Downtime- The Skull of Huugal Aerith

Before he caught Yellow Fever, the Beholder Phasmo delved into the mysteries of a ancient human skull with runes and other markings carved into its surface through some contracted research by the Athenaeum of the Dying Sun for the vat spawn V'Naïss Two-Face. Then, though, V'Naïss passed on and then Phasmo fell ill to Yellow Fever. And that is how, only now, Phasmo is presenting the results of his research to the heir of V'Naïss: Copra Kaan.

V'Naïss gave Phasmo the following to guide his research: in the hills near Orm, near the village of his people, lay the rest of the body of one 'Huugal Aerith'. She had desired to know where that spot was. Phasmo dived deep into the Athanaeum's stacks and at first, the research seemed futile. While an odd 'Huugal' or two was stumbled across in the ancient texts, none carried the surname 'Aerith'. It was an accidental late night discovery on the fifth day of research that Phasmo had a break through. Meaning to grab a book of census records of the Elfin Marches first years, Phasmo instead grabbed a book of commentaries by the monk (and assistant to the 5th Warden of the Elfin Marches, Xeelos the Bird Singer (sometimes knowns as Volos the Ashamed or the Renouncer of the Ill-Gotten Crown). In the commentaries, Xeelos offers his views on a variety of dime fictions The harshest commentary delivered to the inaccuracies of the series covering the rakish hero Osero. And, while the commentary is scathing, the opinions on the character, or maybe better said, figure of Osero seems to carry a warmth that one could dare to term "affectionate" in its undercurrents.

This, though, is surely a digression. For, that late night, Phasmo did not read a single page on Osero. His fingers, clumsy as one's fingers get when they move through the cloud of sleep denied, grabbed the incorrect book but opened up to the exact right page: a commentary exploring the odd theology in a cheap tale covering the exploits of Huugal Gold Tooth. The story itself is a play on an older folk tale about a burley warrior with a golden tooth who becomes lost in a magical valley in the mountain near what is now Orm. While the skull possess no golden tooth, it did possess an iron pin screwed into the jaw where a tooth was missing. This spot was the same as Huugal golden tooth- central maxillary incisor.

Phasmo read through the commentary once, picking up its general gist. Huugal, a holy warrior in the services of the Seven Holy Archons of Law, was on the outs with his order's hierarchy (and may his gods?) due to his constant drinking and womanizing. As penance, he is ordered up to the hills for an ascetic hermitage. In a fast and lotus fueled delirium, Huugal wanders into a mystical valley where he helps an enslaved people rebel against their bone-crown wearing overlords and finds love. His cause and his romancing are aided by four celestial beings in the form of an eagle, a worm, the now extinct wolf, and the now extinct bear. Of course, Huugal lives long enough to be initiated in the community he helps free and woo the daughter of its leader but not long enough to either see them enjoy their new life nor be happy in love. It ends with him being buried in a shrine to his faith.

On a second reading, Phasmo catches two things. First is that the Aeon in which the story of Huugal is set, the sun was not yet the bloated red mass that sputters above. Many would read the references to the red rock of the valley and think it merely caught in the light of the dying sun but Phasmo places that these red rocks cannot be the ones north of Orm due to the stories timeline. The second is that term used to discuss the hills maybe come off to one less skilled in Old Imperialish to think Xeelos was referring to the Gloaming Hills but, in fact, it is not the right word. While this older word is connected to the root for Gloaming, at the time the word is closer to something like oneiric. It is a phrase for something possessing the qualities of the beginning of dream rather than the dusk that brings the night. Between the two, it is certain to Phasmo that Xeelos sees the tale of Huugal as taking place in a space beyond Orm, beyond the Gloaming Hills, and beyond this world.

Here are a few options for further research here open to either Phasmo or Copra:

1. Further delving into Xeelos exploration of the theology of the tale of Huugal Gold Tooth and the Four Divine Beasts.
2. Studying more about the specifics in Xeelos' writing about the tomb Huugal's body resides.
3. Researching the Vale Among the Oneric Mounds or Peaks in the only tome cited by Xeelos the library has-- Homerinous' History of Magical Mysterious Appendix N: The Peculiar Realms of Twilight, Elfin and Otherwise.
4. Delving into the runes on Huugal's skull