Seonid

New discussion topic: Enchanted weapons! Magical or enchanted weapons are rare, but do exist in Edassa. They are created by binding a spirit to the weapon/armor with specific commands to perform the desired functions. All such bindings significantly increase the durability of the weapon, as well as making it far easier to interact with the Spiritual Realm. Examples include: A command to burst into flame when striking. A command to guide the weapon into making more accurate/deadly hits A command to directly strike at the target's spiritual/physical bonds A command to give off light when in the presence of enemies. And so on.

A compilation post between myself and BreathTaker The door to the throne room swung open, silently. Avar waited tensely upon his throne. Bran the Blessed, Banner General of the Raven, was an awesome figure, nearly legendary already in his own lifetime. And now he was a guest in Avar’s own throne room, a superior of the Paladin order come to visit an apostate king. The servants announced their distinguished visitor, and the Lord of the Raven Banner approached the throne. “Lord Bran, we bid you welcome to our city during this dark hour. To what do we owe this honor?” To his relief, Avar was able to keep his voice steady. Bran smiled and bowed respectfully to King Avar, “It is an honor to finally meet you, King of Menkor.” The Paladin straightened, unabashed at his shirtlessness. There was nothing to do about that. “I have come because you are in quite a difficult situation.” Bran spoke plainly, he didn’t like mincing words. “I currently have my entire banner positioned about an hour’s ride from your gates. We did not come to harm you, originally we were just passing through but when my men reported to me what was happening…” The Paladin trailed off for a moment meeting the King’s gaze, “I decided to come to you and offer my aid.” It wasn’t the complete truth but it was close enough. Avar relaxed slightly. “This is a welcome coincidence, milord. These hours are brightened by the presence of a servant of justice such as yourself. We have much to discuss.” “Of course, Your Majesty, before we continue this conversation, is there any way I could trouble you for a washcloth and something cold to drink? I’m a mite thirsty from the little scuffle we just had outside.” “Certainly, Bran.” Avar waved a servant over. “Two glasses of chilled wine, and a heated washcloth for the Lord Paladin!” The servant rushed off. Another walked up with a tray of cheeses. “While you are here, will you avail yourself of our hospitality?” Bran nodded to the servant as he took a piece of cheese and popped it into his mouth. “It would be an honor King Avar.” Time was short and he was sure there would be more trouble soon. A few minutes later, two more servants arrived. One was carrying a steaming bowl of water with a cloth and the other, a pair of chalices and a sweating pitcher of wine. Bran took the washcloth and wiped the blood and dirt off of his face before accepting a cup of excellent wine. He lifted the cup to the king and drained the glass. “Highness, as much as I would love to sit and speak to you of travels and news of other lands over a pipe, I believe we have more… pressing issues to discuss.” The Paladin set the cup on the servant’s tray and thanked him quietly while wiping the excess wine off of his beard before meeting the eyes of the king again. Avar looked at the bloodied Paladin, still slightly wary. “Yes,” he replied curtly. “That we do.” Then, taking a deep breath, he steeled himself for the plunge. “Lord Bran, let me be blunt. The devotion of the Paladinate order to the cause of justice is well-known, and they are justifiably proud of it. But second in their loyalty is the Court of the Gods, and that is, these days, ruled by the Emperor of Alcorazim. And as much as we are grateful for your presence, if your aid comes with Imperial strings, we will struggle on on our own. We have fought hard for our independence, and will fight harder in the coming days for it. But, by the High One’s grace, we believe we will conquer.” “I understand King Avar. I would not allow a rival government to barge in to my city either, no matter how much help was needed.” The comment would have sounded condescending coming from anyone but a Svalding, but Bran only spoke the truth. “We did not come to set up a Tribunal government. We came to help.” The Paladin paused for a moment before continuing, “The only thing I ask for, is the opportunity to speak to you about... changing the world.” Bran smiled at the king. “Think about this Your Majesty, if you truly ruled this kingdom without the thumb of the Inquisition or the Tribunal pressing down on you, you would have the potential to be one of the greatest kings the world has ever seen.” The Paladin waved over the servant and poured himself another cup of wine, “If you would allow a small hand full of priests in to your city to preach, not forcefully convert mind you, but preach to those willing. Do you think people would come?” Before Avar could reply, “What if you set up laws that allowed anyone to worship who they would, so long as it did not hurt those around them? What if… people from all around Edassa could come to your city for peace and to escape persecution for their beliefs?” The Svalding took a small drink from his cup, watching the King think on what he had just said. The offer was...intriguing, to say the least. Avar frowned as he mulled the implications of the Paladin’s statement. It reminded him strongly of something Father Julian might have said, were he here. A city that didn’t have to fear Court or Inquisition alike, where no allegiance to a religion took preeminence to allegiance to the city that made such a place possible. Of course, such a course of action was just as likely to end in said city being caught between the Inquisition and the Tribunal legions. That was the way of the world. If you wanted to avoid being crushed, you joined yourself to a larger faction. But then again, picking sides had led him to the same juncture without the luxury of self-determination. It wasn’t as if there was anything to lose. “We find your offer intriguing, Lord Bran. Intriguing enough that we would be honored to discuss this further with you. At great length.” The palace rumbled softly, as if the earth itself was shaking. Avar looked up, slightly alarmed at the noise. What devilry has the Inquisition stooped to now? Turning back to the Paladin, he continued. “I hope that you can agree, however, that as the salvation of my city is a fundamental prerequisite to the society you envision, so must that salvation be prerequisite to our discussion.” Bran nodded to the king, “Of course, Majesty. As I said before, we are not here to undermine your power, quite the opposite in fact. But please, allow me to prove myself further.” The Paladin went down on one knee and drew the long curved sword of the Inquisitor he had faced outside, “Avar, King of Menkor! I, Bran Mariksen, Paladin of the Tribunal and Leader of the Banner of the Raven; give you this sword, the weapon of a fallen and respected enemy as proof of my loyalty in aiding you in freeing your country from the oppressive grip of the Church of the Martyr.” For the third time Bran met the King’s eyes levelly. “I also swear, that I do not aim to establish the rule of the Tribunal in it’s wake. I only wish to aid a people in need. If I am false, may Argon strike me down with Holy Fire.” With that Bran stood and handed the sword, hilt first to Avar. What Bran had done was not a traditional Paladin oath by any means. It was an oath of truth and honor, combining both Svalding and Tribunal concepts and making them his own. Avar looked into the Paladin’s eyes for a long moment. Then, he spoke, his voice ringing clearly in the throne room. “Bran Mariksen! I, Avar Leduinne, King of Menkor and High Seat of House Duinne, do accept your loyalty, and swear my own. Honor given to honor. Blood given for blood. Our steel is bound together in this cause.” It was not the traditional oath of fealty from a lord to his vassal, rather the oath of alliance between a king and his equal. Avar himself was surprised at the oath that had left his mouth, but it had felt right. The words hang heavily in the ornate hall. Still meeting the steely gaze of the Paladin, Avar felt a chill running down his spine. He had never been a man foresighted, but at that moment, he saw one thing as clear as morning. The world would never be the same again, and these few words spoken in a darkened hall would kindle a flame that would consume the whole world. Finally, the Paladin broke the silence. “”King Avar, I must go to my army now and prepare for war.” Bran glanced out a window to judge the darkness for time, “It will near sunrise before I return if you lend me a horse. I pray you can hold out for four more hours.” Bran stepped out of Avar’s castle and was led to a small back gate so that he could leave the city discreetly. He jumped on the horse a groom brought to him and rode through the portal on the the open field. As soon as he was clear of the wall, the Paladin stopped his horse and sent to Fen, I need you my friend, this is going to take a lot of power. In a moment he could feel the power coming from his familiar for the spell he was about to perform. After a few hand gestures and muttered spell, Bran thrust his hands up and the image of an enormous Black Raven on an even bigger red flag materialized into the sky, visible for miles around. Although the colors of the Banner of the Raven were dark, they seemed to emit their own light, visible even in the dark of the very early morning. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The Paladin urged his horse to a gallop, headed right for his encampment. Once the horse started to tire, Bran cast a healing spell on it to give another boost of strength. An hour later Bran rode into what was once his army’s camp, now all that remained were three hundred men in armor, divided into shield wall squads, ready to march out at their commander’s order. A single, albeit large tent stood before that army. The men saluted in unison as Bran dismounted, he returned the salute quickly before entering the enclosure. After about ten minutes Bran exited the tent wearing the mark of his order. A full set of enchanted plate armor, painted in a flat black and red. An unusual color scheme for a Paladin. In one hand Bran carried his shield, Svalin, and his helmet while in the other he carried Gungnir, his long bladed spear. On his back rested Allenir and Jotunfist, his axe and hammer, both hilt up for easy access. Finally on his hip sat his father’s long sword, Balmung, in it’s black and read sheath. The hulking man strode to his own horse, which had been brought to him, and mounted it before turning and speaking to his men, “Warriors of the Raven!” cheers resounded, “As you know by now, we ride to battle!” more cheers, “Today we fight for a cause, not only to defeat the Inquisition of the Martyr, but to free an oppressed people!” Bran let the cheers and shield banging subside, “Today, we will bathe in the blood of our rivals, but they too may bathe in ours. Respect them, but give them no quarter.” With those simple words Bran placed his wicked looking helmet on his head, turned his warhorse and charged to the city.

I intend to eventually join Astoria, but I have a storyline in The Dalles to wrap up first. It involves sending Ari's dragon flying away somewhere, and The Lizard seeing it as it goes. Since his power lets him shapechange into any type of reptile he's seen (and to mix and match properties...), well, that would bring his power up to Astoria's level. Maybe. I'd have to actually go and review his powerset. And the powersets of other Astorian Epics. He still might be too underpowered.

You know, when there are nearly 200 posts since the last time I read this, I'm not even going to try... Good job, guys!

That's about it, BreathTaker. Mailliw has a character he is planning on bringing in, and Quiver is still in the character creation process, so I think that this is the sum total of the characters in Menkor right now. You have a point, Voidus... That is an unintended side effect of the words of power, but a perfectly valid one. And yes, Kobold, I am always ready to deal with thy nonsensical madness. Even when it manifests in crocodile form. Especially when it manifests in crocodile form.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, BreathTaker. I'm kind of hoping for Samuel's response to being taken prisoner by Shuster. Or maybe a Murk post (hint hint, Kobold... ) And yes, this is shaping up to be the beginning of an Epic story. I noticed a post of Joe's on the Paidia thread, and I think it fits the situation. For an RP to thrive, the characters have to be interacting with each other. If they are all just off doing their own thing, then it doesn't work, and the RP dies. Let's get our characters meeting up before this RP goes the way of Tamriel. (Even if this does go that way, though, I'm still going to post worldbuilding stuff for Edassa! Can't stop this train now!)

Or bald. Bald pandas are an acceptable reason to delay the fall of Oregon as well.

Question 7, the question thread in which the fall of Oregon was procrastinated once more, to make room for some last minute ponies, crack ships, and glitterfests. And because everybody has a few more pandas that they want to kill.

Alright, we've been dead for long enough! I just posted a new Lord Earney view, as well as bringing back an Inquisitor viewpoint character. Anybody else is free to go now.

The Tower of Estgarde rang as if it had been struck by a blow. Paithyar Kondraty looked up from his desk, where he had just finished his set of orders. Intruders! In my tower! The security in this place was an affront to all that was holy! He had been sure that he had manned the fortress with enough soldiers to keep out any assault while the Inquisitorial army camped outside the city mobilized. And the sorcerer he had on duty should have been more than enough to even out any miscalculations he had made. Apparently, he had been wrong. He began to dress in his armor, preparing to go to the battle below. He stopped halfway through buckling his sword belt on, struck by a sudden thought. If the tower had been compromised, there was a risk of prisoners escaping. Most of these were high-profile nobility, useful for hostages or blackmail, but there was one... Face twisted into a growl of fury, he began to run towards the cell of the heretic priest. * * * * * * Lord Earney brought his poleaxe down on another Inquisition soldier with a wild yell. The initial rush out of the ruins near the tunnel's mouth had been wildly successful. More than twenty dead soldiers littered the courtyard, and many more were wounded. But the weight of numbers was beginning to tell. Several squires were down, and two of his men of arms were sorely wounded. He'd lost sight of one of them a couple of minutes ago, and was not happy with the prospects. Suddenly, from behind him, he heard a loud crack and felt a wave of heat. Turning, he saw the remnants of a large fireball dissipating, leaving behind a smoking hole in the tower door. An Inquisitor sorcerer had blown it in. Must be going after that mercenary, he thought. I don't have much time. Cutting down another soldier, he found himself in an empty space for a moment. Two of his men of arms, Josephe and Jean d'Morde, were fighting near him. As he watched, they dispatched their opponents. Calling them to him, he took stock of his surroundings. He was only a hundred yards away from the main gates of Estgarde, and the path was clear. Ordering the brothers to protect his back, he began to sprint towards the gate, poleaxe pulling backwards for a mighty swing.

Force and energy have a relationship, but they aren't exactly the same. In essence, applying a force over a distance changes the kinetic energy of an object. But force isn't energy.

Sell. I think that the collective power of the 17th shard has found them all. In Calamity, David will finally make a metaphor that Megan appreciates.

1. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle 2. Campbell is good, but I prefer Eliade. But one of my favorite non-fiction writers would have to be Timothy Ferris, a popular science writer. 3. Non-literature - I love Shakespeare, but I think I counts as lit. Are we counting ancient Norse and Egyptian myths as non-literature?

I don't think it would be out of place (but then again, I haven't gotten a popular post yet...not even with the whack-a-mole meme ) I'm still trying to come up with a new Team Paladin post. If I don't hurry, there won't be any pandas left for them...

Not quite. I've got a submission that is almost ready, but I've been to busy to finish it up.

You're fine, Blaze. That's actually a rather brilliant solution to the eclipse issue. (Unless, of course, Kobold wants daily eclipses...but that's a different story). Geometry's one of my weak points too. I far prefer calculus (I'm good at algebra, but I hate it).

One of the longest-running forum members (although doomed to obscurity, despite his best efforts) is Dineos, who is known for rampantly plagiarizing other authors work and presenting it as his own worldbuilding. His latest attempt to co-opt a particularly spectacular setting posted elsewhere on the forum led to massive criticism based on his elementary misunderstanding of even basic physics.

Unfortunately, my characters don't have especially interesting Mirrorverse stories. Paladin died in the Rending of the High Epic Aurora (who happened to be his wife, before she killed him). Aurora, on the other hand, has sunlight manipulating energy powers, a PI, and has become the most feared High Epic in three states, ruling over the burnt-out state of Idaho. Mirror!Ranger is still a forest ranger in a national park, who has become increasingly reclusive as the Epics rise in power. Mirror!Guardian was the leader of a Reckoner cell in Idaho before Aurora ambushed them on a hit and wiped them out (except for Guardian). Now she lives in a Boise slum, drunk most of the time, and tries to forget that Epics even exist.

Posts that involve 50-dollar bills are All-Bens (sorry, American currency reference)

And posts involving wolves must then be All-Dens

Quick question for you, Kobold. How large do you want your gas giant from the surface of Rimenight? We can't get anything sky-devouring without being dangerously close, but we have a range of values to play with. You mentioned a 3-day as the max limit you wanted to have, so I'll just post a few representative values. If Rimenight had a 24-hour day/night cycle, then we would be on the order of 200,000 km out (orbital radius), and the gas giant would have a 35 degree angular diameter. (In contrast, the moon has half a degree) To get a feel for this, go outside, point your arm straight up and point your other at the horizon. That's a 90 degree angular diameter. Now move your arm pointed at the horizon up until it's about 2/3 of the way to your vertical arm. That's a 30 degree angular diameter. With a 24-hour day/night cycle, the planet would look a little bigger than that. With a 48-hour day/night cycle (like in the OP), we'd be roughly 300,000 km out (coincidentally...) and the angular diameter would be 20 degrees. With a 72-hour day/night cycle, we'd be 400,000 km out (which is what we've been calculating based on now) and the angular diameter is 16 degrees, or about 32-33 times larger than the Moon as seen from Earth. Just a few representative values. Also, if the moon orbits directly in the equatorial plane of the planet, the rings will be nearly invisible as you would be looking at them edge-on. You probably want a slightly inclined orbit so that the rings aren't edge on to Rimenight. Just a few degrees would be sufficient, but a larger inclination would give a more dramatic view of the rings. Here is an interesting tool. I haven't tried it out yet, but I thought you might find it useful.

Alright. These ones I think that I can answer. First, as I look back over the thread, I think that I overstated the eclipse case. In fact, we'd only have a light/heat problem for a tidally locked moon if and only if the moon orbits without any angle away from the ecliptic - that is, we only have daily eclipses if Rimenight orbits in the plane of the planet's motion around the sun. Since most planets are tilted, and shepherd moons orbit around the equatorial plane of the planet (like the rings must do, there's no way out of this one), for this to happen, Rimenight's parent planet would have to orbit with a vertical orientation relative to its star. If the planet were tilted, the nightly eclipses would be far less frequent (with the frequency decreasing as we increase the tilt, until we get an exactly zero chance at 90 degrees tilt) For comparison, Earth is tilted at 23.4 degrees, and Saturn tilts at 26.7. Jupiter tilts at 3 degrees (which may or may not be enough to prevent nightly eclipses, I'd have to do a lot more work to figure out the exact minimum tilt we'd need). Uranus has a 97 degree tilt (causing its famous vertical rings - they still orbit the equatorial plane of Uranus, it's just the plane that's tilted). Neptune tilts at about 28 degrees, Mars is chaotic - varying between 0 and 60 degrees - likely due to the lack of a moon, Venus is 177 degrees (which means that it nearly points down relative to the earth's spin, in a rather funny circumstance) and Mercury is nearly zero. An axial tilt (of the parent planet, not the moon) of between 20 and 30 degrees would certainly be enough to eliminate nightly eclipses (as we see with the Earth-moon system), and thereby avoid the heat problem. In fact, it seems that the more likely occurrence would be a tilted planet, rather than a non-tilted one (I am not aware of whether we have been able to observe the axial tilt of any exoplanets - so I just have the Solar System to provide data points) Just in case, we can consider the case where Rimenight does orbit a planet with a very low axial tilt. In that case, let's examine the least illuminated point on the moon, the one that is closest to the planet. (I wish I had pictures) Detailed analysis follows in the spoiler tag: I'll think more about how much that would affect life while I'm at work, and post again on my lunch break if I have something new to say. Oh, and about the tide question - the planet would have zero effect on the tides (because of the tidal locking) but the other moons would certainly have a difficult-to-predict effect. The Sun would also have an effect (about half of the effect of the moon on Earth).

Seems like the most appropriate place to wait from.

If it's any consolation, you are probably writing them the closest to the true nature of an Epic. And Mail! I don't know whether to upvote that brilliant bit of writing or cower in horror at what I just read! O.O

Ironmonger (mine) and Miner (mail-mi) have made the list at least once, although they aren't anywhere near the level of Nighthound or Timeport.