Editing Be Loved Again

''Historian: Caleb. Date: 09/01/2025''

TATTERCOAT KNIGHTS: ACT 4, EPISODE 5, CHAPTER 33

✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧  BE LOVED AGAIN ✧⋄⋆⋅⋆⋄✧

23-24 Knewidi, 777 AR

NCE UPON A TIME, Anja stopped a ball-wide brawl with words, and words alone. Members of the party concocted a plan to talk to Alphie about their concerns with how she treated Inora, which was put into place in their private dining hall after the ball concluded. Alphie agreed to ask Inora her opinion more often, and upon Inora being summoned, the party offered to take her to explore around the castle tomorrow afternoon. Astranna and Gwyn set forth on their own plans to aid Inora, and Astranna went on a morning rendezvous with Apophis. Alphie used ''Prophetic Dreams'' to ask their galaxy for advice in helping Inora, and set in motion with their Quintessence that Inora would '''“BE LOVED AGAIN”'''.

* Caleb gives the recap!
* An all-out brawl is still occurring. The GM reminds us that this ball [and therefore this brawl] is attended by giants. Anja finds cover, and Alphie hides in the kitchen. Astranna asks Anja to get them to stop, because they listen to her. Anja speaks to them.
** “The game is now over. It is now time for a waltz. A ''gentle'' one.”

* Everyone looks around. The pixie band starts up a waltz.
** “Ah, perfect! I was wanting a waltz!”
* Anja gets +3 hp.
* There is a shimmering effect around Alphie, as all their sp is regained and restored. They just start feeling ''good'', as they’ve completed a missing part, a missing hole. They’re a bit colder, but you’ve gotta break a few eggs to make a cake.
** Alphie gets +1 hp for clocking that visually, it’s similar to their Sparkle Princess ability.
* We look for Zenais. She’s still by Alphie’s side, having hip-checked a few giants.
* Jericho blinks. His energy level has kind of gone down, but the world seems really, really ''sharp'' as he looks around. He thinks the drugs have hit a second wind of some kind.
* Astranna asks why they’re sparkling like that.
** “I’m not entirely sure. I… I began to put together pieces of Inora using the heat of the necklace, but… I didn’t– I don’t know, it’s making me shimmer more than usual.”
* Astranna asks what that does to Inora.
** “I don’t know, it– I can’t remember if I mentioned, but she is legendary in [they gesture to themself] the galaxy, and all of the legends say that she was broken or shattered somehow, not quite whole anymore. So I’m not quite sure how, but I’ve begun being able to put her back together, thanks to Ms. Zenais here.”
* They say there’s still more to go, and that they’ll ask later if she’s okay and if she wants to continue. Astranna yells at Alphie for not asking her ''first''; her expression is very obviously upset.
* Jericho waves his hand in front of his own eyes.
** ''Whoa… I wish I could see my bones… oh look, I see them… what if I could see infrared… oh look at that, infrared…''
* He finds he can wiggle his ears, and flex any particular muscle or tendon with supreme control. Thinking back to his memories, he can recall his entire life with perfect clarity. He tries to pick up Gwyn, and it’s like picking up a feather.
** She asks him to please put her down. He does so.
* Jericho does a backflip. Some people see it and clap.
* Anja offers him water and food. It’s fantastic. He can taste the minerals in the water.
** “Everything is great.”
* Astranna asks why he’s like this. He says Burgess is smoking something awesome.
* Anja summons her potion pot, and puts in a sandwich, a cigarette, and some water.
** D10 (4) – Truth serum. Stored in an oblong, corked vase.
* Alphie microaggresses rats. While the group argues about this, Astranna slips off, grabbing another glass of champagne. Gwyn follows, but doesn’t stop her from getting the champagne. Astranna vents to Gwyn about how Alphie is treating Inora, and Jericho approaches, asking if we noticed the same thing. Astranna says she can do something to help Inora, but wants to ask Inora first. The others agree, but add that they want to talk to Alphie, as well.
* Jericho goes off to talk to the last person – a giant woman, maybe 20 ft tall, bluish skin, with almost a field of electricity around them. She gives him a smile.
** “Oh, hello, Jericho. Have you enjoyed the ball this evening?”
* He says he wanted to speak to them, but got pulled away by various things. She hopes that the Volvadier Party hasn’t caused him any trouble. He reassures her they haven’t.
** “Remind me, what was your stance on the muffin issue?”
** “A coffee cake muffin is the reasonable choice, a good middle ground.”
* She calls Burgess a loudmouth. She asks if he’s the one that cooked those delectable sandwiches and put together those salads. He says yes – Astranna and him.
** “And Anja’s game, oho oho oho, wonderful. [...] A social not just butterfly, but perhaps falcon.”
* She asks if our gold was put to good use.
** “Oh, yes, thank you so much for that.”
** “I would hesitate to guess what it was for, but you have done so much for all of us, I believe that it is more than worth it.”
* She snaps her fingers, and with a bolt of lightning she summons a giant-sized coffeecake muffin.
** “Remember, vote coffeecake!”
* She leaves, and they wave to each other. As soon as all the reps leave, he tries the muffin. It’s delectable. He hauls his muffin over to talk to the group.
* Anja and Alphie speak. She asks if Inora didn’t want to go to the party, or didn’t like the dress – Alphie says she wanted to, but when they went to go meditate, they summoned Zenais.
** “She seemed off, so perhaps giving her some space was a good idea.”
** “Did she ask for space?”
** “She didn’t ask for much. She was very quiet, which is unusual.”
* Anja says she wants to make Inora another dress – it’s difficult to get them for a spirit, but…
* She says she’s scared of how easily everyone just did what she said tonight.
** “It was… something to behold, I won’t lie.”
* Anja says it’s certainly not something good.
** “The second I found out why I have this magic now, I wanted to get rid of it. I still do, but it’s granting me the one thing I’ve always wanted, and I fell to it now. I gave in. [...] I want to be liked. I want to be loved.”
** “Hmm. You think the power is granting you that, or it’s only granting you the confidence to try?”
** “I do not know. I do know that it has a pull on people, and that’s the part that scares me. I wish this was just confidence.”
* The party regroups. Anja and Alphie ask for some muffin, and Zenais wants to check it for poison. She rushes forward, moving it around in her mouth, and gives a serious nod.
** On a spirit check from Astranna, she does actually seem very concerned – it’s her job to make sure Alphie’s safe.
* We head back to the Tattercoat Tower to talk. After a short walk back, saying our goodbyes, we head back into familiar halls. Practical wishes us a good night. We decide to talk in the dining hall, and Astranna grabs a bit of a spread for Inora to choose from. Jericho asks how Inora’s been lately.
** “I would say well, but she seems off recently. She’s… quieter today. She didn’t say much, or anything, really, and when we were together, right before Ms Zenais showed up, she was… I got a read that she was fairly nervous. Perhaps scared is a better word.”
* Gwyn asks if they could tell what she was scared of, and they say she was scared of them. Astranna asks if she has any guesses as to why.
** “I didn’t, but I spent the evening thinking it over a bit… it’s… odd, because it… we’ve known each other so long, and it feels as though she is literally a part of me. It’s become almost second nature having her there, always. But I guess I forgot, somehow– I don’t know, but, I know that it’s an odd feeling having an inescapable companionship with someone. I guess I didn’t stop to consider if she felt the same way. Whether the companionship was companionship, or more of a prison.”
* Astranna points out that seeing Inora as a ''piece'' of Alphie might be part of the problem. Gwyn says she’s reminded of Olwen. Anja is reminded of waking up and finding out her power has progressed without her knowledge. Zenais asks to speak.
** “There… the galaxy that you have within yourself, it is unstable, it is at times fractured. I… know of those who have experienced radical swings of emotion and who have lost themselves to the rapidly changing cold and heat and magic within. I… do not know Inora as well as you, my liege, but your aid and help, I don’t believe it should be discounted. From what it seems, Inora has been a close companion to you for a long time. If there has been a change, it could be… one that may affect Inora for a long time. I felt that is something I should share.”
* Alphie asks what we would all recommend.
** “Everyone – because I want to do what is best for Inora. I want her to be whole again, to be herself.”
* Zenais says that it’s important to consider, in this state, without proper repair, how could Inora know what it would be to be her own person?
** “There must not be a situation where she’s allowed to hurt herself.”
** “That sounds quite controlling, in a sense – part of being a person is the chance to make your own mistakes.”
** “My liege, I mean in the sense of Inora breaking apart, an event that would mean there would be no more mistakes… this is a serious matter, my liege.”
** “From what I’ve understood, I have a lot of power to be able to help repair her, is that correct? [...] So if something goes wrong, if something happens, and she makes as devastating a mistake as you are afraid of, I should be able to help before it gets too… final.”
** “There is a possibility of this, my liege, yes.”
* Jericho asks Zenais who she understands Inora to be, and Zenais says that Inora was, to her understanding, the first being/consciousness within Alphie’s galaxy.
** “As Inora goes, so does the galaxy, in a way – the galaxy itself is filled with planets destroyed by ice, the shifting of the environment… it is so quick that only the strongest may survive, and even then, many are scrambled due to the changing nature within. [...] There are holes, sir. Grand holes. [...] Holes in the galaxy, and in Inora, as well.
** But forgive me, I only speak of what I know. This world outside is foreign to me, too. You may have knowledge that I am not privy to, but my sworn duty is to protect my liege, by protecting Alphecca protecting all those within, and that includes Inora.”
* Jericho asks who gave her this duty, and she says she took it up herself. Jericho confirms with ''Inquisitor'' that this is the truth.
** “On that note, I think I do actually know where we should have this conversation. There’s a… well, would you guys like to visit the galaxy with me?”
* The party debates on it, but Anja says Alphie should just ask Inora. Alphie tries to contact Inora, and does so successfully.
** “The others and I were hoping to talk to you and see you. Is there a place we could meet?”
** “Wherever’s easiest for you.”
* Alphie breaks the connection, and tells us she’s not expressing an opinion. Astranna suggests emphasizing that neither option is difficult.
** “Where you are now, that’d be fine. I do like the castle.”
** “May I then bring you into the castle?”
** “Sure, of course.”
* Alphie summons Inora where we are. In a brief moment, Zenais fades out of existence, and is replaced. We offer up the food, with Alphie encouraging her to try everything when she asks what’s good. She seems… happier, less nervous, more energetic.
** “I’m feeling much better. I wasn’t feeling good for a while, but I feel good.”
* Alphie says Zenais shared a possibility with them.
** “I believe that we can– do you remember when that gentleman told us you were shattered, in a way?”
** “Um… I do remember… yeah, I do!”
** “It’s possible to start putting the pieces back together, I believe, if you would like.”
** “Yeah, the pieces, uh… I’d– I’d like that.”
* Jericho makes a check. He gets… allegedly 4 successes. The GM is insistent that he got all 6s. It’s like almost, as Inora’s answering, her mind is wandering somewhere else – she’s not really paying attention to the question, not really, like, focusing. Astranna also clocks that there’s not a lot of focus, and Alphie picks up on a sort of apathy, a coolness, where she’s not overly thoughtful one way or another. Not out of it, just distracted.
* Alphie uses Sense Emotional State.
** “What’s her emotional state?” – GM
* Alphie thinks, and decides she must be apathetic. Apathetic she is.
* Inora focuses for a second, and asks if the dress Anja made for her is still there. She just wanted to ask! You know. She really liked it – it’s amazing.
* Alphie asks if she wants another dress, or a suit – she says she’d take another dress, and that she’d like the style at the last ball. She asks Alphie what they think would look good – her token has a crack in it now.
* We decide to take Inora exploring tomorrow after lunch.
* Inora says she saw Fred in the galaxy, and he’s doing well.
** “I have to ask, what is it like in the galaxy when you’re in there? Where do you go? What does your average day look like? I suppose I haven’t really asked before.”
** “Oh, um… it’s… it’s cold… um… there’s… I… some… sometimes look through your eyes… there’s not much in there though… I… sometimes I… I try and remember…”
* Her token cracks more. Astranna reaches over and puts a hand on hers. 
** “...But sometimes I look at the planets, everything else that’s there. Rest. Time can sometimes move a little strangely, but it’s… nice. Sometimes I think a lot more or a lot less time has passed than it actually has. Sometimes when you come around, you sleep, that’s kinda how I try and judge things.”
* She says she liked Astranna’s garden, and gives her a big smile. Astranna gives a smile back (though a clearly worried one). Inora wants to see everyone else’s rooms, too, but Jericho says we should get some sleep first. Alphie asks if Inora sleeps.
** “Um… I… I don’t sleep, no. I don’t really get tired, I think. I don’t remember sleeping.”
* Gwyn says she doesn’t sleep either (“Twins!” – Inora). She offers for Inora to come around. Inora says that when Alphie sleeps, she goes back. Gwyn offers to make something that Inora could control – see through, hear through, be a little like her… if that’s what she wants… 
** “Yeah… the… I… remember there’s… you… have a shell that can hold something in it…”
* She asks why she didn’t get it. The party scrambles to offer it to her, only to realize that no one claimed it, and it got left back at the Farmer’s Temple. Astranna offers to make her her own body – Inora’s not sure, but Astranna tells her there’s no rush, and offers to make her a temporary body akin to the Spirit Shell. She agrees.
** '''''Novice Poincar Magic:'' ''“a functioning replica of the spirit shell”.''''' 
* Tiny pinpricks of light start to glow from Astranna’s body. The energy in the space shifts, and Anja, as someone attuned to magic, feels the swirling of hidden forces, like a great gallery of invisible fabric, moving, shifting, whirling. Prudii feels it vibrate deep within his artificial limbs. 
* The power releases out. They all feel it die away very softly, but nothing seems to have directly happened out. Astranna says it’s in the works, and Inora runs up to her and hugs her (which Astranna returns). She thanks us for the food, and maybe for the games.
* Alphie goes to leave, and Inora starts to follow, until Alphie says she thought she wanted to go with Gwyn.
** “Oh, that’s right!”
* She follows next to Gwyn, who starts heading to her room, and puts a comforting hand on Inora’s shoulder. Astranna announces she’s going to go for a walk, and wanders for a bit before making her way to the top of the castle.
* The sun is rising over the horizon, starting to paint the land in pinks and golds. An individual is waiting for her, on a nearby tower across the parapets. She makes her way toward him. Apophis is watching the sunrise. He’s got a small table set up, with two glasses of orange juice. He motions Astranna over, and greets her.
** “Ah, the light of the sun, how it illuminates this place, yes, very good. [...] Hmm. There are stories in your eyes.”
** “It’s been a long night.”
** “Hmm, always good to greet the sun, even if you’re tired. Did the rest of the Tattercoat Knights enjoy? …The ball, I mean?”
* Astranna says they had a bit too much fun. He says he noticed.
** “I saw Zenais. First time. Where’d you find her?”
* Astranna says Alphie invited her.
** “I see – now, and what about your other companion?”
* Astranna, confused, asks if he means Henrietta – he corrects that he means ''Inora''. Astranna says there was an… issue, and she was unable to attend, but they tried to hang out with her afterward and cheer her up, and brought her some food. He says that if Inora ever wants something from his shelf, of course, the door’s always open. Astranna agrees to let her know.
** “Hmm. I do wonder, though – why did you make the trek up here this morning? What are you curious about?”
* Astranna says she’s curious about… a lot. A lot of foundational things got shaken up for her, and she’s struggling to find her footing.”
** “So, did you see too much?”
* She says she’s not sure, but asks if anything of note has happened for him. He laughs.
** “Still looking into many things, watching, as there have been certain shifts very recently that I haven’t been able to explain, right before the sun came up. What have your stars been telling you?”
* She says she was asking them for help for Inora. She asked them for help with… the issue Inora had last night.
** “Still on that, huh? I guess the ritual didn’t give you the answers that you wanted? Or, well – the answers that Inora hoped for? Maybe, though – ''if'' the answer is not here, the answer is nowhere. [...] But remember – you have to take the first step. Or steps. Well, once you find your north, set your compass. You’ll probably be fine. Well, that is, of course, if time doesn’t run out.”
** “Do you think that’s going to happen soon?”
** “Who’s to say? Not my place to speculate.”
* He stares at Astranna. The GM asks Astranna to make a spirit check [1 success]. Unclear if this is to read Apophis or defend against him. He stares, and then cracks a smile.
** “Hmm. Well, what are you doing today? I know that it is such a busy day for the parties. What will the great Tattercoat Knights be up to?”
* Astranna says they haven’t decided.
** “Well, the stars are most active, most moving, here, now, when night turns to morning. So – perhaps you make a decision now? You help them guide. Get on a path, and a way. You follow a constellation.”
* Astranna hems and haws, and starts to say they’ll attend the meetings of the parties. He rolls his eyes, and starts walking down the parapet.
** “Oh, um, bye?”
** Astranna finishes her orange juice.
* Alphie uses ''Prophetic Dreams'': “How do we best help Inora? Because something seems extremely wrong. Everything, specifically, seems extremely wrong.”
* Gwyn is asked if she’s using the dream sand. She has decided against that. But, while still trying to get some rest, she wants to work on a project with the gems from the forge, and some scraps.
** She wants to make a little mechanical doll, focusing on making it so Inora can communicate and hear through it. She puts the gemstones in the eyes, so that Inora can see through them.
* She makes an artificing check (6 successes – very low for her). She’s working on it, but it’s complicated, on par with what her mother was trying to make. Lots of facets and moving parts, some bumps and roadblocks, as she’s not only trying to expand size but also capacity, while keeping intricate psionic webs to store Inora.
** She’s 40-50% of the way done.
* As she works, she speaks to it as if Inora can hear her, telling her a little bit about what she’d consider her childhood (where she wasn’t really a child, but her first couple years of being with Morgen, some of the good moments she can scrounge up). +3 hp. We cut back to Alphie, who is trying to focus on something specific – what they can do to help Inora.
* As they focus, letting their mind wander, they find themself on an asteroid floating in space, with all these chunks of glass floating around. There’s a pillar of light, and some of the glass seems to be almost sticking to the outside of the pillar, while others are being expelled. It is a chaotic churn. What are they doing?
** They kick off of the asteroid, moving toward the light. They hear voices from within the light, fragments of conversation they can’t really pick up on. As they move closer, they try to listen, and hear voices – Jericho, Anja, Inora… they can’t make out words, but overall tone, voice, word choice, like they’re listening to conversations ran through water.
* They try to determine if there’s a pattern to how the tone/etc influences which glass pieces stick to the light. The glass seems to be like a jigsaw puzzle, and as they move a piece toward the light, it seems to have some kind of attraction to it. As they release it, goes back to the same orbit, but there’s almost some resonance within the glass. As they let it go again, it attaches to the outside of the pillar, growing stable and stationary. They get to make a justify check to put the pieces together.
** Physical (B1 – 4 successes) – they’re trying to be delicate with the fragile pieces, and determine where each piece best fits.
* In the glass, they see reflections of them and Inora in various dreams, lying in bed together, next to a horde of treasures, her smiling, happy, by their side… all these moments of connection. They figure out they have to connect again, and feel a swirling of quintessence as they say this out loud. They attempt to further the connection.
** QUINTESSENCE (B1 – 6 SUCCESSES) – OFLLBEVYBKPDJARZ (+4 wild card letters, from their previous check).
* Alphie initially arranges “LOVE AGAIN”, before arranging “BE LOVED AGAIN”.
* We end the session here. Everyone gets a level-up, and Alphie gets +3 to the restoration of Inora.