# The World

## Chapter Synopsis

### Cradle of Life

The Golden City is where souls are purified and reprogrammed for their next birth according to a precise scheme. Instead of following the spontaneous chaos of nature, they are cleansed of all memories and forced to reincarnate according to the designs of an ancient entity, descendant of a forgotten people.

- Key Questions: Who were they? What caused their disappearance? Why did they manipulate the stream of souls to the point of replacing it?

## Entities & Conflicts

### Deus Ex (The Supreme Villain)

- Description: The heir to the will of the ancients appears as a colossal bronze statue—a humanoid angel with two feathered right wings, a female body, and a crying face in place of the left arm. Its true essence is sealed in its head, protected by a helmet that monitors all the city’s functions.
- Abilities/Threat: It has been draining the spirits of any intruders and turning them into pale shadows.
  - It is Immune to physical damage and alternates between Vulnerability and Absorption to light and dark each round, unleashing attacks based upon the Absorbed element and inflicting random status effects.
  - It controls the mechanical sentries of the entire Golden City and can spend Ultima Points to summon them.
- Narrative Hook: In reality, its spirit silently mourns its millennia-old separation from the stream of souls—can the Player Characters help them reunite with it, and how?

### Castaways of the Sky

- The Setup: Will and Orvy, two reckless aviators, lose control of their aerostat and crash among the ruins while escaping a deadly spirit. In helping them, the PCs become embroiled in a violent conflict.
- Necroptes (The Spirit): A ravenous winged spirit that can smell death and knows no remorse.
  - Tactics: Casts fire and air spells. Although fragile, it can strike down enemies in Crisis with its terrible Death spell, which reduces victims’ Hit Points to 0 if they were a multiple of 5.
  - Resistances/Weaknesses: Vulnerable to cold and light damage; Immune to earth and Absorbs dark.
- Conflict Resolution Points:
  - Collateral Damage: If the Necroptes isn’t defeated within 4 rounds of conflict, the aerostat becomes unusable due to collateral damage.
  - Rest in Peace: After the end of the conflict, Will and Orvy explain they are fulfilling their father’s last request: scattering his ashes from the highest point in the sky. If the aerostat is still serviceable, they take off; otherwise, can the PCs figure out an alternative solution?

> “This is where it all began – maybe for fun, boredom or desperation.
> The memory is lost, the truth ignored, and the answers denied.”