Twilight

"We'd finish a lot faster if we could just take a few trees back to base and chop them up," grumbled Cpl. Michaels.

Sgt. Greene just stared squarely into the mildly defiant eyes of the grousing soldier until the corporal shrugged and quietly resumed collecting fallen branches. "Yeah, you do that, and then when it comes to the choice between dragging your broken body or a cord of firewood, I know which one I consider more useful."

Today's update is without a doubt one of our well known and loved Hebdomadal Personas, however, this update is slightly different. The Hebdomadal Persona we present to you today is a part of our upcoming new Untold Mini Campaign Setting, Steamfunk. We think that you'll find it both reassuringly familiar while at the same time: surprising, while tantalizingly new and exotic! Regardless, we hope that you enjoy it and that you will likewise enjoy Steamfunk - coming soon - and that you'll let us know what you think in our new Steamfunk section of the forums!

Alias: Zu Champion, Zu Lord
Race: L'na Twilight
Aspects: Mind 2, Body 3, Soul 2
Sex: Male-aspect; Height: 6 ft. (at the shoulder); Weight: 550 lbs.

"Mother! Tell us again about Ursimian!"

The small den exploded with frantic sounds and movement: scores of small voices filled the air with clamor and din. "Yes Mother! Yes Mother! Tell us! Tell us!" The small reptilian-insectoid tyke who'd started it all smiled, his forked tongue tapping the insides of his shuttered teeth.

The aged matron of the clan of Twilights sighed a bit to herself. She was weary, but not so weary as to spread the tale of the great Champion of Zu - one of the foremost of her clan's for-bearers. She settled herself into her nest, preening a few of her scarlet and sable feathers. "All right, my hatchlings. Come and settle and I shall tell you the tale of how Ursimian became to be!"

Again a surging cacophony of frenetic behavior. "A new tale, Mother?!? This is wonderful!" Another of her brood, a small porcupine-quilled spider-monkey moth cred, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Yes a new tale - one that shall not arrive until silence goes before it". Her feline-ursine features smiled slightly as she waited for her little ones to understand and adhere to her gentle instructions. Finally, the stirring brood calmed and settled like the still waters of a grotto pool, and the tale began...

The nights had grown slightly cooler, and very much darker. The swamp had grown silent and still, as if the life of the swamp itself had gone into some kind of hibernation with the onset of winter. In the deepest recesses of night, where acid rain once fell, now acid snow drifted in silent, white clouds; the nightmares of a sickly disease dreamed by a dying world.

Shadow stood upon a dead tree, surveying the surrounding landscape, his senses open to everything, taking in the essence of the swamp itself, the essence of life and death lingering in the air itself. Shadow's eyes wandered out along the horizon and came to stop on the ruined, domed temple. A thin, green colored smoke drifted out of the giant opening in the roof. A sickly, green light radiated from within; and the moaning sounds of countless undead offered a greeting chorus to all those who came close to the temple. Shadow's eyes then drifted upwards to the sky, as he gazed not for the first time at the alien stars above. He wondered not for the first time if he often gazed at the stars of Ai. Then he took a deep breath.

Setup: Many Apoc have the misguided belief that the L'na give up too easily sometimes. In truth, the L'na have the uncanny ability to choose their battles, often with devastating results. Such is the case with NAU Research Base Zulu. For years this research facility has huddled on the shore of Lake Michigan, using the aquatic boundary as a defensive bulwark. The L'na have known that whenever the NAU captures something "unusual" in the field, the creatures are brought to this base. The L'na have heard all the rumors about the dissections and experimentation done on the strange races that appeared after the Event. Slys-ayr, krieg and even stranger creatures are confined in perpetual "observation" at this base.

The harsh, flickering light of a chemical camp fire outlined the silhouette of over a dozen men against a stark, desert landscape. The pungent tang of burning sterno mingled with the scent of gun oil and day old sweat. The men, each heavily armed and clad in body armor and desert fatigues, huddled close to the foul, smelly fire to fight the chill of the clear night. As if hesitant to break the silence, they sat together quietly and cleaned weapons or stared into the distance.

Overcome by impatience, a young soldier with dark hair spoke. "How far away are they?"

Closing the breach of his rifle with a resounding snap, an older man in a perfect, unwrinkled uniform covered in medals and insignias answered without looking up. "At least a day's hike to the advanced scouts, Wilson. We'll leave at dawn, meet up with Commander Austin's 4th Battalion by noon, and get ready to engage the Kliks the following day."

Alias: None known. (Name is pronounced Ick Yee-Gaht)
Race: L'na Twilight
Aspects: Body 2, Mind 3, Soul 1
Sex: Male aspect; Ht: 5' (at shoulder), 15'(length); Wt: 245 lbs.

Character Description/Notes: The L'na known as Iq'yigat lived his entire existence in the dark, hidden places of Ai - guarding and maintaining the black world of the crushing depths as well as the mysterious secrets found within them. He knew the friendship of beings no others had ever once seen, enigmatic entities untouched by the flow of time or sting of harsh sky's light. He knew things that had no words for air or fire, yet whispered to him of the profundities of the very beginning. Ancient and powerful knowledge was his to share, his to protect... and then it was all gone.

Never let it be said that the guys from Wandering Men Studios dislike giving away free stuff! Nothing could be further from the truth, in fact. We LOVE giving stuff away so much that our accountant wants to kill us - seriously.

But, we do it anyways...

So, to continue this proud tradition of self-inflicted degradation, we'd like to give you last month's newsletter today for free! Sure, it's about a month behind and you may have seen some of this already, but hey - if you want to see it when it's "hot off the presses", then simply subscribe to our newsletter today! The new issue will be out very soon and it's at least one hundred point three times (100.3x) as awesome as this one!

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