Shades of the First Heartblossom

Loose threads: What really are the Faded, will we run into them again?

Participants : Pita Injera Alexandra Hoppers Cornelius Wintercrest

Locations The First World

Short summary:

We try to find out about the First Blossoming

Full Report

Field Report: The First Blossoming of ThistleShade and the interference of the Faded:

Filed byn Cornelius Wintercrest, field observer, blossom partaker, chai tea enthusiast.

It began as a simple walk through memories. A light dive into the collective recollections of the hidden fey village known as Thistleshade tucked inside the heartwood forest, accessed by way of Sylvaith, a being woven into the very soul of the region. The objective: observe the origins of the firs blossoming festival, and perhaps enjoy some floral tea and beetle racing along the way(sorry Injera). What followed...was something else entirely.

We entered the projection as a group, myself, Pita, Injera, and Alexandra, greeted by golden sun filtering through a canopy, pollen fell like snow and joy bloomed through the streets as villagers danced and wove petal talisman. There was music and celebration and we first decided to head to the chef, a goblin named Grub. He was quite the chef brewing and smoking and cooking wonderful cuisine for each of us.

As the day wore on, tension became clear. People were hoarding petals, staring too long, and speaking too softly. Grub hinted at past service tot he Fey courts and having lost something he could not name. A storyteller named Feather told children a parable about a broken promise and the threads that came to collect. We chased rumours across town and began to piece together what was happening...

And then time broke.

It began with a bell tolling, Day beccame night, and the great tree at the edge of the town burned. People screamed, blossoms got ripped from the earth, and our group went into action. Alexandra and I went after the looters, Pita and Injera...did something... I don't know I didn't ask

We were each then isolated into our own personal visions. I faced a poor reflection of myself, Alexandra a shielded shadow, Pita a robed figure telling secrets, and Injera doppelgangers of the rest of the party(and he killed me first. Rude) After all of us defeated the shadows we were grouped together and able to take part of some of the heartbloom flowers which helped us.

Then a large shadow manifestation appeared and...we almost immediately put it down with large hits coming from Injera and Alexandra and Pita, and I helped I guess.

After it was defeated we were whisked back to the present in our physical bodies and Sylvaith looked rough. She smiled at us and tried to apologize, for what we had witnessed was real, the festival, the village, the fear, and the eventual rupture between the courts and thistleshade. Something called the Faded had breached her illusion and used it to hurt her to turn us into a weapon against her.

This is when it was revealed that Sylvaith was in fact the person who had caused the split from the courts and had been exiled because of this. Additionally Feather the storyteller was Sylvaith. Sylvaith is now forced to live in isolation. She seemed to have been hurt by the Faded, but it was mostly mentally so I was of little use.

Respectfully submitted,

Cornelius Wintercrest

This was a quest that was a part of the 2025 June Pride Event.

The Faded are a coalition of creatures that exist outside the physical realm hoping to gain access to our world.

Heartwood Blossoms are flowers that, as they bloom, have petals that are all colors of the pride flag. People can use these petals for cooking or weaving, but their power comes when they're consumed, they can grant special powers. In this quest, the players ingested the petals and were granted Mythic Feat abilities and Mythic Spells.

Sylvaith is a born of vegetation Yaoguai Bard, also known as Feather, who grew up in the town of Thistleshade until she was considerably older.

Thistleshade is a town within 'The Heartwood', a piece of forest within The First World and is home to all manner of creatures, but mostly Fey, Goblins and Elves. It remains outside of The Fey Court's influence due to promises that were broken, and remade during the First Blossoming/Blooming/First Bleeding/Great Forgetting (or any of the many names the citizens have for the events that were witnessed during this vision).

Feather is the person who broke the first promise that kept Thistleshade outside the Court's influence, causing the people of the village to turn on each other and forget the unity that the blossoms brought. After the Courts attacked, Feather was instrumental in making a pact; she would live in exile and never return to The First World in exchange for Thistleshade to remain outside of the Court's Influence.

Shades of the First Heartblossom

GM notes