Countless suns and moons

28th of Shar 358

Today, we continued our travels to Hrorilad. As we travelled the road, I noticed a trail beginning along the road. There was a trail of blood. I pointed it out to the others, and we began to follow the trail. It lead to the edge of the road and continued into the wilderness. The others believe it could be related to Slaughter, so we continue to follow the blood trail until we make it to the edge of a ravine. There was a jagged dip between one side and the other. The blood trail stopped right at the edge and I heard flowing water coming from below. On the other side of the ravine sat an altar and the sound of music. I peeked down the ravine and saw that it started really wide and then quickly gets really narrow. If any of us were to fall in, we definitely would get stuck. Looking over at the altar, I saw a flat stone surface around an obelisk. I couldn't make out if there is any text on the obelisk from this distance. After some debate as to what to do, we decided to go around the ravine to go look at the altar.

As we approached the altar, I noticed a faint glow it immitted. There is text on it in a language I didn't understand. The stone platform on which the obelisk sits is wide enough to sit or provide offerings. It reminds me of something I have seen before, though I am unsure what. The music had grown louder, seeming to come from behind the obelisk. It sounded like a lute. From where we stood, we could see their leg, a garment, and the head of the lute. They spoke to us, saying its okay to approach and to not be shy. I noticed Fathom touch their new shield then untense. He must've discerned that this person was being truthful. Hornet walks around the obelisk, reading the text. I drew a picture of the obelisk and wrote down everything that has happened so far today.

Fathom inquires this person about the icon of Slaughter. They ask about the story behind them, and he recounts what we know to them. They say it is an interesting tale after Fathom says that there was necromancy involved. Afterwards, Fathom looked towards the obelisk and I noticed that he looked excited. He and the person exchange song.

I sat down next to the obelisk, leaning against it with my shoulder as I wrote about what is happening. I could hear a deep hum and a soft glow emanating from it. I reach out my hand to it, running my hand along the stone. It felt like my hand glided along it, like it was smooth as glass. The texture did not feel like how I thought it would.

I started to feel empathetic towards the obelisk, though I do not know what. I was washed over with a feeling of nothingness, like real inexistence. The world around me went dark; it was just me and the obelisk. I sat in this feeling for a moment, then I felt the world grow around me. I felt a sense of purpose. I then felt age. It started slowly, with time passing by the minute. Then it progressed to by the hour, by the day, by the week, by the month. I felt seasons pass by, days and nights passing by in a matter of seconds. I experienced astronomical phenomena I had never experienced in my lifetime; eclipses, comets, stars falling from the sky, beams of light strewn across the sky. I experienced people and creatures alike come to this obelisk, paying their respects completely unknowing as to what they were paying respect to. I felt the coldness of the snow, the wetness of the rain, the chilled winds. 1,300 seasons passing by at quicker and quicker pace. I felt the fingers that had touched the beacon before me; from strong hands to delicate fingers, from childlike hands to the brittle and the worn. I felt... my own fingertips as I came back to the present moment, a sense of acknowledgement fills me.

I don't know much else that had happened between my time experiencing what the obelisk had for me. When I came to, the others had apparently restored the eyesight of the person who played the lute. They introduced themselves as Asmod. I had to take a double take when I heard the name, it sounded very similar to that of my teacher. I briefly mentioned my experience and I felt a sense of excitement while I waited to be able to share more of my experience with the others. Asmod mentions how a man stood and listened to his song and went on his way, whom he believes may be the source of the blood trail we had followed. He asked Fathom why he wears his mask, and he is silent. He says it is nothing that can be fixed.

Fathom gestures us all together to communicate what we have discovered about the obelisk. I was practically bouncing with excitement to share what I had seen. Hornet told us that this place is called the Beacon of Devotion. Fathom told us that this place is "infinitely old". I shared my journal with the others, allowing them to read over my experience. I also briefly mention how Asmod sounds eerily close to my teacher's name, but that this is not my teacher.

Hornet turns to Asmod and asks if they are entuned with any icons in particular. Such a strange question. He responds, asking why they care. Hornet says they were just curious and gives a short explanation as to what an Icon is. Asmod said they sound a bit crazy.

Fathom took out the bud of the golem we had defeated yesterday and offers it at the base of the obelisk. He briefly fiddled with his mask, contemplating something. He then shrugged it off and instead dug in his pockets, placing a shock battery at the obelisk.

Asmod believes we are here for them for some reason. When we asked why and who they are, they said it is better that we do not know. He mentions how despite not being in the hustle and bustle of a city, he still ran into the most interesting of people. This place is an escape for him. Fathom mentions again that we are here in pursuit of Slaughter, and Asmod says that pursuit and escape are one in the same. Fathom says there is more to life to escape. Asmod shrugs it off, switching topics to why the obelisk is of interest to us. Fathom mentions it is a creation before time, so it is terribly interesting, and Hornet says that they wonder if it can lead us to Slaughter.

Asmod asked us if Slaughter is an icon. We collectively say that they are. He then asked us if any of us are icons. I wanted to mention I was the student of an icon, but I didn't want to muddy up the conversation or confuse him even more. Fathom, in turn, asked if he is an icon. There is a pause, and Asmod says they talk too much and they should just play their tunes. We pushed to learn more about him and he sighs. He said he was going to tell us a tale of who he once was. It is not a happy song, he said.

Next journal →