For centuries the ancient city-state of Trezkahd has flourished, rising from the ashes of the old Yulian Empire to dominate regional trade and play king-maker among the petty tribes that war over the corpse of once-civilized lands. The city’s merchants are infamous throughout the known world, the wealth and decadence of its well-defended citadels the stuff of legend.

How, might you ask, does a cabal of notorious fops and sybarites, ruling a decaying city isolated in the caldera-lake of a dormant volcano, manage to inspire envy and fear throughout the many kingdoms of the East? While its detractors whisper that the power of Trezkahd stems from foul and forbidden magics, the answer given by the natives is not far off. The Trezkahdians cleave to the old ways, worshiping a dark pantheon that was shunned even in the waning days of old Yulia. Every year the rulers of the city hold a grand festival, every high-born citizen decked in masques and finery whole the low-born dance in the streets for scraps. The old gods are honored in a great ceremony that culminates when one high-born maiden, chosen by lottery the night before, is ritually drowned in the central lake of the city, sacrificed to feed the voracious appetite of Ulthros the Dreamer. In return, the Dreamer provides the city elders with a vision of the future, allowing them to outwit their enemies and avert disasters. Is it all superstition? Perhaps, but don’t voice such doubts within the walls of Trezkahd… such apostasy has only one punishment, and it is not a pleasant one.

This year though… this year will be different. The Balerian Empire, frustrated from years of being thwarted by the vile machinations of Trezkahd, has dispatched a special team upon a mission of greatest secrecy: to kidnap the chosen maiden and disrupt the pagan festival of dreams, leaving the superstitious Trezkahdians vulnerable to attack. If these agents of stealth and guile succeed, the empress will bestow upon them wealth to rival that of the grandest dukes in the realm.

Unfortunately, such things never go according to plan…

Hosted by: Lucy Primo (Luxia)

Narrated by: Kay Fae (Fantastic_K)

Completed 05/19/17. Scenes played: 8

License: Community License

18+