Soo… the Nighthawk star…
Nighthawk was truly an ugly bird. His face was covered in splotches as if he had been splattered with miso, and his beak was flat and split all the way back to his ears. His legs were so frail that he could not walk at all. He was such a sight that just seeing him made other birds uncomfortable.
So one might wonder why he was named so, and the reason is because his wings were inordinately strong, and so he resembled a hawk when he soared upon the wind. He also had a powerful cry that was not unlike that of a hawk. Hawk, of course, was very conscious of this, and hated it. Every time he saw Nighthawk he would tell him, “Change your name! Change your name!”
Mr. Hawk, I can’t change my name! I didn’t take this name myself, God gave it to me.”
“No, I’m the one who got his name from God. In a sense, you’re just borrowing my name. And Night’s. Now give them back.”
“I can’t do that, Mr. Hawk!”
“Of course you can. I’ll give you a good name to take its place. How about Leonard? Yeah, Leonard. I like that. So to officially change your name you have to make it public, right? To do that you need to hang a sign that says ‘Leonard’ around your neck, and go around to everyone’s home, bowing and saying ‘From this day on, I am to be known as Leonard.’’
The nighthawk stood there with his eyes closed in thought. Why do they hate me so? Because my face looks like it’s been splattered with miso, and because my beak is odd? Even so, I haven’t done anything wrong! I remember that day when I helped the Whiteeye chick back to its nest after it fell out. Its mother snatched it from me as if rescuing her baby from a thief.
And then she just laughed so hard at me. And now I have to change my name to Leonard? Hang a sign about my neck? Oh, how terrible…
Nighthawk suddenly opened his mouth wide, held his wings out straight, and cut across the sky like an arrow. He trapped countless small insects in his mouth. Almost as soon as he touched ground he lit off again. The clouds had turned gray, and the setting sun colored the faraway mountaintops with crimson fire. Nighthawk flew so forcefully that he seemed to slice the sky into two. A beetle flew into his mouth and squirmed about. The nighthawk swallowed it down, but for some reason doing so sent a chill down his back.
Feeling an ache in his chest, Nighthawk again took off into the sky. Again a beetle flew into his mouth, and there it squirmed, scratching his throat. After great effort Nighthawk managed to swallow the beetle, but doing so caused his heart to leap, and he cried out in a loud voice. Crying, he flew around and around, making circles in the sky.
Oh, I kill so many beetles and insects every night. And now I’m to be killed by the hawk. So this is what it feels like. Oh, I can’t stand this. I’ll stop eating insects, and starve to death. No, Hawk will kill me before that happens. No, before that happens I’ll fly far, far away.
Nighthawk flew straight to the home of his brother, Kingfisher. When he got there Kingfisher had just awoken, and was looking at the burning mountains. Seeing Nighthawk land, he spoke: “Well hello, brother. To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“Nothing. I just came to say goodbye. I’m leaving for a place far, far away.”
“Brother! You can’t leave! With Sister Hummingbird so far away now, I’ll be left all alone!”
“I’m sorry, it can’t be helped. Please, speak no further on this today. And please, try not to kill any more fish than is absolutely necessary. Good bye, now.”
“Brother, what’s wrong with you? Please, stay a little longer.”
(“You’ll be so much happier if you stay here.”)
“No, staying any longer won’t change things. Please give my regards to Hummingbird. Goodbye. I’m afraid we’ll never meet again. Goodbye.”
“Mr. Sun, Mr. Sun! Please bring me to you! I don’t care that I’ll burn and die. Even an ugly body like mine will shine as it burns! Please, take me!”
But no matter how far he flew, he didn’t get any closer to the sun. The sun seemed to get smaller and farther, even, and said “Nighthawk, isn’t it? Yes, yes, I know your pain. But you should try talking to the stars. You’re not a day bird, you know.”
Then he flew off again. He headed west, straight towards the beautiful constellation of Orion, shouting “Oh, star! Blue-white star of the West! Please take me to you! I don’t care that I will be burned to death!” But Orion just continued singing his heroic song, and didn’t pay Nighthawk the least bit of attention.
The Nighthawk almost began to cry, and spiraled back to the ground. He finally landed and took off again, circling once. Then he flew straight towards Canis Major in the south, shouting, “Oh, Star! Blue star of the South! Please take me to you! I don’t care that I will be burned to death!”
The Great Dog blinked blue and purple and yellow and said, “Silence with such foolishness. Who do you think you are? You’re just a bird. It would take you millions, billions, trillions of years to fly this far with those wings of yours!” and with that, he turned away.
(“If you can’t kill anyone, you can't save anyone!”)
Nighthawk spiraled back to the Earth. He then flew back up and circled twice. This time he flew north towards Ursa Major, shouting “Blue star of the North! Please take me to you!”
The Great Bear answered, “Don’t waste your time with such silliness. You should go cool your head. Jumping into an iceberg-filled ocean might help, or if there is no ocean near you, try diving into a cup filled with ice water.”
(“That so? Well, let me tell you something, newbie. This scorching planet, Noman’s Land, is cruel beyond belief. It’s a dog-eat-dog world.”)
Nighthawk spiraled back to the Earth, and then flew back up and circled four times. He then flew east again, towards the eagle Aquila on the far bank of the just-risen the Milky Way, shouting, “White star of the East! Please take me to you! I don’t care that I will be burned to death!”
The Eagle proudly stated, “No, no, that will never happen. You need a certain level of birth to become a star. That and a lot of money.”
(“Graduated from November University, huh? Pretty elite.”)
Nighthawk lost all hope, and closing his wings began to fall to the ground. When his weak legs were just a yard from the ground he suddenly twisted back up into the heavens like a whirlwind. Upon reaching the high heavens he spun around like an eagle attacking a bear and stood his feathers on end. He let out a high, high screech. His voice was like a hawk’s. The other birds asleep in the fields and the forest all woke up and, shaking, looked curiously up into the starry sky.
Nighthawk continued on higher and higher, straight up into the sky. The sun on the mountains looked like the glowing end of a cigarette. Nighthawk climbed and climbed. The cold froze his breath upon his breast. The air became thinner, causing him to beat his wings faster and faster.
Nonetheless, the stars grew no larger. His chest pumped like a bellows. The cold and frost pierced him like a sword. His wings grew numb. He opened tear-filled eyes and once again looked up at the heavens. And yes, that was the end of him. He no longer knew if he was falling or climbing, upside down or right side up, or if he was still looking up. But peace filled his heart, and though his bloody beak was slightly bent to one side, there was a slight smile on it.
After a time Nighthawk opened his eyes wide. He saw that his body had become a beautiful light, blue like a phosphorous flame, burning silently. Just next to him was Cassiopeia.
And Nighthawk’s Star burned on. It burned on and forever on. It continues to burn, even now.
Rem is both god and Cassiopeia, Cassiopeia in the myth is the mother of Andromeda, Knives is both the hawk(I will remake you) and the kingfisher(don't go). The stars appear to scold the nighthawk harshly, huh? That doesn't seem to fit right but the nighthawk said he could never want to change his name because god gave it to him and it means so much to him, yet, here he was, trying to be something he wasn't.
(Ah. I see. This is a story where the dog, the bear and the eagle tell the nighthawk that his ideals aren't wrong and they accept him as he is in their own way, isn't it?)
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Twice Upon a Time - Neverafter Ep 6
The Curdled Web
Welcome back to D20 and the second battle ep of Neverafter! Let’s see if our intrepid heroes learned anything from their crushing defeat in the fairy fight.
This is a battle ep so we’re going bullets baby.
They’re already off to a better start than fight #1 because they are able to get the drop on the spiders and don’t squander their surprise round on loud bickering.
Roz right away takes care of the fact that half the party can’t see by casting Faerie Fire on half the board. And soon after, Puss gets a clutch nat 20 on one of the spiders! Not a death blow but still 17 damage and a level of exhaustion.
Tim casts Expeditious Retreat to help him move through the difficult terrain of the web and is helped by the golden spirit of his son popping from his book and sort of jumping into him. He is very emotional about it.
Ger gets in a hit and then Pinocchio (who is keen to keep Roz out of the action in the back) follow’s Roz’s lead in a very clutch move. He casts Faerie Fire on Crow, had him fail, and then has him fly up to light up some more of the field.
He (and the whole table) get more than they bargained for though when the light illuminates a HUGE spider which literally comes down on a string in the ACTUAL dome, making all the players scream in half surprise/half delight. The art department is really killing it this season!
Anyway, it’s a huge spider-centaur and its human half is Little Miss Muffet with a spider head and holding a spoon and a bowl of curds and whey. Tim can tell that this is an aberration. Like, an unnatural scrambling of stories.
Big Miss Muffet also has tons of baby spiders on its back which bum rush Pinnochio to try and get him to drop Faerie Fire.
Muffet casts Bane and Ger is the only one who fails his save. He gets a red gem. Concerning!
She also gets a lair action and shakes the web. Only the ones not on Muffet’s back (and Muffet herself) have to roll. Pinnochio and Roz are knocked prone and Tim is prone and restrained because he falls on a sticky web (but that honestly probably helps to save his butt in this fight as he can still cast spells and now he isn’t in danger of falling off the web).
Roz attacks Muffet for 14 damage (going for the main boss–we love to see it folks) and calls her not very nice. Muffet seems a little taken aback at the comment for a moment. Likewise, when Tim attacks her with a Shatter spell, there’s a weird reality breaking moment where he can hear her screams split–like a spider is screaming and a little girl is screaming.
Ger gets a bunch of clutch moves in this fight–going into danger for a change to help people, using his cool new abilities to hop around the web easily, and giving other players movement or free attacks with his fighter tactics. Tim is also a great team player, using Silvery Barbs to stop an attack that would have hit Red.
With the baby spiders coming after him, Pinnochio calls on his mom for help and casts Fey Presence to stop two of the spiders with his mom’s intimidating but charming (literally) visage.
Brennan is not rolling the best. He whiffs it as Muffet and misses three attacks on Red. When she does her Web shake, Pinnochio goes prone. He gets him and drops Faerie Fire but he’s resistant to poison damage and takes less.
Red, the bravest girl in the world, tanks SEVEN attacks and falls out of her wild shape (Pib has to jump off her back but is fine).
Roz tries to pull Pinnochio off the web but fails and is like, “We’re all on our own in the dark little boy!” Pinnocchio is like, “Roz, what the fuck???”
Red both attacks Muffet and empathizes with her, telling her she understands being told she’d grow into something great and turning into a monster instead. She also wild shapes back into a spider and stands over Puss to give him cover from Muffet.
The team is so much more in the groove this fight. Tim provides healing. Ger gives Puss an attack and he gets the highest possible roll on his added d8 superiority die of damage. Tim casts Silvery Barbs again to spare Ger an attack. Roz gets hit with an attack but passes her Con save and takes half.
Pinocchio gets Crow to help free him and then, thinking about what Roz said about being in the dark, is like, “Nope!” and casts Faerie Fire again.
Muffet attacks Red but Red is still like, hey, we should be friends!
Web shakes! Puss goes prone and Pinnochio who was literally just freed goes prone and is again restrained. Brennan says he feels once again like he’s trapped by strings and Lou, deadpan, is like, “Great thematic stuff, dude.”
Even though they’re fighting better than before, it’s still a tough fight. Roz goes down but, thankfully, she makes her death save. Puss takes a big blow–more than half his HP–but he’s able to resist exhaustion.
Puss hits Muffet and, instead of blood, gross, chunky curds and whey pour out of her spider body.
Tim casts Shatter while restrained and his writing in his book. The word “Tuffet” sticks (earlier when he cast Shatter, the words “Curds and Whey” stuck).
Ger again lets Puss get a free attack the moves to protect Pinnochio and Roz in what he calls a courageous act of cowardice but I think is just straight up courageous. Luckily, all of the attacks on him miss. And on the lair action, he stays steady.
Pinocchio attacks with Eldritch Blast which are just images of his strings. Tres spiderman.
Red tanks a BUNCH of attacks to protect Puss and goes to human and then goes down. Puss falls off her back and with a Nat 1 is knocked prone and restrained.
Roz passes another death save. Red passes a death save and is immediately brought back up by Tim.
Puss gets a Nat 20 on his next attack on Muffet. He doesn’t trigger the death blow mechanic BUT he still does ten points more damage than she has HP so she goes down, though he doesn’t feel great about mercing a child. Puss’ dagger hits not Muffet herself but makes a crack in the story and splits the spider beat into 2 parts. The huge spider and a little girl with a spider face.
As this goes down, Tim has a flash of memory from his new life about Muffet, a lonely girl who would eat alone on this hill. He writes the Little Miss Muffet rhyme in his book.
The girl part of Muffet is very out of sorts. She brings Roz back up with 1 HP and is freaked out to be in a spiderweb because she is famously scared of spiders.
Tim, as he finishes the rhyme, gets the sense that he can bring Muffet into the books or the spider part. He picks the spider part and Scherezade writes back something to the effect of, “Thanks! Got it. Will be in touch soon.”
Now that she’s back to her…well, not normal but more normal self, Muffet reminds Tim a lot of Red–a monstrous little girl in a hard situation.
Muffet asks to touch the book and Tim says no at first but Red sees a kindred spirit in Muffet and convinces him to let her.
As she touches the book, a golden door opens. Muffet sees her story and is a little dismayed to realize that in the narrative she’s always “supposed” to be scared. She asks who they are and they say that they’re people who help people.
She almost goes through the door and then decides not to, saying she wants to help them instead. Which is a good thing for Roz because apparently she’s got some silk related requests to make.
And that’s the episode! A much cleaner fight this time helped by their higher levels and better battle tactics. Man, fights in this season are almost as wild as Crown of Candy fights! Let’s hope they keep it up, because we’re already in a screwed up enough version of the Neverafter–though I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t curious about how Brennan might escalate. Anyway, see you soon for the next ep of D20!
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