Legends tell of the Caladrius, a mysterious bird with gold-flecked white feathers, possessed of such purity that they can heal any poison merely by touch. Hunters sight these birds and give chase, and nobles have offered bounties worth a barony's ransom for capture of the bird. The vile goddess Talona, Mistress of Poisons, is said to have offered immortality as a reward to one of her servants who can bring her the bird, so that she can brew the perfect poison from its corrupted flesh.
In a land devastated by cataclysmic war only a few generations ago, and still in the throes of a fiendish plague that broke a kingdom and its army, sightings of the Caladrius stir hearts and make the people believe in hope once again. A sanatorium where patients go to their deathbeds has all its patients rise, cured, one morning. They speak of their feverish dreams, of seeing a white bird and hearing its curious call in the night-time, and of their bandages falling off to reveal clean flesh. These rumours spread like wildfire, and hunters from all over gather to capture the Caladrius for their own use. These bands of hunters are as follows:
The hunting teams assemble at the green of the nearby village, gathering for some days before the bishop can give his blessing to their hunt. They mingle a little, competing in tests of might and strength to get to know one another. Here, several are surreptitiously slipped minor poisons in their foods by the Talontar to weaken them. Sightings of the Caladrius indicate it may have departed into the Lincona Woods during the winter, an unpleasant place to be even in the best of weather. Here, the tension between the teams escalates to skirmishes, shedding blood but not quite taking lives, unless they're sure they can get away with it. There are a few ruins that litter the depths of the Lincona Woods, ruined during the war. In one of these, formerly a shrine to one of Talona's sister goddesses, the Caladrius has been nesting. The clearing around this shrine is scattered with malignant undead, oozing decay. Inside this ruined shrine, a small amount of peace surrounds the nest of the Caladrius. Soft snow flurries through the lightbeams in between the fallen rafters, and there is an aura of consecration that keeps out the undead. Here, the battle for the Caladrius - and surprisingly, its eggs - becomes deadly in earnest. The Talontar reveal themselves, promising painful and bloody deaths to any who oppose them, while blades are drawn by those who have needs of their own. A violent showdown is interrupted by the appearance of a zombie dragon, crashing through the roof. A frantic defense against the dragon and its servants could unit unlikely allies in the only way to prevent plague enveloping both kingdoms. Requested by reader Nate O'Connor. Comments are closed.
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AuthorI'm Luke. He/him pronouns. Archives
May 2022
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