Ashes of Eternity: Session 5 – Shadows of Truth, Part 1

Session Date: May 11, 2025
Location: Twilight Fens

Session Recording

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Summary

Following a week of travel through forested wilderness, the party draws near the Twilight Fens, guided by the compass gifted by Zarielus. Spirits are unexpectedly light as they make camp—Kazumi and Mordekai return from a nearby lake soaked and bickering playfully, suggesting a shift in their dynamic. Their flirtatious banter draws teasing from Haruki and the others, but the group shares in the moment, laughing and joking under starlight. For the first time in a long while, there is peace.

That calm is broken by the arrival of Cassidion, who appears unannounced at the camp’s edge. His presence, once divine and reassuring, now carries a colder undertone. He warns the group that their path through the Twilight Fens will test them—each of them will be asked to sacrifice something, and not all will be ready for the cost. Haruki and Enialis are wary, while Mordekai remains detached. Skoll offers a grudging truce, and Cassidion takes the first watch, standing silent vigil with his greatsword planted in the ground.

The next morning, the group breaks camp and enters the Twilight Fens—a strange, dreamlike bog where neither day nor night exists. The air is thick with mist, and the environment warps around them. Their shadows vanish, and before long, each party member becomes isolated, trapped in their own mental confrontation. From the fog, manifestations of their inner doubts emerge—twisted mirror images that speak not with fury, but with painful, intimate knowledge.

Key Events

Calm Before the Storm

• The session opens lightheartedly, with the party sharing laughs and warmth. Kazumi falls into a lake (thanks to Mordekai), returning soaked but unbothered—leading to playful speculation about their relationship.
• Around the campfire, characters reflect on recent events, and subtle character growth is shown in Skoll, Haruki, and Enialis.
• Cassidion reappears unexpectedly and offers to stand watch, warning the group that they will soon face sacrifices in the Twilight Fens

The Twilight Fens and the Trial of Shadows

• The party enters the Twilight Fens, a land veiled in mist and silence. Their shadows vanish, and each member is isolated, forced to confront a manifestation of their inner fears and regrets.
• These shadow counterparts are deeply personal illusions—tailored to expose the character’s doubts, pain, and unresolved trauma:
  • Mordekai is accused of hiding behind the title “Damned,” fearing redemption more than damnation.
  • Enialis is mocked as a pawn, unloved and discarded, clinging to Kazumi for purpose.
  • Skoll is called a killer in denial, using duty to mask his enjoyment of violence.
  • Haruki is shown a vision of Kazumi broken, and is accused of weakness—of letting love make him soft.
  • Each PC has the opportunity to fight or confront their illusion, with some recognizing it as false and dispersing it through insight and will.

Kazumi’s Shadow: The Saint of Loneliness

• The party eventually reaches Kazumi, who faces her own shadow, a dark reflection claiming she is a hollow puppet, unloved and abandoned by Sune, her companions, and her own mother.
• The shadow declares her the “Saint of Loneliness,” not love.
• Kazumi fights back with radiant power, invoking divine intervention from Sune. The goddess responds, empowering the party and igniting a boss-level battle against Shadow-Kazumi.

Boss Battle: Shadow-Kazumi

• The shadow uses psychological warfare and radiant immunity to exploit the party’s weaknesses.
• Cassidion warns the group that Kazumi’s time is short, prompting urgency.
• Each party member contributes in the fight—Skoll is gravely injured, Enialis provides healing, and Haruki refuses to let Kazumi fight alone.
• Kazumi ultimately ends the battle not with a final strike—but by embracing her shadow and expressing self-love and sorrow, causing it to dissipate.

Aftermath

• With the shadow dispersed, Kazumi collapses in tears. Haruki embraces her in silence, and the group regathers around her.
• The emotional toll of the trial weighs on everyone, marking a somber and introspective close to Part 1 of Act I’s finale.

NPC Interactions

• The various shadows

Loot and Rewards

None

Character Development

Haruki

• Haruki’s love for Kazumi is tested through a cruel illusion showing her broken and abandoned.
• The shadow accuses him of weakness, of letting love dull his edge—but Haruki refuses to surrender his convictions.
• Though wounded, he stands defiant, declaring that his strength comes from love, not despite it.
• His fury is no longer uncontrolled—he channels it with purpose, proving his growth from warrior to protector.

Enialis

• Enialis is haunted by the idea that he is nothing more than a tool—unloved, abandoned, and disposable.
• The shadow taunts his need for approval and claims Kazumi sees him only as a servant.
• Though briefly blinded, Enialis regains his clarity and rejects the voice of worthlessness, asserting his faith and belief in his own value.
• His resistance shows a deepening emotional resilience and self-awareness.

Skoll

• Skoll’s trial is perhaps the most brutally introspective—his shadow accuses him of being a killer who hides behind noble causes.
• He lays down his weapons and asks, “What is a killer without a blade?”—a moment of rare vulnerability.
• Ultimately, he declares that he is more than a weapon, that his friends give his life meaning.
• Walking through the illusion with defiant honesty, Skoll affirms that he is not just surviving—he is choosing to live.

Mordekai

• Mordekai’s shadow claims he fears redemption more than damnation, accusing him of using pacts and pain as armor.
• But instead of fighting back, Mordekai offers himself up, declaring that he believes in the people around him—enough to risk his damnation.
• He refuses to kneel again before darkness, showing that his path to redemption is no longer a theory—it’s a choice in motion.
• His confrontation ends not in defiance, but in quiet conviction.

Kazumi

• While the pain remains, so too does her hope—and her willingness to keep loving, even when it hurts.
• Kazumi’s confrontation with her shadow is devastating. It calls her the “Saint of Loneliness,” claiming she’s nothing more than a hollow performance of love.
• For the first time, she admits her sorrow—her fear of abandonment, of never being enough, of being unloved.
• But she doesn’t deny these feelings. Instead, she embraces her shadow, offering love and compassion to the broken parts of herself.
• Her victory isn’t through power, but through self-acceptance—a profound act of inner healing.

Mysteries and Clues

Highlight any unresolved questions or clues that have appeared, suggesting potential future adventures or challenges.

Plans and Predictions

Plans

• Continue deeper into the Twilight Fens: Now that the Trial of Shadows is complete, the party will continue toward the location of the Relic of Dusk, guided by Cassidion and the celestial compass.
• Reassess Cassidion’s trustworthiness: With each encounter, Cassidion grows more mysterious. His warning about sacrifice and his emotional reaction to the group hint at deeper motivations. The party may begin watching him more closely.

Predictions

• The Relic of Dusk will demand a real sacrifice: The shadow trial may have been a prelude. The actual retrieval of the relic could require the party to give up something permanent or deeply personal.
• Cassidion may fracture from the party: His growing tension with Kazumi, and his visible envy and isolation, suggest that his role as guide may shift—potentially becoming adversarial.
• Mordekai’s pact will resurface violently: With his shadow taunting him about damnation, and his book still bound to his soul, it’s likely his pact will manifest in a catastrophic or costly way.
• The party’s unity will be tested again soon: Though they found strength in each other here, lingering doubts, emotional fatigue, and the looming weight of their mission suggest another rift or emotional turning point is near.

Quotes of the Session

“I love you. I love me. And I’m sorry. It hurts a lot.”

—Kazumi to her shadow, offering self-love and forgiveness to the darkest part of herself

“You want to hurt me? Hurt me physically. But you will never stop me. Nor will you stop Kazumi.”

—Haruki to his shadow, standing tall against the vision of failure and fear

“What is a killer without a weapon?”
“I am more than a weapon. I am a friend.”

—Skoll to his shadow, a rare confession from the party’s stoic blade

“I refuse to kneel before this kind of darkness again.”
“If I fall, they will catch me. That’s my conviction.”

—Mordekai (arms outstretched to his shadow), a declaration of faith in others, and in the slimmest hope

“I don’t believe that for one second.”

—Enialis to his shadow, rejecting the idea that he is nothing more than a discarded tool.

“You call yourself the Seraph of Love? No—you are the Saint of Loneliness.”

—Shadow-Kazumi to the real Kazumi, the cruelest truth Kazumi feared laid bare

“If you are me, then I am you. And I understand. But we don’t need to fight anymore.”

—Kazumi to her shadow, refusing violence and offering grace instead

Additional Notes

none