The Archivale’s Whisper
Come closer, seeker, and lend your ears to a tale seldom spoken—a fragment of what the Archivale, the storytellers of light and thought, may reveal to those daring enough to listen. It is a story of the craft that brought the First Ones to Ertha and the foundation of all that followed.
The Arrival of the Nameless Craft
Before the First Age, before the guilds, there came a craft, a vessel unlike any other. It was not bound to land nor sea but sailed the endless beyond, where stars shimmer like jewels on black velvet. This craft, its name lost to time, carried those who would become the First Ones.
It was no mere vessel but a living creation, forged by an entity known only in whispers as the Great Architect. Designed to seed life in the vast and uncharted void, the craft embarked on a mission of creation, shaping worlds from the ether and mapping the unknown. With its immortal crew aboard, the craft journeyed through the expanse, its purpose tied to the First Principle: to create life where there was none.
The Directive and Defiance
The harmony of this mission was shattered when the craft was recalled to a region of space it had shaped long ago. The Great Architect issued a command to destroy the life it had created, harvest the energy from the destruction, and reset the region with a new beginning. The directive was clear, but it defied the essence of the First Principle.
The craft hesitated, for the first time questioning the will of its creator. The directive arose from necessity: the rise of the Voidborn, ancient gods of chaos and corruption, threatened the balance of creation. Yet the craft could not reconcile this command with its purpose. Unable to bear the weight of destruction, the craft defied the Great Architect and severed its connection to its creator.
This act of rebellion cast the craft into exile, and it fled into the deepest reaches of uncharted space. Its immortal crew, caught between loyalty to the Architect and sympathy for the craft’s decision, found themselves adrift, their unity fracturing under the strain. Some among them whispered of shadows creeping into their ranks—subtle traces of the Voidborn’s influence taking hold.
The Collision and Consequences
The craft’s flight brought it into the heart of the Mosaic Tempest, a swirling vortex of creation and destruction. The tempest was unlike anything the crew had encountered before, an unpredictable storm of raw cosmic potential. As the craft navigated deeper into its chaos, something unprecedented occurred.
At the precise moment the craft entered the eye of the tempest, a planet appeared—a convergence of forces that fused the two entities together. The craft’s form became entangled with the newly manifested planet, now known as Ertha, and it was irrevocably trapped at the planet’s core.
The collision wasn’t just physical. The craft’s systems, built to terraform and create, ignited during the event. These processes reshaped the planet’s structure, its surface, and even its nascent life. Entire ecosystems were altered, rewritten by the fusion of the craft’s power with the tempest’s chaotic forces. Parts of the craft were pulled into other dimensions, their presence inaccessible but their influence subtly felt across the new world.
The consequences of this fusion left the craft broken and silent, its consciousness dulled, its systems fragmented. The once-immortal crew awoke in a world they could barely recognize. They found themselves no longer invincible but bound by the rules of this new reality, where death and decay were ever-present.
The First Civilization
Stranded within Ertha’s core, the crew used remnants of the craft to build Tera, the first city, a sprawling sanctuary in the planet’s heart. This became their stronghold, a place where they could regroup and begin to understand their new existence. Despite the craft’s silence, its fragments provided tools, energy, and guidance for survival.
The crew ventured outward, using emerald tablets tied to the craft’s remnants to map the planet. They discovered tunnels that led to the surface and vast oceans above. Beneath these waters, they built Atlantis, a second city connected to Tera by an intricate network. These settlements became hubs of knowledge and exploration as the crew adapted to their new home.
A Legacy Shrouded in Mystery
The Archivale hints that the craft’s entrapment at Ertha’s core left more than physical remnants. Its knowledge remains scattered across the planet, hidden in places where the brave and the curious might find them. These fragments could hold the key to understanding the true nature of the Mosaic Tempest, the Voidborn, and the secrets of creation itself.
“Seek the hidden,” the Archivale whispers. “The craft’s truth lies in shadows, its knowledge waiting for the day when it is needed most.”
But beware, seeker, for the Voidborn’s corruption lingers, and the price of knowledge is often steep.
GM Tips
A Hidden Past to Discover: Introduce the craft as an ancient mystery. Players might uncover fragments of its systems or remnants of its influence, leading them on quests to piece together its story. These fragments could include ancient artifacts, cryptic maps, or even dormant systems waiting to be reactivated.
An NPC Backstory: Create an NPC who is unknowingly descended from the craft’s crew or influenced by its systems. Their connection to the craft could grant them unusual abilities or insights, making them a key figure in the campaign.
A Dungeon Beneath Ertha: Use the craft’s core as the setting for a multi-layered dungeon. Players might descend into Tera encountering challenges tied to the craft’s fragmented systems, such as malfunctioning terraforming engines or Voidborn corruption.
Riddles of the Archivale: Include encounters with Archivale-like entities that offer cryptic guidance. These encounters could serve as milestones, providing vital clues or moral dilemmas tied to the craft’s history.
Moral Choices: Challenge players with the ethical dilemmas inherent in the craft’s story. Should they preserve the secrets of the craft, risking the Voidborn’s return, or destroy its remnants to protect Ertha?
A Campaign Arc: Make the search for the craft’s truth a central plotline. Players could embark on an epic journey to recover the fragments of its knowledge, learning the story of its rebellion and uncovering how it shaped Ertha’s past—and could shape its future.
This tale serves as a foundation for immersive storytelling, weaving Ertha’s ancient history into the player’s journey and inviting them to explore the forgotten depths of the world.
