LogAn Age of High Adventure-Jason-1

Game log for the 2022/04/10 session of An Age of High Adventure, as taken by Jason

Chapter 5:

Oracle: Blood and Sex

Cards:

• King of Spaces - A jealous and vengeful rival, who has an infamous temper and is quick to violence.
• 4 of Hearts - The night each year that a certain ghost is allowed her freedom.
• 2 of Hearts - The ascension to mastery of a student wizardess, unrecognized by her order but absolutely clear and undeniable to her inner self.
• Queen of Clubs - The seizure of arcane powers by an arrogant and brutal wizard.

Setting: Stygia, the Temple of the Order of the Verdant Serpent

Characters:

• Set - played by Lisa
• Nylura - head of the wizarding order - NPC
• Khannah - ghost - played by Tim, a founding member of the order
• An-Genet - arrogant and brutal wizardess who plans to use her student as a magickal sacrifice to seize arcane powers, played by Jason
• Aurya - student wizardess - Joe
• Hediyeh - jealous and vengeful rival, who has an infamous temper and is quick to violence - Gary
• Takki - student, friend/sidekick of Aurya

We open on the morning of the day of the trials, which shall determine which of these wizardesses ascend to the next stage. An-Genet is overseeing preparation of canopic jars, filled with various magickal substances. There are a series of s`ealed jars with arcane markings, and each student must pick the jar that will help them in their trials.

Hediya suggests Takki should go first. Takki wants Aurya to go first. Aurya agrees to do so. She's about to take a jar that will smooth her aura and aid her passage when An-Genet clears her throat and stares at the ibis jar, which is a high-risk, high-reward jar that will grant Aurya power if she has the will to wield it. Takki and Hediyeh both try to choose next, and Hediyeh's about to swing when An-Genet calls out, "Hediyeh! Cease this vulgarity!" Hediyah pulls away from Takki, both ignoring An-Genet's rage. An-Genet uses her power to create a thunderous clap to stop them both. When Hediyeh tries to continue, An-Genet waves her hand, and a magical force pushes Hediyeh back. Humiliated, she ends up picking a jar that will enable her to confuse her enemies.

At sunset, the formal feast that kicks off the ceremonies begins. The warrens under the temple are an extended series of surprisingly cold passageways. The ceremony is held in the the main room, below ground, at the best of the tower. It's open to the sky at the top, and the ceremony begins when sunlight no longer comes in through that aperture. There's an empty place at the head table, set aside on honor of Khannah. Six acolytes will be taking the trials this year. The swing vote amongst all the factions this year is Nedsokar. She's academically inclined, nervous, fussy, detail-oriented. For the moment, she's aligned with An-Genet, who reminded her that bureaucratic process could point both ways. Nedsokar's cooperation ensures that An-Genet will sit quietly while Nedsokar runs her meetings.

At the feast, Nylura starts leading the conversation around to trying to undermine some of An-Genet's prestige. Since Nedsokar's aligned with An-Genete, Nylura calls her out, based on a rumor that she's been trading information with outsides. Sadly that was a false rumor that An-Genet had planted previously, and the attempt embarasses Nylura in front of everyone.

Aurya tries to maneuver Hediyeh into eating some bad food as she serves out a dish. Hediyah isn't interested in any food she's handing out, but that spat still distracts her while Aurya drops a little something-something into the soup. Hediyeh doesn't realize what's happened until she's already eaten it. Her stomach won't be calm for a while, but there's no time to do anything about that now. She prays to Set for aid. She will let Set possess her as long as Aurya loses the trial. Set promptly does so.

Khannah has a brief interview with An-Genet, who takes every opportunity to trash Hediyeh and push Takki forward. Khannah remains non-commital. Khannah then moves on to Nylura, who thinks it's down to Takki or Hediyah. Takki might be too naive. Tesbiah, though, is most fervent toward Set. Aurya, by contrast, is rumored to pray to other gods as well as Set. Khannah's not so sure that it's a problem to pray to other gods, so long as Set remains first in her heart. Nylura' taken aback and starts quoting scripture at length, and while Khannah argues with the weight of centures of experience, scripture is not on her side. Nylura points ou that while ghosts might be able to be chill about these things, mortals don't have centuries to spend finessing their spiritual needs. Khannah agrees that Aurya sounds unready and lacks commitment.

Set, in Hediyah's body, tries to sneak into An-Genet's room when she's supposed to be in solitary prayer. An-Genet's first ward gives her quote a shock. Set unworks the magic and continues trying to get in. She does so, and steals the spellbook from its magical protections in An-Genet's mirror. In the reception room, An-Genet gets a sudden bloody nose, which she can't easily cover.

Hediyeh comes to in her cell with a burned hand and a crumpled-up page of spellbook. She tosses the evidence of her misdeed into her fire.

The trials are about to begin! The first trial is to summon a flame - the acolyte must seize the flame from a lit brazier. Nylura summons Aurya to perform first, thinking she has sabotaged the test against her rival's pupil, but An-Genet's own allies have been there to defuse the trap. Then Takki steps up, and Hediyah tries to use the power of her jar to create an illusion that will distract Takki. Takki begins sweating and trying to force herself to concentrate, and burns herself as she conjures the flame. Finally, Hediyah steps up. Aurya uses a small catrip to make her stomach trouble add up. An-Genet's minions had put extra flammable oil in her quarters to increase the odds that she might have a wee accident with fire. Hediyah also gets badly burned trying to conjure the fire.

The second trial requires the acolyte to magically allow a rat to defeat a cobra. Khannah tries to intervene against her, using her spectral powers to make Aurya feel scared and discouraged. The ghost's influence isn't enough, and the rat handily wins. Takki casts a spell to make the cobra shrink. Hediyah prays to set to cause the snake to sacrifice itself. Set causes the cobra to make a few appropriately snakelike weaves, and then lie down and allow the rat to devour it. An-Genet is the first to jump up and say, "It is a miracle! Set has blessed her!"

Between the second and third test, there's an examination, where the priestesses examine the candidates on their tactics in the test. Aurya specifically asks Khannah how to earn her approval, since she clearly disapproved in earlier rounds. The ghost tells her to commit herself to Set. Aurya assures her that she is faithful to Set, but Khannah's not easily convinced. Nylura brings up every negative rumor about Aurya, and then An-Genet asks where these rumors come from. Nylura can't answer easily. Khannah, still speaking directly to Aurya, accuses her of being selfish, not obedient to Set's will. She replies that she does as she was taught. Nylura calls An-Genet to heel, and she backs down. Aurya ends up embarassed by the whole experience.

In the third challenge, the candidates must speak with the voice of set. Aurya goes first. As she steps to the challenge, Set posseses her. Aurya turns to An-Genet and says, in Set's voice, "Your ritual is false, and I will not be a part of it." An-Genet tries to suppress Set/Aurya's fireball, but fails and eats it. When Takki steps up, Set tries to possess her too, but Takki's will is strong, and Set's voice spreaks through her to say, "Bah, this one is too strong." Hediyeh, on her turns, allows set in freely, and Set says, "An-Genet needs to die."

Nylura says this corresponds with other things she's heard, but before she can do much about, An-Genet blasts her on to her ass. Khannah's attempts to use her fear power do not slow down An-Genet, which forces her to acknowledge the upstart's superior capabilities. An-Genet calls upon the temple to complete the investitures, and it happens.

As it happens, Khannah tries to possess Aurya, and Takki tries to come to Aurya's aid. Takki ends up allowing Khannah to posses her instead.

After investiture, An-Genet asks Aurya to come to her quarters. She plans to sacrifice her student, Aurya plans to seduce the new boss. An-Genet is ultimately too strong, and she completes the ritual despite all interference. Aurya is permanently comatose, as her life force servers the new overlord of the Temple. She'll be tended to and spoon-fed gruel forever.

Hediyeh leaves to join a different temple. One night, she's just gone.

Takki / Khannah becomes Set's obedient servant, a sort of sleeper agent in the cult.