SUBJECT: When My Time Comes Around
PARTICIPANTS: Tony Stark, Stephen Strange, Wysteria de Foncé, Viktor (colloquially: the imagineers); Gela Baynrac, Benedict Artemaeus, Mobius (time travelers); with fetch quests by Ellie, Derrica, Erik, Peter, Yseult, Bastien, and Matthias.

CLASSIFICATION: Public, with the magi-science appendices for leadership & imagineers’ eyes only.
DATE FILED: Kingsway 9:49
STATUS: Complete
SUMMARY: Riftwatch was lured into an ambush by Tevinter at Granitefell and 16 members perished. 3 weeks later, rifter magi-science invented a time machine powered by dragon blood to go back and warn them, which they did successfully, and the two timelines synced back up as if the bad end never happened.

REPORT:
OOC: To read the footnotes, either a hover or a click will both work!

( As dictated by Stephen Strange to Viktor for transcription and some editing. )

In Solace 9:49, Riftwatch was ambushed at Granitefell by Venatori forces incl. a dragon and dracolisk cavalry. Casualties comprised a full third of our number.

After careful evaluation, Research div. undertook a mission to innovate temporal magic, citing Mme. de Foncé’s expertise in adapting Rifter magic to native techniques, Prov. Stark and Dr. Strange’s practical and theoretical knowledge of temporal magic, Viktor’s experience with spacetime jump gates, and their collective knowledge of arcane engineering.¹

The following Riftwatch members were dispatched to retrieve necessary ingredients²: Ellie, Derrica, Erik Stevens, Peter Parker, Yseult, Bastien, and Matthias.

Using a certain piece of equipment³ to both amplify and focus the magical energies, we were able to send Baynrac, Artemaeus, and Mobius three weeks into the past, although their arrival was slightly mis-timed.⁴ These agents contacted Riftwatch (past ver.) and warned them to retreat, thus successfully avoiding the ambush, and a scout was sent to Granitefell to advise evacuation. De Foncé and Strange remained at the portal to hold it open for the travelers.⁵

The experience of the sync was curious: it was like suddenly waking up here, remembering both timelines at once, until memories of the abandoned timeline slowly faded and became less immediate — and now we live in a world where Granitefell never happened.

We’re unable to reproduce the time travel without first replenishing our supply of ingredients. For the actual technicalities & components used, see the attached appendix.

It’s a powerful tool in our arsenal, but in my professional opinion, one best not trifled with; we don’t know that subsequent uses would work out quite so well as this one did.

Signed, Doctor Stephen Strange, with addenda by Viktor.


I would like to emphasize that this project’s success demanded many hours of physical and mental strain, including great risk to personal safety. Without the contributions of everyone noted above, plus those who provided extra support, this would not have worked. Thank you.
– V.

—————

¹ See also prior Inquisition notes on Magister Alexius and the Redcliffe incident. ( While adjusting the order of cited imagineer experience, Viktor says, “This will make her day.” )

² See appendix. ( The additional appendix for leadership includes schematics of the Magrallen and its repairs, mentions the necessity of dragon blood, contains a list of other exotic ingredients used in casting the spell, and reproduces some of their experimental runes. )

³ Surely you didn’t think we would make it so easy. You’ll find this in the appendix. Good luck finding the appendix.

⁴ Through no particular fault of any particular time sorcerer.

⁵ Poss. future improvement: a way for the time traveler(s) to trigger their own return without someone being stationed at the portal. Amulets?

NEXT STEPS: Refine magical technique to not require actively holding open the portal. Stay alert for future great dragon sightings, in order to replenish blood supply if possible. No plans to actively pursue further time travel, but keeping the technique in their back pocket.

NOTES & LINKS:

• Wiki link
  
• Original OOC post
  
• Log 1: Granite fell, everyone died
  
• Announcement 1: Oh no
  
• Log 2: Sad times at Gallows high
  
• Log 2.5: Weird science
  
• Announcement 2: Weird science goes public
  
• Log 3: Fetch quests
  
• Log 4: Time warp
  
• Announcement 3: Nothing to see here
  
• Log 5: Life, it never die
  
• OOC Wrap-Up

[The (remaining) division heads have already been alerted privately, he knows. Julius didn't ask Yseult what, specifically, she said, but he assumes he's not going to say anything she hadn't included.

His voice is quiet and grave, and if he had to practice this a few times before actively sending it, only four people in Riftwatch will ever know for sure.]

This is Julius. I regret to inform you all that Granitefell was hit with a secondary attack, which has all the earmarks of a planned ambush. We were badly outnumbered, and we took. [A pause, though when he resumes, his voice is still even.] We took incredibly heavy causalities. The few of us who survived will require assistance as quickly as you can manage, as will the few local survivors.

I know you will have questions, and I will try to answer what I can. The others can answer too if they are up to it, of course, but I ask your understanding if they don't as we've all had. [Pause.] A very long night.

Hello! This is Bastien. I hope everything is going well in the Gallows.

[ In addition to very Orlesian, as always, Bastien also sounds—in a way—wet. The sound of someone who has recently swallowed and choked out some amount of water. Easily mistaken for just having a cold, perhaps, unless one also recognizes the sound of water lapping against something very nearby to the sending crystal and also perhaps up onto the sending crystal. ]

It is not going very well for us. But we are alive. Right?

[ Important to establish this up front.

And during this pause for confirmation, there is no urgent need for everyone else to fish out their own sending crystals to respond. He holds his out like a microphone, with his upper body flopped over a log and his feet perpetually kicking to keep him as close as possible to everyone else, although that is only working so well and will not work forever. ]