Primary sources: https://www.rprepository.com/events/epicweek/2023/library
The Struthian Isle is an island with special magics that cause plant and wildlife to thrive. But for some species, it does something very special. According to the Struth, they used to be various kinds of birds that were native to the island. But due to the magics of the island, they became a humanoid race with human-like intelligence, the ability to use tools, etc. They lived on their island for thousands of years, migrating by foot across a rainbow bridge that was projected from giant, magical prisms they had constructed to facilitate their desire to wander. The Struth maintained a special and important connection to their island despite their urge to travel - their eggs would only hatch when laid and incubated on the Struthian Isle.
In 1870, a species of 12" lizards was accidentally introduced to the isle, where they proliferated readily without predators. Unfortunately, their preferred diet was eggs, and they made raising Struth eggs on the isle suddenly more difficult and frightening than before. Worse, the lizards proved highly compatible with the magic of the isle that had transformed the Struth, and over the next few decades the invasive lizards went from12 inches long to 12 feet long. They became more aggressive, intelligent, and able to work in groups, and in 1923 the lizards made a play to take over the island by attacking the Struth cities and destroying the prisms that would allow the Struth to leave (or the many who were out on walkabout to return to) the isle.
When the town on the mainland nearest to the Struth isle, Rainbow, realized that the Struth's annual migration had not taken place, they sent part of their fishing fleet to try and find out what happened. They discovered the devastation of the population centers, and rescued those that had survived the lizard attacks, bringing them back to the mainland.
The Struth diaspora was deeply disheartened, and many resigned themselves to their race dying out. However, in 1936, three Struth eggs hatched on the mainland, marking the first time that a mainland hatching had occurred in many decades, and the first time since 1923 that the Struth population had grown in any way.
One Struth, Moa, decided that this was a sign that the Genres were not done with the Struth, and decided that she would find a way to return her people to the homeland. She uses her penchant for adventuring to reclaim historical or magical artifacts and then sells them to build up the cash reserves needed to retake the isle.
Her first attempt to retake the isle goes horribly wrong, when in 1961 she contracted a mercenary group called "The Chapter of Brass." The Chapter of Brass betrayed her, forced her to tell them where she had hid the rest of her savings, and left her for dead on a small island "30 miles from the Bay of Good Humor." Somehow, Moa escaped this fate and managed to return to the mainland.
Although this episode did not deter Moa from wanting to retake the Struthian Isle, it destroyed her ability to trust others, to the point that when other Struthian survivors attempted to convince her that the navy and citizens of the RPR would need to be involved in her plan to retake the isle for it to be successful, she bitterly resisted asking for help.
In 2016, Moa decided to cash-in on the craze for keeping Walruses as pets, and started catching, training and importing them to Repository City. In 2020, she set her sights on a new plan, deciding that she could train an army of walruses to retake the isle and be confident that they would never betray her.
Other Struthian survivors spent years convincing her that for this plan to be succesfull she would still need more help, and by 2021, she capitulated and allowed the young Sylviornis to act as a general and logistical coordinator for the walrus army. Sylviornis used her new authority to liase with the citizens of the RPR and convince the Birthday Adventure Commission to sponsor the retaking of the Struthian Isle as the official adventure for the RPR's anniversary.
The Struthian Isle is an island with special magics that cause plant and wildlife to thrive. But for some species, it does something very special. According to the Struth, they used to be various kinds of birds that were native to the island. But due to the magics of the island, they became a humanoid race with human-like intelligence, the ability to use tools, etc. They lived on their island for thousands of years, migrating by foot across a rainbow bridge that was projected from giant, magical prisms they had constructed to facilitate their desire to wander. The Struth maintained a special and important connection to their island despite their urge to travel - their eggs would only hatch when laid and incubated on the Struthian Isle.
In 1870, a species of 12" lizards was accidentally introduced to the isle, where they proliferated readily without predators. Unfortunately, their preferred diet was eggs, and they made raising Struth eggs on the isle suddenly more difficult and frightening than before. Worse, the lizards proved highly compatible with the magic of the isle that had transformed the Struth, and over the next few decades the invasive lizards went from12 inches long to 12 feet long. They became more aggressive, intelligent, and able to work in groups, and in 1923 the lizards made a play to take over the island by attacking the Struth cities and destroying the prisms that would allow the Struth to leave (or the many who were out on walkabout to return to) the isle.
When the town on the mainland nearest to the Struth isle, Rainbow, realized that the Struth's annual migration had not taken place, they sent part of their fishing fleet to try and find out what happened. They discovered the devastation of the population centers, and rescued those that had survived the lizard attacks, bringing them back to the mainland.
The Struth diaspora was deeply disheartened, and many resigned themselves to their race dying out. However, in 1936, three Struth eggs hatched on the mainland, marking the first time that a mainland hatching had occurred in many decades, and the first time since 1923 that the Struth population had grown in any way.
One Struth, Moa, decided that this was a sign that the Genres were not done with the Struth, and decided that she would find a way to return her people to the homeland. She uses her penchant for adventuring to reclaim historical or magical artifacts and then sells them to build up the cash reserves needed to retake the isle.
Her first attempt to retake the isle goes horribly wrong, when in 1961 she contracted a mercenary group called "The Chapter of Brass." The Chapter of Brass betrayed her, forced her to tell them where she had hid the rest of her savings, and left her for dead on a small island "30 miles from the Bay of Good Humor." Somehow, Moa escaped this fate and managed to return to the mainland.
Although this episode did not deter Moa from wanting to retake the Struthian Isle, it destroyed her ability to trust others, to the point that when other Struthian survivors attempted to convince her that the navy and citizens of the RPR would need to be involved in her plan to retake the isle for it to be successful, she bitterly resisted asking for help.
In 2016, Moa decided to cash-in on the craze for keeping Walruses as pets, and started catching, training and importing them to Repository City. In 2020, she set her sights on a new plan, deciding that she could train an army of walruses to retake the isle and be confident that they would never betray her.
Other Struthian survivors spent years convincing her that for this plan to be succesfull she would still need more help, and by 2021, she capitulated and allowed the young Sylviornis to act as a general and logistical coordinator for the walrus army. Sylviornis used her new authority to liase with the citizens of the RPR and convince the Birthday Adventure Commission to sponsor the retaking of the Struthian Isle as the official adventure for the RPR's anniversary.
Lore Wiki » Epic Weeks » Epic Week 2023 » Research Library » Plot overview