#Abenthy

[ohlooklackless]

This is speculation as I head out for the day and don’t have time to triple check. I will come back later and add links to cite the speculation and theories I reference.

Ben is an arcanist and leaves the troupe after having dodged some of Arilden’s questions about the chandrian and he even heard a little of his song - enough to know it started with Lanre.

We know the university prevents any and all investigation into the Chandrian.

We know Lorren knew who Arliden was at Kvothe’s first admission - and knew him specifically as a bard

We know Kvothe gets angry with Denna for challenging his view of Lanre and the chandrian as wronguns

We have plenty of speculation that the university and the Amyr/Chandrian are linked

There’s no evidence that the chandrian killed the troupe - only that they were there afterwards

What if Ben reported Arilden and his song/knowledge to the university and thats what got the troupe killed? The Amyr.

Arilden’s song didn’t seem to paint Lanre in the light that Kvothe later comes to see him in.

“Proud Lanre, strong as the spring

Steel of the sword he had at ready hand.

Hear how he fought, fell, and rose again,

To fall again. Under shadow falling then.”

The Chandrian just took the blame cause they were around in the wake.

The Amyr turned up cause The University found out Arilden was going to tell something like the truth about Lanre.

#the kingkiller chronicle #kingkiller #kingkiller chronicle #kvothe #Lanre #chandrian #the chandrian #master lorren #lorren #the university #Arilden #arliden #laurian #lackless #the name of the wind #the wise man's fear #patrick rothfuss #kkc #haliax #abenthy

[bookcub]

Elodin: "Using words to talk of words is like using a pencilto draw a picture of itself, on itself. Impossible. Confusing. Frustrating. But there are other ways to understanding. Look! Blue! Blue! Blue!"

Abenthy: "No Horoscopes. No Love Potions. No Malefaction."

#fave kkc character polls #round 2 fkcp #elodin #abenthy #kkc #kingkiller chronicle

[underestimated-heroine]

The beginning of Name of the Wind: "me and my parents were singing again and Abenthy and me were playing puzzles 🍃🎶☺️💕🫂💑🐴🌱🧙‍♂️"

The middle of Name of the Wind: "I burnt everything that little motherfucker loved to the ground and laughed when I walked away. Then I came back and lit him on fire for good measure 😈🔥👹🙊🤬🔪💥😰"

#personal #the name of the wind spoilers #name of the wind spoilers #the name of the wind

[lostbetweenthepagesofthesebooks]

"It is a word. Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. There are seven words that will make a person love you. There are ten words that will break a strong man's will. But a word is nothing but a painting of a fire. A name is the fire itself.” (Rothfuss, 672).

As promised, we're kicking off with the The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss. And I want to start off by saying that the series is not currently finish. Fortunately, there's only meant to be one more book to the main story (or maybe unfortunately, but we'll get there). Secondly, I want to mention that this is a fantasy book. I realize there are plenty of people who aren't big fans of fantasy or maybe trying to veer off the fantasy train right now.

Brief, spoiler free review: The series is focused on Kote/Kvothe, who decides to have his story written down of his trials as a kid, to his tribulations as a teenager and getting into what is apparently the most prestigious university in this realm. A university that teaches (to those that can afford it) how to use and hone magic. The story follows Kvothe struggling and fighting for his life as a kid to an adept magician, all the awhile searching for clues to what was thought of as just an ancient story to tell.

Warning: mild spoilers ahead

The Name of the Wind

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Emotions: anxious; sorrow; pain; determination; joy; annoyance; relief.

Basically... I really enjoyed this book. It's a great start to someone's story. Nothing in this book feels too drawn out. We spend a few chapters in the beginning of where Kote/Kvothe is now, clearly living a very humble life, in a very simple town. Essentially, he his hiding in plain sight. We learn there are safety and political issues across the land. We get a few creature/fight scenes before even jumping into Kote/Kvothe's story. Kote eventually gets convinced by a man called the Chronicler (who Kote saves from a creature) that recognizes Kote for who he really is: Kvothe.

Side note - yes we learn that there is apparently some drama across the lands in the present tense, but I honestly have no idea if Rothfuss even plans on really touching on this. Kvothe becoming THE Kvothe aka Kvothe The Bloodless, Kvothe The Arcane, Kvothe Kingkiller, Maedre, The Flame, The Thunder, Lightfinger, Broken Tree, Dulator, Shadicar, Six-String. All of this. Into three books. Which might very well be easily doable, but basically, I would not get too invested on those little tidbits that are given about the present tense.

Getting into Kvothe's story... his childhood is sweet. It makes you want to be an Edema Ruh, which is what his people are called. A traveling performer troupe, which are led by his mother and father, and make up his family. A man, Abenthy/Ben eventually rides along with his troupe for a span, teaching Kvothe a little about magic, or rather, sympathy. This is where Kvothe learns about The University, and starts making it his goal to attend the school. Without getting too carried away, and also as to not give too much away, eventually Ben has to depart from the group and not long after this, a great tragedy strikes.

The tragedy and how Kvothe responds to it... The way Patrick wrote this scene was heartbreakingly beautiful and oddly made me really love this book. I felt it in my heart. It was really well done. Also, here, we learn that the supposed ancient, but just a story... is definitely not, just a story. We get just a little taste here, and then it's quite some time before we find it again.

The next few chapter is where we watch Kvothe struggle and literally fight for his life, which I do think is necessary there is good information to be gathered about Kvothe's background and understanding what makes him, him. These years certainly have profound influences on him at the university, and no doubt on him as an adult.

Eventually Kvothe lands his way at The University... where he once again has to prove himself to even get into The University. But... yes... Kvothe proves very clever, and manages to get himself into the school. While here, Patrick really unfolds more of the magical realm which I really enjoy. The University teaches different types of magics and clearly houses plenty of secrets. Kvothe gains friends, an superbly ass-hat enemy, and obviously we have to have a love interest.

Now for more side notes/just general thoughts:

I want to say that although this is a fantasy novel, it's much less fantasy than others. The University definitely hosts more of the magical aspects of this realm, but even then, it's not like Harry Potter type of magic. It's almost more realistic in a way? Even though Kvothe is a quick learner, he does struggle while he's learning it. Magic is this book is difficult and dangerous. Almost every time you see it used, there's a consequence to it. Consequences can range from exhaustion to death. While I certainly love just blatant fantasy and straight up magic-this-magic-that, I did enjoy the aspect that this magic wasn't easy to hone or wield.

Like I said, I really enjoyed this book. I think it put me back into a headspace of being back in high school, and just dealing with life and drama at that age. Not that this book feels teeny-bop at. all. I feel like Patrick did a great job of setting up a foundation for this story. I definitely felt like there's great world building here, there's so much that I'm still wanting to know and/or learn about, which I know there's not enough time nor is it his focus; but these things were necessary to create this world. And that's what I love. I fell into this world that Patrick created during this book, and every time I had to put it down, I was still in that world. I didn't have the second book yet, and decided to read a book that I already had because I wanted to keep reading, but I was still stuck in Patrick's world as I started Fire & Blood.

For the world building that was done in this book, and the magic along the way, I definitely recommend this book. I would say you have to be committed to the series. At least the main series, as there are some novella's the Patrick did about two of the other characters that are in the story. The book itself doesn't end on a cliffhanger, but when Kvothe is telling his story, this ends on a cliffhanger. And I think it's just enough where people will be like "well...shit... let me grab the second one". The reason why I frame this all like such is because the final 'chapter' of Kvothe's story almost feels like a wrap up, the way he's talking; even though, as a whole, it's very much not done. We do not learn why we call him Kvothe Kingkiller in this book, folks.... but.... We do learn why we call him Kvothe The Bloodless.

Also... who wouldn't want to read a book with THIS cover:

Don't do it to 'em, Kvothe!

Read on beautiful peeps. 🤘📖

#the name of the wind #patrick rothfuss #the kingkiller chronicle #kvothe #magic #fantasy #book #bookblr #book blog #reading journal #book recommendations #book reccs #book review #reading #spoilers #mild spoilers

[zippdementia]

Is there more Alignment May Vary?

It has been over a year since I last checked in, but wanted to answer a question that came up recently. That question was... is there more AMV?

The answer is no. For a while we hosted a website with some audio versions of the adventures and a podcast called the Bestiary, but that has since gone away. I do have some art from that project that I will share here!

Going down the list, from left to right, top to bottom...

Trakki, the biind elven monk

Shando, the masked fighter

Twyin, the cursed soldier (renamed Lorin in our later notes)

Karina, Tiefling spy, Seeker of Callax, and the 1st main character of AMV

Targaryan, the psychic boy (renamed Daymos in our later notes)

Tyrion, the halfing bard and later possessed warlock (renamed Bitterberry in our later notes)

Abenthy, paladin turned villain

Our AMV logo

Our Bestiary logo

Imoaza, Yuan-Ti wizard and later Shaper of the Weave

Concept sketches for Ruiz, a shapeshifter

Milosh, the "green" robot found in deep space

Adric Alwright, mercenary

Nysyries, dragonborn pirate

Concept art for Carrick, elven warrior and clone

We still play D&D and other RPGs but life has changed drastically for me. The week before we started AMV I got married. By the time it had ended I was about to become a father. Now my son is two and a half and I am about to become a published author, and I also work full time while producing a podcast for the Lone Wolf series (if you haven't checked out Lone Wolf, do so! You'd LOVE it. www.magnamund.com).

What all that amounts to is that I no longer have time to keep track of a massive story like AMV by writing it all down. We still have epic tales... but I don't have the energy to share them publically. Also, while we've had some insanely good adventures -- complete with tears and the whole works -- nothing can really come close to this game. It just was... incredible. An experience that can't be copied or emulated. It stands alone.

If you haven't checked out AMV, you can read the entire 96 posts here on my blog! This is the beginning.

#dnd 5e #alignment may vary

[horse-shit]

if jess can put in blatant references why can't i

when mcdAphmau is still getting acquainted with the world and speech, im gonna put in a notw reference

lord greyfallow is going to be switched to work under lady bish because i think she's hot because that sounds fun

kvothe us gonna be called kander {gander with a k}, trip is gonna be named fall, abenthy is going to go solely by ben, arliden is going to be avrid, laurien is going to be named laiso {lie so}

teren is going to be called terither, hetera is going to be henthi, shandi is going to be called sandy, and the drunk guy lecturing an 8 year old will be called barlien {bar lee en} and help dale see what being drunk around kids is like and go 'mm. nope. not a fan'

i know elodin would have my head for changing names but. i can't just put 1-1 characters in this, right JESSON.

#imps bs #its late #almost 1 am #aphblr #aphmau #minecraft diaries #name of the wind #notw #for later

[tartan-tardis]

"And then there was Abenthy, my first real teacher.  He taught me more than all the others set end to end.  If not for him, I would never have become the man I am today.  I ask that you not hold it against him. He meant well." A re-draw of a watercolour painting I did a few years back. I've been trying to study environments recently...this might have been a bit ambitious at this stage, but it was fun nevertheless! 

#the name of the wind #kingkiller chronicles #Patrick Rothfuss #Kvothe #Abenthy #fanart

[acicueta]

03 Abenthy and child - Kvothe by tintaratitornin - deviantart

#tintaratitornin #Patrick Rothfuss #kvothe #abenthy #the name of the wind #acicueta

[bloodlessreshi]

Antes de aprender a escribir tienes que aprender el alfabeto. Antes de aprender a tocar y a cantar tienes que aprender los acordes.

Patrick Rothfuss, El Nombre del Viento

#para aquellos desesperados como Kvothe #todo tiene su tiempo #Patrick Rothfuss #el nombre del viento #kvothe #abenthy #quién más cree que volveremos a ver a abenthy? #porque yo sí

[yoonkitty]

 “ABENTHY: ARCANIST. EXTRAORDINARY.

          Scribe. Dowser. Chemist. Dentist.

         Rare Goods. All Alements Tended.

        Lost Items Found. Anything Mended.

No Horoscopes. No Love Potions. No Malefaction.”

#abenthy #the name of the wind #fanart #from #deviant art #art station #patrick rothfuss #kvothe

[coat-the-boneless]

#abenthy #kvothe #kkc

[incorrect-kkc-theories]

Abenthy is Aleph. He took human form to set Kvothe down his path of Sympathy and Naming, so Kvothe would eventually defeat the Chandrian, and left right before he knew they would attack. He also named his donkey Alpha as a clue.

#Aleph #Abenthy #mod iron #kkc #kingkiller chronicles #notw #Chandrian #Kvothe #it almost makes sense

[bookcub]

Abenthy: "No Horoscopes. No Love Potions. No Malefaction."

Deoch: "Basha. Is there a word for that here? A man who is intimate with both men and women?" "Lucky? Tired? Ambidextrous?" "Ambisextrous."

#fave kkc character polls #round 1 fkcp #polls #abenthy #deoch

[incorrectkingkillerquotes]

Ben: What's the point of being old if you can't beleaguer the young with your vast stores of wisdom?

Kvothe: What's the point of being young if you cant ignore all the advice?

#kkc #kingkiller chronicle #strange the dreamer #kvothe #Abenthy #mod: halfthealphabet #insert queue pun here

[qcyllan]

"Sí pretendes imponerle tu voluntad al mundo, debes controlar tu capacidad de creer"

#el nombre del viento #Abenthy #patrick rothfuss

[zippdementia]

Part 96 Alignment May Vary: A Farewell to Friends

If you’re reading this post after having read all 95 other posts, bless your heart. This is truly the final post, the last one in the Alignment May Vary series. If you are just stumbling upon this randomly, you may want to go back to at least the previous post “The End of All Things” as this is a direct continuation of the final battle described there. Also, many previous posts are linked there to help give at least some context to the encounter. You may even want to go back to the beginning and read the whole epic story. It’s the internet’s most massive and complete campaign journal!

This ends with the final lines of our campaign. I will not say farewell then, so I will say it now. The goal of this journal was to bring some small measure of the enjoyment and wonder we felt making this story and playing this game for four years to you. I hope it achieved that, and thank you for reading.

The Destruction of All Things

Meteors, the debris of a hundred destroyed worlds, or maybe worlds that had yet to be destroyed in this timeline, rained down upon the Maakengorge tower, breaking it into dust, revealing the infinity of space behind it. Imoaza tried to pull a barrier around them, made of the weave, but the weave did not obey her here. It did not even exist here. Nazragul had cut its strings. Imoaza fell under a maelstrom of heat and rock. Milosh survived a little longer, smashing the rocks with Haggemoth’s forge hammer, Haggemoth’s greatest weapon. If he could only get a clear shot on Nazragul, he thought he might be able to unleash Primus’ power on him and end this now. But Nazragul himself was engulfed in flame and Milosh drew close only to be burned and fall away into ash.

Carrick was the last to struggle on. Imoaza’s fly spell died with her, and yet momentum continued to carry him towards Nazragul. He raised his blade, knowing he would only have time for a single decisive strike. Then from the flames a skeletal hand shot out and gripped his wrist, holding him. Nazragul leaned forward, his face a grinning skull.

“I win,” he said and held Carrick as the meteor swarm crashed through them both, sending Carrick to join his companions in death.

Darkness surrounds the players. Wonderfully, they think they have lost this fight. But in reality, they have won. They brought Nazragul down to the point where he had to use his most devastating attack in a desperate gambit to destroy them forever. It ripped apart his body, as well, but he can regenerate. The players cannot. Or so he thinks.

In fact, this would have been the end of the party, except for a particular deity they helped some time ago. Now, that deity appears to them on the border of life and death. Asmodeus, lord of the Devils, and his new queen, Alyss, come to the players in purgatory. When the call comes from darkness as to who would claim the souls of the players, it is Asmodeus who answers. And then, having laid his claim, Asmodeus grants their souls new life, a return to their bodies, each of them at a single hit point.

“This is my boon, my one and only repayment for the service you rendered me. You returned me to my body and my realm, now I do the same unto you,” Asmodeus says.

“Save my daughter. Bring her soul peace,” Alyss says.

And then they go back.

A Decision Made

The players return to a world destroyed, a universe ending, a time that could come to pass, but hasn’t yet. A space between time. And in this space Nazragul sits. The body of Abenthy that he wore is destroyed. What squats on the last remaining piece of ground in that floating nothingness is a shadow, a whirling of darkness. 

And now, in front of it, stand Carrick, Imoaza, and Milosh.

“N-nooo....” the dark shape mutters. “Y-y-you are a-a-ll... d-dead...” it can manage no more. But its power is growing by the second, its body repairing, rebuilding.

There is no time to waste.

“One of us must be the shield, the sacrifice,” Carrick says. “We must take on the soul of Primus.” He holds up the Surveyor’s stone, containing the spark that can link Primus to one of them.

“It’s me,” Milosh says. “I’ve already lived a life. This is all borrowed time. It is what I was meant to do.”

“But I have lived a life as well,” Carrick begins to protest.

“No,” Milosh says, the half-orc shaking his head somberly. “You never got to live your own life. The Surveyor took it over from you when you were still young. It needs to be me.”

Except, it doesn’t, Imoaza realizes. It doesn’t need to be any of them. She is peering at the weave, magic made tangible to her special abilities. And in that weave she sees a line that has not always been there. It is like a silver thread, allowing for a different path. She recognizes the lifeforce in that thread as having belonged to Ruz. Ruz, who used her wish spell to save everyone at the Maakengorge, who has become part of the weave itself in order to work that magic. Now, the last remnants of that powerful wish are there for Imoaza to use. She grips it, and instantly she can see everything, the way the weave ties together not just magic, but the whole universe. She pulls on those threads carefully, for they are delicate and she could easily do more damage than good. She pulls, and three souls emerge from the darkness that is the thing in front of them, the thing Nazragul became, the Three who rule as One.

Nazragul is the first soul and this soul Imoaza chooses to be their shield. This will forever erase him and Primus from existence, which will also destroy Chaos. But even after this, Imoaza has a little of Ruz’s power left to use. She can, she realize, bring one of the other two souls back to life: either Karina or Abenthy. They are fading fast though and the decision must be made.

Abenthy and Karina stand now before the group, and I ask their players (who now play Milosh and Imoaza respectively) to give them voice, to have a conversation between them about what choice they should make. And so the players roleplay the moment as Karina and Abenthy get to see each other one last time. 

“I am sorry,” Karina said, seeing Abenthy again, seeing his grim mission lifted from him. “I am sorry I could not save you.”

“It was never your fault,” Abenthy says back. He kneels and places his sword on the ground then, turns to Imoaza. “It is time. Rebalance the scales.”

This moment is too much for all of us at the table, and the tears start again. Also, Imoaza cannot decide which of them to save. The player ends up having to roll a die to decide for her, it is too heavy a burden to take full responsibility for.

And the die decides it is to be Karina.

And so, in the final moments they have before the souls retwine and the body of the Three in One rises again, the deed is finished. Milosh opens his chest panel and the power of the Inevitability of Justice emerges from him to engulf and destroy forever the souls of Nazragul and Abenthy, as well as Primus and Chaos. Karina is reborn into her body and lands next to them, naked. Carrick wraps his cloak around her.

Then, as the final wave of power leaves Milosh, the space time that they are in collapses. They are rushed back to the world they left behind.

They return to a world saved.

The portal opens, the mountain collapses. The four emerge in a sea of white snow, wondering if their actions doomed their friends outside, who may have been buried when the mountain was destroyed. But then the ships of the Githyanki land around them, and there is a great cheer, for the armies were loaded onto the ships, and their friends saved. The last Surveyor approaches Carrick and Milosh and tells them they are both free now. Everyone is free, free of the creators, Primus and Chaos, to form their own future. All bonds are broken, except those kept in the name of honor and of love. The Surveyor then lays down in a patch of snow and closes his eyes for the last time, telling them all to seek their destiny wherever they feel it is best found.

And so the companions do. Each player makes a choice as to what their character does next, and we get some wrap ups on some of the NPCs, as well.

Carrick speaks to Roger Krisp, saying he would like to join the Green Company to keep a promise he made to Aldric. Roger gives him the Anope and lets anyone who wishes to follow him do so. For Krisp, he has spent decades trying to return from Hell back to Faerun and he takes his second in commands, the adventurers who long ago trialed the Tomb of Horrors (and died doing so) and buys a new ship: the Mankey Bastard Mk II (AKA the Mankier Bastard). He returns to sailing the seas.

Carrick swears his services to Aldric’s daughter, Sasha, and says that he will be off to sail the galaxies with the Green Company to do good throughout the universe.

Imoaza has responsibilities here on Faerun. She approaches the Yuan Ti, who are unsure of what to do next. They ask her who they will be conquering next.

“No one,” she tells them, knowing this is a moment that will define the rest of her people’s existence. “We will find a new way, a better way. The way of the dragon. The way of peace.” And Hecate is the first to bow and swear fealty to her mother, now the mother of all Yuan Ti, Imoaza. 

For Karina, this return to life is full of emotion. Verrick and her embrace. Verrick’s bonds that made him a Death Knight are broken, and he is able to resume a life with her. Karina also greets many old companions whom she has not seen in generations. Roger Krisp, Daymos, and Jade. Jade in particular Karina is overwhelmed to see, as she felt responsible for her loss to Nazragul in the first place.

Milosh’s chest plate is gone, his full body finally restored to him as a last act of Primus. He is given many choices now. Carrick says he could have a place among the Green Company, or if not, he would be happy to find his home planet of Eberron and drop him off there to resume his old life. Breathgiver the shaman offers him the Blackstaff, saying he could stay and rule Waterdeep, help rebuild Baldur's Gate, Ottoman’s docks, and the other cities which were destroyed by the Tarassque. Milosh thanks everyone and says he will decide in the morning.

But in the morning he is gone, and no one is quite sure where he left to.

Epilouge: A Farewell to Friends

This scene takes place 16 years after the final battle. The player characters are asked to come to Karina’s academy on the old island of Thudd, now called Oasis. It used to be a school for adventurers, trying to train people to eventually face a darker world, in case Nazragul’s plan came to fruition. Now it is a school of knowledge and philosophy and healing magics.

Karina was old before the final batle, and though restored to her body, she still only had scant years left. She is now passing, and everyone has been called to honor her in her final hours and say goodbye.

Of the companions, we follow Carrick, who arrives with the Green Company in the Anope. He wears shining emerald armor under a green cloak. Under one arm, he holds a small, wrapped package. 

He finds some new additions to the school grounds. There is a hall named for Shando, one for Daymos, and one for Lee. And in the central plaza is a bronze statue of Abenthy, not as the final terrible thing he became, but as Karina remembers him at their first meeting, and their last. A noble paladin. On the plaque at the statue’s feet is inscribed the words: “Justice is Inevitable. Friendship Does not Die.”

“Swords are easy,” a familiar voice said behind Carrick. “Capturing the look in someone’s eyes? Now that’s hard.”

Carrick turned to see a smiling half-orc standing beside him, wearing a simple tunic.

“Milosh!” Carrick said and embraced his old companion. “Where have you been all these years?” he asked, once he had let him go.

“Learning the trade of blacksmith,” Milosh said. “It seemed an honest profession, and Karina agreed to let me stay on and keep my secret.”

“I would have thought you’d be ruling Waterdeep, or Baldur’s Gate, or out adventuring even. There is still always a place for you among the Green Company.”

“You are still riding with the company?”

“Mostly. I leave most of the running of it to Sasha. She has the knack for leadership. I have focused on teaching. I have created a new order of Paladins, based around the tenets of an old friend of mine who taught me some dear lessons when he was alive. The School of Remus.”

Milosh smiled and nodded. “There is much to be learned from old friends. Your offer is a kind one, but the night we defeated Nazragul, the Surveyor told us to seek our destiny where we felt it was most likely to be found. I realized then that I had spent more years than most people get to live fulfilling other people’s destinies, solving other people’s problems. I thought maybe it was time for me, for the first time in two lifetimes, to live a life for myself. I settled here with a wife and we have a child. I am living every day filled with a contentment that I thought was not mine to have.”

Carrick clasped his shoulder and smiled. “I have watched you go through pain and loss. It is good to see you gain something. Good to see you happy.”

“Have you seen Imoaza yet?” Milosh asked. Carrick shook his head. Milosh’s own smile softened, became a little sad. “I’ll take you to her.”

Together they walked into the main hall, the hall of Heroes, where a line of tapestries depicted famous events in the history of Faerun. Before one tapestry, which showed humans breaking free of Yuan Ti slavery in the days of yore, stood an old Yuan Ti Pureblood, her hair white, her skin wrinkled, one hand holding a quarterstaff to support her weight. On one shoulder fluttered a greying ball of fuzz, that chirped softly: “chi chu!”

“There’s a tapestry of us three,” the old Yuan Ti said. “In our final battle at the Jarlsberg. I think they went a little dramatic with me, though.”

“Imoaza?” Carrick asked. The Yuan Ti turned and nodded her greeting. She had always been reserved, Imoaza, and time had not changed that. But it also looked like she had aged seventy years in the fifteen since last they met.

“Don’t look at me like that,” Imoaza said. “All three of us cheated time when we left the Abyss and ended up back on Faerun. You two paid for it with your lives. This is now my price. I am not yet gone from this earth. Time has just caught up with me, at last.”

Carrick found his eyes watering. He wiped at them as discretely as possible, but Imoaza, who had always had the sharpest eyes of them all, of course noticed. “It is alright,” she said gently. “I have accomplished what I set out to do. My people will go on. They are not powerful, but they are stronger, and better. They walk the path of balance and of nature. We are farmers, gatherers, druids. Peace suits the Yuan Ti. We take to it as seriously and studiously as we took to war.”

Carrick nodded, then said, “I have something for you.” He held out the small package. “I made a special stop at an old favorite of yours on the way back to Faerun.”

Imoaza unwrapped the package to reveal a host of sweet pastries, beautiful in their presentation, the smell of cinnamon and baked sugars rising into the air. Imoaza giggled like a little girl. “Air pastries!” she exclaimed, and reached into the bag, tearing off a piece of one of the gooey rolls, leaving strands of maple training in its wake, then popped it into her mouth and chewed, her grin growing wider.

“I’m sad they did not make a tapestry for that place,” she said.

A door at the end of the hall opened then, and an attendant of the school hailed them.

“It is time,” the attendant said.

The players enter through the door to find themselves in a grand room with pillars open to the outside, looking out upon a fabulous view of falling waterfalls and green trees, maybe one of the greatest signs of change that Karina ever brought to the world, her successful changing of the Desert of Thud into the Oasis. There is a bed here as well and on it lies Karina, her white hair braided, a cool breeze blowing through the room caressing her brow.

Many people are gathered here to say goodbye.

Daymos and Jade are there, and with them Reeves the Quasit. The brother and sister hold hands, and both are crying. Karina had witnessed both of their deaths, but also their rebirths.

Hazelwood, Ruz’s daughter and the inheritor of the power of Esheballa, has come on behalf of the Changelings whom Kaerina once sheltered when no one else would.��

Milosh and his family stand in the back of the room, his half-elf wife and child both holding his hands, hands which once were literally guns, now which create instead of destroying. 

The Green Company is in attendance along with Carrick. Aside from Carrick, they did not know Karina personally, but they have learned of her deeds and come now to be her honor guard as she passes. 

Imoaza is the only from the Yuan Ti here to say goodbye. Hecate was left to run the Yuan Ti kingdom in her absence. Imoaza uses her weave vision to see that Karina’s life is fading but she also sees the way that life has touched so many others. 

Captain Krisp comes, with the full crew of the Mankier Bastard, his new ship. He tells Karina he will name a new brand of his cereal in her honor. “Karina Krisps?” he mumbles, liking the ring of it. 

Immerstal the Red is present. Knick Knack comes in his fire form all the way from the Planet of Fire. A Red Wizard arrives, holding a framed portrait of Lhu Ee. Senator Nakir, once Karina’s Apprentice, arrives from Waterdeep, with Blackstaff Breathgiver. Traki's brother is here, as are many other elves, for Karina was a great ally to them. 

There are monks here, too, from Abenthy's old monastery, as well as the sister's of Celaenos, come to honor the one who saved Abenthy’s soul and to record this moment in time. 

Giants and kobolds and orcs and hobgoblins all arrive, those who repented after the final battle with Abenthy.

Most surprisingly, there are dwarves here: the distant descendants of Haggemoth’s line, who have heard of how their ancestor's soul was finally saved and their family line restored to honor. They are here to give thanks to those who helped that come to pass, which includes Karina.

And finally, there is Verrick, kneeling at Karina’s bedside, holding her hand. He does not know how long he might wander the earth without his love, and he cries to think of life without her. But he is also happy, for the life she lived and the time they were able to share. And he believes they will be reunited one day, even if only to rejoin the weave that souls are built from, and be knit together into a new story, a new life.

Karina looks around her, at all these varied people, all the lives she has touched. She squeezes Verrick’s hand. Then she closes her eyes, and smiles, and Karina who had once thought she would always be alone passes, surrounded by friends.

#Alignment may vary #Karina #Abenthy #D&D #5th Edition #5e #boss #boss fight #boss monster #ending #campaign journal #RPG #D20