bravesirrobin
Geek of Geeks
Post-Whore
He bravely turned his tail and fled
Posts: 1,453
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Post by bravesirrobin on Apr 30, 2009 8:23:43 GMT
[You are two days from Ralang - but you're about 4 days from the eastern bordermarches where Ursula and the rest of the lunars hang out.]
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Post by scarletharlot on May 1, 2009 15:18:06 GMT
The ship jolts as Ma'ani tries to turn round and stare at Herla but keep flying at the same time. She spins round again bashfully. Then squints her eyes up as she Elephant's Wrinkles to not miss a word. "Yes, that would make sense. I thought there weren't enough references to the Wyld. Except... The centre, perhaps not then. Perhaps... Really that is very interesting Herla. Frankly scarier sounding than mine. There's some sort of large shadow land in the West isn't there? We should warn the lunars round there that a sidereal may be working with, presumably, a death-lord there. I wonder if they can find a way into heaven..." She stares out for a while longer, lazily missing a tall tree.
"What about the final verse of yours Phan? Do you have enemy of mind, probably on the imperial mountain, or enemy of form, probably in the West (though of course it could be the Inland sea...that would be closer to the void...)?
About Ursula... personally I regard debts, things that are actually tattooed onto one's person, as saved for exceptional circumstances. Also they're so unpredictable, they can be traded on and could be massively inconvenient: I prefer to know what I'm offering. It's not that I don't trust Ursula. Also, since I found the ship and it's me who wants to keep it for Rathess, I feel that if anyone offers an oath is should be me, or we'd have to come up with some arrangement to make it fair if one of you did and I didn't, so perhaps trading the War-strider unless you've any other ideas? I'd just like to have an opening bid is all."
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Post by ulrich on May 1, 2009 16:57:47 GMT
"Errr no, my last bit was about an enemy of heart, waiting inside the circle. 'Prayers go in and out', so something is praying to it, and then 'each gains greater potence', each prayer gets stronger, maybe there's a cult or something that is growing. 'Allied to once great lords, slept in hidden darkness, nursing ancient grudges, shys from the holy light'. Who are the great lords who where around 3 ages ago? Then it finishes with: 'the cursed ones returned'.
Ma'ani, any ideas?"
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Post by scarletharlot on May 1, 2009 17:28:22 GMT
"So we have:
five days to end the year and then creation dies three foes arise again summon the wrath of old nine face the coming tide chosen by incarna four ways for them to fail success comes at a price one malfean awakes should the heroes falter
south gives up the power allows the night ahead north rings out the prayer calls aloud to prison west slips between the chains defeats the guard beneath central finds the joining the song to end the earth east stands at last alone decay spreading slowly
Herla: the enemy of form waits beneath the water his sword is strong and keen corrupted shard of heaven warrior and traitor usurpers now betrayed the fall will save or kill the pool is void or lethe the clash of steel on steel blades are all that matter.
Phan: The enemy of heart Waits inside the circle Prayers go in and out Each gains greater potence, Forbidden for three ages, Allied to once great lords Slept in hidden darkness Nursing ancient grudges Shies from the holy light The cursed ones returned
Mind: the enemy of mind waits atop the mountain battle of mind and brain to redirect the flow called in place of weaker jewelled colours mixing freedom won in contest serves to his utmost soul immaterial weapons figured in to the game.
Yours is one line shorter than ours Phan, have I missed something?"
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Post by ulrich on May 2, 2009 11:35:46 GMT
"Yes, it's 'each gains greater potence, forbidden for three ages, allied to once .. etc'."
Phan looks puzzled at Ma'ani.
"Are you feeling OK?"
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Post by scarletharlot on May 2, 2009 13:41:53 GMT
"Three foes and we instantly think of the Wyld, Malfeas and the Void right? But where is the Wyld in all this? There are things that could refer to it, but generally they more naturally refer to one of the other two. I was sure Herla's verse must refer to them when I heard 'enemy of form', but then it goes on to say 'void or lethe'. Perhaps they don't do anything more inventive than invade so we are required to focus on the other two forces. You know they could have been preparing for ages.
Herla's is just a bit confusing. The Wyld is the enemy of form, the Malfeans are imprisoned and the Neverborn are in the void. The water theme is unmistakable though, as is the violence. Phan, yours seems to be about the void. The Neverborn wait inside the void (which may or may not be circular). They may have cultists, but surely it'd take a lot of human prayer to make them more powerful. Forbidden for three ages: they were killed before the first age, then they were 'forbidden' in the first age and then after it too? Their allies shy from holy light (gives evidence they aren't Malfeans, since you wouldn't describe demons as allies), the word 'lord' could then refer to death-lords, who were perhaps once great previously, perhaps before the empress took over they had gained some power in the chaos? If the neverborn were to return...well the circle could refer to some sort of summoning circle and the prayers could call on them during calibration. In which case this might tie into the song and joining in the second verse. Or the prayers in the North. Yours potentially makes the most sense to me, Phan. I'm not sure why the neverborn would particularly be the enemy of heart, but perhaps death lacks empathy even more than revenge (Malfeans) or the Wyld (which merely redefines it)? Any thoughts?
I'll send Ursula a message when we stop for the night and I'll begin putting something together to try again to trace the source of this dream. You realise it took five days to become clear, a nice touch that."
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Post by johandenerad on May 2, 2009 14:43:37 GMT
"Maybe the dreams all fit together somehow?" says Herla, not taking her eyes off the forests.
"If Ursula takes the boat, we owe her a debt. I don't see how we get to choose what she takes for it. If you don't want to, I will." Herla turns to face the others. "If it has to be a trade then I say the warstrider. We've no use for it. What do you think, Phan?"
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Post by ulrich on May 3, 2009 7:14:22 GMT
"The warstrider is more valuable than that! But as it's broken, and we can't fix it and have no plans to use it even once fixed, we may as well trade it. Could we can get storage and something else from Ursula in return for the warstrider?"
"I didn't think the three foes were from different places. If they're trying to summon 'the wrath of old', and if we fail and a Malfean awakens, doesn't that mean they're trying to summon a demon? I'm just looking to see if they could be the same type of thing. Why would a something from the Wyld (a mutant or fae - what do you think?), demon and death lord try to summon a demon? Or if the wrath of old isn't a demon, why would a demon appear if we 'falter'?"
"If we trust this dream and believe what it's trying to tell - or warn - us, then I think we need to find the other 6 as soon as possible."
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Post by johandenerad on May 3, 2009 12:08:54 GMT
Herla nods at Phan's suggestion they find the other six. "What do you see in yours, after the strange singing children?" says Herla. "In mine, the children spin round then turn into trees that rot away. Then there's someone big, but I can't see their face and they're covered in shadow. They block out the sun. There's a desert, and the sea. At first its calm but then the sea eats the desert. I can't swim and I sink like I'm made of - no, like I'm inside - rock. Then it says... what it says and I wake up."
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Post by ulrich on May 3, 2009 12:16:26 GMT
Phan nods. "That's what I dreamt, but with a breeze picking up and whipping the sea into huge waves. And then the tumbling and falling and being trapped in stone under the sea."
"How are we going to find the others? And how will we know they are the others?"
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Post by scarletharlot on May 3, 2009 12:59:03 GMT
"While it's true that the three could be any foes (presumably to Creation) the way it says three foes rise 'again', suggests that these are three old foes of creation who are reappearing. Numbers are heavily emphasised in the first verse, so while I'm happy to alternative interpretations, the weighted position of the number three almost suggests 'the three', which would surely imply void, malfeas and Wyld. If that were the case then the couplet structure suggests that 'summon the wrath of old' refers most likely to their wrath of old. During the period after the usurpation, but before the empress, the death-lords revealed their existence, demonic activity was uncontrolled and the Wyld took advantage of the disarray to move in. By the nature of the Wyld, if creation is weakened then it moves in. The Wyld armies are almost its way of expressing the metaphor for this physically, as it has to in order to impinge on our world. There could be little on the Wyld because their part is as simple as this: taking advantage of others.
On the other hand, you could be right and 'summon' could be taken literally to mean that the three foes seek to summon the malfeans. But then what could these three foes be: three demon cultists wouldn't live this long, three evil gods (any ideas about who would be 'the three' evil gods, because I don't particularly, Mother Bog is supposed to be unpleasant), the language doesn't ring right for me for three demons. Or I could be thinking in the wrong way altogether and this could be three concepts: revenge, destruction and chaos, or obviously different words. Phan it would help me if you could explain fully what you mean. Because these are dreams there's a good chance we understand more than just the words so first impressions may be important.
I'm not yet convinced we're just looking at demonic activity - your section at least suggests the neverborn - but I do agree that the language is primarily demonic.
I know the dreams are very vague, but it's not long until Calibration, so I suggest we start to think of the few main possibilities so that we know who to warn/speak to. I think we could do with contacting a) the ancient Dragon-kings in the West and asking them what might be chained under the sea either there or in the Inland sea and b) contacting some of the Swords of Lunar in the West and asking whether they've noticed increased Shadow-land activity round there/Wyld activity. Before we go scaring the crap out of people, we MUST find out whether this dream has any truth in it. It would be very easy for the Fae we met to be playing with us.
Herla, I've been considering them fitting together. Put I can't see a code, any obvious interaction between the couplets or any obvious patterns. I'll keep looking. It might just be that they represent mind, soul and body pretty much.
The other six? If this is fated then we'll come across them. Or we'll find out afterwards. It's possible I could use that sorcery spell to lead us to them, but that'd be difficult. We could possibly find a way to encourage it, if you want me to try. It might even be easier to trace the source of the dream with all nine of us present.
Let's land for the night now anyway. Have a think about anyone you want me to contact now. I'll get back to Ursula."
Brings the ship into land in a farmer's field. Hopefully the brushy valley will protect us from being seen to much.
Cast Infallible Messenger "Ma'ani again. We would be really grateful if you could find somewhere to store this until we know what we're doing with it. If it's to be in the border-marches we'll need someone to meet us to bring it in who can protect it from the Wyld (because we're all sadly deficient in those charms), and we'll need somewhere to park it where it won't be mutated and then, obviously, someone to help us take it out again. Herla suggests we meet some distance away at a Sword's meeting place in case anyone's following us. We'd be glad to trade you the Warstrider for your help and some other smaller artifact to bring it up to value, or Herla would be glad to offer you a favour. Obviously if you think something else would be fairer then we're happy with that, those are just suggestions. Thank you so much!"
"Herla, if you do end up doing the favour we'll find a way to make it up to you, and obviously I'd help you with its completion."
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Post by ulrich on May 3, 2009 13:32:00 GMT
"I was just saying that it didn't make sense that three different creatures were all trying to summon or awaken the same thing. Why does it have to be the Wyld, Void and Malfeas, and not three creatures connected to just one of them? Also, why would the 'wrath of old' be their wrath of old? That doesn't make sense."
"Why can't demon cultists live that long? Why can't it be forbidden gods - in my dream prayers were mentioned. I don't think we know enough yet to come to conclusions, which is why finding the other 6 is so important. And like you say, we should speak to the Dragon Kings in the West and the Swords to see what news they have. In fact, we should also be in contact with people from all the areas close to where we think the 3 foes are."
"I've been thinking more about the face in the dream that I recognise, and the feeling I have matches everything I've heard about the connection Luna's chosen have to the Lawgivers. That's not to say that the other 6 are all Lawgivers, but I think at least one of them is.."
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bravesirrobin
Geek of Geeks
Post-Whore
He bravely turned his tail and fled
Posts: 1,453
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Post by bravesirrobin on May 3, 2009 17:16:41 GMT
Ma'ani, a favour from Herla would certainly be acceptable, and yes it will be stored in the border marches. I will bring Towzan with me for both purposes and we'll meet at the watering hole about 60 miles south of my residence if that is acceptable.
[Towzan is known to you all - he may well have been the lunar that tatooed you all originally. Very trustworthy and extremely knowledgable. The watering hole Ursula mentions is the same one Herla was thinking of. It is approximately 1500 miles from your current location.]
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Post by scarletharlot on May 3, 2009 18:53:23 GMT
Cast Infallible Messenger "Thank you, perfect. We'll be a few days yet so don't rush."
"You're right Phan, I don't have nearly enough evidence to support a theory on the dreams, I was perhaps considering a worst case scenario and all I can do if refer you again to what I said about the 'three' and my thoughts that both your and Herla's verses include potential connections with the underworld. The language is primarily demonic, I agree. The imagery of the water flooding the sand could be that of one of the Malfeans, a creature named after the sea against the flame, flowing across the great demonic desert into our world. That may be the one to escape if there is failure. And perhaps three primordials are attempting to escape: the enemy of form, heart and mind? I will think on it. I suppose they have had a long time to plan their escape.
I'm not sure we're necessarily even three of the nine, though obviously it points that way.
Aghh, I'm really really not sure about relying in any way on this until we know where it's from. I just don't like the idea that something is seeking to control us. All we know about the source of this dream is that it's from something of Creation. The solar in Rathess had powerful solar and heavenly manses and knew there were lunars in his land. Whose to say he didn't send it.
Taking that into account, I agree with you that finding six exalts who've never so much as heard of Rathess would help us to feel a little more confident as to the dream's source. Of course I'm still trying to figure out a way. But it involves various little parts - smaller artifacts that I'm working on while on watch each night - so it'll take a few more days to get up and running."
Ma'ani bites her lip for a moment in thought and then slaps herself on the forehead with the base of her hand. "Fate. Nine. A lawgiver...really? What would be the chances...but they there aren't that many...Yes. Look I'm going to go and contact those solars you listed for me Herla, to mention the ship and allow them to start planning on trade items. I'll hint at the dream, see if they pick up on anything."
Does this in the morning before leave: don't want to glow too long in one valley. Using the no moon anima power to get more messages out:
Cast Infallible Messenger "Kairos", "Azir", "Ferric", "Kieron", "Fox", "Raiden":
"My name is Ma'ani, a companion of Herla Antherung, whom you know. We have captured a Realm military Skyship and a (slightly damaged) Jade Warstrider. We would like to trade the Warstrider and discuss a periodical rental for the Sky-ship if you are interested. We are opening up trade link with various interested parties, but Herla's connection to you and your past bravery facing the Realm makes us interested in dealing with you. We two and our other companion would be honoured to meet with you to trade, we three plus your party would make nine, a very auspicious number in which to broker friendships and face the tides that flow against our exaltations, I hope you agree. Please respond if you are interested."
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Post by ulrich on May 3, 2009 19:40:37 GMT
"You can contact Herla's Solars? But you haven't met them!" Phan's serpentine nature suddenly becomes apparent as his iris-less black eyes widen at the prospect of actually meeting a Lawgiver.
"What makes you think they haven't gone completely mad like the one in Rathess? It has been a good few months since Herla was with them, right? All I'm saying is we should proceed with caution, and observe a little before we engage."
"I think I'll spent a few hours in the valley tonight. Been couped up all day on the ship. Need to stretch my.. legs, I suppose. Back by morning."
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