Cockatrices and Other Mighty Beasts

One of the revelations of the Silver Anniversary Edition of Everway was the relationship between the Walker's Pyramid and the structure of the Fortune Deck: the thirty-six cards of the deck belong to eight distinct suits, and each of these suits represents a "tier" of the Pyramid. (For a diagram of these tiers, see page 219 of Book 1: Players.) The sixth tier consists of the six Mighty Beasts: the Cockatrice, the Dragon, the Griffon, the Phoenix, the Satyr, and the Unicorn. These creatures (and the forces they represent) are metaphysical constants found throughout the Thousand Worlds.

When I was looking through the Roundwander gazetteer in Book 1: Players for a province to use for my campaign sandbox, I realized that each province's entry is preceded by the Fortune Deck image of one of the six beasts. Harvest Province begins with the image of the Satyr; River Province, the Phoenix; Starfall Province, the Unicorn; Sun Province, the Griffon; Tower Province, the Dragon; and Whiteoar Province, the Cockatrice. Moreover, each province contains a landmark linked to its particular Mighty Beast: for example, Phoenix Rock rises high above the canopy of the Emeraldcloak Forest in River Province, and Sun Province is home to the ruins of Griffon Hold. The implication here is that the presence of a Mighty Beast in a realm (or section of a realm) metaphysically modifies that realm, reshaping it in the beast's image. The rulebook doesn't say so explicitly, but I suspect that the Fate of each of Roundwander's provinces is represented by the card corresponding to its dominant beast. The Elements connected to that beast may also particularly strong in its province.

In the case of Whiteoar Province, the Green Fens have been corrupted by the presence of multiple cockatrices, and this corruption is slowly spreading throughout the province. In metaphysical terms, Whiteoar is caught up in the Cockatrice's conflict between corruption (upright) and recovery (reversed), and both Earth and Water are compromised forces. Whiteoar is physically and spiritually poisoned. The players' heroes could take it upon themselves to lift this curse, driving the cockatrices from the fens and freeing the province from malaise and degradation.

But there are less mystical ways to engage with this thematic: are the Fleet family governors of the province loyal to the Emerald dynasty in Everway? Are the dragon cultists of Snowcap infiltrating Anchorview? What about the agents of Haven, the maritime power challenging Everway's hegemony over the coastlines of the Circle Sea, or the pirates of Northdawn? Can the heroes save Roundwander from these potential conspiracies? (Or will they actively abet them in pursuit of their own Motives?) In a sandbox approach to Everway, it's up to the players to decide.