The Spine of Night 2021

The story unfolds with the enigmatic witch-queen Tzod embarking on a daunting journey up a snow-covered mountain, driven by a fierce determination to face the mystical powers that reside at its summit. Her ultimate goal is to reach a massive skull, where she confronts the powerful Guardian of the Bloom, an ethereal flower believed to contain the secrets of the universe. At first, the Guardian is hostile and threatens to expel Tzod from their sacred land. However, Tzod cleverly produces a similar Bloom, revealing that her people had unearthed the seed it was thought to have scattered centuries before.

As Tzod starts to share the events that led her to this crucial encounter, the narrative takes a darker turn, centered around the rogue scholar Ghal-Sur. Following their imprisonment by a brutal young tyrant, Tzod employs the mystical powers of the Bloom to orchestrate their escape. Unfortunately, Ghal-Sur’s gratitude is fleeting; he betrays Tzod, killing her and making off with the precious Bloom. After being captured, Ghal-Sur cunningly convinces a select group of scholars to help him unlock the Bloom’s full potential through a dangerous ritual. As he wields its boundless power, he transforms into a tyrannical ruler, commanding armies and developing relentless war machines to extend his rule.

Time flows onward, cloaked in enigma, leading to the emergence of a group of skilled assassins aiming to end Ghal-Sur’s reign of terror. They manage to incinerate most of the Bloom, but the last remnants of its essence drift downstream until they touch the lifeless body of Tzod, bringing her back to life with an intense thirst for revenge against the one who wronged her, just as she had originally sought out the Guardian of the Bloom.

The tale of the Guardian unfolds, offering a glimpse into the mystical domain of the Bloom—a relic entwined within a colossal skull, once the dwelling of a long-gone deity. This cyclical saga reveals that even the last god emerged from the severed head of a greater being, whose death gave birth to the reality we inhabit today. The Bloom, pulsating with an essence beyond comprehension, imparts profound revelations to its bearers, often driving Guardians into states of madness and despair.

Every Guardian, having pondered the Bloom’s secrets, has devoted their lives to protecting this sacred artifact from those seeking to exploit its powers. As they succumb to the burden of their newfound insights, a new seeker arises, driven by an insatiable thirst for knowledge. This individual discovers the universe’s most profound mysteries and, grappling with the unbearable truth, chooses to hide it away, ultimately becoming the next Guardian.

In the contemporary tale, Tzod, now a grizzled warrior, calls upon Ghal-Sur to the sacred mountaintop where the Bloom lies. As her soldiers strike deadly blows, Ghal-Sur seizes the chance to tap into the power of the Bloom, summoning the ghostly forms of her predecessors. The vengeful spirits of the fallen Guardians unleash their fury upon Tzod’s loyal troops, paving the way for the Guardian herself to exact lethal retribution against Ghal-Sur.

In a cataclysmic eruption of energy, Ghal-Sur is vanquished, her skull shooting into the cosmos like that of the ancient deity from whom our world was born. The Bloom’s seeds disperse upon the wind, initiating the cycle anew, as Tzod’s legacy ushers in a fresh era of seekers and Guardians, eternally entwined in the relentless dance of discovery and despair.