# seasong's Book of Runes (May 19)



## seasong (May 1, 2003)

*Disclaimers*
1. I'm not positive I can sustain two story hours, but I will try.
2. It's not D&D; it's a homebrew system.

With that said, let the story hour begin!

The following is one of a small series of prologues, some mythic, some more personal, which is all part of "chapter one". The next one after this is the actual myth of the Book of Runes. Then we'll start with characters...

*Prologue: Once Upon a Time*

_This is a sort of "Book of Genesis" for Pauk, more commonly called "The Empire". The Empire is the largest political body in all of Ma'al Loch'té (the setting)._

In the beginning, the Old Gods created the world. The myth varies from culture to culture, but in Pauk it is said that the Pale Mother, blossoming like an opening flower, brought the world out from within her, and that Chained Agony wrapped himself around it and attempted to kill it, lest it take her attention away from him.

Serpent Earth then struck Chained Agony, biting him on the neck, and worrying at the wound until he finally let go. Pale Mother and Serpent Earth then set about repairing the world and populating its lands, and many other Old Gods joined in the creation*. But Chained Agony's effects were never wholly healed or lost, and so all mortal creatures feel pain and die, before returning to Pale Mother's bosom for healing.

That was all long ago.

After a time, but also long ago, Serpent Earth decided that the world was almost complete, and said as much. The other gods disagreed, and still wanted to change this, or that, or those. Serpent Earth was angered - a creation is not a creation until it is left alone. But the Old Gods continued to mess with things, shifting a mountain here or there, re-aligning the fjords to match the aesthetic principles of a sphere...

Serpent Earth then sacrificed himself and became one with the land. As the land was now an Old God, they could no longer change it. And he created guardians upon its surface, the _malrakhi_, known now as the dragon gods, and he bade them to shield it from the direct influence of the Old Gods. Serpent Earth had saved the world from Chained Agony's bitter attack; now he would save it from the other Old God's loving meddling.

The lesson the Old Gods learned, however, was not the one intended. They saw the _malrakhi_ and were utterly delighted. In his frustration, Serpent Earth had created something... novel. Each of the Old Gods, even Chained Agony, once he'd pouted sufficiently, created their own _malrakhi_ and set them upon the land, and told them to watch over it.

Instead of altering the world, they would set powerful forces upon it and see how _those_ altered things. It was a grand experiment, and thus the Old Gods left the world.

All except Pale Mother, who took pity upon the denizens of the world the _malrakhi_ had been set in charge of, and sacrificed herself to put a small amount of the Pale Mother in the heart of each living thing, to protect and guide it. From the Pale Mother comes all of the heart's compassion, all ability to shape the world, all resistance to illness and disease and the pain brought to us by Chained Agony.

But that was all long ago.

In time, the _malrakhi_ grew bored. Though each ruled its province as it desired, nothing challenged them and with time, the sweetest power grew bitter and dull. Perhaps in faint remembrance of their own creation, they created a new set of guardians to administrate the dull tasks, and to entertain them.

The _ellakh_ were born. Modelled after the _umakhi_ (for none said the dragon-gods were creative), the _ellakh_ were redesigned for the tasks the _malrakhi_ wished. Made more slender and graceful, with expressive eyes that could be seen by the dragon-god's own immense pair, and strong enough to survive the occasional accidental trample, the _ellakh_ were each fashioned in subtle ways by the individual _malrakhi_.

Eventually, boredom grew greater still, and soon only the _ellakh_ guarded the world, each in the style of their masters, whose style in turn was that of the Old God who had created them. But the _ellakh_ were even more fallible than those who had come before. They lost their purpose with each generation, and one day, there were no gods but the spirits of the wilderness, the ancestors of the people, and the little gods who had been almost unnoticeable against the backdrop of history.

The _umakhi_ rose. They formed a mighty civilization, and forged roads and cities the world over. The fought the _ellakh_ for centuries, pushed the boundaries of the possible with magic, reshaped the land... and fell to the poison of their own success.

More civilizations rose and fell. Lessons were learned with each, and although much was lost each time, each eventually rose mighter than the last before falling, although never again was the world united under a _single_ empire.

Today, Pauk is becoming that single empire. And it will eclipse all that came before it.

* Sometime during the creation of the world, the _umakhi_ (and possibly the _mro_ and [others) were also created. This isn't particularly germane to the creation myth, however, as the _umakhi_ had no real impact on mythic history until after the big gods were gone; think of them as the _canaanites_ of the story.


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## seasong (May 1, 2003)

*The Book of Runes*

When civilizations collapse into barbarism, many things are lost. The fall of Asthantasia and Fe'allakh both heralded the deaths of the sky cities, which crashed to earth and sea and were wholly lost. The fall of Kumaté birthed the _eofihn_ breed of _ellakh_ but also burned the great Library of Stone held sacred by the Kumaté people.

But one thing in particular has been lost many times, and subsequently found by later cultures. It has been instrumental in the dawning of new golden ages, and in the apocalypses of collapsing cultures. It is the _bah-noh-lhe_ of the _goh-lhe-shi_ culture.

The Book of Runes.

Many scholars from many long-past empires have described it as an opaque, rough-looking crystal sphere with eight hand-carved runes on its surface, and of a size that can be held with one hand. Small enough to be lost among rubble, and rough enough to take the color of surrounding dust, it has often disappeared when a city falls or a library burns.

Created by _neh-feh-lhe_ (the best modern translation is "sky-child, and singer of runes"), possibly the most powerful mage of his or any age, the Book of Runes was created to replace him when he finally died, that his civilization would continue to have the benefits of his power.

He died, and war broke out over the _bah-noh-lhe_. His civilization was not the only one that wished for the benefits of his power. The _goh-lhe-shi_ civilization fell, and the Book of Runes was lost to the world for the first time.

Since then, when it has been found, it has always been the instrument of great change. Used for good, it can extend a civilization's reach into a golden age; used for ill, it can destroy the same. Each of the eight runes written upon it have a meaning, and he who speaks one gains immediate mastery over all that the rune entails, and the power to enact will upon it. Although the specific runes vary in name and description from tale to tale, most agree that _hom_ (life) and _mah_ (death) are among them.

In the modern age, it has never been found, although many have tried.


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## Greybar (May 1, 2003)

Nice creation story already.  I like it.  Making the world a god and defining that's why other gods can't mess with it is a nice touch.  You always need a way to explain why the gods aren't fussing over things if you want to tell a story about mortals.

I think you might have missed where the _umakhi_ came from, though.

John


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## seasong (May 1, 2003)

Greybar said:
			
		

> Nice creation story already.  I like it.  Making the world a god and defining that's why other gods can't mess with it is a nice touch.  You always need a way to explain why the gods aren't fussing over things if you want to tell a story about mortals.
> 
> I think you might have missed where the _umakhi_ came from, though.



Well, in theory, they were created by the Old Gods; the _malrakhi_ imitated them when creating the _ellakh_. There's a whole mess of races, though, and some of them have conflicting origins. Here's a sample of what it's like trying to write the racial origins:

The _ellakh_ are the only ones anyone really agrees on, and that's mostly because the _shethihk_ subrace of _ellakh_ are a little too uptight for anyone to believe they'd lie. In general, though, there were three sentient races created by the Old Gods: the _kumash_, _umakhi_ and _mro_. Unless the _mro_ were created by the _umakhi_ during the Kumaté empire along with the other _mata'al_ races... and the _kumash_ are thought by some scholars to actually have been the _sumaz_, repainted by the fading memories of a dying civilization.

Okay, so maybe there were only one or two created by the Old Gods. But the _umakhi_ were definitely around before the _ellakh_, and the _ellakh_ were definitely created by the _malrakhi_ (who aren't a "race" per se), and all the rest were created by later civilizations who messed around with the stuff of life.

Uh, we think.

Quick list of races:
_Umakhi_ - The human races. Includes the _amnen_ (a modern, mixed breed), the _vaktos_ (also called _bori_, big celtic guys), the _kumkito_ (also called _kunkhiro_, tiny black aboriginals of the badlands), the _memnach_ (magically altered survivors, short and stumpy), the _kurr_ (socially marginalized "giants"), and the _meklos_ (small european genome).

_Ellakh_ - Dragon servant race, look like short, slender humans with big, expressive eyes and femminine voices; twice as strong as anyone that size has a right to be, with bones like rock, and very fast; designed to be good conversationalists and performers. Includes the _eofihn_ (dark-eyed, tan, tendency to muscle), the _shethihk_ (conservationst extremists, tall, green eyes), the _gorsai_ (pale, red-eyed sadists said to have come from Chained Agony's dragon-god), the _sallach_ (black-skinned, delicate gypsies), the _janna_ (or _jann_, androgynous healers and guides) and others.

_Mata'al_ - A derogatory term for "cursed races", which is anyone who isn't _umakhi_ or _ellakh_. Except when it isn't. And the _memnach_ and _kurr_ are sometimes put under this header, too.

Most of the cursed races are the results of experiments with bioesssences during long-past civilizations. One of the etymologies of the name _mata'al_ indicates that the original meaning may have been "failed experiment", and it gradually grew to encompass all of them... including, somewhat accidentally, the _mro_ (who are believed to not be experiments of any sort).

Most of those experiments were combinations of _umakhi_ and animal essences, and most were non-viable and died as a species long before now. The semi-viable ones still tend to have a whole slew of natural disadvantages; for example, the _muruta'al_ (catfolk, of a sort) have immensely weak immune systems, a tendency to phobias and berserker blood, and have comparatively weak bones. The _piksos_ are four foot or less fox-humanoid mixes who live their lives drugged because their tendency to paranoia, nervousness and anxiety are so pronounced as to be crippling.

(Note: yeah, it's not exactly "furry paradise" )

The _mro_ are jungle cats about the size and speed of a small wolf, who possess human-level intelligence. They are fierce, cunning, and tend to be pack-oriented. The most solid proof that they are not truly _mata'al_ is that they are too well designed. Some of them enjoy civilized regions, and have become merchants and other non-hand-requiring professions.

...okay, I'll stop now .


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## dave_o (May 1, 2003)

I really dig the different races, and the creation myth is killer.

MORE!


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## seasong (May 2, 2003)

I'd wanted to do this in story form only, but that requires more skill than I have at present. Also, I'd meant to run some prologues for the characters and forgot to when the crunch came, so... oh well. I'll just wimp out and do it this way .

This is particularly sad since I was just explaining the method I _wanted_ to do to one of the players last night. Augh!

*Quick Cast Sketch*

Brin - A brilliant _meklos_(1) scholar of, well, almost everything, and a student of history, Brin is the child of a slave in exotic Old Anton(2), but was taught by the same tutors as the children of his aristocrat employer. Unburdened with family responsibilities, he has taken up a life of travel, sampling libraries, wines, women and ancient lost treasures the world over. As a hazard of his trade (and by dint of some aristocratic tutoring) he is a skilled master of noble weapons(3), and more rugged in the wilderness than might normally be expected of a scholar.

Elorit nal Quesad - The self-possessed and emminently competent _eofihn_(4) daughter of the Imperial City. Shaved bald in the traditional manner(5) of her people, but with only a single tattoo(6) (a coiling python along the length of her arm), she is more scholar than _tia_-master(7), but has studied the mythic structure of historic warrior-heroes, and has begun a calculated course of activity in her life to achieve that. Her family name is as old as the Empire, and comes from Ebanon(8).

Dominic Halderith d'Glace - A young _meklos_(1) of the Lower Court(9), an active participant in the Dueling Circles(10), and something of an aristocratic fop. He has immensely expensive tastes, in men, women, wine, jewelry, clothing... And he is an almost archetypal hero of a tawdry romance, with dashing good looks, incredible finesse with a blade, and a steady stream of grand adventures notched into his belt.

Vin Servaland - An enigmatic _meklos_(1) aristocrat with only the barest hints of masculinity to spoil his image as an obscenely wealthy noble. Vin is a student of the Midland Academy of Magic(11), but spends most of his time enjoying the benefits of his station and wealth, wild-hared adventures, and examining ways to make his studies of magic easier with enchanted items.

(1) The _meklos_ are a medium-sized, fair-skinned tribe of the _umakhi_ (the humans of the setting).

(2) The Anton States are all of the "barbaric" kingdoms, autocracies, democracies, and so on along the north-west and western borders of the Empire. Technically, the Empire is an Anton State that got really, really big about six hundred years ago. Some are very civilized, some are the tiny fiefdom of a thug and his cronies. The Old Anton states are a series of more stable kingdoms at the northernmost shores of the Anton States; most are between four hundred and a thousand years old, and they have long-established relationships with each other, and long-established aristocracies.

(3) "Noble weapons" being highly variable from Old Anton state to state.

(4) The _eofihn_ are a breed of ellakh who are particularly tough and muscular. They were bred and used as gladiators and pleasure slaves during the Kumaté civilization's ascendance; that civilization fell when the _eofign_ managed a successful revolt, killed all the nobles, and built a militant city-state for themselves out of the ruins. The key to the successful revolt? The discovery of an antidote for the addictive toxin all _eofihn_ were kept tied to. They never lost their martial ways, and their culture is more shaped by their gladiatorial past than they sometimes care to admit.

(5) One aspect of _eofihn_ culture is shaving. Hair is seen as ungainly, an indication of clumsiness and lack of battle skill, and also as lacking a certain amount of cleanliness. The _eofihn_ have developed some really frighteningly effective topical creams for stunting hair growth, and have developed advanced metallurgical brass suitable for keeping a shaving edge for years.

(6) Another aspect of their culture is tattoos. A tattoo is taken on to represent major events, decisions and accomplishments in life. Although there are some common themes (symbols of the martial art studied, tattoos of death-defying events, marriage, etc.), they are generally wholly unique to the individual. When _eofihn_ first meet each other, they show and tell... and judge each other as much by the skill in telling as the events shown.

(7) _Eofihn_ martial arts come under one broad banner, _emlach té_. _Té_ and _tia_ come from the same Kumaté root word, which was simply a word for "gate"; however, in _eofihn_ culture, the gate was what opened up when it was time to fight in the gladiatorial pits - the word thus took on a very different meaning, "time to kick somebody's ass". "_Emlach_ is simpler, meaning, roughly, "complete fist", and stems more from the original _ellakh_ tongue. A _tia_-master is someone who excels at this sort of thing.

(8) Pauk is the current Imperial City; Ebanon is the original Imperial City. Ebanon is now somewhat marginalized, since it is at the easternmost border of the Empire (coastal) but still has enough nobles to claim its rich heritage.

(9) Not quite of noble enough blood (somewhat diluted from the Imperial throne) to be in the Upper Court or White Court, the Lower Court can be considered "the bottom rung of being better than everyone else in the Empire". He has better blood than the standard aristocrat, and certainly good enough blood to get an appointment anywhere he decides to, but his chances of getting an audience with one of the Empress' daughters, short of some tomfoolery involving open windows, is nil to none.

(10) The Duelling Circles are mostly for sport, but can be in deadly earnest when an insult is too great. With healing magics available, of course, they are rarely lethal. The weapons vary, but tend to swordsmanship. Only the nobility can duel.

(11) The Midland Academy is one of the three most prestigious schools of magic (the other two being the Imperial Academy and the Military High Academy)... and the only one which does not have a great onus of duty attached to it. On the other hand, where the other two require merit to get in, the Midland Academy requires money. Fortunately, Vin has both money and talent in excess.


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## TwoSix (May 7, 2003)

I don't want it to distract from Light against the Dark too much, but I hope this story also gets a few updates.  The background shows a lot of promise.


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## seasong (May 7, 2003)

I plan to update this . But since Light Against the Dark is established, this has to take second fiddle .

We'll see if I can get a starting point out sometime today, now that I've put up the LAtD stuff I intended to.


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## Talix (May 7, 2003)

Woah. The usual beginning overwhelming overabundance of background information!   

Sounds like it'll be a lot of fun once we get into it, though!


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## seasong (May 8, 2003)

*"You all meet in a bar..."*

"You simply must understand, dear, that I was too drunk to see straight, much less worm the truth out of the little scoundrel. So when he sold me the map, I rather thought that I'd hit upon a stroke of luck!" The effeminate, attractive young man let the irony of that statement go noticed before continuing on, "And I was in no state to question his urgent business once the gold had changed hands."

The Brimming Vine was an ancient establishment, owned by a banker's family who had likely never set foot in the place, but run by a long series of women named Chelsa (at least as a work name - it came with the location). Although small by Imperial standards, barely able to hold fifty patrons, its expensive entrance fee, quiet interior, and thoroughly tested and trained waitstaff assured it continued profit margins. Especially the wait staff.

At the moment, some of them were listening to the foppish Vin's story, as was an unlikely looking customer seated at the same table, a somewhat more grizzled man recently in from the road. He'd seated himself somewhere in the middle, dropping enough gold to not be disturbed in the meanwhile.

"So there I found myself, in the middle of this gods' forsaken forest, with a map _clearly_ marking the site of a Kumaté ruins. Now, I may occasionally be a bit addled with finely aged grapes, but I can assure you that I saw no such thing. And the Kumaté people did not build things in such a way that they might, in some scholar's nightmare, vanish into dust like some of the common work these days. No, my dears, there was _nothing_ there, nor had there ever been. It was a scam, and, if I may compliment the man I will be killing later this year, a very fine one."

At this point, Vin's eyes fell upon the gentleman who had arrived earlier. Not quite stout enough for a night with a mule like Vin, but attractive nonetheless... Vin raised an eyebrow and his crystal glass in the same motion, and the stranger smiled and proffered a hand, "Brin, scholar and hunter of ruins. I believe I've met the same fair con artist as yourself. Did you say that this was in the north reach of the Upper Mountains?"

"I did indeed. I am Vin Servaland, heir to magic and student of whatever catches my fancy. Very please to meet you."

And that was that, as they discussed the probable trail led by the wandering peddler and his cunningly forged ancient maps, and what sorts of things might be an appropriate punishment for the loss of wealth to his greed. Some of the punishments discussed were not precisely legal in the Empire, but then, the Upper Mountains were not precisely in the Empire.


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## Talix (May 8, 2003)

And then there were two.  

Nice start, seasong.  I look forward to how you're going to bring in the rest of the party.  Surely this same con artist couldn't have suckered ALL of them?


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## seasong (May 8, 2003)

Talix said:
			
		

> And then there were two.
> 
> Nice start, seasong.  I look forward to how you're going to bring in the rest of the party.  Surely this same con artist couldn't have suckered ALL of them?



Nope. Just those two...  The thing is (and it will become obvious, so this isn't really a spoiler), this prologue consists of "_You all meet in a bar..._".


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## Drawmack (May 8, 2003)

SeaSong - if you'd be interested we'd love to have your update schedule to this posted at http://www.suryvial.com


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## seasong (May 8, 2003)

Drawmack said:
			
		

> SeaSong - if you'd be interested we'd love to have your update schedule to this posted at http://www.suryvial.com



Hey Drawmack... How do I set it to "Daily, except when it's not"? 

Seriously, I don't have an update schedule for Book of Runes, yet. I update it when I have time left over after updating Light Against the Dark... and that one, I post as close to daily (week days) as I can. I could put something on the calendar like, "check every Saturday, you'll get that week's updates", but that's about as reliable as I can get.


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## seasong (May 9, 2003)

*"You all meet in a bar..."*

The sound of boots, stamped firmly and politely to clear them of the dust of the road, signalled the arrival of Dominic Halderith d'Glace, an aristocratic man of tastes both subtle and expensive. He was dressed, as was his leisure, in an open silk shirt, fine leather pants, and the air of a well-fed cat.

The Brimming Vine was practically his second home, as he slept here as often as he did anywhere. His silver eyes danced across the room, and alighted upon the sometimes-familiar face of Vin, and as their eyes met and he saw the brief flash of invitation, he glided across the room and sat, tossing his long legs up to rest boot upon table.

Placing a hand familiarly on the arm of one of the staff, "Astacia, darling, I've just come in from a terrible row and I was hoping you might have some leftover stock of the Crow Road 517 vintage?"

She smiled at his attention and leaned in, "We've only a few drops left, Dominic, but if you're just looking for something smooth and fast, Master Allenes just released a new Red Blossom vintage... it's a bit young, but it is already quite good."

"That, then, thank you." The important matters of state handled, he greeted Vin with a smile, "So, old friend! I do like the new look," and nodding to the grizzled foreigner, "And the gentleman? A stranger to our establishment?"

"That is no stranger!" decried Vin, "That is my long-lost soul mate, at least in the procurement and meting of punishments, Brin of the Anton States!"

Brin smiled warmly and proferred a hand. Dominic took it, but delicately - he did not yet know the man, and Vin was in his cups, "Charmed! So what is this of meting punishment?"

Dominic was in from the road, but aside from a few days to recover, he did not intend to stay long. The road beckoned, and the stiffness of court was ill-suited to his lean, wolfish ways.

Upon drinking the newly released vintage, however, he reflected upon those reasons the city was a good place to visit. Astacia had not misled him - it was _very_ good, and he would find some appropriate way to reward her later.


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## seasong (May 9, 2003)

A few comments about the introduction... 

*Meeting in a bar:* Firstly, yes, it's a cliché. In this case, I think we pulled it off rather admirably, and in a way that was more (rather than less) believable.

*PC Yet To Com:* As is often my wont, I made one of the PCs the hook and linchpin to the adventure itself, but made sure that once the hook was presented, all would be interested on their own. That will be presented in the next post (no, the map-forging merchant isn't a hook; he's a side quest).

*The Brimming Vine:* Another little bit is that I like providing adventurers with a base of operations - a place that provides a touchstone for incredible circumstances, a haven from (most) enemies, etc. In Light Against the Dark, that's Greppa's tower; in other campaigns, it's been an Inn that they stay at regularly, a thieves' guild headquarters, a secret base, a high school (for my anime-themed ESP High campaign), etc. For this one, if it goes well, it will be a bar that fronts high class prostitution, Lower Court espionage, and a variety of other things. The players already love the wait staff personalities, so things seem to be going well in that regard.

*Conversation:* The nature of the characters means that, for a story hour to effectively portray them, a lot of dialogue will be needed. During the sessions, however, dialogue will sometimes be skipped over (Okay, I tell the story), or alternately be too convuluted for me to remember accurately. So there will be a LOT of artist's license in the conversation - I believe I am portraying the characters' _style_ accurately, but I sometimes forget specific quips from Dominic or Vin, or have to fill in details that were left out during the session (for example, the location where the map-forging merchant was running his scam). So please to forgive .


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## Indigo Veil (May 9, 2003)

Conversation: You're doing great. ^_^ Besides, if you actually put in some of our quips word for word, it wouldn't obey the boards' "granny rule." ^^;; 

I'm not sure where we're going to put our own characterizations, but Hank and I were thinking of putting Vin and Dominic's stuff (journals, letters, or whatever) elsewhere, since we don't intend to tone those down. ^_^

What do you think?


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## seasong (May 9, 2003)

Indigo Veil said:
			
		

> Conversation: You're doing great. ^_^ Besides, if you actually put in some of our quips word for word, it wouldn't obey the boards' "granny rule." ^^;;



Well, yes, that too. That's why Queen of Shadows has its own forum .







> I'm not sure where we're going to put our own characterizations, but Hank and I were thinking of putting Vin and Dominic's stuff (journals, letters, or whatever) elsewhere, since we don't intend to tone those down. ^_^



Hm... I could devote a thread to it at Seasong's Muse, and link it here with a "Not Granny Safe" sticker or something. By "not toning down", do you mean covering things that we drew the black curtain on during the game, or what?


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## Indigo Veil (May 9, 2003)

_do you mean covering things that we drew the black curtain on during the game, or what?_

That, behind the scenes machinations, plots of PC back stabbing, or whatever else we want our characters to rant about. ^_^ 

There's also what I call a "flavor" issue. For example, saying that our headquarters is at a "house of ill repute" is one thing, but actually showing how liberal we are with our money for something as trivial as sex (or anything else like daily, six o'clock sharp teatime habits) brings visions of our decadence to a whole new level. (at least, I think it might) 

Hank? Comments?

And this is remains _just_ a thought...I might decide that I'm far too lazy to actually do any of this. ^^;;


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## seasong (May 9, 2003)

Indigo Veil said:
			
		

> _do you mean covering things that we drew the black curtain on during the game, or what?_
> 
> That, behind the scenes machinations, plots of PC back stabbing, or whatever else we want our characters to rant about. ^_^
> 
> There's also what I call a "flavor" issue. For example, saying that our headquarters is at a "house of ill repute" is one thing, but actually showing how liberal we are with our money for something as trivial as sex (or anything else like daily, six o'clock sharp teatime habits) brings visions of our decadence to a whole new level. (at least, I think it might)



Okay... Everything you mentioned above is going into the story hour . It's a subtle balance between getting the narrative (and campaign "feel") across and not crossing the Grandmother line, but I'm planning to at least touch my toe to it. If you would feel more free to express yourself elsewhere, I'll set it up with a sticky thread elsewhere, though - I'd say you'd want that if you planned on anything explicit, softcore, or language-y.

And the tea habits are going to get their own Academia .







> And this is remains _just_ a thought...I might decide that I'm far too lazy to actually do any of this. ^^;;



Says the person with 100,000+ words at Queen of Shadows? Ha! I'll believe it when I see it.


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## seasong (May 9, 2003)

*Academia: White Blossom Tea*

To the north and west, in the Upper Mountains and the Anton States, a plant grows. Although it has many names (and subspecies), in the Imperial City it is called Alluuches ("pale little blossom"), or white blossom. The flower is a type of poppy native to this setting which has a very low (but still present) morphine content in its natural resins. It thrives best in sea-salted air, and requires a somewhat cooler environment than most poppy flowers, sharply restricting the regions of the world it can grow in without very expensive measures. It is harvested in numerous ways, but the most common one is the method desired by the Imperial aristocracy.

The "aristocratic" method is to allow it to bloom, harvest the petals and then sun dry and crush them into small silk pouches, which can then be used to produce white blossom tea. White blossom tea is an evening drink among the Imperial aristocracy, and while some of the nobility refrain from it, this is usually because they have work to do - and culturally, this puts them closer to the working class than most nobles care for. The fact that it's really expensive helps, as well.

White blossom tea has a slight narcotic effect. In the aristocratic mind, it adds some life to otherwise dull evening parties, makes friends friendlier, dulls pain, enhances pleasure, and aids sleep. Indeed, careful concoctions of caffeinated tea leaves and white blossom tea bags which initially keep one awake and then allow restful drowsiness by the end of the evening, is considered the mark of an excellent host.

Of course, this is not the only thing that is done with the flower. Another type of harvesting is the circle cut method. In this method, the pre-bloom buds are very delicately cut along the surface in vertical lines by a special curved knife. When this is done, a milky resin wells up, drips, and hardens along the stem of the flower; this resin is then scraped off into silk bags, and the resin is ground up and packed into bricks for transport and further processing.

The circle cut method results in a much more powerful opiate, which (depending on the later processing) can be smoked or swallowed as part of a bitter, black drink. The stronger version is common among the wealthy in the Badlands, Dis, and other unsavory cities.

Among the Imperial aristocrats, the tea has subtle distinguishing characteristics that allow the determination of the precise region it was taken from; and good crops (those with, perhaps, more emotional impact) are often identifiable by their "year".

Almost all white blossom tea trade goes through Dis, which is located at the western edge of the Empire (just within its borders, in fact) and is the primary trade route along the Black River (which runs north into the white blossom regions).


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## seasong (May 12, 2003)

I may not get anything posted today. Work is kicking me in the &%$ .


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## seasong (May 19, 2003)

*Eureka, By Jove*

The reading room was silent, as it often was in the pre-dawn night. For Elorit nal Quesad, that was the best time to read. She was poring over the details of the _Consumét Chronicles_, a long and rather boring series of prophecies and predictions written by the famous Kumaté prophet, Emalgihn(1). She had a suspicion, a very small one, about the presence of several artifacts encoded in the predictions.

Thus far, it looked like she was right.

The "ebon length" was referred to in no fewer than sixty four passages, including the one which had seemed to indicate that the ebon length would be instrumental in the breaking of the "shadow empire" (which most scholars agreed was the present empire). That the Edge of Night(2) had been involved in the rise of Gabrianna as Emperor(3) seemed a bit much to be coincidence... and the "ebon length" was mentioned in at least a few other places the Edge of Night had been mentioned.

Elorit was not interested in the Edge of Night, however. By all accounts, it was broken anyway. No, her quarry this night was the Book of Runes... and she suspected (strongly!), that the "orb of salt" and "bitter sphere" were either one or the other or both, Emalgihn's euphemism for the Book of Runes.

So she was reading through, and marking each page and passage that contained a reference to either, and slowly putting together a complete list of references. Further, surrounding her was every book, rumor and possible lead that had been found on the Book of Runes from other sources. Her plan was simple - to assault the preponderance of truthful and false information with comparisons to the body of the _Consumét Chronicles_, and with luck, sift the wheat from the chaff.

When she awoke, head lolled across her desk like a rag doll, there were other academicians loudly discussing their latest findings. It was evening, and the faux intelligencia were re-establishing their pecking order of academic "wit".

She looked about her, rubbing salt from her eyes, and discovered that she had finished at some point in the wee hours of the morning... a complete index lay before her, cross referencing the useful from the useless. Stifling a grin behind a practiced, aristocratic yawn, she carefully reshelved her books, copied quick notations on each of the useful clues, and hurried from the reading room, index tucked jealously beneath her arm.

The urgency was almost overwhelming. A key to the Book of Runes. Places it had passed through. She _could find it!_ It took all of her long years of upper crust training to suppress the squeal of delight that threatened to press its way out of her throat. Thinking swiftly (the hallmark of a successful noble), she decided that action would serve better in this case than concealment. And to do so, she would need the services of someone suited to action. She would need friends, and she would need to leave the city as soon as possible.

That meant the Brimming Vine. Most of the truly adventurous among the Lower Court aristocracy, when in need of refreshment, rest, and relaxing company, hung out there - a result of sanguinous location, as much as for the expertise of the staff - and so she hoped that someone she recognized might be there.

And fortunately, there was.

(1)Emalgihn is actually only "famous" among a small circle of _eofihn_ mystics and scholars, particularly those who utilized the _besarît_ seed for visions. He was very fond of giving coordinates by the position the stars took from a certain spot in a certain year, and dating by the same method, making locations more difficult than strictly necessary to find... but if you found the correct spot, he was almost always spot on. He was most famous for the _Consumét Chronicles_, however, which portrayed the passage of future empires with more than reasonable accuracy, if vaguely, and was the book which (upon predicting the death of the Kumaté cilvization) got him crucified until dead.

(2) The Edge of Night was a legendary blade, known for making or breaking heroes from countless generations. It was broken shortly before the previous Emperor died, and was said to have been part of the release of an ancient biomancer with near-godlike power, before he was killed.

(3) Gabiranna Muenerra, current emperor of Pauk, had become so by military force when the former emperor had died in an unfortunate incident involving the waking of a _malrakhi_ god, decades before - prior to becoming emperor, however, she had been involved in the finding and breaking of the Edge of Night.


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## seasong (May 19, 2003)

*Academia: Besarît*

The _besarît_ is a weedy plant of the solanaceae family whose dark orange berries yield tiny, black, mustard-sized seeds. Like all nightshade plants, it carries alkalis within it, with the strongest dose in the seeds themselves.

The alkali of the solanaceae family range from harmless (potatos) to deadly (atropa, or deadly nightshade), with a variety of hallucinogens, paralyzing agents and violently nauseating chemicals somewhere in between. The _besarît_ is primarily hallucinogenic in nature, although too much at once, or multiple doses in too rapid a succession, can be deadly.

Called _black seed_ in common use, the _besarît_ plant is primarily native to the Lower Mountains, but can be found transplanted almost anywhere there is adequate soil. It lives a delicate life, however, and is easily killed by non-native conditions - _besarît_ farmers must treat it carefully.

The seeds are the only truly export of value from the plant, and are typically ground into powder and cut with tea leaves or sugar to reduce the dosage. Two seeds is sufficient for a lethal dose, although many have lived through as many as ten in a single dose.

Taken in appropriate dosages, black seed causes incredibly realistic hallucinations, divorcing the user from reality and activating the intuitive centers of the mind almost randomly. A skilled user can learn to direct the vision, gaining insight (and in some cases, prophetic or clairvoyant visions) into events and people. Many of the most famous prophets were users.

While under the influence, the subject's voice is lost, the hands grasp at air, or flex in unseemly manner, and the torso twists and bends most alarmingly. Most experienced users arrange for a quiet, solitary place with soft padding where they can lay as they experience the visions. The effects last anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours, depending on the size of the dose and the subject's increasing tolerance.


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## Talix (May 20, 2003)

Good stuff so far, Seasong!  

I would definitely be interested in the players' perspectives as well - a link would be appreciate, should that sort of thing spring up.    Is there something similar for Light against the Dark that I have been unaware of?

And don't worry, I like the dialogue so far.


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## seasong (Jun 4, 2003)

So, a quick update on the status of this campaign...

For various reasons, we're ending this one and starting a different one. I've got about three weeks' worth of backlog that I could write up in a story hour (including getting out of the bar and pursuing various leads in the city of Dis), but it would end abruptly. And while I adore the setting, I don't really feel like pushing on just for that.

Sometimes it happens - a campaign just doesn't click .

So I'm aborting this story hour in its infancy and going back to focusing on Light Against the Dark. We are going to be starting a different campaign, but its science fiction, and I need to think about whether or not I can write it before I start trying to.


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## Talix (Jun 4, 2003)

D'oh!  Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.  

Make sure you keep having fun - that's the most important thing.


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