Seonid

General Algoux sighed. "There are two postern gates, but both are heavily guarded. There is a tunnel, however, that runs up to the ruins of the old foundation. We have no idea if the Inquisition has discovered it. Even if you are able to infiltrate Estgarde unseen through it, you will still have to fight your way across the courtyard and break into the Tower. I don't think much of your chances alone." He waved several of his soldiers over. Holding his hand out to the nearest, a man dressed in full plate armor with the crest of a white lily on a green field painted in lacquer on his right shoulder, he introduced him. "This is Lord Earney, Knight-Errant, and his men of arms. If you are willing to accept an escort, they will accompany you through the tunnels and attempt to fight their way through to the gatehouse to open it from the inside. This may give you the distraction you need to get into the Tower. Will you accept their company?" * * * * * * Paithyar Kondraty, high Inquisitor of the Church of the Martyr, cursed as he paced back and forth in front of his office in Estgarde. The messenger hawk that bore the fateful news perched on his desk before him. His spies were incompetent, scarcely able to get him news that Avar was moving against them before the attack actually happened. If it hadn't been for the hawk, they might well have been overwhelmed in the first assault. As it was, the situation was still precarious. Avar. What in the Martyr's blessed name had possessed the man? Three years should have been enough to cow him, to bring him and his heathen city into holy submission. But no, the thrice-cursed fool of a heretic decided to try and throw his weight against the Inquisition. Well, he would learn the hard way the price for such defiance. They would all learn. When he was finished with this city, it would be a name to strike fear into the hearts of heathens and heretics for centuries to come. Smiling with satisfaction, he began to write out his orders.

I'll go soon, with the general's response to Shuster, and a viewpoint from an Inquisitor inside the prison as well, and maybe a viewpoint from Father Julian, if I can get his voice right. I expect that a fight will almost certainly occur, and it seems likely that Shuster (Unodus) and Samuel (Voidus) will encounter each other. That's going to be interesting, with almost half of the Inquisitorial magic-users in the city concentrated in one place. Father Julian's going to have a rough time of it, it seems. How about I just give a quick description of the prison. The prison in Menkor is actually an old fortification, called Estgarde, built to protect the eastern entrance to the city nearly four hundred years ago. The city outgrew the old walls a long time ago, and most of the old city wall has been torn down for building materials. Some of the old forts are still there, though, just re-purposed. Estgarde was abandoned about a hundred and fifty years ago, but after about thirty years, it was reoccupied and became the prison for important political prisoners. (More common criminals are kept in jails in the downtown area - the dangerous ones are executed instead of held captive.) It has been renovated a couple of times (still long ago, though, before it was converted into a prison), but there are still parts that are 400 years old. Estgarde consists of a low enceinte, rectangular, with a low battlement on top, and about 10 feet tall in most places, with a single gatehouse facing the main eastern road. There are two postern gates, one near the main gate and one on the north. Both are concealed. The fort is in a state of disrepair, and the northern gate is blocked by rubble. (A section of the wall on that side has partially collapsed, due to water damage to the foundation, and is only about 6 feet tall.) Inside, the old barracks has been converted into a set of prison cells. This structure is located against the western wall, and is able to hold about two hundred people. Against the eastern wall, right by the gatehouse, lies the stables. There is room for about 80 horses, although most of the stalls haven't been in use since Estgarde was an actual fortification. In the center of the compound, there are three prominent features. The Foundation, which is left over from the last attempt at renovating the fort. The king at the time intended to turn Estgarde into a modern (for the time) concentric keep. The foundation was laid, and construction on the inner curtain had started when the king died suddenly. The project was abandoned by his successor, leaving a jumbled mess inside Estgarde. The second feature is the Tower, the old inner fortification. It consists of a small stone tower, rising about eighty feet high, and about fifty feet on a side. This is used for the cells of the most secure prisoners, as well as the administrative offices for the officers. Third is a new barracks, constructed some time after the old one was converted into cells. This is away from any of the walls, and is a stone building (as opposed to the wooden stables and prison cells), lightly fortified in case of a prison riot. This houses the soldiers of the prison guard, and was built to hold about fifty people. The Inquisition has packed about eighty soldiers into it, another fifty into the Tower, with additional soldiers assigned to the guard but living in other places. (The Inquisition has commandeered about three quarters of all of the rooms available in the city, without paying for them...) All told, there are about two hundred and fifty Inquisition solders there, along with ten full Inquisitors. As the king mentioned, two of them are spellcasters. The walls are old and easily climbable. The problem is that any climber would be in clear view of the sentries walking around the top. Security is high since the Inquisition took the prison. Also, I had a couple of questions about Shuster's powers. I probably should have asked them before we got started, but finals were stupid. They're in the PM. If you want him to meet with the king, that sounds like a fun twist. Right now, Avar is wary of anything having to do with the Court of the Gods, but since the Paladins are rather anti-Imperial (since the Emperor decreed that their Order was illegal several years ago - the Court hasn't yet turned against them, but the pressure is mounting for them to do so), I think that he'd be more than willing to accept the aid of a Paladin. That would be an awful life as a familiar. (I'd like to write a treatise on familiar forms and shapeshifting here, but I'll save that for another time. The short answer here is that familiars aren't stuck in a form, even a form of their choosing. Many do choose to stay in a particular form for the whole time they are a familiar, but that is because that form is a particular favorite of theirs. Some have no favorite, and manifest in a new form every day, just for the novelty of it. It depends mostly on the personality of the spirit and what their bonded partner wants. I'll also put off the treatise on why familiars still end up with the same sort of behavior as the base animal, even though they don't have biological urges.) I would also like to give a wall of text answer to familiar magic question, but I won't in favor of getting this post out in a reasonable time frame. Expect more familiar magic stuff in the worldbuilding thread that *should* be coming out today. The quick answer is that familiars use essentially Type 1 magic. Consider familiars mini-gods. They have much less power available, but it affects the world in the same way. The familiar is the one who is responsible for the manipulation of energy. The sorcerer asks them to do something, but they are the ones responsible to do it. Looks excellent. I just wish there were armor in the Pony Creator...

Oh...Ironmonger's got it coming. Death by flashy pink winged unicorn. Wait till you see the Ari/Ironmonger matchup.

I just realized that I missed this question in my Massively Comprehensive Reply PostTM. Sorry about that. That varies by order. The Paladins are confirmed into the Order in an elaborate ritual, part of which involves the bonding of a willing familiar spirit, who is aligned with the goals and stated purpose of the order. For Inquisitors, the acquisition of a familiar is much more haphazard. Firstly, not all Inquisitors are magic users (the percentage ranges between 10-20% of the order as magic users of some kind; even less of them are serious and long-terms students of the art), and secondly, not all Inquisitors who are sorcerers acquire familiars (probably less than half, perhaps much less than half). Those who do generally find their own because they want one badly enough to put into the effort to find their own. (It can be a lot of work sifting through a bunch of ineligible spirits to find the ones that would be suited to being a familiar, and even more effort to find one among these generally disinterested spirits who is willing to accept the bond.) It might be asked, what does a familiar gain from the bond? For Paladins and other like situations, the familiar is working with someone who holds to their same moral code and whose goals they are aligned with. These spirits are attached to the world and the mortals (emotionally invested, even) in a way that others of their kind are not. For this type of spirit, they generally leave the cycle of reincarnation that animals go through shortly after their stint as familiar, and take the step to become a mortal. (Cosmological note: The spirits that animate animals are spirits who just weren't interested in becoming mortals when the opportunity was offered them. Some few change their mind over time, and this is often accompanied by an increasing awareness and investment in events in the mortal realm. When they do change their mind, they are able to join the spirits who did want to become mortals on a [mostly] equal footing. It should also be noted that mortals do not reincarnate. They eventually become immortals after they die, and move on to a place in the Outer Realms. Most have never had a prior life, except for the ones who came over from being part of the animal cycle.) Other familiar spirits accept because they want to have a physical form without the restraints of actually inhabiting an animal. For all but the most self-aware spirits that participate in the cycle of animal reincarnation, the demands of instinct and biology are extremely hard to overcome. One of the perks of being a familiar is that your body is fully under your control, instead of having pesky biological urges. (However, some instinctive patterns based in biology become imprinted in the spiritual thinking process. Hence, some familiars who choose an animal form will still feel the mating urge when faced with an attractive opposite-gender animal of their own species. But it won't control them. They remain in full control. In many ways, it's almost like being a mortal, without any of the pesky permanent Material bonding going on.) And here we go: Svaldings: If you have more questions, don't hesitate to ask. Your questions are what helps me to build the world in detail. Most definitely not. Oh, and a few notes on numbers, just so we don't get carried away with magic users. The Inquisition has brought about 3000 soldiers to Menkor. About 800 of them are at the capital itself, either in the city or in a camp just outside. Of the 3000, there are 82 Inquisitors of varying ranks, of which about 20 are in the city/camp area, including 6 or 7 magic users. (The total magic-user count of the Inquisitorial force was 13, so about half are in the city.) We've seen or heard about 4 of these. (Voidus, the one in the square, and the two at the prison). Pretty much, what I'm saying is, don't go randomly making up enemy magic users and killing them. They are few and far between, and if we kill too many of them for the sake of atmosphere, there won't be any left to use in the story. If you want your character to kill one of the three that we haven't seen yet, PM me first to make sure I'm not planning on using them. [EDIT:] That would certainly be in-bounds. If you think Samuel would have agreed.

You'd be welcome over there, Edgedancer, either as a spectator or a participant. Also, I'm making a slight adjustment to the power set of one of The Dalles much spoken of but as yet unseen menaces, Ironmonger. He's now a gifter, for both his iron body and metal manipulation powers (but not the others). People he gifts to can't actually turn all the way into iron like he can, but they can turn their skin to iron, thick enough to stop handgun and assault rifle bullets. Does this sound like an acceptable modification?

Nobody really expected anything else, did they?

I'm still in, but I don't have anything yet. I'll probably do an exploratory writing exercise set in the Edassa RP, about a group of Tribunal worshippers celebrating their winter festival in secret while hiding from the Inquisition.

That sounds exactly in line with the way familiars (and other spirits like them who don't end up called into service) work! The Edassan crocodile is most like the Nile species (C. niloticus), although several smaller variants exist (including a small freshwater species similar to the Terran caiman that is native to the Jyid). The Edassan crocodile's range spreads from the southern edge of the continent (which is located somewhat south of the equator, although not out of the tropics) up to the southern shores of the middle sea. Anciently, an even larger saltwater species inhabited the Minharan delta and the shores of the Jade Sea, but these have been hunted into extinction. Either would be appropriate for the Murk Lurker. And thanks for the compliments. I'll reproduce that here, too, if anyone is particularly interested in it. Keep in mind that these are clipped from PM responses to questions, so they may seem a little incomplete. But I hope y'all find it interesting. And if not, well, that's why it's in spoiler tags. Also, thank you Mail. It is nice to see folks so interested in this little universe of mine. Nessei Mage Magic I will definitely give a cultural profile for the Svaldings, but your intuition about the Norse similarity is spot on. Not exactly the same, but related to the Norse to about the same degree as the Nessei are to the Mongols. It's a little late for me to do that tonight (I have to get up again in about 4 hours), so I'll do it after I get home tomorrow. Probably around noon, MST. Just a note, the wolf is Fen, not Muni. All spirits have full awareness of their past lives. It's only when they are actually living them that the memories are veiled. And the class of spirits from which familiars are drawn are all of human or near-human intelligence. However, their thought patterns are generally not human, and run in the manner of their favored/most identified with/most repeated form. In addition, the physical manifestation of a form (even if it's not a full physical body) does have an influence on the thought patterns. The familiar chooses a form to which it already has an attachment, and when manifesting, its thoughts follow the patterns that are native to the form. So Fen thinks like a wolf, just a wolf if it had human-level intelligence. So a wolf+, rather than a human in a wolf's body. [EDIT:] This weekend or so, I plan on moving all of the worldbuilding info to a new thread in the Creator's Corner. This thread will be more focused on the RP itself (and any worldbuilding necessary to inform it), but all of the background magic info and culture/history stuff will move to the worldbuilding thread. There, I'll be able to explore other facets of Edassa without distracting from the RP. Sound like a good idea?

Niobe crouched in the forest, watching as the wolf-cows spread out, hunting. They had avoided the bloodbath at the cornucopia, probably because there were too many tributes there to effectively attack. But they would be dangerous now. She needed to eliminate them. Sure, any of the other tributes could stab her in the back at any second, but those mutts were far more unpredictable than other tributes. Sitting with her back against a rock ledge, she began to plan a trap for one... I'll be going after the mutts this round.

Warning! Walls of text incoming! This is my massive compilation post intended to answer all of the backlogged questions. When I finish this post, I think that I will be caught up with answering all of the questions folks have asked. Except for spell lists for BreathTaker, Voidus, and anybody else who's playing a character with Type IIa magic. (Sorcery) First, we have my response to Mailliw with regard to the limitations of magic. I've reproduced it here from our PM for everyone else's benefit. Magical Limitations Here's the piece on Spirit Interactions with the Material Realm for Kobold. Anybody playing a character with a familiar might want to check it out, though. It also contains my slight modifications to Type IIa magic. Spiritual/Material Interactions: Here is the definitive (for now) work on how familiars work, what they can do, and what benefits they grant their partner. Familiars: I'm sure that this will spawn a thousand more questions, so, fire away. Oh, and about familiars. Everything I've seen in the RP so far has been completely consistent with how familiars operate.

General Algoux turned to face the Northerner mercenary. He was a stout man, with graying hairs. Instead of his fine uniform, he wore a breastplate over a leather jerkin; it would have taken far too long to don his full plate battle armor. "General, what's the situation? Has the Inquisitor guards been suppressed yet?" The clamor of the riot in the city reached them here, even inside the secure prison complex. That was, of course, the crux of the matter. "We've been betrayed! They were ready for us. Somebody posted the proclamation before we had even moved to assault the prison. I've tried a frontal assault, but the gates held firm. With them prepared to meet us, it might take siege equipment to get inside the prison walls."

Niobe smiled as she was led into her tube. A fake smile, to be sure, but it would hopefully convince the cameras. One last parting shot. One of her fellow contestants had asked if she was going to the cornucopia in the final hours before the Games started. She'd almost frozen with panic to remember that that was the first challenge she'd face. A mad dash, scrambling over supplies and weapons. Many of the contestants wouldn't make it back alive. No, she'd thought. Better to trust her ability to find food in the forest. Her answer had been far more flighty, but was the same response. But nobody would believe that the pampered, mincing, shallow girl they'd seen on the screens and in the photos would be willing to risk going without the food and luxuries in the cornucopia. Sometimes, honesty was the best deception.

Newan, that is not only excellent and well-thought through headcanon, but it is also meaningful and deep. Thank you.

My highest post count is in the Reckoners subforum. 114 of my 210. That's 0.99% of this forum and 54% of my total posts. I feel rather inadequate right now... But no matter. Soon, Edassa shall rise and unseat Oregon, thus taking its rightful place at the pinnacle of 17th Shard post counts. [cackling maniacal laughter] Oops. Sorry about that. I think we were talking about Oregon. Specifically, The Dalles. Who's up next there? Because I'm ready to bring in Arvin on his dragon and toast some pandas as soon as I won't be double posting there.

Avar looked the brazen mercenary in the eye. "Hazard pay? In addition to your standard retainer? You are quite the bold one. But your argument has merit. This is certainly above and beyond the terms of our original contract." He waved the chancellor of the exchequer over, a short, balding man named Ferreit. "500 gold marks. Fifty now, the remainder payable upon your successful return with Father Julian. And an extra bonus if you bring back proof of the demise of the Inquisitors. Fifty apiece. Are we agreed?"

Excellent posts, all y'all. BreathTaker, Bran sounds excellent. A Northlander (it sounds like you're a Svalding particularly) would be a rare sight in the Paladin Orders. He'd have faced quite a bit of prejudice while in training. But being able to use magic "covers a multitude of sins," as they say, and martial prowess and leadership ability would have silenced critics. As to the magic Paladins use, that would be Type IIa magic. Sorcery, in other words. Basically, every morning you perform a set of sacred rituals that prepares all of the spells you plan on using that day. As part of that set of rituals, you etch into your memory the phrases and motions that will complete the spell and cast it. If the spell isn't prepared, you can't use it. You possess a holy book that contains teachings about divine power (at least partly correct) and how to access it. Specifically, it lists the standard list of Paladin spells and the proper memorization phrases for them. I'll get you a list of the standard Paladin spells (probably tomorrow). If you want different spells than the ones on the list, PM me and we'll work them out. Mostly it's a matter of figuring out where you would have come across the instructions for the spell. And Voidus, this is the same process for Inquisitors. They just have a different holy book and some different spells (some the same, too). Which means that if one of you manages to get your hands on a book of spells for the other order, you have an expanded list to choose from in the morning. (If your character can deal with the fact that the rituals to prepare them are from another religion.)

When Nighthound choked on a fishbone, it was unanimously decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the fishbone, a process that was derailed only after someone noted that the prize could not be awarded posthumously. It was then unanimously decided to clone the fish from the DNA extracted from the bone, and award the prize to the cloned fish.

Niobe huddled in the corner of her room, shaking with fear. It was time for her to get up. Time to face the reporters, the interlocutors. The faces of her executioners. No. That was failure speaking. She had never given up on anything before this, and she wasn't about to start now. She was a good woodsman, and she had practiced bow and knife against the possibility of being chosen as a tribute. She just hadn't expected the fear. The bone-crushing, soul-numbing fear. But she was in control. The tears stopped running down her cheeks as she stood and faced herself in the mirror. She quickly changed into the clothing she had picked out for the interview, a bright, almost neon green tube dress. Tight across the bust but flaring around the ankles, with a diamond cutout over her navel, the dress was made of some sort of layered silk that ruffled in the slightest breeze. She had almost considered getting a navel ring, but the possibility of infection from a new piercing was too real to be worth risking it. Not now, just days or less before the actual games started. As it stood, the dress would be sufficient. It was bright and attention-grabbing, and if she acted flighty enough during the interviews, then she could pull off a dramatic change of character when she was actually put into the Games. Nobody would be expecting the garish, attention grabbing girl to be a woodsman and a fighter. She would show them. She would show them all. * * * * * * The cameras flashed as she spoke with the interviewers. She felt like a different person under all the makeup, a cover over her tear-stained cheeks. She answered flightily, as if she was a brainless bimbo with no personality and less wit. Impressions. It was all about impressions. Don't let them believe you are a threat. The questions almost felt as if they were directed to an onlooker, not her. What was her favorite part of the Capitol. "Oh, you know, the society." She giggled, a high-pitched simpering thing. "It's just all so glamorous, and all of these wonderful people. Why, just last night..." What was she thinking when she was chosen. "Nothing much. I was just too excited to actually be able to visit the Capitol to even worry about the Games. I mean, I'm obviously going to win, so it's just a matter of going in then going back home." That was a bald-faced lie, and everyone watching would spot it. But hopefully, they wouldn't see the greater lie. The lie of tone. The deception that attempted to mislead everyone about what was hiding behind the obvious lies. It was all about art. The art of putting a face on in front of the world. And she was a master at that. Why was it so obvious that she would win? "Because the sponsors love me, of course! Everybody knows that you just have to have a good relationship with the sponsors, and nothing bad happens to you!" She walked away as the flashes of cameras continued. Now to wait for the actual game themselves.

I was going to say that you don't have to edit your post, but I saw you already did. That works too. I'll post a reply in the morning.

Definitely. I would like this thread to become the equivalent of the Question threads, just for Edassa. Unodus, was that last reply in the RP thread meant to be in-character? If so, I can reply. If not, I'll answer here. Father Julian Mathienne was, before the Inquisition came, the ranking High Prelate of the Church of the Martyr in Menkor. The people loved him, not least because he was rather soft on their heterodoxy/heretical syncretism. Not, it should be understood, because he didn't care about pure doctrine, but rather because he was willing to show mercy and give leeway to people who, 10 years ago, were worshipping the Tribunal like their great-great-great-great-grandparents had always done. Avar's plan is not to turn away from the Church of the Martyr. The Empire still controls the Court of the Gods, and that's bad. What he wants is to get the existing Church authority to denounce the Inquisition, with Father Julian leading. He'd been sending secret messages to Julian in prison, but that stopped six months ago when the Inquisition increased security. He sees that as the only way to get the Inquisition out without turning the full wrath of the Church on him. He doesn't yet realize how much the Church is controlled by the Inquisition, though.

Avar turned, frowning at the pale mercenary standing near him. "I don't recall giving you permission to attend a private council meeting, soldier." His face darkened for a moment, but it passed quickly. He sighed and put his face into his hands, looking suddenly careworn. "It is of no matter. What was done here will shortly be made public for all the world to hear." He looked up again as he spoke. "And you are correct. I do indeed have a task for you to perform, one that requires your...unique abilities. As you have heard, the good general is planning a strike on the prisons. We aim to rescue my old friend, Father Mathienne. You know of him, I presume?" Without waiting for an answer, the king pressed on. "I have it on good authority that the Inquisition has set two high Inquisitors, both with sorcerous powers, to guard the prison. They are reported to be ruthless. Your task is twofold. First, eliminate, incapacitate, or otherwise render powerless those sorcerers. Second, ensure that no matter what else happens at the prison, Father Mathienne survives and escapes. Even if it means letting the sorcerers go. I need him alive, and I need him here." The king's eyes were agate. "Do you have any questions, soldier?"

Feel free. Avar is king of Menkor. Right now, the two big factions are going to be the Inquisition and Avar's faction. Later, we may see some more (if I recall right, we have at least one Paladin PC - which is not aligned with the Court of the Gods anymore, since the Empire dissolved the Order; In addition, the Court itself may very well try to interfere, Imperial agents might show up, and there's always the possibility of a popular rebellion - - - none of these are planned, just throwing out potential factions. If none of these appeal to you, make your own!)

You can be a mercenary working for whoever you want. But, since you've already posted as Avar's mercenary, then I'll go with that one.

Anybody's welcome to post next. If nobody does tomorrow, then I'll make another post. I expect people are kind of waiting to break the ice somehow. It might be helpful for everyone to ask the question "What is my character doing in Menkor?"