Content Warnings: Descriptions of death and injuries, descriptions of corpses, descriptions of surgery It is some time after noon in the unnamed University settlement. A tree has grown too tall, too wide. Measures must be taken. To the south, debris falls into water, black and red and pale, and a river rushes to wash away the past. Measures must be taken. In the council hall of the school’s tallest tower, worry clambers out of mouths and onto faces. Measures must be taken. Warmth is laid out on ...
Jan 11, 2019•2 hr 47 min•Transcript available on Metacast On the smallest of the Isles of Flight, Deya, Lem King finds himself cornered in a bookstore. But, he is, after all, Lem King, and conflict is to the orc bard no more than running water under a sturdy boat: whatever danger it poses others, for him it is merely a way forward. Once reconnected with his compatriots, Fero Feritas and Hella Varal, the three decide to speak rather than act, working to gain the confidence of Deya’s chief officer of the law. But as they learn more about the Isles, their...
Jan 04, 2019•2 hr 44 min•Transcript available on Metacast For some, it is just another week: Ephrim and Hadrian explore an untouched quarter of the University, Adaire digs into the mysterious connections of the Moonlighters Guild, and Throndir continues to tutor the young Blue J. But at the furthest stretches of the Last University settlement, there is an energy in the air. Maybe it is the echo of caravan wheels hurrying across dirt and stone. It could be the rumors of Ordennan scouts whispered from villager to soldier, from soldier to lord, from lord ...
Dec 21, 2018•1 hr 15 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the ruins of the ancient orcish Stoneworks, Lem King, Fero Feritas, and Hella Varal find themselves snared by by botanical beasts. But what lies beyond, to the north, may be even more dangerous: The soaring ambition of the Mistral, the birdkin who seek to leave faltering Hieron behind in search for a more stable home above. But as is always the case in journeys made, some are called riders and others mules. This week on Spring in Hieron: Who Vouches? PARTNERSHIP is a difficult prospect for al...
Dec 13, 2018•1 hr 20 min•Transcript available on Metacast All across the yet unnamed settlement growing in the reclaimed ruins of the Last University, small possibilities begin to reverberate from the potential future into the present moment. A caravan detained at the border, heading north. A fleeting scout in Ordennan armor. The theft of candy… and books unnamed. The slow, parade-approach of a Prince. And tree growing with worrying speed. Lord Ephrim looks these over, and must decide where his priorities lie. And he is not the only one who concerns hi...
Dec 06, 2018•2 hr 32 min•Transcript available on Metacast It weights on everyone: The end is not far from here, but the golden Golden Lance has brought word that somewhere to the north, are are those who dream of leaving the end behind. And so, Lem King, Hella Varal, and Fero Feritas set off together once again, headed north towards the Isles of Flight... and the Moons which hang above it. There are, however, two lingering questions: How should they get there, and who will they be leaving behind? This week on Spring in Hieron: Sympathetic Objects I hol...
Nov 29, 2018•1 hr 29 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the weeks move on, the Last University’s new arrivals acclimate to their new shelter. And as the campus’ empty spaces slowly become more and more filled in, it becomes more and more like a home--and for some, like Fero and Hadrian, that isn’t a metaphor at all. Hella and Throndir, meanwhile, give structure and training to the burgeoning town’s militia. Others, like Adaire, Ephrim, and Lem, find ways to return to their old habits… at least until the arrival of a pair of old allies brings news ...
Nov 22, 2018•1 hr 6 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Boundless Fate , the handmade vessel captained by Hella Varal, rests upon the shore of the unnamed river which glides through the forest west of the Last University. It is an appropriate resting point for a boat named such: Just a decade prior, before the bard Lem King opened an invisible valve, this river simply didn’t exist. But as the pattern workers of the archives know well: When action is taken, consequences follow. Now, the travelers from Aubade depart the boat and head east towards n...
Nov 16, 2018•2 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast With each strike of the hammer, each flash of magical heat, the Blade in the Dark grows closer and closer to restoration. Those living on the isle of Aubade, trapped inside the sword, say their final goodbyes and prepare to set sail home. But outside, as the smiths work their craft, time passes... and time brings new concerns: Resources draw low. Community members die or leave. A new threat breaches the scintillating shield of magic. The burgeoning town's leadership begins to doubt their role. A...
Nov 09, 2018•2 hr 17 min•Transcript available on Metacast The fifth year of the settlement at the Last University begins with a reunion of old friends, as the Druid Fero reunites with Throndir, Eprhim, and the many who call the grand halls, hidden alcoves, and open air Campus yards home. However warm this homecoming is, though, it can not fend off the effects of unpredictable climate, unstable architecture, and unhealed wounds of the past. And while those who run this burgeoning town pray that the blade in the dark may offer them hope, the rare echo he...
Nov 02, 2018•3 hr 39 min•Transcript available on Metacast It has been four years since the body of Hieron was ravaged by the swift arrival of the heat and the dark, and the wound grows deeper every day. Fero Feritas knows this first hand, as he watches Hieron Himself falter and fade in the cool shade of his son Samot's toppled tower. And while there are new signs of life, both in the Mark of the Erasure and in the environs of the Last University, it is unclear whether novelty means beneficence. For Ephrim and Throndir, they can count only on each other...
Oct 26, 2018•2 hr 10 min•Transcript available on Metacast The community at the Lost University continues to survive the harsh winter as sickness and conflict strain their growth. As Ephrim and Throndir struggle with their new roles, and Benjamin develops his budding skills, the arrival of Sunder Havelton, Stornras Glasseye brings an sliver of hope, even if it is split in two. Elsewhere, Fero continues to create new life, working with caution and purpose and a little bit of spite. And within the blade, cut off from the efforts of their old companions, L...
Oct 20, 2018•3 hr 50 min•Transcript available on Metacast It is still winter, yet. Months ago, the heat and the dark emerged from the long sands of Rosemerrow, bringing terror and destruction to Hieron. And though the sun has returned, and though the vicious blizzard that battered the North West has weakened, and though Adelaide’s so called curse has vanished--the warmth of spring has not yet arrived. The people of Hieron have faced calamity, and now they look to their leaders--to you--in hopes that they may recover and rebuild. Ephrim, Prophet of the ...
Oct 11, 2018•3 hr 5 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join us as we recap Hieron and get ready for Spring!! Today’s plan is to go over Hieron, check out some old maps, and fill in a lot of gaps. Think of this as a combination of recap and world building: If there are questions about the world and how it works or things that are “true,” now is the time for us to address them. This episode was originally live streamed and you can catch that stream here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qi02xwXMeGs A transcription is available for this episode here. A ...
Oct 10, 2018•4 hr 35 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey everyone, Austin here! Now that this trilogy of episodes is over, I can say it's probably one of my favorite things we've done both in the Live at the Table format and in the entirety of our show's history! I looooove the tone we found, and every single turn I was blown away by the creativity of Dre, Janine, and Jack, who I feel so lucky to work with. As magic leaves the world, the last Magus heads eastward, searching for its source. Today, her journey ends. What will that mean for the talki...
Sep 28, 2018•2 hr 18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Hey everyone! Here's the second part of Fall of Magic! We open again the scroll, return to the side of the Magus, and watch as the world enters the Fall of Magic. Join Piccolo the swineherd of Barley Town (Dre), Harp the beautiful Golem of Ravenhall (Jack), Fawn the Vinegar Fox of Mistwood (Janine), and Caspian the Kind Crabsinger of Istalia (Austin) as they journey eastward as companions to the Magus. A transcription is available for this episode here. A full list of completed transcriptions is...
Sep 20, 2018•3 hr 57 min•Transcript available on Metacast Join Austin, Dre, Jack, and Janine--a hang-gliding town crier, a swineherd, a golem, and a... bush dog, respectively--as they travel with a mysterious Magus across a world that is slowly losing its mystical energy. This was definitely one of our favorites so far, and we hope you enjoy it while we take some time off to prepare for spring! If you like what you hear and you're able to, you can support us over at friendsatthetable.cash! Donating at the $5 level gives you access to an entire year's b...
Sep 14, 2018•3 hr 28 min•Transcript available on Metacast C/W: Discussion of physical and emotional child and spousal abuse 2:12 to 2:15 The Twilight Mirage Post Mortem is here which means the season is really, truly, finally over. Thank you for all of your support this season, thank you for listening, and thank you for all of your questions! We got over 250 which was so, so much more than we were anticipating! Thank you! We had to a lot of cutting to narrow down questions but still ended up talking about everything from Foucault's social theory to our...
Sep 10, 2018•3 hr 28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Exigency Register A-TM-V-742 - Total Record of Events, Entry 001 To whoever finds this message: My name is Keen Forester Gloaming. I am, at time of this recording, the Chief Intercessor of the Rapid Evening in the Quire System and Primary Observer of the Twilight Mirage. I speak these words on the eve of Crystal Palace’s arrival and the scheduled deployment of a limited scope stellar combustor to destroy the divine Volition and its’.... Well shit, I guess I have no idea if any of those words mea...
Aug 30, 2018•4 hr 4 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dispatch 717. Satellite… I mean, Grey. Sorry, just feels more natural to say 'Satellite' when I’m out here in this tin can. Nostalgia for a different life. Not quite the good old days… I’m so much happier now, with you, with the Brink But things were more certain then. Now, I look at the data that’s coming in, and I don’t know what to think. No. That’s wrong. Things are just as certain as ever, it’s just that now instead of just knowing what’s coming next, I’m scared , Grey. Every day, I’m scare...
Aug 24, 2018•4 hr 53 min•Transcript available on Metacast A letter from Grey Gloaming, Exile of the Rapid Evening and Operations Chief of the Brink, delivered to Keen Forester Gloaming by secure courier. Dad, I don’t know if you remember this, but when I was just a little girl, just after you first took me Off Cycle, we got into a big fight about Crystal Palace. I didn’t understand how a thing like that could exist--it didn’t make sense to me--mostly because I still didn’t make sense to me, but I knew that I made sense to it. It knew what I would do, e...
Aug 17, 2018•2 hr 28 min•Transcript available on Metacast Once, floating in the sunset-hued safety of the Twilight Mirage, the Divine Fleet hummed and pulsed, its ships bright beacons of culture and technology in an age when both were under threat. All through the fleet, organic and synthetic citizens worked side by side to protect a utopia that the universe thought impossible. But today, in the wake of Independence, and Volition, and the Miracle, and Our Profit, and Schism, many who once called the fleet home have now found their idealism grounded. It...
Aug 10, 2018•3 hr 58 min•Transcript available on Metacast Crystal Palace, in all its endless worker-bee wonder, clacks and whirs its way across space, and now, as it nears the destabilizing stain of the Twilight Mirage, time as well. Even now, in transport, it is thinking, predicting, prophesying: Its pulleys spinning with magnetic unison, decks of hole-punched cards flipping through its designators, a pleasant coughing of gears and pinions. This is how it knows everything. But it did not always: There was a moment before its creation--back when there ...
Aug 03, 2018•34 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the year after the Miracle, wonder and surprise appeared all throughout the daily life of the residents of the Quire System. Unfortunately, the composition of the system's political structures moved at a much more sluggish pace. Diplomatic gridlock and (well-grounded) fear of conflict leashed even the most aggressive states. The result was the vexing sense that the system had calcified in an imperfect shape. "To live in the Mirage," it was said, "is to see something unimaginable before lunch,...
Jul 27, 2018•4 hr 31 min•Transcript available on Metacast At the heart of many capital ships, there is a great flow of heat and energy. Yet the core of of the Restitution of All Things is the coolest place on the vessel: the Center Centra Diplomatic Retreat, a snow covered nature preserve, with lake and lodge and firepit. And right now, inside of the old wooden building aside the icy water, Our Profit, Final Hegemon of Earth, is making her case: the Twilight Mirage itself is more than celestial cloud cover, more than a mist that bends time and hides sp...
Jul 20, 2018•2 hr 1 min•Transcript available on Metacast For the hundreds of days after the Miracle of the Mirage, the sky above the planet Moonlock was filled only with dust and color. While the occasional landed by and the odd satellite or station came briefly into view, the world was not--like many others in the system--a harbor for fleets or a rest stop for caravans. Perhaps, those on Moonlock thought, it was the planet's frightening proximity to Volition. Or maybe it was the tension of relationships on the surface, an awkward arrangement of Qui E...
Jul 12, 2018•2 hr 40 min•Transcript available on Metacast CW: This episode contains death and gun violence On one end of the Quire system, eminating from The Restiution of All Things, is the Profit's Star, an overawing beam of scalding light aimed at the distant eye of Crystal Palace, machine sage. But here, inside of the Mirage, the light shines on a free-floating, living sea. Driven by reckless commitment to success, Gig Kephart throws himself into overwhelming odds to achieve his mission and save that creature. Meanwhile, Even Gardner--consumed by a...
Jul 06, 2018•2 hr 30 min•Transcript available on Metacast On paper, the Notion's mission to protect the Wandering Sea from the cruel talons of Advent is going well: They've secured the massive, mysterious cube that contains what they need to free the sea. They've reunited, having secured Echo Reverie from the dock at the city of Perigiean. Gig Kephart has recovered from a major injury more ready than ever to jump into danger. And they're heading into space, where pilot Even Gardner is most in his demesne. And yet there is something off about today. The...
Jun 29, 2018•2 hr 55 min•Transcript available on Metacast In the year that followed the Miracle, the Brighton Lineage leveraged their skill as diplomats (and their resort-quality holdings) to gain favor with factions throughout the Mirage. So succesful were they that they became the de jure rulers of the Rogue Wave, supported not by a fleet of their own, but through a collection of treaties to the military powers of the Quire system. But with the arrival of Our Profit, the creation of Parhelia, and the revelation of the Rapid Evening, the system has be...
Jun 22, 2018•2 hr 2 min•Transcript available on Metacast CW: This episode contains discussion of suicidal ideation. A single family remembers the Divine Pleroma , now. Neither Phive Amala nor her daughter, Aete, lived when Pleroma, a being of wholeness and breadth, still blessed the fleet with their wisdom and perspective. But every evening, just before bed, Phive Amala and her daughter, Aete, work through Pleroma's volume of the Assemblage two lines at a time. Not simply a habit, yet not quite a prayer. Still, the forces at work in the Miracle must h...
Jun 15, 2018•2 hr 50 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
