Victorious Faction
Guardians of the Loch
The Guardians of the Loch are a group of disc golfers dedicated to protecting the secrets of Loch Ness and preventing the ancient evil from being unleashed upon the world. They believe in the sanctity of the loch and its creatures, and seek to maintain the delicate balance between the natural and supernatural realms. The Guardians are known for their unwavering loyalty, their deep connection to the land, and their mastery of the unique challenges posed by the Highland courses.
Faction Leader
Angus MacTavish
Angus MacTavish is a seasoned disc golfer and a descendant of the ancient clan tasked with guarding Loch Ness. He has spent his life studying the loch's history and legends, honing his skills on the challenging Highland courses. Angus is a man of few words, but his wisdom and experience make him a respected leader among the Guardians. He believes in the importance of tradition, honor, and the power of the natural world.
Members
21Divisions
This faction emerged victorious in Week 4, advancing their narrative in the ongoing conflict.
Victory points are calculated based on player performance relative to rating, special achievements like aces and CTPs, and community contributions. Pool multipliers are applied based on division ratings and demographics to ensure balanced competition.
Chris Fox #146115
Cairn Guardian
Secrets of the Serpent @ Urban Forest
Wielding the power of Cairn Guardian (#1), Chris demonstrated exceptional skill by playing +109 points above their rating in this epic clash.
Whispering Woods
Angus MacTavish and the Guardians have triumphed at Devil's Cairn, as Clayton VanFleet, wielding the power of the Cryptid CS31 Mossback Guardian bag tag, thwarted Dr. Eliza Blackwood's attempt to harness the Cairn Stone's ancient power. The living moss has revealed itself as a formidable ally, guiding Spencer Livsey to decipher the runes that hint at Nessie's extraterrestrial origins. As the battle between progress and tradition escalates, the disc golfers find themselves caught in a web of ancient magic and dangerous obsessions. With the Great Awakening on the horizon and the barriers between worlds wearing thin, the champions of the Loch Ness Chronicles must master their newfound abilities before the next event, where an even greater challenge awaits.
Commentary from Flippy (your trapped narrator)
Episode 4: Whispering Woods
The stone disc golf tee pad beneath my feet whispered a warning. Not in words, but in subtle vibrations that made my ancestral blood run cold. Around the Urban Forest course, every piece of stonework—from the decorative borders to the retaining walls—seemed to hum with the same urgent message.
Something was very wrong.
I watched Chris Fox approach the first tee, his newly acquired bag tag—Cryptid - CS23 Cairn Guardian—pulsing with a faint gray luminescence that matched the stone beneath his feet. He paused mid-step, frowning.
"Did anyone else feel that?" he asked, looking around at his cardmates.
Kenneth and Spencer exchanged knowing glances. Their own tags—the Mist Warden and Rune Weaver—responded with synchronized pulses of blue and amber light.
"The stones are restless," Spencer said, kneeling to trace a finger along the tee pad's edge. Faint runes flickered in his wake. "They're trying to tell us something."
Before I could respond, a familiar voice cut through the morning air. "Fascinating resonance patterns this morning." Dr. Blackwood emerged from behind a large oak tree, her brass compass swinging wildly. "The whole course seems to be vibrating at an unusual frequency."
She held up what appeared to be a standard range finder, but I recognized the modified housing—more of her "specialized" equipment. The device emitted a soft, high-pitched tone that made the stones' whispers grow more urgent.
"Perhaps some things are better left unmeasured," I suggested firmly.
She smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "Science thrives on measurement, Angus. Speaking of which—" She gestured toward Chris's bag tag. "That's an interesting new addition to your collection. Mind if I take a reading?"
The moment she stepped toward Chris, every stone within twenty feet responded. The tee pad's surface rippled like water, and the decorative border stones rotated to face outward, like sentries coming to attention. Chris stumbled back, his bag tag now blazing with brilliant silver light.
"What's happening?" he gasped.
"The Cairn Guardian awakens," I said quietly. "The stones recognize one of their own."
As our round progressed, Chris's connection to the course's stonework grew stronger. Each time he approached a tee pad or basket, the nearby rocks shifted subtly, adjusting their positions to create perfect throwing lanes. Even the gravel in the walking paths seemed to compress beneath his feet, ensuring stable footing.
On hole seven, Kenneth's drive sailed wide, heading for a thick cluster of trees. But before it could fade out of bounds, a decorative boulder suddenly tilted, providing a perfect skip surface that redirected the disc back into the fairway.
"Did you do that?" Kenneth asked Chris as we walked up.
Chris shook his head, staring at his glowing bag tag. "Not consciously. It's like... like the stones themselves are trying to help."
"They are," Spencer confirmed, his fingers tracing glowing runes in the air. "The Cairn Guardian doesn't just protect stone structures—it coordinates them. Creates a network."
"A network that someone seems very interested in disrupting," I added, noting Dr. Blackwood's group on an adjacent hole. She had what looked like a seismometer pressed against a retaining wall, frowning at its readings.
As if sensing our attention, she looked up and waved. The motion caused her brass compass to swing, and I noticed something odd—tiny crystals embedded in its housing that seemed to pulse in opposition to Chris's bag tag.
"She's been placing devices all over the course," Kenneth whispered, mist curling around his fingers. "I can feel them through the moisture in the air. Some kind of monitoring network."
"More than monitoring," Spencer said grimly. "The runes show energy being drawn from the stone structures. She's—"
He was cut off by a deep rumbling sound. The ground beneath our feet trembled, and nearby rocks began to crack, dark lines spreading across their surfaces like poison through veins.
Chris's bag tag flared blindingly bright. "Something's wrong," he gasped. "The stones... they're screaming."
We rushed to the source of the disturbance—a massive boulder near hole twelve that served as both a mandatory obstacle and a course landmark. Dark fissures covered its surface, pulsing with an unnatural purple light that matched the crystals in Dr. Blackwood's compass.
"What have you done?" I demanded as she approached, her eyes fever-bright with excitement.
"Simply accelerated the natural resonance patterns," she replied. "The stone structures around these courses form a network of enormous power. Power that's been locked away by centuries of... traditional thinking." She spat the last words like an insult.
"Those locks exist for a reason," I warned, but she was already turning away, adjusting controls on a device planted at the boulder's base.
The fissures widened, and something began to emerge—not a physical substance, but a kind of anti-light that made my eyes hurt to look at it. The air filled with a high-pitched keening that set my teeth on edge.
"At last," Dr. Blackwood breathed. "A direct tap into the network. Do you have any idea how much energy flows through these stones? How much knowledge they contain about what lies beneath the loch?"
"Knowledge that could destroy everything if released improperly," I countered. "Chris, the Cairn Guardian chose you for a reason. You have to stop this."
Chris stepped forward, his bag tag now pulsing in a complex rhythm. The ground responded, ripples of energy spreading outward through every stone structure on the course. His eyes took on the same silvery glow as his tag.
"I can feel them all," he whispered. "Every rock, every pebble... they're all connected. All protecting something ancient. Something that needs to stay buried."
He raised his hands, and the stones answered. The gravel from the paths rose in spiraling columns. Decorative rocks uprooted themselves and floated into formation. Even fragments of concrete came alive, forming a swirling barrier around the corrupted boulder.
"No!" Dr. Blackwood lunged for her equipment, but Kenneth's mist cut her off, forming an impenetrable wall.
Spencer began tracing runes in the air, his patterns merging with Chris's stone-work and Kenneth's mist to create something entirely new—a fusion of ancient powers that made the air itself seem to bend.
The corrupted boulder shuddered as Chris pressed his hands against its surface. Silver light spread from his touch, fighting back the purple corruption. The stones sang—there was no other word for it—a deep, resonant chord that seemed to come from the bones of the earth itself.
When it was over, the boulder stood pristine, Dr. Blackwood's equipment lay in ruins, and the network of stones had been restored. But something had changed. The course itself felt more awake, more aware. And Chris stood straighter, his eyes holding hints of that silvery glow even after his bag tag dimmed.
"The Cairn Guardian's power..." Dr. Blackwood murmured, a hint of fear finally showing through her scientific detachment. "I never imagined..."
"There's a lot you haven't imagined," I said firmly. "Things that should stay that way. Now leave, before the stones themselves decide to escort you out."
As if to emphasize my point, the gravel path at her feet shifted, forming a clear trail to the parking lot. She left quickly, but the look she gave Chris sent a chill down my spine. She wasn't finished—not by far.
Later, as we finished our round, I watched Chris examining his bag tag with new understanding. The Cairn Guardian's symbol seemed to shift in the afternoon light, stones rearranging themselves in endless, hypnotic patterns.
"The network is stable now," he reported. "Stronger, actually. Like it was waiting for... this." He gestured to his tag.
"The ancient powers are choosing their vessels carefully," I explained. "First the Mist Warden, then the Rune Weaver, now the Cairn Guardian. The land itself is preparing for something."
"The Great Awakening," Spencer said quietly. "That's what the runes keep showing. But is it a warning or a prophecy?"
"Perhaps both," I replied, watching the stones settle into their new configurations. The course would never be quite the same—it had evolved, become more conscious. Just as our newest Guardian had.
But as the sun set behind the Urban Forest's trees, I couldn't shake the feeling that Dr. Blackwood's failed experiment had stirred something deep beneath the earth. Something that would soon force us all to choose sides in a conflict as old as the stones themselves.
The Guardians had won this battle, strengthened by Chris's awakening. But the war for Loch Ness's secrets was far from over. And somewhere in the gathering darkness, I knew Dr. Blackwood was already planning her next move.
The stones whispered their warnings into the night, and this time, thanks to the Cairn Guardian, we were finally ready to listen.
Flippy's Hot Take