Session 51-53: The Resurrection of Eris Dahraklis

Session 51-53: Eris' Resurrection and the Realm of Envy

Session 51: Beloved Memory

The party moves to the closest temple they could reach: the Temple of Waking Winds, within the Colosseum District. At the base of the tall temple, they part ways with Grakan and Serpent's Bite, and Ilev and her people. Grakan provides Faessi a means of contacting him, while Ilev sets off to find Jakk after he led a bulette off the battlefield. Now alone, Lumière Éternelle sets out to climb the Temple of Waking Winds. On the steps up, they are buffeted by a strong gale as they climb, threatening to knock them down, but they hold fast, knowing that they are there for a purpose. When they weather the winds successfully, they reach the top, greeting the conjurer of those winds: an aasimar monk of the temple, named Iya of the Pelagian Peaks. She greets the party, and upon hearing their purpose of visit, lead the party through the temple to meet the Archbishop of the District. On the way, they get a glimpse of the martial and training-centered atmosphere that the temple supports, where the worship of Adaia and her methods are prevalent throughout.  

As they enter the main temple, they see Verdias, who had earlier collected the body of the Scourge Disciple, meeting with the Archbishop of the District, Archbishop Rene. They intrude upon their conversation; Verdias, seeing them carry Eris' body, is haunted, drawing his weapon upon the party. He demands to know what they've done. When they explain the situation to him, Verdias is devastated, shaken. He bears the scars of her actions and the bruises of training to one day free her from her torment, only for it all to prove meaningless.   Further worsening matters, the Archbishop refuses to perform a ritual, as she lacks the necessary manpower to perform the ritual without her right hand, and Verdias refuses to substitute, stating that the demon will remain dead while Eris is dead. Just when Eris looked truly lost, two visitors entered the temple, one Eonys Favreau, and one Blademaster Michel de Chevin, Eris' idol Blademaster. Eonys calls out to one named Aranvir, telling him that his job is over; he appears from the shadows, having observed the party the entire team, before leaving. The purpose of her visit is made apparent when Eonys entrusts the party with a secret.  

I am Mirabella Valois. M. V.. Your sponsor. And I will not stand idly by when one of my own sacrifices herself for my cause.

— "Eonys Favreau".

She calls upon a favor from Archbishop Rene, which amuses her enough that she accepts their request to try. Eventually, seeing the party's determination and willingness to go through hell to save Eris, he relents. But, it will not be easy: Michel, having experienced being part a ritual before, he states that the party must gather as much personal information and history about Eris Dahraklis as much as possible, in order to be able to establish a connection with her to bring her soul back to her body. To facilitate this, Archbishop assigns Iya to the party as an experienced illusionist, where she can create visions based upon recollection. With that, the party sets out on a week of learning Eris' history, while the Archbishop and Verdias prepare the ritual.  

• Day 1: The party visits Elle in her holding cell, when she learns of Eris' death from them. She tears up, recounting of the times when she, Eris, and Verdias were still children and the best of friends. When she and Verdias developed powers and showed higher potential, they had to leave Eris behind.
• Day 2: The party travelled to the Homely Rest to meet Sal. Sal recounts the time he first met Eris, who had been referred to him thanks to helping out a supplier of his named Tas. He remembers the day they first agreed to her staying, as well as Ophelia taking an immediate shine to Eris.
• Day 3-5: The party travels to Bellwood Point, an idyllic farming village and Eris' home.
  • They meet with Eris' Father, a retired Frontierman and former adventurer. He recounts the day when Eris' life changed forever: a day when Eris was kidnapped and he mounted a one-man rescue party to save her. When he tracked her all the way to the kidnappers' tents, he saw her being the target of vile acts. When he was about to save her, a brilliant flash of white appeared, where K'aamni and Faessi saw something, before the kidnappers were massacred all around her.
  • They await Eshe Shadya, a bard who had given Eris hope in her younger years. She recounts her tale through song, speaking of the time she visited and saw Eris being bullied. She followed the child to her treehouse, where she and Eris got along due to their love for stories and tales, especially of the Ten Companions. They parted with her restoring hope into the young kid.
  • They visited Dacia, a taliyan community residing within the forest nearby to meet with their Conducă, a white lion named Soan. Soan recounts the time Eris' parents brought her to the village out of desperation to figure out what had possessed her. When they found out that a demon was residing within Eris, Soan put Eris up to task, daring her to become strong enough that she may one day break free from her curse.

 

• Day 6: The party visits a Honed Blades' Dojo at the Council District, where they meet Blademaster Michel alongside Gilan Cernunnos, her mentor.
  • Michel recounts his time visiting Bellwood Point, where he brought no weapon due to not expecting a fight to break out. However, when a giant came barreling down towards the village, he was forced to use a wooden sword given by a kid Eris. He used said wooden sword to great effect, causing Eris to revere his strength.
  • Gilan remembers when Eris first came to one of the Honed Blades Dojo. Amongst all the candidates, he remembered her having the most passion and heart, and recruited her into their midst.

With these recollections gathered, the party prepared for the final recollection of the one who was most affected by Eris' death: Verdias Lyon.    

Session 52: Life and Death

The party returns to the Temple of Waking Winds, where they find Verdias Lyon praying, contemplative. He shows the party the scars that he bore from the last time he met Eris, then recounts his days with Eris, from childhood to his final meeting with her.  

• He speaks of the time when they were kids, where they ran up the hill of Faerden's Shield to make a wish upon the stars. Verdias promised to get strong enough to protect all of Elle and Eris, and the three kids promised to stick together until the end.
• He reminisces of the time when they came to Bellwood Point with a purpose with Elle. How when they met Eris again after so many years, it was as if they had never left, and the three caught up, forgetting what they came here to do.
• He ruminates upon the time he spoke one too many careless words about their dear friend, offending Eris, who believed they thought of her as a problem to be fixed rather than a friend. When Verdias and Eris got testy with each either, neither backing down, Eris unknowingly unleashed her echo upon him, slashing him open and scarring him for life. She couldn't believe what had just happened, and so she fled, never seeing them again.

  At the end of the recollection, Verdias warns the party that that darkness that Eris kept to herself is still within her, and that they should prepare once the ritual for anything to happen. And so, the party takes a rest for the final day, when the ritual would take place, and their chance to reach Eris would be at its best.   On the next day, the party enters the main temple, to find many of the people they had met attended the ritual, with the intent to watch and see if Eris would come back to life or not. As Archbishop Rene placed the body of Eris in the center of a ritual circle, the party took their positions, and Iya as the left hand and Verdias as the right hand assumed their responsibilities as an energy conduit and ward against influence, respectively. Rene searched for points on Eris body where she could draw life into; once she had done mapping out this point, she called for three of the party to call out to their companion. Faessi, K'aamni, and Quico were the ones to make their pleas, reaching out for Eris' soul, to bring her back and establish a connection between her soul and her body. Three white flames are created as a result of these pleas, and they are enough for Rene to complete the final step of the ritual. As she prepares to drive her palm into Eris' chest, calling upon Adaia to bring the loyal warrior back, a demonic hand grabs her by the wrist and tosses her aside, before laying many hands upon Eris' body, revealing its true form.

I am Envy.

— The Demon within Eris.

As it retreated into the portal of its creation with Eris' body, the party and Verdias resolve to follow after it. Before they can, Rene uses her remaining energy to create tethers upon them all, so that if she feels one of them fall, she can save them from death within the demon's realm. With that reassurance in place, the party enters the Realm of Envy.


As they enter, the party and Verdias finds themselves surrounded by an unending forest, where an unsettling atmosphere hangs upon them like a crushing weight. Beyond the haze of their surroundings, the party finds a shade, which tells them to "follow the signs, lest they wander forever", before disappearing. Straining their senses to find a sign, the party spots a small light figure, with two dark figures in front of it. When they follow that sign and reach it, they heard Eris' voice all throughout the realm, speaking of the sight before them.  

Verdias and Elle had all those powers of the Heroes we used to act as. They were special. When I was kidnapped, I didn't get any sort of special power: only suffering and hurt. They get to leave for Verdane and leave me behind, while I deal with people who don't understand me…

Verdias feels some kind of way regarding these words, wondering if the demon is using these words to taunt them with Eris' suffering. They continue to follow the landmarks with this hanging over them, finding a gigantic tree with small demons and devils flying all about. They spot a small opening at the base of the gigantic tree, and when they follow it down, they are surprised to spot Stephanie, covered in roots and knocked unconscious, her body slowly being crushed by her constraints. The party moves to free her, with Tandi noticing that her pendant was glowing when they released her. When the party wakes her up, she seems to have no recollection of the events that had happened after she had separated from the party in the Colosseum, including the time she contacted Tandi and spoke a warning to them about a war. Without any option but to press on, the party continues forward out of a tree with Stephanie in tow, spotting a light figure beckoning towards them.   Along the way, they come across two demons interested in making two different deals with them:

• A demon imprisoned within a cluster of crooked trees calls out to the party, offering an exchange of a legendary book for their invoking his name and providing him power. Most of the party is hesitant to help him, even after he reveals that he possesses an ancient artifact in his grasp, which Verdias confirms. Verdias offers to slay the creature instead, but cooler heads prevail, and the party rejects its offer, leaving it to its fate.
• A floating eye demon floats on by, flying into the path of the party. It, noticing the party composes of mortals, asks for a ration of mana. Harrison, taking the initiative, uses his magic-restoring ring to give it mana, which it savors. In exchange, the demon transmits the secrets of a life-stealing spell¹ to Harrison's mind, before wandering off, sated.

The party then comes across the second light figure, which appears to be an adult this time, at a graveyard. When a variety of dark figures rise from the graves, the light figure draws a blade, before moving forward and cutting them down as they approached. Another voice rings out:  

When Verdias and Elle came back, they betrayed me, and left me to wonder who I could really trust. Just when I thought I could grow to trust Lumiere Eternelle, they disappoint me. Everyone I meet could never understand what I went through. They didn't suffer like I did. No one will understand me. No one.

With these words, the landscape shifts before them, and they find a cathedral in the distance beyond a mass series of graves. Atop the cathedral, a spire with a dark orb appeared to be accumulating power from all the realm. When they approach, a misdirection occurs, and the party finds themselves staring at an altar with a sacrificial dagger atop it, with the cathedral having appeared behind them now. Text in Abyssal at the altar is translated by Verdias, reading "Life energy given is life energy returned twofold, but only if they withstand the trials of the Realm of Envy." Believing it to be a trial, Faessi and K'aamni accepted the trial, hurting themselves on the premise that they will be rewarded for their bravery². With that, they press on towards the cathedral...  

Entering the cathedral, they come face to face with a manifestation of Eris, who tells the party of her resentment for all those around her. She states that she has the power to defy fate now, and that she will not be a prisoner of others' whims any longer. As a dark aura surrounds her, she wields a dark greataxe and summons her Ascended Echo behind her. With no other recourse but combat available to the crazed and controlled Eris, the party and Verdias engages in the fight to save their friend.     Immediately after they engage, the party soon finds that any attack they direct towards the Echo is redirected towards Eris herself, and Eris proves to be extremely hardy. Her intention with each of her attacks is made certain, as she uses her tactics training to deny sightlines with darkness and crashing into enemies that threaten her echo with her brutal swings. The party is forced to adjust to her combat, spreading out and trying to figure out how they can release her from her echo. Quico is the first to make the connection, telling the party that they must knock Eris down first before the deflection surrounding the echo dissipates.   The Echo doesn't make things any easier. Wielding powers beyond what it had during its time with Eris, the party found themselves struggling with its spells, as it frightened those who were set against it, while slinging devastating attacks towards anyone who stood away. It also commanded Eris at will, setting her against any that offended it. However, it had a weakness: it was more susceptible to attack than Eris. With that information, the party directed all its might towards the Echo, having an easier time dealing lasting damage to Eris through it rather than through dealing with her heavy armor. When things looked dire, it was Verdias that shouted out for Eris' true self, distracting her enough that one in her party was able to knock her out.   With its meat shield down, the Echo soon found itself grappling with the party by itself. But it wasn't a pushover: K'aamni was on the verge of being pulled back out the realm, and the rest of the party's health was low. It was here that Stephanie utilized the power of her pendant out of desperation, and saw a vision where she shot the echo with a bolt to end it. Dreading the implications of this vision, she followed it to the letter, firing a bolt at the echo at its weakest, causing it to dissipate into particles.   The party immediately ran to the fallen Eris' side, where it seems that she had been released from her demon's grasp. As Verdias holds onto her, the party breathing a collective sigh of relief, they feel the land shake all around them, as the demon destroys the cathedral and reshapes the realm to his whim. A series of islands form, a chain, with the apex island in the chain gathering power from all the corners of its realm.  

Session 53: Envy

With Eris returned to their side, but no way out, the party sets out to escape the realm by reaching the very top. Things get a little testy between the party, however, as Eris grapples with seeing Stephanie again, as well as hearing certain pleas that she disliked. Verdias is there to support her, and the two make up their differences as he fully puts all his support behind her. As she regains her strength, the party sets out to to navigate through this realm. When they come across an altar with a dark gem, Tandi's interaction with the gem reveals two paths forward: a bazaar island, and a noxious swamp. The party goes for the bazaar, finding themselves surrounded by tents and market stalls...  



Within this bazaar, they find a similar altar that transported them to this island. However, they find its prominent black gem missing, with an inscription upon the altar reading: "A bargain must be made for passage. Three may be made for a fortune. But be careful not to deal away your hand…". With that, the party sets out to search for deals to make. They find a bloated ghast seeking an unreasonable amount of riches, a winged demon seeking information that could lead to destruction in the mortal plane, and a succubus searching for life energy from one of them, but the deal they choose is the one they believe the least dangerous: a monstrous book with teeth seeking magical items. Checking their loot, the party produces a Black Opal Brooch and a Ring of Mind Shielding that Eris was given by Alessandra. Deeming it an acceptable offer, the book accepts the items, giving them the gem they need to travel forth, choosing not to risk any more deals.   The next island they go to, they find themselves surrounded by a gigantic nest, surrounded with large bones and humanoid-sized cracked eggshells. The party carefully travels the landscape, before they eventually find a peculiar sight in the center of the nest: an imp trapped under a cage of feathers and bones, placed there by the birds that inhabit this nest. The imp pleas for the party to save it, promising to help them in exchange for freeing it. When the party notices birds flying above, they decide to uproot the cage and free it later on when they reach a safe spot. Upon reaching the transportation altar, the party frees the imp, and it imprints upon Faessi when he catches it, allowing him to summon it at will. It tells the party all about the realm and his master.    When the party reaches the penultimate island, they come across a field of beautiful, blooming black flowers, surrounding what appears to be a small pond, with a light figure standing in front of a kneeling dark figure. When the party approaches, they see the true form of the figures: a child form of Eris, and a broken doll singing a lullaby before her. A voice rings out through the realm upon seeing this sight.

When you freed me from my limited vessel, that's when our fates became intertwined. When you grew stronger, I grew stronger. I protected you from those who wished to harm and use you, especially the man named Verdias who merely pretended to be your friend. I gave you power when you desired it, in exchange for the promise that you gave me power… and now that I am lord over my own realm, you reject me. You and I, Eris… we are inseparable.

Eris, hearing this, unlocks a repressed memory. Before she was kidnapped, before the incident, before everything... she came across this doll, and held her hand out towards it. When she did, the essence powering the doll transferred to her, and the doll stopped moving. In the span of that event, the demon and Eris' fates became intertwined. Verdias and Eris are shaken by this revelation... when Harrison confirms the restorative power of the pond on this island, the two take a break to contemplate this event as the party takes a rest. They eventually resolve to defeat this demon once and for all.   Travelling to the final island, the party is confronted with the throne of the Envy Demon, with it awaiting the party with anticipation. The party beholds the sight of Eris' physical body suspended by an orb of glowing darkness, gathering above the island. As the party readies themselves, they each speak with the intention of defying the demon, resolving themselves to kill the demon to free their friend. The demon, standing from its throne, demonstrates its power for the party to behold, and combat is commenced.  

The demon pulls out all the stops, wielding rending claws upon its many arms, and hidden power within its many masks. It proved to be able to debilitate foes with its power to create brands upon their enemies, while it used its powerful magic to brainwash the party into attacking each other. One such incident occurred when Tandi found herself under the control of one of its crowns, but seeing Eris and Verdias together reminded her of what she came here to do, and through sheer willpower, she resisted the demon's control. The party worked together in concern, aided by Verdias' power and holy greatsword, as well as Eris' renewed energy and angelic form.   When the party hurt it sufficiently, the demon put on one of its masks, and split into several copies of itself while charging up a powerful attack. They were forced to fight off multiple copies to figure out which one was the real one, until K'aamni figured out that the real demon bore the scars of holy power upon it. With an application of moonbeam, Verdias was able to break its illusion, forcing a weakened unleashing of the built-up power, which the party could withstand. Continuing on with its facades, it created a barrier around itself with the birds that flew around the battlefield serving as the conduit of the barrier's strength. As it threatened them with annihilation once more, the party had to slay the birds before the barrier could be shattered.   With the battle raging on, the party was worn down with several displays of might and magic. The force proved too overwhelming for Harrison, who was knocked unconscious, transported back to the mortal plane. It was through the party's effort, however, that Verdias found an opportunity to make a deep cut on the demon. He then tossed his greatsword to Eris, telling her to finish the job. Eris, flying above the demon, dived downwards with his holy greatsword, cleaving it in two. With the demon dissipated, the orb above the island broke, and Verdias was able to catch Eris' physical body. However, the fight was not yet adjourned, as a massive creature of cloudy darkness appeared, dwarfing the island. The Envy Demon's last gasp manifested, wishing to damn the party to oblivion alongside it.    

I will show you true despair! NONE OF YOU MAY LEAVE ALIVE!

The demon reshaped its realm one final time, with it blocking the way to the source of all its power: an orb of pure darkness. Verdias, noticing an archway of light behind them, tells the party to defeat the demon once and for all, as he works on creating a portal back to the mortal plane. With that, the party makes a mad dash for the orb, with Stephanie and Tandi working on reaching the orb directly, while Eris, Faessi, K'aamni, and Quico supporting from the backline, distracting the gigantic demon and shooting at the orb from afar. The demon's massive attacks proved to be a great deterrent to the party, and it breaking open islands to toss their shards at the party threatened to kill them outright. However, with each strike weakening the orb, Tandi lines up the perfect shot to shatter the orb, breaking it open and causing it to release its energy into the far reaches of the realm, destroying the Envy Demon once and for all.   Verdias finally creates the portal to the mortal plane, and everyone save "Eris" is able to exit, as she is merely the soul while Verdias holds her physical body. As everyone leaves her, the smallest fragment of her echo appears, and Eris is confronted with the culmination of her entire journey. She sees the demon at its weakest, having gained enough strength to overpower it, yet feeling sympathy for it, as it served as her only true constant companion throughout her life. With the realm collapsing all around her, Eris makes the final decision that would change the course of her life from this day on.  

Thank you for saving me. Goodbye, old friend.

In the mortal plane, the party arrives back at the temple to spot Harrison's wounds being treated, as well as several demon corpses dissipating into black blood, as the attendees of the ritual fought to protect everyone all around them. They even spot Sal and Ophelia had arrived, with Ophelia barely holding back tears, as well as Lt. Kyrie. Relieved that they're safe, Archbishop Rene resets the ritual, placing Eris' reclaimed body in the center of the ritual. With one final, uninterrupted palm thrust, Archbishop Rene puts life into Eris' body...   ...and Eris accepts, coming back to life with a weak cough.   Immediately, many people begin rushing to the ritual circle to either speak to Eris or to hug her. From her family to friends, to her idols and close acquaintances smiling warmly at her, Eris' return to life is warmly celebrated by all. Even though Eris and Stephanie's first meeting back to life proves to be testy, the joy of the event is enough to calm their emotions. Lt. Kyrie, having arrived her just earlier, apologizes to the party for the events that would lead to Eris' death, but she asks the party to come by Corsican once they've recovered from the day's events, so that they can put a bookend to the case that started this.   And with that, the party saved Eris Dahraklis, exorcising her of her demons where others tried and failed. 

---