This episode carries content warnings for civilian harm and death, torture, conscription, hallucination, uncanny visions, body horror, bodily transformation, kidnapping, and medical experimentation.

Having disregarded their official mission in an effort to both help the Figure in Bismuth and spurn Gucci Garantine, the crew of the Blue Channel begin to explore the Dim Liturgy’s primary monastery on the Isle of the Broken Key. Brnine and Phrygian corner one spy and develop suspicions about a possible second agent. Thisbe and the Figure in Bismuth search for a new source of power, and discover encounter someone they thought they’d seen the last of already. Cori meets an ancient architect and in the process is either drawn closer to or further from her god, depending on one’s perspective…

This week on PALISADE: Upon Our Grace Pt. 2

I hurt myself to see if I could feel / (magnificent) / Then I began to pray to see if god was real

Dossier

Organizations

Violet Cove: The Dim Liturgy claim to have seen the Divine Devotion's arrival coming in their sacred text: A battered and corrupted backup of Crystal Palace's final predictions for the future. Now the two cults work together to oust the Bilats... and perhaps to do more intriguing things, as well.

The Devotees: A church from the Twilight Mirage that is committed to the worship of the divine Devotion, which they sometimes refer to as Fervor. Common practices include the regular checking of one’s pulse and multi-day group picnic outings.

People

Sea Crepuscule (he/him): Master of the Concave Wing of the Dim Liturgy’s primary monastery, where he leads the search for specific details and predictions from the Glass Archive’s remnants.

Marlon Styx a.k.a. Em (he/him): Undercover BIS agent assigned to infiltrate Violet Cove. Has become enamored with the Dim Liturgy’s holy text.

Tenn Alpenglow (he/him): Bodyguard of Kenneth Marian Colver and Knight of the Fabreal Duchy. Resents his assignation to guard the cowardly Viceroy, but takes seriously his sworn oath to serve under the Duchy's new masters.

Kenneth Marian Colver (he/him): Former member of the Curtain, now Kesh’s Viceroy on the world. Reports up to the Stargrave. Bread concerns have been replaced with violence concerns.

Grand Magnificent (he/him): A complex figure in the history of the Twilight Mirage. Member of the Notion, Excerpt of the Divine Arbit, and (above all else) an artist.

Places

Isle of the Broken Key: Home of the Dim Liturgy since its obscure creation thousands of years ago. Now serves as base for the entire Violet Cove unit of the Cause, including the Devotees and (most recently) additional support teams from the Twilight Mirage.

Chimera’s Lantern: The second moon of Palisade, shaped oddly like a wasp’s nest or paper lantern. New arrivals to the world find its occasional glow unnatural and frightening.

Objects

The Kestral White: Flagship of Palisade's Viceroy, Kenneth Marrian Colver. Hovers like a hawk on a thermal updraft, searching for its prey.

Gambeson: The Gambeson is only about 10 meters tall (less than half an Altar), but it is nevertheless a terrifying scourge of the battlefield. Modeled after an iron maiden, except with it's tortorous doors attached to its back serving as wings. Its head features a metalworked face, twisted into extreme and offputting smile. Its skeletal frame serves not only as body, but cage: pilots are criminal conscripts forced to pay off their “debt” to Kesh by the Divine Plight, earning their freedom through combat achievements.

Divines

Asepsis (it/its): The final living remnants of a Divine who pursues its particular vision of purity at the cost of everything else. Kept, studied, and utilized by Captain Kalvin Brnine.

The Reflecting Pool, f.k.a the Divine Past, f.k.a. Crystal Palace (it/its): In the era before the founding of the Divine Principality, Crystal Palace served as the supreme oracle engine of the Rapid Evening and the Principality of Kesh. At the end of that era, it lost its ability to predict the future, but continued as a vast archive of the past, and became canonized as the Divine Past (which now serves as the Reflecting Pool, center of the Witch in Glass’ kingdom). The final record of its predictions into the future are stored on Palisade, under protection (and study) of the Dim Liturgy and Violet Cove.

Hosted by Austin Walker (@austin_walker)

Featuring Janine Hawkins (@bleatingheart) Sylvi Bullet (@sylvibullet), Ali Acampora (@ali_west), Art Martinez-Tebbel (@atebbel), Jack de Quidt (@notquitereal), Keith J Carberry (@keithjcarberry) and Andrew Lee Swan (@swandre3000)

Produced by Ali Acampora

Music by Jack de Quidt (available on bandcamp)

Text by Austin Walker

Cover Art by by aurahack (aurahack.jp)

With thanks to Arthur B., chocoube, DB, deepFlaw, Edwin Adelsberger, Emrys, Greg Cobb, huw, Ian O'Dea, Ian Urbina, Irina A., Jack Shirai, K. Morris, Katie Diekhaus, Konisforce, Kristina Harris Esq, L Tantivy, Lawson Coleman, Mike & Ruby, Nich Maragos
Olive Perry, Patrick Murray, Robert Lasica, Shawn Hall, TeganEden, Thomas Whitney, viviridian, and Voi for their support

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