(Philomena Snapdragon's, Zora's and Sooty's players are gone for this session.)
Volk Lesnoy, Mikhail and Dareth Lion'el Griffmane awaken in a vast expanse, with a floor made from glass or crystal and a vast night sky over them. After they found their bearings, they did look around and heard a giggle... only for an impressive looking fey woman to appear out of nowhere. She introduced herself as The Dreamweaver, Archfey of the Grove of Dreams in The Feywild. The party's action the other day, killing the Kumiho and shattering their dreams of becoming human, as well as unleashing their fey energies by killing them caught her attention. So, she inspected the dreams of the Agate Seekers; finding especially strong nightmares with Volk, Mikhail and Dareth. Thus, she offers the threeea way to help bring relief, so that pleasant dreams can return; or at least some catharsis from these nightmares. However, they would then need to confront the true events of these nightmares after.
A bit reluctantly, the three accept her offer for help. And that's where the scenery changes... Dareth finds himself in a familiar area; by a village near his home of Skyhold, where he sees himself, a bit younger, currently training with Celeste Arborguard. At sunfall however, a bell is heard; an alarm bell, coming from Skyhold. Rushing towards their home, they find it under siege in a distance... and themselves attacked by brigands, wearing the sigil of who Dareth now knows are The Bloodletters. A fight ensues... and Dareth stands in his younger self's place, surrounded by his friends.
The party was victorious, and saw Dareth's younger self and Celeste arrive at the keep in time, repel the attackers, enter the keep and fight alongside his father Blain Griffmane, as well as Clayton Griffmane and Clara Griffmane, dealing with assassins in the keep.
...But that isn't what happened. And the true events unfolded in front of the trio. Dareth and Celeste arrive too late. Dareth, entering his parent's bedchambers, finding his stepmother dead on the floor, and his father dying, leaning on a pillar. His father's last words, "Seek out the Emerald of the Crossroads. There, you will seek the answers you have searched for. Fight til’ the last drop of blood, my son...". Celeste and him fleeing Skyhold as the keep goes up in flames. They are seperated. And Dareth eventually gained the recommendation letter from the guild. That's where the dream ends.
After some heartfelt words between a crying Dareth, his two friends, as well as the Dreamweaver, the Dreamweaver then revealed to Dareth a different Dream, as a reward for doing so well... A dream connected to him, but not his. His father and stepmother, much younger, in a carriage... approaching a forest in the southern highlands of Galon? Blain telling Agetha that he's going to show her the secret behind the Griffmane Family's aptitude with griffons. They seem to be griffon nesting grounds... and deep inside, they find a druidic woman on top of an impressive, majestic owl-like griffon. Some playful banter reveals that her name is Nevra, and that she's the current Emerald of the Crossroads... That's where the dream ends, with Dareth looking on in awe for a while.
Next up was Volk; as the dream shifts. The party sees, in some woodlands in autumn, a group of bandits... including a differently dressed Volk. Next to him, the bandit leader, a man called Bruno who rides a contraption called a "Motorbike", talks to Volk about their target; a caravan that they are watching. But as they approach, Volk notices that this caravan is comprised of people who were fleeing something; with only their clothes on their back. Despite this, they nonetheless rob those people, and kill those who can't pay up... Volk sees a woman, looking on in horror... as it gives him the courage to confront his teammates and fight back against them.
Another fight ensues, and the three party members find themselves in past-Volk's shoes, fighting against his bandit comrades. And they are victorious, as the woman looks on, first in shock, but then, smiles at Volk...
Except, once again, this didn't happen that way.
Instead, Volk wins against his former bandit allies... except that he's mortally wounded. The woman, in an effort to save him, heaved him into a wheelbarrow, intending to find a healer in the nearest settlement... The dream fades in an out, as Volk's consciousness did at the time, and eventually, the two rest by a tree. Volk, however, feels himself slipping completely... as he takes a knife and carves the promise to his next life into the tree: "Never take up banditry again. Rid the world of criminals who hurt innocents."
The woman tries to reassure Volk that he'll be fine, but he can feel it. And the last thing he hears is her calling out his name... But then we see the world bathed in red, as the woman, holding a crystal to Volk's chest, is chanting something. Mikhail was able to determine it was Draconic Illiadian: "Forest Mother, Give new life to the dead forest soil". And Volk rises... and his body breaks and twists, much to her horror, as it says, blankly, "What are your orders, mistress?" The woman just... looks in terror, then runs away shouting "leave me alone!"... and that's where the dream ends.
However, also Volk is getting a reward. Another dream connected to him; as the scene shifts and shows these events in a different perspective. The woman is traveling for days, keeping Volk alive to the best of her abilities, changing his bandages and feeding him rations... even shielding him from the rain at one point. And they make it to the tree, where they rest... The scene goes on similarly; Volk, carving his promise, Volk dying... But it goes on. The woman is crying over Volk's body, desperately trying to bring him back with chest compressions and mouth to mouth... only to burst out crying when it doesn't work, beating herself up... calling herself useless... Then she takes out a symbol... a symbol of Farrina , praying for guidance... but getting no answer...
But then... a thought comes to mind... As she takes out the Forest Garnet, she is ruminating if, since it can bring life to dead soil, maybe it can save his life? So she tries... and instead... it creates a monster. And she runs. Her thoughts overwhelm her, blaming her for what happened. She turned him into a monster. She desecrated his body, turning it into a puppet. She failed once more... And she travels... to the mountains... where she finds... an archway. A gate. And as she steps towards it, the dream ends.
Volk ruminates on this for a while... not only did she keep him alive for longer than he thought possible... she may still be alive, in another plane... Perhaps the Feywild...
Last, the Dreamweaver looked towards Mikhail. And Mikhail, with great reluctance, took her hand. A new scene unfolds; Mikhail's childhood home. He's not even 8 years old, and forced to wear dresses and keep the house clean... His parents, Viciver Krios and Zenphyra Krios occasionally coming in... berating him... calling out mistakes... calling him "their daughter"... telling him to cover up his Half-Tirrdaka features... telling him lies about staying away from Shadow-Ena...
Then, Annalise Krios is born. Then the dynamic changes... Mikhail becomes her primary caretaker... he's allowed to stop wearing dresses, as those are for Annalise now... and then, his parents just... stop showing up. Mikhail continues taking care of his sister, eventually being taken in by Countess Evelyn Nightfall... only for Annalise to just... up and leave...
That's where Mikhail's fears take shape... he sees his parents, expressing their disappointment that he couldn't do the one thing he was useful for right. And they plan to dispose of him. A fight between the party and these apparitions breaks out... And Mikhail is victorious in overcoming his parents with his friends...
Except that's not what happened... Instead he just continues to grow up in their shadow... and they simply disappear without a trace one day, so he continues taking care of Annalise. Eventually, they're taken in by the Countess... he's doing jobs for her. An image of Mikhail, hand-in-hand with a rich looking person entering a room and locking it is shown... And Annalise left. That is what happened.
Mikhail was left ruminating about this for a bit, before the Dreamweaver then showed him his reward; as with the others, a dream connected to him, but not his own. It's a dream of Annalise, talking to their parents. They're leaving for the Feywild, as Mikhail has become useless to them; 18 years, and they still have no way to cure his mother of her Tirrdaka state, which she is disgusted with. They invite Annalise to join them there, once she tires of Mikhail... and they leave. Annalise is left reeling in sadness... and anger... and over the years, we see different images of Mikhail, as Annalise looks at him... an ugly gutter-child... a gutter child, masked, dressed in finery... and a dirty dress-up doll... and so, Annalise leaves... picks up a flute... and joins a group, consisting of a Tabaxi, a Dragonborn and an Elf... And the dream ends.
Mikhail is immediately distraught at the idea that this is what Annalise thinks of him. He doesn't think he can let it go, unless he hears it out of her mouth... However, ever so slightly, the words from his party members do provide him with a calmer head.
The Dreamweaver then leaves a last gift for the party; a Scroll of Nightmares, made with the nightmares they vanquished today. And thus, she bids them adieu, as all three of them wake up.
SESSION END