| Rules | • | Spyragia Setting | • | Monsters | • | Stories |
Today the colony of Heralida was a little safer. The Brigand King's lieutenant was dead. Sir Gavric Hopsing walked from the beheading block to stand beside his son. A priest began the formal prayers.
"Some day we will catch the Brigand King," said his son, Liamver.
"Yes," his mother agreed. "May it be soon."
"Why is he so hard to catch?" asked Liamver.
"He understands power," his father replied.
Later that day Sir Gavric took Liamver to the entrance of the nearby Enchanted Forest. "You are old enough for a trip into an Enchanted Forest. With Yarnspinner's blessing, we will go for a walk and you can learn about power," he said.
Liamver agreed, and tried to focus his mind. He knew an Enchanted Forest could give you what you wish. But a larger wish needed a larger and more dangerous quest. How big a wish was learning about power?
"Yarnspinner is a Power," he said. "Why do we call them Powers?"
The wind shifted. His father, who had been focusing his mind, opened his eyes. "When our walk is done you can tell me." He pointed to the trail beside the entrance sign. The trail had changed. The trees seemed to loom close as they stepped inside the forest.
"What will happen?" asked Liamver.
"We will learn," replied his father.
Through the trees they saw mountains that had not been there before. There was a faint smell of lake, and of shoreline plants. The trail led them to a clearing. In the clearing was a small, crude house, its yard and large garden inside a fence.
Liamver saw that the garden got much more love than the house. He became a little less scared.
"This is like Meidprovinz," said Sir Gavric. "Perhaps this small path leads to the lake?" He led the way. At the lake an orc was fishing. He gave his visitors a wary nod.
Sir Gavric greeted the orc with a polite bow. "I am Sir Gavric, of Heraldia. My son and I are on a walk. We ask no hospitality."
The orc looked at them. He began to reel in his line. "A rich man from Heralida? Come to my gate. You will buy some coffee beans."
"As you wish," agreed Sir Gavric. They followed the orc back up the small path to the clearing. The orc went in his house, and came back out with a bowl made from a gourd. The sold the bowl and the roasted beans inside it to Sir Gavric.
The orc pointed up the main trail. "There is a village after about an hour," he said. "The inn there is nice."
"Thank you," said Sir Gavric. He doubted it was true. This orc did not know it was only part of a story in an Enchanted Forest. The trail would more likely take them someplace else.
Liamver could see and hear animals but no other people. "Where is your family?" he asked.
"In the village," said the orc. "I visit my sister and her family most weeks. I like to live alone."
"I would be lonely."
"Heh. You are young. When you are older you will understand. Doing what you want, when you want. No need to agree on plans. No need to take turn. Helping family on your terms. Close enough to be visit, but too far away to nag."
Liamver gave a polite bow. "I am glad it works for you. I would not be happy."
The orc grunted. "Today the fish do not bite. Am I happy? But I am not unhappy." He gave Sir Gavric an awkward but polite salute, then went inside his house.
Sir Gavric and Liamver continued along the trail.
A little bit later, when the orc was gardening, he heard other footsteps come to his gate. He looked up. His eyes got big. But he did not have time to scream.
The trail took Sir Gavric and Liamver to a doorway. On the other side was not forest, but a hallway.
[queen is comically haughty / the boy helps her make a choice / the boy uses coffee and gets perfume]
Authority - retired queen who has stepped down so her children rule while she can focus on socializing. Power was about ruling as a monarch does and being able to decree laws and ordinances and shape people's lives and send people to jail or pardon them, and so on. She is having trouble picking a perfume, but being able to clear her nose with coffee allows that choice.
The trail took Sir Gavric and Liamver to ...
[rebel leader is energetic, passionate, and chaotic / the boy is tricked into helping set the castle on fire / the boy uses perfume and gets???]
Community - a young rebel leader hiding in the forest, rallying a small group against some outside threat, like a corrupt kingdom. For them, power is collective: building loyalty and trust to inspire action. They'd show the protagonist the strength in community and shared purpose, but also the burden of leadership. They need to bribe a guard to get into a castle.
[superhero has some suspense / the boy saves his father by delaying the villain until help arrives / the boy uses ??? and gets ???]
The trail took Sir Gavric and Liamver to a new clearing, with a new house. This house was a large and fancy manse, painted with many bright colors. Liamver gasped. "This is how I always pictured the home of Amazing Amyril!"
Amazing Amyril was a make-believe heroine in the popular short stories that Liamver and his friends collected. In these popular stories Amazing Amyril was one of Futhorc's champions. She could use runeblockery expertly and owned numerous powerful runeblocks. She also owned many magic items.
Stories about Amazing Amyril often had the same pattern. She can only use each of her runeblocks or magic items once per day. So her foes would cause problems that would make her use certain runeblocks and magic items. Then that same day her foes would trap her. They would force her into a place where she would need that magic again, but it was used up. Yet she was so clever that she always found a way to win, no matter what place she was in.
But Amazing Amyril was not home. Liamver ran to knock on the front door. But there was no answer.
Then a strange metal object sped through the air and stuck to Sir Gavric's armor. Sir Gavric froze. He could not move.
A robed figure with one large eye stepped out from behind a tree. It spoke a strange language. Then a device on its robe said words that Liamver knew. "The stun does not hurt him. I will let him go after I get what I want. If you try to fight me or free him, he will suffer."
Liamver asked, "Who are you?"
The creature replied, using its device, "I am a scrapper. My party needs its vehicle. A dragon has claimed it. The owner of this house has many magic items. She will give me one so my party can fight the dragon, and use our vehicle to go home."
They waited.
Amazing Amyril was flying, using her magic cape. She landed next to Liamver. "What is going on?"
The scrapper repeated his ransom demand.
Amazing Amyril looked doubtful. "What magic item are you thinking of? How will you fight the dragon?"
The scrapper did not know. It had no plan.
Amazing Amyril said, "You do not need a magic item. You need a hero. I will go and help the scrappers get their vehicle and go home."
Liamver said, "Wait! First, tell me...are you real?"
Amazing Amyril told the scrapper, "Wait one moment, please." Then she put her hands under Liamver's shoulders and picked him up. They flew up into the sky.
The view was not normal. After a while the forest changed to look like it was black and white, with no color. Farther away it changed again and looked like a drawing. Before the horizon it stopped, and there was a blank margin before the edges of pages as big as the world.
Liamver said, "We are in a book!"
Amazing Amyril said, "We are in an enchanted forest. This one looks like a book. Are you in my story? Am I in yours? Does it matter?"
Liamver was too busy looking around to say anything. The forest slowly changed as he watched. Trees moved and changed. Trails grew and shrunk. Glades came and went. Clouds appeared over a spooky house, releasing rain and thunder only in that small place. A castle rose from the ground.
Amazing Amyril asked, "What is more important, that you are in an enchanted forest, or that you are with your dad?"
Liamver said, "With my dad."
Amazing Amyril said, "Right. But that is true for you. Not for most people. I am a hero because for anyone where they are is less important than if I am with them." She flew down and set Liamver beside Sir Gavric, who was put an arm around him.
Amazing Amyril waved to them, picked up the scrapper, and flew away.
Sir Gavric and Liamver continued along the trail.
A little bit later, footsteps approached Amyril's house. A few minutes later the house was on fire.
[pace / boy's participation / uses ??? and acquires a hand mirror]
Famous - retired adventurer who has accumulated great wealth and fame; to that person, power is about the fact that everyone knows who they are when they visit the city
[hermit is slow, calm, and almost hypnotic / the boy is tested by needing to face a fear or impatience / the boy gives a hand mirror]
Inner Strength - wise old hermit who's a kind of forest sage. To them, power is inner strength—self-mastery, emotional resilience, maybe even magical insight. They don't control others or seek fame; their power lies in understanding themselves and the forest's secrets
At the end of the story, the finale will have two parts. First, they arrive at what looks like the exit to the forest, and the monster that has been chasing them and being cruel and vicious to the people they interact with throughout all of the other scenes finally catches up to them and threatens them and acts all tough. But Yarnspinner himself is there, and even though the monster has been created by turbulence, and Yarnspinner cannot directly control or interact or see it, then he says that it is, uh, similar to being a hole torn in a piece of fabric, and then he drops an entire tavern on top of the monster, which squishes and defeats it, and brings the protagonist and his father into the tavern for a debriefing.
The father then asked the son what he learned about power, thinking that the things that were directly taught by the characters are what the son, that power is when you can avoid being unhappy, or power is when your presence is significant to other people.
But what the son instead, instead talks about is what power DID to people. That the orc they met with first thinks that he is never unhappy, but he is also too isolated and lonely. The queen became haughty. The superhero ???. In contrast, his father, who had obviously a display of power in executing the lieutenant of a famous bandit brigand king, is kind and humble and doesn't let his power over life and death over his province get to his head.