From Whence He Came

[Frothier76]

  

On that one night, over a century past, three refugees from Sheng had left Yurhira to go to Dal'Thala. For two years they travelled, from city to city, plains to mountains, and fields to valleys- for one year, the son travelled lost and alone.

Only he made it in the end.

  

Now, over a century later, the son- now an elder and a great-grandfather at that- looks to return to the mountains one last time to visit where his parents were killed by beasts.

His father and mother... he's almost forgotten their faces, hasn't he? Fukuyami and Sayenia Ishiko- remembering his father's name only got harder and harder to recall... 

 

How did it happen again?
The decades grinding against his memory, the unfortunate Occult earned in his young adult life having corrupted some in kind when it ran rampant made it difficult to recall. 

 
It was a starry night, atop cliffs on the side of a mountain far away. The night's sky dazzled the adolescent Oliphr- while his father prepared tents and his mother tended to the fire and cooking. A snarl so hushed it seemed only he could hear shot fear and weakness into Oliphr while his parents did not notice. There were no more than eight- ...ten- ...twelve? Beasts of darkness, eyes alight with a bloodcurdling yellow iris, pupils as thin as paper and as eager as fire to consume its unknowing prey. They leapt from the tree line, their horrid, large claws slamming into the ground and breaking it beneath them- even in the moonlight, their fur was impossibly dark. 

His father handed his mother one of their bags and ushered them to run, picking up his tools to buy time for them. As they ran, the shrill and piercing screams of his father echoed from the mountains, scarring the night's sky and make the mountains, themselves, seem to quake from the sound. Tears flowed from Sayenia's eyes as she held Oliphr and the bag, running as desperately as she could on the path. The screams would cease- followed by the sounds of the ground breaking behind them as the beasts made their way to their prey. Thunderous slams of hunters chasing down their food beating the dirt into submission, as if to command the mountain to prevent their game from escaping them. In response, the path would seem to disappear as they reached the edge of a cliffside. 
 

It was there that a choice had to be made- one that left a legacy of selflessness and a need for penance on Oliphr- the sacrifice of his mother as well as his father, to buy him time to escape. With one last hug, Oliphr was sent down the cliffside, rolling and stumbling down it as the sounds of his body hitting ledges and slopes shrouded- but not erased- the sounds of his mother's sacrifice echoing the same sentiment as his father's. The vicious sounds of those beasts' growls, snarls and shouts following him in the darkness, night after night, in every shadow in the day- they searched for him. The last of their prey- that was the fear he had for months and years after.

Now, after going against Vdali, Nidaz, the Ashen Demon, the Imperfect Vitalis, hostile magic beasts and even other Pantheon followers as he stood with Gala as one of her Radiant-
having handled items beyond his comprehension, raised his own children, their children and meeting great-grandchildren and onward-
having made significant contributions to advancements, created the Element Core and treated wounds beyond medicine's reach--
Now, he needed to visit his parents' last moments once more.

 

His time grew short- this was likely the last time he could see their final resting places.

 
 

Attendees: Oliphr Ishiko, Nera, Basil Mooney + 2 of Oliphr's family or close friends

Risk: HCOI / LCOD (Oliphr only)

[b]Reward:[/b] DM's discretion

Theme: Travel, Family, Magic Beasts (think of magical beasts before Meranthe MBs), Resolution/Melancholy

DM: Could be you, DM Frothier on discord