Nuret had a way of refusing to be held in the mind.
Lu Xing had learned that truth in fragments: in conversations that slipped away the moment they ended, in faces that warmed to him one day and passed through him like fog the next. For weeks he had walked the immaculate streets of the town with divine paperwork tucked beneath his arm, feeling the Loom tug and stutter around the place as though fate itself were uncertain whether Nuret should exist at all. It was a city too clean, too orderly, too carefully repaired—yet riddled with absences. Names went missing. Memories thinned. Causes drifted free of their effects. Somewhere in those gaps, something patient and malignant was working.
The arrival of others like himself—powers who did not belong to the town’s quiet forgetfulness—felt less like coincidence than necessity. Argent Penumbra, sharp-eyed and restless, tasted corruption in the water itself, while Unicorn Fist lingered with the barely restrained impatience of a weapon denied a target. Thrice-Forged Curate, newly awakened and gleaming with orichalcum purpose, walked the streets as though they had once been his charge, though even he could not yet remember why. And over all of it loomed the unseen labor of the Empowerment of the Common Man Through Industrialization, whose unseen hands had reshaped two-thirds of the city into something gleaming and efficient—beautiful, yes, but rigid, conscripted, and unsettlingly obedient.
It was Argent who insisted the truth lay in the water.
The samples they gathered told a story that made Lu Xing’s skin prickle. Two currents flowed through Nuret’s lifeblood: one dark, heavy with the chill of the Underworld, creeping in from upstream; the other strangely radiant and insubstantial, threading itself through the poorer districts near the port. Neither belonged. Together, they formed a pattern of interference, a duet of corruption that explained the town’s vanishing recollections far too well.
To understand it, Argent needed space—privacy, wards, and silence. Lu Xing provided something far stranger.
With a key turned in blank air, he opened a door that had never existed and ushered them into his hidden refuge: a quiet corner of Heaven itself. Beyond the threshold lay gardens and jade towers, spirits scurrying beneath the weight of endless labor, and a sky busy with gods who never looked down. Argent stood transfixed, hands pressed to the window like a child before a miracle, before remembering herself and retreating to work. There, in a spare room overlooking eternity, she shed her human shape and took on her true, horned form, focusing every scrap of will into her craft.
Hours passed. Notes filled page after page. Water boiled, condensed, and distilled until only a thimble of shimmering liquid remained—the radiant contaminant, concentrated and terrible.
And then it touched living flesh.
A single careless motion, a bump of the elbow, and a drop splashed across Unicorn Fist’s hand. The effect was immediate and horrifying. His certainty vanished. His reasons for being there dissolved. Faces became strangers. Worse still, when Argent turned back to her notes in a rising panic, the ink itself began to fade. Observations did not merely slip from memory—they were being erased from existence, unmade as though they had never been thought.
The horror of it settled into Argent like ice. Knowledge was her anchor; without it, she was adrift. Yet even as despair threatened to take her, discipline asserted itself. She started again, writing fresh theories, rebuilding understanding from first principles. This substance did not merely cloud recollection—it excised it, cutting moments cleanly out of the Loom.
Protection was possible. Not perfect, but possible.
Working together, Argent and Thrice-Forged Curate shaped a safeguard from crystal and will: delicate amulets designed to resist the theft of memory, each one a quiet defiance against oblivion. Lu Xing, meanwhile, turned his attention to the impossible—requesting answers from Heaven itself. Paper flew. Stamps struck. Spirits hurried. When the response returned, it confirmed his unease: the erasure Argent had witnessed was no natural phenomenon. Someone had amplified the effect deliberately, with precision rivaling the greatest crimes ever committed against fate.
This was First Age work—or something worse.
The second contaminant proved no kinder. Distilled and sealed within lead, it revealed itself as raw essence of undeath, a seed from which horrors could bloom. Together, the two substances painted a chilling picture: death seeping into the city, while memory itself was stripped away to hide the source.
Lu Xing gave the threat a name at last. The Sip of Lethe—an artifact whispered of in old files and half-redacted reports. If it lay beneath Nuret, cracked and leaking into the water, then the Abyssals circling the city had reason enough to drown it in confusion and chaos while they searched.
They resolved to act at first light.
Dawn came with fire instead.
Smoke rose from the northern districts as screams echoed through the streets. Buildings burned. And among the panicked townsfolk, corpses walked.
Skeletons clawed their way through the chaos, heedless of flame or fear, striking down the living as though obeying some distant command. Thrice-Forged Curate surged forward without hesitation, rallying the citizens into desperate lines of defense, turning fear into motion. Buckets passed. Flames were fought back inch by inch. Unicorn Fist hurled himself into the thick of the undead, his blows shattering bone in thunderous arcs, even as the creatures refused to fall.
Lu Xing moved unseen, fate bending around him as he slipped between moments, guiding townsfolk clear of danger with whispered words and unseen hands. Talaran, pen blazing brighter than any blade, manifested beside him, a bureaucrat’s fury made manifest as he harried the dead and cleared paths through the carnage.
And then Argent Penumbra called down annihilation.
With a cry that cut through smoke and panic, she summoned a blazing avatar of her will—a phoenix of diamond flame that plunged into the heart of the undead. The explosion tore skeletons apart and flattened the firestorm in its wake, leaving scorched stone and shattered bone where chaos had ruled seconds before. Even Unicorn Fist staggered beneath the force of it, battered but unbroken.
When the dust settled, the undead were broken remnants, burning and collapsing, their assault spent. The fires guttered out. Survivors clung to one another amid the wreckage, shaken but alive.
Nuret still stood.
Yet as Lu Xing surveyed the ruin, he felt no triumph—only the tightening certainty that this had been a test. Someone was willing to poison a city, erase its past, and raise its dead to protect a secret buried beneath its streets. The Sip of Lethe was real. Its influence was growing.
And next time, the fire would not be so easily quenched.
Planning water analysis and seeking tools The group returns to Argent Penumbra’s intention to do deeper “science” on the water samples. Argent Penumbra says she needs a workshop and asks if anyone has one. Curate suggests they look for one, noting his earlier wall-breach discovery; he jokes that he has a “carpenter’s cult.” They identify the relevant guild area around the market and name Curate’s discovered group: The group returns to the Alloyed Brand Society location. Argent Penumbra requests: The Alloyed Brand Society does not have an alchemy kit on hand; they direct the group to an herbalism shop in the guild district. Argent Penumbra’s shaping ritual setup Argent Penumbra checks her sheet for her shaping ritual details. Lu Xing confirms he can supply an abacus, and also suggests Talaran can assist. Choosing a private workspace: Lu Xing’s Yu-Shan manse Discussion occurs about where Argent Penumbra should work: Lu Xing leads them outside around a corner into an alley and produces a key. The group enters a well-appointed interior that resembles a sitting parlor: Lu Xing explains this is his home and closes the door, welcoming them to Heaven / Yu-Shan. The group looks out the windows: Argent Penumbra (in a burst of excitement) presses hands to the window, attempting (unsuccessfully) to be stealthy while staring out. Lu Xing offers either a private room or outdoor space for the experiment. He leads them down a hallway to a sparsely furnished room with a chair and table and a floor-to-ceiling view. Argent Penumbra shifts to work and begins the experiment Argent Penumbra prepares for privacy and then shifts into her hybrid form: Argent begins her procedure: Argent makes a Focus Will roll (Attribute + Sagacity, difficulty 3). Time passes as the experiment continues: First key discovery: the shiny/ephemeral element erases memory and reality Argent isolates and distills the shiny, effervescent element from the water: Mighty Unicorn Fist bumps into her during the process. Immediate effect: Curate attempts to check in on the experiment; Argent refuses contact and tries to regain control. Argent relies on her notes to recover context, recognizing: Argent removes others from the room, trying not to panic, and re-checks her notes. Critical escalation: Argent repeats the isolation process more carefully: Argent’s conclusion from the repeated attempt: Argent begins coping actions: Argent reintroduces herself and warns the group Argent opens the door and introduces herself: Argent warns explicitly: Mighty Unicorn Fist silently whistles with hands behind his back, implying guilt for bumping the sample. Lu Xing clarifies: Argent asks for a moment to sit and collect herself; Talaran provides more paper and emotional support (a “sympathetic shoulder”). Clarifying the scope of Argent’s memory loss The group discusses how much Argent remembers: Second key discovery: the dark element is essence of undeath Argent decides to proceed with analyzing the second substance in the water. She repeats her careful experimental routine: During containment, a crystal begins crumbling while she works. Argent successfully seals the concentrated second element: Argent reports findings to the group: Curate reacts that undead did not exist when he was first activated, implying this is a new phenomenon relative to his origins. Argent explains consequences and context: Linking the findings to Lu Xing’s intel: the Sip of Lathe Lu Xing shares his investigative context: With “liquid in the water,” Lu Xing notes the name might be literal and suggests: Lu Xing guesses the Abyssals may also be using chaos (including the undeath contamination) as cover for their search. Argent adds Silver Pact intelligence: The group agrees that precautions are needed before further action. Creating protection: venture to craft anti-memory-erasure amulets Argent proposes protection: Curate offers to build the device: They plan to craft multiple amulets. Mechanical outcome and crafting: Result: Lu Xing investigates the erased notes: bureaucratic venture in Yu-Shan Lu Xing decides to investigate the erased paper through Heaven’s systems: This becomes another venture, using Lu Xing’s Embassy. Lu Xing rolls 19 dice and scores 13 successes. Results of the report: Lu Xing asks if it is fair to conclude that the phenomenon is rewriting memories out of the Loom rather than merely altering minds; the Storyteller confirms that interpretation. Discussion links this to concealment motives: They briefly reference hidden history and official vs. true versions, with Lu Xing producing an annotated set of histories (Realm version, Sidereal version, and hidden truth), emphasizing the complexity of “keeping your story straight.” Returning to Nuret and preparing to move The group leaves Yu-Shan via the same alley transition and returns to Nuret in early evening. They discuss resting and acting the next day, noting it has been a long day. They discuss food safety given the water contamination: They decide to rest; Curate spends time gazing at the city before retiring. Curate’s memory: connection to his creator and stewardship While gazing at the city architecture, Curate observes: Curate has a memory/vision: Morning crisis in Nuret: fire and undead attack In the morning, the group is awakened by yelling, alarms, and screaming. A fire is raging in part of the city; dawn is cresting and smoke billows from the north. Curate rouses guild members at the Alloyed Brand Society / his associated guild hall: The group converges on the fire scene: Combat begins: positioning and joining battle Combat uses range bands rather than grid distances (close/short/medium/long/extreme). Mighty Unicorn Fist joins the fight immediately: Curate leverages his Orichalcum Alchemical passive: Curate builds power through a non-attack action: The skeletal battlegroup builds power in response, accumulating 2 power. Argent Penumbra begins sorcerous preparation: Lu Xing’s early combat actions: concealment and Talaran’s intervention Lu Xing activates Walking Outside of Fate: Talaran takes action to materialize: Lu Xing’s intent is to help protect townsfolk by manipulating undead positioning: Mighty Unicorn Fist engages the undead Mighty Unicorn Fist uses Fist of Iron Technique: Later, Mighty Unicorn Fist attempts a decisive strike using his accumulated power: Curate deploys ranged offense and the undead strike back Curate activates his Essence Pulse Cannon: Curate’s withering shot: The skeletal battlegroup attacks townsfolk: Curate’s decisive shot: saving the threatened center Curate takes a decisive shot at a skeleton closest to the endangered townsfolk: Firefighting efforts continue Townsfolk attempt to build progress toward putting out the fire. Argent Penumbra’s sorcery: large area effect strike Argent and the table clarify that sorcery requires building Will and that some spells allow remaining Will to be treated as power. Argent gathers enough Will (noted reaching 5 Will, with reminders about a maximum Will cap). Argent prepares to cast her area-of-effect spell: Argent casts with a significant dice pool: Spell resolution: Environmental result: End-of-session combat positioning and momentum Lu Xing uses Embassy tactics to rally and direct: Mighty Unicorn Fist is brought to maximum power (10) going into the next session. By the stopping point:Session Notes