Amanuensis

I'm a huge fan of the series (hence why I'm currently running the aforementioned mafia game in a slightly modified version of the setting, mostly to avoid spoilers). Personally my favorite character was Roque, for a wide variety of reasons. Yes, the culminating event at the end of Golden Son and the inevitable confrontation in Morning Star were, in the context of the story, devastating / heartbreaking, but his character was one of the most consistent and human to me. Even if I disagreed with him on a philosophical level, his motives were both understandable and well articulated, and some of the most quotable scenes from the trilogy came from him, imo. Overall these books were brilliant. Perfect? Maybe not. But I loved every moment of the adventure, and I've yet to introduce the series to someone who hasn't agreed with me afterwards, which generally reveals just how powerful it was. I too am very excited for the Iron Gold trilogy, as well am curious how these books will be handled as films, given the fact that most of it's greatness comes from Darrow's internal monologue.

Due to Straw being unable to play, Morsde has been replaced by @Doxis.

Chapter 7 will close on Tuesday, October 25th at 8PM EST! Chapter 8 will begin approximately two hours later! Chapter 7: Love Lost, Faith Found Tenebrum did not cry when Quintus came for her. She didn't even cry when she saw Lucius support the Gold with the lisp. But when Jefry offered to fight the man in her place, she couldn't help but cry. He was too good for her. Had always been too good for her. Perhaps that was the reason, she now realized, why she could never bring herself to feel the same way about him as he did her. Jefry embraced her tightly, knowing that no matter what she answered, this would be the last time he could hold her and be held back. Every time her body shook with fear and grief, he clenched tighter, thinking it would calm her, though it only seemed to make her crying worse. Between sobs, Tenebrum told him no. "I've never been," choke, "very strong," whimper, "but I am still," sniff, "Peerless Scarred." Jefry's heart sunk into the pit of his stomach. Despite knowing her well enough to expect the answer, he still had hope that she would say yes. Quintus wasn't so much stronger than him, and Jefry was undeniably better with a blade. Ever since the Institute he had been training especially hard so that he could spend his life protecting the woman of his dreams. "You can beat him," Jefry lied, then kissed her hair. "You're stronger than you look, Tenny. I believe in you." "Are you two just about done?" said Lucius, growing impatient and irate from the crying and displays of affection. A wave of anger crashed into Jefry, nearly causing him to spin on the Arcos, if not for his best friend reaching him first. She really was stronger than she looked, Jefry noted, surprised by how easily she pried herself from his grasp and how far Lucius recoiled from the slap she dealt him. Stunned but eyes brimming with rage, he stared at the woman and then, eventually, turned to Quintus when he realized there was nothing left to be said between them. "Just kill the useless Pixie already, Quint, so we can join Khazad's search for Tiberius." Nodding, Quintus uncoiled his razor from his arm and stepped between the two of them, prompting Tenebrum to step backwards and draw her weapon as well. "Well, Lune. You never anthered my quethon. Perhapth you'd anther my blade!" Hard as it was to take the Gold serious when he talked, it was much easier when he started swinging his blade. Each of his blows could easily cleave a tree in two, and yet somehow Tenebrum was managing to fend them off, using her speed and his momentum to deflect his attacks. After a few exchanges which always left her unscathed and him bleeding from a fresh - albeit shallow - gash, the young Lune's confidence swelled. Jefry was right. She could beat him. For the first time in her life, Tenebrum had faith in herself. Smiling as she dodged another swing, she glanced at Jefry, who was pumping his arms in the air and cheering her name, and Lucius a few feet over, watching the fight with quiet disdain. I never needed him anyway. If only I realized sooner that all I needed was faith. If only she found it sooner. At least she died believing in herself, her last sight being her best friend's beautiful grin. Crouched over her decapitated corpse, Tenebrum's head cradled in his arms, Jefry swore to himself that he would avenge her. The_Lady_of_Chaos was Tenebrum au Lune, a Faithful lancer in the ArchGovernor's Employ. She was slain by Quintus, who was cheered on by Lucius, Khazad, and Nirgal. Tenebrum's whisperGem contained the following message: Elenion was Khazad au Rath, a Forsworn lancer secretly working for Imperator Augustus. He was slain by the Carved Red. Khazad's whisperGem contained the following message: Quicksilver's Coffers (4) jamField(s), 5 Merit: Any device that is used within close proximity of you and another lancer you target is disabled (not destroyed). This can interfere with a Lunes research, but no other House ability. (4) stunFist(s), 10 Merit: Stun another lancer, preventing them from taking any further actions this Chapter. If your target is protected by a pulseShield they will not be stunned, although their pulseShield will be destroyed. (4) fleshMask(s), 15 Merit: Disguise yourself as another lancer, preventing any action that would be used against you at the cost of potentially becoming the target of an action that would target the lancer you disguise yourself as. Likewise, any further action you take will be observed as being executed by the lancer you impersonate. (3) ghostCloak(s), 15 Merit: Stealth yourself, causing any action that targets you to fail. In addition, you can stalk another lancer to discover the targets and actions they make, but you yourself are unable to take any more actions. (2) pulseShield(s), 20 Merit: Passively protects you from a single death (includes duels). (1) ionBlade(s): 25 Merit: A generic, energy-based weapon that's perfect for assassinations. Dramatis Personae Darkness Ascendant as Pierce au Fabii Daniyah as Dimsari au Thorne Doctor12 as Spartacus au Thorne Assassin in Burgundy as The Jackal Magestar as Lucius Wonko the Sane as Sanis au Julii Jondesu as Quintus AliasSheep as Nirgal I_am_a_Stick as Stick livinglegend as Rylos au Telemanus Bugsy6912 as Sevro au Bellona The_Lady_of_Chaos as Tenebrum au Lune Elenion as Khazad au Rath The Young Bard as Gregor TheMightyLopen as Priam Burnt Spaghetti as Tia Arraenae as Nyanah au Thorne Elbereth as Lumina au Julii Doxis as Morsde jefrywlfersn as Jefry

Chapter is now closed. Please refrain from sending PMs until the new Chapter is posted in approximately 2 hours.

Ah, sorry. Thought you were saying that I stated I wouldn't add additional Houses to this game. Carry on.

I don't recall saying that... From the clarifications. Shrug = PAFO

Hmm. If you count Twei's collapsing a roof, I think you'd have to count mine as well, because it's both examples of players intentionally causing the death of others through indirect means. However, I would probably rule that separately alongside Kipper's kill, since that was all done directly by his hands (technically). Since that situation actually required the combined efforts of Kipper, Aonar and myself, however, I would probably rule that one as the most kills made by a single team at once, rather than a single player.

Chapter 6 will close on Sunday, October 23rd at 8PM EST! Chapter 7 will begin approximately two hours later! Chapter 6: Secrets Revealed No one recognized Danii when they found her. Though her body was undeniably human, she was much to small to be a Gold, yet much too large to be any lowColor. More disturbingly, her hands were barren of any sigil, and her hair... her hair was not one single hue, but many, each more vivid than should be naturally allowed. In this world, Danii was a conundrum, and because Golds hated conundrums, news of her death did not spread. Instead, the information was brought straight to Pliny, who quickly ordered the Yellows bring her to their lab and dissect her for answers. Surprisingly, not even the surgeons were eager to learn the results. Even they did not like what they could not understand, though Pliny seemed more than interested. There were many corpses here now, in the Yellow's morgue. Tiberius' lancers were tearing each other apart, and despite uncovering two traitors before the death of a single faithful lancer, the loyal dead now outnumbered the forsworn, two-to-one. Things were not looking good for Tiberius. Which, in turn, meant things were looking good for the Sons of Ares. If only Pliny could help that Carved Red balance the scales... but sadly, he was born a Brown, and thus neither bred for courage or rage. His strength was his weakness. His ability to seem so frail and harmless. It made him trustworthy, even if the ArchGovernor loathed to use that word. The man would never expect his Chief Politico was a terrorist spy this whole time. When Pliny saw Danii's corpse, he knew instantly her death was the Red's doing. The numerous cuts across her body were much too crude and lacked the familiar burn of an ionBlade to have been dealt by any other blade than his. Absently, Pliny wondered if the Red had been responsible for Spartacus' disappearance as well. That might explain why they never found his body. If only he knew the Red's identity, he would cloak them in a jamField and ask. It didn't take long for Pliny to realize that Danii wasn't like him. She was certainly an oddity, but nothing suggested she had been Carved as well. He would not be surprised if Ares sent more agents to aid his mission without informing him, though it was obvious she wasn't one, of that much he was certain. There was very little each agent about each other. When Pliny asked Ares why his organization operated that way, he told him an old proverb, something about never tying two boats together in a storm. It made a sort of sense, though it made his job shi-- gorydamn hard. Interest lost, the Gold Brown grew tired, and somewhat queasy, of watching the Yellows dig into the anomalous woman, and so he left to see what new developments were unfolding. Brown-Piercing was surrounded, accused of being a traitor by his once-best-friend Khazad. How could the boy suspect him? After all the laughter they shared at the Institute and the Academy... did their friendship mean nothing to him? And where was Tiberius? Surely he would defend him, if only he would show his face... Not even Stick was willing to speak up for him, the "evidence" against him much too "believable" to "seem" anything but "true." But alas, the peculiar young Fabii was utterly alone. Frowning, he rubbed the lump behind his left ear, wishing he could see his sister one last time before he died, even though she would only call him strange and dull and mention the time mother dropped him on a head as a child. And Rolah... in the end, his mind always came to her. Such a beautiful soul, filled with so much wonder and hope. If she was still alive, surely she would take his side. A glossy sheen came over Brown-Piercings eyes, and suddenly the Golden son was no longer in control. Well, I guess this is game over. A disembodied voice said, no one able to hear him but himself. Why did I even sign up for this, again? Shoulda just stuck to Duelyst. Speaking of, I wonder if Bard or Stink will want to play. And with that, he logged off. Pierce au Fabii fell to his knees, his head bowed before his old friend, Khazad, who without thought, lashed his razor around the lancer's neck and straightened his blade, decapitating the man instantly. Khazad didn't bother to look where he stepped when he walked across Pierce's corpse and proceeded towards Tiberius' chambers. It was about time that Tiberius show himself. The ArchGovernor had been hiding for too long. When the other lancers realized Khazad's intentions, all but two followed him to the ArchGovernor's chambers. Rylos au Telemanus, and the faceless lancer. "We've been searching for you," the faceless lancer said with a sigh. "You know, for one of Kavax's ilk, you're much too quiet. Where have you been hiding exactly, anyway?" The giant looked over his shoulder and sighed at the sight of an ionBlade coming to life in the fleshMasked man's hands. "Just do it," he said sadly, knowing he was doomed. Rylos would never make his dreams come true. Pliny yelled for help as soon as he found the corpses of Pierce and Rylos on his way to the ArchGovernor's chambers, all the while struggling not to grin as his mind calculated the number of days it would take for his life-long mission to finally be complete. Oh, how eager he was to return to Phobos and see his family again. The sweet scent of freedom grew stronger by the hour, it seemed. Darkness Ascendant was Pierce au Fabii, a Faithful lancer in the ArchGovernor's Employ. He was slain by Khazad, who was cheered on by Nirgal, Lucius, the Jackal, Quintus, Gregor, and Brown-Piercing. Pierce's whisperGem contained the following message: livinglegend was Rylos au Telemanus, a Faithful lancer in the ArchGovernor's employ. He was slain by an unknown assassin. Rylos' whisperGem contained the following message: Quicksilver's Coffers Regulus ag Sun's shop has recently been restocked, and for a limited time, is having a sale on all items! See the modified numbers and prices below. (5) jamField(s), 5 Merit: Any device that is used within close proximity of you and another lancer you target is disabled (not destroyed). This can interfere with a Lunes research, but no other House ability. (5) stunFist(s), 10 Merit: Stun another lancer, preventing them from taking any further actions this Chapter. If your target is protected by a pulseShield they will not be stunned, although their pulseShield will be destroyed. (4) fleshMask(s), 15 Merit: Disguise yourself as another lancer, preventing any action that would be used against you at the cost of potentially becoming the target of an action that would target the lancer you disguise yourself as. Likewise, any further action you take will be observed as being executed by the lancer you impersonate. (4) ghostCloak(s), 15 Merit: Stealth yourself, causing any action that targets you to fail. In addition, you can stalk another lancer to discover the targets and actions they make, but you yourself are unable to take any more actions. (3) pulseShield(s), 20 Merit: Passively protects you from a single death (includes duels). (3) ionBlade(s): 25 Merit: A generic, energy-based weapon that's perfect for assassinations. Dramatis Personae Darkness Ascendant as Pierce au Fabii Daniyah as Dimsari au Thorne Doctor12 as Spartacus au Thorne Assassin in Burgundy as The Jackal Magestar as Lucius Wonko the Sane as Sanis au Julii Jondesu as Quintus AliasSheep as Nirgal I_am_a_Stick as Stick livinglegend as Rylos au Telemanus Bugsy6912 as Sevro au Bellona The_Lady_of_Chaos as Tenebrum Elenion as Khazad The Young Bard as Gregor TheMightyLopen as Priam Burnt Spaghetti as Tia Arraenae as Nyanah au Thorne Elbereth as Lumina au Julii Straw as Morsde jefrywlfersn as Jefry

If an lancer possesses an unused ionBlade and is attacked, they will fight their attacker(s), and like a duel where both combatants have an equal number of cheers, the winner is determined by a coin flip. However, the flavor text for Arcos clearly states that they are undefeatable in one-on-one combat. Either scenario could answer your question, though I cannot confirm which of them it was, or if either of them even happened. Also.... Chapter 5 is now over. Stand by for approximately two hours for the next Chapter to begin. Please do not send PMs in the interim. All orders sent in after this post will not be accepted.

Even when I stop playing to make sure I don't upset anyone, people feel compelled to murder me.

So I was attacked three times that last night? Eh.

We have a Discord server for our community, not specifically for game creation, although it does have a game creation channel that we frequently use. Joe keeps the link in his signature since he's the official owner, so I'll just refer you there.

What a shame. I was looking forward to writing you dueling yourself.

He would have to put his name in green twice: the first time apologizing to himself, the second time accepting the apology. All this can be learned by rereading the rules

No, lancers cannot ever cheer themselves on. Cheering yourself on does nothing; it's already presumed that unless you're cheering for your enemy, you're going to put all your energy into killing them before they can kill you, just like the same can be assumed for the accuser. Two lancers can initiate a duel with the same player. The duel that happens will be the one with the most cheers overall.

You just did by putting your own name in red. Sanis didn't start that duel, Lumina did. An accused lancer can cheer on others or even their enemy, if they want.

No the rules state that someone who initiates a duel cannot cheer.

Uhh... PAFO? And you can gag vote all you want in colors other than what's relevant to the game. EDIT: Man, I'm very scatterbrained today. Uhh. Gag votes done in the right colors will count as real votes. Otherwise they won't appear in the write up.

I'll declare this now too, before anyone can try to use it against me. I'll be considerably less active as well, since my primary focus will be GMing MR17, so don't expect a lot from me until that game is finished.

Emphasis mine. My mistake. I will be editing in Dani's death scene as soon as I finish it. I didn't want to delay this turns start too much.

As I said on discord, I'm in. I'll name my character Abec Idofu.

Chapter 5 will close on Friday, October 18th at 8PM EST! Chapter 6 will begin approximately two hours later! Chapter 5: Death Begets Death Begets Death Begets Death Until today, Sanis had never met fear. He had not met fear when his mother beat him after stabbing his sister in her crib. He had not met fear when the Proctors threw him naked in a room with a Gold twice his size and told them only one could live. He had not met fear when he was tied up by his fellow Baccusians in the night and given to those Plutonian savages for a false promise of peace. Goryhell, he had not even met fear when he dueled his cousin, Lumina, just a few moments ago, despite knowing the entire time that there was no way he could beat her in a fair fight, and that she aimed to kill. Skin torn and clothes drenched in equal amounts of sweat and blood, however, with that dull brute Gregor slowly closing in on him from behind, Sanis had met fear for the first time in his life. Desperate to survive, he threw passing Browns to the ground behind him, hoping to slow the man down, although there were never enough of them nearby to delay his pursuer for long. New to this cursed emotion, panic began to grip the man, his breath growing more haphazard, his pace chaotic. A cacophony of echoes resonated off the marble walls, the sound of footsteps and lancers cheering Gregor's name blending together into an ode to his demise. This is all your fault, that voice that lingered just beyond his consciousness said. No one's fault but your own. Your fault. Yours. All yours. Sanis turned into a dead end and screamed, grasping an archaic door knob and tugging with all his might, each and every muscle swollen from exertion, yet none strong enough to break the lock and allow him entry. Frantic, he searched himself for anything he could use to pry it open. He found nothing, save for his dataPad and a whisperGem. Useless. If confronted, neither could save him. Not unless he managed to shove them down Gregor's throat. The very thought curved his lips into a smile. It didn't last long when Gregor halted at the corner, a monolithic man who barely seemed out of breath. Uncoiling his razor and solidifying it in an unfamiliar shape, he looked down at Sanis in more one ways than one. "Done running?" "Never." Energy all but depleted, Sanis threw all his weight against Gregor, forcing him down and onto his back, hoping that the surprise might be enough. A quick jab to loosen the jaw. A wrench of the hands to open his mouth wide. A forceful push to lodge the dataPad into his gullet. Gregor bit down before the device could get far, his face twisted in amusement. This time Sanis had no pulseshield to keep his head atop his shoulders. You could say he died with fear now an intimate friend. "Nifty trick, that," said a lancer cloaked in black, their face obscured by a fleshMask that made their face eerily blank, addressing the meek, exotic woman who beheaded their ally just the night before. "Does that make you a Lune, then? I've never heard of light sealing a wound better than resFlesh before. Must be another gorydamn secret of the the Sovereign's, eh?" Frightened and confused, the woman shook her head, suddenly regretting the casual use of her powers these last two days. Without stormlight she was no longer immortal, and she was certain the phantom standing before her aimed to prove that. "Don't suppose you've got any of that magic light left?" the lancer, as if reading her thoughts, asked mockingly. Hesitantly, she shook her head again. "Well, ain't that a shame. For you, I mean. For me... well that's the best news I've heard all day." As the lancer stalked towards her, Nyanah rose from the seat, clutching the hilt of the ionBlade she won from killing Sevro the previous day. Flicking the metal cylinder, she attempted to will the blade of plasma into existence, though nothing came. Menacingly, the faceless lancer laughed. "Never used an ionBlade before, eh? What kind of Gold are you anyway? No matter. Allow me to show you how it works." Epicanthic eyes widened by fear, Nyanah looked up to find the faceless lancer brandishing a similar device towards her. "You see, all you've gotta do..." they drawled as she watched their thumb find a small, tear shaped indent on the side, "is press this little button and..." a sharp beam of harsh light erupted from its hollowed tip, just long enough to pierce her chest, "...whoops. Sorry about that. Well, not really. You deserve to die after what you did to Sevro. Which reminds me..." they said, the seam of flesh where his lips should be bending into a horrific grin. "How would you like to be decapitated?" Incapable of words, Nyanah shook her head for the last time, her body falling backwards to bleed onto the table, her head landing on the seat she just rose from, face up and features starkly beautiful in contrast to Sevro's ugly mug that sat nearby. "I know who you are," Spartacus declared when he reentered the War Room, finding the faceless lancer prying something from Nyanah's hand. "Do you now?" the crouched figure asked, not seeming to care about the man's sudden appearance, nor the familiar buzz of an activated ionBlade coming from his hand. "I've figured it all out. With the help of a few others, sure, but I know it all. Your name, your allies... I know everything, traitor." "Everything? And yet still, you come to me alone with a weapon in your hand, expecting what? Surely you must know you can't defeat me." "Yes, but I knew if I waited for you to burn out your own ionBlade on someone else first, you wouldn't be able to fight me." Laughing, the faceless lancer stood and faced Spartacus, then nodded to ionBlade that neither Sevro or Nyanah ever managed to use, but would soon find a use in his hands. "Well then. Uhh. Don't suppose I can barter a truce?" "Nope. I've never been one for bartering. That was Sanis' thing." Spartacus gulped. "So what's your thing, then?" The faceless lancer stifled a laugh. "I thought you said you knew everything?" In the blink of an eye, Spartacus was on the ground, bleeding from a dozen cuts much-too-deep for his liking, stripped of all his belongings save for the dataPad and whisperGem sitting beside him. Hardly a challenge, the faceless lancer decided a slow death would be more befitting. Wonko the Sane was Sanis au Julii, a Forsworn lancer secretly working for Imperator Augustus. He was slain by Gregor, who was cheered on by Rylos, Tia, Stick, Khazad, Nyanah, Brown-Piercing, Lucius, Quintus, Nirgal, and Danii. Arraenae was Nyanah au Thorne, a Faithful lancer in the ArchGovernor's employ. She was slain by an unknown assassin. Nyanah's whisperGem contained the following message: Doctor12 was Spartacus au Thorne, a Faithful lancer in the ArchGovernor's employ. He was slain by an unknown assassin. Spartacus' whisperGem contained the following message: Daniyah was Dimsari au Thorne, a Faithful lancer in the ArchGovernor's employ. She was slain by an unknown assassin. Dimsari's whisperGem contained the following message: Quicksilver's Coffers (1) holoCam(s) / holoBox(es), 10 Merit: Give your holoBox to another lancer and every action that you make or that is physically made against you will be recorded and relayed to them. (2) jamField(s), 15 Merit: Any device that is used within close proximity of you and another lancer you target is disabled (not destroyed). This can interfere with a Lunes research, but no other House ability. (2) stunFist(s), 20 Merit: Stun another lancer, preventing them from taking any further actions this Chapter. If your target is protected by a pulseShield they will not be stunned, although their pulseShield will be destroyed. (2) fleshMask(s), 25 Merit: Disguise yourself as another lancer, preventing any action that would be used against you at the cost of potentially becoming the target of an action that would target the lancer you disguise yourself as. Likewise, any further action you take will be observed as being executed by the lancer you impersonate. (2) ghostCloak(s), 25 Merit: Stealth yourself, causing any action that targets you to fail. In addition, you can stalk another lancer to discover the targets and actions they make, but you yourself are unable to take any more actions. (1) pulseShield(s), 30 Merit: Passively protects you from a single death (includes duels). (1) ionBlade(s): 40 Merit: A generic, energy-based weapon that's perfect for assassinations. Dramatis Personae Darkness Ascendant as Brown-Piercing Daniyah as Dimsari au Thorne Doctor12 as Spartacus au Thorne Assassin in Burgundy as The Jackal Magestar as Lucius Wonko the Sane as Sanis au Julii Jondesu as Quintus AliasSheep as Nirgal I_am_a_Stick as Stick livinglegend as Rylos Bugsy6912 as Sevro au Bellona The_Lady_of_Chaos as Tenebrum Elenion as Khazad The Young Bard as Gregor TheMightyLopen as Priam Burnt Spaghetti as Tia Arraenae as Nyanah au Thorne Elbereth as Lumina au Julii Straw as Morsde jefrywlfersn as Jefry

Chapter 4 is now closed. Please refrain from sending PMs until the new Chapter is posted. Due to traffic and work responsibilities, Chapter 5 will be delayed slightly.

Chapter 4 is being extended an extra 24 hours. The new turnover will occur on Wednesday, October 19th at 8PM EST. If anyone's interested, it's because the drummer for Slipknot just showed up at my work place and offered my coworkers and I free tickets to their concert tonight. Couldn't possibly say no, now could I?

Ecthelion