Rohese (prime)/Forgotten Ink
Title: Forgotten Ink
Author: Rohese Bayvel
Forgotten Ink was a player-run storyline set in Ta'Illistim during the summer of 2025. It began as a continuation of Rohese's story; more specifically her research into the Bayvel lineage and the sentience of trees. What followed was an interactive quest involving other player characters.
Summary
Setting
[Library Aies, Restricted Section] The library's inner foyer is fully panelled in rich, dark maoral. Pale creamy marble covers the expansive floor, punctuated occasionally by a small golden tesserae set at cross-angles with the tiles. Large antique tapestries cover the wall behind the scribe's desk, illuminated by a series of candle-lit wall sconces. You also see a spectacled elven scribe.
You see Alawien Calelith Illistim. She appears to be an Elf. She is average height. She appears to be aged, carrying wisdom and grace in equal measure. She has rheumy teal green eyes and wrinkled, fair skin. She has mid back-length, straight salt-and-pepper grey hair tucked neatly behind her ears. She has a pinched face and a thin mouth. A long silver feather quill is tucked behind her ear. She is wearing a pair of half moon spectacles, a silver-bound open tome pin, a gentian velvet robe graced by a crossed quill and inkwell, and a pair of soft leather slippers.
Prologue
Who decides what must remain hidden? Who deems knowledge unworthy of illumination?
The scent of parchment and aged ink lingered in the halls of Library Aies. Rohese found this comforting and regularly sought out a quiet corner in which to continue her research into the Bayvel lineage. She was particularly interested in finding out more about the glowbark tree in the Veythorne Manor grounds because of her family connection to it: was it an Anienaeun - a remembrance tree - and, if so, when was it planted and by whom?
Scholars in gentian velvet robes moved in hushed contemplation around her, their whispered debates punctuated by the scratching of quills at various writing desks dotted around the vast hall. Rohese was seated at one of these small desks poring over some old texts when an anxious elven woman approached her, her ink-stained fingers trembling around a rolled parchment. It was Scribe Alawien Calelith. Rohese knew her well as she was the scribe that often helped her to access material in the library's restricted section. Alawien glanced around nervously before pressing the parchment urgently into Rohese's hands.
"I was transcribing a passage from a book I discovered that I thought might help you when the ink changed before my eyes. The words rewrote themselves, revealing a passage that I had never seen before. Then, the book slammed shut and vanished entirely."
Her voice dropped to a tremulous whisper.
"I fear I may have uncovered something that was meant to stay hidden."
13th day of Koaratos, 5125
Alawien met with a small gathering of scholars and friends of Rohese and introduced herself. She mentioned that she had found a book entitled, "The Veythorne Glowbark: History and Study," and went on to explain that on opening the book and reading a passage about the gardens, the text shimmered before her eyes and revealed an additional passage but the book promptly slammed shut and vanished before she could read more than a few lines.
Alawien gave out transcript copies of both passages for further study, highlighting the reference to a treatise.
Extract transcribed from "The Veythorne Glowbark: History and Study". Author: Unknown The Veythorne family gardens are widely regarded as one of the most well-maintained private botanical collections in Ta'Illistim. Featuring carefully arranged topiaries, imported flora from across Elanthia, and a variety of native species, the gardens serve as both a place of quiet contemplation and an example of meticulous elven horticulture. Shaded paths lined with trees lead visitors through carefully curated sections, each designed to highlight the beauty of seasonal blooms. Text of unknown origin discovered by Scribe Alawien Calelith. I was a scholar before I was a heretic. I walked the halls of Library Aies with reverence, my hands untainted by ambition. But books have voices, and some whisper louder than others. A forgotten treatise, its black leather cover warped with age, fell from a high shelf into my hands. No title. No author. The script within - archaic, tangled. Yet as I read, I understood. As if the knowledge had always been waiting for me to claim it. They call it 'forbidden,' I call it incomplete scholarship. Who decides what must remain hidden? Who deems knowledge unworthy of illumination?
20th day of Koaratos, 5125
Yunni Radottir discovered two discarded notes under one of the shelves in the Library Aies Hall of Magic. She and Rohese agreed that they had been there a very long time and seemed to be notes taken from the missing treatise.
a crumpled white note In the Common language, it reads: "Small and bound in black leather, the book bears no title and no author." Alongside a partially completed diagram of lunar phases is some kind of sigil or glyph and the rest of the crumpled sheet is covered in hastily scribbled notes that have faded badly and illegible in places. " when moonlight casts its glow upon the written word, it does not fall as light, but as memory." " the night wanes - perfect for veiling inscriptions. Let the ink be writ beneath the magic of concealment and " " no eye save mine shall read it unless the conditions are met. Even I forget, until she reminds me." " text concealed in light's absence is safer than professed silence."
a dirt-dusted white note The page, written in Common, reads as follows: "The treatise bears a crest - an open eye set against a black pyramid - Watchers? " Alongside a hastily drawn sketch of the crest are a few lines of scribbled text, most of which are no longer legible beneath centuries of dust and dirt. " forbidden " "Lorae'tyr " " Shien'tyr " " portal or gate "
Lucraine had written to Rohese to explain that he was on the hunt for the "old coot" that had mentioned the Illuminator's Talisman and promised to report back. Meanwhile, Rohese finally finished examining all the books on the shelves in the Hall of Magic and found a couple that could possibly be the aforementioned treatise. She was somewhat sceptical as none of them seem to cover 'forbidden' magic to a great extent; they merely referenced it. She believed that the treatise was no longer in the Library Aies and that the author of the discarded notes found earlier by Yunni Radottir had taken it away.
She shared the two books with Alawien just in case:
- Veils Beyond the Veil: A Discourse on Valence Thresholds and the Loss of Form ~ Explores unstable valences, soul-fracture phenomena, and the irreversible price of sustained contact with other planes.
- In Light Unseen: The Obscured Art of Illumination and Thought Binding ~ A study on magical concealment, memory erasure, and talismanic triggers—rumoured to be connected to the Watchers of the Eternal Eye.
Scribe Alawien agreed that neither of them was likely to be the referenced treatise and that it had probably been moved to another location. Alawien let everyone know that she will trying to find the 'vanishing' book in the Restricted Section.
Cast of Characters
- Scribe Alawien Calelith Illistim: Of indeterminate age, Alawien is the last known member of the Calelith family. With the family's ancestral home in the Glydemar Forest long abandoned, she resides alone within the Ta'Illistim city walls and has worked as a Scribe in the restricted section of the Library Aies for several centuries so knows it well. Her reputation and experience in the field of elven botany - in particular arboriculture - have earned her the honorary title of Student of Lore.
- Loremaster Rohese Bayvel
Key Objectives
1. Track down the missing book and, if possible, find out more about the treatise mentioned in the revealed passage.
2. Unlock the book to reveal its contents.
3. Determine the fate of the book.
Research
| Library Aies Research | ||
|---|---|---|
| Source Title | Excerpt | Insight |
| The Veythorne Scholars: A Lineage of Knowledge | Among the most gifted scholars of the Veythorne line, several names stand out in recorded history: Meathrix Veythorne Illistim, the famed elemental researcher; Lirael Veythorne, an esteemed cartographer of magical ley lines; and Maerion Veythorne, whose later works remain unarchived, though references to his studies appear in fragmented form. His contributions to the family's legacy remain a subject of quiet debate. | Confirms the latter's existence, but hints that his research was never formally archived, suggesting that his work was either destroyed or deliberately concealed. |
| On the Ethical Limits of Magical Inquiry: A Discourse by the Loremasters | While the study of magic is essential to the advancement of elven scholarship, there remain practices that must be regarded with great caution. Manipulation of unstable forces, the reckless binding of energy beyond our sphere, and the pursuit of knowledge that defies natural law have led to the downfall of even the most brilliant minds. Certain records speak of those who, in their hubris, reached beyond their grasp, only to find themselves exiled - or worse. | A veiled reference to those who may have overstepped the boundaries of acceptable magical study. This suggests that what one person in particular uncovered was dangerous enough to warrant erasure from formal histories. |