that Matt, without fail, misunderstands the way the command spell works. it's super minor and not a big deal but as someone with a DM who's pretty on-top of it, it's very funny

Imogen gets pulled into a tent by a very quick and quiet force.

"Who are you, and why are you fighting the Vanguard?" "I've got friends coming in. Friends or enemies?" "I asked you first." "The question isn't why! It's 'are you fighting too'?" "Who are you with?" "

oh my god of fucking COURSE there are already infiltrators in here. of course there are. why wouldn't there be? Ryn didn't come here alone.

BEAUREGARD???

BEAUREGARD!!!!

y'all you have no fucking idea how excited I am——

"He can go say hi to the rest of his friends we've put there [in jail]." how fucking many of the Cerberus Assembly are in jail now? we know Trent is in there but who else?

CALEB!!!! blorbo!!!

"So. What's the play here, Beauregard?"

They're both friends to the Verity, and they've worked with Ryn before. They came here with her, trying to do a recon mission before she was taken.

The Children of Malice are a front for the Ruby Vanguard.

Caleb and Beau saw the other skyship go down. It was from Vasselheim. The Vanguard struck the skyship from the sky at Ludinus' request, though Caleb hasn't seen any sign of Ludinus being in the crater for many days. But the perpetual dispel pulse was intentionally installed.

Caleb, Beau, and Ryn were all on the Shadowfell team — they were able to damage the key, but unable to completely destroy it.

Caleb refers to Ludinus as the most powerful of the assembly, "the one who could topple it all" if he goes down. He and Beau came here alone;

The entire site is illusion-proofed, there's a dispel wave every minute. There are also mage-hunter golems here, which we've only ever heard of existing inside the Heirloom Sphere. I am forcibly reminded of the fact that Ludinus Da'leth is aware of the Happy Fun Ball.

"The absolute, absurd amount of muscles she has—" "Like Marisha?" *raised eyebrow* Matthew. (fuckin' simp (affectionate))

Ludinus has been reverse-engineering Aeorian technology and using distilled dunamis energy to power it, with multiple mesh-like power sources. He's "obsessed" with divinity and appears to be "counting on opposition, which makes [Beau] uneasy."

"What's dunabis?" "...there isn't time to lecture. It's a very obtuse form of magic that exists between the fabric of all other forms of power. It's one of the oldest and most fundamental forces within Exandria and beyond. It can alter time, space, probability, entropy — it is dangerous in the wrong hands, and unfortunately, a very strong source of it has been in the hands of Ludinus and the Assembly for some time." The 'very strong source' is presumably the beacon, which Ludinus has had since 835 PD.

The Cobalt Soul has been trying to nail down Ludinus for a long time, but "he's always one step ahead."

Caleb specifically refers to dunamis as chaotic, referencing Ashton.

Ludinus has apparently been doing this outside of the Assembly. Caleb's contact in the Assembly (Astrid, presumably) notes that even the rest of the Assembly is afraid to get involved in Ludinus' plans.

Halas, Trent, and "Bendathar" are in Beau's list of archmages they've fucked up.

Hey! Beau knows the Ashari! that's cool. She also knows Ira and his history of designing the keys.

There are dozens of mirrors and hook-like spires facing toward the key itself. Everything is reinforced with a massive amount of residuum — the device, the walls of the excavation site, and everything beyond. "An all-out assault would be far too dangerous." Caleb gives a sending stone to Chetney, who gives it to Laudna, under the assumption that the groups are going to split up to cover more ground.

given the fact that the solstice didn't actually happen this episode and that the Mighty Nein and the Crown Keepers are now attached to this, I feel like my "PFS2 special scenario" theory has some more merit

Beau disappears, Caleb goes invisible (they both start to circle around), and the Bells Hells start to descend the crater.

also, last minute update: Fearne would have flirted incessantly with both Beau and Caleb.

threads that have connected in this episode:

Missing residuum shipments: the malleus key and its surroundings are reinforced with residuum. that's a massive amount; it's possible that Trent's supply of residuum, the stuff the Nameless Ones stole, and the stuff the Paragon's Call were trafficking were probably all going here.

The Cobalt Soul and the Cerberus Assembly: It takes a long, long time to dismantle political systems. The Cobalt Soul has apparently imprisoned more Assembly members than just Trent.

Out-of-the-blue rolls: Those random rolls Matt had Marisha and Liam make were indeed rolls for the Shadowfell expedition that Beau, Caleb, and Ryn were involved with. They rolled shitty, so the Shadowfell key wasn't entirely destroyed, but was damaged.

[thisisnotthenerd]

so we know ludinus needed a sliver of divinity to make the malleus key work. everything hinged on the vanguard getting vax into an orb. for the pursuit of perfection, that’s not a super stable thing to hinge a 1000-year plan on.

A few thoughts on that:

the attacks on zephrah had to be them trying to either test out whether vax would show or just trying to get the lens done as early as possible. potentially the nonresurrection poison was part of that--we know in his duties as champion he ushers souls to the beyond--by ensuring that the souls of the people they killed had to pass on, they could guarantee him being there

the backpack had to have something to do with that beyond the echo knight class abilities. extracting dunamis, manipulating fate which directly interferes with the duskmaven’s sphere of influence, something to that effect. making vax a ziggurat orb in a reversal or different implementation of the ritual of seeding maybe?

liliana or ludinus or someone referred to the ruidus born as seeds at some point during the crazy monologue action sequence. mooring cables on a bridge but also seeds. hm.

it took a full wish, scanlan’s final wish, to get vax to vex’s wedding. there’s no way he could just pop out every time keyleth was on the cusp of death. i’m guessing now that the raven queen would have had him on watch for that poison/dunamis? and its misuse by the paragon’s call. Otohan probably had keyleth down enough to use the poison, especially with that stun as to give advantage. while him simply coming for her is compelling, i think there has to be more to it than that from the raven queen’s side of things. the combination of the paragon’s call all calling on her image, the nonrez magic, keyleth, and  ludinus for some kind of life extension nonsense/fate manipulation/mass sacrifice all would be draws and impetus for her to send in her hand. It could not have just been keyleth on the verge of death

vax got orbed for his relationship to the raven queen--the sliver of divinity. the nature of his mortal soul is probably in question, but that’s not what’s being used to power the malleus key. proximity to the beacon, restrained as it is, may start causing issues with that. not consecution, but the luxon has many weird abilities, and i wouldn’t be surprised if something happened. more problems to deal with as they arise.

also pretty ironic that this huge plan to get the gods eaten by their natural predator relies on at least two major sources of divine power--luxon + duskmaven through vax.

for now i think we���re looking at a slower apocalypse than may have been expected. the predathos plan went off with several hitches: no fey key, damage in the shadowfell, less arcane power than expected, and an enormous power surge like that of imogen’s previous. the beam is going, for now. potential for time and space dilation with a surge this close to the luxon.

they have split party time to get into chetney’s, fcg’s, and ashton’s backstories based on the locations: uthodurn first for the wildemount group and moving forward to aeor from there, and maybe investigation into hishari for the issylra?? group? potential for guests is there, especially if either half of bell’s hells runs into the crown keepers again. or if they find reani in uthodurn. she’s probably more likely to be an npc at this stage, but the possibility is there, however slim.

[amihyperfixatingagain]

hello hello! I’ve read some of your posts about Ludinus and the matron and I wanted to add that in ep 19 (doing a rewatch) it’s mentioned that one of the important figures who were somewhat believed to be ruidusborn was in fact the matron of ravens…

If she is, what if she was able to send Vax there at the key because she felt the pull from ruidus all along? what if she had dreams about it? what if she’s an exaltant as well?

Howdy! Thanks for the ask; I love theorizing like this!

Oooooo, talk about a long con! Using her ascension to get close to the gods, maybe to learn more about Predathos, and then building a following under the guise of religion that’ll eventually be responsible for releasing the God Eater. Fucking fascinating. 

I've been asking myself ever since our raven boy got orbed, "Why him?" And this idea may lend some answers to that. Now I personally love Vax and his whole story with the Matron in C1, so I’d like to believe that if she did ascend with the intent of using her newfound power to help release Predathos, something made her change her mind…  So let's start there:

Maybe she absorbed the previous god of death’s memories, hoping to learn how to break the divine cage around Ruidus, and instead realized how catastrophic that idea could be. Her newfound closeness with the prime deities most likely revealed a lot of new information to her.

Maybe ending up behind the divine gate after the calamity helped diminish the “pull” from Predathos, and she could finally think more freely. 

Maybe she’s been able to keep the “pull” at bay for centuries, but during this particular Apogee Solstice, the tug was uniquely strong, and she couldn’t help but send Vax. (I like to think he actually went to Keyleth against the Matron's orders, but that's beside the point.) 

Maybe she sent Vax there not knowing Ludinus’s intent/plan but just cause she felt she “needed” to. There’s the "pull" again...

The Matron is very neutral to me (and so far canonically, she’s as true neutral as you can get), so it’s hard to believe that she could be secretly evil, or at least intentionally secretly evil. So, if she is Ruidus born and potentially an Exaltant, is she resisting the call much like Imogen is, or does she not even know she's being beckoned?

On the other hand, The Matron consciously participating in the release of Predathos as a god herself is enthralling. Has Predathos promised not to eat her in the same way it's (theoretically) told Ludinus it won't eat Exandria? Did Predathos tell her how to ascend?

Based on my other theory, which you can read here, if the Matron was Ludinus's mother; was she teaching him about Predathos before she ascended? Did she just plant seeds in his brain? Or was this a more fleshed-out plan from the beginning? Was Vespin involved? Was releasing the Betrayers and starting The Calamity part of the plan? A failed distraction, maybe? The potential story threads with this idea are endless.

This is such a fun premise to explore! Thanks again for the excuse to continue speculating!

[mansionofhaunts]

I wonder what the decision making process was for who was in each group, because I feel pretty confident that he intentionally split the beginning groups for drama, but who went where is interesting and I assume intentional.

Let’s see: Imogen and Fearne were Ruidus born, so maybe whatever happened sent them further away for some reason (Imogen’s mom getting her away, perhaps). Chetney got sent to his backstory land (and also had a red moon storyline). FCG is...interesting, in this case, because he doesn’t have any connection to the moon, but he does to pre-Calamity stuff (and I bet we run into Devexian out there)

Ashton’s got the beacon in his head, and I’m guessing that if, say, Essek investigates, he’s gonna get some backstory. We don’t know what happened with the rest of the Ashari, and Orym could make contact with them, since they’re still nearby. And Laudna? That feels like Matt pulling some strings for drama on purpose, plus she’s got her own weird connection to Vox Machina, who definitely want to know what the fuck just happened to Keyleth. 

It’s very funny that all the healers are on one side of the planet and all the tanks are on the other, though

[non-neutoniangender]

Alright, new scarf, new CR episode, its the one where all the shit goes down babey!!!!

God the way Erika changed the way she dressed and held herself is hella impressive. Really serves to sell the change on this changeling.

And the contrast with Birdie is wild

Oh hot damn Erika really pulling out all the stops!! I love this.

Man this changeling chose a bad race to try to seduce Orym

NO

Sam mutherfucking reigel you didn't have to wear THAT costume, you know. Also why did it take me this long to notice damn. God this man goes too far.

Holy shit!! Fearne is Ruidus born!!!!! First 100% confirmed (Not counting Imogen because she's only having the dreams and doesn't 1000% know)

Also holy shit Fearne you didn't have to stab a bitch about it.

Imogen's face during the whisper holy shit

THE POLARIOD!?!?!? fucking brilliant

ELABORATE!!

I love Taliesin Jaffe

F to the bead lolol

Oooooo another connection to the Nightmare King!!! (He's gonna be the big bad)

Ooooo moon lore!!!

Hit damn Birdie is right to be untrustworthy, but like I feel like if she said everything she knew, there would be a shit ton of connected dots.

Moontide crown.... what a cool name

So THATS why Ira knew Fearne

Apogee solstice... hmmmmm (I haven't finished Calamity yet)

Holy shit Yu is coming for the group sense of community.... uh oh

Damn Birdie really needs to get her head on straight

Also is that residuum!?!?

Not the trying to be inconspicuous about asking for someone's passive perception lolol

Orym is being a petty little bitch and I love him for it. He deserves being petty over someone trying to get in his pants while he doesn't seem to be oclver the death of his husband yet

Fearne's mom is so proud of her stealing!!!!

Back on it with Ley Lines and apogee solstice, god I need to watch Calamity

Wait..... does this all tie Keyleth to this research!?!?!? Because she was attacked.

Vasselheim...... what an interesting name drop.........

Ruidis is new..........ish

Wait I just remembered that damn moon fanatic from Uthodurn. I hope he's okay.

Old gods that are forgotten..... omg gods imprisoned in the moon...... thats some final fantasy bullshit.

Oh my god I love how Matt ties everything together. Like this world is alive and people are doing things beyond the scope of the campaigns.

I love when someone name drops and NPC and the whole cast scrambles to remember where they've heard of them before.

Oh my god, everyone knows everyone else!!!! Matt this is fantastic!

Awww laudna and Imogen sharing the rickety ass trailer

Also these skirmish crawlers are just like them pokemon from Scarlet/Violet!!!

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Scarf update, got like an inch of the new scarf done but am like maybe a third of the way done with another I'm working on.

This was such a good episode! I loved all the connections and I can't wait to see this whole campaign pick up!

[the-matron-of-ravens]

If you want my (very very long) actual thoughts as to why here they are:

1) I’ve said it before but a good portion of the Critter fandom just seems to straight up dislike Sam. Or at the very least have no tolerance for the way he pushes buttons. He plays most things for laughs, doesn’t give the *romance* and deep emotional vibes nearly as often, but when he does it slaps you upside the face and is often really PVP oriented.

For reference: “What’s my mother’s name?” “This was YOUR people” and “You were never alive to begin with”

That’s partly why I think the discourse started early. FCG is intentionally rough around the edges and not necessarily in the more attractive (Sad Traumatized Gay Girl) vibes of Imogen/Laudna. Instead he’s openly judgmental (something also said about Orym), he’s openly ignorant, is a Bad Therapist, and thinks he knows how to help people when he doesn’t even know what it means to be a person yet. These are all traits that cause tension and conflict in ways the fandom seems to not tolerate very well.

2) there also seems to be a subsection of the fandom that reads Orym as a Cop or Cop-like figure. Again I point to the belief that Orym is judgmental (or at least MORE judgmental than anyone else). I’ve seen metas about how Orym is prejudiced against Laudna and Imogen because they’re different and because Imogen is Ruidus born (but not because she and Laudna have openly wondered multiple times if The Ruby Vanguard - who murdered his husband and father - are right and Correct Actually. Because why would he have a right to be upset about that? )

TBH, I think people see him as a Downer and as a a Boring Lawful Cop Character who is just mopey and never got over his dead husband and is holding it against Imogen and Laudna.

For reference: see the reaction to Orym telling Keyleth who imogen’s mom is, the lack of attention to the fallout if he HADN’T and Keyleth had known he hid it from her (when we know she already had suspicions), and the horror that he might have deeper loyalties than to the people he met three months ago.

3) Laudna (and to some extent Imogen but maybe less? It’s unclear) became a LOT of peoples’ Blorbo and certainly the ones they relate most strongly too.

This has seemed to generate a lot of protective/uwu feelings. (This isn’t judgmental I’ve had the same feelings for other characters before too).

However this has seemed to manifest in pretty intense reactions to anything/anyone seemingly Against Laudna/Imogen

4) finally and maybe the most?

I think for a LOT of people their Real Life feelings of Religion and God/s is being activated by this campaign. They have legitimate and understandable trauma/distrust/etc. about religion and it’s bleeding through EVERYWHERE.

Like I’ve seen people talk about FCG being a zealot when he’s openly questioning his faith in conversations to the Changebringer. Taking issue with him loudly declaring his faith but having no problem with others loudly declaring their lack of faith and even wondering of if the gods deserve to exist at all.

I’ve even seen some conversations where it extends to Sam (who ISNT EVEN CHRISTIAN. He’s a Jew - like myself - and we argue about this shit all the time). I think the vast majority of CR’s fandom is operating from a Evangelical Christianity is the baseline and it’s coloring everything they see with FCG and Sam.

IRL, a lot of people want those in Religious and Lawful Power to suffer and fail because me/we have been hurt by them. I think that’s bleeding over into how FCG and Orym are being read.

To end, fandom is very very very bad at nuance. And all of the BH are more nuanced than they’re being given credit for.

Like, it’s understandable for Laudna to almost kill FCG and to actually kill Bor’dor when betrayed because she was triggered.

It’s understandable that Imogen lost control and leveled an *entire city block* because Laudna was killed and she lost control.

It’s understandable - and cool actually - that Fearne didn’t fully heal FCG because she was mad at him for hurting Laudna and he almost died because of it.

(Meanwhile all of Bells Hells readily accept all of the divine healing FCG has to give (which to my memory he’s never denied someone) no matter how much they hate the source of it.)

It’s even understandable that Chetney lost control at the Ruidus flare and almost bit Orym or Fearne (and DID bite FRIDA).

But it’s NOT okay for FCG to also lose control and go Murderbot. He’s an abusive monster for doing so.

It’s NOT okay for Orym to be incapable of keeping others in line anymore - and even more it’s HIS fault for Laudna losing control cause he didn’t reign her in.

Like I want to be so clear I don’t actually hold ill will for any of them for any of this. It’s juicy conflict and delicious. But I am getting very annoyed at the very prevalent double standards, seemingly because those characters don’t have the opinions fans like.

And I also hate the part of me that is worried I’ll lose followers for being Too Negative or not having the Right Opinions but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[isagrimorie]

So on my continued rewatch of Legends of Vox Machina, I remember Matt Mercer saying, jokingly: "You're all Ruidus Born!"

He said it jokingly but maybe not.

Because Sam Riegel said Ruidus was around during the whole Whitestone uprising, so I checked and:

And yes, Ruidus is there right next to Catha.

This was the moment when Keyleth parted the clothes and the light of both Ruidus and Catha shone down on Whitestone.

And the most interesting shot of Delilah going down the massive steps with Catha and Ruidus shining above her.

Look at how strategically the clouds opened up in the De Rolo family sigil but also, Keyleth made it easier for the twin reflected lights from Catha and Ruidus (which seems to flare) to shine down on the Sun Tree.

Where the Sun Tree effigies are still hanging.

Including one Matilda Bradbury.

I'm not sure how similar the events of Campaign 1 are to LOVM at this time, but Delilah wasted no time in waking the dead of Whitestone.

Including

The Sun Tree effigies.

Matilda may not be Ruidus born but Laudna (at least in animated LOVM) is Ruidus Reborn.

[natureismynature]

I need to get this out of my mind so I'm gonna write a long ass post about it bdbdbs-

I'm not sure where I read the theory about the seed that Orym got from Niirdal-poc being the seed for a new Tree of Names, but yeah that theory is a thing and I love it.

I just wanted to add a few things based on the recent events in the campaign.

So, ya'll know how the Gray Assassins are killing off members of the Grim Verity? But like, the big question is why they attacked Zephra six years prior? Some people speculate that it's because Keyleth is a Ruidus born or maybe Will was actually the real target because he's a Ruidus born. But I don't think that's the case, because the Gray Assassins weren't killing Ruidus borns, they were killing Grim Verity members.

So why attack Zephra and try to harm the leader? Well! Here's where my theory comes in.

The Grim Verity is an organization that is trying to find out what the fuck is up with Ruidus, why would anyone kill them off? To keep a secret. To prevent people from trying to stop whatever is going to happen. If no one knows what's up, then why do anything about it? Right?

And now, we know that there's most likely a god or something in Ruidus. A veil that looked so much like the Divine Gate surrounds the moon, it's keeping something in that we all know it wants out. So, it's safe to assume that the Gray Assassins is on its side, they want it out, they're helping it try to get out by eliminating people who are threats. Which is why they tried the leader of the Ashari.

Why, you ask? Well, remember the Tree of Names? Remember who planted it in Avalir? Remember what it was for?

The Tree of Names was from the Gau Drashari, the Ashari's ancestors. It was a pen. What was the pen writing? Protection. From what? Primordials and gods.

The Gray Assassins attempted to kill of Keyleth because she was a big threat to their plans whether she knew it or not. She was the leader of the community that almost succeeded on protecting the Material Plane from primordials and gods physically coming into Exandria. They couldn't let someone like that live.

Then why didn't they try again you say? Well, maybe they realized they were outnumbered. Maybe they realized they needed to regroup and try again later. OR they realized that Keyleth trully did not know what was going on, thus, she would not be trying to stop their plans any time soon.

That's where Orym and his mysterious Niirdal-poc seed comes in. Yes, Keyleth wasn't aware about her people's connection to the history of Exandria, she didn't have what her ancestors had. The help of a god. Or should I say, godess.

Mt. Ygora, the mountain where Cathmoira is built on and where Avalir is from, is the mountain where two primordials were sealed. By who you ask? The Dawnfather and the Wildmother. You know who's secret city is Niirdal-poc? The Wildmother.

"You're an Ashari, aren't you?" - Thrascuur, the tetrarch of the city of Niirdal-poc after Orym asks why they would give him a seed. Why the hell does being an Ashari have to do anything with making mystery seeds from a prophet of a godess grow?

Unless that seed was the key to help save the world.

So yeah, Keyleth didn't have the key to ruin the Gray Assassins' plans. But Orym did.

Tl;dr: The Gray Assassins tried to kill Keyleth because they thought she was a threat, but they didn't think a small halfing widow would be the biggest threat to their plans instead.

[thevalleyisjolly]

There have been theories that the attack on Zephrah was actually targeting Orym, but because of his proximity to Keyleth as a Tempest Blade, it was assumed that she was the target.  What if the attackers’ reason for targeting Orym -perhaps not even to kill, maybe just to capture- was because Tarrintel, his father, was involved in or working on something to do with Ruidus?

We know Tarrintel wasn’t really around, and I think Orym said at some point that Derrig was the father figure in his life.  What if Tarrintel was Ruidus-born, or Orym was Ruidus-born and like the Calloways, Tarrintel left to find out information/do something about Ruidus?  Somewhere along the line, he runs afoul of mysterious personages also interested in Ruidus, and they somehow learn that Tarrintel has ties to the Air Ashari, maybe even that he has a son.

So the person behind the attack orders the strike on Zephrah, perhaps as a threat or to capture Orym and use him as leverage.  Maybe they did or did not know that Orym was a Tempest Blade, but they miscalculated in the timing of their attack because they struck right when Orym was on duty near Keyleth, and Level 20 archdruids are basically gods.  Will dies though, protecting Orym, and the attackers quickly retreat when they realize they are massively outclassed. 

Additional thoughts:

So far, there haven’t been any reports of similar attacks at Pyrah, Terrah, or Vesrah, suggesting that this wasn’t about the Ashari or the Elemental Rifts, but something more targeted and personal.

In a similar vein, there haven’t been any further attacks of similar character against the Ashari since, and Orym left Zephrah some time after the attack.  A single halfling not prone to flashy displays constantly travelling across and between continents is a lot harder for any hunters or assassins to locate.

If someone wanted to assassinate Keyleth, presumably they would do a little research first and realize that she is incredibly powerful.  With the resources that the culprit has access to, why go for a big obvious attack in the middle of the day when she’s surrounded by her people?  If she were the real target, it’d make more sense to try and catch her off-guard while she’s alone or asleep.

It makes for parallels with Imogen and Fearne - parents leaving/being absent from their children’s lives in order to pursue a task that they feel is critically important, only for their children to then have to deal with the repercussions of their actions.

[willowbirds]

Little Critical Role theory time!

So Imogen’s dream. During this week’s episode she decided to walk into the storm instead of run away. When she walked in she saw a figure that became multiple figures. Now obviously we have no idea who this figure is, but my theory is that the figure is whoever was behind the attack on Keyleth and the Lumos Twins.

Now I saw a theory that said the strange assassins are Simulacrum, which are physical illusions made from ice, snow, or in this case, probably mud. They are duplicates that fulfill your every command, which in this case is most likely assassinate Ruidus borns and any one who most likely knows too much.

But why would Imogen be dreaming about the assassins? Well it is obvious that she seems to be able to see the future, at least a little. But what about her mother’s voice in her head? Bring up the idea I think mentioned by Chetney in episode 17 (I could be wrong though), Imogen’s dream could be a traumatic experience she had when she was younger but doesn’t remember.

So here’s my theory. When Imogen was young, before her powers sort of young, she was found by those assassins but was saved by her mother who told her to run back home. Something traumatic most likely happened because her mom was then gone and Imogen can’t quite remember what happened. In her dreams she is told by her mother to run, so she runs home.

Especially with Chetney’s mention that the iron Imogen was smelling in her dreams is the smell of blood makes me really think that something traumatic happened to her and she can’t remember it. The red storm in her dream is obviously from Ruidus, but the blood, the figures, and her mother’s voice are possibly from a traumatic event she can’t remember. Maybe Ruidus is trying to make her remember? Who really knows right now.

[pstelwitchcraft]

Thinking about the Ziggurats since 4-Sided-Dive and I can't help but think Keyleth could be investigating them. There are three known Ziggurats, one in Marquet, one in Whitestone and the last one, in Vasselheim. The same place Matt conveniently mentioned Keyleth was at even though it didn't make any practical difference in the story at the moment.

We know they were temples to the Goddess Ioun (the Knowing Mistress) and that they are places that hold great magic, which is why Delilah chose it to summon Vecna. I think they could have something to do with the upcoming Apogee Solstice, which Matt kind of alluded Keyleth was looking into. It makes sense since Apogee Solstices are a huge thing for the Ashari with the possible opening of elemental rifts, they became separated by elements and Zephrah was literally born because of an Apogee Solstice that released elemental beasts from other realms into Exandria.

It could be that the Ziggurats are going to be affected by the Solstice too, maybe some of it's magic is going to be concentrated there, or a rift is going to be opened in those places, or maybe they are Nexus Points, so Keyleth is visiting those places. I find it curious that the third Ziggurat is in Marquet, which would give us a convenient closeness to the Hells once we get back from sightseeing around Whitestone, and also an interesting new lead/location to put everything together now that we've already gotten deeper into Ruidus lore.

There's just- something here, and I can't wait to see what Matt does with it.

[mightybeaujester]

I wish I could do actual cr theories but for days my mind has just been going

Moon? Ludinus? City? Avalir? Assembly? Fjord alien real? Since when Ruidus dis there? Earliest Ruidus sighting? Red? Fire plane? Egg prison corpse? Calamity? Founding? Primordials? Planets as planes? Fey wild? Plane rider ryn? Laerryn? Telescope? What does the moon WANT? What is actually bad about the ley lines shifting? Otohan? Grey assassins? Big moon little moon? Every Bell has connections? Do they? They might? All ruidus born? Grey assassins REALLY after keyleth or maybe after Orym? Ashton = asteroid? Solstyce?