View source for SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025 Conference (summary)

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<section begin=intro />The SPECTRE (Sorcerers, Practitioners, Enchanters, Conjurers, Thaumaturges, Researchers, and Evokers) and SHADOW (Seers, Hypnotists, Astrologers, Diviners, Occultists, Witches) Conference returned in 2025 for October 10-12.

Invitations received by attendees varied, with some referencing the Conference while others identified the event as instead being called PAWS, the Pets and Animal Wellbeing Symposium.  As attendees arrived at the Evermore Hotel, it became apparent that the staff had accidentally double booked two different conferences for the weekend, with Hotel Manager [[Blodeuyn Mourningveil]] coordinating on behalf of SPECTRE and SHADOW while PAWS was coordinated by Hotel Maid [[Elaarah Thistledown]], the unfortunate victim of events occurring in the Hotel the year prior.

Lectures throughout the weekend consisted of both PAWS-led pet-oriented presentations and those of a more esoteric nature led by SPECTRE and SHADOW members.  There was recurring friction between the two organizations, as well as among some attendees who indicated a clear preference of one subject type over the other.

Throughout the weekend, growing concern mounted regarding an insect infestation inside the hotel and the expansive webs spun by countless spiders in its garden.  Conference attendees were eventually drawn in to address the spider concern in particular, after [[Jehckle]] and [[Hehckle]] identified it as an issue that had happened before.  Ultimately, they were successful in banishing the spiders from the gardens, however with their departure from the hotel, the arachnids moved in force throughout the rest of Evermore Hollow, ultimately leading to the start of the [[:Category:Weavers of Arachne|Weavers of Arachne storyline]] began to officially unfold.<section end=intro />

==2025 Conference Schedule==
<section begin=schedule />
:{| class="wikitable"  style="width: 80%"
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Time
! scope="col" | Event
! scope="col" | Location
! scope="col" | Description
|-
| scope="row" | Fri 10/10 || 9:00pm ET || Hotel Check In || Front Desk || Ebon Gate officially begins and the festival grounds open, including the Hotel.
|-
| scope="row" | Fri 10/10 || 10:30pm ET || Welcome Reception || Library || A light affair and social hour where you can mingle with fellow attendees before retiring to your rooms.
|-
| scope="row" | Sat 10/11 || | 9:00am ET || Breakfast || Dining Room || Start your day with a delightful breakfast while meeting other guests.
|-
| scope="row" | Sat 10/11 || 11:00am - 1:00pm ET || Morning Workshops || Library || Morning lectures and workshops.
* [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 1 - Tea Mages (log)|Tea Mages]] lecture by [[Ceibhfhionn Malficum]]
* Hotel Tour by [[Blodeuyn Mourningveil]]
* [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 2 - Dead Places and Memory (log)|Dead Places and Memory]] lecture by [[Ermias Dunholme]]
|-
| scope="row" | Sat 10/11 || 2:00pm - 3:00pm ET || Lunch || Dining Room || Enjoy a leisurely lunch with fellow practitioners and pet enthusiasts.  A workshop was double booked alongside lunch.
* [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 3 - Pet Skin Care (log)|Pet Skin Care]] workshop by [[Orralith]]
|-
| scope="row" | Sat 10/11 || 4:00pm ET || Afternoon Inquiries || Garden || The planned presentation for the afternoon was cut short on account of spider activity in the gardens.  It quickly shifted into research in the library and practical alchemy in the greenhouse.
* [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 4 - Corvids (log)|Corvids]] lecture by [[Jehckle]] and [[Hehckle]]
|-
| scope="row" | Sat 10/11 || 7:00pm ET || Afternoon Workshops || Library || Afternoon lectures and workshops.
* [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 5 - Eggs (log)|Eggs]] workshop by [[Orralith]]
* [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 6 - Souls (log)|Souls]] lecture by [[Giedrius Ravencroft]]
* [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 7 - Pet Grooming and Reincarnation (log)|Pet Grooming and Reincarnation]] dual workshop and lecture, by [[Orralith]] and [[Zethes Wraith]], who had been double booked
* [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 8 - Abominations (log)|Abominations]] lecture by [[Thalita Trevil]]
|-
| scope="row" | Sat 10/11 || 10:00pm ET|| Garden Party || Ballroom || The highlight of the event, featuring a sumptuous dinner served small-plates style and an evening of dance and engagement.  This was relocated from the garden on account of spdier activity.
|-
| scope="row" | Sun 10/12 || 10:00am ET<br>(approximate) || Farewell Brunch || Dining Hall || Conclude the convention with a delightful brunch and final opportunities to connect with new friends.
|-
| scope="row" | Sun 10/12 || 11:00am ET<br>(approximate) || Pet Parade || Library || Display your companions at their best in this unique parade through the Hotel's Gardens.  This was relocated from the gardens on account of spider activity, much to the hotel staff's chagrin.
|-
| scope="row" | Sun 10/12 || 12:00pm ET<br>(approximate) || Inquiries Revisited || Garden || Attendees attempt to address the growing spider concern in the gardens.
|}<section end=schedule />

===Invitation Schedules===
There was initial confusion as to whether the weekend event was to be the SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference's second year or instead PAWS, the Pets and Animal Wellbeing Symposium.  Attendees randomly received one of two different invitations, which had conflicting schedules.  Below are the originally schedules for the conflicting events.
:{| class="wikitable"  style="width: 80%"
! scope="col" | Date
! scope="col" | Time
! scope="col" | Event
! scope="col" | Organization
! scope="col" | Description
|-
| scope="row" | Fri 10/10 || 9:00pm ET || Hotel Check In || Both || Ebon Gate officially begins and the festival grounds open, including the Hotel.
|-
| scope="row" | Fri 10/10 || 10:30pm ET<br>(or 11:00pm ET) || Welcome Reception || Both || A light affair and social hour where you can mingle with fellow attendees before retiring to your rooms.
|-
| scope="row" rowspan="2" | Sat 10/11 || rowspan="2" | 9:00am ET || rowspan="2" | Breakfast || SPECTRE & SHADOW || Start your day with a delightful breakfast while meeting other guests.
|-
| PAWS || Start your day with a delightful breakfast while meeting other guests in the Garden.
|-
| scope="row" rowspan="2" | Sat 10/11 || rowspan="2" | 11:00am - 1:00pm ET || rowspan="2" | Morning Workshops || SPECTRE & SHADOW || Engage in workshops led by our esteemed speakers.
|-
| PAWS || Engage in a workshop on pet care.
|-
| scope="row" rowspan="2" | Sat 10/11 || rowspan="2" | 2:00pm - 3:00pm ET || rowspan="2" | Lunch || SPECTRE & SHADOW || Enjoy a leisurely lunch with fellow practitioners.
|-
| PAWS || Enjoy a leisurely lunch with fellow pet enthusiasts.
|-
| scope="row" rowspan="3" | Sat 10/11 || rowspan="3" | 4:00pm ET || Event || colspan="2" | ''Schedule note:  An event is scheduled to happen.  The advance event description varies depending on which invitation is received.  An update on Discord simply calls this timeslot an "event".''
|-
| rowspan="2" | Afternoon Inquiries || SPECTRE & SHADOW || Join our guests in the Hotel Library for a bit of investigative work.
|-
| PAWS || Attend presentations on various animal lore.
|-
| scope="row" | Sat 10/11 || 7:00pm ET || Workshops || colspan="2" | ''Schedule note:  A workshop is scheduled to happen.  This information was relayed in an update on Discord and is not outlined in either organization's invitations.
|-
| scope="row" | Sat 10/11 || 10:00pm ET|| Garden Party || Both || The highlight of the event, featuring a sumptuous dinner served small-plates style and an evening of dance and engagement.
|-
| scope="row" | Sun 10/12 || 10:00am ET || Event || colspan="2" | ''Schedule note:  An event is scheduled to happen.  An update on Discord simply calls this timeslot an "event".  It is possible that it may coincide with, conflict with, or be the PAWS invitation's "Pet Parade" or both invitations' "Farewell Brunch".
|-
| scope="row" | Sun 10/12 || TBD || Pet Parade || PAWS || Display your companions at their best in this unique parade through the Hotel's Gardens.
|-
| scope="row" | Sun 10/12 || TBD || Farewell Brunch || Both || Conclude the convention with a delightful brunch and final opportunities to connect with new friends.
|-
| scope="row" | Sun 10/12 || 12:00pm ET || Conclusion || colspan="2" | ''Schedule note:  The Hotel storyline ends.  An update on Discord notes this as the official conclusion.  Hotel Suite guests retain access to their Hotel room for the entirety of Ebon Gate.''
|}

==2025 Conference Summary==
=== Day of the Huntress, Jastatos the 10th ===
The SPECTRE (Sorcerers, Practitioners, Enchanters, Conjurers, Thaumaturges, Researchers, and Evokers) and SHADOW (Seers, Hypnotists, Astrologers, Diviners, Occultists, Witches) Conference returned in 2025 for October 10-12.

Invitations received by attendees varied, with some referencing the Conference while others identified the event as instead being called PAWS, the Pets and Animal Wellbeing Symposium.  As attendees arrived at the Evermore Hotel, it became apparent that the staff had accidentally double booked two different conferences for the weekend, with Hotel Manager [[Blodeuyn Mourningveil]] coordinating on behalf of SPECTRE and SHADOW while PAWS was coordinated by Hotel Maid [[Elaarah Thistledown]], the unfortunate victim of events occurring in the Hotel the year prior.

Upon checking in, attendees and staff alike became aware of the double booking, with some expressing interest in both events while others were clearly dismayed by the overlap.  The hotel staff assured everyone that it would all work out, with both organizations sharing the hotel for the weekend - including its spaces and the allotted time for various presentations, workshops, and other events.

Amid all of this, and the increasing chaos of dozens of pets being led around the hotel at all hours, scores of insects started appearing in its public areas, including upstairs halls outside of hotel rooms.  In addition, several hotel staff remarked about an increase in spider activity in the gardens, which may or may not be linked to the insects' arrival.

=== Feastday, Jastatos the 11th ===
Both SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference as well as PAWS attendees met jointly for breakfast in the morning, which had been relocated from the gardens to the dining hall on account of the growing spider activity.  There was still some confusion as to which presenters were holding their lectures and workshop where, and when, until announcements from hotel staff identified the first presentation as being associated with SPECTRE and SHADOW in the library.  After [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 1 - Tea Mages (log)|a lecture on tea mages]], Hotel Manager [[Blodeuyn Mourningveil]] provided a tour of the buiding and its grounds, where the drastic increase in spiderweb presence was already noticeable.  Another [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 2 - Dead Places and Memory (log)|S&S lecture]] followed in the library, which then led into lunch in the dining hall, where a [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 3 - Pet Skin Care (log)|pet skincare workshop]] was held, apparently double-booked for the time.  After a brief break, attendees reconvened in the garden.

The host of spiders making their homes in the hotel's gardens had apparently redoubled their efforts, quickly spinning webs that threatened to engulf it entirely.  The afternoon lecture in the garden, which had [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 4 - Corvids (log)|intended to be on corvids]] and led by Borderlight Covenant representatives [[Jehckle]] and [[Hehckle]], was cut abruptly short before it could even begin as the two identified that the growing spider presence had happened before in Naidem.  They encouraged attendees to peruse the hotel's library for any useful scraps of knowledge.  [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/Web research (summary)|A number of clues were unearthed]] in the library, among them a reference to an alchemical formula that had proven useful at some point in the past to burning the webs.  The conference attendees were given access to the garden's greenhouse by way of a hidden passage from the hotel's basement, where an old set of alchemical equipment was still useable, and after some effort locating the listed reagents, flasks of webscourge oil were brewed and tested, yielding questionable results on the garden spiderwebs.

Several hours later, the lectures and workshops resumed inside, initially [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 5 - Eggs (log)|with a focus on pets]].  It was eventually revealed that one of the newest PAWS members and one of its speakers, [[Giedrius Ravencroft]], had been the impetus for the weekend pet event, and that he had taken it upon himself to recommend the Evermore Hotel and coordinate directly with the hotel's maid instead of the Hotel Manager.  This was because he had been denounced at the previous year's Conference for his unethical actions and stripped of the right to present on behalf of SPECTRE and SHADOW again.  Giedrius orchestrated the "accidental" double booking purely so that he could give a continuation of his prior year's lecture, and he had used PAWS and its members as a cover.  When it came time for Giedrius' lecture on hamsters, he quickly revealed his diabolical plan to show up at the SPECTRE and SHADOW event to [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 6 - Souls (log)|continue his prior year's lecture]].

Following Giedrius' not-entirely-unexpected reveal, lectures continued in the library with a [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 7 - Pet Grooming and Reincarnation (log)|double-booked duo]] from both organizations somehow managing to jointly put on a presentation with two wildly different topics.  The [[SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference (storyline)/2025-10-11 - Lecture 8 - Abominations (log)|final lecture]] of the evening delved into some of the horrifying possibilities of both animal and sentient life twisted by exposure across valences.

A formal dinner with music and dancing followed in the ballroom, where many attendees continued conversations from earlier in the day as well as theorized as to what needed to be done next about the spiders in the garden.

=== Restday, Jastatos the 12th ===
The next morning, one of the attendees found a copy of the [[Weavers of Arachne]] tale, which was quickly shared with the others as evidence that what was occurring with the spiders definitely had some basis in the realm's history.

A morning brunch was held in the dining room, and the eagerly awaited PAWS-led pet parade was finally held within the hotel's library, to the increasing horror of the hotel staff.

Jehckle and Hehckle returned amid the chaos the pet parade, and a key aspect of the found alchemical recipe was learned:  that the webscourge oil had to be used at midday, when even Naidem's curious daylight was at its greatest.  It was employed again at noon, and this time the webs in the garden all were eradicated, the attendees initially triumphant with their work.  As it turned out, the spiders had simply relocated.. and were preparing to act in much greater numbers across all of Evermore Hollow, as the [[:Category:Weavers of Arachne|Weavers of Arachne storyline]] began to officially unfold.

As for the dead insects appearing all over inside the hotel itself, those ended up being the work of one of the conference attendees - and not actually linked to the spiders' presence.

==Presentation Logs==
{{#section:Category:SPECTRE and SHADOW Conference|2025logs}}