The Drowned Tangle (Arc)

The Oracle spoke, and we obeyed. Not because we wanted to, not because we believed a word she said, but because we had no choice. Some of us had recently clawed free of her control, slipped from our debts, and those left behind were punished all the harsher for the absence of the others. When the northern passage opened, she called it a gift from Linor—a reward for our loyalty, for our faith. Doubt pooled low in our bellies, heavy and cold, but when she sent nearly the entire group north there was no room to question, no space to hesitate.

The land we found was unlike any we’d known: beaches of sand bleeding every shade and grain into one another, even here near the island's center, far from the ocean’s reach. Scattered across those shifting dunes, like broken children’s toys, lay ships—new and old, shattered and whole, rotted and fresh as if time had tangled around them like a net. Gravestones and monuments carved in tongues we no longer understood surrounded the wrecks, broken and scarred where towering pillars of coral and debris thrust towards the sky. We shivered in the eerie silence and beneath eyes unseen, their weight pressing down without sound. But we kept careful, obedient—The Oracle had been explicit: take notes, make observations, prepare the way for those who’d come after.

Then, without warning, the water surged. A wave taller than any mountain we’d ever seen, rolling forward with a hunger we couldn’t outrun. We scattered like insects, scrambling for higher ground, for safety, for anything but the cold rush bearing down on us. It was useless. The current was cruel and fast, and it crushed down before we’d gone far. But this water was not the ocean we knew, not the sea we expected. When it struck, we didn’t tumble or drown. We walked through it, rode it, swam beneath it—and when our lungs screamed, when the ache made us gasp for air, we found we could breathe. We stood submerged beneath that towering wall of water, watching light fracture and dance across its surface, and for a moment, we were in awe.

Then the moment shattered. Terror roared in, sharp and sudden. We heard it before we saw it—a low, dreadful rumble, coming from everywhere all at once. A black portal tore open at our center, hurling us backward like ragdolls. Heavy footsteps sent ripples and pulses through the water, distorting everything. Something deep inside trembled with the terrible knowledge of what was coming—something we prayed not to see. But we couldn’t look away. One massive paw emerged. Then another. Then a face, horrible and twisted, crusted with shards: the Dreadnought. The spell that bound us snapped in an instant. Some ran north, only to find a living wall of ice—cold and absolute—our starfire powerless against it. We were easy prey, swallowed whole before we could break through. Others stood and fought, but our powers here were strange—unpredictable, inconsistent... fragile.

In that darkest hour, the Paragon appeared. It gored the Dreadnought with its horn, buying us precious seconds, and some of us managed to make our desperate escape. When we finally passed the barrier, battered, bruised... we found we had been washed clean of the Oracle’s control. Some would return to her side—what choice did they have, when it wasn’t only magic that bound us?—but others found clarity, a sharp sanity they hadn’t known in months. And in that clarity came the cruel truth: the Oracle had never been on our side. This was deliberate, a sacrifice planned from the start, and the Dreadnought was all the stronger for it.

Now we are trapped, cut off from the rest of the island by the Tangle and the icy wall hemming its northern edge. Fish in a bucket, waiting for the Dreadnought’s next hunt. But it doesn’t have to be this way. Scattered through the Tangle are strange artifacts, pockets of divine remnants, ancient tech, wild magic. We can seize it—bring it under our control, tame the Tangle, melt the wall. The land is strange, and terrible, and beautiful. Endless possibilities curl through it like smoke, treasures beyond our wildest imaginings... There is danger here, too, but it may be our only hope.

OOC Summary

• After a strange series of earthquakes, a strange strip of land opened up circling all of our known areas.
• "The Oracle" (The Echo Below) decreed this a gift from Linor, and dispatched a large group of Starchildren -- most of those under her control -- to investigate the area.
• Shortly after their arrival, a massive wall of water rushed in and submerged the entire strip of land, but they were able to move, breathe, and speak normally.
• A massive wall of thick magic ice appeared, now standing as a barrier between our known areas and the rest of the island.
• The Dreadnought appeared shortly after the water, clearly lured there by something, and began to consume the trapped Starchildren.
• The Paragon arrived and was able to distract the Dreadnought long enough for a few Starchildren to survive -- around 25% of the original force sent to the area.
• Many methods used by the Oracle ceased to work after the escaped; some believe this a gift from Linor, that the goddess had tried to warn the Starchildren by raising the waters, even.
• Many remaining Starchildren joined the Freeborn and/or began spreading the word of The Oracle's betrayal. It will take time for word to reach Pyronmouth... but soon even the faithful will have reason to question.
• The Tangle now blocks us from the rest of the island. The area will need to be tamed before we can continue expansion; there are various methods for participation.
• The Dreadnought also seems to be trapped in our Known Areas instead of having access to roam across the full island -- meaning life just got a whole lot more dangerous for our characters!

Area Description

• The Drowned Tangle is a vast, submerged expanse where the laws of nature no longer apply and dangers and treasures wait around every corner.
  • Travelers can walk, ride, swim, and speak as though on dry land though fire (including Starfire) behaves erratically: sputtering into fractal flares, blooming out of control for a few feet, or extinguishing mid-spark.
  • The ground shifts from fine ivory dunes to black volcanic ash, then to coarse coral grit or crushed shell. Every texture of sand seems present here, as if gathered from the edges of the world and cast into one great seabed.
  • Shipwrecks of every origin and era litter the terrain; some lie in ruin, torn apart by reefs or rusted down to ribs while others bear the unmistakable scars of an encounter with something big and toothy. And then there are the pristine ones: intact, gleaming, without so much as a scratch to explain why they went under.
  • Between the wrecks rise countless gravestones and memorials. Most are inscribed in dead or unrecognizable tongues; a few pulse faintly when approached, and a rare handful respond to touch with light, sound, or memory.
  • Tremors ripple across the Tangle without warning. Sand buckles. Hulls collapse. Sinkholes bloom like wounds. New paths open; others vanish.
  • Coral sprawls unchecked across the seafloor, forming tangled bridges, tunnels, spirals, and cages. Some colonies pulse like organs. Others open and close like mouths. A few are made entirely of bleached bone.
  • Natural and unnatural predators roam the region. Toothsome leviathans curl beneath fractured hulls. Pale scavengers with too many limbs scuttle between gravestones. And in the deeper reaches greater things stir.
  • Apparitions drift among the wrecks: some whisper unintelligibly while others reenact their last desperate moments without sound. They usually pay no mind to the living.... usually.
  • Deeper water pockets, often nestled within caverns or temple ruins, can only be entered with special gear. They are extremely hazardous but contain rare materials or lost relics.
  • Magical compulsions, tracking brands, suppression collars, mind control, and more are disabled by the water -- anything that holds or binds someone unwillingly to another. It is believed this is a gift from Linor.
  • To the north, a titanic wall of translucent ice blocks further passage. It is seamless, vast, and utterly impervious to all known forces. The water is significantly colder here.

Taming the Tangle

In Character Post Option

• You can complete up to 2 prompts per post, and each prompt can be completed an unlimited number of times by an unlimited number of characters.
  • Each prompt will offer a set choice of 3 possible prizes. Signe will post in the Drowned Tangle Arc thread on Discord to notify you of your prize options!

PROMPTS

1. You attempt to speak to an apparition—and for the briefest moment, it speaks back. One word. One image. One question. What do you do?
2. A coral cage grows around you overnight. Someone—or something—has trapped you without touching you. What do they want? What do you remember dreaming?
3. You find a ship flying your homeland’s colors—one that should not be here. Its logbook names people you know. Its final entry is dated next month.
4. You see yourself reflected in a cracked hull window. Except your reflection moves first.
5. A reef beast lies dead, long-decayed—except for the beating heart still lodged in its chest. You hear music from it. What kind?
6. A sinkhole collapses beneath your feet. You fall into a buried shrine that predates all known records—sealed tight, glowing faintly. There’s something alive inside.
7. A gravestone pulses beneath your palm. You feel something—not language, not memory exactly, but pressure. What does it want from you?
8. You stumble into a confrontation between two apparitions—ghosts of enemies who don’t realize they’ve died. Their battle begins again... and you’re caught in the crossfire. Can you end it?
9. A memorial responds to touch with a projected memory. You become a passenger on a doomed vessel moments before its disappearance. What do you learn? Can you change anything?
10. You find an offering pile tucked inside a bone-coral alcove. Trinkets, charms, teeth. Add one or take one: either way, something shifts around you.
11. One shipwreck has been perfectly preserved, down to the fruit in its galley. A chair rocks as if someone just stood. You step inside. What do you see—or what sees you?
12. You come across another character unconscious and tangled in living coral. It won’t let go, but doesn’t seem to be harming them. Do you cut them loose, bargain with the coral, or walk away?
13. Fire flares wild and fractal from your torch or weapon. For a moment, it dances in a shape you recognize. What does it remind you of? Do you follow it?
14. You enter an air pocket cave where the laws of gravity reverse. Coral climbs downward like stalactites; bones fall upward. Your sense of time warps. What do you carry back—and what follows?
15. A mouth-shaped coral opens as you pass. It doesn’t bite, doesn’t speak. But it’s waiting. Do you place something inside?
16. You find a book sealed in wax and coral. When cracked open, it spills seawater across your boots and erases its own ink line by line. What do you glimpse before it’s gone?
17. You witness a leviathan breach and crash down near a pristine shipwreck. The wreck's crew appear alive... unaware they've already died. Can you approach without shattering the illusion—or do you try to save them?
18. You discover a series of messages written in multiple languages carved into reef walls. Pieced together, they describe a location sealed by “the tongue of the sea.” What’s waiting there? Who else is already looking?
19. A tremor catches you mid-step. When the sand settles, something is in your hand that wasn’t there before.
20. A perfect skeleton lies curled beneath a coral arch. Not a mark on it. Not a scrap of clothing. Just one sealed envelope resting in its chest cavity. Do you open it?
21. A ship’s bell rings underwater. You follow the sound and find it swinging gently—though there’s no current and no ship in sight.
22. A wrecked vessel sits upside-down, balanced impossibly atop a spire of shell. Entry is possible through a cracked hull—but every time you climb in, the inside rearranges itself.
23. You follow tracks across the seafloor: hoofprints, then webbed claws, then bare human feet. They vanish at a sunken doorway.
24. A coral spiral grows around a statue with a shattered face. At its feet is a bowl filled with teeth—some yours. You’ve never lost a tooth in your life. Right?
25. A mirror has formed inside the underside of a hull fragment. It shows a version of you that never entered the Tangle. What are they doing?
26. A voice calls for help in a language you don’t know. You understand it anyway. When you follow the sound, there’s nothing there... except a name carved in the coral that isn’t yours, but feels like it should be.
27. The water shifts cold, dark. You surface through what should be sand—into a preserved ballroom frozen in time. Music plays faintly. Everything waits for you to join the dance.
28. A thread of gold winds through the sand. It leads to a locket embedded in bone coral. Inside: two figures, one you recognize and one you almost do.
29. You uncover a bell jar sealed with wax. Inside floats a single glowing eye. It blinks. Then the jar cracks.
30. A predator lunges—too fast, too large. But instead of attacking, it passes through you, leaving you shaken and… changed. What do you notice first?
31. A giant fossilized jaw forms a natural tunnel. As you pass through, each tooth hums with a different memory—not your own. One of them lingers.
32. You dream of the Tangle before ever arriving. You recognize a spot exactly. When you find it, something is buried there with your name on it.
33. A trail of glowing footprints appears behind you, not ahead. When you step away, they don’t stop forming.
34. Two apparitions are locked in a ritual duel—blades of coral, movement like tide. One turns to acknowledge you. You shouldn't have seen this.
35. A dome of translucent ice sits in a crater of hot sand. Inside is a flickering campfire that never burns out. Entering requires a cost.
36. A child’s toy—wooden and barnacled—washes up beside you. It spins in your hand, forming a sigil you’ve seen before in dreams.
37. You and another character awaken in a different part of the Tangle with no memory of getting there. Between you is an object neither of you owns—but both recognize.
38. A rowboat rocks in still water, midair above a ridge. The oars move themselves. If you board, it takes you somewhere... else.
39. A sea creature speaks to you through gesture and mimicry. It wants to trade—but not with objects. It wants a truth you’ve never told anyone.

REQUEST A PROMPT

• If none of the options above work for your thread, or you want to go for mystery rewards, you can request custom prompts in the #ic-requests channel.

OOC Delve Option

• Delves are OOC/stats-based explorations of the deeper -- and more dangerous -- parts of the Tangle. They can be started on the #catalysts-and-mini-games channel.

Sending [Character] on a Delve! They are Level [X] in [Magic/Tech].
**Character Name:**
**Partner, if applicable:**
**Starting Level:**
**Initial Task:**
**Items:**
**Special Notes:**

• Writing a post or thread about your Delve experience will earn a bonus reward.

PROCESS & NOTES

• Every player gets 1 free Delve per month that can be used to send any character. After that, any character posted during the month becomes eligible for 1 additional Delve (maximum 1 Delve per character per month).
  • Posting more than once with the same character does not grant extra Delves.
• Delves can be done solo or with up to one partner; your partner can be another player character (your own or someone else's with their permission/involvement), Companion, pet, or NPC.
• Characters receive 10 Health and 20 Stamina per Magic/Tech level; a level 0 character will start with 10 Health and 20 Stamina, while a level 8 character will start with 80 Health and 160 Stamina.
  • Health can be affected by various events in the dungeon; hitting 0 Health will result in your character fainting.
    • Participants are automatically pulled out of the Delve; they will be returned to a Safe Zone near the entrance, but may lose some of what they collected.
    • Their partner can attempt one final activity before their own necklace triggers and returns them to their ally's side.
    • Some activities have a chance of resurrecting fainted partners, which would allow the event to continue.
  • Characters can engage in as many types of resourcing activities, or descend deeper, until they run out of Stamina.
    • The necklace will automatically transport them out of the Delve if their stamina is depleted; it can also be activated at will at any time. Neither option will result in losses.
    • Their partner can continue on until their own stamina hits bottom -- however, their risks will increase now that they are alone!

ACTIVITIES

Activity	Description	Available Tier	Base Stamina Cost
Observe	Study flora, architecture, fauna behavior. Discoveries are more likely.	Tier I	3
Forage	Gather natural resources like mosses, glowing fungus, reef shards, or bonefruit.	Tier I	4
Meditate	Recover Sanity (10 - 20%) and reduce emotional strain. Risk-free.	Tier I	4
Descend	Move deeper into the Delve. Blocks previous layers.	Tier I	5
Salvage	Scavenge ruined structures, shipwrecks, or ancient equipment.	Tier I	6
Combat	Defeat enemies, clear corrupted rooms, fend off invasions.	Tier I	8
Puzzle	Hack locks, copy reactive rune patterns, solve riddles, and more.	Tier II	6
Creature Capture	Attempt to tame, trap, or disable Delve fauna without killing them.	Tier II	8
Stabilize	Repair ward pillars, awaken inert obelisks, or reroute energy flows. Restores up to 5% Sanity.	Tier III	7
Advanced Combat	Fight elite or highly corrupted threats in more dangerous rooms.	Tier III	9
Rare Salvage	Scavenge high-level materials from ancient tech, gear, or cursed relics.	Tier IV	7
Advanced Creature Capture	Tame or trap unusually intelligent or volatile fauna with detailed behaviors.	Tier IV	9
Purify	Use energy, tools, or abilities to cleanse Delve cores or unstable zones. Restores up to 10% Sanity.	Tier IV	10
Random Task Chain	A multi-step event (e.g., Stabilize → Puzzle → Combat) that must be completed in sequence.	Tier V	RNG 6–12
Dual-Activity Node	A hybrid event where two activities are combined (e.g., Salvage + Combat). Success may require addressing both types.	Tier V	RNG 9–15

• Random Task Chains are triggered by special events that may occasionally appear as early as Tier III but are most common in Tier V. Players can choose to proceed with the chain for a random cost, or skip.
• Dual-Activity Nodes appear when environmental conditions require hybrid solutions. Players can choose to proceed with the activities for a random cost, or skip.

TOKENS & LEVELS

• Each character will receive a Marrowlight Token, a unique upgradeable object, after your first Delve.
  • Your Token's tier will determine how deep you can go in your current delve; once a tier is unlocked, you can request to start on any level up to your maximum (ex: Tier III Token holders can start on any level 1 - 15).
    • Deeper levels will offer greater rewards, but also greater risks; activities will also cost more.
  • Each character's Token will appear different and will visually update each time you unlock a tier -- you can set these details yourself, or request Support generate it for you.

Tier	Delves Required	Access Range	Resell Value	Available Activities	Multiplier	Instability %
I	1	Levels 1–5	125 – 300c	Combat, Salvage, Forage, Observe, Meditate	1.0	5%
II	3 total	Levels 6–10	175 – 420c	+Puzzle, +Creature Capture	1.2	10%
III	7 total	Levels 11–15	250 – 600c	+Stabilize, +Advanced Combat	1.5	15%
IV	12 total	Levels 16–20	375 – 900c	+Purify, +Rare Salvage, +Advanced Creature Capture	1.8	25%
V	18 total	Levels 21–25	750 – 1800c	All activities; random task chains & dual-activity nodes more likely to trigger	2.0	35%
Additional tiers may be added in future.

Activity Cost Multiplier

Each level range applies a multiplier to the base Stamina cost of activities.

• We will multiply the base cost of your chosen activity by the Multiplier listed for your tier; results are always rounded up to the nearest whole number.

Examples:

• On Levels 1 - 5 Salvage will costs 6 Stamina (6 x 1).
• On Levels 6 - 10 Salvage will cost 9 Stamina (6 x 1.5).
• On Levels 21 - 25 will cost 12 Stamina (6 x 2.0)

Instability

Instability reflects how volatile, warped, or unpredictable the deeper Delve layers become.

Each tier has a set Instability %, which represents the chance per activity that:

• Something will go unexpectedly wrong (or strangely right).
• Your activity may mutate into a different type (e.g., a Puzzle becomes a Combat encounter).
• You might gain or lose something unusual (e.g., extra rewards, Stamina spikes, hallucinations, damage from unknown forces).

Examples:

• At Tier I (5% Instability), most events behave predictably.
• At Tier IV (25% Instability), every activity could have a secondary twist or chaotic modifier.

Sanity

Sanity reflects your character’s mental and emotional stability in the Delves. It starts at 100% and depletes as you encounter corruption, anomalies, or strain.

• Certain events may cause Sanity loss and sometimes occur because of it. These include: instability events; action failures; accessing unknown layers; witnessing anomalies; finding or using cursed or unstable gear.
• Sanity can be restored through Meditating, Stabilizing, or Purifying levels, as well as successful actions.

Sanity Range	Effects
100–80%	No effect.
79–60%	Instability chance +5%. Minor hallucinations begin. Slightly more likely to encounter rare items or anomalies.
59–40%	+1 Stamina cost per action. Instability chance +10%. You may access secret areas or receive extra outcome options.
39–20%	+2 Stamina cost per action. Instability chance +20%. Stronger hallucinations and stranger encounters may occur. Some events will randomly mutate (e.g., a Puzzle becomes a Purify).
19–1%	+3 Stamina cost per action. You gain a bonus reward, but can no longer Meditate. Hallucinations, event mutations, and more powerful prizes likely.
0%	You are auto-extracted with a random penalty or bonus such as a permanent scar, curse, phobia or flaw; a blessing or bonus; loss of some of your collected rewards; start with lower Stamina, Health, or Sanity next attempt; loss of Token Tiers; etc.