August 22nd, 2024 - The One Where Ryan Didn’t Take Notes in the Log
We are at half strength (Hopps and Tom). Recapping talk of time and trees when Hopps and Tom were missing. We aren’t leaving the island without the full party so it’s a night of learning and expanding our knowledge for the greater good.
It’s unclear if time is passing around the entire tree or only in the tops with the leaves. We see flowers popping up in the grass, wilting, and dying. The snow drift passes too. We realize this is happening on the entire island.
There is some surface ice just into the pond as it passes. The whole island is doing this.
Gwedhen, the story of the bear, the tree and the girl - seems relevant right now, so we review.
- Party thoughts are in italics, plot summary in plain text.**
Quick synopsis, druids in the woods were attacked by mon’s soldiers. The bear came to help, a tree was damaged, the girl climbed into the tree and things got better. Then Nathaniel read the story to us… High in the mountains was an Ancient Tree. The bees flocked to the flowers. Tree drank from a spring that flowed into the meadow. It was called the tree of whispers.. When the tree’s branches are full of dark birds… ravens were there and were the signal that when people should come to the tree to decipher the words on the wind. The Raven queen (Morianoth, Mabmnoss) we don’t know much about, but Branwen and Cricket were super fans of her. Morianoth was into learning the ways of the world with humans working with nature (taking and giving).
The idea of the birds from Silas has some traction (Mons, Torval, and Mabnoss). The parallels are noted. (Later debunked, probably, due to the number of birds in the family)
During the festival one of the people, Ghweden was overwhelmed. She could hear the whispers but not with so much partying. She’d go to the meadow at night and sit at the foot and it told her wisdom but she didn’t understand. She slept with a foot in the well and ear to the roots.
- Listening to the world and shaping the world; all the sounds are very connected to the Spirit of Morianoth the Raven Queen. Sometimes Mother Night She is likely to be strong in the spirit of Morianoth, Gwedhen is. *
So she follows a path in the forest and finds a caves that smells, so she took a nap. People who lived in the mountains distrusted the pple inteh valley. Arrow tips of frozen night; they lived as rumors. Frozen night is the obsidian. They gave their dead to the earth to the dead, we’ve encountered this and we were told they were keeping the barrier. People forget them at their peril.
- Branwen remembers (19) that these things came from the notes rec’d while fighting a monstrous tree, written in charcoal on its bark: “As the dead lose their grip the crack widens, i watch the best I can drinking from the well”. We thought message was from The Abbott, but it could possibly be Gwedhen?*
Gwed awoke to a battle - she felt hot breath and it was the cave bear. It was what she feared but learned to not be afraid, she was award by his power. He has green eyes and was her protector. She rode him into battle.
-
We saw this in the bear encampment - the same reverence. The village may have tapped into the spirit of this story (inspired or leaned into the theology; directly or descendents). The story we know comes from Silas and his time with the druids.*
-
We look at the Noorglass Map and the Nyth painting. Storr thinks the northern circular lake could line up with the Nyth painting. Maybe Nyth exists in the world, the painting is just a representation of what the artist knows the world to be… but not a literal representation?*
Men on chariots and weapons killed the people. Those who fled to the forest were cut down. We think they are Mon’s followers or associates; Mons invented the wheel. Chariots seemingly associated with Mons - he rode one in the story with Bargos.
One stood out wearing armor that stood out like the sun; shall build a home and build a farm and put it to good use. The bear charges and Gwedhen is thrown from his back. She finds her brother; she tends to him as the bear fights. As he finishes the fight, the bear is enraged to find the tree being hacked at. The Man in the armors says the tree held the power of the valley. (Hopps thinks this ‘man in golden armor’ is actually Mons, himself)
-
We should investigate the tree to hacks and burning. The bark is old and gnarled but in the last session couldn’t recognize any marks on the tree. Blaz trie dto see if it represented the hub of the wheel. When Silas communed he thought it was the tip off a larger tree. So it may be*
-
Krambler tells us - he remembers touching the tree and becoming one with it and felt his feet as teh roots spreading deep beneath the earth and traveling. Finding an empty space witha vaulted space with a pile of stones. He saw this space and stones and he choses to reach with his root tips to touch the stones and the chamber started shaking. He kept at it and there was a struggle of will to keep his sanity and that’s when the party recognized him struggling physically and we pulled him off.*
-
Musk touched stones, traveled to Nyth. Sounds familiar. The Hammer may have something to do with it because it’s a stone and the handle is a tree root holding the stone. It mirror kramblers vision.*
-
Did Krambler touch this tree? He touched the stones and figured out the music but didn’t interact with tree.*
-
Storr asks Krambler to touch the tree and see if he can experience it again. Branwen persuades him (17). He touches the tree, closes his eyes and…. Scene.*
-
It’s not like the other tree in as far as we all had an immediate reaction; the same thing does not happen here. We are hoping that this tree is an off shoot of the tree we all touched. Like a root that travel and sprung from the earther and grew itself as a tree.*
Back to the story. If the power of the tree dies so does the valley. The bear charges and slashes at the burning piles and scatters the embers. Gwed goes to the tree and the bear was trying to wake the tree. She put out the coals but saw the tree dying. With his green eyes she understood his meaning; a crack opened, she stepped in, and was gone forever. The bear appreciated her sacrifice. When the soldiers came back her brother saw they couldn’t ind it, hidden from them. Her bro found he could return and hear her whispers. WHenever he tried to bring others they couldn’t find their way. The city people were always trying to expand; the brother told his people they need to find the bear because he’s their protectors.
OK, the reading of Gwedhen is over.
- The tree may exert a power to protect from Men and what they became. The tree trusted the brother and allowed him to find it; still right where it was and maybe still is. We don’t need to connect all the trees but they may be part of the tree. That’s what we are hoping Krambler is able to determine by touching this tree. Gwed’s bro seems to be the patriarch of Sila’s druid people; the bear village are kin to Silas’ druid.*
Traitor my aid weakens…. As the dead lose their grip the cracks widen; drinking from the well. The girls sacrificed herself (presumably dead); the tree could be holding the cracks. Maybe each tree has a woman sacrificed within?
The festival of the twins is remembered. The central carving was a tree with what looked like a bear peaking out at the bottom; watery ravens seem to coming out of the water.
What if Gwedhen and her brother are the twins? What do we know about the brother? He keeps telling everyone to find and wake up the bear. Perhaps the tree and the bear are the twins?
The recap of the of the festival, they asked Silas that he brought the other twin? Ask if we understand the significance. We didn’t… and the Krambler happened. Be on the lookout for more about the twins.
Branwen talked to the Raven, using raven-speech, as she does with Koweth.
B - Ho there Raven!
R -Hello
B: How do I know you?
R: you remind me of someone I spoke to on a mountain top
B: Cricket died so that I could be.
R: People are strange with strange ways.
B: Who sent you here? Who sent you to Cricket?
R: He investigated Cricket on his own, and was summoned here.
B: Where were you before this?
R: Flying the dark places of the world.
B: Have you met Koweth?
R: We all share an understanding.
B: Are you allied with Mother Night?
R: We share certain interests.
B: You familiar with Bargos?
R: He’s kinda gross. But he’s a sibling, so.
B: Do you have many siblings?
R: yes. Many. More than 3.
B: what are your names?
R: Goose-Kledhawel (or something) Phoenix-SouthWind Raven-Nosawel
B: Do you know the story of Mons and Bargos?
R: Nope.
B: (Storr asks the phoenix about the bear). Phoenix doesn’t understand me.
Branwen takes out a guitar and plays a song, haltingly.
Everyone feels a bit sleepy, but Storr falls asleep at the foot of a stone.
Raven says, you are learning to speak powerful names.
B: What names did I speak?
R: Sleep, rest,
Silas plays a song. Mist swirls in, sun is obscured. It gets dark. It starts lightly raining. Can’t tell if it’s dusk, dawn, but there is mist falling. Seemingly in response to the song.
Next week, ask the birds about the 2 other songs - Silas’ mist song and Balz’s minor key phoenix song.