Centrum Glacies Session 105.5: Cutting String
Week 105.5 of the Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues as Jyona finally grows fed up with being manipulated and cuts the string tying her down.
Like my other campaign, I’m turning this one into a book series. You can check out the first one here.
Anyway, just like my other campaign, there is a whole lot going on and I don’t want to elaborate on every moving piece in the story. You can see the whole thing in the book series.
!!!Trigger Warning!!!
This story deals with a cruel world with some horrific twists. So far, this campaign has featured: Animals getting killed, Genocide, lots of body horror, evil cults, brainwashing, torture, psychological warfare, child abuse, and slavery.
One of the party members had an eye gouged out and lost an arm. Not exactly the way it happens in Berserk, but that might have been the inspiration for it. The group was incinerated in lava. But rather than die, they were transformed into Demons. They might be free from these transformations for now, but only time will tell what this means for them.
!!!Final Trigger Warning!!!
Jyona took a rest after dealing with several of the unique quirks of the Seelie Court. All the while, she mulled over being used. And not just once but over and over and over. She didn’t like the fact that the Fae ended up being just as manipulative as everyone back on her home world.
In fact, Jyona was growing fed up with life in general at this point. She decided then and there that she was done being a puppet. The Half Elf was not going to let anyone control her, no matter who it was.
Jyona made a very rash decision as her thoughts raced. She wouldn’t do what Queen Mab and Jorōgumo wanted anymore. And to that end she chose to chop off the spider arm that the Archfey had replaced her missing arm with.
Each successive strike was more painful than the last as she took a blade to her own arm. But Jyona pushed through the immense pain and refused to scream, worried that Seelie Fae would notice her presence. She managed to sever the limb, but the pain at that point knocked her out. Jyona went into shock.
Meeting Puck
Hours went by and when she opened her eyes, she wasn’t alone. Archfey Puck was there and he seemed to have at least prevented Jyona from bleeding out.
“WHAT DID YOU DO?!?” He asked. Jyona, who was still rather tired of being used glared at him. An extremely dangerous thing to do given his vastly superior strength here. He told her that by severing the arm she had done exactly what Klevor had wanted. The Redcap Archfey had won their not so friendly wager.
Yet he didn’t attack. Instead the Archfey ranted about how doomed they both now were because of her. Queen Titania was now aware of his betrayal and would be sending troops to kill them both. Jyona was now Puck’s only hope of survival. She didn’t want to kill Queen Titania but Puck made it clear that by severing the arm, that was the only chance they had now.
King Oberon
As they approached the castle, it was not Queen Titania but King Oberon that stopped them in their tracks. A battle of truly titanic proportions happens as two extremely powerful Archfey try to kill each other. Jyona felt small next to their displays of power with Puck summoning an army of illusionary Dragons and Oberon calling forth several hurricane like storms on top of each other.
Puck saved Jyona from death on more than one occasion as his and Oberon’s magic continued to put her in danger. And she was tired of being a bystander. So she did another impulsive thing. The Half Elf allowed her Demon form to bleed through.
Unfortunately, as with Klevor she was still dancing to a string. Specifically Queen Mab’s. The Unseelie Queen had been waiting for this moment and told Jyona as much. Her own power surged through Jyona making her Demon form much much more powerful.