This warbling gate is a golden ring with a gray magic wall, looking like a slowly moving gray fog In the graveyard: https://youtu.be/fX07qD_782Y?si=DipdsPgRYBKiCadk In the cathedral: https://youtu.be/6H2JbT4BRDU?si=lvecRpHQf5X5fU8H ## Upon exiting the GRAY gate, you feel a strange chill run up all your spines. Not from it being cold, but moreso because you find yourself face to face with several rows of tombstones that extend into an unending gray mist. Welcome to the **Graveyard** domain! (WILL ROLL) (Lowest roller) suddenly has the strangest sensation that they don't want to go any further inside. Not so much that they're afraid to, but like 10,000 really REALLY bad outcomes just appeared on their mind at once and it is compelling them to turn and run. *IF THEY CONTINUE* As far as the eye can see is just rows upon rows of graves and fog, none more distinct than the other barring a few with unique headstones. Other than that and the occasional tree, the only distinguishing thing in the area is the brick path in the ground leading forward. (NOTICE ROLL) The dates and ages on the grave catch your eye. The graves in the front row next to the road are all brand new, some not even a day old, and most of their ages are upwards of 80s and 90s, barring the occasional person that passed far too young. (NOTICE roll) You spot someone in the distance, their body obscured by the mist. ----- *IF THEY APPROACH* You see a gray wolf man with messy white hair kneeling with a small handful of flowers, arranging them against the grave in front of him. As you approach, he will stand and walk over to a wheeled flower cart behind him, picking up a bushel of those colorful flowers. *IF THEY WAIT OR CALL OUT* The obscured figure will slowly approach, revealing themselves to be a wolf man with messy white hair, pulling a wheeled wooden cart behind himself. He will suddenly stop, walking around to the back side of the cart, and grab an arm load of brightly colored flowers. ----- *IF THEY SAY ANYTHING OR APPROACH FURTHER* The wolf man will suddenly turn to your group, his eyes a dull emerald green. He will speak with a soft Tamil accent, "Oh... Abologies, I was focusing on my work." He will take the fresh bushel of flowers to any graves next to the main path and place a few flowers on each one. (Tamil sounds similar to Indian accents) (Replace T with D, P with B, roll the R) *ASK ABOUT DM/REGALIA* He will raise a hand again so he can speak. "Abologies again, bud I have much work do do. If you will meed me ad dhe ceremony hall, I will dalk do you dhere." He will pick up his cart and roll past your group, eyes to the ground as he walks forward slowly. ----- You eventually spot a large cathedral-like facility with a massive pair of wide open doors. There is also a building at either side, not as fancy as the huge cathedral in the middle, but built similarly. Thanatos will park his cart off to the right side before turning to your group. *LEFT BUILDING* You find a door leading into a storage facility filled with instruments. Mostly pianos, violins, harps, flutes, ceremonial drums, and the tools to repair them all. *RIGHT BUILDING* You find a door leading into a warehouse with several sets of nice dress clothes in multiple sizes, as well as "pine boxes" in identical sizes, plus shovels, large slabs of stone, chisels, choir gowns, extra wooden podiums, and a surprisingly large hair and makeup kit. *OPEN CATHEDRAL* You enter the main congregation hall, with rows of pews like any other church, but the elevated stage in the back is holding a podium, an open casket, and a portrait of the deceased. The dozens of people in the seats are chattering, reminiscing, crying, and even laughing as they support each other. There are also a few people walking up to the casket to say their goodbyes. (CONTACTS ROLL) It's a photo of Warton, the elderly bulldog man that ran the bookstore A younger bulldog man steps forth to the podium as that same grayscale wolf man you met earlier steps up to the piano, playing a soft tune as the bulldog speaks. "Hello, uh.. My name is Peyton, and I'm Warton's son. I want to thank you all for coming out to say your goodbyes and... I'm... I'm sorry, I'm gonna need a moment." He pauses to step away and take a stilling breath. "My father was a unique kind of guy. Always happy, well read, smartest man I ever met. Je was always on the lookout for some new story or book he'd never heard of, loved meeting new people, and all he ever wanted was for others to love stories as much as he did. He made sure to read to me every night, and I always felt like I never really told him how much it meant to me that he did..." He paused again, fighting back tears. "Back when I was a student at Diadem University, they had a class where they went over each known religion's interpretation of the afterlife. They were all different, but the trend showed if you were a decent person, then when you died, you went somewhere amazing or maybe got a better life the next time around." "I say that to say, this man was quite possibly the kindest, strongest, and most morally upright man I ever knew. And I may not be a religious man, but if any of them turns out to be true, he deserves the absolute best and has MORE than earned it." He turns to the casket, mic in hand. "Thank you for everything. I just hope that, wherever you are right now, you know that you are now, and always will be, loved." The audience erupts in applause and comments, a few stepping up on stage to hug and compliment his bravery. The next person in line, a cardinal man, steps up to speak next. (NOTICE ROLL) One of you noticed the music had stopped and the wolf man had moved to the opposite side of the aisle as you. "I abologize for my indrusion, I hope you do not mind. Bud afder hearing him, I needed do dake a moment for myself. Id is empowering do hear one speak with such passion. And his lade fadher is so full of pride knowing his son dhinks so highly of him." *IF THEY ASK HOW HE KNOWS* "Id is my... gifd, in a sense. Odhers Domain Masders can see and feel dhe bower of dhe elemends dhemselves, bud mine is somedhing much differend." He extends his hand for you to touch. *TOUCH THE HAND* Everything you can see shifts a bit, the room around you losing its color, and the people themselves now giving a faint glow of various bodily colors. The angry people show off red, the sad ones are blue, the scared ones glow white, and you could swear you see a person shrouded in gray that wasn't there a moment ago, patting the shoulder of the blue shrouded bulldog man that spoke earlier. "Deadh Magic is somedhing many beoble do not undersdand, bud id is an inherend way do dap dhe bower of exisdence idself. You beer indo dhe very essence of life, and eben beyond." You see that person in gray suddenly dissipate into mist, spreading out into the open air. And the son looks around confused, suddenly becoming deep in thought. "Unlike life magic which is freely given, deadh magic is more finide, and only exisds because dhose dhat came before lefd dhad magic behind, simbly by exisding in dhe firsd place. And as dhe caredaker of dhe graveyard and dhe magic widhin, I believe every life deserves do be celebraded for ever having exisded." He takes his hand away, and everything fades back into normal view. (EMPATHY ROLL) However, (highest roller)'s eyes are acting a bit odd, and are glitching a bit back and forth between normal view and this new mood ring like view. ----- That player has earned a new STUNT: EYES OF ETERNITY - +2 on EMPATHY rolls with people in distress - EMPATHY ROLL to read emotions as a color aura ----- His wolf ears will suddenly flick a bit, and he will stand up, staring atraight at the door. "I beliebe we have uninvided guesds.. excuse me." He will quietly walk out the door, making sure to close it behind him. Despite this, you can hear several screams of men AND women just outside, while thankfully the people at the funeral have not heard a word. *WHEN THEY GO OUTSIDE* You will see the thickest blanket of gray mist outside the doors, but you THINK you can also recognize the outline of seven or eight people, the closest one looking like the wolf man. But as the mist begins to clear, the others are revealed to be Marauders, but they are all terrified of the wolf man. His back is turned to your group, but he is holding what looks like an old fashioned wooden scythe with a wolf skull accenting the top of the staff where it meets the long curved blade. All the Marauders are shaking like leaves, all of them surrounded by a thick layer of the gray mist. Thanatos steps forward, causing them all to jump a bit, before he speaks, "None of you are on dhe lisd... I advise you leave before dhad changes..." Every single Marauder suddenly screams and runs away like some kind of bad horror movie, and you see the wolf man's shoulders slump a bit. He turns to your group, the scythe he was holding dissipating into the mist around him. "Abologies, again, bud now dhad we are oudside, I believe now is a good dime for indroductions... my name is Thanatos, and if id was nod obvious, I am dhe Domain Masder." *IF ASKED ABOUT CHALLENGE* He sighs a bit and nods. "Drudhfully I would nod be able do do this right now, as I have many ceremonies to berform doday. Dhis one should be just aboud over, and a new one shall begin soon afder." Just as he says that, everyone at the ceremony files out the front doors, casket at the very front in the arms of four men, the rest following with all the photos and flowers in hand. One of the grieving women, an elderly cardinal, walks over to Thanatos, sniffing and tearing up. "Thank you for such a lovely ceremony, sir. You did everything perfectly." He kneels down so he is at her eye level, taking her hands in his and smiling softly at her. "A gread man deserves nodhing less dhan do be surrounded by friends and family, no differend dhan in life. All I did was provide dhe venue. Your people... dhey made dhe ceremony come to life." She suddenly jumps up and hugs him tightly, bawling into his shoulder for a moment, and he eventually returns her embrace. And that is when she realizes your group standing right behind him. She quickly releases him and covers her mouth with both hands over a soft gasp, taking a step back, and straightens her outfit out a bit. "I-Im so sorry, I didn't see you there.. I'm Riwena. I'm here for the service.. obviously.." She pauses and looks to Thanatos. "Are these your friends, or..?" He replies, "Dhey are nod friends ber se, dhey are.. a fudure abboindmend." She gasps a bit and walks up to you all, wiping her eyes with a tissue. "I'm so sorry for your loss. My husband just lost his closest friend and gambling buddy." Thanatos reaches down and holds her shoulder. "Acdually no, dhere is no loss. Dhey have a differend kind of abboindmend." She turns to him a bit confused. "You do other things than funerals here?" "Indeed. We host birdhday bardies, ghosd sdory nighds, and slam poedry readings on weekends." And she bursts out laughing, which catches the attention of the entire congregation as they set up the carry to the burial. He kindly ushers her to go back to her event, and she staggers off, laughing the whole way. "Dhad is dhe kind of momend I exisd for. Despide dhe endless flow of dears, she found a momend do share a smile. And now, dhad smile will become as infecdious as the woe dhad broughd dhem here. And she knows if she can smile ad a dime like dhis, dhen... she will be okay." By the time he stops talking, the entire group of people she was part of are all bellowing in laughter. (Whoever kept the eye ability can see her blue sadness fading into yellow joy, as does many others) "Id is dime for me do begin proceedings for dhe next ceremony... bud I meand whad I said when I referred to you as a fudure abboindmend. Come back on any fudure dade and we shall have your challenge. For now, I have much do do." He will step away from your group, heading back into the cathedral and slamming the doors behind him.