Intermission 4 - Uusi's Operation Phoenix

Uusi is heading a mission into Glade's core to study the life cycle of phoenixes, hoping for a clue to the secret of immortality.

Chancellor Phillip has been chosen by Drimmer to accompany her and has assembled a research team comprised of the following individuals:

Varian Chiselstone is a magmin and one of the Arcane Alliance members responsible for tending the temporal anchor at the Core. His responsibilities include ferrying Alliance members to the Core using a teleportation circle. He was recruited by the Arcane Alliance recently as part of an attempt to expand their influence within the Core after an event 10 years ago exposed the need for a presence there. Varian has a good heart but the wealth of his family makes him appear disconnected from the concerns of ordinary people. His occupation requires him to be dishonest at times, which is a difficult feat among magmin, who are especially proficient at spotting lies.

Tippi Tapp is a simianfolk from the north shores of Xengus Sud, named after the sound of rain striking the giant leaves of the melindra tree of her homeland. Tippi and monks like her were sought out by the Arcane Alliance when a prominent member discovered that a frost imbuement on one's soul makes one highly resistant to the immense heat of the Core. Magic passes through the soul, but ki is the power of the soul itself, allowing simian monks to alter their very essence to their desired shape. Despite visiting the Core many times, Tippi Tapp's curiosity is insatiable. She seeks out new experiences with a passion that often gets her in trouble. Her value to the Alliance has allowed her access to knowledge that one of her station would rarely be privy to. Tippi gives little heed to social norms.

Cici Dimitri is an infernal originally hailing from the far north who was sought out by the Arcane Alliance for her scholastic abilities. She has a natural photogenic memory and supernatural writing speed, and her work in metaphysics is respected the world over. Despite these impressive skills, Cici is very shy and hesitant to speak her mind until she is absolutely positive that she is correct. Even when she knows the answer to a problem it is difficult for her to speak up.

On Uusi's personal insistence, Greep the janitor is also included in the expedition.

When the party arrives in Bahg Faruhm they find themselves exiting a gateway adjacent to the Core's temporal anchor obelisk. A cylindrical one-story building has been built around the base. The rest of the obelisk is exposed to the elements and covered in glowing blue runes.

When they leave the building they are greeted by Queen Olivia of the magmin, who is always interested in the comings and goings of the Arcane Alliance. She explains some of the new features of the city. She also explains that the Heart of Ouroboros is much more peaceful in this loop than previously. She mentions that the Chiselstone family is responsible for the clean magitech architecture of the city.

The party travels a couple of days beyond the city to the phoenix reserve, where they are greeted by a fire primordian ranger named Anno Domini. He explains the mythology of the phoenix. He says that the flame was an intelligence that Primordius' aspect of Pathos fell in love with and allowed to take root in his heart. This granted the flame immortality, and it blessed the fire primordians with this gift as well. This act eventually led to endless war, and Ethos and Logos had to step in. Pathos relented and gave the flame the form of a bird, but the flame remained in his heart.

Varian finds a phoenix feather and Tippi Tapp picks up the trail, locating a nest between two large hills. The nest belongs to a phoenix named Lilith, who is at the end of her natural lifespan. The nest is filled with stinking yellow stones that Greep quickly identifies as sulfur. Uusi casts detect magic and senses that the phoenix's magic is sourced directly from Primordius' domain.

Chancellor Phillip asks to see the feather and notes that it looks similar to a Roc's feather. Uusi sets a feather alight, and to her surprise it burns. She produces a specialized tool called the Deliquescent Aetheric Density Detector, or DADD, that determines that the feathers are not actually material, but are comprised of highly organized magic that mimics physicality.

Uusi then prepares another device named the Enchated Syncrotronic Atheric Resonating Collider (ESARC). This instrument will measure the planar barrier at the moment of the phoenix's death.

A short time passes and Lilith perishes as expected. The ESARC chimes and readings scroll along the stone tablet interface. The pile of ash left behind in the nest seems to be what remains of impurities present in and on Lilith's body. The projection of her body destabilized and collapsed before being pulled through the barrier between the material world and Mobius. Strangely, the readings seem to indicate that two entities made the trip at the same time, intertwined. The domain of Mobius that the pair depart to reads strongly of Primordius' energy.

Confused by the implications of the reading, the research team theorizes that the second entity could have been a parasite, or perhaps something the bird ate.

When Lilith is reborn, Uusi is able to detect a microscopic rift in the membrane. She requests the Retracting Planarscopic Insufflator from Tippi Tapp, which is able to expand and probe the rift. What she detects is that the bird is attuned to the flame, which is native to Mobius. This allows both to be anchored to Mobius so that they are forcibly returned there when they die.

Uusi recalls that she was sent back to the material world when she died in Mobius, so it seems likely that beings cannot be truly killed on a plane they aren't native to.

Uusi uses the device again to discover that each time the phoenix dies, it takes on a little bit of the domain of Primordius' qualities, as well as destabilizing its aetheric makeup, perhaps leading to the cancerous growths.

Uusi wonders if other creatures of the core have this quality, so she suggests questioning a beebold. Tippi Tapp leaps into a tree and launches herself at one immediately. The beebold asks Uusi who she serves, believing her to be an intruder, but when Uusi replies that she serves only herself, the beebold calls her "cold" and says that the warmth of "radiance" envelopes him. He is collecting treasure to add to their hoard so that when "the dynasty hatches" it'll awake to spectacular riches.