Iska Tull

Iska Tull is a young, half-elf bard whose dream, compulsion, obsession is to understand the world around her and capture it in song and story. While she channels her magics and the majority of her creativity through her violin, her journal is always at the ready for quick reference sketches, jotting down plots points and arcs of potential epics, or simply noting the sights, sounds, and feelings she experiences. Iska's mindset is often one of wonderment and joy, excited by the potential of learning and experiencing new things.

Prelude
Iska is from a relatively humble town, born to and raised by her human mother, as her elven father was absent from her life. Her mother had always told her that he had to leave as he was quite the famous musician and needed to spread his songs and tales across the lands; limiting his beauty to just one village was a disservice to the world, of course. Hearing this, Iska was motivated at a young age to take up performing. The validity of this statement was often questioned by members of the community, though, with many doubting it and believing Iska's mother was merely trying to save face.

She acquired a violin and chose it as her medium, as it was diverse enough to blend the elegant somber strings with harsher, fiercer notes when necessary. She proved to be a natural and devoted her time to learning entertaining parlor tricks, eventually harnessing the resonant magic within her to produce dancing lights much to the delight of her fellow youth.

Iska and her mother never had much, so times were tough most of her life, though her mother attempted to shield her from these realities. As time went on, though, her mother grew weaker and weaker, beginning to fall to some illness she was unable to diagnose. Iska took care of her when she could and often played her tranquil songs by her bedside as she lay ill. One chance day, the song itself seemed to give her mother life, dulling the pain and pushing the illness back for the briefest time. Iska continued to refine this healing magic and soothed her mother as often as needed.

Over time, the illness worsened, and the healing tones of Iska's violin were not enough to ward off the pain. When the caravan of the famed Barios Cass came through her village, she sought a meeting with the man and earned it as a result of her performing capabilities. Barios promised to heal her mother completely in exchange for Iska's service in his caravan. She readily accepted, thinking it to be the quickest way to alleviate her mother of her pain. After a visit from the caravan's healer, her mother began to regain consciousness and appeared to be recovering. Iska could not stay and celebrate long, though, as her newfound duty as the caravan's traveling bard called her away.

Caravan Life
She traveled with Barios' caravan for some time, learning new tales and songs and taking in the world around her. The caravan itself even captivated her for some time, full of a diverse mix of shopkeepers, guards, and wagoners. Of particular interest to her was Ba'Tee Ha'Til-athar, a man truly unlike any she'd seen before. The treasurer of the caravan, Ba'Tee stood out with his dark skin, miscolored eyes, silver-platinum shaved to crown with intricate designs cut along the sides and a top braided so fine, so tiny that while it seemed like thick thread, it was made of thousands of smaller braids, running down to his back. Apparently this was the look of many from Qual'Vareene, a distant land. Ba'Tee kept to himself mostly, and the contents of his wagon remained a mystery to Iska for some time.

One evening while approaching Sojourn's Crossing, he and Barios had a loud disagreement about not going into the city. Iska overheard the him say he was planning on enlisting the services of Arcana Mystica. Knowing the argument would continue for some time, Iska snuck into his cart, and found herself surrounded by the most intricate and finely crafted clockwork fascinations: miniature figures that danced like real human people, music boxes, hovering items lifted by propellers. With her time limited, she took in as much of the strange new artifacts as she could before scrambling out.

One day, she became particularly entranced by a frayed leaf blowing in the wind and wanted more than anything to get a better look at its natural beauty. Without a second thought, she chased it for some time, completely ignorant of the length and direction of her journey. Finally catching up to it, she studied it intensely, before an older man singing and sprinting along the roads happened upon her. There she met Luck and would go on to join many others she would soon call her makeshift "family."

The Hounds of Barios Cass
Startled by Luck's sudden awakening at the presence of fiends, the party was caught off-guard by three dark beings Iska would immediately recognize as the mutated, monstrous new forms of Barios ' hounds. Just as her vision had shown her, the hounds were larger, more fierce than ever before with almost other-worldly powers, discharging electric shocks and sending blasts of fire. In the midst of battle, one of the hounds suffered a striking blow removing chunks of its necrotic flesh. This gaping wound would reveal to Iska the true nature of the beasts: a clockwork exoskeleton that could only be the work of Ba'Tee.  As she stared transfixed in horror at the revelation, a blow from the hound knocked her unconscious as she was snared by its mechanical tongue. Before she could be dragged into its waiting maul, Kel snapped the tongue in two in his direwolf form as Axle channeled the magic of a blood rune to help her regain consciousness. Protected by the party, Iska sang the same song she did during the storm, reinforcing the group as they forcefully rendered the hounds powerless. After a harrowing battle, the hounds lay dead for the moment; Iska's vision predicted they would rise again by moonlight, stronger even still. Trying to dispose of the hounds was useless, as an immovable rod in each had been activated. With time limited, it was decided to rush into the temple below, find its secrets, and feel the Tears as quickly as possible. Before heading down into the sunken temple with the rest of the group, Iska studied the severed tongue, noticing an ancient arcane word: skaggeth. As she uttered the phrase, the tongue seemed to snap rigid in place. With a few swings, Iska grew familiar with the new potential weapon and claimed it for herself.

After exploring and deciphering the mysteries of the Temple at the Eye of Eternity, the group resurfaced and evaluated their situation. Luck was able to deduce the hounds were not merely clockwork, but each had some fiendish element inside it as well. Lacking holy water or any other divine magic, the group needed to reconvene with Liam's caravan and the paladin Stroth at their next destination: Verdant Falls.

A Flame Ignited
As the group raced to Verdant Falls, Kel suggested getting Iska their quicker as the hounds would specifically be targeting her when they resurrected. He wildshaped into a horse and offered her a ride, and the two sprinted ahead to warn the caravan of what was coming. When they arrived, they informed Stroth of the hounds' fiendish nature and asked to rest of the caravan to bunker down and find safety. As the rest of the group arrived to the falls, the hounds were not far behind them, looking even more like twisted nightmares than they had before.

Iska and the group engaged the hounds in combat near the falls and, with Stroth's divine magical resonance, struck devastating blows against the demonic dogs. In an odd moment, one of the hounds turned to Luck, bowed to him, and decided against attacking him and lunged for Silya instead. With Stroth's holy blessings backing their weapons, the group was finally able to put the hounds down permanently. Before having time to celebrate, though, Luna was hit in the back of the head by a rock. The group turned to find the culprit, spotting a little girl blaming Luna for bringing the evil to the their camp. Others quickly joined in before a deacon of the Temple of Purity spoke up, saying that Luna could not be blamed for being born impure. Tensions raised quickly, but the violence was quickly squashed by a spell from Stroth which rendered the growing mob immobile and eventually caused them to forget the presence of Luna. Iska played "Thalia's Ballad" as fast as she could, magically disguising Luna as Iska's mother.

Stroth took the group aside to tell them that the Temple of Purity had a child of the loss in their capture currently at the falls.

Iska sat with the group and listened as Gandry opened up about his life story, and the horrors he had faced at the hands of the Temple of Purity. Without her violin to back her, Iska began singing a new song, finding the words as they came to her, attempting to capture the spirt of Gandry, her comrades, and herself falling time and time again to but continuing to rise back up each time. A rallying cry, the song seemed to ease the fire Genasi's heart. Wanting to keep him close to herself and the party at all times, Iska named the song in his honor: "Gandry's Armored Heart."

The Chords of the Fates
After singing "Gandry's Armored Heart" for the first time, Iska fell unconscious. Though her physical body lay still, her mind awoke in a dark void. As she looked around her, she eventually spotted a vast expanse of lines and colors, almost incomprehensible in its complexity. These colors and lines intersecting like a tapestry, she found what she believed to be their origin: the heavily interwoven cords where three mysterious figures stood. As Iska trained her eyes on them, they appeared to be rapidly transforming and shifting races, faces, forms. Unsure of what was happening, Iska listened in as the figures spoke to each other, referring to each other as "sister."

The figures discussed threads that were never meant to cross now overlapping, and the fates of those they represent changing. Iska learned that by discovering "Gandry's Armored Heart," a tune that could save an ally from death itself, she had created a fourth song of fate. At this point, the figures became aware of Iska's presence, addressing her directly. They explained that the Chorus of the Muses paled in comparison to the Chords of the Fates. These Chords were hidden for centuries but they and other deep music were now made accessible for those who could listen for it. Those who could hear them, including "the other," would be looking to claim them for themselves now. Iska was deemed a fate singer, the sisters' voice on the mortal plane, tasked with reclaiming the Chords and protecting them. The stakes, according to the sisters, were no less than the control of fate itself.

Contracts
As Iska makes her way across town to retrieve Kel, she runs into a well-dressed gentleman who approaches her. She immediately recognizes him as soon as light hits his face: Ba’Tee, the creator of the clockwork hounds. Iska prepares to defend herself when suddenly Ba’tee apologizes for the trouble the hounds caused. They were merely vessels to house the souls of animals for a new life, but a recent surge of magic (possibly the Vice surge triggered by Axle) caused their demonic possession. As an apology for the troubles they have caused, Ba’Tee offers Iska’s contract with Barios as a gift. He’s purchased it and alleviated her of her services to the caravan. Shaken, she accepts the contract and warns Ba’tee that she would put down down any creatures like the hounds and Ba’tee himself should he build them once again.

Iska explains what had happened with Ba’tee and her contract and why she seems so out of it. Drunkenly, Luck takes to the streets shouting his name, hoping to fight him and truly unleash “justice.” Kel and Axle join Iska as she leads Luck in the opposite direction of where Ba’tee was heading, hoping to avoid conflict. On their travels, Axle points out the same noodle shop he visited the day before, and the group enters hoping to get Luck food to sober up. While they sit and chat, Iska tells the story of Battlemistress Kalista talking down Florian and how humorous she thought it was to imagine him being busted back down to an underling of the battlemages.

Kel doesn’t find this as funny as Iska had imagined, explaining the conversation he had with Balsheerion on how complicated Florian is, that he needs to get out of Sojourn’s Crossing and feel closer to that which he was born to be: a warrior. Axle tells a story from his past, of his attack on bandits to avenge his slain family, and how Grom chastised him for acting out of anger, out of selfish desire. Iska reconsiders and tells the group that Kalista, Battlemistress of the Mages, would assign Florian and Balsherion to guard duty if there were any issues in town. The group discusses finding a way to “demote” Florian and allow him time with Balsherion and out of Sojourn’s.

Later in the week, Iska and Luck visit Kalista at the Arcana Mystica 's stables and asks if she would be would be against the party actively trying to demote Florian to get him and his gryphon back out in the field. She cautions Iska about the dangers of interfering with Arcana Mystica, but she says she would welcome having a gryphon back where it belonged.

The Bigger Picture
Reeling from the horrific vision of the Feeders and still processing the constant tension and turmoil within the group, Iska breaks down in anger, frustration, and lament. As Izhkrin and Kel gain a greater understanding of one another, she asks that Izhkrin finds those responsible for what happened here and make them suffer. She remains standoffish and quiet for most of the day, feeling lost and helpless in a broken world.

Seeing Iska struggling and sensing her need to disconnect for awhile, Izhkrin offers her a brief rest in his magical ring, describing the experience as a world catered to whoever enters it. After Kel tests it to ensure its safety, Iska takes the offer and enters the ring. With so many thoughts constantly racing in her head, each competing for the forefront and driving her to migraines, Iska wishes for nothing but peace and quiet. As she asks for silence, she opens her eyes and sees nothing: a total blankness. At first, she simply stares, content with finally finding a moment's relief. Before long, though, she sees the emptiness for what it really was to her: a blank canvas. She thinks of the possibilities, the images she could create, when suddenly she feels like she can manipulate this "canvas" before her. She reaches out with her hand, waving it slightly, and a paint-like substance appears on the ground. She tests it with her other hand, and again the "paint" materializes in front of her, following her lead. Her arms sway through the air as she continues to mark the floor ahead of her, different colors emerging, crossing, entangling with one another like chords intertwined. She eventually surrounds herself with the twisting threads, some of their patterns creating a darker silhouette in the form of three Sisters of Fate. Iska ponders how to finish the empty space still directly below her. Eventually, she simply lays down in it, understanding both this painting and the world outside the ring have an important spot for her and she needs to accept it. The journey will not be easy, but achieving greatness rarely is.

The Day the Music Died
As Iska stood her ground, determined to continue bridging the spell she hoped would melt Vertex's armor, the corrosive cloud that surrounded her proved too strong. As she inhaled another breath of the deadly gas, it would prove too much for her body to handle. She collapsed to the ground, unable to move from the cloud, and died. After Vertex was defeated, the other members of her party gathered around her. Thinking quickly, Axle attempted to use rune magic to restore her to life, but for some reason it proved unsuccessful. Looking for an answer from her god, Luna "sensed" that the magic failed because Iska's soul was not present.

Iska regained consciousness a short time later, though not in the same place she died. Unable to move and her eyes cloudy, she looked around until the blurred figure of a man approached her. Her vision slowly regaining, she quickly realized the identity of this man from his one green eye, his one gold eye: Ba'Tee.

Ba'Tee informed her that he had been watching her for quite some time now, ever since the party left Sojourn's Crossing. Not only had he followed her exploits, he had been learning a great deal from her. Iska realized at this point that, through her own discovery, Ba'Tee too was learning Chords of Fate and bardic magic. He taunted her, saying he had a head start on the next Chord, showing that he had already crossed the Vice. Before he concluded their meeting, he placed a hand on her head and, through some dark magic, tainted her soul. Iska felt magically weakened, taking a permanent penalty to her performance ability. As her soul began to rise and return to her physical form, Iska saw the most horrifying vision of her life: a clockwork mannequin that looked just like her.

She awoke with a jolt in Kel's arms, screaming and crying from the horrific experience. The rest of the party was quite startled by her sudden return and her frenzied screams. Kel clung onto her tightly, Axle joining soon after. Luck kept his distance, unsure of what was happening or if that even was the real Iska back from the dead. Eventually, after quite some time to come down from her traumatic experience, she sat with her back against the cave wall and told the others what had happened. While many expressed sympathy, Luck remained skeptical and became outright aggressive. As Luna and the others tried to calm him, he swung his pickax towards Iska, lodging it into the cave wall directly next to her head as she remained motionless. He stormed off, saying she was not to be trusted. A short talk with Luna would bring him back to the group, but he made his uneasiness known. Eventually the party reunited enough to continue their trek into the caverns and seek the Alchemist. After a brief battle with dividing rats and narrowly avoiding the traps along multiple hallways, the group arrived at a hidden laboratory. Within, they found nothing but suffering and death: multiple youths chained to walls and tables, horrifically disfigured and mutated. It seemed the kidnapped victims were brought here for experimentation. Iska remained near Luck during this time as he struggled with what he was seeing. She attempted to comfort him and channel his despair and rage into finding the Alchemist and putting an end to this injustice. For the first time since they had met, Luck displayed his Crimson Right energy, bringing a grin to Iska's face.

A grueling battle ensued between the party, the Alchemist, and a massive acid hulk born of his experiments. During the fight, Iska attempted to use several bardic spells through her musical ability, all of them failing and causing her to question what she was capable of now. Felling the Alchemist proved to be only the first part of their fight. As the life left his body, his spirit seemed to drift into the body of small dragon hidden beneath the water of an underwater lake nearby. Eventually, the draconian Alchemist was brought to justice, his blood seeming to cure Silya of her cursed affliction, loosening the ring from her hand. The acid hulk too was broken, turning back into a young Genasi boy who thanked Luna for freeing him from his prison. Though Luna was shattered by this, Iska and the rest of the party were relieved to have cleared the cave of its last threat.

Suddenly, a loud *thump-thump* could be heard from above the party, as a stone in the high ceiling of the cave began to glow. Knowing they were in the skeletal remains of a massive ancient dragon, the group knew this to be the heart. A figured emerged within the stone, breaking from its physical confinement and descending down towards the party. As it grew closer, the group recognized flowing hair, an elven-like body, and eyes seemingly filled with runes. The figure stared at each member of the party before calling them calling them the "guardians ordained by the ancient stars" and referring to each of them by an individual name: Iska as the Singer of the Fates; Silya as the Blade of the Planes; Kel as the Soul Burdened; Luck as the Reborn; Luna as the Mother of the Elements; Izhkrin as the Shield of the Spheres; Axle as the Hand of the Ancients. This figure introduced themself as GwllynFurrah, the Last Bastion of this sphere.

GwllynFurrah related his long history to the party, his battle alongside the Frost Prince against the Dark Empress and the army of the Netherwings. They did everything he could to keep their forces at bay, including altering races and magic in this world in order for it to better defend itself. Almost a century ago, the Netherwings broke through the breach of the world and returned. Since their returned, primal magic now spreads across the land in ways they never have. GwllynFurrah believed it was the destiny of the party to fix the broken world and defend it from the Netherwings.

As the party took time to questions and reflect on this information, Iska bowed back. She had long known of her title as the Singer, and though she was curious to learn more, something else had stuck in her mind. She went searching through the cave in the hopes of finding specific items, and she was eventually rewarded when she discovered the workbench of the gunsmith. She collected everything she could related to the weapon and packed it away, desperate to someday learn more about its power.

After what felt like months without sunlight, the group emerged from the cave of the Black Dragonflight Syndicate, leaving it cleared of threats and in the hands of the magically enhanced Stross to lead the rest of the kobolds and unite them. Iska said her goodbyes to Izhkrin, who now believed he was not long for the world and needed to go off on his own in order to fulfill his destiny. He gave her the nickname "Boom" and two assured each other that the world had trouble keeping them down. Izhkrin faded from the world before their eyes, and the group carried on.

The next morning, Iska sat with Luck as he cooked breakfast. "Would you look at that sunrise," she said to him, the same words he uttered after their awful night at Verdant Falls, to assure him that she was still the real Iska. Luck began telling a story of his childhood, and Iska simply smiled and nodded, simply glad that they were continuing as normal. Luna joined the two, as did Kel with a leaf from a nearby plant. He held it out to Iska, holding her hand, then grabbing Luck's and bringing them together to show the group's unity going forward. Iska added the leaf to her growing collection in her journal, feeling best as she had in days.

The group traveled further and heard a loud commotion in the distance. Approaching the noise, they discovered Mad Madam Mim's, a large magical carnival known to travel back and forth through the Vice and across the world. As Iska reflected on how much he would have loved being here now, Izhkrin suddenly appeared behind the party, asking what everyone was staring at. Realizing he was actually here to stay, Iska gave him a playful punch to the shoulder and began to head towards Mad Madam Mim's.

Reloaded
Getting closer to the carnival, a familiar voice popped into her head telling her she was scheduled for a performance soon. Florian telepathically reminded her of her duties for the Arcana Mystica and asked her to ensure Luna was there with her. The two met with the proprietor of the caravan's tavern and, before long, Iska took the stage. Though she still felt rattled from her experience in the cave, rekindling her friendship with luck and the support of her friends allowed her to give a truly masterful performance the entire length of her four-hour set. The audience was captivated, shouting and dancing along with each drinking song and remaining enrapture with the new "Children of the Children." Many were quick to throw gold her way, including an intoxicated Luck. She left the stage that night feeling the best she had in a long time.

The day after her performance, Iska was roused from a disturbing dream by the sound of loud "bang." In a rush, she grabbed the recovered materials she had gathered from the cave and sprinted towards the sound. When she arrived at their source, she found an aged man practicing his aim with a firearm. She rushed to him, introducing herself and learning his name: Sebastian Lockwood. She explained that she had found a weapon similar to the one in his hand and asked for him to teach her how to use it. He inquired why she was so interested in learning how to use a gun. She told him that her and her friends were heading to the Vice, and as most of her power relied on magic, she would be heavily hindered or have to risk causing surges constantly. She needed a way to fight without magic, and she had felt the power of a firearm firsthand. When pressed, she also revealed that something had be taken from her, something that couldn't be replaced, something she needed to make right. Lockwood acknowledged it as noble, and in exchange for the bullet-making supplies she had taken from the cave, he agreed to teach her. After a day of training and telling tales, Iska felt comfortable enough to use the PepperBox in combat.

Before leaving, Lockwood also gave her a Tinker Bot, a mechanical device crafted by an artist from Qualvareen. At first making Iska quite nervous, Lockwood revealed that the man who made it, Ambrose, powered it through the energy of storms. This revealed to Iska that not all clockwork devices demanded souls to work, only those crafted by Ba'Tee.

Iska would eventually rejoin with the rest of the party and followed them in their encounter with the Man Behind the Curtain. Using a special emerald, Izhkrin and Silya were able to access a secret pocket dimension of the carnival, one where high-end magics were on display and powerful magic and arms dealers sold and traded wares. As they waited for some rare items they were selling to be valued, the party was granted an audience with Madam Mim herself. Mim spoke to the party with an air of condescension, slamming them for not being able to understand the lesson she was trying to teach them: the Temple of Purity are harvesting Genasi as the species is able to negate Vice surges. During this conversation, Mim made clear that she knew of the Sisters ' involvement with Iska, and that she hoped it would become a story worth telling. Mim's ability to see right through a secret Iska was hoping to hold onto made her deeply uncomfortable. Fortunately or unfortunately, the feeling would not last long, as Mim dismissed them with a spell causing them to forget a large portion of their time behind the curtain.

The following morning, the party prepared to hit the road once again and continue their journey to West. Before leaving, Iska sought a meeting with Gabriel, the head druid of Mim's caravan. Sebastian had hinted that the druids had some secret that made their travels through the Vice easier, and Iska was determined to find out. She approached Kel, asking him to come with and learn, but Kel rebuffed her. When she eventually found Gabriel, she could tell that tension had mounted between the two. Gabriel acknowledged that he had taunted him when Kel confronted the caravan druids for "wasting their gifts." He hoped to make things up before the party left and gave Iska an acorn imbued with light magic: when it was crushed, a signal would trigger letting Gabriel know we was welcome to approach Kel. Iska brought the acorn to Kel, hoping he would accept a meeting. Kel still seemed against it, asking what would be gained. Iska spoke of settling scores and leaving this tension behind in order to clear his mind for what was ahead, but it failed. Kel threw the acorn into the woods, refusing the meeting. That afternoon, the party set off.

The Vice
Entering West, the group sought resources to help make their traverse through the Vice possible. When Luna encountered gnoblins from her past, the party followed them to their shop to listen to an "informative presentation" on how to survive Vice travel. Iska inquired about purchasing a restoration crystal, a basic necessity in surviving the Vice, only to learn that the cost of one was far greater than the total amount she was given by the Arcana Mystica to fund her trip, causing her to remark, "Fucking Florian." Having to rely solely on the power of Izhkrin's magical ring, the group purchased as many healing and treatment options as they could and headed towards the stables, told they would find a Vice Runner there.

As the party arrived, Iska spotted a familiar face: Dustin Shadowstep, the man from the stables in Sojourn's Crossing who helped her care for Balsheerion. The two came to deal, exchanging gold and part of any loot found inside for his assistance in navigating the Vice.

Euterpe's Harmony
A song learned from the mysterious sheet music recovered from the Green Dragonflight Syndicate. This song forms a harmonic bond between the caster and the world around them. For the duration of the spell, the caster understands and can speak all languages once they have been spoken as if they were the caster's native tongue.

Thalia's Ballad
A song learned from the mysterious sheet music recovered from the Green Dragonflight Syndicate. The caster weaves a song that wraps around a person and warps their identity into one of the many characters the caster has captured with music. Once per day, caster may use this ballad to disguise person for up to six hours.

Gandry's Armored Heart
A song inspired by the unbreakable spirits of those around her, Iska began to sing this song as a means of comforting Gandry before he fell back into hopelessness and despair when telling his story. An impromptu vocal piece, Iska would learn through creating this song and instilling within it the chance to cheat death, she had created a new chord of fate, a series of songs with unspeakable power controlled by "the sisters."

Clotho's Spinning Wheel
A song recovered near a water wheel after battling the Temple of Purity cultists.