Friends at the Table

..alone would drive many settlements to resign themselves to his vassalage, as the Duke's medicinal stores separated him from many of the other warlords in that first year, when the pollen was so severe not only due to its density but to our own body's sluggish adaptation to it. But the University's leadership was not keen to submit to anyone, least of all a monarch who wouldn't even show his own...

...good a start as could be imagined, given the circumstances. But there was a confounding question still, which seemed to rent space in everyone's mind: Yes, the university had survived, but where was it? This was not a philosophical question. It was a simple matter of fact, a concrete concern. "Used to be three weeks, with cart, from Twinbrook," said one resident of the University, who operated...

…was standing there in the midst of utter chaos, I found strength in words uttered by the immortal warrior Red Jack (who you will become well acquainted with as you read on) only days before he led an assault on the being called the Advocate. "Heroism," he said, "is not such a unique thing." He was right. The heroes that day were not only those who faced down men worshipped as gods—or those that d...

Hiya everyone!! Instead of an episode this week, we have a few announcements, which you can either enjoy in audio form or text form or BOTH! -We're at Gen Con this week! We're doing a live show on Saturday, 6 PM!!! Tickets are still available!! W hoo ps ? You can get them here: https://www.gencon.com/events/151345 -We're having a fan meet up Friday, 1:30 at Hudnut Commons!! -Shut Up and Shut Down...

Across the long lawns below the central tower of the Last University, the grass defies itself. In the mind, a field is a million individual blades blending into one. But when Stars of the steppe arrive, they make mental category into physical reality, each blade blending with the next until the trembling, green pasture becomes blinding, fixed tract. But even this transformation, which spreads acro...

Of all the resources unique to the City of First Light, the Ordennan Impetus was most taken by the ancient city's network of trains. The once-island nation was already familiar with the value of heavy logistics, and though the steam-powered trains of this new island were on tracks, it was not as if their own ships did not have to contend with the more organic rails of weather, wind, and current. A...

As the shell-sky ruptures under impossible heat and pressure, the citizens of the Last University face grim prospects. Beings of empty light tread over the familiar until it is unsafe, recasting the world around them in macro and micro, both. And above, a lord looms. Do they have any hope? Does anyone fight for them, still? Yes. This week on Spring in Hieron: Terrible and Necessary After too many...

The bounty was plastered from the boulevards of Malle's Fist to the canals of Kanton, on the broken archways of the old imperial road and the mural boards of the old eastern sea wall: TO WHOMEVER SLAYS THE BEAST, SO CALLED THE ADVOCATE, IN LOYALTY TO ORDENNA AND ALL MANKIND, A REWARD DUE, EARNED, AND PAID BY THE HONORABLE IMPETOR OF ALL HIERON, FELA MALLE: 100,000 IN COIN OR THE ARMORY AND ESTATE...

  Victorious after their journey to the Mark of the Erasure, the leading members of the Last University find time to celebrate. But they know too well the danger of inaction, so while four of the group begin a journey south, to Malle's Fist, the rest take the time to investigate the troubles that remain at home. Chief of all: The continued pressure put on the settlement by Alyosha's Spring. But wh...

Weeks ago, the Advocate took flight its cradle hidden in the hills and trees. Its path north took it across places already devoured by the Heat and the Dark: Rosemerrow's once Long Sands, the devastated woods between Old Man's Chin and Twinbrook, across the ancient imperial highway south of Velas, and into the unmappable, frozen wastes of Auniq, deep within the Mark of Erasure. Where does a being...

It is an old road that travels between the Last University, through the settlement of Baron's Gate, and into what is now called the Mark of the Erasure was built--many times, across many lamina--to bring direction and pace to the roving party of Samot, bringing him between the First University and his father's home at the Hewed Peak. But in time, with his father retired to convalesce in a more hum...

The morning after the second sun broke open, the campus of the the Last University is quiet. But this is not hard-won exhalation. It is a gasp for breath in the middle of a marathon run. Because before the members of the University's ad hoc council can fully settle back into daily life, they are sprung back into action by an impulse as nervous as it is noble. There will be time to rest--and surely...

Above the waves of the Alcyonic Sea, the second sun has not yet hatched. But below its blood red light, a plan has begun to. But what sort of plan is it? Is it a former paladin's plan to protect his family? Is it the plan of a druid and a lord to stop a threat that has grown too large, too dangerous, to let continue? Or is it something grimmer: the latest, vengeful volley in the decade long arc of...

Under crimson light, a plan moves into effect, a counter motion with speed so great that it matches the age of the plot it seeks to derail: the consumption of light, the birth of a dragon apocalyptic, the early days of Summer's lethal heat. Against this: Adaire Ducarte, Hella Varal, and the still dreaming Lem King. This week on Spring in Hieron: Deeper Than Flesh It is common aphorism that no EFFE...

Hello everyone!!! In lieu of an episode this week, we have some announcements instead! The next episode of Spring in Hieron should release tomorrow, latest Saturday!! If you're interested in preordering/ordering our Fangamer merchandise you can find it at www.fangamer.com/collections/friends-at-the-table We're also going to Gen Con and tickets are on sale THIS SUNDAY AT NOON EASTERN TIME!!! You ca...

In the city of Coraline, on the isles of Alcyon, the morning sun is welcomed with the ringing of bells. But not today. Instead--for some reason--there is only the sound of waves against rocks, of late-night partygoers babbling through street and alley, of quiet conspiracy and whispered arrangement. And instead, the day is marked with the ominous light of a second sun. But however halting the heat...

Many of the dangers that surround the Last University are new. Bright stones at the bottom of a stream burn bare feet. Sometimes, when the wind blows westerly, it carries a scent that fills eyes with tears and tatters the flags on the University's towers. But there are older dangers, too, in damp tunnels beneath the earth, as Adaire and Red Jack are about to discover. Back in the compound, Hella V...

Before the travelers from the Last University settle into their guest lodging on the peninsula of Alcyon, they must finish some small bits of business. Throndir, avatar of justice, investigates ways to prevent his unique weaknesses from troubling him during the remains of the visit. Fero seeks an answer to the question of Alcyon's continued magical nature, and finds instead something (and someone)...

Above the Last University, two suns hang, unbalanced. Under their shearing light, the heroes of this makeshift city move into action, even though they may not yet know what action they ought take. For Hella Varal, it is the needs of those with the least that must be addressed: shelter, food, water, ease of mind. The fundamentals that all need and deserve. For Adaire Ducarte, who joins the Golden L...

Far to the north east of their home at the Last University, a party of nine has arrived on the shores of Alcyon. Here, they hope to find much: Lord Ephrim, the plans to create the ancient protectors which guarded the streets of Marielda; Fero, the source of this peninsula's magical stability; Hadrian, distance from the danger stalking his son; Throndir, further opportunity to bring justice. But a...

It is said that in the land of Hieron, there are two types of dreams: the first, an undirected working-over of one's recent whims and toils, with, perhaps, a magical twist added by any arcane source nearby. The second kind of dream, though, are those sent by Hieron itself as reminder, prompt, or premonition. Which raises a question that Hella, Adaire, and Lem now face: Who, or what, reigns over dr...

In the dense forest that covers the northeast of Hieron, a battle between old and new continues. Hadrian, Ephrim, Fero, and Throndir face down the creatures of Alyosha's spring, and for the first time, Benjamin enters the fray and shows off what he has learned from his magical schooling--for better and worst. But even as one challenge fades, new questions emerge as Alcyon comes into view... This w...

In light of recent events in New Zealand, please know this episode includes description of the aftermath of an attack on a community and conversations about death. To those affected directly and indirectly, please know you are in our hearts during this tragedy. The Creed of Samothes' arcane attack comes to a close, but not before bringing new dilemmas to bear. Lem King, curious as ever, seeks out...

Some journeys have many purposes. For Ephrim, Lord of the Last University, the trip to the isles of Alcyon offers an opportunity to retrieve the special plate required to build pala-din, the autonomous stone soldiers which once patrolled the streets of ancient Marielda. For the druid Fero, the trip will lead him to a place where Samol's magic does not yet fade. With Arrell's conduit identified, Ha...

The Creed of Samothes has, for countless years, spread its reach throughout society across Hieron. For many, it has provided strength, structure, and safety from the dangers of the wild world. But at its heart--not distinct from it, not a subversion or corruption--is a cynical ideology rooted in the fatalism of their first god: The world is ending. Limit the suffering of those still alive, so that...