I believe we would all benefit greatly from consolidating our notes of the events in the memory palace. Please pin a copy of whatever write-ups you may have or can make, below this notice.
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@Tym are you able to provide a transcript of your notes on the Winter Raven?
Thank you for organizing this, Countess. Iâm very curious to hear what the other groups saw. From what Iâve heard so far, the Winter changelingâs story casts things in a different light from the others.
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Yes! Hereâs one for anyone who wanted to look it over, revised with less⌠shaky hands. I think there was some difficultly reading my initial writing.
[ Memory I:
Man of the Imperial Majestyâs Inquisition barges in abruptly, speaking to someone about the âExpeditionâ (presumably the first to the Port)
He was selected to âroot outâ âThe Envoy, The Commander, The Wizard.â
According to Julien he is âSevenâ, the winter Changeling, while still human.
Memory II:
Same man as before, coughing up an excruciating amount of blood.
âTake me, all the rest are deadâ â Make a deal.â
âHe promised he wouldnât kill us.â â[We] Never had a choiceâ
The Emperor sent himâ the âEternal Warââ someone or thing killed everyone he came with.
Asked to âFind the truth Forever.â
Thinks something- perhaps this âterrible warâ- will happen again.
Memory III:
Same single man speaking as before.
âWe donât understand your offer- our memories are all we have left.â
âWe are a creature of Secrets. We will not give up or pass on who we areâ
âWe will not remember after we become what we will become- you will record it
All that came before, the inquisition; we will forget, and you can remember.â ]
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I have additional information from Winter. Someone dropped their notes on the way out. The writer clearly didnât record exact words or take measurements, so theyâre of no use to me.
Context for Winter Memories
Memory 1
He was a very haughty individual, considered himself too important to be interrupted, until he realized who he was being interrupted by. Judging by his response, he was nearly the top of the food chain, and the interloper must have been akin to the emperor, if not the emperor himself. The Imperial High Inquisitor did not want to go on the expedition, was not planning on it or prepared for it. Tried to turn down the position, but eventually relented as it was clear he had no choice in the matter. He was sent to watch the others who had already been chosen: as noted, the Envoy, the Commander, and the Wizard.
Memory II:
The High Inquisitor is coughing up blood. He is clearly in a bad spot, having his health taken from him, speaking from a position of no power. He is very upset and all of his remarks are scathing. Whoever heâs speaking too is clearly at fault for his health, and is trying to coerce him. Said something like âSo what, I can die coughing out my insides, or join you?â and âDid you give the others the same choice, or did you blackmail them?â and I think something about dying on this stupid island in the North. He is reminded that it is his job to find the Truth, and he canât die while the others continue, his job isnât done. He relents and drinks an proffered elixer.
Memory III:
This time, the inquisitor has no passion or emotion in his voice. Though he is clearly speaking opposed to someone, the haughtiness and revulsion is gone. He is being asked to give up his memories, and does not like the idea, suggesting that his memories are all that remain to tie him to humanity, and that he will be less useful without them. He is informed that his memories are doomed to fade, after his acceptance of the last elixer, so he will lose them either way. At least if he takes the new offer, his memories will be lost to him, but not to history.
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Apologies for the late response, my notes needed to be revised for a wider audience.
An account of the Memory Palace
We received a briefing on what we would face inside the structure in terms of opposition from guard automatons and a brief note about the elixirs that should or should not be consumed (nb. those with four properties were correct, and those with three properties were âearlier technologyâ per our guide). I will not recount the physical struggles that we were met with, as most of the town had also faced similar opposition.
Memory I:
A young woman appeared to us in a vision of the memory. She was clearly speaking with another party that was unknown to us, but appears to have been part of the Mnemocyne. They seemed to introduce themselves and explained they stored memories, which the young woman was confused about. They offered her some kind of position and she accepted.
Memory II:
The same woman appeared to us as had before. In this memory, the woman had been working with the Mnemocyne for a few years and they expressed a desire for her to become the/an Archivist. There was a reluctance in her voice as she only had a few years experience, but it seems that the other party expressed an opinion that shined new light on it, perhaps one of urgency. I believe the phrase used was âOh, I didnât think about it like that.â
She asked where she would be sent to and expressed some measure of shock that it was quote âTHAT island, thatâs so far north!â My assumption being that the island was referring to our own and where she would be working is the very place we experienced the memory.
Memory III:
In the final memory, the same woman appeared - though older, frail and sickly. She had a heavy cough and perhaps was coughing up blood. She expressed grave concern that she was dying and that she was the last Archivist. She seemed to be of the opinion that there was some fault due to herself for this state, but there was no elaboration. The memory concluded with the woman expressing concern over the fact that whatever history record was kept will be lost and not remembered after her passing.
She appeared to be having a conversation with another party in this memory as well and it wasnât some form of journal via the memory elixir.
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My apologies similarly for the delay, Iâve been held up with other work. These notes are of the first group who entered the Mind Palace. I have brief notes on the rest of the groups if firsthand ones canât be acquired. If I remember right, the elixirs in the form we encountered them were developed in the Empire era.
First Memory: A person paced the room reading a letter. Addressed to Miss Lawrence, it granted them what they referred to as âan exile to the North disguised as a promotion.â The contract was for three years, and they were to report to the Capital on the 15th of Spring.
Second Memory: The same person pacing and talking to the sky, in the middle of a war that they referred to as âthe oldest war, but I want no part of it.â They went on to say that âmany of ours our dying and it is of no concern to them,â that they âdo not want us here,â and mentions of their people being caught in the crossfire. They said if they stayed here, they would discuss an offer of some kind. That they could hear âyouâ now, and asked for a promise â âDo you promise to keep people safe if I enter into your service?â They spoke of two sides, and that they would take a side in the conflict by entering into the service of the unseen entity they were talking to, though they understood the entity could not guarantee the peopleâs safety because it was only one side of the conflict. The memory ended with them saying they will use the power and pledge themself, at which point there was a green light and their face took on a look of terror.
Third Memory: The same person again, though in the more recognizable face and vocal patterns of the Verdant envoy. They argued, saying they were sure one understands, and would one permit a question? The entity did not allow it, because it was planning to extract their memories to preserve them. The entity did not answer why it needs to preserve these memories. The Envoy called what comes a âhumble gifts of togethernessâ and asked if it will hurt, and whatever response they get, they replied, âOne understands.â
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I didnât take notes on my excursion through the memory palace, since I was told someone else was taking notes, but Iâm happy to share what I remember about the second excursion (Summerâs memories). I hope someone else will fill in the details, since I know thereâs a lot Iâve already forgotten.
First memory: A human who looked like the Spearpoint stood on the deck of a ship, looking towards an island. I believe she said something about being far from home that led me to believe the island was Port Katherine. She spotted something coming towards her ship, and pulled out a spyglass to look closer. She told her women to get ready, since âtheyâ were coming.
Second memory: The same woman was fighting on the deck of her ship, back-to-back with one of her crew. I believe she made some comment about not being sure what they were fighting. The crewmember went down, and the woman was the last one standing. Her unseen opponent brought her to her knees, but instead of killing her, spoke to her. The woman said something about how her only choices were to fight for it or be killed.
Third memory: The same person, now clearly recognizable as the Spearpoint, stood before us. Showing none of the personality she had before, she stated she had no need of these memories, and so was passing them on. (There may have been more she said here, but if so Iâve forgotten it.)
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Right, yeah. That leaves autumn. The notes velenza took in my notebook arenât what youâd call âlegibleâ, so Iâm doing this by memory. Which seems right in a way.
First Memory
I hear this was the same for all the memories, but we donât see much of the surroundings. Just a woman who looks the way the Seamstress does in springtime, bringing books to a low table and studying them. Thereâs a knock at the door and she gets up and answers. Seems flustered. Introduces herself, then the other person we canât see says something. She replies âThe Naval Wizard?â The other person asks her to do something, and she agrees, but hedges in that way that says she doesnât really want to go. âIâll have to arrange to ship my books.â âHow long will I be gone?â âWill it be dangerous?â âIâll need to tell my family Iâm leaving.â
She runs out of things to fret over, and then goes.
Second Memory
Sheâs running through what sounds like a pretty hairy battle. Sheâs frantic, cursing, carrying a stack of books, a bowl, and a pitcher. She drops them, and then drops to her knees next to them, and flips the book open, looking for an incantation. She finds it, and pours water from the pitcher into the bowl while chanting an incantation in fae.
She falls backward as a yellow light shines down on her. She looks up into it, says âYouâre not what I expectedâ and then the memory freezes.
Third memory
Sheâs older now. Her voice sounds like the seamstress we know now. Her horns have started to grow in, and sheâs blind. âWhy am I being asked to give up my memories?â An unheard answer. âFor education. Posterity. (A couple other words Iâve forgotten but which mean the same) I see.â She pauses. Sighs. âBut you know theyâre all I have left? Very well.â
The memory ends.
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And thank you for the excellent notes, especially considering we told you âthis is important, write this downâ without any explanation for why it might be important or what you were looking at, Adelaide.
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Of course! I wanted to help, and Iâm glad I was able to. In some capacity, anyways.