In Storm Season 1625, Prince Kallyr Starbrow summoned an assembly in Boldhome. Before the assembled citizens of many tribes, she formally made the Lightbringers’ Summons.
Chaos stalks my world. Broos have bruised me, the Hand has pawed me. I have taken up the impossible path, And seek those who must aid my task. You are not the first of my friends. Others walked with me to Heal. The Devil took them, they died. I failed to save them, Chaos grows.
Any master of one of the seven Lightbringer cults must answer the legitimate call of the summons or lose all power and benefit of their god. The priests and lords present in Boldhome answer the call:
I hear and stand before you, But I am only one. What would you have of me?
Kallyr proclaims that to stop Chaos and restore the world, she and her companions shall perform the Lightbringers’ Quest during Sacred Time, and that all who answer her summons shall aid her in the massive ceremonies and rituals that will bring the Gods World in proximity with the mundane realm. Some respond enthusiastically; other priests and lords reluctantly, fearing the dangers and consequences of the ritual.
Now I want you to imagine how radical an event that was. Although components of the Lightbringers’ Quest are incorporated into Sacred Time celebrations, that is not what the Prince is proposing – she wants to perform the LBQ herself. No Sartarite leader has tried that at this scale – not Sartar, not Tarkalor, not even desperate Salinarg.She’ll need the support of thousands to bring the divine realm into proximity, and she’ll need magical items, spirits, and blessings – and that support won’t be available for the usual needs.
But it is a valid Lightbringer Summons by someone with the authority to give it to all the tribes. So what do you do? What do you urge your kin to do?
Why did Kallyr choose to undertake the Quest? Who encouraged her? her household. Maybe player characters from the old panegyrical Hero Wars materials. But also consider her experiences with her last rebellion. Sartar was liberated for a season…. and then.
However, it is worth keeping in mind that at this time, she has been Prince for no more than two seasons. Her last liberation of Sartar lasted just about this long. There are other tribal leaders and warlords who barely acknowledge her authority, and there is another warlord in Prax with an army of nomads.So it is a damn high stakes play for someone without a lot of cards. No room for error, and everyone knows it.But she’s succeeded in unlikely circumstances before, and she IS Prince. So what do you do?
Regardless of the success or failure of her quest, the magical energies summoned successfully brought the divine realm into proximity with Sartar, at least for the duration of Sacred Time. Hers was not the only heroquest that took place during those two weeks!
Now Kallyr tries to limit the dangers of the Lightbringers Quest by truncating its most dangerous parts, by having stand-ins at key points and containing it within her realm. She does not go to the Western Shore – people will carry her on shell-back, and others will represent the Luathelans. She hardly enters the Underworld, keeping the path to what she knows. And the ritual will culminate in the Royal Palace of Boldhome, with a polluted statue representing Wakboth (to be destroyed ritually by the participants).
But the Bad Rain needs to be summoned, and various foes and enemies are summoned by the magic. The dangers are real – just mitigated, hopefully.The idea is that by bringing the divine realm into proximity, even these stand-ins will successfully bring magic into the world. This approach was common to many heroquests in Dragon Pass or the Lunar Empire (an example of it was in Cults of Prax, with a Yelmalio Rune Lord performing the Three Blows of Anger). Perform the quest as a ritual within the Proximate Holy Realm, and it should bring forth the intended magic without as much danger.
What she did not know is that Jar-eel had learned how to use that Proximate Holy Realm as a highway, and that she could enter among the stand-ins. This came as quite a shock to Kallyr and her household (although it is something that Argrath was already aware of, having encountered that in the past and even exploited it to his advantage on several occasions).
How much does Kallyr know about how legit this Argrath guy is? I wouldn’t even reference Argrath at this point as more than another warlord. The key is her failed rebellion 12 years later, the inability to unite Sartar, and the ghosts that still haunt her.
There was a zero wane saying attributed to Deezola: “Arachne Solara looks after the truly desperate. And no others.”
