The Merry Bunch

The Merry Bunch

Type	Adventuring party
Formed	c. 1534
De facto leader	Aldor Thaned
Creed	Life is just life - live for yourself
Quest	Immortality, and the Rising Phoenix prophecy

The Merry Bunch are an adventuring party drawn together from chance meetings on the road, bound by deep personal ties and the shared, quiet creed that life is just life - so live it for yourself. At their heart lies a search for immortality - and a prophecy none of them asked for.

The Company

• Aldor Thaned - the de facto leader; a human raised by tengu after banderhobbs devoured his mother, born under the Rising Phoenix; serious, protective, and secretly in love with Nessa.
• Tikal - Aldor’s adoptive tengu brother, who manifested the Talons of Gagana; warm and joking, sworn to be his brother’s steel shield.
• Nessa Gorin - a once-wealthy woman whose estate was destroyed by a red storm; proud and guarded, in love with Aldor, and a formidable caster after years apprenticed away.
• Filantrophia (Philly) - a cleric of the Three Charities raised to give endlessly to others, now learning to want things for herself.
• Boti - a goblin bard, the Timeless Bard, kept ageless by a blessing from the dragon Ko Arto; the grandmother of the group.

How the Group Came to Be

The brothers Aldor and Tikal set out seeking the secret of immortality and were drawn to the legend of the Timeless Bard, Boti, who joined them on a whim. In the Holy Theocracy they met Philly, who for the first time was asked what she wanted; later they were found by Nessa, lost and only just discovering her powers. The name came from a grateful mayor’s question after they saved his village - Boti declared them “the Merry Bunch,” and the name stuck.

The Rising Phoenix Prophecy

Seeking a deathless phoenix atop a northern peak, the group instead found Ziz, queen of the Feathered Pantheon, who named Aldor the Rising Phoenix and foretold that he must “travel through, across, and under… drink the fire and eat the stone… gain all that you wished for, and lose all that mattered.” Aldor read its ending as a death sentence for Tikal, and now flees the prophecy - warding himself even from dreams.

Appendix

See Also

• The Raza - another roving band of the age
• The Feathered Pantheon · Ko Arto

Notes

• Reorganized from the former NPC-The Merry Bunch entry; each member now has their own page.

Sources & Attribution

• Primary lore: content/NPC/The Merry Bunch.md (moved to content/private/_originals/NPC/), author TrueMichato.

Organizations

Organizations Of Thelemar

Political Organizations

Countries	The Lexalian Republic The Holy Theocracy of Olympus The Kingdom of Clairnia The Jaknian Conglomerate The Hub
Noble Houses	House Terra House Elemdar House Abingale

Old World

Bard Colleges	College of Lore College of Glamour College of Swords College of Eloquence College of Whispers College of Valor College of Tragedy College of Jesters College of Surrealism College of Creation College of Spirits
Assassin Guilds	Three Knives Murder Inc. Servants of Thanatos Bringers of Death
Crime Syndicates	The Scarlet Embrace The Council of Dawn The Crystal Vipers The Areanites The Hounds of Nemesis The EmberCats The Night Market
Cults	Cult of the Four Seasons The Brotherhood of the Black Pharaoh The Brothers of the Yellow Sign The Children of the Brass Worm The Church of Starry Wisdom The Prideful
Religious Organizations	Priestesses of the Virgin Moon Scribes of Ibis
Knowledge Gatherers	The Anthropological Institute
Secret Societies	The Complex
Merchant Guilds	Stormbreak Inc
Druid Circles	The Moon Circle

Thief Guilds

Schools of Magic	School of Divination School of Transmutation School of Abjuration School of Conjuration School of Enchantment School of Necromancy School of Illusion School of Evocation The Magisterium

Fighter Guilds

Mercenery Groups	The Everlegion Red Raven Company
Dragon Hunters	Bana Drakar
Martial Orders	The Holy Company The Order of the Bastions The Warders
Monster Hunters	The Blood Hunters The Fiend Hunters The New Fiend Hunters
Knight Orders	The Masked Bastion

Adventurer Parties

House of Horrors	House of Horrors

Theocracian Exalted Families

Secret Societies	They The Cave Wildwood Club The Order of the Bloody Cup The Trismegistus They

Adventurer Parties

Adventuring Bands	The Merry Bunch The Raza The Cursed Conclave The Faithful Companions The Messengers The Servants of Eldrai The Red Hawk The Humble Few Gilded Requiem The Cobalt Shadows The Juggernaut Three
Adventurer Parties	The Cinderwolves

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