This episode carries content warnings for blood, memory loss, illusory reality, discussion of possible hallucination.

You might wonder where the rest of the erstwhile Blackwick Group might be headed after their fracture in Blackwick. But deep down inside, you probably know exactly where Lye Lychen is headed, don't you? That man has unfinished business, and he is nothing if not someone committed to getting straight to the task at hand.

This week on Sangfielle: Six Travelers: Lyke

The Almanac of the Heartland Rider

Places

Blackwick County: From the mines to the lake, the hills to the flats, the town once called Eastern Folly has felt a little more expansive now that it's out of the hard grip of the old curse. It's people aren't perfect, but they've made it through some dark times, and that's more than most can say.

Sapodilla: One of, if not the, largest city inside of the walls of Concentus. Sapodilla rests on the western shore of the vast lake that takes up much of southeastern Sangfielle. Not too much is known about how things are inside of its gates since Queen Virtue rolled into town.

Marrowcreek: Quite a ways west of Blackwick, the maps say there is a town called Marrowcreek. Never been myself, but I've heard about it (often in the sort of hypotheticals people pose to you to "make conversations" at parties.) Lye Lychen, Chine, and Hazard visited it (or a Course-built facsimile) a few months back, when they hopped off the Jade Moon.

Bluerock Quarry: Bluestone is what you might guess from the name, a quarry for digging up stones of various qualities and makes, but all of which is blue in nature. While slate and limestone and granite all serve their ends, the real find is welkin, a stone as light as air but tough as the hardest metal. Now who could be on the lookout for something like that?

Unschola Republica, formerly the Third Canton (oon-skoh-la): For a millenia, the alchemists, mage-practitioners, and cryptotheological scholars of the Third Canton complained in secret about the leash kept on them by Aldomina's distant leaders. They've since slipped that leash, and whether that's for better or worse, time will tell.

Sangfielle, the Heartland: Once, it was a breadbasket for the whole Dominion, now this is territory haunted twice: first by a bloody, buried past, and second by an uncanny, indifferent future.

Facts and Figures

Fendleton the Lake Skeletons: A boisterous skeleton that Lyke once met on the way to Last Rest (and Bell Metal Station beyond that). Loyal to Altapasqua? Or… loyal to unloyalty? Hard to pin down.

Dayward yon Vantzon-Estonbergh aka Dayward YVE (he/him): The moneyed scion of a minor Aldominan dynasty, Dayward YVE has traveled to the Heartland as both eager-apologist and curious explorer. Sensing opportunity, he settled in Blackwick County and has used it as a staging ground for an ever-growing industrial empire.

Uno Riscano (he/him): The so-called "Count of Cards," this devil was the leader of one of the "six suits" that make up the Wrights of the Seventh Sun. Now headless.

Aterika'Kaal (it/its): An ambivalent and ancient spirit. Offers the sweet smell and sublime beauty of roses and the sturdy foundation of a root structure. In exchange: Feed it.

Karston Leberge (he/him): Sergeant of Bread inside of the Wrights of the Seventh Sun, Karston runs operations at the Bluerock Quarry.

Alaway (currently he/him, varies historically): Was last seen as the waxy, vampiric minister of Yellowfield named Regan, whose generations-long study of technology led him to dream of (and work towards creating) "The City of Lights," a place of flameless fire, energetic implements, and the safety and freedom to live as one wants. Now, having somehow returned to the form that the Blackwick Group first met him as, he threatens to steal the very lifeblood of Blackwick itself.

Organizations

The Boundless Conclave: Less of an individual church, more of an association between hundreds of independent faiths. Small sects, nearly forgotten cults, and unjealous gods make up this vast pantheon.

Wrights of the Seventh Sun: A secret society dedicated to the construction of Zevunzolia, whatever the cost. Their motivations are many: Some believe that the Devils ought to have continued climbing whent hey escaped hell, that this was not the paradise earned. Otherse believe that Zevunzolia is telos of telos, the end-cause of all end-causes, and thus will inevitably bring itself into being. And given that, to do anything but aid it is to risk exclusion from it, or worse.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry)

Produced by Ali Acampora

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by Craig Sheldon (@shoddyrobot)

You can purchase Ichor-Drowned at https://sillionl.itch.io/ichor-drowned

You can purchase Anamnesis at https://blinkingbirchgames.itch.io/anamnesis

A transcription is available for this episode here.A full list of completed transcriptions is available here. Our transcriptions are provided by a fan-organized paid transcription project. If you'd like to join, you can get more information at https://twitter.com/transcript_fatt. Thank you to all of our transcribers!!