Episode 17 Glossary

Characters

• Bjorn Gundersen: Becomes chieftain of Norn as a young man after accepting the brambled great axe and enforcing his sister's exile. In the present, he takes up the red Blade of Passion against Titus.

• Ingrid: Bjorn's sister and former chieftain. She gives up her office after becoming pregnant by a man from a rival clan and accepts Dyre Nik'Vosh as her protector.

• Dyre Nik'Vosh: Bjorn's brother-in-law, pronounced "deer." He takes responsibility for Ingrid and later travels north seeking a Dreg'Damor cure for Dalia.

• Dalia: Bjorn's niece, now in her mid-twenties, whose long illness is identified as Walking Rot.

• Skjold: Norn blacksmith and one of Bjorn's closest friends. He offers to shelter Ingrid, but she refuses his hand.

• Magda Navaa: Mother of Mothers, eldest of the elders, and chief shaman present when Bjorn assumes the chieftainship.

• Eric and Signa: Elder shamans who witness Bjorn's accession. Signa formally commands Ingrid to leave.

• Fred Bathlamule: Former Felrick worker and proprietor of the bat-themed smithy. He returns Normandy's hidden evidence and appears paler after his bat's bite.

• Selendra Cassiandros: Marquis of Gavra. She accepts the Felrick evidence, offers Silas to Whisper, and is exposed as Alderian Titus's latest vessel.

• Silas Palligref: Captured former Gavran captain who genuinely does not remember sending or joining the fleet. His last clear memory involves touching a green staff on the beach.

• Alderian Titus: Ancient leader of the Stygian Seven. He abandons Selendra, emerges with the Dark Scepter, and battles the company through eight animated aspects.

• Mal'El Syphus: Ancient figure recognized by Titus when water begins forming a body in the broken fountain. His identity and purpose are not yet explained to the company.

Gods and Religion

• Yala: Dragon god invoked by Bjorn and Dyre when the latter departs to seek a cure for Dalia.

• Sethis: Goddess whose unseen intervention may be connected to the female voice urging Torin to remember himself while Titus attacks his soul.

• Norn Ancestors and Spirits: Traditional guides invoked during Ingrid's exile and Dyre's departure.

• Crystalline Order Creed: Titus describes the order's central contradiction as remembering what it seeks to exterminate even though the threat must be forgotten.

Organizations and Societies

• Crystalline Order: Ancient spell-swords in blue robes and silver plate who cross through reflections to confront Titus. Three members die, and reinforcements are cut off when Titus destroys the fountain portal.

• Syphus Order: Older magical order associated with the three primordial blades wielded against Titus.

• Stygian Seven: Ancient black-armored beings led by Alderian Titus and capable of inhabiting mortal vessels.

• Felrick Family: Gavran commercial house implicated by Normandy's ledger and letter. Selendra considers the evidence strong enough to force its submission.

• Velpan Trading Company: Rival Gavran power already compromised by separate records. Selendra expects the Velpins and Felricks to fall together.

• Gavran Watch: Four knights answer Whisper's call, carry the unconscious Marquis away, and reinforce the battle against Titus's aspects.

• Minstrel Guild: Performers who stage an elaborate public spectacle while their masked accomplices pick pockets in the crowd.

• Norn: Bjorn's original homeland and society, whose customs force Ingrid from office and require exile unless another person accepts responsibility for her.

• Dreg'Damor: Northern people rumored to possess a cure for Walking Rot.

Creatures and Nature

• Walking Rot: Slow, debilitating disease afflicting Dalia. It can progress over years and may cause irreversible damage.

• Bathlamule's Super Bat: Blood-feeding bat whose bite appears to be changing its owner. It remains with Bathlamule as he prepares to leave Gavra.

• Titus's Armored Aspects: Eight animated forms built from fragments of Titus's broken armor and shadow. Damage to them also harms Titus, and destroying one can stagger him.

• Specter of the Blade of Peace: Unseen deathly presence that clings to Torin after he takes the green Syphus Blade.

Items and Technology

• Brambled Great Axe: Chieftain's weapon bound with limbs from three fallen elder trees and accepted by Bjorn in his youth.

• Felrick Ledger and Letter: Documentary evidence hidden by Normandy with Bathlamule and surrendered to Selendra. She says it will survive legal scrutiny and bring the Felricks down.

• Silver-Inlaid Studded Leather: Vyr's completed armor upgrade. She pays the remaining forty-five gold and takes possession of the suit.

• Dark Scepter: Green-lit staff wielded by Titus, also associated with the Staff of Astarius. It can move through shadow and attack a target's soul.

• Blade of Peace: Green Syphus greatsword taken by Torin. It immediately attunes to him, grants proficiency and temporary vitality, and permits communion with the dead.

• Blade of Passion: Red Syphus greatsword taken by Bjorn. It immediately attunes to him and channels supernatural rage and vitality.

• Blade of Will: Blue Syphus greatsword taken by Helena. It immediately attunes to her and grants supernatural vitality and resistance to failed saving throws.

• Potion of Possibility: Potion consumed by Helena during the battle. Two floating motes remain available to alter future rolls while its magic lasts.

• Boom Powder: Improved explosive powder purchased from Nitro and consumed when Whisper detonates it inside one of Titus's aspects.

• Marquis's Brooch: Token used by the company to secure discreet access to Selendra.

Magic and Cosmology

• Mortal Possession: Titus leaves Selendra as shadow and reconstructs himself inside the throne, confirming that Silas and the Marquis were successive vessels rather than the source of the power.

• Reflection Passage: The Crystalline Order crosses through the fountain's reflective water. Titus collapses the route before reinforcements can complete the crossing.

• Soul Theft: The Dark Scepter can pull a living soul from its body. Torin survives the attempt but falls unconscious despite retaining his physical health.

• Protective Voices: A mature woman's voice tells Torin to remember himself and another urges Vyr to try harder. The Ix crystal glows as Vyr resists Titus's soul attack.

• Linked Aspects: Titus's eight copies are magically connected to him. Their injuries weaken him, and their destruction can deprive him of an action.

• Hellfire Orb: Combined fire and necrotic blast used by Titus against Torin, Vyr, and two of his own aspects.

• Destructive Wave: Catastrophic spell Titus begins at the episode's end, cracking the castle foundations as Mal'El forms in the fountain.

Locations and Realms

• Norn: Bjorn's original mountain homeland, where he replaces Ingrid as chieftain and exiles her under tribal custom.

• New Norn: Later settlement where Dyre tells Bjorn about Dalia's worsening illness before leaving for the north.

• Dreg'Damor Northern Outpost: Rumored destination of Dyre's search for a Walking Rot cure.

• Gavra Castle: Site of Selendra's political audience and the battle with Titus. Its upper court, fountain, throne, walls, and foundations suffer major damage.

• Gavra Trade District: Area containing Vyr's armorer, Bathlamule's shop, and the route toward the castle.

• Charlie's Bazaar Operation: Glister parlor watched by Vyr while Whisper sells part of the party's supply nearby.

• Unknown Crystalline Stronghold: Realm visible only through the fountain portal before Titus destroys the connection.

History and Lore

• Bjorn's Accession: Bjorn accepts leadership while still very young, then enforces the custom that strips and exiles his sister.

• Ingrid's Protection: Dyre accepts Ingrid and her unborn child after Skjold's rejected offer, preserving her place among the Norn.

• Dalia's Illness: Dyre secretly leaves New Norn because the elders might blame Dalia's sickness on her parentage and refuse aid.

• Silas's Lost Interval: The real Silas appears to have remained in Gavra after touching the staff, while Titus used his form to command the northern fleet.

• Felrick Whistleblower: Normandy's access to the hidden evidence establishes a deep former connection to the Felrick family that he still refuses to explain fully.

• Titus and the Crystalline Order: Their hostility reaches back far enough for Titus to recognize the order's doctrine and for its members to prepare weapons specifically intended to destroy him.

• Syphus Blades Reforged: Three blades known from an earlier age exist again in altered form and bind themselves immediately to new wielders.

Active Assets

Armies and Forces

• Gavra Battle Group: Torin, Whisper, Vyr, Normandy, Bjorn, Helena, and Ernan remain inside Gavra Castle when Titus begins his destructive wave.

• Gavran Knights: Four knights reach the upper court, remove Selendra from immediate danger, and continue fighting beside the company.

• Titus's Aspects: Most of the original eight are destroyed by episode end. Two remain active immediately before Titus begins his final spell.

• Lily's Song Company: Brill, Zandra, Len, Ned Flan'Deres, Snake Eye Joe, Mate, Nana, and the surviving selected Dread Stalkers remain aboard the disabled ship. Aggie was the only occupant shown awake in the previous episode.

• Silas's Northern Fleet: The fleet remains at sea under orders issued through Silas's possessed likeness. Its leadership and true objective are unresolved.

• Selendra's Loyalists: Castle guards and officials remain available, but the political balance of Gavra is still unsettled.

Special Characters

• Selendra Cassiandros: Unconscious and injured after Titus leaves her body. Gavran knights carry her from the center of the battle.

• Silas Palligref: Alive in Gavran custody after Whisper refuses his execution and Selendra stays judgment.

• Ernan: Revived after being knocked unconscious and remains in the castle battle.

• Rue: Active darkling companion carried with Whisper.

• Odo: Still somewhere outside Gavra after Bjorn left him beyond the city gates. The episode does not establish his condition.

• Fred Bathlamule: Preparing to close his shop and travel to Piln with his blood-feeding bat.

• Aggie / Angelette: Awake aboard Lily's Song, with the rest of the shipboard company's condition unresolved.

• The Lion: Sponsor of the mainland mission. His condition and promised access to the Maelstrodomus remain unresolved.

Items and Artifacts

• Blade of Peace: Attuned to and held by Torin during the battle.

• Blade of Passion: Attuned to and held by Bjorn during the battle.

• Blade of Will: Attuned to and held by Helena during the battle.

• Dark Scepter / Staff of Astarius: Wielded by Alderian Titus and not under party control.

• Potion of Possibility Motes: Two motes orbit Helena after she drinks the potion. Their duration has not expired by the cliffhanger.

• Combined Crystallic Fragment: Held by Torin.

• Eye of the Panthex: Held by Th'Marck.

• Ix Crystal with Phineas's Soul: Held by Vyr and shown protecting her during Titus's soul attack.

• Torin's Box, Pure Glint, Mechanical Compass, Stuffed Wolf, and Light Bender's Hat: Retained by Torin.

• Helena's Compass, Ithelion Light Vial, Statue Sketch, Cache Map, and Uncut Emerald: Retained by Helena.

• Darkness-Storing Glint and Black Water Vial: Held by Vyr.

• Silver-Inlaid Studded Leather: Completed, fully paid for, and collected by Vyr.

• Ancient-Warning Watch: Worn by Bjorn.

• Ornate Quill, Link Breaker, and Whisper's Mother's Key: Held by Ernan.

• Ceremonial Dagger, Hidden Father's Dagger, Ernan's Collected Keys, Kaglin's Three Keys, and Northern Tax Ledger: Held by Whisper.

• Normandy's Book, Jonas's Ring, Warning, Felrick Dagger, and Mine Records: Held by Normandy. His Felrick ledger and letter have been surrendered to Selendra.

• Marquis's Brooch: Used for reentry to Selendra and retained unless reclaimed off-screen.

• Eight Writs of Passage: Seven for the active Gavra group and one extra intended for Brill.

• Glister Sale Proceeds: Whisper holds one hundred eighty gold after adding thirty of his own money to the night's take.

• Remaining Felrick Glister: Approximately three hundred gold worth remains after Whisper's sales, though the exact physical quantity is not measured reliably. Five hundred gold is still owed to Charlie.

• Purchased Alchemy: Five basic healing potions were originally purchased. Ernan is stated to hold two after Helena gives him hers; remaining individual distribution is incomplete. The stronger healing potion, size-reducing potion, alchemist's fire, and other prior alchemy carry forward unless used off-screen.

• Spectacticular and Glycyrin Bomb: Retained after the boom powder is consumed. Exact holders remain unstated.

• Black Fabric, Sewing Kit, and Disguise Kit: Retained for Whisper and Ernan's use.

• Original Telling and Retelling: Scriptures of Eth retained by the company.

• Kaglin's Ouroboros Necklace and Diary: Held by Vyr.

• Warehouse and Mine Records: Retained except for the Velpan and Felrick evidence already transferred to Selendra.

• Mining Equipment, Shadowed Dawn Cloaks, Library Books, Journals, Raven's Gold, and Confiscated Weapons: Carried forward with exact distribution or balances unstated.

• Boom Powder: Consumed in the castle battle and no longer available.

Provisions

• Travel Rations: Remaining provisions carry forward; exact allocation is not established.

• Shipboard Stores and Pirate Gold: Remain aboard Lily's Song, with their condition after the starlight eruption unknown.

• Vinterweed and Fire Root: Remaining supplies carry forward in unstated quantities.

• Bat Treats: Bathlamule offers ten for one gold, but the exchange is not confirmed clearly enough to count them as a party asset.

Ships and Transport

• Lily's Song: Drifts in the Sequestered Sea with a collapsed mast. It remains nonoperational and separated from the Gavra group.

• Gavra Way Gate: Remains inside the great pillar under Gavran control and is not used during this episode.

• Maelstrodomus: Access remains promised through the Lion but unsecured.

• Six Riding Horses: Remain in Micah's custody in Gavra for sale and are not with the castle group.

• Silas's Fleet: Continues toward the mainland under commands issued while Titus wore Silas's identity.