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Secret Hearth

64 Episodes

73 minutes | Mar 24, 2020
Lavenlyn I - 61: Trapped
After a tumultuous battle, the party flees into the forest. With the knob in the grasp of the animal companions, tensions are still high - but a wandering ally offers some momentary comfort.
92 minutes | Mar 3, 2020
Lavenlyn I - 60: Goose
Sneaking further into Zael's cavern, the party prepares to breach the inner laboratory. The scorned spy Goose, perpetrator of Emerald's separation from Ivory, awaits within. He's not alone - a Mica pugilist and a twisted professor also stand against them, and the threat of giants and witches looms. Zael has many allies, and the battle will be trying - who will prevail?
88 minutes | Feb 26, 2020
Lavenlyn I - 59: Child
With the caretaker gone, they turn their attention to the eggs - but in the dark, wet recesses of the cave, something is amiss.
100 minutes | Feb 17, 2020
Lavenlyn I - 58: Eggs
The assault on Zael's cavern begins. With enemies around every corner, their attempt of sabotage may be their most dangerous mission yet.
82 minutes | Feb 1, 2020
Lavenlyn I - 57: Rhyme
The Pale are abandoned, their father slain. The Pale follow, though - it is their nature. They were built as a mockery to life of all forms. They are parasites. So when THEY came - that vile dragon ZAEL, they fell in line. They were given new tasks, new leaders, new purpose. They became adopted, and symbiotic. Their ghastly white visages haunt the cavern, now, awaiting the agents of Watchtower. Those hulking beasts might spell their end.
99 minutes | Jan 26, 2020
Lavenlyn I - 56: Give
She woke up, and there was the hand. For her, someone who has dug into the world of magick with relentless drive and received nothing from the world or spirits or people in return, it was her life's calling. It was a finish line. She was getting on in years now, and accomplished nothing despite her best efforts. She wanted to make her mark on the world - a good mark - and the tree had finally given her that reward. I watched her cradle it like a child. I watched her sob with joy. Then, in a swift moment, she became a different woman. She became the wise and sagely leader she had always wanted to be. She knew there would be hurt. She knew some - like the sheriff - would have to pay for the expense of the people. But she finally had what she wanted, and she smiled. That smile was the start to a lot of loss. The tree grew quiet in my studies. The knights of Redro, my allies, fell into solemn prayer. The people became even more desperate in their acts, and became strangers to one another. But we had food.
87 minutes | Jan 21, 2020
Lavenlyn I - 55: Monolith
The crowd writhed outside of Poppy's, a starving tide. Some had already left, some went further inward. Food is pleasure in most times, but the peace after Pale had grown them into complacent bystanders. They wanted food given to them, without the work. Poppy wringed his hands and checked his stores. He could ration, maybe, and make some sales. He could turn this in his favor, these bad times. It would take a careful hand and cunning words. The sheriff was the first to speak of abandoning the tree, and was the first to be overthrown. Packs of folk became wild in an instant, filled with panic. But above it all stood Craven, an aging sorceress. She came to them with an answer, and the tension evaporated in an instant. It would take sacrifice, she said. They didn't even consider the ramifications. They would much rather lose to gain, now, than gain later with less lost. This is the way of folk. And the wyrm knew this weakness well.
112 minutes | Jan 14, 2020
Lavenlyn I - 54: Ainsley
"So, tell me about her. Anything distinguishing that stood out to you." "I could've sworn she looked like the Ainsley girl, but I'd never seen her without her father." "That's fine if it's your judgement. I want to know of any distinguishing marks, however - any sort of particular features that held your attention." "Right, alright. She was - all scarred up, like she'd been mauled. Not once, but, over and over again. Disfigured. She - moved with a sort of, snake-ish grace. Spooked the lot of us. That's when Hargar noticed she was a half-elf and I suppose he, he said something about it that rubbed her wrong. Next thing you know, there was -" "The fire." "Yuh, a sort of - well it wasn't quite fire, right? Not like a camp fire or a lantern's spark. It was raw. Wasn't magick, either. More natural. Was like the source of it, I'd say. She burned him with it, and it seemed like forever, and then finally it - the force of it - it pushed him through the air like he was floating. He burst through the window and, he was already dead. She ran but, none of us would've chased her. We just watched Hargar burn up.... he burnt up into nothing, not even bones, and the sun set."
89 minutes | Jan 6, 2020
Lavenlyn I - 53: Letter
From Elroy's journal, 1526. The great tree Redro, which we have built our city Monolith within, has given us many good gifts. None are stranger, though, than root runners. The Firs to the South call them luggers, whereas the Warins name them as knot-foots. Regardless of their true name, their nature begs us to ask how the Crystal Woods have gone on without them. They are the jester's natural predator, and hold back the whipper weed by tearing at the ground as they run. It is swiftly evident to us that their role in the ecosystem is integral. For everything the Pale War took from us, the hidden gifts of its end are finally being revealed. I suppose missing something so important for so long had made us forget we were missing anything at all.
113 minutes | Dec 22, 2019
Yule 2019
In our 2019 Yule special, we gather 'round the hearth for some winter rest and question answering. Our tale will continue in 2020!
99 minutes | Dec 16, 2019
Lavenlyn I - 52: Cave
From an inscription carved along an alabaster pillar inside a dark chamber - A HAUNTED HOLLOW OUTSIDE AND INSIDE TIME OUTSIDE AND INSIDE ETHER WHERE SPIRITS WALK AND FOLK WALK AND WITHIN ITS EMBRACE, THERE IS NO DIFFERENCE WHERE ARE THE ANSWERS, BUT AMONG THE REFLECTIONS OF PAST AND FUTURE
103 minutes | Dec 9, 2019
Lavenlyn I - 51: Bluejay
We've come upon a very curious people, hidden in the heart of the Crystal Woods. They are teal skinned, and share features of the forest beasts around them. They call out to each other in a beautiful language of bird calls and chirps, and have come to name each other after the birds of the forest. Most peculiar is the boy - one-legged and bluntly speaking in our tongue, who acts as their leader and captain. He very well may be the youngest of the whole tribe, but still rules them more justly than any lord or lady I've witnessed. Lastly is the cave, wreathed in yellow lichen. The boy says that it is outside of time itself. It's musky scent pours into the village, reminding one of fresh dirt and rain. There is a wisdom and beauty here untold, and I do believe I will stay here for quite a long while. - Cornelius Hyde's Field Journal, 1423
86 minutes | Dec 2, 2019
Lavenlyn I - 50: Hand
An excerpt from the works of Pascal Warrin, curator of minerals - "This metal - it is not null, like the Pale, but it does not hold magic. It is not the lack of it ether within it that concerns me, but the manner in which it erases the ether. This is a sort of compound that is the opposite of ether in many ways. The heavens have bestowed it upon us, not the earth, and so I must propose a rejection of it. This is not the works of Elpo the creator, or Orphos the smith. This is an accident by something else unknown - a fragment of something outside of the ether. It's properties are not unlike the legends of the sword or the great dragon Zael. This metal is ill, and we must not be tempted to forge tools of it."
82 minutes | Nov 25, 2019
Lavenlyn I - 49: Legend
Goodbye, my love. You were the ranger that charted the East. You were the archivist of the lost tomes. You were the true light Yottle needed, when the shade king's rule proved too much for us. It was the time of heroes because you were there. Your bow, your spectacles, your spells and tricks. The walls of Sunbeam are your legacy. Your bonds tied the ether together when they all yelled out, "it is ruined!" Maybe there will be others after you to protect Yottle, and maybe not. I saw you, though, stand first. You, but a scholar - no blade, nor shield - stood against a darkness untold. I saw you stand. Goodbye, my love.
73 minutes | Nov 17, 2019
Lavenlyn I - 48: Cleanse
Captain Corub, We've found but one. It sleeps beneath the old Cunning Folk's library, in the heart of the Greenwyck Ruins. It's a lesser Shade, and will keep hold of what little safety it can. It is no Shade King - no Sea - and will not make a move. For now, it's safe. Entering into the library will not be an option for any band of scavenger or scholar. They will surely die by its hand. But if you are worried about it spreading, like that dark Shade King Sea from so long ago, worry not. These lesser ones may be able to infect and corrupt on small scales, but they can only spread themselves so thin. Its presence will be held by Greenwyck's old walls. I only worry for Galadriel. There is no way she will be able to die there, as she wishes. However, I will not underestimate her lover's dedication to her. I think Yellow could slay the beast even in old age if it meant Galadriel could find rest where she wishes to. I could ever only dream of a partner so beholden to me. In the meantime, my bond with ale will do. - Edna
90 minutes | Nov 10, 2019
Lavenlyn I - 47: Skink
Azazel - The lizard thinks, and speaks, and plots. It might've been used for some evil purpose, had we not have found it first. Primordial beasts such as these are powerful, undying things. From what I know, they are easily impressionable. It has already taken to my books and scrolls, reading through them, learning and absorbing. It's rather cute. Our labyrinth of secrets and ink is a rightful home for such a creature. This library takes a lot - too much for mortal hands to keep smoothly running. It has turned into a world of its own. Galadriel calls it her Roofed Forest. It needs a caretaker, someone with the drive to tend to it forever. The lizard will be our librarian. I will see to it that the machinations of the library are built to be controlled and watched over by it. I will forge levers and spyglasses for our new caretaker. And of course, I will bring a meal home with me. I will be home soon. May Zhar's watchful eye be over you, Father Redd
106 minutes | Nov 3, 2019
Lavenlyn I - 46: History
Galadriel - They seem pure of heart. They may be older than the trees themselves. You are right to say they deserve a visit, but I will stay away and wait for your presence to make true introductions. I may in fact not show myself at all. Their ways are unknown to me, and bewildering. They are so old that they very well might remember the birth of trees, or the arrival of them, to Yottle. Their heartwood tree, at the pinnacle of Vyrmoor's highest peak, is called the Blade Birther. They claim it is called this because it did, in fact, grant them the Crystal Sword of legend. Their history is rich, and flows like a poem, or river. Their nature is to study, but not like our study. They pore over writings from the gnomes that came before them as if those parchments held all the secrets of the world, but it is all just poetry and tales. It is a mystery to me, indeed. During the day, I stay far away and fish. At night, I creep to the edge of their college and watch them dance around each other, orating and slapping spears against shields. They are not playing. These are warriors, of a fine and strange and gruesome sort. However, I do not know how their peculiar style would truly fare if trouble were ever to find them in this hidden grove, this secret amphitheater hidden away from our world of bitter faces and city filth. I do not see the power behind words, only acts. They seem to find a union of the two - which I imagine would lead to weakness. Maybe they know something we don't, from those old poems of theirs. If your suspicions of the prophecy's truth are confirmed, and that fearsome dragon Zael is plotting a thousand year plot, I suppose we shall see. - Reynardine
90 minutes | Oct 27, 2019
Lilac Delights - Halloween 2019
In a very special Halloween episode, Secret Hearth sits down to play Gas Mask Game's slasher RPG The Final Girl. It's 1990-something, and a gang of teens are sneaking into the mall theater after dark to watch a childhood classic on the big screen. It's their last time together before moving away from their home town, and they're looking for a dose of autumn nostalgia. The future, unfortunately, is the last thing they should be fearing. A crazed killer is on the loose inside the neon glow of the mall, and not everyone will make it out alive. Content Warning: This is a little more violent and graphic than we typically are. Expect slasher-style corniness, and a fair amount of gore.
89 minutes | Oct 20, 2019
Lavenlyn I - 45: Name
My dear Beatrice - I write to you with the deepest of respects, but the doubts must flow from my tongue nonetheless, even if it is worse for the already loose thread which binds us. Ours is a relationship which must fall to the wayside over the importance of our future. Few can lay claim to being as wild or powerful as yourself, but a passion for the heartwoods and oration is not a tool of teaching. To pass on tradition rightly requires a dedication unwavering. Your latest lot lacks dedication, and we see in their stance and their works that this flaw is by your hand alone. To think, you allow them to train by themselves. Training alone only embeds failure. Mayhaps someday there will be only one of us - Seven forbid - and the errors which they teach themselves will be our legacy alone. The wrong phonetics, the lacking stances, the weakened inspiration - these are the things our enemies will see, not the good. Be sure that there is nothing ill simmering, for the wolves will surely smell it. - Lyla
84 minutes | Oct 13, 2019
Lavenlyn I - 44: Threads
A brush with a pair of especially dangerous scissors leave them shaken, but books need read and secrets need uncovered. Maps, mysterious switches, and magical memories await our heroes as they make their way to the top of the library.
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