The clouds open above Velas and rain falls. The grey sea turns itself over restlessly and small boats bob and clatter in the quays. A tall orc squints against the rain and peers at the address on a soggy scrap of paper in her hand. This is Archivist Rena Ril, of the Velas Expedition, and in a heavy backpack, oil-skinned against rough weather, she carries rare cargo, foil stamped and semiotically sealed: a package from The New Archives.
She knows who sent it - everyone back home knows Semiotician Tel, for better or worse - but as far as its recipient is concerned, all she has is an address rapidly blotching into a damp mess and a direction: look for a woman with a golden badge.
We are so excited to announce that the Marielda 10th Anniversary Vinyl Soundtrack is available to pre-order now, in a 24 hour early access exclusive to you, our patrons, along with a 5% discount code on your purchase.
Right now, if you go to lostincult.co.uk/marielda and enter the (case sensitive) password Starbook, you can be among the first to see what we've been working on (for years) in collaboration with the British publisher and designworks Lost in Cult: an extra special 10th anniversary edition of the Marielda soundtrack, contained in a remarkable unfolding "star book" diorama, illustrated by Elemei and based on concepts by Annie Johnston-Glick.
At checkout, you can use the code DISCOUNT5 to unlock your 5% discount.
This signed special edition tells a story in a box, discovered in the cavernous vaults of The New Archives by Semiotician Uklan Tel, and shipped (much to the chagrin of the Archives' Exceptional Loans division) to a friend in Velas. In addition to the vinyl and star book, contained inside are two enamel pins showing coinage of ancient Hieron, as well as five bone-white d6 dice emblazoned with the sigil of the second god to rule the holy city.
Alongside Tel's covering letter, you can also find eight pieces of Marieldan paper ephemera: an undelivered postcard bought by a holidaymaker at a pleasure garden, a double-sided broadsheet of Marielda's newspaper "The Charioteer", and six other mysterious pieces from the City of First Light at a time of great change.
Oh, and there's also a 7" vinyl with a plain red label, and we'll say no more on that for now.
Tomorrow, at 1pm ET, all this will become accessible to the public, but we ask that until then you keep what you've seen a secret - and hold your various exclusive codes close to your chest.
We could not be more thankful for your support, without which - in a very real way - we would be unable to bring you something like this. Returning to this world and these characters in writing, design, and illustration has been an absolute joy and we are so excited to finally get to share it with you.