Talk:Arc:Larketian Fault Lines
Timeline of Larketian Fault Lines:
Up to date as of Feb 14th, 2018
OOC: This information is for your ooc use only.
Chapter 1
The wedding of Macon, King of Larket and Josleen, Thane of Frostmaw, as agreed upon in the peace agreement between the two kingdoms, is punctuated with a devastating earthquake that brings severe damage to much of Larket. The towering tenements are completely toppled, leaving many in the city homeless in the wake of the disaster. Aftershocks alter the structure of The Vibrance River, collapsing the House of Ara in the process. Suspiciously undamaged is The Chapel of Pleasure in northeastern Larket. Humanitarian aid pours in from several sources, some more aggressively than others, and multiple benefit events are held to raise funding for the Larketian Rebuild.
Chapter 2
The rebuilding of Larket continues with Royal interests taking priority. Political activists led by Tychus (NPC) vandalize and set off explosions at the construction site of Augusta Jauzon’s (Macon's mother) new home in northern Larket. Conflicts between criminal organizations escalate and a dead body is planted at Hudson’s nail salon in Larket. Witchcraft is used to dispose of the body. Macon, in the face of concerns from the queen forsakes his relatively newly adopted religion under Vakmatharas, losing his abilities as a Death Knight in the process. Hudson and Alvina’s home in Larket is broken into and ransacked. Alvina leaves with their children and Hudson plans for revenge to insure his family’s safety. Muzo begins treatment of the king’s Rage Infection in secret, and in even more secret, begins attempting to cure Josleen’s half-elf infertility. Blut helps Hudson put a violent end to his Larketian mobster problem, again magical means are used to dispose of the crime scene. Valen and Mythayus come to the king and queen with the discovery of a hidden room at The Chapel of Pleasure that contains (misinterpreted) evidence that one or more witches may have planned and executed a plot to cause the earthquake that devastated the city. Orders are given to ramp up the investigation on the witch front.
Chapter 3
Eirik discovers the body of the mobster killed by Hudson and reaches the conclusion cultist witches are behind the murder. Macon calls together a council of trusted Larketians to discuss the findings from The Chapel of Pleasure, hear Eirik’s report on villainous witch activity both within Larket and abroad, and establish a plan for a registry of known Larketian witches to be created for the sake of public safety. Muzo, as a byproduct of his fertility research, creates a Homunculus from materials taken from Josleen. She orders the creation to be destroyed. Muzo secretly does not comply. Rorin is recruited to clear a drow camp in the Eternal Forest, a remnant of Macon’s old arrangement with House D’Artes. Queen Josleen’s birthday is celebrated with a field day and the opening of a new youth sports complex in northern Larket. The festivities are interrupted by a protest involving burning effigies of the king and queen by Valrae and the pro-democracy revolutionists (Tychus’s group). Macon’s Rage Aura incites a riot and Hanna (a Larketian witch) is killed by an enraged Eirik in misguided protection of the Royals.
Chapter 4
Eirik is tried for the murder of Hanna and found guilty. Macon uses his influence to make sure that the berserker’s sentencing is overly lenient. His only punishment is exile from Larket (which is not even his home), mandatory sensitivity training, and a fine to be paid to the witch’s family. Hudson begins secretly funding Tychus’s resistance through Valrae. Pilar informs the crown that she will be overseeing the construction of the Eyrie Outpost in The Eternal Forest as per the agreement between Larket and Frostmaw that ended the war. Rorin and a group of soldiers eradicate the drow at the forest camp.
Chapter 5
Tensions and animosity towards witches increase in Larket with Hudson’s witch-employing nail salon in Larket being vandalized and many Larketian witches losing their jobs and homes due to prejudices reinforced by The Crown. The drow outpost cleared by Rorin is repurposed into a labor camp for out of work witches and is used on public work projects including the construction of the Eyrie outpost. Pilar is pushed far enough over the edge by the treatment of witches in Larket to finally declare her allegiance to Tychus’s resistance. Muzo moves the Josleen Homunculus that he was supposed to destroy to Alithrya The resistance plans another protest, this time to be held at the labor camp. Muzo performs surgery on Josleen to enable her to have a child. In the aftermath, Macon agrees to have witch corpses sent to Muzo for examination as part of his research. Rorin is honored for his successful ousting of the drow from the Eternal Forest and lets on his outlandish suspicions that things are not exactly as the king and queen have laid them out in regards to the guilt of the witches for the earthquake. Valrae hexes Josleen to hallucinate waking nightmares. Headmaster Percival and Macon are sent for to try and find the source of the magic afflicting the queen. They follow the magical trail into the Eternal Forest while Valrae loses control of the spell and is hit with the recoil while wires get crossed and the trail leads Percival to a hut with another witch in it. She is mistaken for the source of the hex and apprehended immediately. Still under the effects of the hex, Josleen flees and falls in the woods suffering injuries. Josleen is returned to the Fort Freedom infirmary where here wounds are treated and it is discovered that she is miraculously pregnant. With this attack endangering both his wife and unborn child, Macon decides to make an example of the witch that was captured and comes down hard, having her executed without a trial.
Chapter 6
The protest at the labor camp takes a violent turn (shocking) due to poor staffing by the protesters and several are killed in the chaos, their bodies delivered to Muzo’s lab for dissection. Provoked by her son’s Rage Aura during a simple lunch meeting, Augusta Jauzon shoves one of her servants off of a balcony, breaking his spine in the fall. The Royals are disturbed by the severity the Rage Infection has reached and plan to return to Muzo for another treatment to subdue it, this time permanently. Josleen is the best beer pong player in Lithrydelian history. Josleen and Macon convince Alvina to construct a means of detecting witchcraft in partnership with The Academy of Magics. Macon undergoes another treatment of The Rage Infection and this time Muzo extracts too much, leaving the king softened and without his usual intense demeanor. Alvina completes the Witchcraft Detection Net construction, and Hudson is totally not happy with that. Greg McConnor defeats Lloyd Fayweather in the prize fight of the decade, while in attendance Hudson and others appeal to Macon to ease up on the witch front. Rachelle Fournier is apprehended for practicing witchcraft in Larket while unregistered. She is taken to Muzo’s laboratory for live experimentation. Pilar and Meri move a family of witches that are being harassed by Larketian guards responding to pings on the Witchcraft Detection Net out of Larket in secret. Macon, still without his usual fury, learns of this undercover emigration and decides to change the policy in which the witchcraft radar is used, easing the pressure on Larketian witches. Josleen is not impressed with this new version of the king.
Chapter 7
Not all problems are solved with peace! The Royal couple rescind their request to have Macon's rage removed, and the process is reversed. Senatorial candidate for Schezerade, Brennia Smyth, hosts a baby shower for the king and queen in Schezerade. During the shower, an artifact of Vakmatharas unleashes several curses which include rapid gestation for pregnant women in Larket. Several women go into premature labor and they or their children die. The queen also has a premature birth at 4 months, but she and her child are spared thanks to a (witchy) midwife. A prince is born and christened Guilliem. While the city celebrates it's new heir, Muzo continues his nefarious experiments with the Royal Crown's secret support. Rachelle becomes the victim of a vivisection and is kept alive by magical means while the naga scientist grows ever more frustrated that his experiments produce no results.
Back on the side of the resistance, Valrae broaches with Hudson the subject of destroying the witchcraft detector which is posing an even larger threat than anticipated. Hudson convinces his wife, Alvina, that it's time to end the device's reign of terror. Meanwhile Odhranos, a terramancer, investigates the earthquake and concludes that it was not witch-manufactured, but a natural disaster. His discovery does little to sway King Macon's opinion on witches. Pilar helps many witches escape Larket's labor camp. Finally, Royal Botanist Callum learns of Rachelle's abduction and organizes with Meri and Pilar a rescue operation. Muzo's sick experiments are exposed!
Chapter 8
The news of Muzo's actions reaches Frostmaw Queen Hildegarde and Alithrya Heir Apparent Reginae, who is also Muzo's lover. Reginae refuses to believe the evidence Pilar presents, while Hildegarde flies to Larket to confront Macon and Josleen about these accusations. The monarchs come to an agreement that the scientist needs to be caught, but Macon and Josleen deny knowledge of his macabre experiments. Afterwards, Macon and Josleen meets with Muzo in secret and aid in his escape from Larket while continuing to fund his research. Eirik, another pawn in the Crown's witch hunt, crosses Josleen's path during his exile and is drawn back in to investigate the resistance.
On the resistance side, Hudson and Alvina destroy the witchcraft radar. Meri and Hudson feed the tragic tail of Rachelle's capture and experimentation to the resistance. With the Witch detector out of the way, Team Resistance (Hudson, Valrae, Tychus, and Rachelle) drafts a plan to poison the king, and Rachelle disguised as Josleen (aka "Fakeleen") will be the one to administer the lethal dose. Macon is poisoned! He survives only with the help of Headmaster Percival, but is bedridden for weeks in a coma. Meanwhile, Josleen is accused of regicide and thrown into jail while an investigation is launched by the Fort.
Chapter 9
Eirik, a faithful servant of the Queen, visits Josleen in jail to tell her not only that the rapid aging of the children wasn't linked to the witches but a new evil by the name of Kahran has attacked Cenril. He expresses concerns about Larket becoming a target. Josleen, in turn, discloses her suspicions about a link between the destruction of the witch detector and the attack on the king. Alvina rushes to Larket when she hears the news that Josleen has been imprisoned then later confronts Hudson to find out if he'd pushed the destruction of the detector because he knew about the attempted murder of the king. A traveling monk named Bastion, likewise, visits the caged Queen to offer solace in a connection with her son and husband. Finally, Callum agrees to brew an antidote for the poisoned king.
The Resistance briefly coordinates an attack on Larket with big bad guy Kahran who had already sacked Cenril. Larketian soldiers are rallied by Eirik, are successful in repelling the attack with a few witch causalities. In the madness, Valrae is captured and confesses to be the sole participant in the poisoning of the king and the destruction of the witch detector. In the process of her capture, Eirik contracts a nasty curse at her hands; the gift of witch empathy.
Callums antidote is administered to Macon and it works! The king immediately goes into a rage when he discovers his family imprisoned and divided, and his city in ruins. Once reunited, the King asks Josleen for the truth about his poisoning. She tells him, and he vows to make all those involved in this horrific experience pay, starting with Valrae.
Hudson, upon learning of Valrae's capture, attempts to have Cenrili Mayor Uma to extradite Valrae so that his former paramour can avoid the death pentalty. Valrae refuses the offer, choosing to throw herself into the fire for the cause instead of seeking freedom and a new chance to start over with her husband. Macon interrogates Valrae in the dungeon and she truthfully confesses to having hexed Josleen, and falsely confesses to being behind the rapid agining curse that has caused the suffering of many Larketian children, including the prince.
The People of Larket are pushed to the edge, jumping like frightened children at any sign of 'witchcraft' or further instability in their shaky city. In response to the frayed nerves of her people, The Hard City sets a public execution for Valrae. The witch's crimes include countless acts of terrorism, vandalism, threats, hexing, regicide and even charged with the curse that fell on the city thanks to Vakmathara's jar. Bastion tries to inform the crowd of this misunderstanding to no avail. Various individuals (including Cenril's Mayor, Uma) wear red, in support of Valrae the Red Witch, and all the witches suffering under the thumb of the current regime. Callum denounced Josleen while Eirik swears his loyalty (with ulterior motives). Larewen and Gilwen declare safe haven for witches in their respective areas of influence (Vailkrin and Sage), and Emrith's attempt to give Valrae a quick and painless death is thwarted by Larketian guards. Valrae, with her denying breath, refutes the charges that relate to the death of those children and mothers affected by curse. Queen Hildegarde burns the Frostmaw-Larket peace treaty on Valrae's pyre. All of the Red Witch's remaining magic is flushed into the pyre, which flares into an emerald blaze, intent to overtake the square. It's quickly extinguished by the Larketian guards.
In the aftermath, the citizens of Lithrydel are left to question their morality and the justice that made a martyr of one recently deceased Valrae Baines-Older.