Tales of the Ironlands

Kalyra Sophisdottir

Episode 07: The Tale of the Mother’s Balance

Recap

Last time, on Tales of the Ironlands, Kalyra Sophisdottir faced the consequences of her actions in the Skaren tribe. Raleth, the leader of the tribe, had tried to use Kalyra to kill a Hollow who had risen from the spirit of Huron, Raleth’s father, whom Raleth poisoned in order to take control of the tribe. When Kalyra instead revealed Raleth as the murderer, Raleth ordered Kalyra killed by three archers, Jaska, Ilmari and Aksel. Raleth was slain by the Hollow; and Kalyra killed the three archers.

The next day, the tribe selected a new leader in a duel between two candidates. The loser of that duel, Einari, must leave the tribe; the winner, Calla, is now the leader of the Skaren. In reparation for the deaths of the three archers, Calla ruled that Kalyra needed to conduct a rite of leave-taking for each of them according to elven tradition. One by one, Kalyra visited the homes of the slain archers, ritually washed their hands and feet, and declared that the fight was fought honorably, and asked their spirits for forgiveness. Each in turn granted it; and so Kalyra made peace with her slain.

Session Report

Kalyra sleeps. Not well, it must be said; she has many troubles weighing on her mind. Her spirit is a +2 at the moment so she’s a little down.

In the morning she wakes up early. Although she feels as though she could sleep forever, at the same time sleep evades her. In the grey light of dawn she pulls herself up, sitting on the bed roll that has been left for her here in her room, and she tends to her wounds Heal: 8v2/10, weak hit; Supply dropped to 0; marked unprepared. Gained +3 health due to Herbalist, to a new total of +5.

Kalyra feels much better after spending some time carefully cleaning and tending to her wounds. They are still stiff and sore, and it will be a while before she really feels like herself again; but she is no longer actively wounded. She is recovering.

“I’ll need to get some more supplies before I leave,” she says. “I wonder if I can get some food around here? I’m out.”

Once she begins to hear the noise of the people moving around outside, Kalyra rises. She is a little easier in her mind about her welcome here in the village now that she has made peace with her slain, and so she opts not to take all of her gear with her. She leaves her pack in the room where she has been staying. She does take her sword, not wanting to be too far removed from it.

Wandering outside, she sees that the village is beginning to waken and go about their daily business. There has been much drama and many changes in the last few days. And yet: life goes on. Kalyra wanders around looking for someone who speaks her language. Most of them don’t. After a while she makes her way to the central tree. There are guards outside — as is apparently common — and she knows to leave her sword outside (even though she still doesn’t like it very much).

Going inside, she discovers that both Calla and Veris are there. They look up as she enters and Calla says “Ah, our guest has arrived. Good morning, Kalyra Sophisdottir.”

“Good morning,” Kalyra says.

“Veris was just telling me that the pyres have burned out.”

“I see,” says Kalyra. “I don’t suppose ... could I get some breakfast somewhere around here? I’m out of supplies.”

Veris says “Yes, I can assist you with that. I was about to go eat myself, if you would like to come with me?”

“Yes, please,” says Kalyra.

“Come back and speak with me later,” says Calla.

“All right,” says Kalyra.

Veris takes Kalyra out of the central tree; she retrieves her sword on the way back, buckling the belt and scabbard about her waist once more. The two of them move through the village high above the floor of the forest.

Veris lives in a room which is built on the branches of a tree. It is fairly close to the center of the village, possibly because Veris is a fairly high status elf. It’s also a little larger than some of the other rooms that Kalyra has seen her.

There they discover Belisant is busy rolling up her bedroll. She apparently stays at Veris’ house — which makes sense, as she is his apprentice.

“Good morning. Is it done?” says Belisant.

“Everything went fine,” says Veris. “Shall we have a little breakfast?” Veris looks weary. He’s been up most of the night, tending the pyres of the slain men.

“Certainly,” Belisant says. Setting aside the bedroll, Belisant lifts a panel out of the floor. Kalyra is a little surprised at this, as she hadn’t noticed that the floors of these places are built to contain storage units underneath them. Reaching down within it, Belisant pulls out what looks like a clay pitcher, a few bowls and proceeds to produce essentially something like cereal. The three of them sit on the floor of the house. It has no chairs; none of them have any chairs. They eat cereal out of clay bowls, with the spoons that have been made of smooth wood.

It’s a light breakfast, but Kalyra feels quite refreshed afterwards. “Thank you,” Kalyra says. “That was good.” Belisant and Veris nod at her.

“All right ... now can you tell me about primordials?”

Veris says “Why don’t you speak with Calla, and I will get a quick nap. Then come back here and I will tell you.”

“All right,” says Kalyra, a little frustrated. This is the third time she has been put off in this.

“Relax. By the end of the day we will have told you what you need to know. I’m just a little ... I’m not thinking entirely clearly at the moment. I’ve been up all night.”

“I understand,” says Kalyra. “I will go speak with Calla and then I will come back here.”

“All right,” says Veris.

“I will go with her,” says Belisant. And so Belisant and Kalyra leave Veris’ house as he is unrolling his bedroll and trying to get a quick nap in. The two of them make their way back to the central chamber and enter, Kalyra once again leaving her sword outside.

“I’m here,” Kalyra says to Calla. “You wished to speak with me?”

“Ah yes. I am told that you made your peace with all three of the archers — Jaska, Ilmari, and Aksel.”

“Yes,” says Kalyra. “It was ... intense.”

“She did well,” Belisant says.

“Very good,” says Calla. “I’m not sure that I understand why you came here in the first place, Kalyra Sophisdottir.”

And so Kalyra reiterates the story once again of how her father has been taken by an earth primordial who appears to be trying to convert him into another earth primordial and she’s trying to figure out what’s going on so she can save him.

“You lead an interesting life, Kalyra Sophisdottir,” says Calla. “And once you have learned what you need to know, you will depart?”

“Oh yes,” says Kalyra. “I wish I was gone already. I don’t know how long I have.”

“Very well. Belisant, you may tell Veris that it is my instruction that the two of you assist her in this matter to the best of your ability,” says Calla.

“Thank you,” says Kalyra. Moved to Fulfil her Vow to Set Things Right for the Skaren. 8v4/7, strong hit. She has set things right for the Skaren.

“Much has changed since you came here, Kalyra Sophisdottir,” says Calla, “And yet I feel as though the tribe is now on a more even footing than it was when you came. We understand how it is that Huron met his death. His murder has been punished; his death avenged. We have a new leader — myself, it seems — and the spirits of those who fell in the midst of this conflict have been set at ease.”

“I am glad I was able to help,” Kalyra says, “Although I did not always know what I was doing. It is been very interesting to stay among the Skaren and see how you live.”

“We are glad to have had you; although I hope you will not be terribly offended if we will also be glad to see you leave. It will take time to blunt the edges of the sorrows that have visited us in the last few days.”

“Yes, I understand,” Kalyra says.

“Go! See to your task,” says Calla. And Belisant and Kalyra leave. Gained 2 XP, up to 3. Took the quest off my character sheet. In future I’m going to have a separate progress sheet for quests, becuase I would like to have a record of what I’ve done, but there isn’t much space on the character sheet itself for those. I’ll reserve those for large, long-term quests.

“That did not take terribly long,” Belisant says. “Perhaps we should give Veris an hour or two to rest before we wake him?”

“I suppose,” Kalyra says. “Hey! Where do you cook? I mean, I know that you have meat and that you cook things; I’ve seen people eating and there was that deer that was brought in. But of course there are no fires in the buildings ...”

“Would you like to see the communal kitchen?”

“Yes!” says Kalyra. Belisant takes her down the rope ladders to the forest floor below and walks just a couple of minutes; Just past a slow rise in the hill there is an area that has been smoothed out. Instead of open forest floor, there is an area that has been made of flagstone. It has no walls, but there are a series of low stone ovens with a large communal supply of wood off to one side, and there are people there busily baking bread and assorted other types of cooking. There are fire pits for roasting things, and ovens for baking things, and there are some wood tables set up where people can do food preparation, chopping vegetables and cutting meat and all the other steps that go into preparing a meal.

The two of them get some fresh bread from one of the bakers there — a rather rotund elven man who seems quite cheerful. He gives them slices of hot, fresh bread drizzled with honey, and the two of them sit at the edge on some stools that have been set there, and eat fresh bread with honey, licking their fingers after they have finished the bread.

“That was wonderful,” Kalyra says. “I will be leaving as soon as I may, after we’ve spoken with Veris. But I really need to get some supplies. I am fresh out of almost everything. Can I resupply here?”

“I think that given Calla’s instructions that we are to assist you to the best of our ability, that can be arranged,” says Belisant. Sojourn: 9v7/7. Because I rolled high (6+3) and got doubles, I took 3 benefits from the list even though I’m not bonded with the community. Equip, Provision and Consort, for a total of +3 Supply and +2 Spirit.

Belisant takes Kalyra around the community helping gather supplies that she might need: food and medicinal supplies primarily. The two women talk with one another as they go along. Belisant is quite young for an elf, which means that she is only considerably older than Kalyra; but for all the difference in their age in terms of years, the two seem to be at fairly similar stages of life. Although Belisant’s life has been less troubled than Kalyra’s of late. Moved to Forge a Bond with Belisant. 6+3 is 9v6/8, strong hit. Marked a tick on the bonds track, made a note of the bond, +1 Spirit (to 5), +2 Momentum (to 7).

It is heartening talking with this young woman of the elves. Kalyra feels her mind much more at ease for having had someone to talk with for a while. The two even wind up laughing about a few things. It’s the first time in a long while that Kalyra has had anything to laugh about, and it is balm for the soul.

“All right. I think I have what I need in order to leave once we’re done here,” says Kalyra. It’s been a few hours of preparations. “Shall we go and speak with Veris now?”

“Yes, it is definitely time,” says Belisant.

The two of them make their way back to Veris’ house, where they discover that he is already up and gone, and has left a note indicating that he is gone to the cromlech.

“What’s a cromlech?” asks Kalyra.

“The circle of stones that you saw the other day. That is the cromlech.”

“Oh. Well, let’s go.”

They make their way down once more. “Living in this place must give you really great leg muscles. Always climbing up and down!” says Kalyra as she reaches the forest floor down below.

The two of them walk through the forest along the path which has been marked with ferns as is apparently the elven way. They come to the cromlech, where they find Veris once again seated, meditating in the center of the circle of stones. Once again Belisant claps twice to garner his attention.

“Enter the circle,” he says. The two of them come in.

“Are you ready now?” asks Kalyra.

“Yes,” says Veris. “Please, have a seat.” The two of them sit down.

“What do you know about primordials?” asks Veris.

“Not a great deal,” Kalyra says. “They are nature spirits. They are terribly dangerous if fought,” she says a little ruefully. “I honestly don’t know a great deal more than that.

“Well then, we should bring you up to speed with some basics. Belisant,” he says, “I would like you to recite the Tale of the Mother’s Balance.”

And Belisant nods her mask. “In our language?” she says.

“No, of course not. Translate it into her language,” says Veris.

“Oh!”

“Consider it a test,” he adds.

Belisant straightens slightly and says “All right. I may speak slowly, so that I have time to think about the words. I want to make sure this is right.” She sits straight, resting her hands on her knees, and then she begins to speak:

Before time began, the world lay in stasis. Light and dark. Matter and void. All things lay in perfect symmetry, changeless, having neither a beginning nor an end. This we know.

And yet, the world was incomplete. Hollow. It could not see or know itself; but it wanted to. And from this desire was born time, and perception, as portions of the world separated themselves in order to look back upon what they came from. No one piece of the world could see and comprehend all of it; and so they were forced to experience the world in sequence. In time. Even as we do now.

These first beings began to explore the world, seeing and experiencing it with joy in their hearts. But their passage through the world changed it; made it different than it was before. One walked through the lands, and in its footsteps grass, and trees, and flowers, and all of the plants rose from the soil in glorious profusion. From among them crept out the rabbits, and deer, and all the creatures of the land. And we call him the Green Father.

One took to the skies, and encompassed the world with wings so broad that they cast whole mountains into shadow. And with every wing beat, sparrows and dragonflies and hawks and every flying creature fell into the sky and took to their wings for the very first time. And we call her the White Mother.

One swam through the seas, and from its wake swirled forth fish, and whales, and even the mighty krakens that haunt the deep. And we call her the Blue Sister.

One burrowed deep into the heart of the world and marvelled at the flames that dwell there. And he brought forth no creatures; or if he did then we know them not, for their homes are too hot for us to bear. And we call him the Red Brother.

But there was one more of the First: one more, who came of the world itself. This one came last, and found that the land, and the seas, and the air, and even the heart of the world had already been claimed. And so it took to the darkness above, to the empty spaces high up, where it could see so much more.

But what it saw was that the plants were choking one another. It saw that the animals were too many, that the seas had grown thick with fish, and that the skies were darkened with the wings of the birds. It saw that the others had created too much.

And so it cried out “Once we had stasis. Once all was in perfect balance. Where now is that balance? Nowhere. I must restore what has been lost!” And it gave its gifts to the world. Hunger. Disease. Violence. Death.

And we call her the Black Lady.

The others of the First grew angry at the Black Lady. They did not like her gifts; they did not like death. And so they sought to make creatures who would live eternal, as long as they themselves might. These were the Vanhimmat. You call them primordials. The Green Father made his of stone; the White Mother, of air; the Blue Sister, out of water; and the Red Brother crafted his of living flame.

But the Black Lady simply smiled and shook her head; and then the others knew that they had failed, and that the Vanhimmat would one day die like any other creature.

“She is too powerful for us,” the Red Brother said. “We must admit defeat. And perhaps she is wiser than we are; her gifts are not without beauty in their way.” And so he retreated to the fire deeps, accepting that the Black Lady’s gifts would be part of the world; and this is why fire can cause harm so readily.

“There is no beauty in death,” said the Blue Sister. “But neither can I see any way to oppose her. We are beaten.” And so in sorrow she dove down to her watery palace; and this is why darkness lies at the heart of the sea; and tears taste of salt.

The Green Father was troubled, and cast his gaze down at the ground. But then he lifted his head and said “No. There is a way. We have worked apart. She is stronger than any one of us; but perhaps together we can oppose her.” He held his hand out to the White Mother, and said “Come. Help me. Together, let us see what we can do.”

The White Mother smiled; for she knew what it would take. “Let me show you,” she said. And they lay together; and from this union came our people: the Firstborn.

Then the Green Father and the White Mother passed on this blessing to the beasts of the fields, and the birds of the trees, to the fish in the water, and to us: that we may find mates, and with them produce children to take our places when at last we pass from the world.

And so it was that the Green Father and the White Mother between them struck a new balance. It is not a perfect balance like the one the Black Lady remembers from before time, when nothing changed, and all was still. This balance is instead an imbalance carefully balanced. It is the wave which falls ever forward but never crashes upon the shore. It is the wind that never ceases. It is the seed that grows to a mighty tree and falls, only to become the soil that shall bear new trees. It is life, in defiance of death.

And that is the Tale of the Mother’s Balance.

“Well done,” says Veris, and Belisant ducks her head in pleasure at the praise.

“All right, that was very interesting,” says Kalyra. “Um, and how is this relevant to me?”

“Now you may have noticed,” says Veris “The Green Father and the White Mother gave the blessing of reproduction to many things: to plants and animals; to people. But they did not give such a blessing to the Vanhimmat. The Vanhimmat were created, not born. They are the first made; and we —” he taps his shoulder “— we elves, we are the Firstborn. The Vanhimmat do not have the option of ever having children of their own. So it seems that the earth primordial who has taken your father is seeking a way around that: seeking a way to create a new primordial. Perhaps it is old and knows it will die soon, and wishes to have a child of its own? Or perhaps there is some other reason that it has chosen to pursue such a course of action.”

“All right. Is this common? Has this been done before?” asks Kalyra. Asked the Oracle: is it common for primordials to make new primordials out of people? Decided it was Unlikely. 23: no, it’s not common.

Veris shakes his head. “No, it is not common. I have heard of two other instances in all of my years of studying lore. Both were elves; both had struck some sort of deal with the primordial in question. One was an elven woman who sought out the primordials and requested their aid in a quest that she was undertaking. It is a long story, and not terribly relevant here, but the price that she paid for the primordial’s aid was to be burned away and become a flame primordial.”

“There was also an elven man — and I cannot tell you much about his story at all. All we know is that he was one of the original Firstborn, born directly of the White Mother and the Green Father, who chose to join the Vanhimmat. We’re not sure why, actually, but he became an air primordial. He was blown away until there was nothing left of him but his breath, which became the new primordial. It was a very long time ago.”

“I see, and ...” Kalyra says. “What do I need to do? Can I save him?”

“In the other two instances that I have described, it was voluntary on the part of the the elves. It was the outcome of a deal that they had made with the primordial. Now considering you have said that the primordial said that there was a debt that must be paid, I suspect that your father must have made some kind of bargain with the primordial; and that the payment that is due is to become an earth primordial. To become like it.”

“And can I stop it? Can I save him?”

“The primordials have many abilities. I think that your people think of the Vanhimmat as simply forces of nature: unthinking, unreasoning. And it is true that they do not speak very fluently; but they are just as intelligent as you or I. And they have many powers that are beyond those that we are able to wield. I suspect that the only person who can stop the transformation is the earth primordial itself. I suppose the Green Father — who made the earth primordials — could do something about it. But although the Green Father and the White Mother are real beings who exist in the world, they are not often seen. They rarely interact directly with mortals. So I think that your best bet for stopping this is to speak with the primordial and see if there is something that you can do to pay your father’s debt.”

Kalyra shivers a little. “Oof.” There is a long silence. “That is not an answer that I was hoping to hear,” she says.

“Well, that is the answer that we have to give you,” says Veris. “That is my advice to you, Kalyra Sophisdottir: return to the earth primordial, this time with words of peace on your lips rather than weapons in your hands. Speak to it. Find out what it wants, and whether there is some other price that may be paid.”

Kalyra sighs heavily. “All right. I thank you for your wisdom,” she says. “Is there anything else that you think I should know?”

Veris nods slowly. “You are deathtouched. A vow to the Black Lady is a dangerous thing. It can ... change you. And the Black Lady, as you may have learned, is not exactly a friend of mortals. But then again, she is not entirely evil either. For it is certainly true that if no one ever died, soon the world would be overrun with creatures. In her own way, she is part of the Mother’s balance. Be cautious in pursuing this vow of yours to bring the Rose of Light and Shadow to Death.”

“Yes, about that,” Kalyra says. “I know that you’ve already said that you don’t know anything about the Rose of Light and Shadow, but I will need to find out more about it. How to how to get there, what it is, where it came from. Do you know anywhere I could go to find out about that?” Asked the Oracle: does Veris know of anyone who might be able to tell Kalyra more about the Rose of Light and Shadow? Gave it a 50/50 chance. 31.

“No. I do not know of anyone personally. However, you are about to go and speak with an earth primordial, and as I said, although they speak slowly and ponderously, they are not unintelligent creatures, and they have existed since almost the beginning of time. Ask your questions of the earth primordial and perhaps it will be able to tell you something, or at least point you to someone who can.”

“That is good advice. Thank you,” says Kalyra.

“Is there anything else?” asks Veris.

“Um ... oh! One more thing. Was it you who put Raleth’s mask in my room?”

Both of them reel back in startlement. “Someone put Raleth’s mask in your room?” Veris asks.

“Yes! I found both halves of it there. It’s there now.”

Veris stands up. “This is most unexpected. I went looking for the halves of the mask: they were gone, before we even retrieved the bodies.”

“Then ... who brought them to me?” asks Kalyra.

“I do not know,” says Veris. “This is most unexpected.”

“What should I do with them?” Kalyra asks.

“Wrap them in silk. I will provide a length of it. Wrap them in silk and take them with you. I think it would be unwise to simply dispose of them. But do not touch them! Do not think of them. The snapped mask of a murderer slain by a hollow is an object of ... ill omen.” He looks quite disturbed. “This sits poorly with me.”

“All right. I will do that.”

“Tell me,” says Veris suddenly, “Did you touch them?”

“Yes,” says Kalyra.

“What happened, when you touched them?” says Veris.

“I heard a sound like a whisper; but when I looked, there was no one there.”

If anything, Veris looks more disturbed. He says “That mask was made of ghostwood.” After a long pause, he goes on: “You are tuned to the ways of the dead. You’ve spoken with the Black Lady. Her mark lies on you, in your eyes. This will give you … abilities to speak with the dead much more easily than others might. You are deathtouched, Kalyra Sophisdottir. Do not let that become your identity. Moved to Advance. Spent 3 XP to gain a new asset. This is a custom asset, a path called Deathtouched. The first ability is: “Once you have sworn a vow of service to the Black Lady … dead things stir at your call. Whenever you make a move to call on, speak with, or invoke the dead, add +1 and take +1 momentum on a hit.” The subsequent two abilities will be revealed as she unlocks them.

“I’ll keep that in mind,” says Kalyra. “I’ll try.”

“Good,” says Veris. “Remember: you may have sworn a vow to Death, but she too is part of life in her way. Don’t lose sight of that. Now, you should go. You have ... who knows how much time. Go! Go.”

“I will see her out of the village, Master,” says Belisant. And so they leave the cromlech. They make their way back to the village. I don’t think they need to revisit the room where Kalyra has been staying. She undoubtedly collected her gear before they went to the cromlech. Editor’s note: I literally announced I was leaving it there earlier and then contradicted myself later in the session. Oops. For continuity’s sake, she has her stuff and collected that length of silk that Veris gave her to wrap Raleth’s mask in.

Belisant takes her through the village of the Skaren to the far side. When they come to the path that leads down to the river, Belisant stops and turns to Kalyra and says, “Though it has only been a short time that we have known each other, Kalyra Sophisdottir, I’m glad to have known you. I think your heart is good.” And she reaches up and takes her mask and lifts it from her face.

She is clearly very young. Her face is narrow with high cheekbones, as is common for the elves. She has almond-shaped eyes, which are green, and she smiles at Kalyra.

“I am honored,” says Kalyra. “She reaches out and puts a hand on Belisant’s shoulder. “Thank you, Belisant. And I wish you and the Skaren all the best. Thank you.”

“Go then,” says Belisant. “And may the White Mother guide your footsteps.”

Kalyra turns and sets her gaze to the north, to make her way to find the primordial once more. Marked Progress on Rescue My Father, up to 3/10. Marked Progress on Find a Kocari and Learn About Primordials, up to 10, then moved to Fulfill that vow: 10v3/5, strong hit. Gained 2 XP.

And with that Kalyra Sophisdottir ends her time amongst stop the Skaren elves and returns to her quest to rescue her father. After the session I decided to mark progress on her vow to Bring the Rose of Light and Shadow to Death, because of Veris’ advice to ask the primordial about it. 1/40 on that — a loooong way to go.