Profile
Climactic Crescendo
| Crescendo | |
 Sketch of Crescendo. One day I'll have something better. Hopefully. | |
| Biographical Information | |
| Name | The climactic crescendo found in the middle of Zeta's song, made up of distinct lute parts. (Climactic Crescendo) |
| Alias | Crescendo, Cresc. |
| Previous Name | The sound of a dagger being unsheathed. *Sshink!* |
| Serial Number | 1120033F |
| Fledgling Number | Seven |
| Nicknames | Chicken Little |
| Physical Information | |
| Species | Aur'Ku |
| Sex | Female |
| Feathers | White |
| Eyes | One is blue, the other is gray. Third blue eye on chest. |
| General Information | |
| Gender | Female |
| Sexuality | Heterosexual |
| Alignment | None |
| Previous Alignment | Lawful Evil |
| Soul Colors | Green and black |
| Status | |
| Dies | N/A |
| Mother | Songbird [Zeta/Angel] |
| Father | Coo |
| Brother | Wolf's Howl |
| Other Siblings | Aggressive Coconuts |
| Notable Flock mates | |
| Symphony Party | |
| Mate | Elated Squawk (AKA Sound of Silence, AKA Tree Crack, AKA The Changeling) |
| Curse Status | Not quite standard Aur'Ku: Has her own voice, was eventually gifted creativity by the Overdierty, but still lacks wings. |
| Wish Consequences | Can never cast the wish spell again, and is entirely incapable of casting spells of 7th level and higher. |
| Divine Notice | 3 |
| D&D Specific | |
| Initial Campaign | Mnemonic Dreams: Reincarnates (Devotion) |
| Following Campaigns | Duet, Symphony Movements I and II, Climactic Resolution. |
| Edition | 5e home brewed as all hell. |
| Level | 12 |
| Classes | Rouge (Assassin), Warlock (Raven Queen), Sorcerer (Wild Mage) |
| Feats | Mage Slayer, Alert |
Devotion
"I will not fail."
In a past life Crescendo ascended Aurem to godhood. That bird, succumbing to her faults of character, betrayed Aurem and paid the ultimate price for her defiance. Crescendo is cursed with misfortune and entangled in a destiny that she wants no part in. She is loyal to a fault, devoted fully to her god, and will carry out every order with keen precision and unmatched determination no matter the consequences.
Symphony Movement I
"I... I never thought I'd see the day that I become a traitor..."
Things have changed... Zeta's message carries with it harsh truths. Aurem's rise to power may have started with good intentions, but the end result is nothing short of a crime against her entire people. 'We were never free,' spoke that bird- her mother- recalling horrific acts of violence and undeserved punishment. A god serves their people as much as their people serve them... and Aurem has undoubtedly betrayed her loyal people. To devote oneself to a deity that actively torments and manipulates even their most loyal of followers... How could she? In a climactic show of her character beyond mere loyalties, Crescendo abandoned her faith, forsaking the god which she so dutifully served and facing the unknown with her newfound party.
The future is uncertain. Is Aurem evil? Does it matter? Creativity... she isn't sure. but no matter what, she will stick by Resolve and Wolf's side. One could say, loyal to the very end?
Climactic Resolution
Success. Failure. The future lies in their hands.
Symphony Movement II
Still much to be done. Joker, Tonto... uniting planes...
Finale and Epilogue
Time to face the future.
-----------
My bird became more birds. This one isn't a bard!
This bird quite literally broke free of the destiny that my DM and I had written for her. Now that is something that Songbird would be proud of!
Appearance
A bit taller than Resolve (~3.5'? Size small) with white feathers. She is not a very strong bird, but she is highly dexterous, as any rouge worth their salt should be. She has an intimidating air to her, manifested through her charisma and observant gaze, confidence unmarred by arrogance.
One of her eyes is gray the other dark blue, and her third Aur'Ku eye, located on her chest, is also blue.
Complete Appearance: Addresses all additions.
Mostly blind, dragon mark, shadow gazer always, current attire,
Devotion __ and Onward
After a horribly failed mission that resulted in a potent acid-spell being slung at her, Crescendo was rendered functionally blind. Her blue eye (Left?) is totally useless and is affected by a cataract, while the other retains minimal functionality and has a some scattered cataracts. Plus, there are patches around her eyes, across her face in an upward stroke, where feathers no longer grow.
Devotion __ and onward
She's got a rune thing on her back now.
Duet ___ and onward
Starting at level eight, some Aur'Ku features come to light... Eyebstalks, eye lasers, advancement of this behikder eye-in-chest curse...
Attire
Simple clothing, belt with rapier, potion. Daggers hidden on her person.
Arcane Wand: It's her focus. What the hell does it look like?? why didn't I design these earlierrr
Cloak of Invisibility (Appearance): White aur'ku feathers dyed black, so they lack the iridescence of kenku feathers. Has a hood.
Claircivic Rapier: Weighted, glass pommel that holds health potion.
Jewelry of Soul-Binding: Two bracelets and a necklace. rose gold?
Phoenix Rapier and Elemental Wings (Appearance): (No longer owned) Nice rapier with a glass orb pommel. Pommel does influence the balance. pommel houses an energetic flame, what is left of a phoenix broken by it's wielder. Wings summoned by Cresc are made of ice with a blue hue.
Personality
Cold, distant, determined, perfectionist, loyal, fairly well collected, kind of a grumpy bitch, introverted. Tsundere, heh. Kinda spiteful, especially in regards to music shenanigans. Is a damn good party member, if you can put up with her. Awfully violent. Why persuade when you can intimidate? After all, if intimidation fails, then you get to kick their ass as per the threat. Does care about those who have earned it, but has difficulty expressing or admitting it.
On Destiny; Responsibility: She, of course, accepts her responsibilities, but... she really would prefer to just be... normal. Again and again, she grows tired of things just happening to her. She isn't special. Or, doesn't want to be. This is in contrast to Resolve, who never was normal; she always seemed to have some sort of destiny.
Determination; Perfection: Like all iterations of Songbird, Crescendo is determined. This stubborn tendency, however, has warped itself into a deeply rooted desire for perfection. She is hypercritical of everything that she does, prone to harshly punishing herself over minute mistakes. This leads her to push herself to preform exceptionally, doing everything in her power to improve, if just by a tiny bit. But, it also leads to spotty self-esteem- she is confident in her abilities, but will always point out small errors and will rarely be satisfied with what she's accomplished- and a dangerously consistent source of stress, both directly and indirectly. She may outright reject praise for something due to feeling as though she doesn't deserve it and become frustrated over her inability to perform as well as she wishes she could. This perfectionism is both an advantage and disadvantage for her; it pushes her to excel in anything that she finds to be worth doing, but at a pretty steep cost that surely impacts those that have to interact with her. Her desire for perfection extends to others as well, but not nearly as much.
Loyalty: Though to a system rather than to Aurem herself, as is proven during the start of Symphony. This is a fitting parallel for Resolve, who is loyal to her gods, but at her core and in the end, she is a servant to people, good or evil it seems, above any higher being.
Music's Call: Crescendo is a bard at heart. Occasionally, that song sequestered in the back of her mind seeks to be shared, and she absolutely hates it. "I am NOT a bard!!" And she is adamant about that fact to the point of it being purely out of irrational spite.
Maternal Instincts: She barley has any. Just gets protective and a wee bit more stabby than usual. Though occasionally she gets the feeling that there really is something wrong with her, for not caring as much as she should... and sometimes it’s enough to instill a feeling of guilt in her. She just doesn't like not having control over shit like this, whether it be soul shenanigans, inherit music, or something as basic as instinctual drives.
Under Stress: Ew, emotions. Usually distanced from troubling emotions, or not one to display them openly, she tends to ignore her problems until they inevitably boil over and overwhelm her. The result could be an irrational outburst at a flock mate doing nothing of note, or just breaking down into tears. Worse still, she grows frustrated over the sudden inability to maintain the emotion in question, or gets flustered over the attention she gains.
Drunk: She is much more tolerable while drunk. More sociable, greatly amused by the smallest of things, but will still kick your ass without hesitation if prompted.
Symphony
A Test of Faith: Just a cog in the machine, huh, her people enslaved for genrations. Her mother, or a version of her, regretted her actions in ascending Aurem, willing to give u her life to warn others, to seek redemption... She never had a choice. And lacking creativity... what a cruel trap. She may not understand freedom, may not know what she wants to do in life... but isn't the choice to decide that for yourself worth the uncertainty it would offer...?
Symphony II
Soul Bond Break: Seemingly given a glimpse of what it would be like to have the universe recognize her as her own person, no longer partially Resolve, or Song, and yet.. it wasn't right. She'd never say it aloud, never fully admit it, but... being so close to someone, tied to them is... a comfort. In a dream, facing her own reflection in a mirror rather than Resolve. She looked back on the past, on Resolve.
And the DM questioned: what does she envy/admire most about Resolve?
Voice and Dialogue
Kind of plain, definitely female. Doesn't often incorporate mimicry in her dialogue unless it serves a purpose.
Habits
- Seeing only the negative side of things, most apparent in her criticism of her own abilities and performance.
- Pushing herself a bit too hard. She has to be babysat to actually get rest at times.
- Ignoring her problems until the very last moment.
Hobbies
- She has gotten very good at throwing daggers at things. Kind of therapeutic sometimes, actually.
- She's taken to reading books.
- Post Climactic Resolution she begins writing, mostly arcane notes, but also other tidbits.
Likes
- Alcohol.
- A good 'ol 'set everything on fire and murder folk' mission. Sometimes you can't beat simplicity and Fog and Fire.
- The occasional sparring match with a flock mate or party member. She'll happily take an excuse to kick someone's ass and not get in trouble.
Dislikes
- Wasting time, unreliable allies, annoying flock mates.
- Music. Or, so she adamantly says. (This has gradually changed to more of an understanding. She isn't a bard, but music is still tied to her very soul, and... that's okay.)
- Weird shit always happening to her. But she's sort of starting to just accept it now.
- Too much conversation. She definitely has a limit on this one.
- Too much attention. Even praise can be a bit overwhelming sometimes.
Goals (Devotion-Duet)
- Fulfill her purpose in life. Ie. follow orders dutifully.
- Keep her brother from accidentally getting himself killed via freaky magic/ lycanthropy experiments.
- Become a better caster.
Goals (Symphony)
- Keep her brother from accidentally getting himself killed via even freakier magic experiments.
- Become a better caster.
- Free her people from the god that has betrayed them.
- Find her place in the world.
Stats [Level 12]
Strength: 6 [-2]
Dexterity: 20 [+5]
Constitution: 16 [+3]
Intelligence: 12 [+1]
Wisdom: 12 [+1]
Charisma: 21 [+5]
HP: 92
Proficiency: +4
Initiative: +10
AC: 19
Spell save DC: 17 Dex, 17 Cha
Passive Perception: 24
Languages, tools, proficiency and expertise:
- Thieves tools, disguise kit, poisoners kit, dice set, lute
- Languages: Common, auran, theives' cant
- Proficiency: Acrobatics, deception, insight, persuasion, thieves' tools
- Expertise: Arcana, intimidation, perception, stealth, performance
Warlock Spells
Two 2nd level spell slots
Cantrips
- Eldritch Blast
- Green-Flame Blade
- Mage Hand
- Thaumaturgy (Book of Shadows)
- Message (Book of Shadows)
- Control Flames (Book of Shadows)
- Minor Illusion (Mark of Shadows)
Level 1 Spells
- Hex
- Cause Fear
Level 2 Spells (2 Slots)
- Darkness
- Misty Step
- Mirror Image
Sorcereer Spells
Three 1st level spell slots
Cantrips
- Mending
- Mold Earth
- Prestidigitation
- Shape Water
Level 1 Spells
- Magic Missle
- Feather Fall
- Sleep
- Devil's Sight: 120ft dark vision even in magical darkness.
- Aspect of the Moon: Nothing can force her to sleep.
From Page Turn's Tome:
Thanks to some shenanigans she can cast some ritual spells despite being a warlock. She can cast these as ritual spells ONLY.
- All first-level ritual spells, but most notably:
- Alarm, Detect Magic, Identify, Purify Food and Drink, Speak with Animals, Tenser's Floating Disk, Find Familiar, comprehend languages.
- Some second-level spells (Learned from Wolf's Howl, still thanks to Page Turn)
- Gentle Repose, Locate Animal/Plants
Greater Mark of Shadow
A runic mark granted to her by a mysterious deity... (Essentially, it was going to help even the playing field between her and Resolve.)
Located: Above her ass cuz my DM thought that giving her a "tramp stamp" would be funny
Quirk: Tickles slightly when activated
Upon receiving it in Devotion __, then upgrading it at level 8, then learning more from Queen, it grants her:
- +1 to charisma (Total 21)
- +1 to dexterity (Total 20)
- The ability to summon an ideal lute from shadows
- Proficiency with a musical instrument (Lute)
- Advantage on stealth checks
- Advantage on performance checks
- Proficiency in the perform skill
- **Twice per short rest, she can take the hide action, no matter the surroundings or situation, as a bonus action.** (Changes based on Level)
- She learns the Minor Illusion cantrip
- Can cast mislead and nondetection once per SR
- Ability to summon a perfect knife from shadows.
- Ability to see others with a dragon mark in spite of any vision issues. (At least works with Queen.)
- Ability to wield her impossibly heavy dragon dagger.
Words of Power
Ripped straight from Skyrim and plopped into D&D because it was fun. Keep in mind, I'm very new to Skyrim.
One can speak a word of power and manipulate the universe to their will. Originally discovered by Wolf, but now it is known to have ties to her Dragon Mark. Learned Krii, Kaan, and Mid from Wolf, the rest from Queen.
List:
a buunch
Aur'Ku Features
- Her third eye can be used to see magic.
- Third eye shoots lasers. But I never use it.
Knowledge
Resolve's Life in the Clouds: Resolve talks about strange places and people to Crescendo fairly often. Cloud cities, planes walking, deities, strange races... Whether Crescendo believes that these are real, however, is still pending...
Music: Has uncanny knowledge about music. It's quite frustrating, actually.
Mark of Shadows; Devotion: She did some library research, and learned that this weird mark appearing on 'lesser races' aka kenku and kobolds is a sign of the end times. Great.
Songbird(s); Symphony: What they gained from Zeta's message and the Legend Lore done by Resolve shortly after. Multiple iterations, Zeta betrayed Aurem, Angel was bullied into submission, Snow at Phoenix Feather, that was done to Savior...
Songbird(s); Symphony Movement II: The rest of the tale; Snow's curses and current state, A sprinkle of Aurem's side of the story.
The Many Planes of Existence; Planes walking: varying effects, differeing mana colors
Known planes:
Qukin: Resolve's home plane. Kind of cold.
Aurem's Plane: Crescendo and Songbird's home plane.
Angel's Plane:
Cinder-Garl's Plane:
Amphlesia: High magic. Fair amount of blue.
Home Base Plane:
Plane that got fucked by melds: Poor paladin dude.
Ortinsh: Waterworld is back.
Known Planes walkers (And sparks?):
Cinder-Garl (Rouge and Sword,) Ra's Paladin, Meld Paladin, Jules(?)
Melds, The Process, and Understanding:
The Sundering; the World of Old: The planes were once one, long ago, the colors of magic (likely) combines as one. Everyone could cast can trips, most lv 1 spells, and mysticism was as common as magic is now. The kenku were uncursed, then called tengu, and fell under Aurem's care, who in turn served a greater deity (The Overdiety?) Fearna acted as Aurem's rival during this time.
Arcane Understanding: Magic is colors (Meanings), relationships are tangible (Chains binding characters), belief has power (Gods, music).Wild magic and its ties t colors and pre-Sundered universe. Can take advantage of the color of a plane to better cast spells. Crescendo's knowledge of the secret of magic is put to goo use in her Chromatic Chaos ability.
Colors and their Meanings:
Blue: Alteration of the mind, flows like water. Used for spells such as Dream.
Red: Aggression, fire, drive.
Green: Nature
White: Law, order.
Black: Death.
The Divine; Gods: Gods are powered by the belief in them. folowers vchange their god, divine sparks can be gained through ascension. If a gd for aplane is killed, bad things happen. A diety can sort of become another- iris and ember.
Known Gods and their Known Portfolios and Planes:
Aurem: The once mortal beholder God of death, law, and trickery. Has influence over several planes, including her own and Angel's. Unofficially also the god of deals. Is from the time before the Sundering.
Angel:
Ember:
Iris: The goddess of music, messages, rainbows, and pleasures of the flesh; though communication is more accurate, and much more far-reaching.
Ra:
Tinker God:
Tinker God's Wife:
The Process:
Force:
The Overdiety: A being beyond gods. If one tries to talk about him... well, you can't. Gifted Crescendo her mark of shadows, creativity, and told her of the increasing danger of their broken souls just after Climactic Resolution. (This is just my DM. By the by.)
Dragon User; Dragon Mark Symphony Movement II: Queen claims that these marks don't signal the end of the world. Grants the owner the ability to use Words of Power and not hurt themselves like poor Wolf's Howl.
Alignment: There is no such thing.
Soul Conundrum: Lycanthropes may or may not have souls.
Dragon's Hoards: Knows where a dragon's hoards are. Nifty.
Equipment
Weapons, armor, and tools:
- Studded leather +1
- Claircivic Rapier +2 (+lth potion in glass pommel)
- Daggers (4)
- Ring of Spell Storing (Attuned)
- Cloak of Invisibility (Attuned)
- Boots of Elvenkind
- Arcane wand (Focus)
- Ring of Sending (Attuned)
- Divine Jewelry of soul-binding
On Her Person:
- Book of Shadows (Thaumaturgy, Message, Control Flames)
- Claircivic ID, Claircivic Library card, laser pointer
- Rations, waterskin
- Flask of Greek fire
- Loaded dice
- Various books and writing supplies.
- Silver dagger, rose quartz cube, seashells, teddy bear, electrum silverware set
- 83 GP
- 10 PP
- 9 SP
- 93 CP
Cloak of invisibility:
Boots of Elvenkind:
Ring of Spell storing:
Claircivic Rapier:
Ring of Sending: Prototype.
Phoenix Rapier (No Longer owned):
Miscellaneous
Devotion
Vision: Is completely blind in one eye, and mostly blind in the other. Her third chest-eye is only really useful for seeing a bit of magic. Luckily, gazer familiars circumvent this, but without them, she'd be in some trouble. Because of this quirk she doesn't have to look at people directly, which surely comes up when she talks to people. Basically, its fairly obvious that she is blind.
Music: Who knew that having a few measures of a song looping in your mind for a week straight could fuck you up this bad.
Soul-Bound: Linked soul shenanigans. dreams, barrier...
"Illness": Occasionally she says things to Resolve in dreams that she really shouldn't, triggering geas, and interrupting her long rest or outright knocking her ass out at earlier levels. She also netted five levels of exhaustion and a week long stat debuff because Resolve broke the dream-soul-barrier. This has culminated in her brother believing that she must have some sort of illness responsible for it, perhaps linked to her abysmal strength, which seems fairly logical to her.
Duet, Symphony
Deal with Aurem: If her shadow gazer gets dispelled, she looses the two warlock levels she gained from the deal. Which is... not, good. Looses health, spells, spell slot, proficiency, her anti sleep invocation.... a lot. Its bad. Gains exhaustion too I think. If she ever purposefully dismisses the gazer, then she looses those levels permenantly. This got fixed after Climactic Resolution.
Patch-Work Soul: The potent magic that holds her soul together is gradually failing.
Dragon's Soul: Has at least aprt of a dragoin's soul intermingled with her own.
Story
Overview
In a past life Crescendo ascended Aurem to godhood. That bird, succumbing to her faults of character, betrayed Aurem and paid the ultimate price for her defiance. Crescendo is cursed with misfortune and entangled in a destiny that she wants no part in. She is loyal to a fault, devoted fully to her god, and will carry out every order with keen precision and unmatched determination no matter the consequences.
Devotion
overview
Childhood and Background
The life of an aur'ku fledgling is harsh but effective,
Like all aur’ku, Crescendo was born into a well established system, harsh in nature, but unmatched in efficiency. She was the youngest of five siblings, and was given a number as all aur’ku are: 1120033F. This was her true name, and would be her only name for a while to come. (For the simplicity of notes, in all but dialogue I will still be using Crescendo’s eventual name.) The siblings’ upbringing in the hatching grounds was fairly standard, with the only standout being their largely absent mother, and their unknown father. One of Crescendo’s siblings, eventually to be known as Wolf’s Howl, resented their mother for her absence, even later in life, but it never bothered Crescendo like it did him.
The system was harsh, meant to weed out the weak and lazy and unpromising, and if you die, well, it just means you weren’t cut out for life in the underground aerie. There was no room under Lord Aurem’s rule for an unproductive bird, and this sense of responsibility was driven into Crescendo and her siblings as it was for all fledglings. As an aur’ku, they were to follow orders and live by the hierarchy. People in charge are in charge for a reason, and everyone must play their part to keep the system running.
Each of these siblings showed promise and none succumbed to the perils of early life. Crescendo was headstrong and determined, standing up for herself- and occasionally her siblings- and taking no shit from others. She showed the promise of a rouge, or even a leader. Wolf, though lacking in roguish talents and often confidence, showed the promise of a caster as well as a leader, given his intelligence. As fledglings they were unable to speak using their own voice, and the third eye embedded in their chest remained closed.
A few things stood out about Crescendo in particular, though; her eyes were mismatched in color, one gray, the other blue, but few other than her really cared all that much. It did make her easier to remember, and to pick out in a group, perhaps leading to her defensive nature. But there was something else: A song, though no one had taught it to her, and stranger still, music was a rare occurrence in the aerie as a whole. For as long as Crescendo can remember these twin melodies have worked their way into her mind,m appearing in dreams and periods of idle thought. Often, it was distracting, but more so, it was frustrating. Lacking a voice, it’s not like she could sing it, or prove its existence to others, and even mentioning music got some ill will thrown her way. So, she tried to ignore it.
Eventually the time came for the siblings to leave the hatching grounds and be chosen for a flock. A bird by the name of Pigeon’s Coo, the well regarded flock leader of Unity, chose Crescendo and Wolf to join his flock. They were unlikely to ever see their siblings again, but that was to be expected. In Unity they would adjust to the new location and learn what it really meant to be an aur’ku… but, also be ordered to do various tasks that the adults didn’t want any part of. Such was the life of a fledgling.
Coming of Age Quest
Spiting that bitch, screwing up with that house, sets perfectionist nature, trust in wolf, death of that one kid. Resolve's intro.
Leadership Evaluation
The attempt, getting blinded, period where she tries to work around it, given magic, warlock pact, readjusts.
Music Measure
"Filler" part 1. Song stuck in her head, learning about coo.
Mark of Shadows
"Filler" part 2. Lead up into Duet.
Duet
overview
Welcome to Amphlesia
Meeting resolve! up until they enter claircivic.
The Technological City, Claircivic
info
A Test of Faith (Emissary of Peace)
info
Symphony Movement I
overview
Phoenix Feather; a Quest Concluded
info
Party Split: The Hype
The party split up to investigate separate planes while Resolve tries to get home. Crescendo goes with Silver, Wolf takes Ava, and Rouge Cinder... well, he can handle himself. Sendings are put into rings and emergency plans are arranged. Wolf and Resolve are to use sending to keep tabs on everyone.
Whaddya mean you lost the dragon??
yeeeup. hype act II starts this stuff.
Song of Deceit
the part where they learn just how fucked Cresc.'s soul is, and realize that Aurem can't be the one messing with their dreams. Messages is someone elses domain entirely.... Also, they get Silver back. Plans for wolf to stay and become an archmage, gain jewlrey of soul bdining, set up their plan....
Reunion
Pre-fight stuff. Paladin guy.
Climactic Resolution
Success. Failure. The future lies in their hands.
Shadow joined the team. Angel granted Resolve Divine Inspiration and used her Ode of the Champion thing to grant Resolve advantage on things to do with "Defending her Plane." Lucky for us the other gods were neutral. especially the god of magic who c ould have fucked us up, and the god of death whom Iris tried to have smite us.
Cinder killed Ra, largley unasisted, in less than 30 seconds. It was fucking amazing. learned the sword words.
Iris is a glamour bard. it shows. she blinded us (Crescnedo worked round it b/c familiar intangability!) and spammed mantle of majesty to command people. plus, her mere apperance causes wisdom saves because shes just that dman beautiful. Shadow got sick and tired of not being able to see so cast darkness, then wished for us to be able to see in it. Nice. Crescndo got charmed int stabbing Shadow. oops. Shadow got charmed to "Overeact" but she interpreted thata s overeacting tot eh charm itself and stabbed Iros for it! you aint my god, bitch!
Resolve actually went down and failed two death saves before Crescnedo swooped in and healed her with a potion. this is mostly because Sword Cinder kept setting her ON FIRE! and she can't cast spells while in that state! so she couldnt heal herself!!
Wolf meanwhile was prepping a big-boy spell. too abd hedidn't get to sue it and just store dit in t ring of three wishes instead. maybe next time my guy.
When Res finally used the sword she and Cresc got trsponrted INTO the sword! Iris went down to a LV 20. The birds got boosted up.
LV 5 fireball incoming, bitch! Wild magic, cue KIng of Hearts! Her sidreict, a final swing, giving her all......
The DMG is one point above her health. she goes down.
Iris spark is stored in a cube to detemrine what to dow ith later. we take a nice long rest. Gods try to contact resolve at east as she sleeps. nope.fuck that. they can wait.
Symphony Movement II
Cursed Blade
Post resolution. Fiorced to sue the lyre and cats wish to save herself and her allies. It fucked her up.
Someone's Savior
Starting at that meeting.
A Month in Claircivic
Fellow Paladin
Ra paladin stuff, how that went to shit.
A Link Between Planes
Gate time.
Dragon Queen (The Mist Woods)
Cresc's solo stuff with queen. Killing a dragon. eating a dragon.
Mnemonic Bindings
Meet back up, dragon color curse mystery, their soul thing.
The Wild Card
They try to chill, Joker shows up, Cresc is kidnapped!
You'll Never See it Coming
Cresc and Feather, just chillin. Waiting to be rescued.
An Ally in Need
The failed Tonto rescue attempt. He may or may not have been a dragon, the "tengu" like people... the room of glyphs under Qukin's capitol...
The Final Straw
Legend lore attempts, they get garbage basically... Cinder tries to kill them, Wolf decides he's done with adventuring....
Short-Lived Respite
Cresc confronts Wolf about book, assassination-not murdering people deal... Cresc is proven of her innate arcane talent...They learn of the planes walker guild... Cresc tries (and fails) to teach Gale words, speaks with flock but that goes south... Feather heads back to Qukin... Resolve accidentally got drunk but finally sorted out what she wants to do... Wolf's house got burned down in whats really seeming like an assassination attempt on him.
Loose Ends
Queen situation, her alleged death... Resolve agrees to help cinder get his arms back via string... Featjher Ritem, the drowning stuff... Bells joins the party... Resolve's sending with Alayla... The assassination mission... Cresc and her goddamned knives... the astral plane adventures... conversations with Joker. Get cinder's arms, wolf's tower completed, give Gale the praise/ attention he refuses to admit he wants...
And, the future lies ahead of them. Both birds doing something new. Something they've never really known. No greater destiny, no orders to follow. Doing something for themselves... *being* themselves, as Savior was so insistent on. They'll certainly be willing ti give aid, but as far as the big picture.... It's out of their hands now.
War of Tonto
War being waged on Tonto. Music teacher, gaining info, assassinating the guy, exploring beneath city, this goes on all the way up till the others find the big room...
Dragons and Birds
Dragon fight! Rescue, cresc's argument with Lupin... everything before the soul stuff starts up.
Soul-Bound
Who are you? The universe, or something., is fed up with their shit. They have to choose... there was only ever meant to be one...
A life for a life. Trying to counter the other... Poor wolf. Gale is called by Feather to save their asses.
Their souls are no longer bound. And, there are consequences to their actions.
Finale
Modify memory shenanigans. Wolf takes Cinder and helps Feather. Facing the future, heartfelt conversations with the others.
(Cue: All our Friends, from Wandersong.)
The sun was beginning to set, bathing the exposed ocean floor in it’s fading light. The curved wall of water surrounding the archmage’s tower exposed the ocean and it’s various inhabitants; most were melds, but not all. The two soul-bound birds who had defied destiny at every turn sat in the sand, leaned against one another, facing out at the endless sea. Neither seemed to mind the lengthy silence that ensued.
“You know, we…” Crescendo began, in that sort of tone she takes when really trying to express herself, fighting back whatever internalized force often stops her, “We really have come a long way. Just sitting here, I keep thinking back to what my life was like before we actually met. My life at the aerie. That was only… what, a year ago? Maybe more?”
“It’s hard to tell, with planeswalking, and, well, we haven't exactly been trying to keep track.” Resolve responded.
“But still… It’s almost hard to believe that only a year ago I still thought you were just a figment of my imagination, created out of some fragment of creativity or something. I didn’t want anything to do with… well, anything out of the ordinary. I hated that song, I refused to be anything special or different, even though… I always was, huh. Even if you just consider that I was- that I am- a good rouge. I just didn’t know why, or how, or what to do about it… so I tried to ignore it.Maybe even deny it, I guess.” She uttered an airy chuckle, “Even on my coming-of-age quest, when I could see a star that no one else could… drove me nuts, for no good reason.”
“It’s hard to believe that just a year ago, I was still back at home.” Resolve replied, “I had no idea what I was doing. You really did put it well, ‘they just handed you a sword, kicked you off your cloud, and hoped you’d figure it out??’ And I didn’t see anything wrong with that. And even though I was improvising, for the first time in my life, no less, the whole time in Tonto, and even when I was sent to find Cinder-Garl, I… I was so driven to try. But for all the wrong reasons…”
“Not all ‘the wrong reasons.’ You wanted to help people. So when a god tells you, do this, it’ll help everyone! Of course you tried, even if it seemed impossible. ‘You follow orders.’ It’s.. that same mentality. Neither of us were raised to question our orders. And come on. We’re both too stubborn to give up on a course of action, too.”
“Haha, yeah, I’ll give you that one. We are… determined, stubborn people.”
“For better and for worse.”
“But we get it naturally. Or that’s what I like to believe.”
Quiet hung in the air for a while before Resolve began speaking again, “I… I still feel like there’s more to be done. Still loose threads, and things we don’t know or never resolved…”
“You can’t help everyone. Or fix everything.” Crescendo said firmly.
“I know, I know… but… part of me still wants to. Part of me feels like, like I have to. I’ve always felt obligated to live up to everyone’s expectations of me. You didn’t know what to do about being special, or, even just a little different, so you avoided it, but… I couldn’t. I was always special, I always stood out, and everyone believed that I was destined to do great things. I think… growing up like that, made me feel like I had to try, no matter what, to do what everyone wanted me to do. To be what they wanted me to be. But, all that… it’s, it’s no better than trying to be perfect, and I know that you und-”
“Okay, so this is the part where I mimic aall the advice and uplifting bard shit and everything else you’ve told me, right? ‘No performance is without error,’ and I reply with something like, ‘It’s not that simple,’ for the hundredth time, and we both agree that it’s hard to change. But we can try. And we will try.”
A soft trill stood in for a smile, “Yeah. That we should accept that no one is perfect. That we can’t fix everything. And… and that we should do what we want, too.”
“You mean that we should follow our own advice to one another. And Savior’s advice.”
“Exactly. And... and I want to. I’m going to! I want to set up this town and start a bard’s college and try to give people hope. I know it won’t fix Amphlesia, but... It’s a start. And it’ll help. And it’s what I want to do!”
“And I want to help you.” Crescendo quickly added, finally confident, finally accepting of a supporting role, “I... Want to learn how to embrace my freedom. I want to keep learning about magic. Keep improving. And… and write down what I know. Because I will never know or understand everything. But… I can write it down. So it’ll be remembered. And maybe someone down the line can use what I know to learn something that I didn’t.”
“And I want to help you.”
“Course you do.” Crescendo paused. “I told you early on that aur’ku don’t work alone. We’re meant to work in flocks, or at least with someone. But honestly… I’ve started to think that no one gets anything done on their own.”
“Not even gods when you think about it.”
“Definitely not gods.”
Again, each paused in their conversation for a while. Eventually Crescendo spoke up, “I’m-... it, scares me, you know. This... soul thing.”
“It scares me too.”
“It just feels like… something’s missing. A- a comfort, or presense, or, just… a feeling of being safe, or confident, or… something.”
“Me too. I feel… lonely. Even though you’re sitting right here next to me. It’s just… not quite right.”
“I won’t leave you. We don’t need that bond, and... We don’t need that dream either. We can always just talk in person. And I for one am stubborn enough to prove it.”
“I’m not leaving you either. Someone has to look out for you, keep you safe… harass you to get some sleep every now and then.”
“Yeah, yeah, but the same goes for me. ‘You’re too trusting,’ but I’ve also always… admired? That, about you. You’re optimistic, you never give up, and people like you for it. You’re the most kindhearted person I’ve ever met, or even heard of. Even if it can get you into trouble sometimes.”
“...I’ve always admired your confidence.”
“My confidence-?”
“You’re skilled and driven- and just as determined as I am! You don’t care what people think or expect of you. You’re skilled at so many things, and sure, you were taught, but you got so good at it all because you were willing to learn. And, you aren’t afraid to do what’s necessary to get things done. You’re a great person. You look out for your flock, or friends, just as much as I do. I know it’s hard for you to realize, because… sometimes, it’s hard for me to realize the same for myself. But… we’ve got a lot going for us.”
“...Yeah. Guess we are pretty great. Not perfect, but… I mean, come on. Look at what we’ve accomplished! We saved Amphlesia, and you, ya crazy pacifist, you found a way to do it as peacefully as possible!”
“Not just Amphlesia though, but countless other planes. We at least opened the door to a solution for a problem that no one else had a solution for, other than just fighting and hoping for the best.”
“...We took down a god. With help of course. But still. A god.”
“We learned to seek the truth. Even if it’s hard to accept. Even if living the lie is easier. WE learned that it’s so much more than just being good or being evil.”
“We uncovered the secret of magic. It was mostly *Wolf,* really, but, come on. Shared victories. And he’s an archmage now. A damned good wizard.”
Resolve chuckled, “‘A damned good wizard’ indeed.” She paused for a moment, “We really have come so far. Learned so much… done so much.”
“And we’ve still got an entire future ahead of us. I’m sure we’ll accomplish plenty more.”
“Yeah. But, I do look forward to settling down here for a little while. Taking a nice break from all the adventuring.”
“Going a week without a near-death experience or some crazy revelation would be nice.”
“Agreed. The future is… Scary, just because of how different things will be, but… I look forward to it.”
“Me too.”
Epilogue
info
Whirlwind
cameos and info for Gale.
Synesthesia
A Destiny Challenged
The alternative plan... AKA what we thought was gonna happen.
Discuss all the alternate paths and ideas... their different end-game builds... The overall theme shift...
A Sorrowful Victory. A Virtuous Loss.
they were gonna murder one another due to theiur loyalties, man.
The mirror-breaking trick form Cresc's end.
These character's builds were centered around fighting one another; tough feat as a counterpart to alert, mage slayer vs war caster. Cresc was going to need buffs to wisdom saves, and Resolve buffs to perception.
There Was Only Ever Meant to be One
Cresce's potential sacrifice.
Medly possibility.
Alternative
If resolve or cresc died before acomplishing their goals.
Res being more determined, failure not an option. as if taking up a bit of Crescendo's mindset...
Cresc, giving it he rbest shot, to be the person resolve wanted, to try her hand at more passive charisma. as if taking up a bit of resolve's mindset...
Relationships
Resolve
Early On: Surely, that strange Aur'Ku from her dreams doesn't actually exist. She must be a figment of her imagination, the manifestation of a sliver of creativity, perhaps inherited form her mother. Even so, and although she would never admit it, Crescendo finds some comfort in having someone to say whatever she wishes to. And perhaps as well some amusement in hearing the absurdities of that bird. Her nonsensical adventures and talk of reincarnation, of gods, adventures, quests, and strange swords...
Duet: The weird bird is real. Of course. But a part of her is... relieved, about that fact. Not that she'll ever admit it. Resolve is a flawed party member- too trusting, too friendly- but, she's at least component where it matters. Just like in dreams, Crescendo finds Resolve unusually easy to talk to, even enjoying her company and only minding the constant mentions of music a little bit.
Symphony: No wonder Resolve resonated so much with her, despite the obvious differences; the two Aur'Ku share half a soul. It was as if they were destined to meet...
Wolf's Howl
Her (slightly) older brother, a warlock pretending to be a wizard, but man is he good at it. He's actually creative and very clever with the leadership skills to back it up, although his people skills can be... lackluster, and sometimes he needs a good push in the right direction. He's the person that means the most to Crescendo, having relied on his knowledge and support ever since they were young. His obsession with werewolves is a little bit troubling, however.
Would trust him with her life.
Cinder-Garl
Sword:
Rouge:
Ava
Littler elf girl.
Silver
DRAGON.
Songbird(s)
Angel’s Scream: Her mother. But, also her superior, and possibly even one of her gods. Angel, despite having spent little time with ten as fledglings, now seems to carry an unusual.... interest With Crescendo and her siblings, and Crescendo is constantly conflicted about her mother, seemingly expected to be able to swap between seeing Angel as simply her mother and a figure to be given the utmost respect, but she just... can't. There's a distance between them, a difficulty relating to one another only worsened by Angel's interest in music, and Crescendo's irrational hatred of it.
Symphony: No wonder Angel seemed... off, at times. Resolve's casting of Legend Lore revealed the stories of each iteration of Songbird, including the gradual corruption of Angel's personality by Aurem. Who knows what else she was put through, given what Aurem has already been known to do as shown by the information on the others.
Her Flock
Crescendo relies on them, and although she isn't one to openly admit it... she does care for everyone; her close friends and family especially.
Individual flock mates:
Elated Squawk/ Tree Crack/ "Sound of Silence": (He's gotten several names.) Crescendo's mate, a changeling that she grew up with. He rarely speaks, and has a very particular set of skills, skills including: Lock picking that would make even great rouges proud, great dex, and a knack for having whatever obscure thing anyone (but usually Wolf's Howl) might happen to need, from poisons to alcohol to miscellaneous spell components. Crescendo wouldn't admit it, but she does care for him and appreciate his company. Apparently, it doesn't take too much for him to get jealous.
Bells: A close friend since childhood, Bells is a guard and is responsible for saving Crescendo's ass countless times. She's sociable and reliable, though sometimes she can get a little bit carried away with conversation, especially of talk of children are involved. More specifically, her children.
Coo: Coo is her flock leader; and a damn good one at that. She respects and trusts him, more than willing to follow even a seemingly absurd order if he's the one backing it up. The fact that he's her father doesn't matter. Or, it has certainly shouldn't matter. It doesn't change anything, in her eyes.
Page Turn: An old changeling wizard and Wolf's Howl's mentor. Seeing as he was dying anyway, he offered to pass on what remained of his inherit magic to his apprentice, bit Wolf's Howl had an alternative plan; he passed on this opportunity to Crescendo so that she could gain the magic potential required to make a pact and become a warlock, which should in turn grant her sight, if only in the form of a familiar.
Chain's Rattle: One of the more... annoying, flock mates. She slept with him in order to convince him to take part on Wolf's Howl's lycanthropy experiments.
Her Children: She doesn't give a shit. Correction: she gives very few shits.
Miscellaneous Characters:
Vii'Voriyae:
Judus Leaf and Kiss AKA Rivals of Aether AKA The Hype: Two metal/rock bards. One very grumpy warlock. Partying at every tavern they come across till they get to the big city.
Various Gods and Pseudo Gods
Aurem (Devotion):
Aurem (Symphony):
Force:
Resolve's Gods: They were willing to be somewhat deceitful...
Trivia
- Biologically, Crescendo is the daughter of Coo and Songbird (Zeta/Loyalty)
- Crescendo is well known for chucking daggers at things. She's gotten very good at it. It's also where her initial name comes from. She once opened up an attack on an orc (Whom she and a partner were 'assigned' to defeat) and tossed the knife right into his throat, winning the battle (That was actually optional for her) right then and there.
- She has consumed poison on more than one occasion.Wolf's bane takes the cake for the worse one; she had to ingest it after being bit by a were-wolf orc. And... she hadn't even been infected.
- (Early sessions) Doesn't quite believe that Resolve is even real. She's probably just a manifestation of some crazy soul shit, maybe remnants of a creative spark in her subconscious.. or maybe she's just crazy.
- Crescendo and Resolve started with the same stats.
Crescendo's Impact on Synethesia, the Golden Pantheon(?), and the Nine Planes
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Quotes and Excerpts
..surley Ive got something, man
-cresc
Author's notes
- I'm playing my own villain. Again.
- Parallels and comparisons between Crescendo and Resolve:
- Crescendo's background is marred by failure, her learning from mistakes and earning every bit of what she's gained (For the most part.) Resolve in contrast is granted divine guidance (In the form of probability manipulating dice) and copious amounts of help (at least at first.)
- Early on, I described her personality as: "Jenni, but with a bit more feeling and a lot more anger."
- The dragon mark keeps getting adjusted. Originally she also added a d4, then a d6 to her perform and stealth, but that turned out to be too potent. Additionally, the BA hides have been changed.
- The King of Hearts (A Shell in the Pit, from Wandersong) It's befitting a fight with Resolve, especially the 'I wanna be the hero theme' that's embedded into the song, which could easily represent their own parallel goals and Zeta's song which binds them both. Symphony: Tag-team combat theme song.
- Close Your Eyes//In The Next Life (Kira): I did it again: listened to this song while developing her character, and now its hers. Most notably hers in the sense of what the plan was before Symphony.
- Divinity (Porter Robinson): info
Other Campaign Related Music
- World Revolution (from Chrono Trigger): Theoretical music for a fight with Aurem.
- Thunderstorm and Hurricane (from Wandersong): Theoretical fight with coo.
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