# The Mésalliance. Part 2. (Updated 11/28)



## Sepulchrave II

*The Mésalliance. Part 2. (Updated 11/28)*

I thought it was about time to start a new thread. We're only five months behind in updates, so I think I'm doing pretty well   rolleyes: is better).

At this point, we were playing by e-mail about 50% of the time - which suited me well: after a while it gets hard to sit opposite a bearded guy with a beer-belly and pretend I'm a succubus :\  (still not as good as ).

Self-deprecation just isn't the same anymore...

So, anyway:



****

****



*Mésalliance*



BREY: _Sela_, what does it mean, to 'Fall?'

TRAMST: To Fall is to reject that which you have experienced to be true, in favour of that which you know, in your heart, to be false.

BREY: And what is truth?

TRAMST: That, unfortunately, is subjective.

BREY: Is it therefore possible for two people who share similar experiences, to have different destinies in this regard? By virtue of their different perspectives, may one Fall, and another not?

TRAMST: That is more common than one may at first think.

BREY: And when two irrefutable truths come into conflict? How does one then decide?

TRAMST: That, Brey, is why we practice _Saizhan_.

BREY: Hence _Saizhan_ always reveals the correct truth.

TRAMST: No, Brey. _Saizhan_ always _determines_ the correct truth. The distinction is crucial.

BREY: Should one always choose the harder truth?

TRAMST: Often this transpires to be the case, but to adopt it as a premise leads to the Adversarial paradigm, which _Saizhan_ teaches us is incomplete. Evidently, this is so, or the Adversary himself would not have Fallen.

BREY: I understand.

TRAMST: No, Brey, you do not. Which is why I am the master, and you are the student.


**


The Sprite materialized within the deepest reaches of the Forest of Nizkur, picked an acorn from the ground, and examined it briefly.

Pressing the seed with its thumb into the soft earth, the Sprite waved his hand casually.

A sapling shot forth, and began to grow rapidly. The Sprite watched in satisfaction as a trunk fattened, boughs twisted, and leaflets unfurled from twigs. Bark became pitted, cracked and thick. Mistletoe and ivy appeared around the bole, and moss burgeoned inside of damp recesses. Within twenty seconds, the tree matured. It could have been there for five hundred years. The leaves turned a deep gold, and began to fall, as if in an effort to catch up with the surrounding forest.

The Sprite's legs bent, and he sprang upwards, leaping eighty feet into the air and alighting softly below the crown of the tree. He sat and waited. 

Presently, he heard laughter. A nymph capered by, pursued by two lusty wood-gnomes with ruddy noses. Plucking an oak-apple from a nearby branch, the Sprite hurled it with considerable force, striking the nymph soundly on her rump.

She stopped abruptly and glared upwards. "How dare you interrupt my frolicking?" The nymph looked suspiciously at the tree – she didn't remember it being there, the last time she had passed through this part of the forest.

"Hlioth, it is I," the Sprite called down. "I'm back. Come, we need to talk!"

Hlioth, the Green Witch, squealed in delight and abandoned her would-be suitors with looks of disappointment on their faces. She appeared immediately on the branch next to the Sprite and embraced him.

"Back so soon, Fillein? I was expecting a longer absence."

"I am no longer Fillein," the Sprite sighed. "Nor was I last time, if you recall. I barely even remember who Fillein was."

Hlioth shrugged. "No matter. What is your name now?"

"I haven't decided yet."

Hlioth clapped. "Splendid. I will choose one for you."

"Very well," the Sprite seemed amused.

"Will you be a fey now?" Hlioth asked archly.

"Yes, Hlioth." 

"What is your genus? I don't recognize it."

"I am unique," the Sprite replied. 

"Then your name is _Huhip._"

"That is somewhat too aspirated for my tastes."

"Then _Gudge_," Hlioth replied.

"It sounds like an affliction of the bowels," the Sprite observed.

"May I choose or not?" Hlioth grumbled.

"Only if you choose correctly," the Sprite laughed.

"Then your name is _Teppu_."

"That will do nicely," Teppu nodded.

Hlioth smiled. "I must say, I think you have made an excellent choice with regard to your form – although I admit I may be a little biased. Are you still a wizard?"

"No," Teppu replied. " I have chosen an instinctive, blended form,* in order to avoid the Injunction. Besides, I find wizardry dull."

Hlioth laughed. "I came to a similar conclusion some time ago. Can you show me?"

Teppu smiled, and quickly clapped his hands three times. A supernova of magic exploded outwards from him. It seemed as though, suddenly, sapience was everywhere.

Hlioth laughed and cried in happiness. "That is beautiful. How many did you _awaken_?"

"Oh, I don't know. Hundreds. Thousands, maybe."

"You are _Green_, Teppu."

"I am Green," he nodded.

"Do you still dream?"

"Of course I still dream, Hlioth."

A look of concern crossed her face briefly. "And the _web of motes_? Will you seek its return?"

"Why, Hlioth? Who cares about the future?"

She kissed him fondly on the forehead. The trees around him regarded him with warmth.


**


Eadric stood on the roof of the Steeple, wrapped in a thick fur, and stared blankly northwards towards the gathering clouds of winter. The cloak was superfluous – he no longer felt the cold – and he wondered whether wearing it would remain an affectation on days when the wind blew from Tomur, down from the mountains. 

He brooded upon Nhura. _When would she be ready?_ For every day which passed in Faerie, a week dragged by in the World of Men: the delay was becoming unbearable, sapping his focus and resolve. He remembered the long period of uncertainty before he had marched on Morne, and this seemed a thousand times worse – a bleakness and desperation which he had never before experienced surrounded this venture. And constantly, he forced his thoughts away from dwelling upon his dream: the black ecstasy which Soneillon had forced upon him, and a foretaste of _what could be_ if he so chose it. She had dominated him utterly, and to a large extent he felt the blame was his: he had all but insisted that she reveal her most malign and brutal face to him. So she had _demonstrated_. But he had dreamed it, and he didn't know how real it had really been.

Five more nights had passed since then, and, although his sleep was troubled, the _Ahma_ had received no visitation – either from Soneillon or the Sprite. Now he was _mind blanked_ – Mostin said that, henceforth, they must always be _mind blanked_, to prevent covert observation from afar by Graz'zt. The Alienist had also warned that it might not be an effective defense, but it was the best that he could do. 

Mostin had closeted himself within his study, and begun to work half-heartedly on yet another spell in the absence of news from Faerie: Eadric had seen little of him, and the interaction between them had been tense and uncomfortable. 

The Alienist was preoccupied with his own troubles and his strained friendship with Mulissu – he had issued a number of _sendings_ to the Elementalist, none of which received a reply. His insistence that she was safer near him – where she could be warded – had fallen of deaf ears. And Mostin was vexed by another dilemma: he could not enter the extradimensional portion of his retreat and _summon_ anything there for fear of direct assault from Graz'zt; nor could he conjure anything outside of it, without violating the Injunction. The loophole outside of the Claviger's domain had been effectively closed to him, because the Celestial Interdict did not apply there either. In the times when his head was not full of esoteric formulae, Mostin ruminated upon the Horror, and whether to make another translation to the Far Realm or not. Or complained about his house-guests: both Ortwin and Koilimilou were lodged with the Alienist. Eadric received the distinct impression that the Satyr was avoiding him.

Nonetheless, at precisely eight o'clock every evening, Mostin would arrive and renew the ward upon Eadric. And for that, the _Ahma_ was thankful. He groaned. He desperately wanted to confide in Nwm.

He descended from the tower and into the courtyard where a trio of supplicants waited – pilgrims from Trempa who sought his blessing. One suffered from a blight which had caused her skin to crack with sores and pustules, and a rheum had settled upon her eyes. Eadric performed a brief, perfunctory rite, did his best to smile, entered the keep, and bolted the door behind him. Within, it seemed cold and unwelcoming.

He furrowed his brow, strode into the Great Hall – which seemed particularly damp – and picked up a wooden mallet. He began striking a large, iron bell, and did not desist until all eleven of his servants stood before him.** 

He turned to his clerk. "Bocere, bring me the ledgers."

Bocere, who managed the finances of three estates – Deorham, Hernath and Droming – on a day-to-day basis, and seldom left his small office, looked sceptical. "Are you sure, _Ahma_? It will take several weeks to go over them. It has been a long time, after all…"

Eadric grunted. "Then bring me a summary. The rest of you – except Hawi – open every shutter and every window, light every fire. Remove dust, dirt and debris – including from the library. This place is beginning to depress me."

He tossed a purse to the stablehand. Hawi caught it, opened it and gawked – it contained more gold than he would earn in five years.

"Go into Deorham," Eadric instructed, "and find some more help. Start at the _Twelve Elms_. Do not return until you have secured the services of another maid, two lackeys, two linkboys and a minstrel – _not_ a juggler. Offer them twice what they ask for, and give them a month's advance."

The boy nodded enthusiastically.

"Try to find a _good_ minstrel, Hawi," Eadric sighed. Although he didn't hold much hope, the village of Deorham was on the route from Morne to Trempa, and Hawi might get lucky. "You have two days. You may stay at the inn. Eat well, but do not consume too much ale – every penny should be accounted for."

"Why, _Ahma_, I…"

Eadric raised his hand. "You will also post a notice that I am seeking permanent retainers _of quality_. Including a castellan."

The announcement was greeted by a stunned silence.

"I realize this may be upsetting," Eadric said, although he felt unusually unsympathetic, "but it may be that presently I will leave for some time. In the event that I do not return – which is entirely possible – I would like my affairs set in order. Be assured that I will appoint someone of gentle birth and fair mind to guard your interests in the meanwhile." He knew that, as soon the news of his intentions became known, the younger brothers and second sons of dozens of nobles would clamour for the position. Gossip spread like wildfire amongst Trempa's aristocracy.

He turned again to Bocere. "How much of the endowment to the Temple remains to be paid?***"

Bocere coughed. "One hundred and thirty-thousand crowns."

"I will sign over the deeds to Hernath."

"_Ahma_…"

Eadric raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, _Ahma_." 


**


Ninit charged.

The red haze was upon her again, and she swung the spear _Rengh_ around her head like a flail, whilst guiding Drût effortlessly with her knees. Her copper hair blazed in the wan sunlight, and her bloodstained form rippled with power and restless purpose. The stallion's hooves – bright with white fire – flashed to momentary incandescence as it reared and hammered down upon the creatures which assailed her. As usual, she was alone: seeking alone, stalking alone, slaying alone. And in her madness, none of those who considered her an ally could approach her in any event: her anger was elemental, and best avoided by those who purposed to live.

The demons recoiled.

The goddess pressed forwards, and slew. And slew. And slew. And when she had slain them all, and their grizzled, muscled forms lay in stinking, steaming heaps around her, the frenzy finally passed.

She spat, and cursed them. The ground shuddered, ripped open briefly, and swallowed their already festering remains.

Ninit whispered to Drût, and they rode north across the plains to find more. The hairy ones which jumped were easy prey – although not as easy as the fat, squat ones which drooled. The toad-like ones, and the ones with four arms were trickier – although they seemed comparatively rare. The ones with the hooks on their heads were sly and vicious, and she hated them most of all: they always seemed to slip away at the last minute. But however many she killed, there always seemed to be more. She squinted.

Somewhat later, from the corner of her eye, she spied a bird winging towards her at great speed: a kestrel or falcon, although at a distance of more than a mile it was hard for the goddess to be sure. She wheeled Drût about, and waited for it to reach her: she saw that it was a peregrine. Which meant that it was Lai.

Ninit groaned, and swore. The goddess of magic assumed her natural shape nearby. 

"What do _you_ want?" Ninit grunted.

"Rhul has departed for the place called Wyre."

"What do I care?"

"He seeks allies, Ninit." 

Ninit shrugged.

"Where are you riding?" Lai asked.

"North," Ninit said through narrowed eyes.

"May I join you?"

"If you must," Ninit sighed. "But stay out of my way, Lai."

"If you were to return to Mulhuk…" Lai began.

"And shut up," Ninit said.


**


Titivilus waited.

He was becoming impatient – he had been kept for five days in an antechamber of black steel high in the north face of the Iron Tower. A single aperture, three feet square, offered a restricted view of the endless city of Dis two miles below – in the rare moments when the infernal haze and acrid fog lifted sufficiently to permit it. Thousands of erinyes constantly patrolled the airs outside – their vectors changing on every pass which they made.

When his summons finally came, a mixture of relief and foreboding replaced a feeling of paranoia and anxiety, and he followed a silent, scarred pit fiend through a tortuous maze of interconnecting chambers and corridors into a reception room of unfathomable height.

A conclave of powerful devils, arrayed in awful forms, awaited him. They sat grimly on carved iron sieges around an iron table etched with scenes which portrayed the Great Revolt. 

Titivilus bowed suavely, whilst taking in their number, political allegiances, and relative dispositions in an instant. The fact that Neabaz, the Herald of Baalzebul, was present caused the convoluted mind of Titivilus to twist in a hundred new ways.

"Sit," Dispater smiled.

Titivilus sat.

"Our objectives have changed," Dispater said calmly.

Titivilus nodded. His mind raced. _What objectives? By 'our' does he mean 'our' or 'my?' Or maybe 'his?'_

"The Chief Protagonist of our Cause has ordered that the _status quo_ must be maintained," Dispater said opaquely.

"Sire?" Titivilus asked. Evidently, he meant 'his.'

"The force currently under Murmuur's command will move to support Graz'zt in Afqithan," Dispater explained. "Shomei's petition to Bathym was quashed."

Titivilus resisted the urge to allow a look of amazement to cross his face.

"You will bring seals to Azzagrat, and then return to Afqithan," Dispater continued. "Take a group as suits your needs. When you do return to the demiplane, you will find that your precedence has been diminished. I advise that you do not attempt to undermine or subvert those who have been appointed to the task: you will find them less lenient than I."

"Who has been given this responsibility, Sire?" Titivilus inquired.

"Azazel," Dispater smiled. "He will have three _Akesoli_ with him."

The Nuncio's eyes flickered.

Dispater gave an inquisitive look. "Never before have I seen you evince genuine surprise, Titivilus."

"Nor I, Sire," Titivilus agreed.

"That is all."

The Nuncio of Dis stood, bowed, and made to depart. But as he reached the doors to the chamber, his master spoke again.

"And Titivilus?"

He turned around.

"Your mandate for the temptation of Eadric of Deorham is hereby revoked."

He bowed again, but showed no sign of his irritation. Inwardly he was livid. 

"May I inquire why?" He asked.

"No," Dispater smiled.

Titivilus departed in a calm fury.


**


A light dusting of snow – the first of that winter – lay upon the ground when Soneillon visited Eadric again: he sat alone in his library, reading by the light of an oil-lamp. It was late in the evening, and her appearance was foreshadowed by a feeling of darker anxiety which played across the _Ahma_'s already troubled thoughts. Her façade was, as always, entirely convincing: the demoness tilted her head, and began scanning the spines of books upon the shelves. She walked slowly, her footfall quieter than a cat.

He scowled. "Is there some purpose to your presence here, or are you merely making a social visit?"

"Does everything have to have a purpose?" She asked in response.

"Yes," he answered.

"In that case," Soneillon smiled, "I am merely making a social visit. You have an impressive library. How many tomes do you possess?"

Eadric sighed. "Are you attempting to engage me in small-talk, Soneillon?"

"I thought you might appreciate some company, as your friends are otherwise occupied." She walked towards him, and sat lightly upon the arm of his chair.

"And the Queen of Throile has no better way to spend her time?"

"Than seducing the Breath of God?" Soneillon laughed. "I think not. Some of the more interesting volumes in your collection are charred. Why?"

"Certain members of the Inquisition were over-zealous in their hunt for heretical books and manuscripts." 

"Ahh. Before the notion of heresy was itself deemed heretical. What were you reading, before I interrupted you?"

He silently handed her the book. Its cover, of heavy leather, was cracked and worn; the vellum pages, soft and well-thumbed: 

_Estates and Minor Houses of Trempa_

"How dreary," Soneillon sighed. "Do you occupy yourself with mundane affairs such as these, to avoid brooding on your experience of me?"

"In part. It is not a memory which I enjoy to recall." He stood up.

She held out a soft hand. Her talons were conspicuously absent. "Come, Eadric. Dream with me. I will show you something sweeter. Gentle. Tender."

"You are foul," he said bitterly.

She raised an eyebrow. "I think perhaps you need lessons in the art of courtship."

"When will you desist from this charade?" He hissed. "How can I speak more plainly? You are repellant. You disgust me. Everything that you are is antithetical to all that I value and hold true. You are an ally of circumstance: there _is_ no commonality in our purpose, save by unhappy chance. You are base, vile, obscene. You are nothing but a manifestation of corruption."

"No," she said softly. "I am Soneillon. And you cannot see past a dogma which is outmoded in the philosophy which you purport to espouse. You do _Saizhan_ a disservice."

"That word has no place in your vocabulary. You degrade it by speaking it."

She laughed. "You are a sanctimonious fool. Your moralism merely reveals your ignorance of the Truth. Tell me, Eadric, what does it really mean – _Demogorgon_? What use is _Saizhan_ if it cannot reconcile Oronthon with _that_ truth?"

Reality seemed to momentarily darken as she invoked the name of the Ancient – its power, when spoken by her, was profound.

"Get out," he said through gritted teeth.

"You close your eyes and ears, Eadric. You shrink in fear from the Real as much as you crave it." 

He cursed her. Power coursed through him, as he spoke a _holy word_. 

She smiled, and pressed a finger to his lips.

Groping, Eadric drew Lukarn from where it hung in its scabbard on the back of the chair. Reality and memory collapsed to a single point in time, and he recalled another demoness standing in a similar position. Paradox and _déjà vu_ almost overwhelmed him. 

"Your desire for me has unbalanced you," Soneillon scoffed. "You are wracked with guilt and confusion."

"I will strike you down if you persist in this."

"I am your _kius_, Eadric: your enlightenment lies in me." She did not relent. "I am _that which you are not_. The Void shines, and you will not accept it: for do I not bring you closer to your God, _Ahma_?" 

He _smote_ her three times with all of his strength. Lukarn bit deep into her neck and shoulders, opening wounds which smoked and caused space to contort. Agony gripped her visage as the blade burned through her. Ichor poured from her, evaporating into nothingness as it struck the wooden floor of the library. She seemed to stagger uncertainly.

She did not beg, or cajole or threaten. She did not flee, and spoke no spell, although Eadric knew that she could have extinguished him with a thought. Instead, she assumed her most malevolent aspect – winged, naked, dark and terrible. Taint issued from her in potent waves. 

"Remain ignorant then, Eadric. Finish me. I'll make it easy for you," her smile was that of a creature which exulted in evil and destruction. 

He wavered.

"You are a coward," she screamed, spitting black blood. "Slay me or bed me, Eadric: you will need to choose sooner or later, in any case. Do so now. Do I consume your every waking thought, or no? Do I remind you of her, _Ahma_, or did she maybe presage me? _Which do you think it is?_ Can you even recollect her face?" Her words were cruel and barbed.

_Barely_, he thought. He felt nauseous: grief and remorse briefly threatened to overcome him. He swallowed, breathed, lowered his sword, and held out his hand to her.

"Come," he said shakily. "You cannot mend those wounds."

"Compassion is wasted on me, _Ahma_." Her manner was ironic.

"I know. It is for my benefit, not yours." 

"You have quite a temper, Eadric. Perhaps you should meditate more often."  

The Demoness drew close, and he placed his hands on her neck. She hissed in pain and pleasure as his fingers probed the trauma.

"Do you never cease?" He sighed.

"I am what I am."

He gingerly released a little of his power, uncertain of the effect that it might have, before flooding her with light and warmth. She seemed infinitely passive.

"The scars will remain," Eadric said.

"I will bear them as a token of your high esteem," she said drily.

"We have a very unhealthy relationship, Soneillon."

"Do we? I can't say that I've noticed. May I stay?"

He nodded.





*The basic, mechanical premise for Fillein-Jovol-Teppu was one of a self-incarnating entity with only one restriction: the ECL of its new incarnation could be no higher than the ECL of its previous incarnation at death. All other variables are chosen by the incarnating entity as befits its new role and purpose.

**At this point in time, Eadric employed only eleven servants in Kyrtill's Burh: two cooks, three maids, a stablehand, a butler, a mason/carpenter, a gatekeeper, a clerk, and a valet. Although there was no shortage of potential employees seeking work at the Burh, Eadric was conscious of the fact that – between Inquisitorial burnings and demonic incursions – working for the _Ahma_ entailed a certain risk.

***Eadric had made a commitment to pay a 200,000 gp donation to the Temple coffers in order to cover the debts incurred after the war.


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## Serpenteye

*Did you ever know that you're my hero?*

 

I love it. Soneillon is quite a fascinating woman. It is refreshing to see an evil character in a story that has a deeper insight into morality than the hero does. Eadric would do well to embrace Saizhan, and Soneillon   . To have done so sooner, when he did not fully comprehend the depth of her evil, would have been a sign of weakness and a surrender to physical seduction. But to make a conscious choice to do so now will only serve to elevate him. Wisdom can only come by acknowledging reality.

And I miss  too, not that I'd ever use it in a post in your SH.


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## wolff96

*For Love of the Demon*

Beautiful, beautiful update.

The delicate balance between Eadric and the Queen of Throile in this update is awesome.

The fact that you can create such a relationship between a succubus and a PALADIN is incredible.

If you don't mind my asking... was Titvillius rejected as Eadric's tempter because the Queen is a much better match for him? She definitely seems to push him deeper into darkness, danger, and temptation than the old schemer ever had a chance to do. Though temptation of mortals really isn't a job for demons anyway...


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## Garlok

*Awesome*

Sep your is the Gold standard to which Other threads aspire. We all hope that your endeavors extend into perpetuity.

Well Done!


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## Roman

Pure greatness in this update!   

I think Eadric may be loosing his battle to keep his cool. Not that it is so surprising considering the circumstances. I think he needs to speak to Tramst again to gain more perspective on what is happening.


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## Arken

Roman said:
			
		

> Pure greatness in this update!
> 
> I think Eadric may be loosing his battle to keep his cool. Not that it is so surprising considering the circumstances. I think he needs to speak to Tramst again to gain more perspective on what is happening.




Amazing update Sep! 

I don't know is Tramst would really be that helpful though he certainly is not going to make anything easier for Eadric or offer any answers other than those that make the situation more complicated (albeit in a very compassionate way). He is there to embody saizhan.

I think what Eadric needs is some down to earth Nwm-ness.


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## Dortmunder

*Un-fricken believable*

Nicely done as always.


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## Roman

Arken said:
			
		

> I think what Eadric needs is some down to earth Nwm-ness.




True, but NWM is currently not available, while Tramst is still there to provide enlightment. Even the enigmatic answers that Tramst gives are helpful.


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## Black_Kaioshin

Eadric should just bed the wench and get it over with. Ye gods, paladins are sooo uptight.


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## Olive

Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> Titivilus waited.




Ok, I think I need some help.



> "The Chief Protagonist of our Cause has ordered that the _status quo_ must be maintained," Dispater said opaquely.




This one might be purposefully opaque, but what does this refer too?



> "The force currently under Murmuur's command will move to support Graz'zt in Afqithan," Dispater explained. "Shomei's petition to Bathym was quashed."




So I looked up Bathym in Sep's old infernal heirarchy rtf that he posted. He's a duke under Belial (remember that Sep's Hell isn't the same as the standard DnD hell). What could Shomei be petitioning about? Hmmm... Murmuur isn't mentioned in the document, so I don't know what position he holds.



> "Azazel," Dispater smiled. "He will have three _Akesoli_ with him."




Azazel is Hell's Standard Bearer, a servant of Asmodeus. The Akesoli, or Pain-bringers, are servants of Amaimon, king of the 4th quarter of Avernus, the 1st layer of Hell. 

So what in the Hells is going on here? Do you think that Tivilus gets to tell Eadric? What exactly are the implications, other than a support of Dispater for Graz'zt?

My head hurts...


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## Cheiromancer

The appearance of Hellfire wyrms in Afqithan prompted Titivilus to go to Dis to find out what was going on; 

The Adversary has decided that the balance of power in the Abyss is to be maintained; Graz'zt is *not* to be overthrown, and so Murmuur and his troops are to support Graz'zt against Soneillon, Nhura, Eadric etc.

Shomei had petitioned Bathym to send some real Hellfire Wyrms (and other support) against Graz'zt- this request was denied.

And Titivilus's license to tempt being revoked... Eadric is no longer a potential ally to Hell.  If anything, he is going to be terminated, not recruited. That's my read of it anyway.


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## Olive

Cheiromancer said:
			
		

> The appearance of Hellfire wyrms in Afqithan prompted Titivilus to go to Dis to find out what was going on;
> 
> The Adversary has decided that the balance of power in the Abyss is to be maintained; Graz'zt is *not* to be overthrown, and so Murmuur and his troops are to support Graz'zt against Soneillon, Nhura, Eadric etc.
> 
> Shomei had petitioned Bathym to send some real Hellfire Wyrms (and other support) against Graz'zt- this request was denied.
> 
> And Titivilus's license to tempt being revoked... Eadric is no longer a potential ally to Hell.  If anything, he is going to be terminated, not recruited. That's my read of it anyway.




That makes sense... but is that the way the andates for temptation work? I thought it was more in the grand scheme of things that people would be tempted. Perhaps it's the idea that Sonellion is closer so someone else needs to be appointed? Someone better at it than Tivilitus?!?!?


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## Cheiromancer

I can't imagine that Devils would be so unselfish about the task of temptation as to allow a chthonic demon to take over the job.  From their view-point I suspect temptation is like recruitment- but for some reason Eadric is no longer desired as a potential ally/recruit.

Hmmm.  An alliance between Graz'zt and Hell.  That is definitely a misalliance, isn't it?


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## Olive

Cheiromancer said:
			
		

> I can't imagine that Devils would be so unselfish about the task of temptation as to allow a chthonic demon to take over the job.  From their view-point I suspect temptation is like recruitment- but for some reason Eadric is no longer desired as a potential ally/recruit.




That's my point - maybe because Sonellion is doing a better job than Tiviltus, the perhaps job is being given to a devil that is better at temptation than him. Maybe Asmodeus has a chief tempter? Glasya, perhaps? If you use her Sep. 

So Eadric is still desired as a recruit, but they know Tiviltus is never going to succeed.

The idea that there could be a devil more eloquent than Tiviltus is unlikely, but perhaps they've decided that some sort of sexual temptation is what's needed? That would make sense given that Eadric is responding far more to Sonellion's advances than he ever did to Tiviltus. And the fact that he was smitten with good old Lady Despina.

Or maybe I'm barking up the wrong tree entirely!   Maybe they fear that Eadric is too good and too likely to kill Graz'zt, and needs to be taken out of the picture.

Regardless, the role of Azazel in Afiquan is pretty serious for the PCs' desire to use that demiplane I sould imagine. If Hell's power is backing Graz'zt, and Hell's standard bearer is going to be in Afiquan, I suspect any attempt to reclaim for Nhura will meet with _considerable_ problems. Bitten off more than they can chew part 3?


----------



## Old Gumphrey

That was a great update, one of my favorites so far.


----------



## cmnash

I wish I was as good as Sepulchrave at telling a story ...   



			
				Olive said:
			
		

> So I looked up Bathym in Sep's old infernal heirarchy rtf that he posted.




Can anyone tell me where I can get this? Please?


----------



## Joshua Randall

[Edit] Please visit this Yahoo Group for your Wyre-related needs. Check the files section for a few tidbits, including the Infernal hierarchy document. [/Edit]

Eadric's player must be much more compassionate and patient than I am, because I would've finished off Soneillon when I had the chance. That would simplify the equation.

In other news, Ninit seems cool. I'm guessing she is some sort of epic barbarian or frenzied berserker type? The pleasure of the being the DM is that you get to design as many twinked-out NPCs as you want. Go, Sep!


----------



## ledded

Amazing stuff, Sep.


You never fail to impress, entertain, and amaze me with the quality of your work.


----------



## Pyske

Joshua Randall said:
			
		

> Eadric's player must be much more compassionate and patient than I am, because I would've finished off Soneillon when I had the chance. That would simplify the equation.




Would it?  Does the truth change because you eliminate its advocate?  _To Fall is to reject that which you have experienced to be true, in favour of that which you know, in your heart, to be false._

Do we believe in Soneillon's Choice?  _Slay me or bed me, Eadric: you will need to choose sooner or later, in any case._  Is this the meaning of _Saizhan_?  Must a truth be bedded to be fully accepted into one's paradigm?  My own paradigm tells me there are other options.

Eadric's role is the Ahma... he exists to be tempted.  The Adversary exists to oppose Oronthon.  Can the temptation of Eadric still oppose Oronthon?  I'd say yes, but only so long as the reason for Ahma is not being addressed.  A risky venture, to say the least... perhaps the risk became too great.

Eadric feels guilt and sorrow.  Does this tell him he is on the wrong path... or the right one?  What does Oronothon feel toward the Adversary?  The feelings might well be close to guilt, or sorrow.

These random philosophical speculations brought to you by the letter "P" for "procrastination".

 . . . . . . . -- Eric


----------



## Celtavian

*re*

Great update. It made me think of a few other movies like _Star Wars_ and _Lord of the Rings_ with a few of those lines of dialogue.


----------



## Seule

So we come full circle, the Paladin and the Succubus.  Can she be redeemed?  That would be quite the triumph for Eadric, seeing as she's working on him just as hard, unlike Despina was.

  --Seule


----------



## Lazybones

I'm currently reading the third volume of Vance's _Lyonesse_ and am struck by the similarities (I'm sure I've made this comparison before).  As an author, I am constantly striving to bring together what I see as the five pillars of a story: rich description, believeable and "real" characters, complex dialogue, deep narrative/plot, and visceral action sequences.  The challenge is accomplishing each of these structures without passing over that invisible line into "too far"; for example, depth of plot needs to be accomplished without drowning the reader in detail and complexity.  Vance and Sep both seem to accomplish a perfect blending of these qualities in a way that seems effortless (but I am sure is not, in reality).  In particular, I find the use of dialogue in this story to be extremely effective at conveying a mood or advancing the plot in a manner that would be excessive or unconvincing were it conducted through third person narrative.  I am left with the impression that _Wyre_ in its various chapters would operate as a work of theatre (where dialogue and character interaction are king) as effectively as, say, a motion picture.  Though the action scenes would be cool to see done in VFX.

When I go back and reread my own work, I usually find one or more of those pillars to be lacking in a given segment.  Thus in a sense, reading these updates is both inspiring and depressing (but in a good way).  

Thanks, and looking forward to more, as always.

LB


----------



## Fimmtiu

Pyske said:
			
		

> Do we believe in Soneillon's Choice?  _Slay me or bed me, Eadric: you will need to choose sooner or later, in any case._  Is this the meaning of _Saizhan_?  Must a truth be bedded to be fully accepted into one's paradigm?  My own paradigm tells me there are other options.




A Middle Way, if you will.  

Bah. The old smilies were better. Anyhow, I can only hope that someday I might be enough of a rat bastard to make my players squirm like this. Way to mess with their poor little minds, Sep!


----------



## Jackylhunter

Great Update Sep!  I'm curious as well about the Devils motives in this as well.  It's interesting that they are only now 'getting involved'.  I imagine that Grazzt is making all sorts of intreaties for Aid, but the last place I'd think he would go is to Hell.

Anyway, I can't wait for the next installment.


----------



## Suldulin

*fails save vs being stunned*

[understatement]Excellent update[/understatement]


----------



## Felix

I liked the pseudo-temptation of Eadric by Sonellion: by choosing to slay her in cold blood he will have jumped, or at least fallen, into Sonellion's waiting arms. But to allow an aeons old Evil to live is the Good thing to do. Much like Titivilus' temptation, that the temptation is to tell the devil to go away.

Then one wonders: is it in the belief and conviction, or the act, that makes someone Evil. For instance, what if Eadric _had_ decided to slay a helpless Sonellion in cold blood. Would that blow have had to have landed for Eadric to fall (for his alignment to change from LG)? Would Sonellion have had to have died for him to fall? Or what if merely the truly convicted intention to kill would have caused Eadric to fall. The Sword of Truth series gives precident for this, for Truth will never strike a creature the seeker believes to be innocent... in this case it is then intention, and not the deed, that is important.

If the intention to do the act is what matters, then as soon as Eadric makes to kill Sonellion, he becomes not-LG. And considering that Eadric, if he does fall, will fall faster and further than any in a long time, his alignment changes to CE. Lukarn, the intelligent keen sunblade, decides Eadric must also die, makes Eadric drop him. And what you have is a fallen paladin standing next to a very pleased demon queen. 

So was compassion the only way to save himself? And if he does it to save himself, is it really compassion?

...yeesh...


----------



## Moleculo

I guess the big question is can a being that has been annihilated or unmade or what have you even die in the first place? That would be a fairly dastardly thing for the Sonellion to do, let Eadric kill her so he falls and then just meet him again.


----------



## Joker[ZW]

fantastic update!






> Nonetheless, at precisely eight o'clock every evening, Mostin would arrive and renew the ward upon Eadric.



Mayber Mostin should use "one step beyond" instead. As Mind Blank, but 9th level and 1 day/level duration 
The Spell is in the complete book of eldritch might

[lurkermode=on]


----------



## Joshua Randall

Felix said:
			
		

> Then one wonders: is it in the belief and conviction, or the act, that makes someone Evil.



Welcome to one of the oldest debates in philsophy and religion. Whence comes moral significance -- from intention or action?

I would be interested to hear Sep's take on this... although I think I already know what it is.


----------



## Rackhir

The clear and obvious parallels that Sep was drawing between the original confrontation between Eadric and Lady Despina/Nehael? lead me to wonder once again exactly what is the relationship between Sonellion and Nehael. 
Especially given the next to last line in this quote.



> "Violation of the body is only the beginning, Eadric. There is a limit to the trauma that even Demonic flesh – once fashioned of Empyrean stuff – can sustain before it loses all ability to renew itself. And Nehael is fragile – she has already relinquished much of the strength that was native to her. Little of her as you remember her remains, and her physical form has been stripped away: she consists now largely of essence. As to the integrity of her personality, who can tell? He may have broken her altogether. Prolonged pain of that magnitude often leads to madness and evil – such is the way of things."
> 
> "I fail to see what benefit relaying this information conveys to anyone."
> 
> "You should be prepared for the worst, Eadric," Soneillon answered. "She may be unrecognizable – not merely her form, but _who_ she is. I would not keep this information from you, and later hear that you were deceived or misled by me."




We know that Seph is never so straightforward as to simply make Sonellion, Nehael after passing through _unbeing_. Though it does sound suspiciously like that is what has/will happen to her. Still there has to be some kind of a close link. Of course Seph could simply be playing on his rep for being subtle and complex, but contemplating that kind of line of thinking leads only to madness and Maxwell Smart impersonations.


----------



## Cheiromancer

Not only does _One Step Beyond_ last 1 day/level, it also affects up to 1 target/level.  You do need a 1000 gp gemstone for each recipient, however.  Sadly, it is material component, not a focus.  Still at less that 50 gp/day it is quite a bargain.  

_One Step Beyond_ was originally printed in Book of Eldritch Might III- the Nexus.

Do wizards still get 2 free spells/level after they get into epic levels?  Mostin might be able to pick this up next time he levels. 

---

I don't think that Soneillon's provocation of Eadric was an attempt to cause him to Fall.  She *had* offered to assist him in the journey to oblivion- to go to the bottom of the Abyss and back- but I don't think that journey is something that you can be tricked into.  Eadric would have to embrace that knowingly and willingly.  And I believe her when she says she has no interest in causing Eadric to fall; acting as a tempter is just not part of her paradigm.  

Still, this post has raised in me the fear that Eadric *could* fall.  It is primarily Tramst's conversation with Brey that troubles me, though.  Eadric seems to have a penchant for always choosing the most difficult option, which "leads to the Adversarial paradigm, which Saizhan teaches us is incomplete. Evidently, this is so, or the Adversary himself would not have Fallen."

To put it bluntly, if you play with fire you are going to get burned.  Eadric is playing with fire by allowing himself to get involved with Soneillon.  I mentioned above that tempting Eadric is not part of Soneillon's paradigm.  That is not completely true: as a succubus, erotic interest is *definitely* part of her paradigm, and seducing him is definitely of interest to her.  And erotic involvement with a demon would violate so many of Eadric's core values, beliefs and tenets that... what, exactly?

Eadric realizes that he is above conventional standards of moral behavior.  The scene with the pilgrims underlines his distance from conventional morality.  What that means, exactly, is still being worked out.  

Truth is something that is constructed by saizhan: "Saizhan always determines the correct truth." says Tramst.  Does Eadric have the saizhan to create a truth which makes sense of his increasingly complex life?  If he fails to do so, he has to reject whatever doesn't fit.  But what do you do if you find you have to choose between incompatible truths?  If you reject "that which you have experienced to be true, in favour of that which you know, in your heart, to be false," then we meet Tramst's definition for falling.  

So Soneillon is definitely an opportunity for Eadric to Fall.  The nature of their relationship is very, very hard to reconcile with the other aspects of Eadric's life.  And Eadric cannot arbitrarily simplify the situation.  Acting on a simpler code may lead him to reject what he knows (on a deeper level) to be truths and embrace what (in his heart) is false.  

Perhaps slaying Soneillon would have been a fall-triggering event- perhaps not.  But Eadric is not the kind of person who simplifies the situation in that way.  He showed that when he spared Despina.  This situation is that original situation writ large.  But going along with Soneillon is hardly an option; she has fallen as well.

Or has she?  Is falling a subjective event, or an objective event?  Can observers legitimately disagree on whether a particular being has fallen or not?  If Eadric achieves a saizhan sufficiently deep to reveal that Demogorgon is an aspect of Oronthon, perhaps he could walk the path of oblivion and still remain the breath of God.  He would operate in a paradigm that does not see a conflict between the chthonic template and his paladin/contemplative/half-celestial status.  But he might be the only one to see it that way, aside from a few fiends.  If your truth is only recognized by crazy people, doesn't that suggest that you are insane?

The situation is unstable.  If Eadric simplifies it, it will likely be at the cost of violating his own integrity.  If he embraces its full complexity, the result may be indistinguishable from the Fall.  If he doubts- if he understands and experiences Nehael's doubt- he might fall as she did.

Perhaps, if he is lucky, Graz'zt will kill him before any of these alternatives are realized.  Isn't it sad that an untimely demise at the hands of his worst enemy might be Eadric's best-case scenario?


----------



## Cheiromancer

Wow.  Two new posts while I was composing the last one.

Good point, Rackhir, about Soneillon's warning to Eadric.  I might want to add that the question of identity is complicated in this story hour.  Look at Fillein/Jovol/Teppu.  That's sequential identity- identity over time.  Is it possible that there are equally complicated issues for simultaneous identity; identity over space?

Is Soneillon what happened to Nehael after surviving annihilation?  Is Nehael an aspect of Soneillon?  If so, what can we make of Rintrah's rescue mission?  

Since Teppu denies being Jovol, I doubt either Nehael or Soneillon would identify herself as being the other.  I think, furthermore, that there is a deeper explanation of the strong parallel between them; they are each, in their own way, Eadric's _kius_.  And perhaps he fulfills a similar role to them!


----------



## Micah

Cheiromancer said:
			
		

> If your truth is only recognized by crazy people, doesn't that suggest that you are insane?



I seem to recall Oronthon himself being accused of mental instability somewhere along the line. . .


----------



## wolff96

Micah said:
			
		

> I seem to recall Oronthon himself being accused of mental instability somewhere along the line. . .




By Nwm, naturally.

For what is Nwm if the coolest and most powerful characters are not unidentical?  (With apologies to Sep for theiving the construction. )


----------



## Felix

Joshua Randall said:
			
		

> Welcome to one of the oldest debates in philsophy and religion.



Yup. 



			
				Cheiromancer said:
			
		

> Still, this post has raised in me the fear that Eadric *could* fall. It is primarily Tramst's conversation with Brey that troubles me, though.



You should be nervous, but not necessarily as nervous as you are now. Remember that Saizhan revolves around inspiring enlightenment. The teaching that Tramst is giving Brey is formulated to inspire enlightenment _in Brey_, and might not be the Truth of falling that Eadric is subject to. What Tramst is saying is _a_ truth, but not _the_ truth.

But that's not much consolation, is it? Heh.


----------



## Ridley's Cohort

Cheiromancer said:
			
		

> Perhaps, if he is lucky, Graz'zt will kill him before any of these alternatives are realized.  Isn't it sad that an untimely demise at the hands of his worst enemy might be Eadric's best-case scenario?




That raises an interesting point.  Our heroes are at a power level where one unlucky character can be raked by volleys of instakill effects (Destruction, Disintegrate, etc.)  Some of the PCs may well have SR as well.  But the basic question is what do you do to guard against a Natural 1 at this powerlevel if campaign discourages ressurections?


----------



## Elder-Basilisk

Which is as much as to say that one need not try to logically figure anything out because the normal rules of consistency don't apply to Sep's world. If you try and figure out anything resembling truth in the metaphysical, moral, or religious realities of Sep's world, you'll just hurt your head.

Figuring out the politics of his world (both spiritual and natural) and enjoying the example of high-level, high powered play and good writing is the fun of it (at least for me).



			
				Felix said:
			
		

> You should be nervous, but not necessarily as nervous as you are now. Remember that Saizhan revolves around inspiring enlightenment. The teaching that Tramst is giving Brey is formulated to inspire enlightenment _in Brey_, and might not be the Truth of falling that Eadric is subject to. What Tramst is saying is _a_ truth, but not _the_ truth.
> 
> But that's not much consolation, is it? Heh.


----------



## Enkhidu

I've been reading the discussion about saizhan, and Eadric's tempting, et al, and have come to a comclusion.

Sep included the portion about Tramst and Brey talking about the fall because its integral to how Eadric could fall. The Ahma will fall if he is not - and I believe it really is this simple - _true to himself_. 

For all that we've been told (at the same time Eadric has been told) that Eadric has no artificial boundaries on his behavior, Ed still has self-imposed boundaries. And Ed, as we have seen, is much harder on himself than anyone else could be.
Frankly, as long as Ed continues to simply "be himself," I don't think he can go wrong.


----------



## Celtavian

*re*

I'm not exactly sure of the passage, but isn't Nehael residing elsewhere right now by the will Oronthon? I could have sworn that one of Oronthon's angelic servants took Nehael away from Graz'zt's realm. I'll have to search the past updates.


----------



## Elder-Basilisk

Maybe so, but if you ask what it means for Eadric to be true to himself, you're likely to get a dozen contradictory interpretations.

It certainly can't be that whatever Eadric does is being "true to himself"; otherwise it would be meaningless.

OTOH, Eadric's identity isn't fixed either. Otherwise, the ideas and interpretations he lived by under the older Orthodox Oronthonianism would be the standards he still needs to live by. And in that case, he's no longer at risk of falling because he fell the moment he showed mercy to Nehael.

Of course, if you ask the "I can be a slut and still be good because sluts are cool and they don't have to like to like kill babies" crowd, Eadric could go on a romp that makes Ortwin look like a prude and not fall/still be true to himself. If you ask me, justifying that in terms of Eadric-as-presented-so-far would be such a complete change that it's unclear in what way the new "Eadric" would resemble the old. But if identity is infinitely mutable, that wouldn't necessarily prevent him from being true to himself. It would just mean that his new self and his old self had little in common.

Then again, it may be that Eadric's identity isn't infinitely mutable and there is a core of "Eadricness" that is based on the interaction of several key virtues (justice, mercy, chastity, honesty, etc) and any activity that would be seen as conflicting with that core of Eadricness would be being false to himself or false to Oronthon and falling. It might be in conflict with the rest of the world where truth, falsehood, and even Oronthon are mutable concepts, but since the whole point of the world's relativism is to permit inconsistency, it would be a consistent piece of inconsistency if there were an essence of Eadricness somewhere.

On the whole, it seems to me that Eadric falling or not falling as a result of acting or not acting in any particular way is a combination of: A. His player deciding that he does or does not fall, B. How good of a rationalization he can come up with for whatever he wants to do at the time and how convincingly he can deliver it (convincing deliver=really believed=true to self; unconvincing delivery=bad faith=falls or some such rubric), and C. Whether or not Eadric ends up killing babies, raping girls, or anything else that can't be rationalized as good behavior.

Of course, exactly what it means to "fall" in a world where truth is up for grabs and future actions change the past is up for grabs. For that matter, what it would mean for Ahma to fall is unclear too. For all we know, if he really did fall, it's likely that a significant number of Oronthonians and/or others might see it differently--perhaps Oronthon changed again and Eadric's fall defined that change or perhaps Eadric was fallen from the beginning but was justified in falling and thus it wasn't really Eadric that fell. And in Sep's world, as I understand it, that would be true for them. Whether or not it would be true for Eadric himself is another question.

But there we go. That's all fairly incoherent because it's pointless to speculate about necessities or what will/would happen if in a relativistic system. The point of its being relativistic is that there are no definitive "If"/"then"s. All that will really matter is the story. (And, if it isn't apparent yet, I think the story quite interesting despite its metaphysics).



			
				Enkhidu said:
			
		

> For all that we've been told (at the same time Eadric has been told) that Eadric has no artificial boundaries on his behavior, Ed still has self-imposed boundaries. And Ed, as we have seen, is much harder on himself than anyone else could be.
> Frankly, as long as Ed continues to simply "be himself," I don't think he can go wrong.


----------



## Elder-Basilisk

My reading was that the magnified Rintrah entered Nehael's prison and transformed it. Nehael is still in prison but no longer in torment.

It could probably be interpreted differently though.



			
				Celtavian said:
			
		

> I'm not exactly sure of the passage, but isn't Nehael residing elsewhere right now by the will Oronthon? I could have sworn that one of Oronthon's angelic servants took Nehael away from Graz'zt's realm. I'll have to search the past updates.


----------



## Greybar

> Sep included the portion about Tramst and Brey talking about the fall because its integral to how Eadric could fall. The Ahma will fall if he is not - and I believe it really is this simple - true to himself.




Can it be so simple as to say that Eadric has Fallen if he thinks he has Fallen?

I wouldn't make that simple a statement about anyone in general - if a prideful and vicious man was to think of himself as Oronthon's servant then that doesn't keep him from Falling.

Hmm... what happened to all of the powerful clerics and paladins that opposed Eadric's heresy?  I don't think we can say that they fell due to their opposition, but some might fall as a consequence.

Oooh... however... in their despair at seeing that Oronthon truely was backing Eadric and their grief at their own actions, I wonder how many *did* Fall as a result of that little insurrection?  And might they still have a role to play in the fate of Wyre?

Maybe that's just a side story for another set of heroes.

john


----------



## Pyske

Elder-Basilisk said:
			
		

> (And, if it isn't apparent yet, I think the story quite interesting despite its metaphysics).




Personally, I find the story interesting partly _because of_ its metaphysics.  I find the importance of personal choice to be critical to making Eadric an interesting protagonist (and I find the same to be true of RPGs in general).

Then again, I don't have as much problem with relativistic morality as a lot of people, either.  When smart people disagree, they're usually both right.

 . . . . . . . -- Eric


----------



## Enkhidu

Elder-Basilisk said:
			
		

> Then again, it may be that Eadric's identity isn't infinitely mutable and there is a core of "Eadricness" that is based on the interaction of several key virtues (justice, mercy, chastity, honesty, etc) and any activity that would be seen as conflicting with that core of Eadricness would be being false to himself or false to Oronthon and falling. It might be in conflict with the rest of the world where truth, falsehood, and even Oronthon are mutable concepts, but since the whole point of the world's relativism is to permit inconsistency, it would be a consistent piece of inconsistency if there were an essence of Eadricness somewhere.




Bingo. You've made my point better than I could. I believe that this is the core of the message that Tramst provides Brey - that the only way to fall is to choose the truth which you do not truly believe over the truth which you believe in your heart. How else do you think Graz'zt fell? He chose to reject the truth he knew to be true (that an eternal existence in servitude to the fount of mercy that is Oronthon is the epitome of existence) in favor of one he _wanted_ to be true. Isn't that the same paradox Ed is dealing with?


----------



## Elder-Basilisk

As I recall, there was only one that the story mentions explicitly falling--Hethio. After he ordered the assassination of the archbishop, he lost his spellcasting ability. And, you're right--he fell, not because he opposed Eadric, but because of _how_ he opposed Eadric. Of course, that was before Saizhan so it could well be that his rationalizations would get him somewhere now as long as he could manage to believe in them wholeheartedly. And that, of course offers a new variety of conclusions that could be drawn if one thinks that empirical investigation will yield a coherent and accurate picture of the world (which Sep tells us it won't, so take it for what it's worth). Functionally, the story so far would be mostly consistent if vice and virtue were objective. 

I'd like to say it'd be mostly consistent if propositional truths about metaphysical beings were subjective but if that were true, the whole story would fall apart. There IS a celestial injunction whether one believes it or not. Grazz't DOES rule Azzagrazzt. Oronthon does have a special relationship with Eadric and DID support him in a number of his conflicts. There's nothing subjective about the placement of his armies or the extent of his domain. Now that the eternal and the metaphysical are the battleground on which the PCs interact, quite a bit of what might otherwise be relative has becomre quite concrete. On the other hand, the truths upon which all of these and their motivations lie--the origins of Grazz't, his relationship to Oronthon, is he really fallen, etc ARE relative to some degree or other. Or at least that's what Saizhan and Soneillon suggest. If Demogorgon can be _accurately_ seen as an aspect of Oronthon, then Grazz't certainly can be as well. Does that make him unfallen? Maybe and maybe not. Does the answer to that question make a difference in how he acts and the possible endings to the story. You bet.



			
				Greybar said:
			
		

> Hmm... what happened to all of the powerful clerics and paladins that opposed Eadric's heresy?  I don't think we can say that they fell due to their opposition, but some might fall as a consequence.
> 
> Oooh... however... in their despair at seeing that Oronthon truely was backing Eadric and their grief at their own actions, I wonder how many *did* Fall as a result of that little insurrection?  And might they still have a role to play in the fate of Wyre?


----------



## LightPhoenix

Celtavian said:
			
		

> I'm not exactly sure of the passage, but isn't Nehael residing elsewhere right now by the will Oronthon? I could have sworn that one of Oronthon's angelic servants took Nehael away from Graz'zt's realm. I'll have to search the past updates.



Nehael is still in the prison, but one of the angels did some blessing thing and made the prison more like a paradise. As far as I can recall, Nehael is still there, though the paradise might or might not be gone.

Oh, and Eadric just has a thing for the succubi.   

Perhaps Falling is something that is as equally in conflict as everything else.  If multiple truths are true, and even Oronthon can't reconcile them all, hence saizhan, then how can any one definition of Falling be true?


----------



## grodog

*a smattering of revelation*

Various thoughts about the state of things _vis-a-vis_ the new update:


I don't believe that the _status quo_ referred to by Dispater is the _status quo_ of Graz'zt's survival vs. destruction; instead, I think that it refers to the much grander scope of the _status quo_ of the Great Revolt:  the Adversary has chosen to ally the devils with Graz'zt to prevent the failure of the initial Fall/Great Revolt against Oronthon, on some level.  Either Graz'zt's defeat would be a serious blow to the ability of the demons and devils to maintain their collective cold war against heaven, or---and I think this is the more likely possibility---the Adversary foresees the possibility that Graz'zt could somehow be saved/converted, like Neheal, and that his re-salvation could be achieved through Eadric's and Neheal's actions.  (Don't forget Graz'zt's pang of regret:  "For an instant, a feeling of enormous poignancy welled up from within him: a profound melancholy, which consumed him utterly. Ideals and ancient oaths broken, and bright visions of bliss and freedom brought guttering to cold ash.").  Maintaining the _status quo_ of a fallen Graz'zt may be much more important to the Adversary than maintaining the _status quo_ of an alive/undefeated Graz'zt....
I think we've either seen an in-real-life- or an in-story/in-game evolution of _shaizan_:  _"not all truths are unequal"_ has changed (been revealed?) over time into "_Saizhan_ always _determines_ the correct truth. The distinction is crucial."  In the first quotation, truth seems to be more absolutely defined to me, and is therefore discoverable/revealable/realizable:  truth is an absolute fact that can be found, named, catalogued, and achieved.  In the second quotation, truth is determined by perspective and perhaps also by experience, and this seems---again, to me---to be more relative than the first aphorism.  Where the first suggests absolutes found, the second suggests relative absolutes defined by point of view:  truth changes according to the viewer.  That the relative truth (according to point of view) can still be absolute, still seems freer to me than the first quotation's meaning.  The implications for defining "fallen" are of course immense.  
Relatedly, if you can only truly achieve _shaizan_ through the examination of relativistic truths from multiple points of view, then must you be fallen to even be able to consider such relativities?  Per Sep's comment in the Rogues Gallery about celestials vs. non-celestials...: 


> BUT (and this is important) there is an implicit assumption that demons and devils can advance (don't think in terms of HD or level, think simply in terms of power). In this regard, they differ from celestials (who were created thus, and no other way). Perhaps this is a result of their 'free will' - which comes at a price, obviously. The Fall is an archetypal event which is grounded in struggling against impossible odds, the assertion of will and ego etc.



...it seems like Oronthon may be moving to create/re-create/embrace a more complex, fallen world, so to speak, where all have freewill, in order to be able to grow and change over time via experience???   
Fillein/Jovol/Teppu suddenly strikes me as a Moorcockian Cosmic-Balance-like figure, and also, somewhat strangely, as a figure similar to John the Divine (author of the _Book of Revelation_)---a prophet of the end of the world (just as the _Ahma_ parallels John the Baptist for the _Sela_ Tramst's arrival).  Teppu's comment about "Who cares about the future?" seems characteristically fey in nature, of course, but even it struck me as much more apt to a world on the verge of eschaton.  If the Fall is abrogated, if Thingness/Nothingness is reconciled, is that the end of the world?  Did anyone else get this vibe?

As always, thanks for a wonderful update Sep, and for sharing the work of your players and yourself with us!


----------



## Sepulchrave II

I'm not sure whether this update addresses any of the speculation offered by some of the readers, or not. Oh, well.


****



****


*Innocence*


Shomei reclined into an enormous leather chair, and tilted her head inquisitively. She sipped slowly from a large silver goblet, imbibing a volatile liquid of unknown potency. The Infernalist seemed unusually calm and languorous. 

"Your dwelling is…beautiful," Eadric said with surprise and genuine feeling. He was sat upon the edge of a similar chair, absorbing his surroundings. The room was exquisite – if somewhat bizarre – in its décor and furnishings. Purples and midnight blues predominated, and _things_ hung upon walls or rested upon shelves. Crystal lamps emanated a soft, diffuse light, and a faint hint of incense hung within the air. 

"Thank-you," she smiled.

A spined devil flew past quietly, and glowered at Eadric.

Shomei gestured, and it flapped away, closing a door silently as it exited.

"Would you care for a drink?" She offered, refilling the goblet from a huge crystal decanter.

"What is it?" He asked.

"It is called _kschiff_," she replied. "Do not consume too much – it will stupefy you. A little will relax you, however."

"How much is too much?" Eadric had the impression that Shomei was fast approaching that point.

"I will tell you when to stop." 

The goblet floated gently towards him, and he caught it uncertainly. Its contents smelled faintly of orange blossoms, and the taste was astringent. But curiously agreeable.

'Thank-you for receiving me at such short notice," Eadric said. "I know that the time of a wizard is precious."

"That is particularly true in my case," she half-smiled.

He swallowed. "Shomei, I…"

She held up a hand. "We will not speak of it."

He sank back into the chair.

"You are here to talk about Soneillon," Shomei said.

He nodded, wondering whether she had foreseen it, guessed it, or determined it through some other means.

"Am I being asked in the capacity of friend, spiritual advisor, or advocate for the antinomian perspective?" She asked.

"I'm not sure," Eadric furrowed his brow. "Although the idea of you as a spiritual advisor is disturbing. You are something of an authority on fiends, however, and I thought your perspective might be useful."

"Have you considered speaking to the _Sela_?"

Eadric smiled. "I consider speaking to the _Sela_ approximately once every three seconds."

"That is probably a good thing," Shomei ventured. "It would indicate that you are in touch with the source of your Truth. Your internal dialogue has not been compromised. May I ask a number of difficult questions?"

"Er, yes," he said dubiously.

"If Nehael's release is achieved, how do you think Soneillon will react to a rival?"

He shifted uncomfortably.

"Perhaps it would be better for you if somehow Soneillon were conveniently destroyed prior to liberating Nehael?"

"Shomei, that is most unfair."

"These are practical considerations, Eadric." She gestured, and the goblet floated back towards him again. He hadn't noticed that, at some point, she had refilled it. "May I ask you another question?"

He nodded. He felt that he was beginning to relax.

"Have you entertained the possibility that Soneillon may be fertile? Succubi can enter the equivalent of oestrus at will, and the gestation is extremely fast – days, if I recall correctly. She may use this to exert leverage over you. How would you react if this transpired to be the case?"

His mind span. 

"Let me posit another scenario," Shomei said, reaching out as the goblet returned to her. 

Eadric found that he was watching her lips move. Her voice seemed to drift slowly through his head.

"What if Nehael perishes? I am assuming that she is presently alive, of course – the _web of motes_ indicated as much. Can you retain your integrity of purpose under those circumstances? If Soneillon were to – for example – offer you a way out, would you accept it?"

He groaned.

"Because you _could_ endure the Void, Eadric. I have no doubt on that count. I have seen the tendril of possibility."

"It will not happen," he said.

"Nor will Shomei the Infernal ever embrace _Saizhan_," Shomei smiled ironically. 

The goblet seemed to appear from nowhere, hovering in front of Eadric's face. He grasped it, and set it down. 

There was a brief silence.

"Why is the darkness so compelling, Shomei?" He asked.

She smiled. "Because it is dark, of course."

"Do you think Ortwin was correct – when he suggested that my desire to overcome duality through any means is the source of my fascination? That it might prove my undoing?"

"The _hierosgamos_? Maybe. But I think there was no such moral judgment implicit in Ortwin's words, merely that you inferred one. Are you inclined to symbolic microcosmic speculation?"

"I might be, if I knew what it was," the goblet had appeared in front of him again. He sighed, and drank. He found his eyes resting on the curve of Shomei's neck, and tore them away.

She raised an eyebrow. "Perhaps I should have warned you that _kschiff_ also possesses aphrodisiac qualities. Don't worry – I have no intention of seducing you. Your life is complicated enough already." She sighed. "I think you are teetering on the edge of oblivion, Eadric – this is a place rife with temptation, but it also possesses infinite spiritual possibility. Everything will become a paradox, and you will be forced to redefine who you are on a continual basis."

"_Now_ you begin to sound like an advocate for the short, steep path," he said grimly.

"I think your role is ultimately Adversarial, Eadric."

"The _Sela_ once said something similar to me, regarding my place in the downfall of Orthodoxy."

"Perhaps you should have listened to him," she remarked wrily. "To avoid falling, all you must do is remain grounded in _Saizhan_. Everything else is superfluous."

A longer silence followed.

"In the past I have misjudged you, Shomei," Eadric sighed. "I'm sorry."

She shrugged, and looked away.

"You are very defensive."

"Yes," she replied.

"I feel I've missed the opportunity of a good friendship."

She swallowed, unwilling to meet his gaze.

"Bliss is not so bad, Shomei. If the weight of becoming is so heavy…"

She raised a hand, her eyes filling with tears. "There is no possibility that I have not considered, _Ahma_."

He held her hand gently. It seemed tiny. 

She wept.


*


After Eadric had returned to Deorham through the portal which Mostin had opened, Shomei sat alone in reflection.

Somewhat before midnight, she renewed her _mind blank_, protected herself with other, sundry wards, grasped her rod, and opened a _gate_ to Phlegethos. Soon thereafter she met with Bathym for their third – and Shomei hoped last – series of negotiations.

She was furious to discover that the Duke of Hell had reneged on their agreement utterly, and would no longer be committing a single devil to the 'situation' in Afqithan. Nor would he explain why.

It made no sense. The reason for Shomei's initial involvement in Afqithan had been because certain powerful devils had  expressed a desire that Graz'zt be removed from the cosmic scheme of things. She wondered what had changed.

She returned to Wyre.

Mostin was awakened at two in the morning – from his usual bizarre dreams – by an incessant banging on his door.


*


The Alienist appeared in his _robe of eyes_. Shomei glared at him, and wondered whether he wore it to bed like a night-gown, to avoid being surprised by things which might otherwise surprise him.

"I've been f*cked over," the Infernalist spat, barging in.

"I see the _kschiff_ has worn off," Mostin remarked.

"Bathym has backed out."

Orolde arrived from his room in order to answer the door. Mostin sighed.

The two Wizards repaired to Mostin's study, and the Alienist instructed that the Sprite bring them cakes and hot buttered firewine. He kindled a fire, and spent several moments adjusting the illumination such that it was _just so_. 

Shomei fidgeted. She glanced around. Mostin's workplace was uncharacteristically cluttered and disorganized.

"What are you working on?" She asked suspiciously.

"A pseudonatural summons," he grumbled. "When I have the time and inclination – which seems seldom at present. What is happening, Shomei?"

"Bathym was on the verge of committing five legions of his devils. Belial had already sanctioned it."

Mostin gaped. "Five _legions_? Shomei, how do you do it?"

"Well, I don't – evidently. Support has been withdrawn. Presumably the interest has changed."

"Have you considered petitioning Belial directly?"

"I suspect that he is responsible for the about-face."

"Do you have any indication why?" Mostin inquired.

She shrugged. "Who knows, Mostin? Perhaps because of Rhyxali? Soneillon? Graz'zt? Tramst? Kostchtchie? Eadric? Me? Nehael? A perceived pseudonatural threat? A celestial conspiracy? The motives of a devil of Belial's stature are too convoluted to even begin to penetrate."

"I had not considered a sizable force of devils crucial to success," Mostin said. "The _web of motes_ offered a number of other scenarios."

"Maybe not," Shomei conceded. "But thirty thousand barbazu would have guaranteed it, and acted as a balance on Rhyxali at the very least."

"I think that your perspective in this is flawed, Shomei – you are assuming that we can somehow retain sufficient control of this situation to actually _direct_ the course of events. I have come to the conclusion that, at best, we can invoke a storm and let it blow as it will."

"Mostin…"

"It is realistic," he said. "We are dealing with entities of enormous power, any one of which can turn on us in an instant. We should be thinking in terms of self-preservation. _You_ should be, at the very least."

"I am not getting into this argument again," she groaned.

"What other options remain open to you?"

"The glooms. Other Dukes. Possibly Murmuur: he is influential, commands a large force, and is – importantly – _present_. Time is running out to make such arrangements, however. And I have no relationship with Malbolge, other than vicariously through Belial – and he hardly seems reliable in this at present. Besides, I mistrust the involvement of Titivilus."

"You are still trying to control the situation," Mostin sighed. "Our first goal is the obliteration of Ainhorr's force in Afqithan – there is no need to be methodical about it. We can worry about Azzagrat afterwards."

"What exactly are you saying, Mostin?"

"I can _dimensionally lock_ an area two miles across, Shomei. Outside of the _quiescence_ – where demons will be forced to manifest – I can invoke a total of seventeen – _seventeen_ – _reality maelstroms_ if necessary. Afqithan is not my world, Shomei. There are no holds barred there. If I rip the spatial fabric of the demiplane to shreds, I don't care. If I can call the Horror, and _bind_ it – as long as I can get away before the spell ends, I don't care. Shomei, even if I _gate_ in Carasch and invoke an apocalypse _I don't care_. Are we on the same page here, Shomei?"

She looked at him. "Thank-you, Mostin. For a while, I was beginning to lose my perspective. I think you may have restored it to me."

"We are as gods, Shomei. Never forget it."

"You truly are at your best when you're at your craziest," she smiled.


**


She stood, and looked again at the tree for a long while.

It had an oddly compelling quality, which drew one's eyes to it and evoked a desire to run hands over soft, smooth bark. Its height and girth suggested that it was old, but it possessed a quality which seemed…_youthful_. Strange for a tree. 

Around its base, bright flowers sprang between rocks and trailed into a pool fed by a small spring. The water moved, but she couldn't determine where it went, after it left the pool. _Curious_, she thought. She looked at the tree again.

Sometimes, she felt that it was watching her. 

She gazed around, and wondered what else there was _out there_. Away from the tree. More than once, she had determined to leave – to walk away from the tree. To explore. But she never did.

Why leave the tree, after all? Whatever else there was, it couldn't be better than the tree.

She lay down against its warm bole, and it seemed to embrace her. She watched thoughts and memories pass through her mind, and wondered who had experienced them. 

_Bathe,_ she thought. 

She vaguely recalled the fact that she liked to bathe. It seemed like a good idea – although she was unsure whether it had risen unbidden in her mind, or the tree had prompted the desire. She rose, walked the short distance over to the pool, and slid into the water. It was the perfect depth, and the perfect temperature. She immersed her head briefly – as that seemed the right thing to do – before leaning back and relaxing against a rock, which seemed to fit her head and neck very comfortably.

She suddenly noticed a small figure – maybe two thirds her own height – sitting on a branch of the tree, with its legs dangling freely. It wore grey hose and a leaf-green waistcoat.

"Hello," she said.

"Hello," the other replied. "Are you happy?"

"Yes," she said.

"Good," the other smiled.

"Where did you come from?" She asked. "I haven't seen you before."

"I came from the tree."

"Ahh," she nodded. She hauled herself easily from the water, and walked back towards the tree. She noticed that now she was covered in tiny flecks of silver – she rubbed them gently, but they seemed somehow part of her skin.

"They will not come off," the other said.

"What are they?' She asked.

The other smiled sadly. "The memory of a great injustice."

She cocked her head inquisitively.

"It would take too long to explain," the other said. "Nor does it matter – the injustice never really happened now. Your transition is passed at last, and you have been finally surrendered: from one Truth to another. This place is two things: a prison hallowed by an angel, and a womb which has always been here. If sometimes the Truth that you chose seems cold and indifferent, then it is Her nature. Maybe She forgot you for a while. Don't blame Her: She doesn't love you any less."

"You think too much," she laughed. "What will happen now?"

"Something nobody expects," the other replied.

"And what is that?" She asked.

"A Viridity," the other said, his eyes blazing.


**


Nwm felt the snow and pine cones beneath his feet as he ran. The air was frigid, his breathing deep but measured. The smell of resin permeated everything, and his eyes streamed in the cold. His pulse was audible to him, above the noise of his passage, thumping through his skull.

His focus was perfect: he was meditating. No symbolism moved through his mind. No recollection of memory, nor thought for the future. No expectation of revelation, nor seeking for something other than _moment_ in its fullness. There was reflection, but it was dynamic and engaged – not introspective and divorced. Each moment was precious – but Nwm did not cherish it. He merely experienced it.  

He ran until he finally dropped from exhaustion, and collapsed gasping. Still, he meditated. Whilst he slept naked in the snow, he meditated, and when he woke again with the pale winter sun, he meditated.

He came to a rock under an icy waterfall, and sat. Water cascaded over him as he gazed over a frozen pond for nine days. He neither ate, nor drank; nor did he crave warmth nor comfort. He needed nothing.

He meditated. He began to run again, and meditated.

After a week, he rested, and allowed himself to engage in discursive thought.  After an hour, he got bored.

He meditated again.

In the _tuerns_ of the Linna, Tunthi shamans said that some primaeval spirit had awakened, and come from the forests which nestled in the deep vales, south of the Heaped Thunders.


**


Several rumours – substantiated by more or less reliable evidence and witnesses – were current among the inhabitants of western Trempa and southern Tomur, and spreading rapidly through the rest of Wyre.

First, a group of twenty pilgrims to Kyrtill's Burh had, purportedly, undergone a terrifying ordeal wherein demonic or diabolic forces had manifested to them _within the castle_. The significance of this event was interpreted according to the various inclinations of those for whom it held an interest: a test of faith; a sign of the _Ahma_'s eccentricity, madness or evil; a cryptic revelation couched in terms which lesser mortals must strive to understand; or religious hysteria induced by too much privation and self-mortification – or perhaps the consumption of ergotized rye bread.

Second, Eadric, Earl of Deorham sought a steward for his castle and estates. This aroused much interest among various landless nobles, former church grandees who had surrendered estates at the end of the infeudation, as well as numerous unusual characters of mystical bent.

Third, in the face of the expectations of those who considered chastity a necessary prerequisite for the successful cultivation of _saizhan_ – and there were many – the _Ahma_ had taken a lover. She was seldom seen but was, by all accounts, beautiful and magnetic. Her lineage and credentials were unknown, and it was suspected that she was a peasant-girl. Or a foreigner. Or a celestial companion. Or a demoness. It depended on who you asked.

The _drip-drip_ of pilgrims and mendicants to Kyrtill's Burh rapidly became a steady stream, and then a rushing torrent. It expanded to include potential retainers, philosophers eager to engage the _Ahma_ in conversation and debate, Urgic and Irrenite ex-heretics who no longer felt the need to practice in secret, atoning Templars, and the merely curious. They lodged in Deorham – which had never seen so many new faces – and occupied barns, fields and rooms in farmsteads for miles about. The Innkeeper of the _Twelve Elms_ quickly became very rich.

Eadric closed the gates to the Burh, and returned to his impossibly circular, self-referential _kius_:

_What is Soneillon, if both _Saizhan_ and extinction are not unattainable?_

But even as he sat in contemplation, she would come to him and any insight that he thought he might have gleaned would be dispelled. She would purposely arouse him, or drive him to distraction by her presence. Her heat never abated. There was no indication of artifice in her desire, only the need for continual and infinitely varied sensation: taboo did not exist, or existed only to be broken, and when they coupled violently on the shattered altar of the chapel, Eadric didn't know whether they had profaned it, or sanctified it. 

Constructed reality was overturned so swiftly, so thoroughly, that it seemed as though the cosmos disintegrated into its component atoms and they, in turn, evaporated into a Nothingness from which they were never unidentical.

_This_ was the 'Path of Lightning' to which, he knew, Titivilus had referred – hard as a diamond, sharp as a razor, upon which only the mad could walk. But the Nuncio of Dis knew it by name only, and any formulation that Titivilus had posited regarding its nature was shallow and vacuous. The Abyss loomed on both sides of Eadric, and if he missed a single step, it would claim him.


On the night of the full moon before the winter solstice, Mostin arrived with Ortwin, Shomei, and Koilimilou at Kyrtill's Burh. Eadric ushered them into the great hall, and Ortwin raised an eyebrow: the place was as he had never before seen it.

A fire roared in the hearth, and wolf-hounds lounged before it. Lanterns hung from chains and torches burned in sconces: light was everywhere. Servants moved about busily. The smell of roasted game, wine and fresh bread filled the air. The sound of a lute carried over the hubbub.

_Music?_ Ortwin was incredulous. _At Kyrtill's Burh?_ Played poorly, to be sure, but music nonetheless.

The tune faltered as the Satyr, sidhe-cambion, Mostin – with his lidless eyes – and Shomei the Infernal entered the hall. Silence and uncertainty descended upon those present.

Eadric clapped his hands. "Go about your business," he smiled. "These people may appear odd, but there is no need for concern."

They went about their business, and soon the volume resumed its previous levels.*

The Satyr turned to Eadric. "So the rumours are true. You really have gone nuts. Where's the Queen of Darkness? Lurking in the crypt? Or embroidering a quilt in the drawing room?"

"I believe she Dreams. Why are you here?"

"You mean this is _normal_?" Ortwin gestured around. "I thought that you'd put it on for our benefit. Who's that boy over there?" The Satyr pointed to a handsome nobleman in a fashionable doublet.

"His name is Canec. He is my steward."

"A Uediian?"

"He is Caur's maternal uncle. He marched on Morne with us. Do you not remember?"

"I have a poor memory for aristocrats," Ortwin said drily, pouring himself a cup of wine. "Is everything alright, Ed? You're not schizo are you?"

"Yes. No. In that order."

"Is it true? Are you screwing her?"

Eadric groaned. "You have a foul mouth, Ortwin."

"Man, you're in _big_ trouble," the Satyr grinned. "Let's get drunk."

"Will you always be a hedonist, Ortwin?"

"I hope so. But there again, I can. I have a supreme advantage over you."

"And what might that be?" Eadric sighed.

"I'm a fey, Ed. Sh*t doesn't stick to me."

Eadric smiled and shook his head. "Why _are_ you here?" He asked.

"Mostin said something important is about to happen. A 'convergence of tendrils,' apparently. He had some flashback of a possible future that he'd seen. A kind of mini-nodality."

"Should I be nervous?" Eadric asked.

"Probably," Ortwin replied.


Within fifteen minutes, Soneillon returned: she had located the balor Irzho in an abandoned temple in the mountains of Bedesh, together with several succubi and the demonist Rimilin of the Skin. They were willing to aid the cause against Ainhorr in Afqithan, provided that a price could be agreed.

Before the information had sunk in, the gate-ward entered, with news that a traveller stood outside who would not be turned away.

"What is his name?" Eadric asked.

"He says he is called Rhul. He...er…forgive me, _Ahma_. He claims to be a god."

Moments later, the hag Jetheeg and two Loquai knights arrived. Nhura was finally ready. 







* This is one of the minor social advantages of possessing a +39 Diplomacy score.


----------



## Thomas Hobbes

Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> "I can dimensionally lock an area two miles across, Shomei. Outside of the quiescence – where demons will be forced to manifest – I can invoke a total of seventeen – seventeen – reality maelstroms if necessary. Afqithan is not my world, Shomei. There are no holds barred there. If I rip the spatial fabric of the demiplane to shreds, I don't care. If I can call the Horror, and bind it – as long as I can get away before the spell ends, I don't care. Shomei, even if I gate in Carasch and invoke an apocalypse I don't care. Are we on the same page here, Shomei?"
> 
> She looked at him. "Thank-you, Mostin. For a while, I was beginning to lose my perspective. I think you may have restored it to me."
> 
> "We are as gods, Shomei. Never forget it."
> 
> "You truly are at your best when you're at your craziest," she smiled.




Reading it through, I thought to myself:  wow.  That rocked.  That was fantastic.  Probably going to be my favorite part of the post.

And then the rest was just as good....


----------



## GneralTsao

Thomas Hobbes said:
			
		

> Reading it through, I thought to myself:  wow.  That rocked.  That was fantastic.  Probably going to be my favorite part of the post.
> 
> And then the rest was just as good....




Although you can't dispute the unabashed awesomeness of this part:



			
				Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> "He says he is called Rhul. He...er…forgive me, Ahma. He claims to be a god."




Great way to end.

So, by the way, anyone got the Cthonic template handy?  Looks like we might be needing it...


----------



## Baron Opal

I'm not sure about the three pillars, but the Path of Lightning is present in the Kabbalah. From G-d, it is the flow of power that energizes and maintains the world. To G-d, it is the path that mystics follow when they wish to commune directly with the Source.

I've only just started reading about it.

Baron Opal


----------



## Wrath of the Swarm

Not to be overly critical of this otherwise glorious Story Hour, but if this world is truly held to be inconsistent, Sep can do whatever he feels like and it will "fit".

Which is another way of saying that if reality is inconsistent, it isn't.


----------



## Sepulchrave II

Re: _Saizhan._


I've plundered pretty much every mystical tradition that exists for my campaign, so you'll find bits of many cropping up. _Saizhan_ is based primarily on Buddhist Madhyamika, though. 

The dialectic of negation certainly isn't mine - a 2nd century philosopher called Nagarjuna systematized it, and it was further refined by Candrakirti. The original basis is a series of four questions - the _catuskoti_ - said to have been posed to the Buddha:

1) Whether the world is eternal, or no, or both, or neither.
2) Whether the world is finite, or infinite, or both, or neither.
3) Whether the Buddha exists after death, or not, or both, or neither.
4) Is the soul identical to the body, or different from it?

The Buddha refused to answer the questions, because any categorical statement would deny the possibilty of the other theses. This was 2000 years before Kant's antinomies, btw.

Point 3) is the one of most interest - the ens/non-ens question. In the SH this is the basis of the Ontological Paradox - note that the RL term 'Ontological Paradox' when used by Western philosophers has different connotations.

It seemed an interesting idea to superimpose basically Eastern philosophies (together with the accompanying idea that multiple truths are possible) onto an entrenched Western social model (with monotheism), and see what happened when players interacted with it.

This picture is much more important, however, and provided more inspiration than any philosophy.


----------



## tleilaxu

Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> The dialectic of negation certainly isn't mine - a 2nd century philosopher called Nagarjuna systematized it, and it was further refined by Candrakirti. The original basis is a series of four questions - the _catuskoti_ - said to have been posed to the Buddha:.







you, sir, are a very bad man for inflicting Nagarjuna on your players   

"When your house is on fire, is it wise to discourse on the nature of fire? No, it is wise to put it out." 
                                          -majjhima-nikaya


----------



## The Forsaken One

"The Nothing that is" 

Another inspiration?


----------



## Wrath of the Swarm

How long do you think it will take the players to apply saizhan to itself?

Taken to its logical end, they're going to have to make their philosophy encompass everything - good, evil, chaos, law - and negate everything in the process.  But if they apply saizhan to the process of saizhan, they might realize they can resolve the paradoxes without unmaking the universe.


----------



## Pyske

Wrath:  You seem to have a different understanding of Saizhan than I do.  (Possibly because I haven't been re-reading enough.)  Care to elaborate / explain how you see Saizhan as unmaking the universe?

Cheiro:  Thanks for the quotes.  That was helpful for jogging my memory, and I hadn't had the time yet to go back and hunt for them.

Olive / Fergus:  That's exactly the sort of speculation that's fun to read.  Thanks.

Sep:  Love the story, love the embedded philosophy.  Thanks.

 . . . . . . . -- Eric


----------



## Sepulchrave II

Wrath of the Swarm said:
			
		

> Saizhan is a process by which opposing concepts are brought together in a synthesis, yes?
> 
> By breaking down the boundaries between one thing and another, saizhan taken to its logical end incoporates and unifies all things.  The resulting state which includes all concepts and thus can never be adequately described can equally be said to exclude all concepts.  It's the totality, the unformed void, the emptiness that contains everything.  It is to existence what Nirvana is to selfhood.
> 
> Such a state is compatible with all stories and thus is incompatible with all of them.  If there are any characters or events about which any limited statements could be accurately made, saizhan is not complete.
> 
> Fortunately, applying saizhan to itself permits us to understand how the illusion of exclusive states arises from the totality.





Absolutely. If you take the premise

_Not all truths are unequal_

and then proceed to posit the idea that _Saizhan_ is the ultimate truth, then you have created a position which is untenable. _Saizhan_ must _necessarily_ be a relative truth (not the 'Truth,' so to speak), otherwise its own, internal dialectic collapses.

Edit: I should add the fact that the distinction between truth and Truth is, itself, an empty concept - _Saizhan_ reveals this to be the case.


----------



## Wrath of the Swarm

So when will Our Heroes realize they have to start acknowledging objective truths?


----------



## GneralTsao

Wrath of the Swarm said:
			
		

> The resulting state which includes all concepts and thus can never be adequately described can equally be said to exclude all concepts.  It's the totality, the unformed void, the emptiness that contains everything.




These lines and Sep's reply reminded me of the mathematical "abomination" debate around the 1920s and 30s, particularly the "Set of all sets that do not include themselves."  This even seems to parallel saizhan from a mathematical sense: the set pretty much includes all of the universe (unless I misunderstand set theory, few sets that I can think of include themselves).  Yet the fact that the set itself is left out of the set that includes all of existence implies that it actually represents absolute nothingness.  And this is even before one considers that a contradiction is created between the very rules that govern the set.  Godel eventually proved that an axiomatic system couldn't be both all-encompassing and internally consistent.

And this is why I love this story hour!  Totality as nothingness!? Bwaaaaah!  :headexplode:


----------



## DanMcS

See, this is why I don't game with philosophy guys.  Wonderful story to read, but it would hurt my brain to play.  I play on the weekends, for relaxation, and sometimes I just want to beat up the bad men and take their stuff.


----------



## Wrath of the Swarm

GneralTsao said:
			
		

> Godel eventually proved that an axiomatic system couldn't be both all-encompassing and internally consistent.



  Yes.  There are things that can be part of a particular universe; there are things that cannot be part of any universe.  Reality is not all-encompassing, because all realities are subsets of the Totality, but there are subsets of the Totality which cannot be realities.


----------



## Lord_Fergus

DanMcS said:
			
		

> See, this is why I don't game with philosophy guys. Wonderful story to read, but it would hurt my brain to play. I play on the weekends, for relaxation, and sometimes I just want to beat up the bad men and take their stuff.



Which brings to mind a question my gaming group and I have wondered for some time.  Sepulchrave, as avid readers of this story hour we have wondered how much of the dialogue in your story hour is artistic liscense and how much of it actually occurs in game?  I could easily see much of the dialogue being your vision of the interplay which occured due to a statement by one of the players without that actual dialogue occurring in session.

A thought might be in some future update to perhaps give a transcript of the game session along with your story update.  I think this would be an invaluable tool both to aspiring authors of story hours and to a lot of gamers looking to improve their roleplay/gaming experience.  Thanks for taking such an effort to entertain us all.


----------



## Wrath of the Swarm

Pyske said:
			
		

> If exclusivity is an illusion, what is totality?



  Indescribable.


----------



## the Jester

Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> Within fifteen minutes, Soneillon returned: she had located the balor Irzho in an abandoned temple in the mountains of Bedesh, together with several succubi and* the demonist Rimilin of the Skin.* They were willing to aid the cause against Ainhorr in Afqithan, provided that a price could be agreed.




Just noticed this!  I wonder how Mostin will take seeing Rimilin again...?

I also wonder what level he is now- surely not epic...?


----------



## Pants

I've been wondering when Rimilin would appear again.  I bet the players were getting annoyed with him after a while.

I bet he's still around the same level he was last time.


----------



## GneralTsao

I just found an interesting bit of trivia (although when I say interesting, this might only be interesting to me): the final word in the recent National Spelling Bee was "autochthonous", meaning indigenous.  I knew something looked familiar about the word and sure enough it shares the same root as "chthonic" (chthon, Greek -- the earth).

In any event:
*BUMP!*


----------



## Sepulchrave II

> Would Soneillon's colourful distractions that she proffers to Eadric be similar to the Vajrayana tradition's chaotic-seeming mess of samsara? ...
> Defilement is Wisdom, Samsara is Nirvana.
> 
> Form is Void, Void is Form.
> 
> i have this image of Soneillon and Eadric in ritual "Yab-yum" if you catch the reference.. that's faintly disturbing..




Oh God, don't get me started. The urge to upset Eric's grandmother is almost too much to resist. Sex _and_ religion.

From my perspective, the answer is yes. Eadric's actions are definitely reminiscent of left-hand Tantra - or at least, the ramifications of them are. Without dropping a huge spoiler for the next update (sometime between now and never, as tleilaxu wrote), they have a profound effect on the development of _method_ amongst some of those who practice _Saizhan_ in Wyre. The parallels with Vajrayana are quite intentional: even the name 'The Path of Lightning' is a homage - although when Titivilus coined the phrase, I didn't know where it would end up (ironic, eh?). Soneillon can be viewed as a _Dakini_ in that respect. Karuna + Sunyata = perfect enlightenment.

From Marc's (Eadric's player) point of view, however, it is much more tied to the alchemical marriage of sun and moon and Western Hermetic/Alchemical symbolism. We had quite different ideas as to its significance.




> And i also have an image of Teppu/ Nwm/ The Green stepping upon both Eadric and Soneillon, surpassing them  both like Esoteric depictions of Nature Deities that go beyond form and void (kinda like Fudo Myo-O stepping upon both Shiva and his consort Sati).




This is the Viridity. But you forgot to add Nehael to the equation.


I'd like to apologize for the long delay: I've got lots of RL issues to deal with at present. _Good_ issues, but issues nonetheless. I've been distracted and unfocused, and writing simply hasn't appealed recently. I can't say when I'll get it together to complete the next update (it's about half done), because I know that as soon as I do, I'll probably start writing again like mad. If you can be patient, I promise not to disappoint.


----------



## Sepulchrave II

Hello   

I had originally vowed to myself not to post an update until I had detailed events as they transpired in Afqithan. In the event, this became impossible because too much other stuff was going down, and it took too long to document: if I omitted it, subsequent events would be incomprehensible. All of the pieces needed to be in place beforehand.

I've asked Eridanis to do some brutal pruning when he's got time. Nonetheless, many thanks for all of your 'bumps' in keeping this thread alive. Hopefully, it won't be _quite_ as long before you see me again.


**

**


*AFQITHAN: PROLOGUE (Part 1)*


[Soneillon]: If you should happen to slay Ainhorr today, you should grieve for him.
[Eadric]: (Contempt.)
[Soneillon]: Arrogance! You, at least, should lament his passing. A great warrior. Ever loyal to the master he loves and despises.
[Eadric]: Loves? Love is never that ugly.
[Soneillon]: Love is often that ugly, Eadric.
[Eadric]: And if you should perish today? How should I then react?
[Soneillon]: Exult in your memory, Eadric. Because nothing will ever again compare to me.
[Eadric]: For that, at least, I will be thankful.
[Soneillon]: You will be diminished.

*

[Eadric]: What does Hell have to do with this?
[Shomei]: I don't know.
[Eadric]: I fear its agenda.
[Shomei]: That is wise. Many forget the single, overarching truth.
[Eadric] (Wrily): And what might that be?
[Shomei]: Hell is merely a vehicle for expressing the Will of the Nameless Fiend. Despite all appearances, it acts with one purpose.
[Eadric]: I had not forgotten.
[Shomei]: Do you believe the Will of Oronthon and the Will of the Adversary to be one and the same, _Ahma_?
[Eadric]: They are not unidentical.
[Shomei]: Do you believe that you are a focus through which the Will of the Adversary is expressed? 
[Eadric]: Perhaps.
[Shomei]: Do you _trust_ the Will of the Adversary?
[Eadric]: No.
[Shomei]: How do you resolve this paradox?
[Eadric]: I meditate to realize _Saizhan_.
[Shomei] (Exasperated): Must you always proselytize?
[Eadric] (Laughing): Do I? Good.

*

[Eadric]: Will you exercise restraint?
[Mostin]: I doubt it.
[Eadric]: _Can_ you exercise restraint? Is it within your nature?
[Mostin]: I don't know. I've never tried, and have no plans to.
[Eadric]: Your lack of moral responsibility concerns me.
[Mostin]: A surfeit of it would concern me more. I abide by certain…axioms…Eadric, which you cannot hope to comprehend. You can rest assured that within your own framework, I am completely mad.
[Eadric]: And within yours?
[Mostin]: I am utterly pedestrian. There are things far madder than I. 

*

[Eadric]: What of Iua?
[Ortwin]: She can look after herself. 
[Eadric]: You have betrayed her.
[Ortwin]: Not so! Our arrangement made provision for outside interests.
[Eadric]: I am referring to _how_ you went about this. Flaunting a lover in front of her is not discreet. You could have been more sensitive.
[Ortwin]: I have not lied to her. Are you suggesting that I should have?
[Eadric]: She is eighteen years old.
[Ortwin]: Life is full of hard lessons, Ed.
[Eadric]: That is facile. You have a duty towards her.
[Ortwin]: What can I say? I'm selfish.
[Eadric]: Koilimilou is a sidhe and a cambion, Ortwin. She venerates Rhyxali. She is without remorse or compassion. What can she offer you?
[Ortwin]: Inventiveness, and insatiability. Relief from the boredom of existence. 
[Eadric]: Once you had principles, as much as you pretended not to.
[Ortwin]: Once, I was mortal. My perspective has changed.
[Eadric]: Your essential nature has changed.
[Ortwin]: No more than yours. And Eadric of Deorham is the one f*cking the Demon Queen of Throile.
[Eadric]: I remain conflicted in my actions, Ortwin. I am neither complacent nor fixated on sensation. I do what I must.
[Ortwin]: Oh, bullsh*t Ed. Grow up. You're just doing what we all have to do. It's biological. It's just been a long time coming for you, and you've decided to take an unconventional route. Guilt is an outdated emotion. 
[Eadric]: Why are you even here, Ortwin?
[Ortwin]: I feel it in my blood, Eadric. I can smell it. Every tree whispers it to me.
[Eadric]: ?
[Ortwin]: Good things, Ed. Good things. Something stirs.


**


Why the Nameless Adversary acts in the way he does is a cosmic imponderable. His reasonings are so complex, his plots so byzantine, his vision so broad in its imagining, that no real hope exists in penetrating his motives.

The Irrenites – who had been generally sympathetic to the Adversarial paradigm – maintained the position that if the Oronthon beyond Oronthon was utterly ineffable, then the Adversary was the distillation of pure rationality. Every move that he made – to augment one incomprehensible factor, or to reduce another – was calculated with the utmost precision and played out within the framework of eternal potentiality. He nurtured tendrils of possibility which might not yield fruit for a billion years.

The nodality in Afqithan – although complex and multi-faceted – was itself only a minor aspect of a larger process of change: or so it could be interpreted, if one was inclined towards such speculation. The mind of God – which, from an Urgic perspective, included every iota of consciousness in existence at any time and every possible combination thereof – was engaged in a reorganization of its own, internal structure. This manifested in the World of Men in a number of ways: a resurgence in the cult of Cheshne, as concepts of Nothingness were articulated within the physical plane; long periods during which the _Sela_ was engaged in intense meditation; and finally, the beginnings of a schism regarding the interpretation of the best way to implement and realize _Saizhan_ itself. 

Because Cheshne – who, if the cosmos possessed an objective truth, might be identical with Demogorgon, and might not – had stirred. Or maybe she shifted slightly in her sleep. In any event, a torrent of contradictory truths were suddenly unleashed upon an already strained Dialectic, forcing an explosion of insights to occur. Cheshne was real again, and always had been. 

The liaison between the _Ahma_ and Soneillon – it was suspected – was merely a physical symptom of the articulation of Nothingness within the Ideal realm. Eadric did not know it, but his relationship with the demoness was to have profound and far-reaching consequences for Oronthonian mysticism. Not with respect to the _definition_ of _Saizhan_ – after all, how can a state devoid of all qualities be rendered in sensible terms? But as far as praxis was concerned – the _method_ by which one came to the final realization which _Saizhan_ claimed to be – the _Ahma_ was blazing a path which would appeal to a particular minority: those of antinomian bent within the broad and complex set of perspectives which comprised Oronthonian religion.

Many who had been Irrenites – before such labels became superfluous – immediately understood what Eadric of Deorham was attempting to do. They applauded his revolutionary vision, his rejection of conventional mores, and his apparent transcendence of notions such as good and evil – although the matter was far from resolved within the _Ahma_'s own mind. Several adepts – including the thaumaturges Sineig and Wrohs* – went as far as to compact succubi in their exploration of _Saizhan_. Not so much in emulation of the _Ahma_, but in recognition that rapid deconstruction of conventional reality required radical tools, and demons were about as radical as it got.

The subschool which arose, _Skôhsldaúr_ – the gate of demons – would produce works of extraordinary genius and subtlety. Its validity as an authentic vehicle for _Saizhan_ was doubted by few, but its suitability as a universal tool – which many of its proponents advocated – was regarded with dubiety by more conservative elements. It was too controversial. Too hazardous. Too _Adversarial_ for the tastes of many. It was the beyond even the most questionable of Goetic practices. It should be reserved only for those whom the _Sela_ deemed ready.

Of course, the _Sela_ himself declined to make such judgments. 

It was in foreknowledge and anticipation of these events – and others beside – that the schemes of Hell were set into motion. To the amazement of the nobles Furcas and Murmuur, Azazel – and the Infernal Standard – arrived in Afqithan, together with three other devils of unusually wicked temperament. Sachir, Zaare and Nahuzihis were _Akesoli_, serving the arch-fiend Amaimon, and dispensing pain upon powerful and intractable thralls both mortal and diabolic. There was no question of challenging Azazel's authority in the demiplane by either of the entrenched Dukes. He needed neither seals nor letters of precedence to validate his assumption of command: he was _Azazel_. That was enough. 

The presence of the _Akesoli_ caused fearful speculation amongst Murmuur and his various captains and lieutenants – decorated narzugons high in the Order of the Fly. Murmuur was a straightforward soldier, and although subtle in the way that all Infernal aristocrats are subtle, he lacked the calculated finesse of intellectuals such as Furcas and Titivilus. He was not privy to the machinations of his liege in Malbolge, nor of his liege's liege in Maladomini. It was evident that the _Akesoli_'s presence must have been authorized at the _highest_ level: sanctioned by the Adversary himself, the Quatriumvirate, and possibly the silent council of the thirteen great Antagonists.** 

Murmuur was, however, relieved that Azazel had been appointed the task of commanding the effort. Azazel was – like himself – a warrior, with little interest in devious schemes. Although a harsh taskmaster, Hell's standard-bearer recognized accomplishment upon the battlefield above all else, and Murmuur excelled in battle and deeds of martial prowess. The Duke mused drily whether Azazel's arrival had been a strategic decision designed to make Murmuur himself more tractable, or whether it in some way reflected the involvement of the _Ahma_: although Agalierept might have been a more obvious choice, he would possess less _gravitas_ as far as mortals were concerned.***

Murmuur waited impatiently, eager to simultaneously align the nine _gates_ within his tower to Malbolge, in order to permit his troops through: thirty legions, plus their auxiliaries. There were bearded devils, malebranche, horned devils and erinyes. And his knights, who numbered several thousand, would lead the narzugon charge – if and when it came. 

_If it came_. Murmuur realized that he still had no idea what was really happening. But unlike Furcus or Titivilus, his political ignorance was a source of comfort rather than distress. 

He grunted. Spined devils flapped silently around him, strapping his breastplate and vambraces – constructed of an unknown, greenish metal – over a fine mesh of infernal steel.


**


The galley – a vast, ponderous quadrieme from Shûth – lumbered at dusk into the bustling port of Jashat, and moored close to the weathered marble of an ancient wharf, fast by a sleek Thalassine jabeque. Her timbers groaned as she eclipsed the smaller ship, blotting out the sunset and irritating the dozen or so sailors who smoked and relaxed upon the jabeque's deck after a hard week's work. The quayside – stretching below a vast plaza crammed with temples to a hundred gods – was a riot of colour and activity.

The Gentleman from Thond – whose own preference for colour in his clothing was understated at best, and muted at worst – stood in the cool evening air upon wide steps, below a timeworn shrine to the god Pe’ahj. Six retainers attended him. He squinted through the scented clouds exuded by temple censers  in an effort to suppress the effect upon his humours. His humours exhibited a particularly delicate balance. He was nervous, and agitated.

He watched impatiently as pulleys span and counterweights soared upon two great derricks near the stern, and the galley lowered a gangway half as wide as the road to Fumaril. She began to unload dozens of crates, chests and boxes from her hold, lugged by huge slaves who bore intricate brands upon their arms and shoulders: the Gentleman from Thond wondered they were a giant-breed from some distant corner of Shûth. Before them, a company of guards – of similar type, but clad in dull breastplates and wearing cloaks of sombre red – marched silently down the walkway and arrayed themselves in a wide semicircle, blocking half the quayside and causing merchants and vendors to curse and grumble. Long, sharp glaives pointed outwards like a thicket, oblivious to the laws and customs of Jashat.

A second gangplank – less massive than the first – was hauled into place and dropped by a hundred muscled arms.

The Gentleman from Thond licked his lips apprehensively. A slow procession of magi began to issue from the galley. Some were cowled and hooded, others bare-headed, yet more bore hair arranged in long, intricate braids – all according to their station and function, at which the Gentleman could only guess. In the rear, a number of veiled palanquins – attended by servants or neophytes – swayed rhythmically, in time with the steady footsteps of their muscled bearers.

He swallowed, and strode forwards. Several of the guards – each a cubit taller than himself – immediately brought their weapons to bear on him. He smiled uncertainly, and coughed. Before he had the chance to speak, he heard another voice issue from behind them.

The wall of steel parted, to reveal a slender man with a terse manner dressed in a loose, silk robe of greenish-black.

"I have made the necessary arrangements, but…" the Gentleman from Thond began.

"Good," the other interrupted. "I am Anumid. You will address me – and me only. Here is a list of our requirements."

Anumid handed a long scroll to the Gentleman, who raised his eyes in surprise.

"The temple precinct has been cleared," the Gentleman from Thond said. "Vagrants were…"

"The details are irrelevant," Anumid interrupted again. "The site will be reconsecrated, in any case."

"I have had to call in many favours and line many purses, to make this happen, Anumid. I have had numerous unforeseen expenses."

"You will be recompensed," Anumid smiled. "Do you wish to continue in the capacity of our agent?" 

"Yes, but…"

"Will fifty thousand be sufficient to begin with?"

"Yes." The Gentleman from Thond bowed perfunctorily.


As the train made its winding progress through the city of Jashat, they passed by two Wizards of middling power: a local enchantress named Luthlul, and her recent acquaintance Menniz, a conjurer who originally hailed from Lang Herath in Wyre.**** Luthlul gave Menniz a meaningful look.

"This is an unexpected development," Menniz said uncomfortably, scratching his neck. "Do you think they're genuine?"

Luthlul invoked her _arcane sight_ and gaped. 

"I assume from your expression that the answer is an unqualified _yes_," Menniz said laconically. 

"The four in the palanquins are off the scale," Luthlul whispered. "I'm not getting anything from half a dozen others – they're probably _mind blanked_."

"Why aren't they using a more conventional mode of transport? Is it a ritual thing?"

"Probably," Luthlul nodded. "What should we do?"

"We can't _do_ anything, Luthlul. But I'll issue a _sending_ to Daunton in a while: he should probably know. Frankly, if they're staying here, I'm inclined to return to Wyre. At least it's safer there."

"From less than half of them," Luthlul grimaced. "I wonder if any more are coming."

"I doubt it. I'm surprised that there are that many in the whole of Shûth. What have they been doing for the past eight hundred years?"

"Preserving the tradition, apparently."


After Daunton received the _sending_ in Gibirazen, news quickly became current among those mages he knew – and subsequently, through his friend Prince Tagur, passed into both temporal and spiritual circles.

When it reached the ears of the _Sela_, Tramst evinced neither surprise nor concern.

Within a day more rumours were circulating, and Daunton determined to visit Jashat himself – none of his divinations were proving effective in the matter.

Three miles outside of the city, the temple of Cheshne – abandoned and overgrown for a millennium – had risen again from its crumbling ruins. By their arts the magi – and now none doubted their authenticity – had restored the compound overnight. 

Towers soared skywards to giddying heights, icons and statues of tormented spirits – the _ugras_ or 'fierce protectors' of the faith – adorned walls and bastions: they bore an uncanny resemblance to figures which, in the faith of Oronthon, were understood to be fallen celestials. In the beliefs of Shûth, however, their rôle was subtler and more complex. And far older. Embodiments of fear, lust or violence which must be both placated and overcome in order for reconciliation with Nothingness to be achieved.

Mostin – who had been inwardly concerned about the missing tendril in his convergence – received a _sending_ from Daunton while he sat at the table in the Great Hall at Kyrtill's Burh. His face remained impassive.

Queen Soneillon, who rested across from him in contemplative pose, looked into his eyes.


**

Iua's defiance of her mother's wishes was rooted in her need to refamiliarize herself with Fumaril – from which she had been absent for a year – almost as much as her obstinacy when it came to obeying Mulissu's commands. Despite her mother's insistence that Iua remain inconspicuous and protected by the wards of faith, the Duelist's own curiosity and wanderlust – traits for which Mulissu herself had once been renowned – found her in any number of dubious locales. She took to the streets with a mind to finding anything which might distract her from brooding upon her brief, eccentric and ultimately empty relationship with Ortwin.

Mulissu herself was cloistered within one of several small temples to Jeshi – into whose cult, in her youth, she had been initiated.***** Whilst the Savant had maintained a relatively low profile amongst wizardly circles in Wyre and beyond, her reputation amongst the clergy of Jeshi – who shared many of the same aerial contacts as the Elementalist – was somewhat different. Her progress had been watched: lauded by some, criticized by others, and, by more than a few, recognized as a potential source of revivification for the cult's flagging fortunes.

Mulissu, who abhorred politics almost as much as organized religion, avoided all attempts to convince her to renew her vows to Jeshi. But the _hallowed_ ground of the temple was – from her perspective – too useful a defense to ignore, so she grudgingly acquiesced to the demands of the High Priestess to attend revels held in Jeshi's name. In return, the Elementalist was granted several perquisites: the use of the roof-space above the Chamber of Chimes, a feigned ignorance of any magic that she might work, and assurances that she would be otherwise left alone.

Mulissu's unique spirituality – cerebral in the extreme – had developed to regard devotional practices as bizarre and inexplicable. There was no reconnection with a deeper source, no feeling of unity or succour, no camaraderie, and no appreciation of a symbolism which might – to an initiate – possess profound revelatory significance: to Mulissu, it appeared as an alphabet inaccurately scrawled by a toddler. 

But in Fumaril – which lay beyond the purview of the Claviger – Mulissu could _summon_. She haggled _ad nauseum_ with powerful djinns in an effort to replenish her diminished supply of spells, and co-opted the services of a novice called Naimha to act in the capacity of a broker. Naimha scoured every marketplace and every hidden shop which dealt in oddities in an attempt to procure magical paraphernalia – mostly without success. Mulissu opened lines of communication with Tozinak, whom she liked; with Jalael, whom she distrusted; and with Waide, whom she found intolerable. She also began to cultivate the friendship of Ehieu, a sorcerer from Pandicule whose flightiness made Mulissu seem positively stable. Ehieu roamed the seas south of Fumaril and – when not alternately vexing or aiding sailors – made infrequent visits to the Temple. 

She pointedly – and somewhat petulantly – snubbed Shomei, who by virtue of close association with Mostin, was considered an undesirable acquaintance. Shomei was, to some degree at least, responsible for the Elementalist's decline in fortunes.

She sighed. She should have known better than to deal with Alienists and Infernalists, even if they were among the handful of people whose intellects she actually respected. 

When Mulissu therefore received a _sending_ from Daunton – who had been apprised of her presence on the Prime – her heart sunk:

_Cult of Cheshne resurfaced in Jashat. Powerful necromancers and blood-magi. Suspect at least six first-order wizards and four transvalent hierophants. Will advise further. Daunton._

Mulissu groaned, and wondered if it was related to the nonsense that Mostin had involved himself in. She would keep all of her possessions on hand, in case a speedy exit from Fumaril proved necessary.

Jashat, after all, was only forty miles away.

She brooded briefly, and wondered whether relaying the information to Iua would be wise. He daughter was brilliant, but her judgment frequently poor.

Iua herself did not return until the early hours of the next morning. She was flushed from a number of encounters – some involving crossed blades, others not – and moderately inebriated.

Mulissu sighed. Parenting was not her strong suit. She chided Iua inexpertly and gestured, vaguely conscious that this might be the correct way to address a child.

Iua ignored her, and her eyes widened: she seemed to be looking at something _behind_ Mulissu. The Elementalist's hackles rose, and she wheeled about, prepared to unleash a powerful necromancy.

_I see nothing_

The thought passed through Mulissu's mind a fraction of a second before she experienced an acute, stabbing agony, rapidly followed by a succession of further intense pains. Her eyes glazed over, and she glanced down to notice that around a foot of cold, slender steel was protruding from her stomach, and that blood was flowing freely from her. She felt Iua's blade withdraw from her, and as she collapsed and died, she idly wondered why her own daughter had slain her.

Thus passed Mulissu: counted among the greatest of evokers in Wyre's history, although she was not herself a native of that place. And this time, Mostin the Metagnostic experienced no feeling of foreboding prior to the danger in which the Savant found herself, no presentiment of her demise. Not even the faintest inkling of prescience remained to him now, and some time would pass before news of her death reached him. Mulissu, whom he had loved in his own, strange fashion. 

Her spirit fled, and was dispersed upon the winds.

Iua screamed silently from within the prison which her body had become, and watched, helpless, as her hands began to rifle her mother's still-warm corpse for items beyond worth. She grabbed rings from Mulissu's fingers, ripped an amulet from her breast, and pulled the _sapphire of mutable coruscations_ from its collar around her throat. She smiled wickedly as she delved into a _glove of storing_ and felt the _web of motes_, and something else. She pulled forth a small lump of obsidian, shaped like a horse.

_How fortuitous_, the thought manifested with savage irony within Iua's mind, although it was not her own.

Iua, and her possessor – a demon named Surab – _plane shifted_ to the Abyss upon a fantastic steed.





*Although Orthodoxy had boasted few magically potent priests in its heyday – and many had been slain during the war with Trempa – the heretical Irrenite fringe sheltered a number of competent thaumaturges.

**Hell's hierarchy is, of course, immensely complex, and various devils exercise varying degrees of power in different areas. Governance is executed through Asmodeus, Astaroth, Baalzebul and Belial – amongst whom precedence is hotly contested. The Thirteen Great Antagonists are fallen seraphs who have no place in the day-to-day administration of Hell, and concern themselves entirely with the war against Heaven. Many scholars of diabolic politics insist that the arrangement is purposely tense and ambiguous – a dynamism in the hierarchy enforced by the Adversary to prevent stagnation.

***Agalierept is the commander of Hell's second legion and Grand General of Hell. Among Hell's foremost soldiers, his cruelty and vindictiveness are legendary. The armoured cornugons who serve him are likewise renowned for their ruthless brutality.

****After the Claviger’s Injunction in Wyre, many wizards of more independent mind moved outside of the magically proscribed area. Of them, most found their way south to the Thalassine.

*****Mulissu's initial vocation – that of a priestess – had been quickly rejected. Jeshi is a Thalassine goddess of the winds, with a widespread but uninfluential following. The names _Jeshi_ and _Jashat_ are etymologically connected.


----------



## Sepulchrave II

*AFQITHAN: PROLOGUE (Part 2)*


_At least five infinities clashed in Afqithan. When forces collide in the metaphysical realm, it is only natural that this is reflected in our own._

- Orolde.



Rhul's case had been delivered with such eloquence and such poignancy that all those who listened to him, excepting perhaps Jetheeg – the lamia _cum_ hag who possessed neither a moral conscience nor artistic sensibilities – had been moved.

He had spoken of Sisperi: its clans, and history and traditions; its wide grasslands and virgin forests; its towns and villages; the customs and the temperament of its peoples. He had evoked scenes of soaring mountains riven with deep canyons, and sun shining on a rolling surf, and mists rising over cold, still lakes. His speech had possessed a natural rhythm which made all constructed meter seem crass and childish; his tone was mellifluous and enchanting.

And then he had spoken of death, and ruin, and the end of the world. Of the blight which consumed all things and turned them to filth and desolation. Of the razing of civilization, and the final extinction of sapience. Rhul's words had become a soft-spoken lament; there was no compromise in his description of the horror which had occurred, even until the bitter end. He had spoken of Mulhuk, and of Saes, and Lai, and the death of Hodh and other godlings besides. He had spoken of Ninit, and her wild, unquenchable fury.

Ortwin had sat silently, his head in his hands. Mostin had stared blankly. Bile and anger had arisen in Eadric's throat.

And then Rhul had begged for aid. Eadric had felt as though his soul had been cut in half.

*

After he had left – and Rhul's message and entreaty had taken more than two hours to deliver – Eadric resumed his seat uncomfortably. He poured himself a large goblet of wine, and sat back in his chair. The fire in the hearth had dwindled to a dull glow, and moonlight illuminated the Great Hall through the windows high in its south wall. The servants – disturbed by the company which the _Ahma_ chose to keep – had long since retired.

"You cannot waver now," Mostin groaned. "We are so close. How many other worlds could tell a similar tale?"

"The Wizard is right," Jetheeg scoffed. "Do not let your weakness and susceptibility to a well-spun story dictate your course of action in this. You have taken vows, and made assurances, _Ahma_. Would you add oathbreaking to your tally of crimes against your deity? The list gets longer every day, I hear." The innuendo was hardly subtle.

Eadric sighed. "How many has Nhura gathered?"

"A thousand Loquai knights – virtually all of those who were exiled. Some few sidhe. Compactees. More than a few slaadi may involve themselves."

"Slaadi?" Shomei gaped. "Is Nhura insane?" She furrowed her brow, and glanced at Mostin – who shrugged and scowled. Neither had foreseen the possibility.

"They are not waiting with her in Faerie or Shadow," Jetheeg snapped. "But several Anarchs have become aware of the situation. They have a vested interest, after all."

Realization crossed Mostin's face. "_Heedless_," he said.

Jetheeg nodded curtly.

Eadric swallowed. "Mostin, you've said many times that this will be no conventional war. That I need to think far beyond anything with which I am familiar. Do you have _any_ idea how long this will take to resolve? Are we talking in terms of days? Weeks?"

Mostin laughed. "Eadric, if the situation in Afqithan is not decided within fifteen minutes, I will be surprised."

The _Ahma_ nodded grimly. "Then I would ask you to issue a _sending_ to Rhul: if I'm not in Sisperi in two days, it means I'm dead, and I'm not coming."

"You mean to go otherwise, then?"

"Yes."

Mostin turned to Soneillon, who had thus far only observed. "You have been conspicuously silent. I am surprised that you have had nothing to contribute. What of your own force? And what of Rhyxali, Soneillon? What _is_ she sending?"

"Demons, dear Mostin. She is sending demons."

"How _many_?" He asked irritably.

"Rhyxali is not predisposed to act often," Soneillon smiled, "but when she does, she acts decisively. She is sending nearly all of them, Mostin."

Mostin's jaw dropped.

Koilimilou smiled.

"I smell a rat," Ortwin remarked.


**


Mostin dreamed of devils.

Powerful devils. Terrible devils. One bore a chain with many barbed hooks which dripped a black venom; another had claws like scythes which clicked together as it flexed its fingers; a third wore a great hood, but Mostin knew that it was faceless beneath its cowl. The fourth devil was still an angel – a Virtue, of sorts. It was tall and beautiful, and wore a breastplate which had been forged before the beginning of time. Strength and power and wisdom were in its hand – but so were lust and greed and evil. It stood beneath a vast banner which depicted a meteor streaking through oblivion.

When he awoke, the details eluded him, and he was left with a vague feeling of dread. Dream had claimed his last precognition, and Mostin, who was no Dreamer, could not recall it.


**


Magic coursed again through Mostin's veins as he flew. Afqithan was wild, dark and potent.

_This place_, he thought. _Out of a quintillion possible worlds, why had they chosen this one? What forces had conspired to make this time and place what it was?_ Mostin was no fatalist, but nor was he quite so arrogant to think that he had entirely mastered the cosmos.

He pondered whether Graz'zt would project himself to Afqithan, or whether he would choose to exercise restraint – the latter seemed more likely, according to Mostin's understanding of Graz'zt's paranoia. A combination of the terms _silver cord_ and _Heedless_ had sprung to the Alienist's mind – Graz'zt would not be safe from a _vorpal_ sword, even if he was otherwise warded or fortified. _Snip_, and it would all be over. Even if Graz'zt knew a spell which specifically protected his cord from dangerous slaadi blades – entirely possible given his age and dedication to sorcery – then it was one less _death impulse_ or _desperate summons_ that he would be casting. And Graz'zt had no doubt considered the unlikely possibility that one of his enemies acquire the sword. Or if Ainhorr lost control…

_Gods,_ Mostin thought. _What happens if Ainhorr loses control of the sword? Who will he chop? What was the _Sword's_ agenda?_

Kostchtchie was already in Afqithan: a 'visiting dignitary' who, in terms of power, was more-or-less matched with Ainhorr – certainly as long as _Heedless_ remained in the Balor's possession. Kostchtchie's entourage was hardly diplomatic, however – armoured fiendish giant huscarls and sorcerers, white wyrms, a winter-wight and countless bar-lgura. Except for the wight, they were, at present, situated some six hundred miles from their current position, near the fortress of Irknaan. But many could also move instantly across any distance, so it barely mattered. The undead monster was harrowing large tracts of forest with no apparent rhyme or reason – the Alienist wondered whether it was even vaguely reliable as an ally of the Demon Lord.

According to Jetheeg, who had received news from Nhura, Graz'zt had opened a number of portals – most likely of a limited duration than of permanent nature – between the planes. Afqithan was now linked directly with Azzagrat in at least two other locations besides Irknaan's fortress, and also with the Ice Waste – presumably in the vicinity of Kostchtchie's force. The exact whereabouts of the new _gates_ were uncertain: this was problematic. 

The Alienist knew that most of Soneillon's faction would arrive the same way: through a portal opened by the demoness from one of Throile's "wrinkles," and assumed that Rhyxali's force would be similarly deployed. The little that Mostin _did_ know about Rhyxali included the importance of the marilith Viractuth within the Shadow Princess's camp. Viractuth was a powerful sorceress who served in the capacity of general and confidante. She would be capable of a magical feat which could transport an army.

Mostin fervently hoped that his _quiescence of the spheres_ would not be anticipated. He cursed, because Nwm would have been an invaluable ally. He made a brief, unfelt prayer to any benign deities who might be listening that Shomei should not die today – she was one of the few people with the wit to understand him. And he adjusted his hat – a huge affair, resembling a mortar-board, made from crimson silk, and boasting two-hundred cloth-of-gold tassles.

They had made the decision to split into two groups. The first contained Shomei, her conjured minions, Eadric and the succubus Chaya – one of Soneillon's 'handmaidens.' Chaya had a penchant for powerful necromantic spells. The second trio – Ortwin, Koilimilou, and the Alienist himself – was less of a concern for Mostin. As long as Rhyxali was on _their_ side, then Koilimilou was not a tangible threat. If Rhyxali were to become their enemy, however – not entirely impossible, given the whims of powerful demonesses – then Koilimilou would be a dangerous adversary, with considerable tactical information useful to the Princess. Prompt elimination of the sidhe-cambion would be necessary.

Chaya, however, was a completely unknown factor. She was wild, bloodthirsty and crazy – _even for a demon_, Mostin ruefully considered. She had been instructed by Soneillon to guard the Queen of Throile's current favourite – namely, Eadric – and to make her reservoir available to Shomei on demand. Chaya was less than pleased. But she feared Soneillon.

A third group would consist of Soneillon herself (she _had_ elected to become personally involved), the balor Irzho (who, by Soneillon's magic, would be augmented to terrifying power), and Rimilin (_won't it be delightful to see him again_, Mostin thought caustically). Rimilin's craft had reportedly increased to the extent that Mostin wondered if he might be on the verge of transvalency, or even if he had already achieved it. Rimilin had mastered Irzho. _How?_ Mostin thought. Irzho had a _mind blanking_ ring. How does one master a _mind blanked_ balor?* The price for their involvement? For Irzho, _Heedless_ – what balor wouldn't like a huge, intelligent _anarchic vorpal_ sword? For Rimilin, sinister pacts struck with Soneillon, and possibly Rhyxali. Mostin shuddered. The direct sponsorship of a wizard of Rimilin's prestige by a demoness of Rhyxali's power would place him on a par with Shomei in terms of fiendish clout. And Rimilin lacked Shomei's – admittedly idiosyncratic – principles.

The Alienist smiled. Despite his loathing of the Acolyte of the Skin, it was not without a certain degree of pride that he recognized that Rimilin was part of one of the most formidable generation of spellcasters that Wyre had yet produced. _Although, for a golden age of magic, it seems strangely dark and bleak._

Mostin, Shomei, Ortwin and Eadric were all _telepathically bonded_, magically bolstered, and smothered with various wards. The Alienist lamented Nwm's absence again: more would have been better. Mostin was charged up with _reality maelstroms_ as well as various sonics, conjurations and auxiliary spells. Shomei was loaded with necromancies, enchantments and conjurations. 

Their greatest assets, however, were two spells: a protective dweomer devised by Shomei, and an abjuration invoked by Soneillon herself prior to their arrival in Afqithan – Mostin had later learned that Rimilin, Irzho, Nhura and several others had been similarly warded by the Queen of Throile. They were virtually invulnerable to magic, and unless struck by multiple _disjunctions_, or unless Graz'zt himself were to come and target them with his _superb dispelling_, all were safe from an unfortunate evaporation of magical protections at the hands of other spellcasters. Mostin knew that the succubus Adyell was capable of bringing down their wards, and hoped that Soneillon was correct in her assertion that her former handmaiden would not be present. 

The Alienist circled nervously, and glanced downwards towards Shomei. He sighed. _She is glorious_, he had to admit to himself.

The Infernalist was flanked by four pit fiends, conjured via _planar bindings_ and then subjected to the power of her Will, focused through her rod. And they were _Belial's_ pit fiends – bound in deliberate defiance of the Lord of Hell's Fourth Circle. She was clad in her _robe of stars_, and while – as always – she bore her rod, a globe now hung from her belt: a sphere of transparent adamant from which Nufrut's head leered. The marilith had passed into Shomei's possession, as previously agreed with Mostin.

Eadric sat nearby upon Contundor, and both steed and rider appeared impassive. The celestial charger had acquired a pair of huge _feathery_ wings, which caused Mostin to feel nauseous every time he saw them: Mostin was profoundly thankful that he and the _Ahma_ were not in the same team. Next to Eadric, in dark antiparallel, the succubus Chaya waited with her mount – a foul-tempered cauchemar which champed restlessly. Mostin studied her briefly: the demoness was naked and scarred, almost bestial in appearance. She bore no weapon, and carried but a single item – a smoking black diamond the size of a fist which oozed necromantic power.

Somewhat removed, displaying his characteristic nonchalance, Ortwin laughed and twirled his scimitar confidently. Koilimilou, perched upon an ecalypse and  surrounded by jariliths, ignored him. She seemed even more introspective than normal, and Mostin watched her nervously: was she privy to Rhyxali's plans (which were certain to be other than had been revealed)? Did she possess a measure of genuine affection for Ortwin? It seemed unlikely – neither demons nor sidhe were renowned for warmth in their relations. Could Ortwin be trusted, anyway?

_Except for Eadric, we are a gruesome, conceited and selfish bunch. Perhaps he is the moral glue which binds the feys, sociopaths and fiends together._

The Alienist shrugged, and descended. His thoughts reached out to Shomei.

[Mostin]: My fingers itch! How much longer?
[Shomei]: Three minutes, by my reckoning.
[Mostin]: Aren't your bodyguards restless?
[Shomei]: Devils are notoriously patient.
[Mostin]: I am having reservations.
[Shomei]: Good. Apparently your psychosis has limits.
[Mostin]: I am dubious about the _quiescence of the spheres_. I like retaining the option of instantaneous retreat.
[Shomei]: Mostin…
[Mostin]: Don't worry. I still intend to cast it.
[Shomei]: You'd damn well better, Mostin. Quite a lot hinges upon it. Still, you may have been better contriving the spell with yourself as a mobile locus, rather than designating a static one.
[Mostin]: And lose the opportunity to invoke _reality maelstroms_? Not bloody likely.
[Shomei]: I suspect that you won't get the chance in any case – you need to physically remove yourself two miles from your casting point.
[Mostin] (Grins): I've already thought of that. I will _summon_ a pseudodjinn. We will _wind walk_ together.

Shomei laughed. "You are ingenious." Then her manner suddenly became serious. "If I should die, Mostin…"

[Mostin]: Do _not_ start this again.
[Shomei]: There are two _simulacra_ at my mansion…
[Mostin]: !
[Shomei]: Together, they comprise most of what I am.
[Mostin]: They are lumps of ice, Shomei.
[Shomei]: You will need to find a way to reify them.
[Mostin]: That is not possible.
[Shomei]: Nonsense. It has merely never been accomplished before. It will be a task commensurate with your ability. 
[Mostin]: They lack a Self, Shomei.
[Shomei]: I didn't say it would be easy. One is of me as I was – before Nwm _reincarnated_ me. The other is of me as I am now. (Ironically) They are called _Sho_ and _Mei_. You will tell them apart by their hair colour. 
[Mostin]: This is distasteful!
[Shomei]: It will be your _magnum opus_, Mostin. The last challenge I set you. I would not leave the world bereft of my acquired knowledge.
[Mostin]: You are more than the sum of your learning. I wish you'd said something about this before. 
[Shomei]: Do all creatures have multiple pseudonatural analogues, Mostin? If so, I would start with that premise.
[Mostin]: (Astonishment).
[Shomei]: I have left each with two contradictory impulses: _preserve thyself_ and _transcend thyself_. Hopefully, the seeds of dialectical consciousness have already been sown. They will aid you in your research – both are familiar with my library. Everything I have is yours, Mostin.
[Mostin]: (Utter amazement). Shomei…
[Shomei]: Sho possesses the key to my astral retreat. I have not used it in some time, for fear of assault. If the current crisis is resolved favorably, it should be safe again. And try to establish a second Triune: three is a good number for productive magical inquiry. Consider Rimilin…
[Mostin]: You cannot be serious!
[Shomei]: You are the most powerful living wizard in Wyre, Mostin. You have a responsibility to act as a check on him.
[Mostin]: That is the Claviger's purpose.
[Shomei]: The Claviger acts within its own circumscribed limits.
[Mostin]: Mulissu…
[Shomei] (Sadly): Look no more to Mulissu for aid.

*[SONEILLON]: NOW*

Shomei smiled, unrolled a scroll, and opened a _teleportation circle_ to a location previously _scried_. 

Beneath a _screen_, in a small glade within sight of both the steep tor upon which Irknaan's palace stood, and of Murmuur's diabolic tower, Mostin – together with Shomei and Koilimilou – began to invoke the _quiescence of the spheres_.

A thought flickered through Mostin's mind: _Murmuur's tower is outside of the quiescence._ Had it moved? He couldn't recall its exact previous location.

Mere seconds before the spell was completed, tens of thousands of shadow demons began to manifest as Viractuth – Rhyxali's lieutenant – folded a huge area of a distant Abyssal layer, and brought it into vibrational congruence with Afqithan; a massive _gate_ opened to a demiplane abutting Throile, spewing forth Soneillon's horde; and Nhura and her knights and sorcerers – along with compactees and sidhe mercenaries – simultaneously translated _en masse_ from the Plane of Shadow.

The keen-eyed spined devils who circled Murmuur's tower relayed the information to Azazel – their commander-in-chief. Hell's standard-bearer issued an immediate telepathic command to Murmuur: _Open the gates_.

Titivilus – whose presence never failed to irk Azazel – now stood nearby. Dispater's Nuncio betrayed no sign of emotion

Azazel scowled, and his knights and captains quailed before him. He entered a brief, silent reverie, and _communed_ with his master. He did not doubt that all contingencies had been anticipated.

[Azazel]: What is your command?
[………..]: We will not intervene yet: a measure of uncertainty still exists. Wait. Hold your position until instructed otherwise.
[Azazel]: Yes, Majesty.





*Mostin had originally assumed that Rimilin was Irzho's slave, rather than vice-versa.


----------



## Phasmus

Superlatives fail me.

...

And does anyone care to speculate on the possibility that The Horror will come into play, after all, in the impending conflict?


----------



## d'Anconia

Have no fear, I'm sure he wouldn't leave us with this cliffhanger for much longer than a week, right Sep???  Whenever it is, I'll be checking in here a couple of times a day just in case


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## Sejs

> *[Mostin]: !*





Seconded.


----------



## Gez

Wouch! Now that's going to be the mother of all battles!


----------



## grodog

Wowza, thanks Sep!  An excellent set of updates.  

I'm bummed about Mulissu, she was one of my favorite characters :/  What was the piece of obsidian looted along with the web of motes (in the hands of demons---ick!!!)???


----------



## Dakkareth

_anticipationexcitementlaughingthinkingcontemplatingwonderanticipationrisingconvergencenearingsympathyshocksadnessdreadsufferinglostpotentialhope
clashofinfinitiesexcitementmagicflowinglikewatergreatestconflictsadnessdeathoffriendshopedefianceimpendingnodalitysaizho?_


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## Dakkareth

There's more to a convergence than a clash of power, the latest part of the tale show it very clearly. Iua's possession, Mulissu's death, Shomei's foreseen demise and the very real possibility, that it will be much, much worse. Terrible. Incredible. Inspiring beyond words.


----------



## Cheiromancer

Well, Shomei is on this page:

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=58227&page=3

Sho should look like that, I imagine.  I don't think we ever got a description of her reincarnated self- she used an illusion to reassume her usual appearance.

Probably Mulissu needs to have her picture taken next.  I've been known to commission portraits (the others are on the compiled thread I maintain), but if the artist isn't a reader of the story hour I need to provide a description.  And I don't know what Mulissu looks like.


----------



## Kage Tenjin

I do beleive the Clavinger is the smartest thing the wizards of your world ever did Sep, because otherwise, this battle might well be happening in Wyre.  As it stands, I'm wondering if Afqithan will stand up to this battle.


----------



## Knightfall

Whoa... 

This is going to hurt.

Great updates, Sep. You writing is truly inspiring.


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## The Forsaken One

> I'm wondering if Iua will used against Eadric and the others to spy on their plans. Should be interesting to see how Iua is used by her possessor.




I'm even more interested in how the possessor handles the situation with ortwin hehe.... The way things go he'll even fall in love again with his now possessed wife haha.

And I can't wait to see Mostin go and revel in destruction, this is gonna be mindnumbing how he's gonna rip that plane apart.


----------



## Felix

There is one question that hasn't been asked yet: 

*What does Nwm have up his sleeve?* For some reason I see Nwm showing up as The Green's representative in this battle and absolutely chewing bubble gum and kicking butt; and he's almost out of gum.

Sep, does your wife know that people worship you?


----------



## Rackhir

Normally I don't bother chiming in with the normal course of shocked awe at Sep's posts. He already knows how we feel about his posts, but this one is intense and very deep. This sounds like a conflict to rival or surpass that at the end of *Stormbringer*. I am definitely going to have to go back and re-read this a few times to try and understand everything that's going on. I'll probably need to go re-read the Compiled thread as well.

PS: Sep I originally just intended it as a joke, but what would the coffee/tea breakdown be between demons and devils? For some reason, I'll dying to find out your views on it.


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## Chaldfont

> [Eadric]: Will you exercise restraint?
> [Mostin]: I doubt it.
> [Eadric]: Can you exercise restraint? Is it within your nature?
> [Mostin]: I don't know. I've never tried, and have no plans to.
> [Eadric]: Your lack of moral responsibility concerns me.
> [Mostin]: A surfeit of it would concern me more. I abide by certain…axioms…Eadric, which you cannot hope to comprehend. You can rest assured that within your own framework, I am completely mad.
> [Eadric]: And within yours?
> [Mostin]: I am utterly pedestrian. There are things far madder than I.




Hehe. There can be no cooler D&D character than Mostin.


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## Baron Opal

Oh, yes... I live for moments like this. As a player, to exercise the awesome powers at my character's command. As a referee, to see the forces arrayed against the players and to wonder what they will do.

Two questions come to mind, however. What is Nwm's player doing? I understand that some downtime for the character is necesitated for his goals. I hope that he still had the opportunity to play in what must have been an exciting battle with exciting consequences.

Secondly, how did you prepare for this, Sep? I see that you had two of the three strike teams contain PCs. That lets one operate conviently "off camera". Still there is one NPC on each team, several summoned minions, and a few hordes in the background. I ask because a war is brewing in my homebrew, and while the PCs aren't nearly as powerful or influential, they are going to be in the conflict at key points. Any rule sets used, or was it more of an analysis of who did what and the consequences thereof?

Baron Opal


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## gloomymarshes

*Sonneillon*

During the reading of this story hour I've become more and more interested in sonneillon, so I decided to read up on the sonneillon of legend who sep's version probably is based on. There was only one minor problem. After a through google search, I came to the conclusion that there is almost nothing known about sonneillon. All I was able to find was this:

- it (sources differ wether sonneillon was a he or a she) was once of the order of thrones, before the fall.
- sonneillon is seen as the demon of hatred. "In Father Sebastien Machaelis's (one of the more famous exorcists) hierarchy of devils, Beelzebub is responsible for pride, Sonneillon for hatred."

And that's about all. There was no wikipedia entry. Which brings me to my request, to all of you...

Would you, reader of sepulchrave's awesome story hour (and sep himself) be so kind to contribute all that you know about sonneillon so we can set up a reliable wikipedia entry? Then, when a future reader tries to do some background reading, he/she will at least find more than I found 

Also, any other information about demons/devils you could share is greatly appreciated (by me at least). I find it an interesting subject at the moment, and try to read as much about it as I can.

Also, great update


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## grodog

gloomymarshes said:
			
		

> Would you, reader of sepulchrave's awesome story hour (and sep himself) be so kind to contribute all that you know about sonneillon so we can set up a reliable wikipedia entry? Then, when a future reader tries to do some background reading, he/she will at least find more than I found




IIRC, we discussed Soneillon in some detail in the Rogues Gallery thread at http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5652 (but, it may have been not long after she appeared in the SH too....).  



> Also, any other information about demons/devils you could share is greatly appreciated (by me at least). I find it an interesting subject at the moment, and try to read as much about it as I can.




That depends on what kinds of information you're looking for, gloomymarshes:  D&D info about demons/devils, or general occult info about them.


----------



## Destil

grodog said:
			
		

> What was the piece of obsidian looted along with the web of motes (in the hands of demons---ick!!!)???



Figurine of Wondrous power: Obsidian Horse, I’m guessing. Ironic, isn't it (the figurine has a 10% chance each use of taking any good alinged rider who tries to use it and plane shifting to a lower plane).


----------



## Olive

aurin777 said:
			
		

> I was never able to find the reality maelstrom spell anywhere. Does anyone know where Sep got it from? And as always, the updates never cease to impress me.
> ~~Brandon




It's from MotP. A bit overpowered for a 7th level spell methinks.


----------



## Destil

Olive said:
			
		

> It's from MotP. A bit overpowered for a 7th level spell methinks.



I don't have a huge problem with it, myself. It's like phantasmal killer where it has a double save to negate the effect (though only a single will save in the primary AoE), PCs don't get treasure for the creatures they toss into some other plane (and against the kind of things you expect to be dealing with at 7th level being sent to a random plane isn't a big deal half the time) and the Area is way too friggin huge to be usefull in a small scale encounter.

It's only really gamebreaking in a very large scale battle, or one thar starts off at a rather long range...

I had a question for Sepulchrave, though... I'm guessing you house rulled that Vorpal swords can sever a silver cord like a Githyanki silver sword? It looks like the gith may not be in your cosmoligy, for one thing (we've seen both the astral and limbo and no gith, though both are just a lot of wasted space anyway). Likewise I'm guessing that a simple mind blank won't protect against this, unlike a `yanki sword?


----------



## Sepulchrave II

> I had a question for Sepulchrave, though... I'm guessing you house rulled that Vorpal swords can sever a silver cord like a Githyanki silver sword? It looks like the gith may not be in your cosmoligy, for one thing (we've seen both the astral and limbo and no gith, though both are just a lot of wasted space anyway). Likewise I'm guessing that a simple mind blank won't protect against this, unlike a `yanki sword?




Yep. I've always played vorpal as being able to sever the silver cord of astrally projecting creatures. Keeps 'em on their toes. I haven't ruled out including the gith at some future stage (the advantage of having multiple true cosmologies), although the same could be said for any creature which hasn't made an appearance in the campaign.

*


On an unrelated but important note, if you haven't read this thread here then you really should. 

Destan's story hour is quite superb, and he has recently published his campaign setting, _Valus_, which I've been lucky enough to sneak preview.

In his story hour, Ryan evokes a feeling which is unique and insightful: his characters are subtle and complex, his descriptions, evocative, and his narrative compelling. In _Valus_, Ryan's eye for detail in creating a self-consistent world is nothing short of inspirational. Many familiar tropes are given a new and unexpected twist, and appear fresh to the jaded eye: this is the art of fine campaign milieu design.


----------



## Joshua Randall

A bump disguised as discussion... with half of the Abyss and the Hells invading Afqithan, now would be a good time for a celestial strike-force to wreak some havok in the lower planes. Although I guess that wouldn't be very sporting, would it?


----------



## gloomymarshes

Hmm. I do not see why the celestials should get involved. It's not like the war with hell can be "won". Sure, heaven could send a celestial death squad to kill some random demon lord, but there will be _many_ wannabe demon lords who want nothing better than to fill the power vacuum. And since many planes in hell are infinite in size... it's not really possible to kill every devil/demon either. If it was in heaven's (oronthon's) best interests to win the war with hell, Oronthon would just un-make it. 

As I see it, there must be balance between heaven and hell, and it's impossible to disrupt said balance (if you're not oronthon).


----------



## Lela

That assumes, of course, that Oronthon is the most powerful force in the cosmos.


----------



## gloomymarshes

Yes. I assumed he was the creator of the kosmos, since oronthonianism (sp?) is a monotheistic faith, and monotheistic religions usually have a god that is almighty.


----------



## Gez

It's more complicated than that. Oronthon is probably not the creator of the cosmos, but he seems to have become such.


----------



## Lela

Or, depending on your point of view, Oronthon's faith may be monotheistic, meaning His worshipers believe He's the only one, but there could also be other gods who His faith doesn't believe in.

We've mostly been working from Edric's point of view regarding Oronthon but Nym, Motsin, and, more recently, Shomei have provided some other perspectives.  Not to mention Titivilous (sp?) popping in and having a say.


----------



## Gez

Yeah, it's the thing with relativistic cosmologies. Multiple, contradictory models are all equally true. It was said Oronthon started as a Sun god inside a pantheon, and his clergy and dogma slowly evolved toward the monotheistic religion of now.

That's why Oronthon wasn't the actual creator of the cosmos, and also why he is now the creator of the cosmos. Belief defines (cosmological) reality; and changes in beliefs can retcon the universe.

I'm wondering how difficult it would be to turn yourself into a god by funding a religion about yourself...


----------



## BiggusGeekus

Gez said:
			
		

> It was said Oronthon started as a Sun god inside a pantheon, and his clergy and dogma slowly evolved toward the monotheistic religion of now.




Waitaminute!

Does that mean Oronthon might somehow tie in with the "sleeping gods"?  Is the Oronthon godhead a former member of that pantheon?


----------



## Joshua Randall

Pleased to see my idle speculation led to some interesting discussion. So let me rephrase my disguised bump a bit.

Once the battle is joined in Afqithan, it's assumed the various demonic and diabolic forces will commit substantial resources to the fight. Once that is done, it might be the best opportunity Eadric et al. will ever have to assault Azzagrat and slay Graz'zt or free Nehael (if either can even be done by mortal means).

So, pop into Afqithan, let Mostin and Shomei unleashe whatever massive spells they want to, and then -- leave! Go to some demi-plane where 1 second = 24 hours Wyre-time, recoup spells, and then immediately _plane shift_ to The Abyss.

I'm surprised Mostin hasn't already thought of this. Unless he has, and we just don't know it yet. Or, maybe he tested that scenario under the Web of Motes and found it unworkable.


----------



## GodOfCheese

Joshua Randall said:
			
		

> So, pop into Afqithan, let Mostin and Shomei unleashe whatever massive spells they want to, and then -- leave! Go to some demi-plane where 1 second = 24 hours Wyre-time, recoup spells, and then immediately _plane shift_ to The Abyss.




Or, more likely, hit a plane where 12 hours of local time is one second anywhere else.  If Wizard spells are dependent on rest (rather than time of day on your home plane), this would be the best way to "refuel" before anyone notices you're even gone.  

Of course, that's the part where the DM says "Great tactic.  I wonder what keeps the Bad Guys from doing it?"


----------



## fafhrd

GodOfCheese said:
			
		

> Of course, that's the part where the DM says "Great tactic.  I wonder what keeps the Bad Guys from doing it?"




I think any epic party would need to agree on some sort of MAD policy when dealing with these local timestreams, even more so than with Disjunction.

Of course interested entities may have bound Giyahiaa's bigger, hirsute sister in said demiplane making exploitation ...difficult.


----------



## BiggusGeekus

GodOfCheese said:
			
		

> Of course, that's the part where the DM says "Great tactic.  I wonder what keeps the Bad Guys from doing it?"




Here's one way to wiggle out of it: assuming both universes started at the same time, the "1 second = 12 Wyre hours" universe would be 138,888.8 years old.  Assuming Wyre is 6 billion years old, a fact allueded to a long while back in reference to  Nehael's age. I don't know much about atronomy at all, but I'm going to guess that nebulea and the like were still forming and there certainly wouldn't be any planets around.  So it'd be a lot like the astral plane only you'd constantly be taking fire, electricy, and sonic damage (I think).

Of course with multiple cosmologies being equally true, this would be a lot tricker.

Now, if the DM were an utter rat bastard, he could also just say that all "slow universes" were connected to Mostin's beloved Far Realms.  But Sep's a nice guy and he'd never do anything like that to his players ... twice.


----------



## Moleculo

BiggusGeekus said:
			
		

> the "1 second = 12 Wyre hours" universe would be 138,888.8 years old.



 You're on to something, but i think you converted the wrong direction. It would be 259,200,000,000,000 years old. If i remember correctly, at this point the universe's atoms would have dissociated or the nuclear force would have decayed making it inhospitable to say the least.


----------



## Olive

GodOfCheese said:
			
		

> If Wizard spells are dependent on rest (rather than time of day on your home plane), this would be the best way to "refuel" before anyone notices you're even gone.




Except that we know that some fiends at elast are tied to specific places. It's unclear whether or not mortal wizards have the same restrictions... Sonellion is tied to the waxing and waneing of a specific star.

Wizard's have a 24 hour peiod, in addition to rest. Maybe Sep has tied that to a certain time period, rather than just to the 'last 24 hous'?


----------



## GodOfCheese

Olive said:
			
		

> Except that we know that some fiends at elast are tied to specific places. It's unclear whether or not mortal wizards have the same restrictions... Sonellion is tied to the waxing and waneing of a specific star.
> 
> Wizard's have a 24 hour peiod, in addition to rest. Maybe Sep has tied that to a certain time period, rather than just to the 'last 24 hous'?




Interesting.  On the one hand, if mortal wizards are dependant on something related to their home plane(s), that prevents them from rushing to a "fast" plane to relax and refill spells in mid-combat.  On the other hand, it eliminates the possibility of adventuring on "fast" planes.

Another option might be (as a DM) to schedule some fun encounters wherein the PCs can use the new temporal toy, but ensure that a few stragglers get away.  Sooner or later, news of their new trick gets around.  Maybe people research to what planes the PCs might be retreating and arrange something unpleasant for them... you couldn't reliably prevent a _Plane Shift_ from arriving with a _Dimensionally Lock_, but maybe you could lay in wait for them... nothing beats a few fireballs to disrupt a wizard's study, or a cleric's prayer.


----------



## The Axe

Olive said:
			
		

> Except that we know that some fiends at elast are tied to specific places. It's unclear whether or not mortal wizards have the same restrictions... Sonellion is tied to the waxing and waneing of a specific star.
> 
> Wizard's have a 24 hour peiod, in addition to rest. Maybe Sep has tied that to a certain time period, rather than just to the 'last 24 hous'?




Isn't Sonellion a sorceress, rather than a wizardess?


----------



## Olive

The Axe said:
			
		

> Isn't Sonellion a sorceress, rather than a wizardess?




yes.


----------



## BiggusGeekus

*Sepchulitis* __ - That feeling an ENWorlder gets when they look at the main summary screen of all the forums and all the most recent posts in those forums and they see that a third party has posted to one of the "Tales of Wyre" threads and they immediately dash to it in the hopes that the aformentioned post was in response to one of Sep's and not some kind of bump.


----------



## Cheiromancer

Does anyone know if "AHMA" has a real-world meaning, or is it a made-up word of Sepulchrave's?  I just got an e-mail from someone asking me about it.


----------



## Dakkareth

Damn, there you made me hope ... 

Anyway, I think, there are RL ties - one site lists it as Gothic word meaning 'spirit, the Holy Ghost' and some other site says, it's Hebrew for 'spirit'. I'm too lazy to confirm this with a hebrew dictionary, though .


----------



## fafhrd

Someone said:
			
		

> Maybe this final (?), huge combat was definitely too much for him, and now he´s in a psichiatric, banging his head against padded walls.




My secret fear is that Sep and Destan, in the midst of their commiseration, have convinced each other, in a Xeno like fashion, that it's impossible to actually write a story.


----------



## jmucchiello

Mortepierre said:
			
		

> You know .. I am actually _against_ bumping this thread (well, too often anyway)



Would it help if the "Finally" were removed from the thread title. I always see that and forget it always says finally.


----------



## Sepulchrave II

Hi everyone. Thanks for your patience: I'm still around, although I've been kind of busy.

My provisional plan is to update just before Thanksgiving (Nov 25th, for those in Blighty and Oz) and, hopefully, sometime shortly thereafter - I've got a week off of work and hope to get some writing done: assuming my wife doesn't make any unreasonable demands on my time. Cough.

The backlog at this stage is huge and daunting: 



Spoiler



the resolution of the Afqithan thread, and the whole of the next plot arc which arises from it. After Mesalliance, will come 'Viridity and Saizhan' in which events turn back to Wyre, the Cult of Cheshne begin to exert their influence, Teppu reveals himself in his full power and the _Sela_, reluctantly, finally takes arms



Naturally, this may take some time.


----------



## Hjorimir

Whoot! I'm so excited! I can't wait for the coming posts!


----------



## Rackhir

I'd like to second that Whooohooo!


----------



## Seravin

with a happy dance.

Whenever you get time, Sep.  Thanks for letting us know though.


----------



## Urbanmech

One question Sep, how far behind real world time is the SH now?  Is your group still playing regularly?  Hopefully your busy schedule has time to play some D&D even if you aren't posting for the enjoyment of all of us.


----------



## fafhrd

Oh man oh man.  Christmas comes early this year...


----------



## GneralTsao

Couldn't... resist... spoiler...
<sigh />


----------



## Ero Gaki

YAY!!!!!    And once more just for kicks


YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!


----------



## fafhrd

GneralTsao said:
			
		

> Couldn't... resist... spoiler...
> <sigh />




Ack!!!  I'm sorry!  I read the boards highlighted because its easier on my eyes.  Didn't realize it was blackedout.  Fixing now.


----------



## pogre

So I'm assuming a new thread - or is someone going to clean up these 8 pages of bumps?


----------



## Dortmunder

Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> Naturally, this may take some time.




Ahhhhh! *claws face*


----------



## Suldulin

Cheers Sep


----------



## Jeremy

Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> Hi everyone. Thanks for your patience: I'm still around, although I've been kind of busy.
> 
> My provisional plan is to update just before Thanksgiving (Nov 25th, for those in Blighty and Oz) and, hopefully, sometime shortly thereafter -
> 
> Naturally, this may take some time.



w00t!  Take all the time you like.  This stuff is worth it!


----------



## The Forsaken One

and The Crowd Goes Wild!!!!


----------



## Yair

YYYYEEEESSSSS!

Good news, at last


----------



## trexmaster

Now I know god really does exists and he hears us


----------



## Eridanis

pogre said:
			
		

> So I'm assuming a new thread - or is someone going to clean up these 8 pages of bumps?




I weed when I can; hopefully, Thanksgiving break will give me a chance to work on this thread, as well as others. I'm just as eager to hear more story as you guys.


----------



## DestyNova

I have this feeling that when Neheal(sp) does come back, that there won't be any big spat when she finds out Eadric has another bit of fluff. I imagine that he'll have two hot demon babes hanging off his arms.


----------



## Dakkareth

The Forsaken One said:
			
		

> and The Crowd Goes Wild!!!!



Indeed!


----------



## Thalantor

*To froth..*

I really am slowly going nuts with anticipation...

*froths at the mouth*


----------



## aurin777

November 25th has never seemed so far away in my life...

I can hardly wait!
~~Brandon


----------



## grodog

Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> Hi everyone. Thanks for your patience: I'm still around, although I've been kind of busy.
> 
> My provisional plan is to update just before Thanksgiving (Nov 25th, for those in Blighty and Oz) and, hopefully, sometime shortly thereafter - I've got a week off of work and hope to get some writing done: assuming my wife doesn't make any unreasonable demands on my time. Cough. [snip spoilers]
> 
> Naturally, this may take some time.




Welcome back to the land of the living, Sep---we've missed you!  I'll now have to spend some of this weekend rereading so that I'm ready for the next update


----------



## LostSoul

Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> My provisional plan is to update just before Thanksgiving (Nov 25th, for those in Blighty and Oz)




Heh heh.  November 25th is my birthday.  Thanks for the present!


----------



## Gez

OK, so the pattern is me first (11th of July), then LostSoul. Whose birthday was it for the penultimate update? We need at least three data before it is possible to find the mathematical series...


----------



## Thalantor

*Bump goes the poster and the poster goes bump*


----------



## Dakkareth

Tomorrow is the day!


----------



## Felix

You can carve the suspense with a turkey knife!


----------



## the Jester

Felix said:
			
		

> You can carve the suspense with a turkey knife!




_Suspense??_ No wonder it tasted so funny!


----------



## aurin777

Yarr! I can't wait any longer!


----------



## The Forsaken One

The moment is almost upon us...!

DUN DUN DUN!!!~~


----------



## gloomymarshes

Everyone who thinks the battle will last less than 3 rounds, say I! 

*hopes for mostin to go ballistic*


----------



## fafhrd

gloomymarshes said:
			
		

> Everyone who thinks the battle will last less than 3 rounds, say I!
> 
> *hopes for mostin to go ballistic*




Aye!

Anyone want to hazard a guess as to who loses a face?


----------



## strawberryJAMM

OMG, the suspense is killing me!

_(With my luck, I'll be going to be on the road off to visit relatives right when he posts. )_


----------



## Moleculo

this picture describes not only my anticipation, but my response after the update comes:
https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/jdangel/www/zomg.gif


----------



## Felix

*weeping*

Please, Sep... make the waiting stop... *sob*... so long, so very long...


----------



## aurin777

I feel your pain...
~~Brandon


----------



## Ero Gaki

Aww... from my time zone, Thanksgiving is nearly over, and still no update...


----------



## Baron Opal

He's probably asleep at the computer, unconsious from the tryptophan.


----------



## fafhrd

Baron Opal said:
			
		

> He's probably asleep at the computer, unconsious from the tryptophan.




I see you're both in Oregon.  Any chance you can drive over and wake him up?


----------



## Baron Opal

*Road Trip*

  *Knock, Knock*

 :\  "Yah? Whose there?"

   "Hey, Sep. I'm the Baron Opal. A bunch of us over at ENWorld were wondering if..."

 :\  "Who?"

  "Baron Opal. That's my handle there. It's OK, its not like I post a lot or anything. Like I was saying, we were getting..."

  "How did you find me?!"

  "Oh, well, computers are great for sifting info. And, I'm the closest so I was nominated..."

  *Slams door*

  "Oh. Ok. Well, I'll see you later then. Look forward to the post...!"


 *   *   *   *   *

  Well, guys, that update will be along any minute now...


----------



## strawberryJAMM

*Patience, patience, patience*



			
				Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> My provisional plan is to update just before Thanksgiving (Nov 25th, for those in Blighty and Oz) and, hopefully, sometime shortly thereafter - I've got a week off of work and hope to get some writing done: assuming my wife doesn't make any unreasonable demands on my time. Cough.



Sep ol' boy, I bet you wish you'd never mentioned your provisional plan.  I'm sure the clamour of the fanbase is going to go up exponentially until your next post finally appears.

I, however, will attempt to be virtuous based on the long-held belief that "Patience is a Virtue".  {Just try not to take too long Sep - I can only be patient for so long ... }

Jenni


----------



## fafhrd

Thanks Baron, now my girlfriend is looking at me askance and wondering why I'm snarfing.


----------



## aurin777

*crosses fingers and hops up and down in anticipation*


----------



## Darren

While the fanbase is quivering in collected anticipation, this story hour newbie would like to ask a small favor.

Can anyone direct me to the various threads that make up Sep's story hour?  I'm aware of a collected thread, but I'd kind of like to get the unexpurgated version with commentary and gratuitous bumpage and whatnot, if possible.

Most everyone seems to say it's good, but I'd prefer to begin at the beginning then catch up with the current thread rather than start in the middle.

Thanks.


----------



## strawberryJAMM

*List of all original "Tales of Wyre" threads*



			
				Darren said:
			
		

> Can anyone direct me to the various threads that make up Sep's story hour? I'm aware of a collected thread, but I'd kind of like to get the unexpurgated version with commentary and gratuitous bumpage and whatnot, if possible.



I did a quick search and believe I've found all the relevant threads. Note that in some threads, the gratuitous bumpage and whatnot was cleaned up from time to time, but a good portion was usually left behind. 

Lady Despina's Virtue: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=762
Lady Despina's Virtue, Continued: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=10950
The Heretic of Wyre: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=13733
The Heretic of Wyre - Part II: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=18032
The Rape of Morne: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=24127
The Rape of Morne, Part II: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=37452
Soneillion. Part I: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=43542
Soneillion. Part II: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=55868
The Mésalliance. Part I: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=67543
The Mésalliance. Part II: http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=86306
[Okay, I didn't need to include that last line as it simply links back to the start of this thread, but it just felt wrong to leave it off the list.]


----------



## Dakkareth

*taps his fingers impatiently, then stops*

Alright, you have 'till tomorrow, when I'm awake again


----------



## Darren

strawberryJAMM said:
			
		

> I did a quick search and believe I've found all the relevant threads. Note that in some threads, the gratuitous bumpage and whatnot was cleaned up from time to time, but a good portion was usually left behind.




Thanks much!


----------



## Baron Opal

There is also the Compiled Sepulchrave Story Hour thread by Cheiromancer.


----------



## grodog

Don't gorget the all-important Rogues Gallery thread at http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5652

Sep has also instigated a number of rules threads on the Home Brew forums (or whatever they're called now), but at that point we're delving into esoterica....


----------



## Nifft

So... does "finally updated" mean that we've seen the _final_ update?   

 -- N

PS: Sure, I'm snarky, but it's out of love.


----------



## Cheiromancer

Baron Opal said:
			
		

> There is also the Compiled Sepulchrave Story Hour thread by Cheiromancer.




Which also includes a list of links to the relevant parts of the rogue's gallery thread.  Link is in my sig, when I have one.  (I recently restored it, in anticipation of the update).


----------



## Knightfall

Just finished re-reading the last two posts. Just to refresh my memory. I'm all set for the next post.

Somehow, I think Sep's Thanksgiving was a little more hectic then he'd anticipated. Hmm, perhaps by Monday?

Cheers!

KF72


----------



## Gez

Eridanis said:
			
		

> I weed when I can; hopefully, Thanksgiving break will give me a chance to work on this thread, as well as others. I'm just as eager to hear more story as you guys.




Eridanis, next time you prune this thread, and if it hasn't been updated by then, can you please got us rid of the "Finally" part of its title? Pretty please?


----------



## Sepulchrave II

Hi. Sorry for the delay - once I started pulling things together, I realized that finding a suitable place to leave off and actually _post_ was difficult. I anticipate that there will be several more installments of "Afqithan" after this one - things were coming to a head, and the various disparate threads were beginning to resolve.

Notice in promising an update I did write "*provisional* plan," however. I covered my arse, just in case  


**

** 


*AFQITHAN - Part One*


"Mulissu is dead," Daunton the Diviner announced to the assembled wizards.* 

His words were greeted by a variety of reactions: by Troap, a look of stunned disbelief; by Tozinak – in the form of a sylph – with tears and a dramatic posture; by Waide, a smug grimace which conveyed the words 'I told you so – it was inevitable.' Jalael and Idro exhibited calm insouciance. A dozen other mages – and several of these were formidable in their own right – showed expressions which ranged from anguish, through curiosity, to total ignorance of the reclusive Savant's identity.

"Thank-you, Daunton," Waide said with nasal condescension. "Although…"

"There is more," Daunton interrupted, shooting the transmuter a look of barely concealed contempt. Waide surpassed him in terms of power, but Daunton enjoyed the respect of the entire magical community and the friendship of several influential personages – including Prince Tagur – outside of it. "An artifact bestowed upon her by Jovol has been stolen, along with other powerful items."

"She and Mostin were feuding, I hear," Waide ventured.

"Waide!" Daunton snapped. "There will be no rumourmongering and innuendo."

"It is hardly an idle thought," Waide persisted. "Mostin's assault upon Griel outside of the Claviger's domain is well known. Which _artifact_ do you speak of?" Waide licked his lips.

"It is called the _web of motes_. It is potent."

"I have never heard of it," Waide sniffed.

"Nor I," Jalael agreed. "What is its purpose?"

Daunton sighed. "Divination," he said.

Waide laughed openly. "I think we can discern the purpose of your insistence upon this meeting, Daunton: you desire this item. And try telling me now that Mostin has no part in this."

"I make no such claim," the Diviner said dismissively. "But neither do I make the assertion that Mostin murdered Mulissu: he did not. Her own daughter, Iua, slew her. The priestesses of Jeshi confirm as much."

"Matricide?" Jalael said drily. "This gets more interesting. Where is Iua now?"

"I do not know. I suspect she is _mind blanked_. I have tried to discern her whereabouts twice."

"An accomplice?" Troap asked.

"Or a device," Daunton nodded. "Naturally, you suspect the former, Waide, and you suspect that it is Mostin."

"It is not his style," Tozinak sobbed. "He would have killed her with much more _panache_. Was Iua under a compulsion?"

"Perhaps. Graz'zt certainly bore Mulissu a grudge. He may have _dominated_ Iua, although it would have been a potent compound spell to circumvent the temple wards – especially from Azzagrat. But the Prince had already personally assailed the Savant in her demiplane: hence her retreat to the Prime."

Waide's jaw dropped. "And she _survived_?"

Daunton nodded. "She was well prepared. Furthermore, Mostin anticipated the attack and provided a safe exit for her."

Waide swallowed nervously. Once he and the Alienist had been peers. But now he realized – and the knowledge caused him to grit his teeth in envy and frustration – that Mostin had utterly surpassed him.

"Had she other enemies?" Troap asked. 

"Not to my knowledge – she carefully avoided making them, as a rule."

"How kind of Mostin to lend her one of his," Waide said snidely.

"It was Mulissu who invoked the cascade at Khu," Troap said drily, "not Mostin. I think that is enough to warrant the enmity of any number of powerful fiends."

"It was no doubt in response to Mostin's nagging," Waide replied.

"Because Mulissu was _so_ weak-willed and impressionable, and Mostin _so_ likes the company of celestials," Troap retorted acidly. The Goblin turned to Daunton. "Do you think the emerging Cheshne faction may have had a hand? They are in geographical proximity."

"The possibility had occurred to me," Daunton nodded. "Although a motive is harder to fathom."

"Mulissu could have crystallized magical resistance in Wyrish and Thalassine spellcasters, if it became required," Jalael suggested. "It may have been a preemptive strike."

"The Cult of Cheshne has never exhibited an historical desire to dominate in that manner," Daunton sighed. "Besides, why wait to remove her until _after_ their arrival? And I am reluctant to pin every unfortunate event which transpires upon them – we do not _know_ their agenda."

"_Not good_," Waide grumbled. "We know that much, at least. The Claviger may prove to be an aegis which we did not anticipate. Although maybe Jovol did."

"Jovol was not omniscient," Jalael grunted. "And his legacy has already stymied magical activity. It may yet deny us the ability to muster an effective defense."

"You seem fixated on some impending conflict, Jalael," Daunton scowled. "If it occurs – and I doubt that – it will likely be religious in nature, and will not concern us."

"If the _ugras_ are invoked, I doubt they will make the distinction," Jalael smiled. "But the question remains: why now?"

"Nothing becomes," Daunton said grimly. "We cannot know _why_ or _where_. Which brings me to events in the demiplane of Afqithan. I trust that we are all aware of what passes there?"

Jalael groaned. Tozinak fidgeted nervously. The other wizards evinced either blank stares or, in the case of Waide – ever reluctant to reveal his ignorance in such matters – an expression which could be interpreted as either inquisitiveness, or quiet understanding.

Daunton sighed. "I will tell you what I know – which is all that Mulissu related to me. Her information was, I don't doubt, incomplete. And I think that even those who are embroiled in its troubles have only a partial perspective."

"Mostin," Tozinak sighed.

"And Shomei," Daunton nodded. "But one could probably have inferred as much by their conspicuous absence from this meeting."

"The great luminaries of our magical brotherhood," Waide said snidely. "Do they even know of what has happened?"

"I issued a _sending_ to Shomei," Daunton replied, "and instructed her to inform Mostin." The Diviner then proceeded to relate the tale of the _Ahma_, Graz'zt, Soneillon, and Afqithan.

After Daunton had completed his account, Tozinak – overly moved by the story – punctuated the silence with a long sigh.

"And the _web of motes_?" The Illusionist asked. "What exactly does it _do_?"

"It illuminates connections," Daunton explained. "Between people, places, thoughts, dreams, futures, and truths. It is the most potent object I have ever heard of."

"If Mulissu wasn't wildly exaggerating its power," Waide quipped.

"Why Mulissu?" The Necromancer Creq inquired. "She wasn't even Wyrish. Why did Jovol choose her?"

"Perhaps he liked her," Daunton snapped. He relaxed before continuing. "She was not alone. Shomei received something, as did Mostin, and Hlioth, and you, Waide. And you, Tozinak. All of those who took part in _binding_ the Enforcer."

"And you?" Waide asked archly.

"A minor curio," Daunton answered. "I was the junior member, if you recall. Which, incidentally, leads me to another point: Jovol dwelt in the Thrumohars for fifty years, but where was his sanctum? There must still be a cache somewhere; a repository of knowledge and power."

"I have pondered this question," Jalael admitted. "And what else, Daunton. Have you heard what I have? I am apt to converse with demons, but I wonder what your sources tell you?"

"Rimilin," he nodded.


**


Nwm's eyes flashed open. He had been sitting beneath a fir-tree, listening to the soft _pad, pad_ of an arctic fox, when he heard its pattern change in response to a new stimulus. Something else was close by. He waited.

The Druid inhaled sharply as she approached. She was beautiful. And curiously familiar.

She sat down in the snow before him, unabashed by her own nakedness, and smiled. Her skin possessed a soft, silver sheen, and her eyes – no longer demonic – were green within green.

"This is an unexpected pleasure," Nwm said wrily. "I should warn you: if my conversation seems stilted or awkward, it's because I haven't spoken for several months."

"Your social ineptitude was never much of a concern," she laughed.

"Can I assume that Eadric was successful in his efforts?" Nwm asked.

"Not yet." She raised an eyebrow. 

"I am unsure as to whether I should worship you or not."

"That is your choice. It makes no difference to me. What were you doing?"

"You know, Nehael, I don't really know. Waiting for you, I suppose. I don't imagine that there's a rational explanation for your presence here?"

"Certainly not."

"And what happens now?" Nwm asked.

Nehael laughed. "I asked that very question myself."

"And what answer did you receive?"

"'A Viridity,'" she replied.

"That is suitably vague," Nwm sighed.

"Strange," Nehael said drily. "I had the same reaction. There is something that I would like to share with you, Nwm. A place."

"What sort of place?" Nwm asked suspiciously.

"A sanctuary. An island of Green. An unassailable bastion. A womb."

Nwm felt a frisson of excitement as she spoke, but his voice was sceptical. "In my experience, nowhere is unassailable."

"Prepare to change your mind," Nehael smiled. She held out her hand, and he took it. Stretching forwards, she lightly touched the bark of the tree.

"Step into the tree," she said.

They dissolved into an ocean of jade, emerald and celadon. Another Tree, which was the same tree – it was, in fact, all trees – appeared.

*

Nwm quaked. His mind screamed in fear, and soared in awe. His breath became rapid and shallow. He was dumbstruck, unwilling to believe, but knowing that it was there.

"Eadric's forebears would have referred to it as the Tree-_ludja_," Nehael said softly, touching the Tree. "Yours would have called it _Derv_.**"

"What have you become?" Nwm asked her.

"You know what I am," Nehael smiled. "I am merely Nehael. But now the way is open. You first showed it to me. She remembers. That is why it is Tree, and not Lake or Storm."

Nwm swallowed. She alluded to things which made him feel distinctly uncomfortable. Gingerly, he reached out. 

_Tree_, he knew.

He looked out from the blackthorn in the courtyard of Kyrtill's Burh; from a huge banyan in Afqithan, around which demons clashed furiously; from a hornbeam with white bark and silver leaves, beneath which a goddess meditated; from a viper-tree amid a grove in Azzagrat, where acid rained and fire burned; from a lonely olive-tree on a deserted island in Pandicule; from a celestial oak which rose, impossibly perfect, upon the Blessed Plain.

Nwm withdrew his perception, and looked at Nehael.

"How?" He asked.

_This Way_, she showed him.***

"Is there more?"

"Oh, yes. There is much more."

"But to look into Hell? Oronthon's Heaven? These places are not…"

"Of the Green?" She offered. "I think you need to revise your understanding, Nwm. The Viridity is a transcendental principle: it does not care for conventional labels. _Green_ just became a lot bigger."

"Who was the goddess beneath the tree?" He asked.

"Her name is Lai," Nehael smiled. "You will meet her in due course."

"What is her rôle?" He asked dubiously.

"She is a student. Of magic. Of nature. Her world is all but dead. You will like her – which is all to the good."

Nwm gave a quizzical look.

"A student needs a teacher," Nehael explained, "and a goddess needs a priest."


**


The _quiescence of the spheres_ began exactly five seconds after the Eye of Cheshne – a large, reddish star linked with ill-fortune, miscarriage and death – anticulminated at the necropolis of Khu in the World of Men.

Thus, when Soneillon and her host arrived in Afqithan – together with the Balor Irzho and the demonist Rimilin of the Skin – a mortal would have breathed but once, before she waxed to her full power again. Her first act – before even Ainhorr had issued the telepathic command for his minions to descend upon the hordes of interlopers – was to utter an incantation which caused a shimmering wave to issue from her. Soneillon poured forth the void, transforming it, and buoying those hundreds who were closest to her with an ecstasy of negation.

The palrethees, succubi and other monsters – the half-fiendish lamias, medusae, harpies and hags which swarmed in the sky around the Demoness – greedily drank of the essence which their mistress lavished on them. Irzho and Rimilin – already bloated with Soneillon's unlight – swelled yet further. Koilimilou inhaled sharply as power coursed through her and her Will was sharpened and intensified, before she abruptly disappeared to sight. And Eadric watched in trepidation as Chaya – the succubus appointed to him – threw back her head and exulted.

As the impulse washed through the _Ahma_, visions of unbeing passed through his tortured consciousness. A sweet, lingering taste, heavy with the promise of annihilation. He glanced at Shomei's devils, borne upon the invocation's wind and magnified. They terrified him. He terrifed himself. And in his heart, he knew he was as potent as he had ever before been – save perhaps when he had fought at the Nund, where Grace had descended upon him. Now the darkest wards protected him. Blasphemy sustained him. 

He drew his sword. At the limit of his vision, issuing in streams from Irknaan's citadel – unable to manifest closer, within the _quiescence of the spheres_ – Ainhorr's demons were beginning to appear in ghastly flights and packs.

_Fifteen minutes_, Mostin had said. It would all be resolved within fifteen minutes. The mental clamour of the demons was already threatening to overwhelm him.

Mostin vanished. A _bound_ pseudodjinn – a grotesque parody which made Eadric grateful that Iua was _not_ there – bore the Alienist on a course which, for the sake of convenience, they had arbitrarily determined as 'west': in Afqithan, there were no cardinal directions. He sped towards a second materializing force – Kostchtchie, mounted upon his wyrm, together with his bar-lgura. Mostin purposed to eliminate the demon as quickly as possible. Ortwin and Koilimilou were with him. The three were _invisible_ and _mind blanked_.

The Alienist scowled. The air was rapidly becoming thick with varrangoin above Kostchtchie, pouring through a _teleportation circle_: they were a group whose presence he had not foreseen. Nhura and Jetheeg, together with hundreds of Loquai aristocrats and sidhe mercenaries mounted upon umbral griffons, moved towards the Demon Lord. A vast, black cloud of shadow demons followed them. The Alienist, Satyr and Cambion swiftly overtook them all. 

[Ortwin]: How long, before we intercept?

[Mostin]: Ninety seconds, give or take. We need to be patient. We must stay _wind walking_ until we reach the boundary of the _quiescence_. I will be far more effective at the interface.

Momentarily, he doubted. He feared that by the time they reached the invocation's limit, most of Kostchtchie's force would already be _inside_ the _dimensionally locked_ area – many of the leaping demons were pressing forwards restlessly. More _teleportation circles_ were opening outside of the _quiescence_. Abyssal giants – some riding white dragons – were arriving from wherever Kostchtchie's main force had been concentrated.

Mostin cursed. One of the sorcerers in the Demon Lord's train must possess an extremely potent device – there was no way that the spell could have been repeatedly cast in such short time. Doubtless, one of the varrangoin: they were not natural _teleporters_, and moving large numbers of them effectively would otherwise prove problematic.

As they sped onwards, the Alienist grinned: Kostchtchie himself was not moving inside the _quiescence_. Evidently, the Ice Lord was reluctant to surrender his ability to instantly retreat.

[Mostin]: We must achieve the perfect position before the _wind walk_ is dismissed. We should strike the Demon with everything we've got.

[Koilimilou]: Watch for the dragons. Their noses will catch us, even if their eyes can't.





*The assembly of wizards, called by Daunton in his manse in Gibilrazen consisted of the Daunton himself (diviner 10/loremaster 5), an accomplished facilitator whose impartiality was renowned; _Waide_ (transmuter 17), generally conceded to be a supercilious pedant; _Tozinak_ (illusionist 18), often hysterical, and in a semi-volitional state of morphic flux; the green hag _Jalael_ (evoker 13/archmage 2), known to have devoured her lovers on several occasions; _Sarpin_ (illusionist 5/shadow adept 7), a Shade, and Jalael's current concubine; the goblin _Troap_ (enchanter 14); _Gholu_ (generalist 8/loremaster 4), a pompous eunuch and hoarder of useless magical curios; _Muthollo_ (abjurer 12), a Bedeshi newcomer regarded with  suspicion by the other wizards; _Tullifer_ (transmuter 7/master alchemist 5), who evidenced a vulgar interest in commerce; the sprite _Shuk_ (illusionist 10); _Droom of Morne_ (evoker 12), who stood in minor contempt of the Injunction, and had had his lips magically sealed for one year; _Creq_ (necromancer 11), who helped to perpetrate the worst stereotypes regarding his magical lineage; _Idro_ (generalist 12), intellectually stunted and now verging on senile; _Wigdryt_ (transmuter 9/plane shifter4) – a smoke mephit who had recently reappeared from a thirty-year retreat; and _Poylu_ (enchantress 11), who dwelt in a well near the town of Banda in Ialde.  
Ehieu (sorcerer 10/air savant 8), introduced to Daunton by Mulissu, was also present – although he found the proceedings tedious at best.

**The Tree probably deserves some explanation. Before the rise of Oronthonianism, the migrant Borchian tribes (from whom Eadric and his kin are descended) venerated nature spirits of various kinds, manifestations of different aspects of the _Hahio_ ("Interwoven [Green]"). These facets ("_ludjas_") were numerous and diverse, and never fully systematized: for example there was a _ludja_ for Stream, for Valley, for Gorse-bush, for Snow etc. etc. etc. Larger _ludjas_ also subsumed smaller ones – e.g. the Stone-_ludja_ superseded the Pebble-_ludja_, the Boulder-_ludja_ etc. The three principal _ludjas_ were considered to be Stone, Water and Tree.

_Derv_ is a Crixi word meaning "[prototypical or archetypal] Tree." There was considerable overlap and syncretism between early beliefs in the  peoples who predated the foundation of Wyre, and certain concepts were held to be parallels of one another – _Derv_ and the Tree-_ludja_ possessed an obvious identity. For _Derv_ to be an actual _tree_ however was almost nonsensical from Nwm's perspective: it is like being shown the Platonic ideal of "Tree", manifested and fully real.

***Several new spells would be revealed to Nwm by Nehael.


----------



## Sepulchrave II

*AFQITHAN - Part Two*



"Show me more," Hlioth, the Green Witch demanded.

Teppu laughed, and stroked the ash-tree which they stood next to. It seemed to croon lovingly to him. "It will involve a certain loss of individuality," he smiled. "Are you jealous of your discrete existence? Your autonomy of perception and Will?"

"Certainly not," Hlioth answered. "If I hadn't determined all arguments regarding Will to be specious, then I would never have abandoned wizardry."

"You should blend all elements into a harmonious whole," Teppu said. "And your song will be different to mine. Give me your hand."

The Green Witch complied, and Teppu pressed it to the trunk of the tree. Within moments, a cascade of new impressions flooded into her mind. Multiple realities became apparent. Her breathing became rapid and shallow.

"How many layers are there visible?" She gasped.

"They cannot be measured in numbers," Teppu laughed.

"I can see Faerie."

"I am surprised that you can distinguish it so readily. Although it is less sleepy than many of the others."

"Perhaps I am predisposed to easily apprehend it. One other seems close – within reach. What is it?"

"It is the half-hidden world of the Tunthi. Were you to go to Tun Hartha, you would see it more clearly. It is closer there than here."

"It has recently stirred?" Hlioth asked.

"Twice. Great spirits were awakened. Echoes remain within the visible Green. It was roused from its torpor near Hrim Eorth, then again at Groba."

"I recall hearing of Hrim Eorth – the river became a dragon. But Groba?"

"Groba is more ancient than most know. Mesikämmi woke its _genius loci_."

"To what purpose?"

Teppu smiled. "To swallow a sword, and keep it safe."

Hlioth's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You have been following her activities?"

"Amongst others," his eyes twinkled.

"_Which_ others?"

"Nehael. Nwm."

"What does the demoness have to do with this?"

Teppu threw back his head, and laughed. "Nehael is no demoness, nor was she ever one. The past is not immutable."

Hlioth scowled. "What are you plotting, Teppu?"

"I do not plot," Teppu replied sincerely. "I merely act according to need. There is a splinter of reality which must be realigned: purged of its umbral infestation. In order to accomplish this, I will need the concerted effort of several selfless individuals."

"I think perhaps you might explain a little more."

"I mean to eradicate the seeds of taint from the demiplane of Afqithan: it will be the first manifestation of the burgeoning Viridity. Faerie must reclaim its own."

Hlioth shrugged. "What is Afqithan, and why is it significant?"

Teppu sighed. "Your knowledge of current events is lamentably scant, Hlioth. This does not surprise me, but you cannot continue to view _Green_ within the limited terms that you have previously described to yourself. Afqithan is a finite reality where demons, devils, tainted sidhe and various other monsters struggle to assert themselves: Oronthon's _Ahma_ is embroiled in its troubles, as is the creature Soneillon – a demoness who has transcended her ontic state.

"I am dubious of your ability to manage such an act."

"It will be simple: trust me."

"And how do you propose to accomplish this?"

"Why," Teppu laughed, "with magic, of course."

"You _are_ Jovol," Hlioth sighed. "_And_ Fillein."

"Yes – and no," Teppu replied.

"I understand neither you nor your motives," Hlioth groaned.

"Nor do I," Teppu admitted.


**


Eadric and Shomei rode in the blazing trail carved by Irzho through the purple skies of Afqithan. Before them, Rimilin – whose grotesque, sexless form rippled black and oily – and Soneillon – into whom all light vanished – flew within the great fume of smoke and fire which emanated from the balor. Contundor was buffeted by the gale which issued from the pit fiends – _invisible_ but the source of a palpable malice – who flanked them both. Demons, half-fiends and evil monsters of every conceivable hue surrounded them, jostling for space. 

Ahead of the _Ahma_, Ainhorr's forces filled immensity, blackening the skies, their numbers still swelling as demons from across Afqithan heard the summons, and _teleported_ to the unlocked areas beyond the _quiescence of the spheres_. From the towers of Irknaan's palace they gushed forth in a never-ending torrent, and below the flights of chasme, succubi and palrethees, the ground and treetops seethed with bar-lgura. Eadric scowled as the standards of the Mariliths in thrall to Ainhorr were being raised beyond the spell's limit. More demons flocked around them, and those Loquai who had thrown in their lot with Graz'zt.

[Eadric]: How so quickly?

[Shomei] (ruefully): I suspect that Ainhorr has my _stone of sendings_. He issues a command to a subordinate, they instantly relay the message to their subordinates, and within a few minutes nearly every demon in Afqithan will be here. Redeployment is seldom a problem for fiends. 

[Eadric]: And Graz'zt?

[Shomei]: I don't doubt that he was the _first_ to know.

[Eadric]: We should climb. How long will the _invisibility_ last?

[Shomei]: We have time yet, but avoid any conflict for the moment. We need to retain the element of surprise for as long as possible. We must find Ainhorr.

[Eadric]: Within the palace.

[Shomei]: Doubtless. He will not commit himself personally yet. You will also notice that no Nalfeshnees have appeared – they remain close by their master. There were thirty, at last count.

[Eadric]: Thirty is too many, Shomei.

[Shomei]: It is not. Just watch out for the sword.

[Eadric] (pointing with his mind): What is that? You didn't mention a dragon. I thought Mostin got the dragons.

A grotesque shape, the wings of which beat slowly and rhythmically, was moving through the demons of Ainhorr's force towards them.

[Shomei]: That is Ilistet's Steed. Graz'zt's herald.

[Eadric]: His _herald_? Is he here himself?

[Shomei]: Not according to Mostin.

As if to punctuate the realization, a long, sonorous blast issued from Ilistet's horn, causing the ancient, twisted trees to shake, and the _Ahma_'s chest cavity to resonate. 

Eadric, Chaya, Shomei and her quartet of devils peeled away from the main spearhead of demons, and began to climb rapidly. They were not alone: other fiends from both factions were attempting to assume positions which offered a higher vantage point.

_Climb_, he urged his mount.

Within one minute, they had reached nearly two thousand feet. Still, they needed to climb – flights of succubi and chasme, issuing from the tallest of the towers, had already reached that altitude. Eadric glanced downward and ahead of himself, and watched in fascination as Irzho ploughed into a mob of _invisible_ nycadaemons which slowly revealed themselves to his sight.


**


[Mostin]: We must finish him as quickly as possible. His focus lies upon Nhura, at present, although no doubt the probability of _invisible, mind-blanked_ assailants has occurred to him. I'm hoping that the _wind-walking_ hasn't. We have a chance, here: it is the nature of demonic enthusiasm for a cause to crumple if the Lord or Prince who binds them – in this case Kostchtchie – is eliminated. It's all personality. 

[Ortwin] (Drily): No doubt this is about _us_ preventing _him_ reaching _you_.

[Mostin]: In a nutshell, yes. The Djinn will remain nearby, _wind-walking_, in case you need to make a quick exit.

[Ortwin]: "_You_" need to make a quick exit? What's with the "You"? How will _you_ escape?

[Mostin]: I will _teleport_. We will be outside of the _quiescence_.

[Ortwin]: So we're relying on some bitter, reluctant pseudoelemental?

[Mostin]: I have offered it suitable inducements. Do not be concerned.

[Orwtin]: Gods, Mostin. It's not just Kostchtchie. It's the dragon. And the other demons. And the other dragons. And that _thing_.

Mostin peered ahead. Close by the Demon Lord, shunned by demons but around whom fiendish giants grouped clumsily, a gaunt figure stood. It was clearly visible between the warriors' legs: the trio were closing rapidly, now.

[Mostin]: Sh*t. The winterwight. It's not supposed to be here.

[Ortwin]: Feeling nervous yet?

[Mostin]: You may have a point. Keep flying.

Varrangoin were all about them – although oblivious to their presence - when they materialized outside the _quiescence_. Hovering five hundred feet from the limit of the _locked_ area, Mostin invoked a _reality maelstrom_. It was centered around Kostchtchie, the wight, and the _teleportation circles_. The dimensional tempest raged incoherently, stretching away from the _quiescence_ in a sphere from which a section had been cut: along the interface between the two spells, a null-space suffused with paradoxical magical energy crackled. For a fraction of a second, Mostin became visible before hiding himself again with another spell.

[Ortwin] (Grinning): That's more like it.

[Mostin]: Brace yourself.

The magical response to the Alienist's assault was immediate and would have overwhelmed them all, had it not been for Soneillon's ward. _Horrid wiltings, fireballs_, a _meteor swarm_ and numerous sonics blasted into them. The djinn was instantly vaporized, and Mostin's brief appearance had been sufficient to make him the target of three attempted _disintegrations_ and numerous _enervations_. Rager varrangoin were all about him, attempting to rend his _invisible_ form.

Centered on himself this time, as yet more spells struck them ineffectually, Mostin invoked a second _reality maelstrom_, content that their own wards would prevent their succumbing to it. This time, the Alienist remained _invisible_.

Ortwin swallowed as he stood poised on the verge of another reality. Mostin cackled, looking through the rent in space: a rift into Limbo.

[Mostin] (Madly): We're safe here.

[Ortwin]: Are you quite nuts?

Flying through the dimensional storm – and through hundreds of varrangoin being pulled helplessly to their fate – a huge white dragon powered its way purposefully towards them. It bore an ugly, squat, bandy-legged demon brandishing a  great hammer.

Clinging to the flank of the dragon, of whose presence the wyrm seemed entirely oblivious, an arcanist varrangoin clung, drooling like a dog. It stretched out its hand, and delivered an empowered sonic _meteor swarm_ to them.

_Bad_, Mostin thought, as several creatures nearby were disintegrated by the sound. The tassles on his hat swayed slightly. Two more dragons appeared behind the first: mounted upon each were giants wielding enormous axes.

Abruptly, the _reality maelstrom_ vanished, struck by a _greater dispelling_. From the dragon's jaws a terrible cold washed over them, numbing them despite their wards.

Koilimilou, buoyant with Soneillon's power, retaliated with a soundless gaze. Black fire coursed over the wyrm, and it bellowed in agony for a second, before silently vanishing in a cloud of dark ash. The varrangoin sorcerer took to the air with its own wings, but Kostchtchie himself began to tumble towards the ground.

[Ortwin] (Gaping): What the…?

[Mostin]: Kostchtchie can't fly.

[Ortwin]: (Hysterical laughter).

But in response to its master's telepathic command, one of the other dragons wheeled about and its rider climbed from his harness, and carelessly launched himself into the air.

Mostin anticipated that Kostchtchie would attempt to _teleport_ into the vacant saddle. He opened a _gate_.

Koilimilou – a sidhe-cambion seldom prone to uncontrollable outbursts – screamed. The pseudonatural Horror – simultaneously both a daemon, and a writhing thing possessed of appendages with an unknown purpose – slid through the portal.

[Symbol] = _Faces_.

[Mostin] (Pointing mentally at Kostchtchie): _His_ face (and then at the dragons), _their_ faces.

With a gusto which surprised Mostin, the Horror launched itself from the _gate_ towards their enemies.

There had to be a catch, Mostin knew. There was always a catch. It was never that easy. 


**


The demon Surab, together with his host – a half-mortal named Iua – rode upon an _obsidian steed_ across a blasted Abyssal landscape. A great, flat, plain – riven by yawning chasms which led to the domains of a thousand different demonic magnates – stretched as far as the eye could see.  Surab relaxed into his new form – young, athletic, deadlier with the blade than any of the succubi mercenaries who served Graz'zt. He might keep her for a while – she seemed quiescent enough.

Through her eyes, he scanned the terrain ahead of him, eagerly seeking a familiar portal to Azzagrat where, he knew, its Lord would shower him with favour for his success in eliminating the Savant. Although the plan had been swiftly devised, it had been flawless in its execution. Pure simplicity.

Surab congratulated himself upon his ingenuity.

After riding hard for around an hour, the Demon nudged his steed towards a pit filled with lurid green flames, entered it, and, within seconds, emerged from a _gate oven_ in the midst of Zelatar. 

The scene which greeted him was violent, chaotic, brutal and filled with seething hatred. In that regard, Azzagrat was entirely normal.

What marked the Triple Realm as changed, however, was the nature of many of the creatures present. A frenzied pack of Abyssal ghouls were feeding nearby, and a cadre of death knights – mounted upon cauchemars – thundered past with some dire purpose.

Because, acutely conscious of Graz'zt's denuded power and overextended forces, and perceiving the chink in his usually impenetrable armour, Prince Orcus – acting on the gentle promptings of Rhyxali – had determined to invest Azzagrat and test his rival's defenses with a lightning-quick assault. 

Surab panicked. The Argent palace, under normal circumstances visible from all parts of Zelatar, had vanished: the demon guessed that Graz'zt had obscured it with a spell.

Commanding his steed to _plane shift_, Surab, his host and his mount vanished. Any forsaken realm between Hell and the Abyss was preferable to Azzagrat at that moment.


Upon his throne, Graz'zt himself reflected. The purpose of the embassy delivered by Titivilus now seemed clear to him: the Nameless Adversary had, no doubt, known of the impending situation, and chosen to maintain the existing balance of Abyssal politics by reinforcing the Prince's armies in Afqithan. It had to be Afqithan: a diabolic presence in the Abyss would have caused outrage among the other Princes. Afqithan, because of the concentration of Graz'zt's force there; because that was where the _Ahma_ had determined to start the war; because to _hold_ Afqithan was yet another opportunity to defy the will of Oronthon. Afqithan had become an unlikely trophy in the Great Game. New impulses were revealing themselves.

Graz'zt spat venom, and cursed. He knew he _would_ have been overwhelmed in Afqithan. He _needed_ the devils: in order to secure Azzagrat he was being forced to withdraw from dozens of worlds – including Yutuf, Tirche, Sisperi and Saraf – and redeploy tens of thousands of demons. And now he doubted that he hold Throile: the sweet prize dearly bought with the life of one of his favourite generals. And bitterest of all, he realized that, despite all appearances to the contrary, he himself was _still_ the pawn of the one who had sparked the Great Revolt.


----------



## Noir

*Yatta!*

YAY! New update! "Yes, that's the one!"


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## Sollir Furryfoot

Two updates, very nice ^_^  Sep definately hasn't lost his touch, I'm still clamoring for more.


----------



## Dakkareth

Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> [Symbol] = _Faces_.
> 
> [Mostin] (Pointing mentally at Kostchtchie): _His_ face (and then at the dragons), _their_ faces.
> 
> With a gusto which surprised Mostin, the Horror launched itself from the _gate_ towards their enemies.




... !

Now that was some update! Only one question remains ... when do we learn more?

-Dakkareth, _in awe_


----------



## Knightfall

Why do I have this feeling that Nwm, Nehael, Teppu, Hlioth, and the _Green_ are going to play a major role in how the conflict in Afqithan ends. Not to mention the future of that plane.

Here's my favorite part...



> Hlioth scowled. "What are you plotting, Teppu?"
> 
> "I do not plot," Teppu replied sincerely. "I merely act according to need. There is a splinter of reality which must be realigned: purged of its umbral infestation. In order to accomplish this, I will need the concerted effort of several selfless individuals."
> 
> "I think perhaps you might explain a little more."
> 
> "I mean to eradicate the seeds of taint from the demiplane of Afqithan: it will be the first manifestation of the burgeoning Viridity. Faerie must reclaim its own."
> 
> Hlioth shrugged. "What is Afqithan, and why is it significant?"
> 
> Teppu sighed. "Your knowledge of current events is lamentably scant, Hlioth. This does not surprise me, but you cannot continue to view Green within the limited terms that you have previously described to yourself. Afqithan is a finite reality where demons, devils, tainted sidhe and various other monsters struggle to assert themselves: Oronthon's Ahma is embroiled in its troubles, as is the creature Soneillon – a demoness who has transcended her ontic state.
> 
> "I am dubious of your ability to manage such an act."
> 
> "It will be simple: trust me."
> 
> "And how do you propose to accomplish this?"
> 
> "Why," Teppu laughed, "with magic, of course."


----------



## The Forsaken One

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhaawww!!!

Can't wait for the next one in which the battle will be on 

GREAT stuff Sep! You and Destan updating in one week with both awsome updates. You guys rock and make my week! What a way to end the weekend


----------



## pogre

Thanks for your efforts!


----------



## Jackylhunter

OH MY GOD!!!  Very cool update.  Thank you Sep!  This is so beyond any role-playing experience I've ever had, I am so envious of you and your players.


----------



## Delemental

Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> Teppu threw back his head, and laughed. "Nehael is no demoness, nor was she ever one. The past is not immutable."





So, does this mean Sep has to go back through all his past postings and eliminate every reference to Nehael being a succubus?   

Good to see the battle rejoined.


----------



## Terwox

I checked back idly tonight, like I always do, and blinked when I saw there was an update today.  Here's to that!  Wonderful stuff, as always, and I'm very curious where the story will move next.


----------



## strawberryJAMM

_{deep sigh of great contentment}_

Good things come to she who waits.....

Jenni
-- _Patiently _awaiting the next installment. 

.


----------



## Yair

*sigh*

Thank you. I needed that.


----------



## The Forsaken One

Hmmmm I'm curious to when Shomei's gonna get it, how and especially by whom....

Any thoughts? It seems a very real possibility that she will bite the dust in this fight, perhaps Ainhorr? Or will it be Titivilus who swore vengeance on her when she bound him minutes before he had a meeting with the Ahma which he couldn't miss for the world...

Discuss


----------



## Baron Opal

> [Symbol] = Faces.
> 
> [Mostin] (Pointing mentally at Kostchtchie): _His_ face (and then at the dragons), _their_ faces.
> 
> With a gusto which surprised Mostin, the Horror launched itself from the gate towards their enemies.
> 
> There had to be a catch, Mostin knew. There was always a catch. It was never that easy.




OK, somewhere in my world there is a most disturbing item. A frame of adamant, roughly circular, 5 feet across. Stretched across it like some demented dreamcatcher is the skin from some massive humanoid creature. What is the most disturbing thing about it is not that the face is about four feet wide, or that the leather is contorted in obvious pain. It is, rather, that if you catch the stretched leather just right in a breeze you can hear a faint moaning as the wind passes through the holes in the face.

Perhaps, just perhaps, words can be distinguished if you put your ear close enough to the ragged hole that used to be a mouth if the wind is strong enough. Be careful, though.

Don't let it fall on you...


----------



## jmucchiello

Dang, dang, dang! I swore I'd pace myself. Read it slowly. Poof! Gone in an instant. Well, here's hoping for another update before Easter*....  


* Just a little jab. We love ya' Sep.


----------



## Jeremy

[Emotion] = Bliss


----------



## Funeris

[breathless]...wow...
amazing....absolutely....in awe...


----------



## Vuron

Interesting update I guess that with Nwm's new understanding he'll become more of a factor in the coming storyline as his duties to the Green now extend further outward.

I also wonder if other forces are going to act to counter the rapidly escalating imbalance of power that this crusade is incurring. Orcus seems content to be an opportunist but I wonder if Demogorgon has turned his malevolent gaze towards the action yet.


----------



## Felix

You know, you almost feel bad for Kostchtchie and those dragons.

We don't know what's going to happen to them, only that it has something to do with their face, and them not keeping it. It's not like anyone really _wants_ to live in the Ice Wastes... Kostchtchie was squatting in otherwise unoccupied and unclaimed property.

And soon he'll be minus a face. 

And I assume his soul will be digested slowly over a thousand years as he learns a new meaning of pain and suffering. Poor fella.

Wicked cool update.


----------



## Vuron

While I would say the Horror probably has the ability to win vs Kostotchie and Wyrms I would by no means think it's a certain deal. The horror's critical weakness is that it's got relatively crappy hitpoints and Kostotchie not to mention abyssal wyrms are close combat monstrosities that really don't need spells or spell-like abilities to chew through those hitpoints. With that hammer of his Kostotchie could in theory slay the Horror with a critical (DC 40 Fort save vs Fort +23 is decidedly in Kostotchie's favor). In addition the Breath Weapons of the wyrms are liable to quickly wear down the Horror. I'm not saying it's a sure thing but if they get in close with the monstrosity they will pound it into the ground unless Mostin & Co provide some cover-fire.

If you look back at an early episode Eadric showed the inherent weaknesses of the Ultraloth daemon vs combat machines. Think of Kostochie as a really potent version of Eadric in this regard.

Granted I suspect that the Horror will be triumphant if only because making Mostin pay the price makes for better storytelling


----------



## fafhrd

It would be unfortunate if Kostchtchie starts to rage, the Horror fails its Will save and runs away, but looking at the numbers it looks likely.  You'd think pseudonaturals would be immune to fear.


----------



## Vuron

Hrmm I had forgotten about Kostotchie's Terrifying Rage which given his hefty Intimidate score pretty much makes him somewhat likely to send the Horror and possibly Ortwin and Mostin packing unless they are immune to fear from some buffing spells as thier will saves are nowhere near adequate to handle that. Of course the Horror could be immune to fear effects based on the wackiness of the Far Realm but from a strict reading of the Rogues Gallery Kostotchie is quite likely to rout a good percentage of his opponents as soon as he rages.


----------



## fafhrd

We can pray that a very liberal treatment of Mindblank and distance will keep the PCs in the game.


----------



## Vuron

fafhrd said:
			
		

> We can pray that a very liberal treatment of Mindblank and distance will keep the PCs in the game.




Indeed that's a pretty liberal reading of Mindblank but as to distance it seems that Kostotchie's area of effect is limited by sight. Whether that is somewhat limited like a dragon or the tarrasque's frightful presence would need clarification. Personally a range of 300 ft is likely adequate.

Of course assuming that mindblank has that liberal of a reading makes one wonder why there isn't a hefty directed epic spell that cancels mindblank across a huge area (say a demiplane )


----------



## Felix

Is the Horror statted in the Rogue's Gallery thread?


----------



## Mishihari Lord

Sepulchrave II said:
			
		

> *AFQITHAN - Part Two*
> 
> 
> Mostin anticipated that Kostchtchie would attempt to _teleport_ into the vacant saddle. He opened a _gate_.
> 
> Koilimilou – a sidhe-cambion seldom prone to uncontrollable outbursts – screamed. The pseudonatural Horror – simultaneously both a daemon, and a writhing thing possessed of appendages with an unknown purpose – slid through the portal.
> 
> [Symbol] = _Faces_.
> 
> [Mostin] (Pointing mentally at Kostchtchie): _His_ face (and then at the dragons), _their_ faces.
> 
> With a gusto which surprised Mostin, the Horror launched itself from the _gate_ towards their enemies.
> 
> There had to be a catch, Mostin knew. There was always a catch. It was never that easy.




I bet there is a catch.  Not having seen the thing's stats, here's my guess:  the Horror's mind is an amalgam of its own and all those it has ever eaten/absorbed.  If it eats Kostchtchie it will partly become Kostchtchie and then will go after Mostin and crew.  Other speculation?


----------



## Avarice

Felix said:
			
		

> Is the Horror statted in the Rogue's Gallery thread?




Oh yes.  Yes, it is. 

http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5652&page=24&pp=20


----------



## Rackhir

A couple of points about The Horror vs Kostotchie. The Horror has init +23, Kostochie is only about +9? So The Horror will likely go first, an important point given the horrific damage that these epic level combatants can dish out. Second, The Horror's AC is 68 vs Kostotchie's best attack of +50 and The Horror's SR of 90 vs Kototchie's Caster level of 35. Given that The Horror is +48 vs Kostotchie's AC of only +35 and The Horror's Caster level is 25-26 vs Kototchie's SR of 35, Kototchie is pretty helpless against The Horror, except for if he Rages, as that does get him up to +54 for best attack (still not great) and there is the panic effect. 

Anyone have stats on the Wyrm?


----------



## Cheiromancer

It would be strange if the Horror were panicked by Kostchie, but there is no indication that it has immunity to fear.  Even if it didn't panic, the Horror has poor resistance to cold; if Kostchie commands a few white wyrms to breathe on him, the Horror could be in trouble.  Kostchie, of course, is immune to cold.

Finally, there is a very powerful varangoin wizard around who can, I imagine, use _wishes_ to heal Kostchie- this will give the demon breathing space for the Horror to be destroyed.  It may even be able to teleport his master out of the Horror's grapple.

I imagine the heroes will have their hands full ensuring that the Horror is given enough time to kill Kostchie.


----------



## Warrior Poet

[Undisputed World Championship Heavyweight Best Story Hour Writer Title Holder Sepulchrave II posts two updates to the Undisputed World Championship Heavyweight Best Story Hour]

[Warrior Poet reads updates]

[Warrior Poet faints dead away]

P.S.  Thanks.  I've run out of ways to praise, and ways to thank, so I'm left with the mundane stuff.


----------



## dream66_

I reread the section where Neheal walked up like 3 times.   I was smiling and almost crying, it made me so happy to see her again.    Maybe I'm becoming too invested in these characters but since i've been reading this for years now, I think I have a right to be.

Amazing update so so much going on, Neheal back, WOW!  I missed her.   Mostin playing with things he really really shouldn't.     I'm just afraid to see what will happen when Neheal meets Eadrics new girlfreind.


----------



## DestyNova

Re: Horrer vs. Kostchie


 Mostin did ponder this when whe considered sending The Horrer after Grzzt(sp) The Horrer works best with supporting characters.


----------



## Thorntangle

Sublime and exquisite.  Thanks for the update.

I've said it before and I'll reiterate - you've got skills and need to take them to a broader market.


----------



## Warrior Poet

Thorntangle said:
			
		

> I've said it before and I'll reiterate - you've got skills and need to take them to a broader market.




What Thorntangle said.

I said the same thing early on when I first read Lady Despina's Virtue lo those many moons ago.

I've been a writer/editor for years (corporate trade--sorry, I can't hook you up with any publishers), and Sepulchrave, if you're reading this, you've got the gift (and not just in a strictly commercial way; I think you've got true literary talent).  I'm not saying it's a good way to make a living (because it's not), but if you publish, let us know when and what the titles are.

I'll be down at the bookstore, buying 'em and singing their praises.

Warrior Poet


----------



## Lela

Re: Horrer vs. Kostchie

 Are Yugoloths immune to fear?  I get the impression of no but I haven't looked.



			
				dream66_ said:
			
		

> Amazing update so so much going on, Neheal back, WOW! I missed her. Mostin playing with things he really really shouldn't. I'm just afraid to see what will happen when Neheal meets Eadrics new girlfreind.



  Squishy.


----------



## Jeph

Great updates!

Nwm's Ur-Tree Greater Green thingy is way cool. Could it become a substitute of sorts for Mostin's Web of Motes, in terms of raw info yield?

--Jeff


----------



## Felix

> Squishy.



Yeah, and if Neheal's eyes are glowing pure _Green_, then perhaps Sonellion is about to find out that unbeing isn't quite all its cracked up to be...

Or a threesome. Which is also cool.


----------



## DestyNova

I have a feeling that it won't be the catfight people are expecting. Both ladies are no doubt far beyond squabbling over a man. Neheal probably knows all thats been happening after she was captured by now.


----------



## Lela

DestyNova said:
			
		

> I have a feeling that it won't be the catfight people are expecting. Both ladies are no doubt far beyond squabbling over a man. Neheal probably knows all thats been happening after she was captured by now.



 But was she ever captured?  The past is not immutable.  What else is not as we remember it?


----------



## Nifft

Felix said:
			
		

> Or a threesome. Which is also cool.




Heh, heh, heh... at first, I thought you wrote *tree*some. Which is also cool. 

 -- N


----------



## Lela

Question, having just pulled Complete Arcane out of the mail I've run across the new Alienest. Anyone have links/copies of Sep's Epic version (I swear I saw this)?



			
				Nifft said:
			
		

> Heh, heh, heh... at first, I thought you wrote *tree*some. Which is also cool.
> 
> -- N



Well, where did you think fey came from in the first place?  Rocks?


----------



## Nifft

Lela said:
			
		

> Well, where did you think fey came from in the first place?  Rocks?




Which came first, the tree or the tree-spirit? 

It's Plato-vs.-Aristotle -- in a Steel Cage!

 -- N


----------



## Gez

_That_ would be tree-hugging at its most extreme.

BTW, it is Nehael, not Neheal. With the name ending in -el like Gabriel, Raphael, and so on.


----------



## Noir

Nifft said:
			
		

> Which came first, the tree or the tree-spirit?
> 
> It's Plato-vs.-Aristotle -- in a Steel Cage!
> 
> -- N




Or maybe the will of "tree"?


----------



## Dakkareth

What is the Green, if Tree and Tree-spirit are not unidentical? 

And just what has Teppu become? 

And Noir, that's my favourite Mostin quote in your sig 

Edit: 6 more posts to go ... Muhahahahah!


----------



## DestyNova

Lela said:
			
		

> But was she ever captured?  The past is not immutable.  What else is not as we remember it?





Stop that, your using it out of context.  

 And by that (mind-breaking) logic, all that has gone before has to be re-written as well. If things have been changed so Nehael had never gone through those experiances that we have seen her go through so long ago, then she would never of had her past rewriten as it seems to be.

(I know that doesn't make any real sense, but thats what you get when beings who consider reality a chew-toy show up.)

 So what we may end up seeing, is the entire 'Fall' being rendered null and void via all this time and space mangling.

(Pardon me while i lose 1d20 SAN)


----------



## Delemental

At one point a while ago there was a line of conjecture by the faithful readers of the possibility of Nehael and Sonellion actually being the same being (the specifics escape me, but stemmed from the observation that both were originally succubi before becoming something more - I believe it was something along the lines of Nehael somehow becoming Sonellion due to her experiences in Grazzt's clutches).  It was a relatively minor thought in the midst of a larger social-spiritual-psychological-philosophical debate.

However, we now have an interesting duality where Nehael and Sonellion are a dichotomous pair.  For if Sonellion represents Unbeing, then in her current manifestation Nehael can certainly be seen as a representative of Being.

Of course, I expect it to take about 5 minutes before someone pops up with a 'If Nehael and Sonellion are not dissimilar, then...' sort of statement that will give us all headaches for a week.


----------



## Gez

DestyNova said:
			
		

> If things have been changed so Nehael had never gone through those experiances that we have seen her go through so long ago, then she would never of had her past rewriten as it seems to be.
> 
> (I know that doesn't make any real sense, but thats what you get when beings who consider reality a chew-toy show up.)




No.

It doesn't make any real sense because you wrote "never of had" instead of "never have had."

-Gez "Pardon my honging" Ooi


----------



## Joshua Randall

*Winterwight*



> Mostin peered ahead. Close by the Demon Lord, shunned by demons but around whom fiendish giants grouped clumsily, a gaunt figure stood. It was clearly visible between the warriors' legs: the trio were closing rapidly, now.
> 
> [Mostin]: Sh*t. The winterwight. It's not supposed to be here.



A Winterwight, eh? Muuuhahahaha! *rubbing my hands with glee*

The Winterwight was originally introduced by Bruce Cordell in the AD&D 2nd ed. super-module _Return to the Tomb of Horrors_. The monster was updated for the 3e _Epic Level Handbook_... plus I'm sure Sep will tweak it a bit more to make it a challenge for Mostin et al.

For example, he might slap some Sorcerer levels on it and crank up its Charisma, which would make the save DC for this ability even higher:


> *Blightfire (Su)*
> When a winterwight deals damage to a living opponent, a night-black flame begins to burn on the opponent’s body. If the opponent fails a Fortitude save (DC 35), it takes 4 points of permanent Constitution drain. The opponent must continue to save every round for the next 4 rounds (5 rounds total) to avoid being permanently drained of an additional 4 points of Constitution per round. The creature regains 10 lost hit points whenever it drains 4 points of Constitution, gaining any excess hit points as temporary hit points. These temporary hit points last a maximum of 1 hour. If the opponent is slain by blightfire, only icy fragments of the victim remain. The save DC is Charisma-based.


----------



## Lela

Joshua Randall said:
			
		

> A Winterwight, eh? Muuuhahahaha! *rubbing my hands with glee*
> 
> The Winterwight was originally introduced by Bruce Cordell in the AD&D 2nd ed. super-module _Return to the Tomb of Horrors_. The monster was updated for the 3e _Epic Level Handbook_... plus I'm sure Sep will tweak it a bit more to make it a challenge for Mostin et al.
> 
> For example, he might slap some Sorcerer levels on it and crank up its Charisma, which would make the save DC for this ability even higher:



 As it is, a _Disintegrate_ spell with a 30 DC stands a good chance of taking it out.


----------



## Joshua Randall

Lela said:
			
		

> As it is, a _Disintegrate_ spell with a 30 DC stands a good chance of taking it out.



Ah, but the Winterwight can drop _sleet storm_ at will -- which it can see through (see its description) but which the PCs likely can't -- sleet storm blocks all vision. Even _true sight_ won't negate the concealment.

But I think the real reason the Winterwight is there is to bolster any nearby undead or cold-subtype creatures.


----------



## Felix

> _sleet storm_ at will -- which it can see through (see its description) but which the PCs likely can't



But won't that both stop demons from flying, and also keep them from seeing where they are going?


----------



## Lela

Joshua Randall said:
			
		

> Ah, but the Winterwight can drop _sleet storm_ at will -- which it can see through (see its description) but which the PCs likely can't -- sleet storm blocks all vision. Even _true sight_ won't negate the concealment.



 So the winner could highly depend on inititive, unsurprisingly.  Sleet Storm, on the side of the Winterwight, would be a powerful force capable of hurting the party a lot.




			
				Joshua Randall said:
			
		

> But I think the real reason the Winterwight is there is to bolster any nearby undead or cold-subtype creatures.



 Can't argue there.  However, the use of sleet storm may have a detrimental effect on they're ability to attack the party.  Which may not matter, depending on how weak they are to begin with.


----------



## Starman

Thank you, Sepulchrave. I have recently read Story Hour and I am just blown away with how good it is. You have inspired me to strive to new heights as a DM. You have shown me how good a game can be. I'm going to be a better DM after reading this. Thank you and keep up the good work.

Starman


----------



## The Forsaken One

Sleetstorm! Hah you cant see me!

*Quadruple sonic energy substituted maximized empowered meteorswarm*

What?!>?! Sleetstormwallhackers!


----------



## Felix

Has anyone been good enough over the last year to request a Christmas update?

*Dear Santa,

This year for Christmas I would like you to please use your powers of persuasion (or coersion) to convince (or force) Sepulchrave II to write an update (or four) for his Story Hour by the 25th. I promise I'll be really really good. 

Thank you,
Felix*

I think if we flooded the Claus' inbox with that, he'd put some good elves on it.


----------



## Warrior Poet

A haiku:

I return!  Update?
No.  Sadness.  What?  Second Page?
I bump to page one.

Warrior Poet


----------



## Krafus

Not a bump, but rather an introduction... I'm a long-time lurker who has finally decided to unlurk. I consider this story hour to be perhaps the very best on this site, and whenever I come to this forum my foremost hope is that Sepulchrave will have updated it. This is a story hour that really forces readers to think to understand all its nuances. (Btw, if anyone cares, my favorite character is Mostin, Mr. "My infinity is bigger than yours!")


----------



## Starman

Krafus said:
			
		

> (Btw, if anyone cares, my favorite character is Mostin, Mr. "My infinity is bigger than yours!")




That's 'cause Mostin RULES!

Starman


----------



## Kalanyr

Gah. I can't believe I missed seeing this update for a MONTH. *SOB*. 

Incidentally if the past is not immutable, but it seems normal creatures can remember the actual past what purpose does changing the past actually serve (apart from to really really screw with spells) ?


----------



## Cheiromancer

Bump (and links in my signature so the next poster can catch up on his/her reading!)


----------



## Tellerve

Ok I'm happy the boards are faster but over my x-mas break I was catching up on this great story and was somewhere in the middle to end of Mesaliance part 1 and now that thread doesn't seem to be up on the boards.  Anyone know where I can find it so I can finish it off and start working on this one?

Oh, and Sep, awesome stuff.

Tellerve

edit: was able to find it by trudging through the yahoo boards.  I will say this though, it was sad to click through the last few pages of this thread and not get any updates.  I figured they'd be a few in the last pages, but only one and lots and lots of bumps   Ah well, Happy New Year everyone.


----------



## Rackhir

Hmmm, I was just thinking. What is the craft DC for Seph to write up one of these stories and do you think he's taking 20 to do so? It would explain why they take so long and are so good, but is writing a bad installment a sufficient negative consequence that he'd have to just take 10?


----------



## Darmanicus

New years Eve BUMP.

Seppy, I really thought you might have something to finish off 2004 with but you've gone and let us all down you miser!!!   

Now hurry up and give us something for, EARLY, 2005..........please.


----------



## Babel

Y'know, I'm not convinced that Sep isn't some sort of imp in the service of the Powers Below.  He posts works of fantastic brilliance just often enough to keep everyone reading but leaves great gulfs of sad silence in-between, during which weak souls turn to drink, opium and general debauchery to fill the void left by the lack of Sep Story Hour greatness.  Slowly, surely, the corruption spreads, while his diabolic masters cackle and grind their mandibles...

But hey, that's just a theory - as well as a roundabout way of begging for an update.  Now, if you'll excuse me, I must return to the debauchery which is my only way of escaping the absence of more Sep Story Hour greatness.


----------



## fafhrd

Itty bitty bump


----------



## fafhrd

Hey Sepulchrave, can we get another provisional plan?  

Oh and BUMP


----------



## Lazybones

I don't remember if I've commented on this before, but if I have it's probably six threads and 1000 posts back. 

I just got done rereading Jack Vance's _Rhialto the Marvellous_, and the influences of that story upon this tale are striking. In particular, the community of wizards in Wyre (and environs), the nature of magic (of course, Vancian magic inspired a lot of D&D's system, so that's not that surprising), the presence of a magician's code and a powerful, neutral enforcer (the Claviger), and to some extent the richness of language. I don't mean this in a negative/plagiaristic sort of way at all; in fact I think most writers are inspired by certain writers, and Sep is able to improve upon Vance in a number of ways IMHO. In particular, Sep surpasses Vance in his introduction of strong female characters into his narrative, and in the whole Eadric/spiritualist arc that started as an integral part of the story and developed into the mind-blowing philosophical debate that so many have commented on already.  

On the other hand, I think we're going to have to organize a kidnapping party to secure Sep and situate him in some hidden location to finish the story for us.


----------



## ajanders

Lela said:
			
		

> So the winner could highly depend on inititive, unsurprisingly.  Sleet Storm, on the side of the Winterwight, would be a powerful force capable of hurting the party a lot.
> 
> 
> 
> Can't argue there.  However, the use of sleet storm may have a detrimental effect on they're ability to attack the party.  Which may not matter, depending on how weak they are to begin with.




I have to disagree here.
Mostin's packing spells capable of ripping the plane apart.  I very much doubt a sleet storm will noticeably slow him.  A reality maelstrom doesn't give a fig for line of sight or miss chances.


----------



## GneralTsao

fafhrd said:
			
		

> Hey Sepulchrave, can we get another provisional plan?




Yeah and this time we promise to heed the word _provisional_ and not complain if it's a bit later (although it might be a bit earlier maybe perhaps...)


----------



## RuminDange

I think this needs a bump


----------



## fafhrd

Dear God man!  BUMP!  Put your back into it now!

BUUUUUUMP!


----------



## Jackylhunter

Not to pile on, but, 

BUMP

Nwm is my hero, and I can't wait to see what he does now.


----------



## Warrior Poet

<_walks in, turns on light, looks around_>

"Anybody here?"

<_sighs_>

<_turns off light, walks out, closes door, steps recede into the distance_>


----------



## Felix

Yar! About time ye's be turnin off the light me cully; don ya know Sep only be writin in the pitch black?


----------



## fafhrd

Standard orbit captain.


----------



## fafhrd

Station keeping BUMP


----------



## Felix

...

New Year.

New Server.

New Campbell's Chunky Soups.

... New Sepulchrave Update?


----------



## Campbell

My soups are not chunky. They're just big-boned...



Spoiler



BUMP


----------



## Ridley's Cohort

bump


----------



## Campbell

When you get the chance Sepulchrave, I'd really like to hear more about how you handle resource points in your campaign. I'm interested in implementing something similar.


----------



## Scotch

Hello fellow awaiters.
Can anyone point me to Graz'zt's stats (and maybe Soneillon/the devils) ?  
Did Sepgive him Divine Ranks?
There's no Rogue's Gallery posting, and many of the old links need to be updated.
           Thanks.


----------



## Cheiromancer

Hi Scotch,

I think my signature has the appropriate links.

[edit]  Oh no!  The links are dead!  I'll see if I can fix them this evening....[/edit]

[edit2] OK.  I think they are all fixed.  Even the ones on the Rogue's Gallery Master list![/edit2]


----------



## alice_of_ebony

BBUMPP


----------



## Warrior Poet

"Any post today, perchance, Grommit?"

(_Wallace and Grommit_, Nick Park)

He's coming back to post someday, right?  

Warrior Poet


----------



## fafhrd

Hey Cheiromancer, are those links dead again?


----------



## Cheiromancer

fafhrd said:
			
		

> Hey Cheiromancer, are those links dead again?




I don't think so.  Are you getting a white screen?  If so, you have to reduce the posts per page to 20 or so.  Go to "My Account" and then to "Thread Viewing Options".


----------



## Gez

That's really weird. The link is correct but does not work. (Yes, I'm in 50 posts per page.)


----------



## grodog

Scotch said:
			
		

> Hello fellow awaiters.  Can anyone point me to Graz'zt's stats (and maybe Soneillon/the devils) ?




Graz'zt is @ http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=5652&page=11&pp=40

Soneillon is @ http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=835721&postcount=137

Some devils @ http://www.enworld.org/showpost.php?p=1541851&postcount=491

I hope that helps 

I think it's time for a complete re-read for me, some nuances about the planar/philosophical conflicts lurking in the background may have started working themselves out in a dream I had last night....


----------



## Jumbie

‘“Please, Sir, I want some more.”’

- Oliver Twist


----------



## fafhrd

Cheiromancer said:
			
		

> I don't think so.  Are you getting a white screen?  If so, you have to reduce the posts per page to 20 or so.  Go to "My Account" and then to "Thread Viewing Options".




Thanks for the tip.


----------



## Cheiromancer

I've changed the link in my sig so it automatically displays Tales of Wyre with 20 posts/page.  It won't affect the way you view other threads.




[Highlight]Tales of Wyre: Compiled Sepulchrave Story Hour (updated 11-28)[/highlight]
and associated Rogue's Gallery (master list of links)


----------



## fafhrd

Anyone want to hazard a guess about the outcome of the nodality?


----------



## Rackhir

I would like to see something on how Mostin figured out that it was the faces of the Horror's targets that it wanted.


----------



## Gez

It's the simplest, logical assumption.

Which means, since we're talking about pseudonatural horrors, that it's probably a _wrong_ assumption.


----------



## fafhrd

Gez said:
			
		

> It's the simplest, logical assumption.
> 
> Which means, since we're talking about pseudonatural horrors, that it's probably a _wrong_ assumption.




It would seem a bit odd to pay the servitor in its own coin.  It can't end well.


----------



## Rackhir

fafhrd said:
			
		

> It would seem a bit odd to pay the servitor in its own coin.  It can't end well.




I was re-reading things yesterday and before the big battle, Mostin mentioned that the Horror had been suitably compensated. So presumably the faces are just targeting information.


----------



## Felix

> suitably compensated



Good grief... what does Mostin have to offer that would get the Horror moving that quickly?


----------



## Dakkareth

*sad look*

Even a few lines would do. Please?


----------



## Gez

Sepulchrave II
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Portland, OR
Last Seen: Today (03:56 AM)
Posts: 362​
He's taunting us!


----------



## Eridanis

Hey, if it works for J.D. Salinger...

I'm going back and rereading the story hour; it's been nearly two years. It's just as good as I remember; better, even. Sep has such a knack for description; he is an excellent wordsmith.


----------



## Moleculo

maybe seps waiting for the fan art thing like pcat?? Let's do some fan art!


----------



## Joshua Randall

I got yer fan art right here:

http://paizo.com/image/product/magazine_issue/dungeon/121/cover_500.jpg

_Edit: that's Graz'zt & Iggwilv, by the way._


----------



## Kestrel

Yeah, I got my issue last night and thought that was them.  I counted his fingers to make sure


----------



## the Jester

Oooh, nice pic- though I always picture Graz'zt with more... _dainty_ horns.


----------



## grodog

the Jester said:
			
		

> Oooh, nice pic- though I always picture Graz'zt with more... _dainty_ horns.




I'm not sure that I'd ever describe anything about Graz'zt as "dainty"


----------



## Pants

Ah, Wayne Reynolds strikes again (in a good way!).


----------



## fafhrd

It's that time again.  BUMP


----------



## Moleculo

am I the only one who wouldnt mind know what is going on *right * now, as a sort of mega teaser?


----------



## Rackhir

Moleculo said:
			
		

> am I the only one who wouldnt mind know what is going on *right * now, as a sort of mega teaser?




Any one for Sepulchrave Mad Libs? It seems to help fill the time over on Pkitty's story hour...


----------



## Moleculo

I'm game, but I am too late for class to make up a form. Someone else do it! (delegation 1 thread 0 woot!)


----------



## Jackylhunter

...and suddenly ______ looks at ________, and says "Now it's time to _______"

Sorry it's been years since I've done one of those.  Hope it works.


----------



## Moleculo

...and suddenly Eadric looks at Graz'zt, and says "Now it's time to slay my progeny"


----------



## Joshua Randall

... and suddenly The Horror looks at Mostin, and says "Now it's time to give me your face."

(Note that I find this Mad Lib frighteningly plausible.)


----------



## Lela

...and suddenly the Dryad looks at Ortwin, and says "Now it's time to get the razer."


----------



## pogre

...and suddenly SepulchraveII looks at his thread, and says "Now it's time to update"


----------



## Rackhir

Eadric looked ___________ at _____________ and a _____________ expresion spread across his face as he replied __________________.


----------



## F5

Eadric looked longingly at Nwm and a dreamy  expresion spread across his face as he replied "You had me at 'No Mercy', you crazy, hippie death-machine, you..."


----------



## Jackylhunter

F5 said:
			
		

> Eadric looked longingly at Nwm and a dreamy  expresion spread across his face as he replied "You had me at 'No Mercy', you crazy, hippie death-machine, you..."




it's a free action to giggle, and I do so...=)


----------



## Felix

Dedicated to Sep's vocabulary...

Eadric looked uptitiously at Sonellion and a pelandiarious expresion spread across his face as he replied "Serphastically, my consaetarian quemeillion".


----------



## Rackhir

Felix said:
			
		

> Dedicated to Sep's vocabulary...
> 
> Eadric looked uptitiously at Sonellion and a pelandiarious expresion spread across his face as he replied "Serphastically, my consaetarian quemeillion".




And Samuel Johnson runs screaming out of the room, prompting Ortwin to remark "Looks like he forgot to include Aardvark too..."


----------



## the Jester

Felix said:
			
		

> Dedicated to Sep's vocabulary...
> 
> Eadric looked uptitiously at Sonellion and a pelandiarious expresion spread across his face as he replied "Serphastically, my consaetarian quemeillion".




You got me.


----------



## Gez

Felix said:
			
		

> Dedicated to Sep's vocabulary...
> 
> Eadric looked uptitiously at Soneillion and a pelandiarious expression spread across his face as he replied "Serphastically, my consaetarian quemeillion".




Usually, Sep uses real words. 



That is, when he uses words at all, because these last few months, his vocabulary has been null... :\


----------



## Felix

Gez said:
			
		

> Usually, Sep uses real words.



Heh. I'm scribbling notes for a book I might write one day... Words that Should Be


----------



## Gez

That's not a bad idea. Jean-Loup Chiflet wrote several books on that theme (in French). _Words that Should Exist_, _Words that Don't Exist_, and _Words that Exist at Last_, among others. And Jean Yanne wrote a _Dictionary of Words That Me Alone Knows_. They can be funny read.


----------



## fafhrd

Eadric looked briefly at the Horror and a panicked expression spread across his face as he replied [Eadric] !.


----------



## Felix

___________ thought (s)he had never seen such a ____________, despite the long years spent _____________.


----------



## Moleculo

We've been doing this all wrong guys. Let's try this:

Sepulchrave II
Conjuration (Summoning), Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]
*Spellcraft DC*: 0
*Componenents*: V, S
*Casting Time*: 10 minutes
*Range*: Anywhere in the multiverse
*Target*: Sepulchrave II
*Duration*: 20 rounds (D)
*Saving Throw*: Will Negates
*Spell Resistance*: Yes

DC 0 14 + 36 (+18 HD) + 10 (humanoid) + 60 (specific individual) - 18 (increased to 10 minutes) - 121 (six casters contribute 9th level spell slots, and one contributes an epic slot)

This spell summons Sepulchrave II and compels him to write a story hour. He gets a will saving throw to resist the summoning, but this is futile, since the cabal and I are all level 30 Fanatics, and we have a plethora of slots to throw away. So Sepulchrave might as well come on the first try. 


Cost: 0gp I suppose


----------



## Rackhir

Moleculo said:
			
		

> We've been doing this all wrong guys. Let's try this:
> 
> Sepulchrave II
> Conjuration (Summoning), Enchantment (Compulsion) [Mind-Affecting]
> *Spellcraft DC*: 0
> *Componenents*: V, S
> *Casting Time*: 10 minutes
> *Range*: Anywhere in the multiverse
> *Target*: Sepulchrave II
> *Duration*: 20 rounds (D)
> *Saving Throw*: Will Negates
> *Spell Resistance*: Yes
> 
> DC 0 14 + 36 (+18 HD) + 10 (humanoid) + 60 (specific individual) - 18 (increased to 10 minutes) - 121 (six casters contribute 9th level spell slots, and one contributes an epic slot)
> 
> This spell summons Sepulchrave II and compels him to write a story hour. He gets a will saving throw to resist the summoning, but this is futile, since the cabal and I are all level 30 Fanatics, and we have a plethora of slots to throw away. So Sepulchrave might as well come on the first try.
> 
> 
> Cost: 0gp I suppose




Well there are a couple of flaws in this spell. First it should be more like "Compel Story Hour Post". While it would be handy to have a second Sepulchrave II it would probably complicate his life. Second, I think we can restrict it to the prime material plane, his stories may range over the multiverse, but I think he's pretty firmly wedded to this one. Though we might want to broaden it to the realm of dreams. Third, since it's at his will as to if he posts a new chunk of the story hour, permiting a will save is simply not going to be effective. Finally I suspect that adding a gp cost (ie. Bribe) would increase significantly the odds of getting another post by him. Hmmm, perhaps we should look into setting up a pay pal account for the purposes of bribing him? $10 or $20 a reader could be a strong incentive...


----------



## Cheiromancer

And the duration should be upped as well.  What kind of update can you write in 2 minutes?


----------



## Gez

Gez thought (s)he had never seen such a long wait, despite the long years spent reading Sep's story hour.


----------



## Rackhir

For those of you absolutely desperate for updates by Sep. He has just posted a question in the rules forum about (drum roll please) the Spell _Contagion_ and the transmisability of the disease it causes... 

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?p=2140567#post2140567

Sounds like a plot point to me.


----------



## Rary the Traitor

I don't mean to be a nag, but it's been more than *4 months* since the last update. Can we at least get an estimate of how much longer we'll have to wait, Sep?


----------



## Baron Opal

I may just have to drive back up to his house and talk to him again. It worked pretty well last time...

 

Baron Opal


----------



## Jumbie

Baron Opal said:
			
		

> I may just have to drive back up to his house and talk to him again. It worked pretty well last time...
> 
> 
> 
> Baron Opal



Carry a club and tap it rhythmically into the palm of your hand as you _very calmly and politely_ ask him to update to satisfy all of our addictions.


----------



## Nifft

pika?

 -- N


----------



## Baron Opal

Jumbie said:
			
		

> Carry a club and tap it rhythmically into the palm of your hand as you _very calmly and politely_ ask him to update to satisfy all of our addictions.




Nahh, he would just sic Mostin on me...

Baron Opal


----------



## Rackhir

Baron Opal said:
			
		

> Nahh, he would just sic Mostin on me...
> 
> Baron Opal




Yes, but you could then give us a update on how Mostin anihilated.... oh. Wait that wouldn't work very well I guess.


----------



## Vargo

Rackhir said:
			
		

> Yes, but you could then give us a update on how Mostin anihilated.... oh. Wait that wouldn't work very well I guess.




There's always _Speak with Dead_...


----------



## Gez

The head needs to be in good physical shape for SWD to work.


----------



## Lela

Gez said:
			
		

> The head needs to be in good physical shape for SWD to work.



 Does greater restoration work on a dead body?


----------



## Rackhir

Lela said:
			
		

> Does greater restoration work on a dead body?




No, but that does give me an idea. I wonder if we got a medical reconstruction done, if that would work. 

No, Mostin favors sonic substituted Meteor Swarms. I don't think that would leave much but dust.


----------



## Lela

Rackhir said:
			
		

> No, but that does give me an idea. I wonder if we got a medical reconstruction done, if that would work.
> 
> No, Mostin favors sonic substituted Meteor Swarms. I don't think that would leave much but dust.



 And sorting him from the collateral damage would be too much work.


----------



## Moleculo

You know what would make my birthday, aka the 8th of april, awesome?????


----------



## Roman

Moleculo said:
			
		

> You know what would make my birthday, aka the 8th of april, awesome?????




Hmm, and if not your birthday than mine on 16th of April.


----------



## Baron Opal

Okaaaay...

Well, first item on the list is to get a _Simulacrum_, seeing how eager my fellow board members are willing to toss me to the metaphorical wolves. (Damn, but you guys want that update bad.)

Well, OK, I do too.


----------



## Joker[ZW]

bumpage


----------



## Gez

I don't think Sep even looks at this thread anymore.


----------



## dream66_

Gez said:
			
		

> I don't think Sep even looks at this thread anymore.




Nah, he's gone longer than this before.


----------



## Angel of Adventure

Gez,

Would you be a *semi*lich?  (Little joke from our trip thru the Tomb of Horrors)


----------



## Gez

Avatar is an Iron Lich from the old computer games, Heretic.

And yes, the title is a joke about demi as in half. Those things were positively huge! Giant disembodied heads mustering all four elements against the poor player... It was fun! (Especially their whirlwinds)


----------



## Dakkareth

I wait patiently. I post in this thread. The first sentence is a lie.


----------



## Felix

I wait patiently for Sep to update this thread.

*SLAP*

I wait for Sep to update.

*SLAP*

I wait for Sep.

*SLAP*

I wait.

*SLAP*

I?

*SLAP SLAP*

...

*Nod*

The beginning of wisdom.


----------



## Terwox

I guess if Sep is asking rules questions, that means the game is still continuing on... and it was already backlogged 4 months ago, wasn't it?

So... that's good, at least.  I just hope we hear about it sometime... this story is so very excellent, alas.


----------



## ajanders

*In light of Lazybones' vigil comment*

A man lights a single ivory candle outside Sepulchrave's window.


----------



## Jeremy

*plays music*

'Don't stop believing...'


----------



## Felix

*flick*

*flick*

*fli-CLICK*

Bick butane lighter held aloft. For the duration.


----------



## Joker[ZW]

My candle is small
the flame is but a thought,
but still I dare to hope.


----------



## Moleculo

we should start a fund raiser, like donate a penny for every reply before sep. updates.


----------



## Gez

Donate to who? To Sep?

I don't think it's a good idea. People would be reluctant to keep this thread living if it costed them money, and Sep would wait as long as possible if the greater the delay, the larger the sum he's awarded is.

Nah, we should make a fundraising, then, once finished, for each day that passes without a Sep update, every contributor gets to reclaim $1 of the sum he gave.


----------



## Felix

You guys and your positive re-enforcement...

Every poster pledges a dollar amount. For each day that goes by without an update, that sum of money goes into an account. When Sep updates, each poster may inflict that sum's worth of damage on Sep's new home. The money in the account will go to housing Sep's family while he spends his time fixing things. So, the faster he writes, the less time he will have a leaky roof and exploding toilets.


----------



## Rackhir

Felix said:
			
		

> You guys and your positive re-enforcement...
> 
> Every poster pledges a dollar amount. For each day that goes by without an update, that sum of money goes into an account. When Sep updates, each poster may inflict that sum's worth of damage on Sep's new home. The money in the account will go to housing Sep's family while he spends his time fixing things. So, the faster he writes, the less time he will have a leaky roof and exploding toilets.




You've obviously been spending too much time watching Distraction on CC. I'm prescribing a course of Babylon 5 episodes for the lack of grandure and long term plotting, with once a week administrations of Black Adder for a better sense of humor.


----------



## Graywolf-ELM

Rackhir said:
			
		

> You've obviously been spending too much time watching Distraction on CC. I'm prescribing a course of Babylon 5 episodes for the lack of grandure and long term plotting, with once a week administrations of Black Adder for a better sense of humor.




Ahh Black Adder.  Anyone have a source for getting all of the TV episodes?  I used to be able to rent them at the Hastings music store here.

Oh, and patiently waiting for an update.

GW


----------



## Rackhir

Graywolf-ELM said:
			
		

> Ahh Black Adder. Anyone have a source for getting all of the TV episodes? I used to be able to rent them at the Hastings music store here.
> 
> Oh, and patiently waiting for an update.
> 
> GW




 Black Adder : The Complete Collector's Set 

Has all 4 TV series, all the specials (Christmas, The Cavalier Years, Back & Forth, etc..). Basically everything.


----------



## Graywolf-ELM

Rackhir said:
			
		

> Black Adder : The Complete Collector's Set
> 
> Has all 4 TV series, all the specials (Christmas, The Cavalier Years, Back & Forth, etc..). Basically everything.




Yes!  Rackhir is my Hero for the day.

GW


----------



## Felix

Rackhir said:
			
		

> You've obviously been spending too much time watching Distraction on CC. I'm prescribing a course of Babylon 5 episodes for the lack of grandure and long term plotting, with once a week administrations of Black Adder for a better sense of humor.



Actually I watch very little TV, and have never seen Distraction besides two or three commercials for it.

And I've built up an immunity to Blackadder vaccinations... happens when you watch it too much I guess; when that happens, nothing else I say can ever be funny again because it _just isn't Blackadder!_


----------



## Dakkareth

_Someone sets up two candles._

"One for now and one for when I'm not here."


----------



## Rackhir

Felix said:
			
		

> And I've built up an immunity to Blackadder vaccinations... happens when you watch it too much I guess; when that happens, nothing else I say can ever be funny again because it _just isn't Blackadder!_




Hmm, that is a difficult case. Red Dwarf might work, might not. It's effects vary considerably. However, there is a new experimental course of treatment involving "Coupling" episodes from the first and second seasons.


----------



## the Jester

Keeps fingers crossed.


----------



## Artellan

*Graz'zt in Real Life*

Does anyone else find this Austrian company's name & logo rather disturbing?

It's called '3G Gruppe Geotechnik *Graz ZT* GmbH'. I think they do geological analysis and such. Maybe they're looking for a tunnel to the Abyss?

Here's a link that shows their logo:
http://www.3-g.at/3g01.html


----------



## Roman

In case you are interested, Sep has posted about some of his epic rules in the Houserules Forum. Check it out!


----------



## grodog

Thanks for the tip Roman.  The thread is at http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=129739


----------



## Gez

I had to pester him a bit.


----------



## the Jester

Gez said:
			
		

> I had to pester him a bit.




Thank you.


----------



## Joshua Randall

Artellan said:
			
		

> Does anyone else find this Austrian company's name & logo rather disturbing?
> 
> It's called '3G Gruppe Geotechnik *Graz ZT* GmbH'.



There are clear demonic influences at work here. I suggest we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure.


----------



## Seravin

Patience is its own reward.
For the rest of us, there is "Viridity and Saizhan": http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=130712


----------



## grodog

Hey, I missed this and only saw it thanks to the post in the thread on SH Fatigue   Thanks for the tip guys!


----------



## Sanctume

A very interesting read.  Good work, I hope read more.


----------

