The Fate of Delphi
| The Fate of Delphi | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||
| Factions Involved | |||||||||
|
ShadowHaven Informer | Fate | ||||||||
| Delphi |
Character1 Character2 | ||||||||
Summary
In which Delphi awakens to her hidden potential and sees potential futures both grim and beautiful.
Background
After the events of Of the Goddess of Love, where Delphi became addicted to shade, she has been feeling strange, and exploring what it was like to be without a body. Informer meanwhile, has spent the last several months investigating the leyline activity that has been acting strangely and been directed to the Aztechnology pyramid after the events of Noir Days and Bright Nights and has lost most of their leads, causing them to turn to an old ally, and going to Delphi to assist as it's her case as well.
Ascension
Informer arrives at Delphi's office in the midst of her cleaning up some of the conspiracy boards that she has around the office, showing up with their classic noir monologue and monochrome aura that drains the color from the rest of the world. Explaining to Delphi that they'd been looking into the leylines and that there was more activity than they had previously seen. The Free spirit tells Delphi that they have a contact in the city of Celephaïs in the Metaplane of Man. Asking Delphi to join them on the Metaplanar journey, Delphi agrees and takes some Shade and a loco speedball to prepare herself for the trip. Seeing Delphi's astral form, Informer notes that there has been some sort of change in her aura before the two astral forms begin to ascend.
At some point the seer realizes that she has lost track of her spirit friend, and instead of in a world that she recognizes, is standing before her long-dead sister. The Dweller on the Threshold shows Delphi an image of the apartment that she shared with her sister before the events that took her from the seer. The Dweller asks Delphi if she believes these things that she's going through, the struggles and sadness and pain, is worth it for her seeking out the truth? The Dweller also asks if Delphi feels like she needs to continue her search and what drives her.
Her convictions redoubled, and a sweet moment with her sister lived, Delphi emerges into the Astral Sea, and Informer takes a moment to comfort their friend and investigation partner.
Celephaïs, the Fated City
Informer instructs Delphi to follow the current of the Astral Sea, the two of them dive in and allow the current to sweep them away, though Delphi is having trouble doing more than just keeping her head above the "water". Guided by the Free Spirit, the seer eventually feels something at her ankle, and looks down to see some form of warped spirit, opening their mouth wide to create a circular void with razor-sharp teeth and scaring Delphi badly. Informer knocks the spirit away from Delphi and quickly the two of them move into a different stream of the Astral Sea and fall into a valley, which Informer uses to guide the two of them to the docks of Celephaïs, where the dreamships that travel across the metaplane are prepared and set off.
Taking in the beauty of the spirit city, Delphi takes a moment to get used to the fact that gravity, heat and other physical sensations have returned to her. She buys a fruit for herself and Informer by agreeing to a small task for the spirit selling them. Taking in the new surroundings, Delphi begins to see Oracle walking in front of her. As the trio approach Chrysanthemum's temple, Delphi sees a strange thread that is wrapped around her mentor, as her astral sight solidifies, she sees that it's in fact dozens, if not hundreds of threads, and that Oracle has changed their direction and is heading for a different part of Celephaïs.
Following the mentor, the more Arabian-style of Celephaïs gives way to a different district, more Greek inspired. Delphi notices that one of the temples seems to be where Oracle's threads are are leading, and that it seems to split into three threads at the end. Informer uses the Movement power on Delphi to allow the seer to get ahead of their shared mentor. Though she is distracted on the way of a chess set that she recognizes, being sold by a spirit who haggles with Delphi for the impression of the time she played with this set against Pythia. With this memory, Delphi takes the chess set and, remembering what she was doing, speeds to the temple.
Inside, Delphi finds three spirits that represent the mythological Fates working on a large loom. It seems to be the Tapestry of Fate, and the threads that are connected to Oracle and Delphi herself are in fact threads that connect to the Tapestry. Questioning the Fates, they explain that they weave, trim and repair the tapestry as things change, and Delphi looks into what is one of many futures. Oracle, once he arrives, brings Delphi over to the tapestry and has her touch part of it. She sees Seattle burning, the SINless caught in the blaze and the corporations looking down upon it with smiles, as well as herself, dressed well in her office, watching the carnage while doing nothing.
Shocked by this possible future, Delphi steps back, but Oracle brings her back and touches the loom again. This time she sees a peaceful horizon during a sunset. She feels people close to her and a sense of accomplishment. She feels the warmth of hope in her chest, and as she steps back from the tapestry again, she feels something awaken within her. Before leaving the temple Atropos, the third of the Fates, gives Delphi a stand snipped from the Tapestry of Fate.
The Blooming of a New Mystery
Leaving the temple, Delphi, Informer and Oracle return to the more Arabian-styled Celephaïs, and Informer leads them back to Chrysanthemum's temple. When in the temple, the two show deference to the powerful Free Spirit, and ask for her assistance in determining the strange changes in the leylines. Chrysanthemum looks at Delphi, and sees the strange taint of blood magic that covers her aura from having generated a blood magic point some time ago. Delphi attempts to explain, and Informer backs the detective up, saying that the only reason that she was tainted was that she was trying to save their life.
Despite the suspicion, Delphi is allowed to see the map of the leylines alongside Informer. The runner tries to memorize the map, as Chrysanthemum examines the changes, first the leyline that has curved unnaturally towards the Aztechnology Pyramid, and Informer also alters the course of another leyline, cutting from Redmond, across Council Island and towards the pyramid as well. This concerns the Free Spirits, as Chrysanthemum explains that that sort of shift would require upwards of sixty geomancers working in tandem.
Due to the suspicion that Aztechnology was behind these shifts. Delphi asks if there's any clues as to what happens next. Chrysanthemum points towards a blue leyline nearby Seattle and explains that it is a dragon line, and one that will become flexible and malleable on August 9th.
Thanking Chrysanthemum for all her help, Delphi and Informer prepare to return to the material plane, but Chrysanthemum offers Delphi a boon for bringing her this information, an astral flower that will lend some credence to her arguments that she is not tainted by Blood Magic. With this final gift, Delphi feels a tight tug in her chest, as her body isn't used to being without a consciousness for so long and is starting to reject the separation, the two investigators get onto a dream ship and then fall back to the material plane.
Aftermath
Delphi does her best to copy the Leyline map that she saw, and realizes that there has been a fundamental change in her magical abilities. Informer returns to their office, saying that any leads they will come to Delphi with first and preparing for more dangerous futures...
Rewards
- Is an Explorer Now!
- IG 5 discount
- Home Ground (Astral Acclimation) (10 RVP)
- Spiritual Pilgrim (5 RVP)
- A token of trust from Chrysanthemum
Game Quotes
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Delphi
Wow... I feel different somehow.. when I took that shade and projected for so long I thought something was weird, but after visiting the metaplanes and seeing that tapestry... yeah, something's defenitly changed. It's still so much to take in - even after all I've seen that was something else. The Dweller was... well, I didn't expect them to look like my sister, but despite how difficult it was it was still a nice moment. The astral sea was beautiful, even with that creature we encountered, and the city was absolutely marvelous as well. The Fates... that was something else, I mean I've seen the future before but that felt more... weighty.
Talking to Chrysanthemum was pretty nerve-wracking - I guess my aura is still pretty fragged up from that thing a while back and she defenitly noticed. Thankfully Informer covered for me and told her how it was to help them, and she gave me a token of trust that will hopefully help convince other spirits of the same; the flower is really nice, and it goes well with my astral form. She showed us a map of all the ley lines in Seattle, and said that Aztechnology is going to try to mess with a Dragon line next - apparently on the anniversary of President Dunklezhan's death, which feels... bad. So yeah, that's gonna be fun to deal with.
When I got back to my body it felt different, and Informer said something had changed about my aura. I took a quicksilver photo and they were defenitly right, there is something there now that wasn't before. I think this might be like with the oneiro when I first initiated... might lay off the shade for a while - not sure that I need it anymore.