Perpetua 24: Aquatic Ambush! 02
Friends at the Table
The Little Snail floats aboard Captain Hornbeam Hypostyle’s Crystal Conch Express, strapped down to its large, open deck, cutting a boxy silhouette against the light of the horizon. Beautiful though it may be, it also sends a sharp signal to any ill-willed onlookers: There is cargo aboard! It is for this reason that Captain Hypostyle does not like to transport vehicles across the bay… This week on Perpetua: Aquatic Ambush! 02 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.05] NPCs & Monsters [PNMS] Kay - Clay Crewman [NMKAY] Typical Traits: obedient, learning, gullible Stats: DEX 10, INS 6, MIG 10, WLP...
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Perpetua 23: Aquatic Ambush! 01
Friends at the Table
Before he departed from Calstega Bay, the man named Onyx, Commodore of the Valte Empire and member of the mysterious group known as the Luminaries, gave the crew of the Little Snail some words of advice: Take a boat east, to Spillaway Peaks, and find an ally there under the Shining Star. Thus do Veile, Elena, Nicky, and Jonathan head towards the shoreline, towards new adventures—and for one of them, old haunts. You may not know Spillaway Peaks. Indeed, places like that are too easily overlooked. Many would tell you a history of Tidaline, Perpetua’s Western Continent, focused only on...
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Perpetua 22: A Roar Across Cenn 04
Friends at the Table
Cenn, City of Chains shakes and rumbles. A threat once only felt through the tremors of the ground emerges, claws long, hide scaled, and sharp… sharp all over. Even whiskers sharp. A master of the earth. A being that digs not only through the earth, but through—or around, or perhaps outside of—time itself! The Draco-Mole appears! This week on Perpetua: A Roar Across Cenn 04 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.05] NPCs & Monsters [PNMS] Rotten Draco-Mole [NMGNS] Traits: Frenzied, Confused, Furious, Single-Minded Stats: DEX 6, INS 6, MIG 12, WLP 8 Attacks: Stone Cage, Heavy Claw, Plate...
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Perpetua 21: A Roar Across Cenn 03
Friends at the Table
All across the Elevana League, pilgrims leave their homes and travel over great distances towards the city of Cenn, determined to meet with the only member of the Ennead who deigns to walk amongst their worshippers. As a matter of propriety and faith, what transpires between Castine and his believers is largely kept between the embodiment of metal and his visitors. But it is not uncommon to see echoes of the conversations in the life that follows. Greater confidence. Lesser cruelty. A new found curiosity. When you walk your lap with the Living Metal, it is said, you may find yourself newly...
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Perpetua 20: A Roar Across Cenn 02
Friends at the Table
After an ominous meeting with Thereus Aegir, leader of the Hexcloaks, Caoimhe Wake regroups with Brontë Adelvys and Antistrophe Landrace, fresh from their victorious Beachminton showdown in Seawalk. Caoimhe shares the ultimatum she received from Aegir: Find out whether the recent earthquakes are tied to Castine, Living Metal. Which raises the question: How does one go about investigating a member of the Ennead while he is surrounded by his most loyal followers? This week on Perpetua: A Roar Across Cenn 02 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.05] NPCs & Monsters [PNMS] I’ve been waiting...
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Perpetua 19: A Roar Across Cenn 01
Friends at the Table
Called to Cenn, City of Iron Chains, Caiomhe Wake, Antistrophe Landrace, Brontë Adelvys (and his two attendants), arrive to find crisis rumbling in burg. The Hexcloaks have quietly taken over town governance, while outside, tremors have turned to quakes, even bringing harm to the Ironclad Parade—the statuary whose inhabitants were once devotees to Castine, Living Metal. Perhaps such devotion is earned in part by the curious community that Castine has built here in Cenn since his arrival a century ago. While the archeological dig that gave Cenn its full moniker continues, the city is now...
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Perpetua 18: Sizzling Rivalry, Crashing Waves! 04
Friends at the Table
After escaping one ambush in their hotel room and a second aboard the Buzzard Black, the crew of the Little Snail is finally preparing themselves for their climactic showdown with the deadly hitman, Genuine Sincere. They’ll need the right location, the right gear, and the right magical protection. And then, of course, they’ll need a little luck. This week on Perpetua: Sizzling Rivalry, Crashing Waves! 04 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.04] NPCs & Monsters [PNMS] Genuine Sincere [NMGNS] Traits: Cold-Blooded, Bought, Veteran. Eagle-eyed Stats: DEX 10, INS 6, MIG 8, WLP 6 Attacks:...
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Perpetua 17: Sizzling Rivalry, Crashing Waves! 03
Friends at the Table
After being taken under the wing of Commodore Onyx, the crew of the Little Snail were brought up to date on the situation in Calstega Bay and beyond—learning for the first time details about a larger conflict between light and dark. But soon, they’ll learn just how limited the protection of this “protective custody” is. As Genuine Sincere begins to pull tight his snare, will Elena, Jonathan, Nicky, and Veile escape the hotel, or will they find their destiny cut short? This week on Perpetua: Sizzling Rivalry, Crashing Waves! 03 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.04] Some Feedback [Page 15 of...
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Perpetua 16: Sizzling Rivalry, Crashing Waves! 02
Friends at the Table
Many are the questions that run through the heads of the Little Snail’s award-winning chefs as they are paraded through the streets of Calstega Bay. Some are quite philosophical: When is a victory a failure, and when might imprisonment be protection? Others are more mundane in nature: What is wrong with this Commodore, and how much trouble are we in? They will find answers to some of these questions, certainly, but some answers are only doors to new mysteries and new visions of the world… This week on Perpetua: Sizzling Rivalry, Crashing Waves! 02 Perpetua Guide [In Progress v.04] NPCs...
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Perpetua 15: Sizzling Rivalry, Crashing Waves! 01
Friends at the Table
Elena. Jonathan. Nicky. Veile. Four would-be adventurers, drawn together by circumstance yet bound by fate. At the helm of the Little Snail, they’ve driven full speed towards the glint of an assassin’s scope, believing that sometimes, the safest place to hide from a killer is right under his nose. Whether or not it will work, this tactic has brought them to new sights, and a new city: Calstega Bay. This industrious burg was once ruled by a tyrannical limb of the Adelvys Dynasty, Grand Sonnerian royalty and masters of the Manakin, doll-like beings brought to life by powerful,...
info_outlineThis episode carries content warnings for imprisonment, withholding medical care, civilian deaths, medical experiments, blood, description of injury, and death,
“What sort of shape is it though?”
“It is empire.”
“Yes, no, I get that, but... Is empire a square? Is it circle? It helps to know the shape of a thing if you’re hoping to break it.”
“Yes. I understand. You tell me, then. What shape do you think empire takes? Perhaps you can see it in a way I cannot, because you first apprehended it from outside.”
“Well, I can’t tell you about all empires, but this one? It wants to be fractal. Each stel tries to make everything inside of it a repetition of itself.”
“Yes. Yes, I see. Stel Apostolos shapes itself as a spear, and so it extends downward in echoing cacophony. Its military bases, its schools, its students, its children—all spears.“
“Yeah, something like that. The trouble is, a fractal is really strong. All those shapes, repeated inwards forever. They flex, like a tree’s branches bending in the wind.”
“Yes, but that is it. The Principality is not an abstract fractal, repeating forever. It is a tree. And a tree repeats only for so long.”
“And when a strong enough wind blows…”
“It can be uprooted.”
This week on PALISADE: Honesty and Integrity Pt. 2
I grieve in stereo, the stereo sounds strange / You know that if it hides, it doesn't go away
Dossier
People
Routine Rennari (he/him): Half-Apostolsian, scion of a minor Kesh noble house, and the Blue Channel's heavy.
Partial Palisade (he/him): A man who was once a Divine, now living in the shell of a being quite unlike what he once was.
Eclectic Opposition (he/him): A delegate and member of the Cause who left Palisade to spend time working under Exeter Leap before returning to his home planet to investigate the strange factories being built by the Frontier Syndicate.
Gallica (she/her): Elect of the Divine Present. Gallica spent years as Chief Emissary of Stel Nideo, Verse (missionary) in the Holy Church of Received Asterism, but in fact was a signatory to the Pact of Necessary Venture, and when the war spilled beyond Kesh and Apostolos, Gallica betrayed her home Stel to join Apostolos and Nideo. Currently, she leads high level intelligence and espionage operations for the Pact of Free States.
The Glorious Princept, Dahlia (they/them): The second pretender to the title of Princept. Born to house Kesh, Dahlia was once kidnapped by a rebelious Sovereign Immunity known as the Farmer. After being rescued and raised by the then Apokine of Stel Apostolos, they integrated into Apostolosian culture. Though they were not part of the Pact of Necessary Venture at its founding, they welcomed the group’s support, though focused their efforts on the war with the Branched instead of the ongoing civil conflict.
Cas’alear Rizah (cas/cas’, they/them): Leader of the Swordbreakers, an elite unit of Apostolosian-trained pilots who have since sworn service to Millenium Break. Cas holds a reputation for beauty and bravery among allies, but is seen as unflinching and unpredictable by cas’ foes..
Factions
The Frontier Syndicate: A powerful conglomerate with a broad purview, including technology, heavy industry, entertainment, telecommunications, and transportation. Led by Exenceaster March (he/him), the Syndicate betrayed the Pact of Free States and joined the Bilats in order to be part of their colonization efforts on Palisade.
The Pact of Free States: One of the two factions vying for leadership of the Principality, a joint operation by Stels Columnar and Apostolos. Led in name by the Glorious Princept, Dahlia (they/them), but operated in day-to-day matters by members of the original Pact of Necessary Venture, including Rye (he/him) and Gallica (she/her). Though they are reformist in some ways, their primary goal is greater autonomy for each Stel, freedom from the legal restraints, taxes, and oversights demanded by the Principality, with additional deregulation to follow downstream.
STEREOMA: Pact truebeliver Cor'rina Corrine (cor/cors, they/them) and cor rival Misericorde (he/they) have begun building a surgical, anti-Bilat hit squad on Paliade.
Places
Diadem Gravtrain: While the vast trench-city on Palisade's equator lays abandoned, Kesh has reactivated its railway via an operations center in Carmathen.
Divines
The Divine Motion (she/her): One of the founding members of the Pact, the necromantic Apostolosian divine once led its infamous retinue, the Black Century, on Partizan. They were defeated and dispersed, turned into part of Kalmeria, during Operation Shackled Sun.
Present (it/its): On first blush, Present might be confused for a small, if luxurious frigate. And sometimes, it is just that: Its oval structure houses living quarters, a humble armory, enough cargo space to hold a single hollow, and even a fully stocked bar. But at a snap of its elect’s fingers, it transforms into a humanoid war machine that serves its elect loyally, outclasses any Altar currently in operation, and is capable of holding its own against many other Divines in combat.
The Divine Commitment (it/its): A malleable divine made of inky black metal. Has historically required two pilots (both in a condition of ego death) in order to be operated, its current Elect is the Dahlia, the Glorious Princept, who operates it with the aid of the Divine Integrity.
The Divine Integrity (it/its): Sometimes appearing as an articulated staff or a metallic spine, Integrity integrates itself into its chosen user. Once the two are connected, Integrity becomes a powerful exoskeleton, and supports its user in matters of military and morale. Currently, Dahlia, the Glorious Princept, is the elect of Integrity.
Objects
Ekpyrosis: Flagship of the Pact’s fleet, a transforming, beautiful monstrosity able to casually destroy worlds while simultaneously supporting life in a vacuum.
Mysteries
Perennial (she/her): The Principality's so-called 'adversary,' who lives at the center of the galaxy and whose chaotic whims spread through her "Perennial Wave," an ever-present nanoparticle that has recently bonded with Kalmeria.
Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)
Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)
Produced by Ali Acampora
Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)
Text by Austin Walker
Cover Art by by aurahack (aurahack.jp)
With thanks to Arthur B., chocoube, DB, deepFlaw, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, huw, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, K. Morris, Katie Diekhaus, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mike & Ruby, Nich Maragos, Olive Perry, Patrick Murray, Robert Lasica, Shawn Hall, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, viviridian, and Voi for their support
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