April 12, 2025

Hook

Winterfall XII - Pthora, Cahyali/Dipha, Cahyali/The Recordatio, Void

Plot Synopsis

The party meets with Volkov and plans their next steps. Volkov and the Leshy Squad will take care of things in Pthora and hide Zimina's fate, as the party chases Zimina-turned-Arsynoe to the moon to slay her once and for all. The attack of the weasel tribe had resulted in the destruction of about half the Polisian palace, and many efforts are currently focused on its reconstruction.

The party takes some time to prepare, buys supplies and researches about the moon and the void, and then find Thalyss Alya. She delivers them to the moon's surface, which - surprisingly - has a breathable atmosphere... despite it all smelling a lot like dust. They wander a while, following a set of Arsynoe's footprints, until they see a structure in the distance. It seems to be a castle at first, hewn from moon rock with no discernible architectural style. As they draw closer and look on it more, parts of the castle become familiar locations to the party. They arrive in front, where a garden made of moon rock with stone flowers greets them. Most of the party takes some flowers. The entire time, they have felt a strange presence watching them from everywhere.

They go into the castle, and walk down a long hallway flanked on either side by indigo, purple, and pink flowers resembling the stone ones that grow in a sort of glowing liquid or liquid light. This hallway ends with a large round room with no floor... instead, it breaks off into the void, with a part of the Recordatio: a sort of lynchpin of reality, waiting below. The party leaps down into the upside-town tower, and explores. They come across a stained glass window of a woman with a ball of void where her torso should be, and wings in her hair. She holds Cahyali in her hand. The window moves, and the figure reveals herself to be Dipha herself. Dipha is, in fact, an eldritch being that has been keeping vigil over Cahyali in guise as its moon ever since life first arose. She has a maternal nature, and wants nothing more than to let the inhabitants of Cahyali tell their stories and grow old without interference.

She asks the party about their journeys and lives, as she guides them through the Recordatio's halls. Several other tower structures sit around, all connected to the one they're in by a large bridge. She shows them their final destination: the Godwheel itself, Arsynoe's final goal to sever the gods from Cahyali. If broken, the gods will be isolated. Before setting off to their final battle, the party sits down with Dipha and shares a meal of soup with her. She cannot taste it, but greatly appreciates the gesture.

The party then gets up and sets off to the Godwheel. Arsynoe approaches on the other side. Uriel tries to convince her that she's seeing things the wrong way, but she cannot be swayed. Elizabeth asks her about her past, and she shares that she has always loved mortals despite - as a demigod - never being one of them. She believes that, whatever trials are to come, Cahyali can surmount them. Volke asks for one last dance. As she takes his hand, he moves to stab her, and she plunges her sword into the center of the Godwheel (heh. pfc logo) and cracks it.

Noteworthy Postgame Events