Raven: Season 1, Episode 0

Raven's story will use the Index Card RPG, likely with Fate Accelerated to provide some semblance of advancement. ICRPG uses Milestone rewards, as does FAE, so... I should be able to blend the two together fairly seamlessly. You can get a free quickstart of ICRPG by following the link. I'm also a fan of Torchbearer's inventory system. To get to the content quicker, I'll place Raven's character sheet at the bottom.

[GM Note: The link on the almandine pendant will take you to Visemar’s last episode. If you’d rather start at the beginning, find Visemar #1.]

Season 1, Pilot: Be The Light (One OK Rock, Captain Harlock video)

Do you know what it’s like to have a destiny?

Growing up, there were all the stories about my great grandmother, and how she was the last of the Wyrd Watchers. A great military leader that marshalled the last battle that drove the wedge between humans and non. Castlerook remains in rubble four hundred years later as evidence.

Castlerook. Have you heard of Visemar Grey? His effort to destroy The Devourer destroyed his homeland. The castle. The surrounding community. The forest. As Aunt Mae explained it, Visemar sacrificed everyone in our family by feeding The Devourer all of their souls, using their energy to intensify his power.

Grandmother Tal was their daughter. Queen of Ruin. She married, had a daughter and managed to rebuild the community around Ravenswood. A little. The land was scarred, so farming was slow to take root. I never had the chance to meet her; that was almost three hundred years ago.

Allegra was my mother. A quarter elf, as the elves of Ravenswood had begun migrating away during Talindra’s reign. By this time, Castlerook had gained a foot hold and stopped its decline. However, there was next to no standing army; mother chose to marry Osmunt. He had troops that could defend Ravenswood. From what I hear, their marriage was pretty good. They produced me.

So, that leaves me. I’m eighth of an elf, though you wouldn’t know it by looking at me. I never met my parents, not officially at any rate, since the persecution cut mother’s reign short. Short for some, I suppose. She was just over a hundred when she had me; I guess her subjects decided she was either a witch, in league with infernal powers or a vampire. Maybe all the above. Whatever the case, my parents were tortured and killed. Aunt Mae smuggled me out and into the Ravenswood.

Aunt Mae isn’t really my aunt. At least, I don’t think so. She’s a full blooded elf; one of the few that still haunts the woods. Maeriel was there when Visemar and Laneira died. Not there there, but present when The Edge of Eternity returned. Her father recorded the events that happened into an almandine crystal. It’s one of two things that still belongs to the Greys.

The other being Visemar’s sword which no one wanted to move. I guess the history of it was too raw. Not only that, but no one could even approach it aside from a Grey. Anyone got within a few feet of it, and the air got immeasurably cold. The brave ones that tried anyway, yeah, there were three because, I guess, the first two weren’t example enough, were slowly frozen and melted away at dawn.

So, history lesson aside, where was I?

Right. Destiny.

Aunt Mae, well, all the elves for that matter, couldn’t stop talking about how powerful and great Laneira was. The sacrifices that Visemar made to stop The Great Devourer. The foresight and prowess Talindra had. Don’t be like your mother. Become better. Do something. Take back the sword.

At first, the stories were exciting and gave me some sense of vicarious adventure. Then they started to wear on me. I couldn’t imagine being an elf that lived for centuries, hearing the same stories every year or two. I’d hate to be a couple hundred years old and still be considered an adolescent. I couldn’t even handle it for the past couple decades. I guess when you live longer than ten people put together, your sense of time gets skewed.

I wonder how long I’ll live? Mae said mother was past a century and didn’t look anything older than a human of thirty. Hard to tell with Mae, since she’s been around for at least four centuries. Thirty to her could mean anything. Me? I’m a few years past twenty, and I look it. Maybe I’ll end up growing old and dying like anyone else.

And that led me here. I waited until night fall to sneak into the ruins of Castlerook. Visemar’s great sword was still embedded in the stone floor, half the blade buried. Which begs the question: How does one sneak a seven foot long sword out of the castle, through a xenophobic town then into Ravenswood? I looked human, and I used it often to foray into town to buy things after selling back what I had taken the night before.

Don’t judge. We’ve got a nomadic lifestyle out of necessity. Remember? Xenophobic. I’m the only one of us that can actually pass for human. Besides, I’m No’thilu Grey. Technically, their stuff is mine anyway, right? Like, I actually own the town, the castle and the forest. Until the rabble figured out a Grey survived, I guess. The line’s a little blurred on that count. The steward, Balduin, currently lords it over the town in his manor up the road. I’m sure he’d have something to say if I took my castle back.

He can’t touch the sword, though. The ever present reminder that he’s stolen someone else’s birthright annoys him. I might be able to help with that. Might. Because the second problem is: Can I even touch the sword? How much Grey is needed to touch it? Any part Grey? One part Grey? Doesn’t matter. I’m going to take the sword tonight. Even if it’s just so I quit hearing about Visemar this, Laneira that; Talindra this, go do that.

[GM sets Target 10, Easy (unexpected and night), Timer 4, 1 Heart]

[Player rolls Attempt: 15, 3 Basic Effort]

I take a breath and wonder if I’m actually going to do this. Retrieve The Edge of Eternity or listen to a bunch of centuries old elves go on and on… My leather boots step delicately across the floor. The former throne room had been cleared of debris. Mostly. A small circle of rubble surrounded the sword where no one wanted to get any closer to it. With its curse, I don’t blame them.

The roof had been pulled away, leaving the sky in open view with a small sliver of moonlight to peak into the room. The thrones were removed. The walls, what remained of them, still stood. My point of entry were where two double doors had been, the frame standing half again as tall as person.

[Player rolls Attempt: 8, 4 Basic Effort]

Even though the castle had been abandoned, the watch still patrolled the city; as Castlerook stood in the heart of it, there was still a chance I’d encounter someone. I took the last few steps into the center of the room, an arm’s length away from The Edge of Eternity. Its black blade revealed the sky above me along its length; if I moved my head, I could see the moon, currently hidden behind the clouds.

[Player rolls Attempt: 6]

I reach toward my great grandfather’s sword and movement catches my eye. A tall figure clad in dark grey armor stands directly across from me. The visor of its helmet is pulled down, resembling the beak of a bird of prey. Black wings adorn his shoulders, the feathers reach down to the floor. One hand hovers over mine, fingers ending in sharp talons. My boot causes a grating sound across the patch of debris, and I hold my breath as my hand grabs the sword. The figures hand presses weightlessly down on mine.

It snaps into another shape, a one handed sword that resembled a rapier with a thicker cutting blade. The hilt spirals into a silver swept hilt with a straight crossguard. The blade glows faintly with starlight, surrounding its window into the sky above. I need to go…

[Player rolls Attempt: 19, 3 Basic Effort]

I quickly retreat against the wall near the door. Footsteps outside warn me the watch is passing. I hold my breath and hope that no one heard me or gets curious to check on The Edge of Eternity. The crunch of gravel beneath boots walk by, and I break from the shadows.

I hold The Edge of Eternity. This is my story...

NO’THILU “RAVEN” GREY, HUMAN HEXBLADE OF STORMS

Raven’s hair is burnt umber; her eyes are a grass green. She wears a forest green tunic, woodland brown trousers and vest over a wiry frame.

STR +2 [+2/+0]

DEX +1 [+1/+0]

CON +0 [+0/+0]

INT +1 [+0/+1]

WIS +0 [+0/+0]

CHA +2 [+2/+0]

ARMOR +1 [+0/+1]

EFFORT +2 Weapon Effort [+1/+1], +1 Magic Effort [+0/+1]

HEARTS 1 (10 HP)

EQUIPPED LOOT

NECK: Almandine Memory Pendant [+1 Magic Effort]

BODY: brace of 2 wheellock pistols

BODY: common armor (woodland colored gambeson)

BELT: The Edge of Eternity (Sidesword)

CARRIED LOOT

supplies pack (2)

ELDRITCH ABILITIES

CHA Power: Visemar’s Legacy (Bond with The Edge of Eternity, and it can be summoned at any time in the form of a weapon you choose)