#marked campaign

[zephia-squad]

End of an Eon

This should be easier, Aren thinks, looking over the gladiators. I've grown up around this.

The Berserker stands stock still in the cool evening, his body illuminated by firelight. The Unlucky stands across from him, quivering in her boots. They're waiting on her now, they all are.

Thousands of people in the Coliseum, all baying for blood. Aren claps once, and the fight begins.

Immediately, the Unlucky is overwhelmed. Aren is sitting at the bottom of the Coliseum, near the battle itself. But in her eyes, it's less of a battle and more of a bloodbath.

She's taken back to the Ball in her mind's eye. Blood spills across the sand, marking it forever. At least until the cleanup crew hides it.

Aren imagines Kai or Elin or Rafaele in the Unlucky's place, slain for a crime as simple as theft.

Oh, gods. Raf.

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[zephia-squad]

thief bard hero prince | princess wanderer fighter gladiator

or, a roleswap au

[zephia-squad]

Zephia Squad: Marked - Episode 1: Kudos To Ya

First episode of the Marked Campaign, provided by the Zephia Squad, joined by Aster, our guest.

The first episode is out!

[zephia-squad]

The second episode is out now!

[zephia-squad]

Next week or so, we will be releasing the very first podcast session of our campaign! In the meantime, check out the blog if you haven’t already and reread the recaps. Stay tuned, dudes.

[zephia-squad]

Written recaps will pause for the now. Episode 2, On The Road, should be released Monday, March 25, at around 12 pm CT.

Thank you.

[zephia-squad]

From the Mouths of Babes

Trident grins, bouncing on the balls of his feet. There is a circus in town and it's high time for a good bit of pickpocketing.

He slips through the crowd like a minnow through water, smirk wide across his face. He passes a few begging urchins - young enough to be unable to steal properly. The Tayek pauses, hovering over them for a brief moment. They stare up at him with wide, beseeching eyes.

"Soreidh," one whispers in Liricean, a language Trident doesn't know much of. "Deibh'ua di fhoid!"

Trident shrugs in a kind of helpless way then reconsiders. He ends up handing them a few coppers. It would be able to get them by for a few days at most. The grins on their faces are wide and earnest. One grabs at his mikeh-bulk, tugging at it, babbling off in rapid-fire broken Common.

He chuckles and peels their fingers off of his clothes, patting their heads. "Now, kids, patience," he tells them. He sees how bony they are and takes pity on them. "Do you have any family? Parents?" The two give him a blank look. He frowns, trying to remember what little words he does know. "Lodeil? Thobh?"

The two shake their heads in unison. It's honestly a little creepy.

Trident sighs. "Alright. Why don't you come with me?" He offers kindly. The younger one tilts their head and frowns. "Come with me?" He repeats, gesturing to himself. "I'm Trident."

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[zephia-squad]

Chasm

This is it, Grae thinks, this is how I die.

Her cell is dark and dank, wet and muddy. There is a stain somewhere on the far wall. Blood, probably. Grae has seen enough of it to make a good guess.

She's surprisingly uninjured and well-treated, aside from a few bruises and her tusk getting knocked out. They're torturing someone nearby, though, from the screams and other sounds.

Grae looks up as the cell door creaks open. She has a shiv, made from her lost tusk. One of them, a cult member of some kind, has entered the cell, with what appears to be manacles.

Grae stiffens and unfurls, striking like a snake. She sinks the tusk into his hand, making him cry out in pain and surprise.

He throws her back with an excess amount of Spark, slamming her head into the wall. Her vision swims.

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