A Look Into the Sol, aka A Look Beyond the Veil, part 3 of 3

The final part of the trilogy focuses on a different character with Veil playing a major background role. This concludes the story.


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Veil’s final attack on the Traveler had her and a few companions penetrating through several worlds, one of which was a world called Anvora in a dimension called Gheamatara. Her Warforged enemy-turned-ally, Thirteen, fell out of the sky towards the unfamiliar world below.

In this world, a young Scourge Aasimar monk called Sol was searching for her parents. Almost immediately after arrival, she had met two women wise in the way of the world: Saida and Misty.

Saida was a tall Elven woman who wanted to be an adventurer, but she had only been a fisherman before she met Sol. Something about Sol drew Sadia to her, and they started off on Sol’s journey together. But they were attacked by a bear while on an island in the lake near the city, and Saida was hurt badly, so they went to see the only healer in the town: Misty, the cleric of the goddess Ashlynn. Ashlynn was the Goddess of Hedonism, who taught that being one’s true self and finding their inner happiness would bring healing to the body and the soul. But her followers had twisted her teachings over the centuries, perverting them and turning the church of Ashlynn into nothing more than a sex cult. Misty, who was in line to be the next High Priest of the faith, was also a nudist, which struck Sol very strangely. Initially, Sol was very put off by Misty’s behavior, repeatedly asking her to wear clothes.

Saida and Misty both saw how awkward and naive Sol was and took it upon themselves to teach her about the ways of the world and society. I think a bit of backstory needs to be established before proceeding.

Sol had lived her whole life in Celestia as an Aasimar, not knowing who her parents were. She had been adopted by an air genasi and raised in the carefree confines of Celestia. Her adopted mother was the biological mother of Veil and Shade, who had one day decided to leave D&D heaven and meet her grown up daughters. Zaphkiel, lord of Celestia, banished her from the realm and sent her off with her mother. She had turned into a Scourge Aasimar. She had one chat with Veil and Shade, hated what they did and stood for, and decided to find her adopted parents and uncover who she really was, leading her to Anvora. Now back to the story.

Sol traveled with Saida and Misty, both of whom found her endearing and promised to help her find her parents. She found a baby white wolf which she adopted and called Powder. Sol had no idea of who her parents were or where to find them, but Misty suggested they head to the temple of Ashlynn in the next town to find some answers. There, Sol was exposed to all manner of nudity and sexual acts, things she was not prepared for nor truly understood. Not having any idea of what was happening, she believed they were cursed and insisted that she should break Misty’s curse, until Misty convinced her there is no curse by going out and buying herself new clothes to wear specifically to respect Sol’s wishes. She then explains that Ashlynn is the goddess of hedonism and lust, only enabling those who pursue it and not forcing it on anyone.

They find a clue on where to look for information, and leave the city after some in-character drama that almost breaks the party apart.

After Sol snuck into some ruins in the next city they visit, she was bombarded with strange energy that almost killed her and her entire party when they tried to save her. Sol explained that they looked like the architecture of Celestia and she wanted to investigate. She spent the next few days blaming herself for their suffering as they slowly recovered, and unable to handle the emotional distress almost ran away. Once recovered, they meet a council of powerful city members. A healer called Marianne joins the party as they spend a few days in town and get to know one another. During this time, Sol realizes she has fallen in love with Misty, and Marianne and Saida start to become close.

Sol eventually met a librarian who helped her research the events of her year of birth. She is told about a disease called Ghri Thulu that spread out of nowhere and started killing newborns, with only one surviving baby on record. Locating the origin of that disease, Sol and the rest of the party, including Marianne, travel there.

Upon arrival, they saw a congregation with a metal man unlike anything that existed in Anvora standing in the middle of it. Beside him was Jinx, an aspect of Veil representing chaos and mischief. She was mistaken for Ashlynn, and she took great advantage of that by turning one of her “new devoted” into a changeling, introducing the race into the world. Sol was distraught to see her there. She explained to Misty and the others who Jinx and Veil are, and how she disliked the violence that they’re quite eager to jump into. Thirteen, seeing Sol, decided to accompany her in spite of her concerns. A blacksmith called Leslie accompanied Thirteen.

Sol then met an ancient fairy called Rowena Rainbowspirit who told her that “Ghri Thulu” meant “Enlightened One” in an ancient language, and arranged for them to meet in an ancient site. Teleporting there, Rowena provided Sol with a crystal which melted into her hand as soon as she touched it, empowering her and unlocking a door that had been closed for millennia. Inside, they found mounds of dust in a very technologically advanced city with energy weapons in the armory and full body armor. Under Rowena’s guidance, she realized that she can manipulate reality with a thought. She focused on Powder becoming smarter, which gave her above average human intelligence. She also discovered out that she can read the ancient language all over the city, and that it belonged to a race from another world that called themselves the Kreeadon. The Kreeadon was a race of scientists whose technology had uplifted them to the level of overgod in this plane of existence, and that the gods are simply Kreeadon. She also discovered that they toyed with mortal species for millennia until a small group of them chose to wipe out their kin to protect the rest of Anvora from their “experiments”.

To Misty’s distress, Sol called on her goddess Ashlynn to show up, and Ashlynn did. She was slow to trust Sol, calling her a failed experiment to bring back the Kreeadon after she and her allies sacrificed their entire race to end their reign. Sol invited her to look into her own mind, which showed Ashlynn that Sol was pure and held no secrets. She tells Sol that the parents she was searching for were hoping to resurrect the almost dead race and control the world, reshaping it to their will. She also married Sol and Misty on the spot before she left.

Leaving the ancient city, Sol’s godlike powers dissipated within seconds. She shared everything she learned with the party. As a side quest, Sol was fighting in a boxing championship in every city she traveled to and did the same here. She encountered a strange woman who knocked out her opponent without lifting a hand or moving, and ran after her to confront her about cheating in a boxing match.

The mysterious woman explained that she had been cursed and didn’t remember much other than waking up two years ago. Sol and Misty took her to the local temple of Ashlynn where the curse had been lifted. The woman remembered her name was Katherine and that she had been given a job to go to a site where she and her friends got disintegrated. She started to mourn them and Sol decided she would use her powers for good and try to bring them back. The party went back with Katherine to the nearby ruins where Sol’s powers charged up. She left Powder in the ruins and teleported the rest of the party to Katherine’s incident location.

Meanwhile, Ashlynn visited Veil’s realm. Veil welcomed her as a fellow goddess and offered to have her explore the realm and meet the aspects, admitting she’s a guest in Ashlynn’s home universe and wanting to form good relations.

Ashlynn first encountered Shade, Veil’s older sister now reduced to an aspect. She warned Ashlynn that Veil plans to understand and overthrow the Kreeadon, standing before them as they are destroyed. She also pointed out that she’s the strategic genius and that her escape plans would be hindered if Veil got more powerful. Ashlynn shot back that she would listen if Shade managed to overthrow Veil.

She then met Radiance, the greatest ideal of good, at the top of a mountain where she explained the aspects and how each one represented one aspect. After that, Luna, the aspect of innocence and joy, offered her an apple pie. Then Zoe, the inventor, pleaded her for some of her technological knowledge which she gladly shared.

She then encountered Jinx, the mischievous aspect, in her own island of madness. Jinx openly admitted impersonating Ashlynn, and when threatened told Ashlynn to do her worst. Impressed and thrilled to meet someone unfazed by her, she found herself strangely drawn to Jinx, and promised to return to visit her later. Jinx explained that Shade created her, and that she sided with Veil against her creator after their attempt to possess her. She explained that she was the only aspect that chose to be an aspect, and that she is the anomaly.

Jinx

Moving forth to a gloomy forest by the beach, Ashlynn feels the sadness of Valerie Renoux, the aspect of sadness and loss, weigh over her and being back terrible memories. Valerie explained that she was the first aspect, made to honor a lost friend and made obsolete when the friend got resurrected. Valerie had embraced the gloom and sorrow of her little island, but Ashlynn showed her a vision of a brighter future to give her hope. After that, she met the rage fueled Helena who explained that she grew stronger with every fight, and that she would be more than willing to fight Ashlynn. In response, Ashlynn gives her a mighty weapon capable of crushing worlds.

Helena

Ashlynn then met up with Veil in an empty island in her realm, where Veil asked if she would help create the final, perfect aspect. So Ashlynn did. The island started to transform, becoming a technologically advanced domain with physics defying structures as far up as the eye can see. A new aspect landed before them, both an aspect and a Kreeadon, and introduced herself as Nova. She thanked them for bringing her into existence, and promises to look after the interests of both. She then asked if she could help Ashlynn restore herself to what she had been before, and Ashlynn agreed. Ashlynn explained that she had been immortal, emotionally dampened and infertile for so long due to side effects from the crystal, and that previous attempts to remove the crystals after the side effects were discovered ended in the deaths of everyone who attempted it. After some study, they realized that the crystal in the back of her neck was the catalyst to unlock her powers, but was now a parasite feeding on her to sustain itself. They managed to extract it, restoring Ashlynn’s emotions and fertility without sacrificing her powers.

Back in Anvora, Sol arrived at the location of Katherine’s tragedy. They came to the ruins where Katherine’s friends had been slain, and found a small building which housed a special portal. When Sol touched the keypad next to the door of the building, she remembered the combination through a vision of someone else’s memories, and opened it. Going through the portal, they meet three Kreeadon who attempted to stop them before realizing that Sol spoke their ancient tongue. They welcomed her and her party to the MASSEON, the supercomputer responsible for maintaining the world of Anvora. They told her that without their constant maintenance, the world would start to fall apart into the dust it was created from quickly. After some talk, they realized that the man who brought her into existence was the one behind her being here. As realization hits, a small army charged in through the portal.

Thirteen, now powered up by Kreeadon energy, used his trusty fire and ice greatswords to make short work of everyone stepping through the portal while the rest of the party waited for the BBEG to show up. And he did, stopping Thirteen’s sword and telling him “You’ll have to do better than that, rustbucket.” He then pushed him away.

He tried to persuade Sol to join him, promising to undo all the mistakes the Kreeadon did with her by his side. She almost agreed until he insulted Misty, pushing Sol away and starting an epic fight where everybody wailed down on him. After a long, grueling battle, Sol knocked him off his feet and Thirteen ran a greatsword through his chest, telling him “You’ll have to do better than that, fleshbag.”

Meanwhile, Veil watched Ashlynn wake up and told her the experiment was successful, and that she’s free. They realized there’s an anomaly in the MASSEON center, and teleport to it along with Shade.

Sol then figured out that the head Kreeadon officer was her “mother” who provided the material for the experiment and had given Dimitrius access to the Kreeadon laboratory to conduct his experiments. Sol confronts her, and she started to insult Sol, calling her a child and calling her mother a bitch just as Veil and Shade arrive to hear the end of her monologue.

Veil and Shade turned to face the head Kreeadon, and Sol stepped forward to take her place beside them. The sisters were ready to fight an overgod Kreeadon when Ashlynn jumped her and ripped the crystal out of her neck, forcing her to age rapidly and turn to dust.

Veil invited everyone to her realm, where she offered the treatment used on Ashlynn to the rest of the Kreeadon. Many of them, including Ashlynn, decided to settle down in the realm and give up the burden of power. Veil happily accepted, taking the powers willingly surrendered into herself.

Saida, Marianne and Katherine took residence in the realm, becoming permanent immortal residents. Katherine, whom it turned out was a secret experiment made after Sol’s conception, became the new mother of the Kreeadon race in Veil’s realm.

Leslie decided to help Thirteen, who discovered he hadn’t always been a Warforged, with his retribution against the madman who had transformed him. They returned to Renoux and hunted the culprit down, brutally finishing him before returning to Anvora where Thirteen( whose real name was Bjorn) was given a human body to live the rest of his days with his wife Leslie and their children, rejecting the offers of immortality that Veil and the Kreeadon offered. A joint funeral was held both in Anvora and in Veil’s realm.

Thirteen and Leslie on Valerie's Beach

Powder made her way to the perch on top of Veil’s tower where Veil’s phoenix Wick observed the realm. They became close friends and went on hunting trips together.

Sol and Misty were surprised when Zaphkiel visited Veil’s realm to invite them back into Celestia, explaining that he had cast her out when her adopted mother left because she was the only thing hiding Sol’s existence from the only man whose existence threatened Celestia and all of existence, through the use of her legendary psychic powers. Now that he had been defeated, Celestia was open for both of them. They went there for a while, then returned to Veil’s realm and started a family there. They lived on happily together in their own private section of the realm. The naive girl from D&D heaven, now happy and surrounded by friends and family.

Veil, watching her twins grow up, raised them to be whole and not split into aspects like she had. She also visited the Kreeadon’s home planet, revealing herself to them with a solution to their eternal curse. They accepted in droves, and many of them chose to give up their powers and live relatively normal lives, inadvertently giving their powers to Veil and elevating her further.

The little, lonely changeling girl from Renoux who saw a little noble girl and decided to play, with a nervous smile on her face as she took her hand and followed.

Sol, Veil and Shade

The End


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