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Incident report 575-45A; Regarding the Massacre at Birchcove
On the night of the tenth of Eorzal 467 A.C., the following events transpired, in the order presented here as gathered by extensive investigation from myself, sixth circle Psychomancer Aedel Tarnem. Investigation was conducted on-site at the town of Birchcove, through interviews with the survivors and extensive scrying on the part of the author of this document. The likely procession of events is as follows (times are approximate):
-20:45 PM: inhabitants of the town begin hearing sounds of distant combat, rapidly growing in volume and clarity.
-20:55 PM: local plant-life grows supernaturally agitated. Local militia patrols report sighting two entities approaching the town from the woods to the south-west. Entities are reportedly fighting each other with great ferocity, approximately thirty to forty feet above the ground.
-20:56 PM: Militia patrol moves to intercept the entities. More militiamen retreat towards the town to arm themselves with ranged weapons.
-20:57 PM: Intercepting patrol is slain within seconds by the entities, who continue fighting each other during this time.
-20:57 PM: Melee-based militiamen who were aiming to arm themselves now begin to sound the alarm as they hurry to arm themselves. Militiamen from other posts around the town begin to converge towards the entities.
-20:58 PM: Property damage begins to occur at this point, as one of the entities throws the second one into and through the roof of a house. Said house then bursts into a great explosion of debris and large thorny vines of unknown origin. The occupants of the house are slain instantly, as are several bystanders, four militiamen, and eight of the twelve occupants of the three nearest houses when the debris and vines collapse their shelter.
-20:58 PM: Nine surviving militiamen surround the grounded entity within the leveled house and order it to stand down. Combat ensues as the second entity descends to continue the fight with the first. Both entities seem to ignore the surrounding men despite their attacks wounding several and killing two.
-20:59 PM: The entities return to the sky, seemingly unbound by gravity. Surviving militiamen begin targeting them with ranged attacks, to no avail. Civilians are ordered to flee.
-21:02 PM: The ongoing chaos attracts the attention of the members of the local mage’s guild. Fourth circle black mage Alden Driscus, fifth circle metamorphosist Br’klelt Snixden, and third circle white mage Edenia Valinte are dispatched to go help the local militia.
-21:05 PM: The three mages reach the entities, and engage them. Edenia Valinte provides aid to the wounded militiamen.
-21:07 PM: The entities, now facing opposition that they seemingly can ignore no longer, take a brief pause, exchange a few words (that no survivor could relay for this investigation), and begin focusing their aggression solely upon the militia and mages.
-21:10 PM: All three mages and ten more militiamen are slain by the entities. Local militia is routed and begins fleeing, only partially helping civilians doing the same.
-21:12 PM: The local chapter of the mage’s guild mobilizes all its surviving members (full list attached in supplementary documents folder) to assault the entities. All but one are slain. Sixth circle warp mage Eileen Dresmelch escapes with her life via teleportation. Those who attempt to flee by other means are pursued by the entities and slain. Fleeing militia is also similarly pursued and executed, as well as a few dozen fleeing civilians.
-21:45 PM: The entities, seemingly satisfied by the current lack of opposition, resume fighting each other.
-22:23 PM: The entities finally move out of the town during the course of their ongoing battle, whose collateral damage destroyed a further sixteen buildings and killed eleven more civilians still hiding within the town. The entities are not pursued, and move out of sight.
In total, this incident caused the deaths of 134 of Birchcove’s 356 occupants at the time (87 of which were assorted mage’s guild and town guard personnel), as well as the destruction of well over half the town’s structures (nearly half caused by the fighting itself, the rest due to fires caused by said fighting being left uncontrolled amid mass chaos and dis-organization.) The mage’s guildhall was razed to the ground, and a full report of the value of losses is also attached within the supplementary documents folder.
Testimony from surviving witnesses allowed the construction of a physical description of these entities, from which identities could be ascertained from existing guild records. Domæylion, Paragon of The Waxing Equinox, and Jækelantreyn, Paragon of The Waning Equinox. Two high-ranking greater spirits, associated with the organization and delegation of all duties pertaining to the seasons of fall and spring within the fae hierarchy.
Inquiry into fae matters with the help of sixth circle conjurer Plaet Hylsdyr and fifth circle warp mage Anneille Fhell revealed that both these entities have actually defected from their posts and abandoned their duties over five decades ago. Said inquiries eventually led to an interview with Chrahl’rayst, current Paragon of The Waning Equinox.
Transcript of interview between sixth circle Psychomancer Aedel Tarnem (AT) and Chrahl’rayst, Paragon of The Waning Equinox (C ):
(C ): Oh gods, even the mortals want to pester me about those two idiots now.
(AT): I’m sorry, what? What do you-
(C ): Let me guess, they blew up something important?
(AT): An entire town has been ravaged by their conflict, yes.
(C ): Hm, sounds about right.
(AT): Do you know why they are fighting so hard? Why do they hate each other so-
(C ): (laughs) You think they hate each other? I’m telling you, if one of them does end up dying, the other one will probably kill himself on the spot! They don’t hate each other anymore than the grass hates the rain.
(AT) Then why are they fighting? What is their conflict about?
(C ): It’s not “about” anything. I mean, certainly, at the start it might have just been a case of expectations, you know? He’s autumn, he’s spring, people expect some bit of …rivalry between them, you know?
(AT) I suppose so, I’m not too familiar with your side’s form of, um, politics.
(C ): Oh don’t worry, it went off the rails of any sort of decorum almost immediately. See, they started tame enough; the usual pranks, the verbal jabs. Standard stuff, you see. But then they kept escalating. The pranks got more elaborate, the arguments turned into hour-long screaming matches, and then… (long exhale)
(AT) Then what?
(C ): Then it came to blows. They started fighting for real. And apparently they loved it.
(AT) They loved fighting each other?
(C ): (sighs) Gods, they love it so much, it’s unbelievable. They fought once, they fought twice. They started fighting during all their free time, they started cutting corners in their jobs just to have more free time to fight, they started just dodging their work to fight more… Then they quit so they could fight all the time. If they could slow down time to fit more fighting hours in a day, they would!
(AT) They… They’re only fighting for fun?
(C ): (chuckles) Sure, “for fun.” Like an addict takes his drug of choice “for fun.”
(AT): This is madness! Has no one tried to stop them?
(C ): What do you think? Of course we tried! We tried talking to them, tried reasoning with them. We tried threats, we tried to stop them by force. It didn’t end well. As it turns out, the only thing they want to kill more than each other is “whoever wants to break up their little fight.”
(AT) But, there’s only two of them, how-
(C ): Yeah, only two of them, who’ve been fighting non-stop for fifty-seven years! It turns out you get really good at fighting people if it’s all you ever do!
(AT) Isn’t there anyone who can stop them, then?
(C ): The gods, maybe. Damina didn’t seem to care much the last time I brought it up to her. She says they’ll surely tire of this within the next century or so. Between you and me, I think F’lyr is pulling some strings to let them fight in peace. He’s probably hoping they’ll birth a war spirit or something.
(AT) So, what, that’s it? No one will do a thing to stop them?
(C ): Like I said, we tried. We tried a lot. It’s not working, it’s not worth it, and we’re washing our hands of the whole thing. Just… just stay away from them, it’ll be better for everyone.
(AT) This is unacceptable! They’re your responsibility!
(C ): Look, mortal, believe me; I would love nothing more than to stop them, if only to ruin their fun. But I can’t beat them myself, and no one else cares enough to try anymore.
(AT) People are dying to this pointless fight!
(C ): Do you know how many spirits die to their antics each day? Don’t play the victim card with me, little man. This talk is over.
(Avenues of communication were severed at that point.)
From the previous findings, the author of this report advocates for the following measures to be taken, in the hopes of lessening or avoiding future incidents of the sort witnessed at Birchcove:
-Updating and maintaining a better roster of Creatures of Importance, as well as devoting resources to keeping better tabs on the movements and circumstances of said creatures. The guild records on the two entities responsible for the massacre at Birchcove were apparently more than fifty years out of date. More accurate information would likely have saved many lives, as well as a great deal of time for this investigation.
-Specifically regarding the two entities in question, issuing a set of instructions for all members of the guild, stating that retreat should be the default response to their presence, unless three or more eighth circle (or higher) members on-site instruct otherwise. Guild personnel should always seek to avoid the entities, retreat from their presence, never engage the entities, and encourage all other civilian and non-guild personnel to do the same. If possible, helping civilians evacuate the area should be prioritized unless it forces guild personnel to come into conflict with the entities.
-Establishing a special task force in collaboration with various non-guild factions, to coordinate and devise a plan to safely disrupt, capture, incapacitate, or kill the entities. This task force should be kept separate and secret from the general guild personnel’s knowledge, so as to discourage vigilante and individual efforts to aid the task force. Such efforts would only aggravate the entities and hinder the efforts of the task force.
End of report.
-Aedel Tarnem, sixth circle psychomancer of the mage’s guild.
On the night of the tenth of Eorzal 467 A.C., the following events transpired, in the order presented here as gathered by extensive investigation from myself, sixth circle Psychomancer Aedel Tarnem. Investigation was conducted on-site at the town of Birchcove, through interviews with the survivors and extensive scrying on the part of the author of this document. The likely procession of events is as follows (times are approximate):
-20:45 PM: inhabitants of the town begin hearing sounds of distant combat, rapidly growing in volume and clarity.
-20:55 PM: local plant-life grows supernaturally agitated. Local militia patrols report sighting two entities approaching the town from the woods to the south-west. Entities are reportedly fighting each other with great ferocity, approximately thirty to forty feet above the ground.
-20:56 PM: Militia patrol moves to intercept the entities. More militiamen retreat towards the town to arm themselves with ranged weapons.
-20:57 PM: Intercepting patrol is slain within seconds by the entities, who continue fighting each other during this time.
-20:57 PM: Melee-based militiamen who were aiming to arm themselves now begin to sound the alarm as they hurry to arm themselves. Militiamen from other posts around the town begin to converge towards the entities.
-20:58 PM: Property damage begins to occur at this point, as one of the entities throws the second one into and through the roof of a house. Said house then bursts into a great explosion of debris and large thorny vines of unknown origin. The occupants of the house are slain instantly, as are several bystanders, four militiamen, and eight of the twelve occupants of the three nearest houses when the debris and vines collapse their shelter.
-20:58 PM: Nine surviving militiamen surround the grounded entity within the leveled house and order it to stand down. Combat ensues as the second entity descends to continue the fight with the first. Both entities seem to ignore the surrounding men despite their attacks wounding several and killing two.
-20:59 PM: The entities return to the sky, seemingly unbound by gravity. Surviving militiamen begin targeting them with ranged attacks, to no avail. Civilians are ordered to flee.
-21:02 PM: The ongoing chaos attracts the attention of the members of the local mage’s guild. Fourth circle black mage Alden Driscus, fifth circle metamorphosist Br’klelt Snixden, and third circle white mage Edenia Valinte are dispatched to go help the local militia.
-21:05 PM: The three mages reach the entities, and engage them. Edenia Valinte provides aid to the wounded militiamen.
-21:07 PM: The entities, now facing opposition that they seemingly can ignore no longer, take a brief pause, exchange a few words (that no survivor could relay for this investigation), and begin focusing their aggression solely upon the militia and mages.
-21:10 PM: All three mages and ten more militiamen are slain by the entities. Local militia is routed and begins fleeing, only partially helping civilians doing the same.
-21:12 PM: The local chapter of the mage’s guild mobilizes all its surviving members (full list attached in supplementary documents folder) to assault the entities. All but one are slain. Sixth circle warp mage Eileen Dresmelch escapes with her life via teleportation. Those who attempt to flee by other means are pursued by the entities and slain. Fleeing militia is also similarly pursued and executed, as well as a few dozen fleeing civilians.
-21:45 PM: The entities, seemingly satisfied by the current lack of opposition, resume fighting each other.
-22:23 PM: The entities finally move out of the town during the course of their ongoing battle, whose collateral damage destroyed a further sixteen buildings and killed eleven more civilians still hiding within the town. The entities are not pursued, and move out of sight.
In total, this incident caused the deaths of 134 of Birchcove’s 356 occupants at the time (87 of which were assorted mage’s guild and town guard personnel), as well as the destruction of well over half the town’s structures (nearly half caused by the fighting itself, the rest due to fires caused by said fighting being left uncontrolled amid mass chaos and dis-organization.) The mage’s guildhall was razed to the ground, and a full report of the value of losses is also attached within the supplementary documents folder.
Testimony from surviving witnesses allowed the construction of a physical description of these entities, from which identities could be ascertained from existing guild records. Domæylion, Paragon of The Waxing Equinox, and Jækelantreyn, Paragon of The Waning Equinox. Two high-ranking greater spirits, associated with the organization and delegation of all duties pertaining to the seasons of fall and spring within the fae hierarchy.
Inquiry into fae matters with the help of sixth circle conjurer Plaet Hylsdyr and fifth circle warp mage Anneille Fhell revealed that both these entities have actually defected from their posts and abandoned their duties over five decades ago. Said inquiries eventually led to an interview with Chrahl’rayst, current Paragon of The Waning Equinox.
Transcript of interview between sixth circle Psychomancer Aedel Tarnem (AT) and Chrahl’rayst, Paragon of The Waning Equinox (C ):
(C ): Oh gods, even the mortals want to pester me about those two idiots now.
(AT): I’m sorry, what? What do you-
(C ): Let me guess, they blew up something important?
(AT): An entire town has been ravaged by their conflict, yes.
(C ): Hm, sounds about right.
(AT): Do you know why they are fighting so hard? Why do they hate each other so-
(C ): (laughs) You think they hate each other? I’m telling you, if one of them does end up dying, the other one will probably kill himself on the spot! They don’t hate each other anymore than the grass hates the rain.
(AT) Then why are they fighting? What is their conflict about?
(C ): It’s not “about” anything. I mean, certainly, at the start it might have just been a case of expectations, you know? He’s autumn, he’s spring, people expect some bit of …rivalry between them, you know?
(AT) I suppose so, I’m not too familiar with your side’s form of, um, politics.
(C ): Oh don’t worry, it went off the rails of any sort of decorum almost immediately. See, they started tame enough; the usual pranks, the verbal jabs. Standard stuff, you see. But then they kept escalating. The pranks got more elaborate, the arguments turned into hour-long screaming matches, and then… (long exhale)
(AT) Then what?
(C ): Then it came to blows. They started fighting for real. And apparently they loved it.
(AT) They loved fighting each other?
(C ): (sighs) Gods, they love it so much, it’s unbelievable. They fought once, they fought twice. They started fighting during all their free time, they started cutting corners in their jobs just to have more free time to fight, they started just dodging their work to fight more… Then they quit so they could fight all the time. If they could slow down time to fit more fighting hours in a day, they would!
(AT) They… They’re only fighting for fun?
(C ): (chuckles) Sure, “for fun.” Like an addict takes his drug of choice “for fun.”
(AT): This is madness! Has no one tried to stop them?
(C ): What do you think? Of course we tried! We tried talking to them, tried reasoning with them. We tried threats, we tried to stop them by force. It didn’t end well. As it turns out, the only thing they want to kill more than each other is “whoever wants to break up their little fight.”
(AT) But, there’s only two of them, how-
(C ): Yeah, only two of them, who’ve been fighting non-stop for fifty-seven years! It turns out you get really good at fighting people if it’s all you ever do!
(AT) Isn’t there anyone who can stop them, then?
(C ): The gods, maybe. Damina didn’t seem to care much the last time I brought it up to her. She says they’ll surely tire of this within the next century or so. Between you and me, I think F’lyr is pulling some strings to let them fight in peace. He’s probably hoping they’ll birth a war spirit or something.
(AT) So, what, that’s it? No one will do a thing to stop them?
(C ): Like I said, we tried. We tried a lot. It’s not working, it’s not worth it, and we’re washing our hands of the whole thing. Just… just stay away from them, it’ll be better for everyone.
(AT) This is unacceptable! They’re your responsibility!
(C ): Look, mortal, believe me; I would love nothing more than to stop them, if only to ruin their fun. But I can’t beat them myself, and no one else cares enough to try anymore.
(AT) People are dying to this pointless fight!
(C ): Do you know how many spirits die to their antics each day? Don’t play the victim card with me, little man. This talk is over.
(Avenues of communication were severed at that point.)
From the previous findings, the author of this report advocates for the following measures to be taken, in the hopes of lessening or avoiding future incidents of the sort witnessed at Birchcove:
-Updating and maintaining a better roster of Creatures of Importance, as well as devoting resources to keeping better tabs on the movements and circumstances of said creatures. The guild records on the two entities responsible for the massacre at Birchcove were apparently more than fifty years out of date. More accurate information would likely have saved many lives, as well as a great deal of time for this investigation.
-Specifically regarding the two entities in question, issuing a set of instructions for all members of the guild, stating that retreat should be the default response to their presence, unless three or more eighth circle (or higher) members on-site instruct otherwise. Guild personnel should always seek to avoid the entities, retreat from their presence, never engage the entities, and encourage all other civilian and non-guild personnel to do the same. If possible, helping civilians evacuate the area should be prioritized unless it forces guild personnel to come into conflict with the entities.
-Establishing a special task force in collaboration with various non-guild factions, to coordinate and devise a plan to safely disrupt, capture, incapacitate, or kill the entities. This task force should be kept separate and secret from the general guild personnel’s knowledge, so as to discourage vigilante and individual efforts to aid the task force. Such efforts would only aggravate the entities and hinder the efforts of the task force.
End of report.
-Aedel Tarnem, sixth circle psychomancer of the mage’s guild.
Category All / All
Species Unspecified / Any
Size 1280 x 931px
File Size 243.3 kB
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