The Story Thus Far - Season 2 | Aftermath of the Second Word War

With all the Tome Knights gathered at The Warren, recovering from the events of The Second Word War, the clean-up and rebuilding now had to begin. The decision was made that the Tome Knights would remain at the Warren to organize that work, and to celebrate Tomesmas together.   AuthorGoddess quickly disappeared from the public eye following the Battle of the Warren. According to rumours, she went into "Undead rehab" immediately after. Rather than pull the extremely-popular talk show Let's Talk! from their network, the show producers promoted one of their podcast hosts, Tal ElementEds , to host the show temporarily.   A few days after the Battle of the Warren, a celebratory feast was held, with all the House Leaders gathered to plan for the future and discuss their next steps. Unbeknownst to them, however, the GOT News Network, taking advantage of AuthorGoddess' absence, sent a spy into the Warren to acquire bootlegged recordings from that conversation. The Owsla did not choose to divest everyone of their cell phones. The identity of this spy remains unknown.   On December 12, 2021, Let's Talk! aired three bootlegged audio recordings from this gathering.  

The Feast

December 10, 2021, 8:05 pm

The first one, dated December 10, 2021, 8:05 pm covered a private conversation between Lord Galakrond and Sable Aradia, and later on, Lord Galakrond and Prince Jean.   In the course of the discussion, the Mother of Bunnies and the Badger Prince talked about some trepidation at suddenly finding themselves famous people and royalty to boot, their shifting family dynamic as the Meles household learned that Sable Aradia was their biological mother, post-traumatic stress, Galakrond's experience of having been undead, and Sable's grief and guilt over the event.   The Bunny Prince came over to demand what the Prince Badger had done with his foot. During the following conversation, it was revealed that Lord Galakrond, who summons demons, had used Prince Jean's necrotic foot, which he had lost while he was undead during The First Word War, to bind a messenger demon to Prince Jean — so that if anything happened, that demon would have no trouble finding him. Prince Jean and The Chief Rabbit, not knowing what threat that demon might represent, since Galakrond had just been taken by The Horde, had bound it in a box. They then released the creature, hoping to recover the Bunny Prince's lost foot, but they were not successful.   The brothers then demanded of Sable-rah why she hadn't told them about each other. Sable explained that the oath she had taken prevented it, since it was bound by Literomancy, and that she deeply sympathized that Prince Jean had learned about his siblings on the news. When the Chief Rabbit made the suggestion that the young men take some time to get to know each other, they unsubtly directed her back to the banquet as it was still setting up, and went off to discuss things on their own.   In that conversation, they expressed their resentment and dismay at not being told about each other, although Galakrond seemed to have more sympathy than Jean did. Then the Prince Badger told his brother that in the Battle of the Warren, Sable Aradia had used what he described as a Kind Bear Glare to bring him back from the dead.   The two then speculated about the whereabouts of The Iron Tome; which, apparently, their mother had hidden for the duration of this event.     The two then decided to go back to the banquet, where the guests were beginning to gather, and Lord Galakrond tripped noisily over a table along the way.  

December 10, 2021, 10:45 pm

In the second, and longest recording, from this gathering, the entire banquet table conversation of the House Leaders and Scions was recorded for posterity. Rather than relay the course of the conversation, this article will cover some of the salient points:  

The Raptor Captain Dazzlinkat was seen talking shop with James Woodwright and DM Stretch of the Owsla over by the bar, but the details of their conversation was not recorded.

The Tome Knight leadership reaffirmed their commitment to the Grand Alliance in numerous ways; from an opening toast, to volunteering to assist one another in the rebuilding process, making use of their magical specialties and appropriate shapechanging powers; to promising reinforcements for one another when The Undead Horde returned, which many Tome Knights, the most vocal of whom was Sable Aradia, expected would happen. House Lapin said they would bolster and reinforce the alterations they had made to the Warren to accommodate the other Houses, rather than tear them down. These plans were expanded to the strongholds of the other Houses as well — just in case.

Plans were made for a House Summit in January.

Various gestures of hospitality were made. House Kitsune offered the Self Care Mafia's hot tub for the mutual use of all Tome Knights, except the members of House Ceapaire and House Incendium, who promised to form a toasty fire pit, putting aside the rivalry that had been an issue during the Second Word War. The Houses promised that while the dietary needs of both carnivores and herbivores would be met, no one would eat each other's "relative" animals.

It was noted that Kahuna the Elder could not make the gathering, as he had come back to life "and gotten a cold right away." His presence was missed.

The Tyrannosaurus Rex RPGDinosaurBob spoke of the millions-of-years-long history of the Dinos and House Sauropoda, claiming that not even The Big One had managed to bring them down.

The Company was discussed, and House Lapin and House Meles both made it clear they were on the warpath with this shadowy group.

Coffee Quills and Sable Aradia made it clear there were no remaining hard feelings between them.

Siobhan the Bat Queen proposed to Prince Jean, and her proposal was accepted. Although she clearly had some reservations, especially in regards to the Lapin House succession, Sable Aradia toasted their future, and the idea was floated that perhaps the wedding should take place at one of the upcoming Tourneys. King Bob advised them not to worry too much about succession; things ultimately worked out for House Avis when they split from House Sauropoda, and the Dinos also survived.

The leaders and scions of House Meles and House Lapin expressed a desire to build their family connections, now that the truth was out. There was some talk about encouraging the bunnies in the Meles household (Xantos and Jellybean) to come and stay at the Warren for a while to learn about their lagomorphic heritage and build a relationship with their mother. Sable Aradia suggested that all the Forgelings could stay for a while instead, while Windy Willows "The Den" was rebuilt, and the Lords of Meles agreed.

The Self Care Mafia was acknowledged, and it became clear that the Tome Knights, at least at that time, intended to turn a blind eye to the questionable legality of their activities. Some high-profile Tome Knights thanked them for their help in not burning themselves out during the Long Write. ShyRedFox expressed her concern that Eli Kwake was up to something, and while there was the suggestion of an ongoing rivalry, there was also the suggestion of a backroom meeting.

People asked Sable-rah where Erin Righ was. The Chief Rabbit explained that Erin felt he had to do something to redeem himself, so he was seeking out The Lemon Company to join in their charitable works.

Concern and amusement were expressed over The Filking Plague, and a plan was hatched to try to manage symptoms for the afflicted — and to try to weaponize it against the Undead.

Princess Sunny expressed her intention to do some exploration of a mysterious realm simply known as The Void , where apparently a number of items she had thrown during the battle had ended up, including a coffee grinder and some rock-hard biscuits Sunny had attempted to make. Sunny expressed her opinion that her biscuits might serve as excellent ammunition in future conflicts.

The Bardger Realm of Music continually made dad jokes.

December 11, 2021, 4:55 am

In the third and final bootlegged recording, Lord Galakrond and Sable Aradia had another private conversation. They started off by joking about Sable's work as an ASC News Network reporter during the First Word War.   The Mother of Bunnies then took a cutting of her hair and gave it to Lord Galakrond, so that should he ever again need to bind a messenger demon to her, he would have the tools ready to hand. After much drama, she also took a cutting of Galakrond's hair for a similar magical purpose.   The conversation then turned to unsettling details about Lord Galakrond's fall to the Undead Horde, and his concern that the book of conjuration that the Chief Rabbit gifted to him on his 16th birthday might have been lost in the chaos. Galakrond expressed deep feelings of guilt, which obviously broke Sable's heart, and she tried to assure him that none of this was his fault.   Lord Galakrond considered whether or not he would make use of the memory-restoration draught that DM Stretch liberated from the Company in his escape, but made no firm decisions. The Chief Rabbit promised that they would "get the bastards."   Perhaps having missed that portion of the conversation at the feast, the Giver of Names once again asked after Erin Righ. The Mother of Bunnies clearly was unhappy about Erin's absence, but also seemed to recognize the necessity, since at one point, Erin Righ becoming The Nite Qing had hurt Prince Jean, and once had hurt Lord Galakrond. She again expressed her feelings that they had not seen the last of the Zombies, and they both make some gallows humour jokes about the situation.   The two expressed their surprise at the dramatic changes in the world around them. Lord Galakrond expressed surprise that the Cosmic Kraken had come out of the water, but Sable-rah reminded him that the Kraken was a Weresquid and that there was a Human side there. Galakrond asked about House Apis and House Avis stepping down, but Sable clarified that they had disappeared — an unsettling thought.   The Mother of Bunnies cautioned her son to be careful whom he trusted, since people would now likely want to take advantage of his newfound fame and position. They also discussed their mutual RPG playing and tendency to gallows humour in difficult situations. Sable suggested her son might still be in shock, since he expressed being emotionally numb from the events of the war.   They joked about Sable's "Kind Bear Glare" again, and Galakrond's Resurrection. Lord Galakrond spoke of some lingering effects of having been Undead, like an unnatural desire to eat Sable's rabbit ears. Sable-rah said that it wasn't the first time she'd heard of such lingering effects, and they could take a couple of weeks to wear off, citing ShyRedFox's ASC News Network interview in which she was still semi-transparent. The Mother of Bunnies also laughed off the fact that Lord Galakrond had called her a "bucktooth" a couple of times during the battle.  

The Rest of the Broadcast

The remainder of the show was dedicated to taking calls from the audience. Lord Galakrond and Dazzlinkat both called in, expressing anger and, at least in Galakrond's case, making threats. Finally, Sable Aradia called in and told Tal to tell her producers to expect a call from her lawyers in the morning. The producers abruptly ended the broadcast.  

December 15, 2021

Sable Aradia saw her friend Siobhan back to The Cavern, accompanied by her Owsla, where they discovered that the Horde had made an absolute mess of the place, even writing graffiti on Siobhan's Stone Throne. Sable carried The Iron Tome, along with her laptop. When questioned about it, she said that since sealing it in the Molluscan vault at the bottom of the ocean wasn't enough to protect it, she didn't dare let it out of her sight.   Siobhan reminded her that she didn't have to carry it alone. Sable acknowledged that Siobhan was right; she hadn't won it alone, so she supposed she didn't have to carry it alone, either.   The two apologized for their actions and suspicions in the war, especially Sable, for being the instigator, and they hugged each other warmly before parting ways. The Owsla were reinforced by the Knightwings as the Mother of Bunnies headed back to the Warren.  

Tomesmas

A number of Tome Knights gathered at the Warren for the Tomesmas holiday, organized by Filkmaster Eli Kwake. They sang Tomesmas Songs together as they celebrated in traditional fashion. A general feeling of goodwill and optimism infected the Tome Knights as the year turned into 2022.