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    Default Empires!4 Event- Matters of Faith

    Matters of Faith





    Spoiler: History
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    In the Fall of 535 the Frigid Digits returned from their final expedition to negotiate with the Ice Chasm spirit Isknvald- commonly believed in Whern to be the cause of the long winter. Their contract read that the Frigid Digits would assist the spirit in its greatest desire- becoming a god- in exchange for permanent protection from the long winter for the new god's worshipers. The contract was enormous news in Fherharbor, bringing great doubt and uncertainty only months after the city had rejoiced at their victory over Krace and the first voyage of the Storm Fleet. Two issues were on everyone's mind: how could the Frigid Digits create a new god, and if they were to worship it, what place would they have among Emjata's religions? For as long as could be remembered, Whern had been a home to Jalyeong-bo, but the adoption of a god would shake up their customs greatly.

    Yfga Byornir, the Ruler of Whern and leader of the Frigid Digits, shared these uncertainties with her people. Years earlier, she had agreed to host the wedding of young royals from Overvann and Izbefe as a way to bring some wealth and publicity to the city. This would be the perfect guise for a meeting of religious experts from around Emjata to discuss the Frigid Digit's plans. The hope was that one of the many pantheons of Emjata would agree to take in Isknvald as part of their pantheon, and Whern could join this larger faith.


    Weather and Entrance to Fherharbor

    Fherharbor was one of the two great cities of the Fher river, and as any Whernian would explain the greater of the two, as it controlled oceanic access to the Fher, giving it preeminence over nearly all trade with the Bhulian capitol. It was also an essential stopover for all ships sailing around the horn of Regner, and these factors combined with its incredible location to make it a bustling center of trade even inside one of the poorest nations in the North.

    As visitors sailed into Fherharbor in the fall of Adiman year 535, (year 205 Imperial Reckoning) they would note the impressive cliffs sealing the city off from the waves of the norbar, and the narrow gap in the rock that let their ships through. The wings had been moved far to the north of Whern, so for once the sun was shining on the mixture of ramshackle dugout houses and well built stone halls that composed the Great Jewel of the Tundra. Plains walkers walked through the city looking to barter their Frozen tears collected during the summer for goods, nobles strolled the streets, soaking up the rare warmth of the sun, fishermen were unloading load after load of peat and fish at the docks, and women plucked carrots from their rooftop gardens.

    The Wedding

    The wedding was held in the Feast of Rieba's base, close to the Chief's palace. The Ceremony would be administered soon, and a handful of the Perijanist priests from the Feast of Rieba were gathered around hoping to instill in the young couple some of their wisdom. A few Whernian Nobs also mingled in the room, hoping to catch some foreign trade deals. Among them were the entirety of the Chief's council- save Shaman Agnar and the plains walker delegate, and the company of plains walkers last seen at the Avakonian Revival ceremony. Refreshments were laid out on a side table: A dozen Whernian Alchoholic soups, cactus pies and puddings, and some experimental cactus wine greeted the wedding guests.

    The Ceremony would start soon, but for now the delegates were left to mingle.

    A Private Banquet
    Spoiler: Invited Nations
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    Rhune, Yondar (Representing Rhunic Animacy), Overvann (Representing Gamle Mater), Serene Marasa Pride (Representing Perijanism), The Avakonian Empire (Representing Dejanism), New Bhule (Representing Frostbinderism), and Sycorax and Regno (Representing Initia), and All other faith heads (Although I selected the above list specifically because I think they would be really interesting paths for Whern to follow, you might just make a good enough argument to win regardless).


    The nations with special invitations were asked to pass by this banquet hall, and instead enter a small side room guarded by a pair of bulky Frigid Digits- one Ridx and one human. Upon presentation of their document, they were ushered through the door and led down a narrow flight of stairs into a long cellar room.

    The room was somewhat less grand than the hall above it, but markedly cozier. Fires crackled in fireplaces set into the walls, and candles laid out on the single long table provided a warm light. At the head of the table sat Yfga Bjornir, Shaman Agnar immediately to her right. Once all the guests were seated, Yfga spoke.
    "As your invitations stated, I have asked all of you here for the opportunity to convert the Frigid Digits to your particular religion. The Digits have recently negotiated a contract with the Spirit Isknvald- in exchange for reprieve from the long winter for all its worshipers, the Frigid Digits are to make this spirit a god. In worshiping a god we will be leaving the domain of the Jalyrong-bo traditions that have guided us for so long, and we seek your help with and guidance in how to properly honor a god of our own making. This group's task now is to forge plans to incorporate Isknvald into your theology- something which must be ready to officially approve by next summer, when we plan to do the deed. If you make the most convincing argument for how you will integrate this new god the Frigid Digits will join your church and do their best to convert the people of Whern to do likewise."

    "Now, as befits a crowd of this wealth and power, we have the best foods Whern can offer on hand. As we converse, you shall be treated to a multiple course meal to get the mind working. I believe our first course is... ah, yes, a light cod and dill broth infused with a barley ale.

    A row of servants then emerged from a back door and placed the steaming dill and cod broth before the assembled heads of state and faith.

    "Ah, I see some of you are looking around for spoons, I'm afraid that as this is not some stew with chunks that need to be picked out individually. The handles on your bowls are there so that you can tip it back and sip it up." Yfga demonstrated, taking a quick draught of the alchoholic dish.

    "Now, who has any ideas on how to add a god of Winter and Ice to your pantheon?"

    Spoiler: Procedure (Please Read)
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    All: When you post, please say which part of the event you're addressing, they each have a different procedure.

    Wedding procedure: The ceremony will start as soon as I get some insights from Dark and BC as to how it should go based on their culture. The Wedding is otherwise an entirely normal event, feel free to ignore timelines, Roleplay your negotiations, and all that jazz.

    Private Banquet Procedure: This event occurrs in progressing time. When you say something, you have said it after the poster before you. This is a free for all banquet debate, so feel free to jump in on other players talking about something. Every day of this week (the week of Monday the 25th of March) a new course of the banquet will be placed on the table. On Sunday the 31 of March I will decide whose path for Whern I personally found most interesting and announce the winner. Said faith will be the beneficiary of my holy order replacement, miracle, and State Religion change.
    Quote Originally Posted by No brains View Post
    See, I remember the days of roleplaying before organisms could even see, let alone use see as a metaphor for comprehension. We could barely comprehend that we could comprehend things. Imagining we were something else was a huge leap forward and really passed the time in between absorbing nutrients.

    Biggest play I ever made: "I want to eat something over there." Anticipated the trope of "being able to move" that you see in all stories these days.

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    Default Re: Empires!4 Event- Matters of Faith

    Wedding

    Avakonian Empire
    As he spied the delegation from the Avakonian empire heading towards the back room to take part in the banquet, the Ridx known to humans as Digrvaldi approached them, taking a low bow.

    "Your grace, I have caught wind that something important is going on in there, something vital to the fate of Dejanism in Whern, and I must most humbly beg that you might put in a good word for me should the opportunity arise."
    Last edited by Potato_Priest; 2019-03-25 at 02:44 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by No brains View Post
    See, I remember the days of roleplaying before organisms could even see, let alone use see as a metaphor for comprehension. We could barely comprehend that we could comprehend things. Imagining we were something else was a huge leap forward and really passed the time in between absorbing nutrients.

    Biggest play I ever made: "I want to eat something over there." Anticipated the trope of "being able to move" that you see in all stories these days.

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    The Banquet

    Aeshma towered over his honor guard like bleak and impassible mountain. The new First Among Equals of The Sycorax Revolutionary Guard was in an uncharacteristically jolly mood, but the sight of his broad grin was unsettling, even to his own countrymen. His face was well sculpted, hard and regal, but profoundly unsuited to the act of smiling. The muscles of his face were badly unaccustomed to the expression, but something about these events apparently pleased him to the depths of his heart.

    He regarded the two large men guarding the banquet door with interest and admiration. His honor guard presented the group's credentials, and he smiled at the Frigid Digits men, but only as a man might smile at the sight of a long anticipated meal.

    At the table, his seat creaked mournfully under the weight of his unnaturally prodigious size. He nodded politely at the other diners, his smile having receded to something slightly less unnerving and decidedly less predatory. Yfga had his full attention when she spoke, and his eyes never fell from her as he took his first long sip of the stew.

    "Now, who has any ideas on how to add a god of Winter and Ice to your pantheon?" she asked, implicitly offering her guests an opportunity to take the floor.

    Aeshma, in accordance to The Immutable Laws of Hospitality as he understood them, stood and awaited the host's acknowledgement before speaking.

    Upon receiving her blessing, he spoke, "Have this Isknvald's claims been confirmed? Is it really true that she is the sole source of this great storm called Long Winter? Further, is her cave near here? Could this august company be granted the pleasure of presenting ourselves before such a mighty being, so we may offer our proper tithes and obeisances directly?"
    Last edited by DoomHat; 2019-03-25 at 05:13 AM.
    ...with a vengeance!

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    Default Re: Empires!4 Event- Matters of Faith

    The Overvann Assembly

    Secret Banquet

    The majority of the Overvann delegation is elsewhere, preparing for the wedding, of course, but the elderly High Priestess, Clara Karisdottr Hodeskalle is in the private room, discussing matters of faith. Unlike the majority of the Overvann nobility, Clara has luckily retained her complete humanity, but she is also quite old, leaning on a whalebone cane inscribed with runes. At Yfga's statement, she ponders for a moment, then she shakily takes a pinch of herbs from a pocket and, mumbling a prayer under her breath, inhales them. Her eyes roll back into her head, and she shudders and twitches, mumbling and moaning to herself. Then she sits up, snapping back to reality. "It has happened before." She says, matter of factly, "Our writings teach that the gods were once disjointed and weak; they warred amongst each other and many died or were lost. Those that survived united together, and became stronger because of it. I cannot force the gods to accept another into their ranks, but I can put in a good word for Isknvald."
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    Banquet

    Spoiler: Conversation
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    Quote Originally Posted by DoomHat View Post
    The Banquet

    Aeshma towered over his honor guard like bleak and impassible mountain. The new First Among Equals of The Sycorax Revolutionary Guard was in an uncharacteristically jolly mood, but the sight of his broad grin was unsettling, even to his own countrymen. His face was well sculpted, hard and regal, but profoundly unsuited to the act of smiling. The muscles of his face were badly unaccustomed to the expression, but something about these events apparently pleased him to the depths of his heart.

    He regarded the two large men guarding the banquet door with interest and admiration. His honor guard presented the group's credentials, and he smiled at the Frigid Digits men, but only as a man might smile at the sight of a long anticipated meal.

    At the table, his seat creaked mournfully under the weight of his unnaturally prodigious size. He nodded politely at the other diners, his smile having receded to something slightly less unnerving and decidedly less predatory. Yfga had his full attention when she spoke, and his eyes never fell from her as he took his first long sip of the stew.

    "Now, who has any ideas on how to add a god of Winter and Ice to your pantheon?" she asked, implicitly offering her guests an opportunity to take the floor.

    Aeshma, in accordance to The Immutable Laws of Hospitality as he understood them, stood and awaited the host's acknowledgement before speaking.

    Upon receiving her blessing, he spoke, "Have this Isknvald's claims been confirmed? Is it really true that she is the sole source of this great storm called Long Winter? Further, is her cave near here? Could this august company be granted the pleasure of presenting ourselves before such a mighty being, so we may offer our proper tithes and obeisances directly?"
    Quote Originally Posted by bc56 View Post
    The Overvann Assembly

    Secret Banquet

    The majority of the Overvann delegation is elsewhere, preparing for the wedding, of course, but the elderly High Priestess, Clara Karisdottr Hodeskalle is in the private room, discussing matters of faith. Unlike the majority of the Overvann nobility, Clara has luckily retained her complete humanity, but she is also quite old, leaning on a whalebone cane inscribed with runes. At Yfga's statement, she ponders for a moment, then she shakily takes a pinch of herbs from a pocket and, mumbling a prayer under her breath, inhales them. Her eyes roll back into her head, and she shudders and twitches, mumbling and moaning to herself. Then she sits up, snapping back to reality. "It has happened before." She says, matter of factly, "Our writings teach that the gods were once disjointed and weak; they warred amongst each other and many died or were lost. Those that survived united together, and became stronger because of it. I cannot force the gods to accept another into their ranks, but I can put in a good word for Isknvald."


    "And how likely do you think it that they would accept? As for your question," Yfga adressed Aeshma, "I am afraid that a voyage to Isknvald's home is many miles, and not a trip to undertake in the fall, as it takes the traveler into the heart of the plains of Yotun, a treacherous field of ice even in summer. However, you just may be in luck, as I think we will be able to grant you a less personal audience through one of our projects to deify the spirit."
    She turns to the aged Leni Agnar on her right. "Would you mind..." Agnar shakes his head vigorously. "Ah well. Fetch one of the MP network for us, please."
    As the aged shaman walked out of the cellar, Yfga explained to the gathered delegates, "MP stands for Multiple Possession Network. It's part of our work to train Isknvald for deification, giving it practice in being multiple places at once.

    Now, Clara, are there any particular requirements for joining the pantheon of Gamle Mater?"


    (a Junior Frigid Digit Posessed by Isknvald will get here soon, waiting to see if Role wants to play it).
    Last edited by Potato_Priest; 2019-03-25 at 11:14 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by No brains View Post
    See, I remember the days of roleplaying before organisms could even see, let alone use see as a metaphor for comprehension. We could barely comprehend that we could comprehend things. Imagining we were something else was a huge leap forward and really passed the time in between absorbing nutrients.

    Biggest play I ever made: "I want to eat something over there." Anticipated the trope of "being able to move" that you see in all stories these days.

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    Regno's Arrival, The Wedding

    While the Sultana herself was quite busy, another wedding of a high member of the Izbefe society could not be ignored. Even if it was with someone that Regnans held no great love for, in a land held by former enemies. So with that in mind, the Diplomacy HQ of Regno hand-picked their best Ambassador for the north, Magi Armis. The former Ambassador to the Overvann Assembly of Lords was trained in hand-to-hand combat by Magi Arunca, and though his arms were broken when he had to flee the Overvann years ago, he is no coward.

    With a compliment of Legionnaires, the skilled Magi has come to support the new First Among Equals for Sycoraxistan. From the Oamenii perspective, Aeshma was known to be a bit... overbearing, and military minded. On the other hand, the Sycorax leader was also willing to admit his faults and learn from them. Which was heartening for Magi Armis, since the former Ambassador had previously dealt with headstrong individuals who were unwilling to bend, even in the face of their own failings. To the First Among Equals credit, Armis had not actually seen any failings at the moment.

    Likely, the rumors that Aeshma had any faults were attributed mostly to Grand Magus Arjana having had to beat it out of him. Armis had met the woman; the new Grand Magus was like everyone's grandmother. She did her best to take care of people, but she also wasn't afraid to grab them by the ear and beat them over the head if that's what it took for them to listen.

    Technically, Regno was Sycoraxistan's liege, and therefore should proceed them when being welcomed to the party. However, Magi Armis had been given explicit instructions that First Among Equals Aeshma was the higher ranking individual here, so he waited his turn, and finally walked up to greet their hosts.

    "The Sultanate thanks our hosts for inviting us. We enter in times of peace, and hope to leave with peace extended." The words had not been spoken for generations among Regno. The last recorded Oamenii to utter them, formally, were when the Five Families were recovering from Dejan's conquest.

    Magi Armis bowed, and a crate was brought forth, the strong smell of loam almost overpowering as it was opened, "We understand that, even were it not the Long Night here in your lands, it is sometimes difficult to grow food. Regno has developed a mixture of sorts that assists in growing crops, even in harsh conditions. Dirt from southern Iadesh, where it is easier to grow food, mixed with various other things, such as nutrients left over by Camels or Goats. We have brought an entire shipment for you to spread and hopefully fertilize your lands."




    The Secret Banquet

    Magi Armis was here, again, mostly in support of Aeshma. Mostly, the Magi would try to stay (vocally) silent. However, Armis was quite knowledgeable when it came to Initia and it's Aspects; even the formerly 'Unstable' Aspects.

    Though a question had been asked of the Overvann's representative, Armis mostly ignored them for now, and provided the First Among Equals with information, mind-to-mind, as he had been told to. Talking mentally with a Sycoraxi was sometimes difficult, as many did not have the Spirit rune upon their brows, making communications... tricky. Not impossible, and certainly easier when they were close enough, but while Armis could use words just fine, the rune on Aeshma's forehead was not Spirit, so the messages sent in return were often feelings or images rather than words. It was... a chore to interpret, but Armis was getting the hang of it. <First Aeshma, I know we discussed this briefly before, but I feel I should remind you: Initia has no 'Ice' Aspect, as Ice is a form of the Water Aspect. Even if we were to accept that this Isknvald were an embodiment of Water, they would be, at best, a lesser embodiment for the cold. I know you have some plan in mind here, but I am worried that a spirit of nature being 'added' to Initia may be received poorly. Unless they had something for us to learn from them?>
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    BladeofObliviom said:
    I've only seen a character at anything resembling this level of absurdity thrive exactly once, and he/she/what-the-jongo had the advantage of being written by Gengy, who I look up to as a writer.

    "What-the-Jongo?"
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    Default Re: Empires!4 Event- Matters of Faith

    Overvann

    "It is a simple process, but difficult. Isknvald must present itself to the Assembly of Gods and make its case for acceptance into one of the divine clans, the same way those seeking to join our clans must petition the Assembly of Lords. There is usually a test involved, to see if the petitioner is worthy of the honor. I may be able to arrange a meeting, but I do not guarantee success," Clara continues, "And I would like to speak with Isknvald before deciding to recommend it."
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

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    Default Re: Empires!4 Event- Matters of Faith

    Bo Danerdhuf was a younger leader just over his thirtieth year and in good shape, a fact more hidden than normal under a heavy winter cloak. Whern was a harsh land, but in part a distant portion of his heritage. His father had been of Bhule, the original Bhule not the new Frostbinder invaders, and his father's mother had been of Whern, taken as a wife by old Yald Danerdhuf, the first leader of unified Bhule. Yet he did not blend easily with the other northerners for his inheritance of the sharper, darker toned features of his mother diluted his pure northern blood with southern temperance. A beard and mustache of dark brown-black hair was shortly cropped near his mouth adding an air of wisdom to his otherwise youthful angular features.

    The Duke travelled nearly alone, comfortable in his own shamanist abilities to protect him from more mundane threats, eager for rapid unimpeded travel up and down the Regner and Estensule coast in the months to follow this engagement. A few War Shamans accompanied him but they played now their roles as infirm seeming wisemen dispensing knowledge and fortunes to curious folk at this party. Bo meanwhile focused on the matter mentioned only cursorily on the invitation the Federation had received of a great gathering of faith heads from across the continent.

    Secret Banquet
    For a while Bo listened in a state of mixed shock and incredulous silent judgement. Were the Frigid Digits serious? They wanted to elevate the ice cave spirit they'd been using to run a con as the 'origin' of the Long Winter into a god? They were auctioning off their beliefs to turn what they themselves claimed to be a malevolent spirit into an even more powerful entity? Had they gone mad!? Unable to remain silent a moment more Bo spoke up.

    "How can you stand here and make this offer Yfga of Whern? You have a 'contract' with this spirit you claim responsible for the Long Winter agreeing it shall cease this aspect of oppression for greater power that includes abandonment of knowledge of such spirit contracts? How can it be trusted? If there shall be no contract keepers and no proof but its word to take responsibility for the Long Winter how shall northern Regner or indeed any on Emjata trust it will not return the Winter perhaps even tenfold once its deal is sealed and contractors forgotten?"

    "I have no great overwhelming love for the legalisms of Jalyeong-bo. My detractors in Samg could tell you more acutely where all I have skimmed too close to Animist practice for their liking. Even I find the prospect of unleashing a violent and oppressive spirit, a spirit you yourselves claim to be responsible for the Long Winter hanging over half this subcontinent, via a contract to be dissolved by the contract's architecture to be a very poor idea indeed."

    "I have spoken extensively with Witnesses from Sycoraxistan since their arrival to aid in our own efforts to combat the Long Winter. They have taught me of legal loopholes and new ways of thinking within the contracts. I have also read much that has been written by eastern Animists and Hameong Grove prodigies. They have taught me the power that awaits the shaman willing to risk the lack of contract with a spirit but only with proper care and training. If you desire to escape the confines of Jalyeong-bo legalisms there are ways, within the framework of contracts and without. I do not know what great spiritual deeds the Frigid Digits have accomplished to earn their place among the echelons of your nation's leadership but I urge caution in this endeavor and indeed perhaps a reassessment of these aims. If it is merely the end of the Long Winter the Digits seek I would ask you wait and give Amham's Chimes a chance before you unshackle a mad spirit from its chains. If the Digits seek more control through manipulation and fear they shall find now friend in Amham."
    Last edited by Roarke; 2019-03-25 at 01:43 PM.

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    "Mad you think me? I think not, Bo-progeny-of-Yald. Not so. No. Not at all," said a young, dark-haired woman as she walked falteringly towards the assemblage, breath condensing into a chill fog as she spoke. Her eyes were a brilliant blue, and she wore a necklace of Frozen Tears, despite her garments seeming more fit for the heights of summer than the cold darkness of winter. Her movements were...discomfiting. Managing to be simultaneously jerky and smooth, her head twisted to peer at the assemblage present. Her fingers and toes were bright red at the tips, as if in the first stages of frostbite, and her hair tied up in a ceremonial fashion familiar to Jalyeong-Bo.

    "You seem the one who is angry here. I am the one mortals name Isknvald, and I have come as requested to receive petition. To answer prayer. To dismiss superstition and confirm what is true and full for the senses of you." The woman, apparently possessed by Isknvald, rolled her shoulders, one at a time, and then her head. Her eyes were genuinely - not merely as a figure of speech - glimmering as she spoke. "What desire you from this high soon-god?"
    Last edited by Rolepgeek; 2019-03-25 at 02:07 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Roarke View Post
    Secret Banquet
    Unable to remain silent a moment more Bo spoke up.

    "How can you stand here and make this offer Yfga of Whern? You have a 'contract' with this spirit you claim responsible for the Long Winter agreeing it shall cease this aspect of oppression for greater power that includes abandonment of knowledge of such spirit contracts? How can it be trusted? If there shall be no contract keepers and no proof but its word to take responsibility for the Long Winter how shall northern Regner or indeed any on Emjata trust it will not return the Winter perhaps even tenfold once its deal is sealed and contractors forgotten?"

    "I have no great overwhelming love for the legalisms of Jalyeong-bo. My detractors in Samg could tell you more acutely where all I have skimmed too close to Animist practice for their liking. Even I find the prospect of unleashing a violent and oppressive spirit, a spirit you yourselves claim to be responsible for the Long Winter hanging over half this subcontinent, via a contract to be dissolved by the contract's architecture to be a very poor idea indeed."

    "I have spoken extensively with Witnesses from Sycoraxistan since their arrival to aid in our own efforts to combat the Long Winter. They have taught me of legal loopholes and new ways of thinking within the contracts. I have also read much that has been written by eastern Animists and Hameong Grove prodigies. They have taught me the power that awaits the shaman willing to risk the lack of contract with a spirit but only with proper care and training. If you desire to escape the confines of Jalyeong-bo legalisms there are ways, within the framework of contracts and without. I do not know what great spiritual deeds the Frigid Digits have accomplished to earn their place among the echelons of your nation's leadership but I urge caution in this endeavor and indeed perhaps a reassessment of these aims. If it is merely the end of the Long Winter the Digits seek I would ask you wait and give Amham's Chimes a chance before you unshackle a mad spirit from its chains. If the Digits seek more control through manipulation and fear they shall find now friend in Amham."
    At last the caustic smile left Aeshma's face, replaced instead by an expression of pure stoic serenity. He sat down, seeing that the normal rules of order at a table conversation between leaders seemed to have dissolved. He savored his stew with genuine happiness. He had not expected hear a runeless lord of Anham to speak with such a fire, expressing good Sycoraxi values and all around good sense.

    Quote Originally Posted by Rolepgeek View Post
    "Mad you think me? I think not, Bo-progeny-of-Yald. Not so. No. Not at all," said a young, dark-haired woman as she walked falteringly towards the assemblage, breath condensing into a chill fog as she spoke. Her eyes were a brilliant blue, and she wore a necklace of Frozen Tears, despite her garments seeming more fit for the heights of summer than the cold darkness of winter. Her movements were...discomfiting. Managing to be simultaneously jerky and smooth, her head twisted to peer at the assemblage present. Her fingers and toes were bright red at the tips, as if in the first stages of frostbite, and her hair tied up in a ceremonial fashion familiar to Jalyeong-Bo.

    "You seem the one who is angry here. I am the one mortals name Isknvald, and I have come as requested to receive petition. To answer prayer. To dismiss superstition and confirm what is true and full for the senses of you." The woman, apparently possessed by Isknvald, rolled her shoulders, one at a time, and then her head. Her eyes were genuinely - not merely as a figure of speech - glimmering as she spoke. "What desire you from this high soon-god?"
    And with that, Aeshma's muscles tensed in his massive frame and the smile returned to his face, more wolfish than ever. He beamed at the woman who was now channeling 'Isknvild'.

    "Welcome to the table, Great Soon-god Isknvild. Good of you to travel so far," said Aeshma, his voice like the grinding of stones deep in the darkness of the earth, "Though, perhaps not as far as it took you to reach Whern. Was it a perilous journey from Temple of 'Gxe'dhok? That is were you started your most astonishing enchantment is it not? Your Long Winter seems to have its origin there, yet we find you dwelling here. What an odd turn of events. Would you be so merciful as to offer, by some dent of your charity, and explanation for how that came to pass?".

    He punctuated his question by taking a long final drink of his soup bowl, and setting it down empty at his table place.
    Last edited by DoomHat; 2019-03-25 at 02:30 PM.
    ...with a vengeance!

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    Overvann

    "You honor us with your presence, Isknvald." The statement is standard operating procedure when dealing with powerful entities. "I have a few questions for you." She pulls out a piece of parchment with angular Overvann script on it. Reading from the list, she asks a few questions.
    "Do you certify that you are of sound mind and spirit?
    Are you responsible for the Long Winter in northern Regner?
    Do you intend to stand alongside your future kin, in victory and in defeat, until the end of time?
    And do you accept responsibility for your own doom should you be deemed unworthy?"
    Awesome avatar (Kothar, paladin of Tlacua) by Linkele!

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    [The Wedding]

    King Yven's delegation had arrived in Fherharbor with little fanfare, it was just him, his Kingsguard Ari, an a handful of rangers. The past three years had been tumultuous, with the battle of Krace and having to take over the crown from his mother, Yven's finely trimmed beard and hair were peppered with gray. He observed the formalities of the wedding, the polite remarks, the gifts, and wishing well of the couple. In honesty he would have preferred to be home in Yondar, or in Rhune, with his wife and children, unfortunately duty called and he had to answer.

    [Secret Banquent of Secretness]
    King Yven had been content to listen and watch the other members of various nations at the table go back and forth over the subject of this spirit Isknvild, all the while sipping thoughtfully upon his meal. It had seemed a moot point to him, the other religion's gods were merely spirits, worshiped by many, but with bloated egos to go with their substantial power.

    "What, is your aim here?" Yven had directed the question to "Isknvild" but also to Yfga. "You may be a spirit of ice and frost, but I doubt that it is the origin of this long winter that plagues the Northwest. Because if you had that power then you would not need mortals to integrate you into a religion. If I had to guess, you have some piece of the Dragon that fell around these regions, akin to the the Wings that you, Yfga, used when you sailed east to do battle with Krace, capable of warping and distorting the weather patterns of the regions. I'd hazard another guess that if what Duke Gyeon says is true, the chimes they have been working on could very well undo your work, or reveal the actual source of the power you've been using. Once that is gone you would fall back into obscurity."

    "So I will ask again, what is it you are looking for here?"
    Last edited by SquirrelWizard; 2019-03-25 at 03:39 PM.

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    Wedding

    The councilman that the Regnan delegate ended up speaking to was the grey-haired old warchief Vignar. At the opening of the box of manure he began to chuckle, and thereafter laugh raucously. As his chuckling subsided he spoke.

    "Heh, a right fitting gift indeed, sir Magi. I'm sure this will be put to good use, though I'm afraid the people who really need to be experiencing that mighty odor are all gone..."

    Harbor Master Struffhuffen, another aging man, but this one of quite portly girth, walks up after being attracted by the commotion.

    "Indeed, I would simply love to learn what our warmongering priests are up to now, but there's no remedy for that..." He trailed off with a meaningful glance towards the Magi's spirit rune.

    Now, did I hear correctly that you've an import to declare? Here, just sign this document to put your shipment in the care of the Harbormaster of Fherharbor."

    Although his tone was all business as he procured the scroll, his eyes also twinkled with amusement at Regno's gift.

    Private Banquet

    Although the arrival of Isknvald and the volley of questions from Aeshma had given the Whernians a reprieve from Bo's questions, Yfga began to speak over Clara's and Yven's questions to the spirit as she responded to the young Duke.

    "I am sorry that my opening speech gave you the wrong impression, Duke. When I said that we would be leaving the domain of our Jalyeong-bo traditions I did not mean that the art of the contract would be allowed to die out entirely. Our current plans leave the shrines of the plains and their keepers untouched, and breaking a contract is not as simple a matter as being stronger than its enforcers. Believe me. The time for decisions about whether to agree to this contract is past. The Frigid Digits have signed it, and you may bet that we will keep to our word."
    Last edited by Potato_Priest; 2019-03-25 at 03:51 PM.
    Quote Originally Posted by No brains View Post
    See, I remember the days of roleplaying before organisms could even see, let alone use see as a metaphor for comprehension. We could barely comprehend that we could comprehend things. Imagining we were something else was a huge leap forward and really passed the time in between absorbing nutrients.

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    "I am angry spirit but do not think my emotions make me weak or susceptible to manipulation. You ask what I desire? Answer King Yven. What is it you truly desire and what are your aims in using the Frigid Digits to carry out your will in the mortal realm?

    Bo leaned back but remained standing his eyes firmly locked on the avatar of Isknvild until they flicked over towards Yfga. If what "the Philanthropist" said was true perhaps it was necessary the Frigid Digits no longer be around to carry out their insane contract.
    Last edited by Roarke; 2019-03-25 at 03:43 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Potato_Priest View Post
    Wedding

    Avakonian Empire
    As he spied the delegation from the Avakonian empire heading towards the back room to take part in the banquet, the Ridx known to humans as Digrvaldi approached them, taking a low bow.

    "Your grace, I have caught wind that something important is going on in there, something vital to the fate of Dejanism in Whern, and I must most humbly beg that you might put in a good word for me should the opportunity arise."
    The event's attendant was none other than Cattius Kren El Sira, a very young man with dark blue eyes and longer brown hair bound into a ponytail behind him. The cloth he wore bore the Avakonian sigil over the heart, which stood out among his black and gold robes. By his hip he carried a blade, but more important than that was the single bodyguard behind him that carried a cruelly hooked talon that drained any and all magic from the air around her just as she moved... She was looming and impressively fit, adorned in the empire's uniform with Sedellan plates across it. There were scars all over her where the little bit of her skin could be seen. The Ridx might recognize the guardswoman as Darria, an elite orcish guard of the Illuminant of Dejanism herself - Anivine Kren. The weapon she carried was none other than the Talon of the Spellfather, purified by Dejanic magic and now the weapon of the general who aided in putting down the dragon herself.

    Cattius and his guard paused and looked to Digrvaldi, and the prince motioned for him to rise after glancing back to his guard. "Is that so? Then it must be worth hearing. ...Things may be more close than we thought. What should we know before we go in, son of Dejan?" There was an intensity to his gaze that his other members of his dynasty tended not to have, though it was hard to place.
    "What is to give light must endure burning."

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    The woman watched as each of the attending parties let loose with their own questions, very nearly overlapping one another. Her entire head moved to point at each speaker in turn as she moved and stretched her arms, then her legs, then her arms again. When she blinked, it was rapid and lasted more than ten seconds before returning to her prior lidless wandering gaze. "Please," she said, "Please, I know your questions are many. Your desires are numerous. Your curiosity great. This is sensible, and speaks well of you. Of your mind. Your sense."

    Quote Originally Posted by DoomHat View Post
    At last the caustic smile left Aeshma's face, replaced instead by an expression of pure stoic serenity. He sat down, seeing that the normal rules of order at a table conversation between leaders seemed to have dissolved. He savored his stew with genuine happiness. He had not expected hear a runeless lord of Anham to speak with such a fire, expressing good Sycoraxi values and all around good sense.

    And with that, Aeshma's muscles tensed in his massive frame and the smile returned to his face, more wolfish than ever. He beamed at the woman who was now channeling 'Isknvild'.

    "Welcome to the table, Great Soon-god Isknvild. Good of you to travel so far," said Aeshma, his voice like the grinding of stones deep in the darkness of the earth, "Though, perhaps not as far as it took you to reach Whern. Was it a perilous journey from Temple of 'Gxe'dhok? That is were you started your most astonishing enchantment is it not? Your Long Winter seems to have its origin there, yet we find you dwelling here. What an odd turn of events. Would you be so merciful as to offer, by some dent of your charity, and explanation for how that came to pass?".

    He punctuated his question by taking a long final drink of his soup bowl, and setting it down empty at his table place.
    Isknvald's host turns to leer at Aeshma, and her smile is cold, as she lifts her hands to twist her fingers in her hair. She pauses before responding - this could be a sign of hesitation...or simply part and parcel of a powerful spirit possessing a multitude of hosts, trying to translate back and forth between mortal and spiritual terms. " I can see your purpose here in your countenance, Aeshma-progeny-of-Grund. Like a glacier looks at a mountain. Your hate. Your ire. I know of the Sycoraxi view of spirits. Your hatred of me. My kind. Our existence."

    Her stare is cold as she matched his gaze, despite the difference in their statures and forms, fingers rubbing the nape of her neck. "But I welcome your attempts to, to, to discredit me, Aeshma-progeny-of-Grund. To sabotage my standing. To undermine my name. They will give me new strength in their failure. In their falsity. In my righteousness." She shakes her head; in the party upstairs, some of the attending Initiates (among others) might notice a number of individuals in unrelated conversations shake theirs at the same time. All were members of the Frigid Digits.

    "Much of your questions align with the others, and so they will answered with them."

    Quote Originally Posted by bc56 View Post
    Overvann

    "You honor us with your presence, Isknvald." The statement is standard operating procedure when dealing with powerful entities. "I have a few questions for you." She pulls out a piece of parchment with angular Overvann script on it. Reading from the list, she asks a few questions.
    "Do you certify that you are of sound mind and spirit?
    Are you responsible for the Long Winter in northern Regner?
    Do you intend to stand alongside your future kin, in victory and in defeat, until the end of time?
    And do you accept responsibility for your own doom should you be deemed unworthy?"
    When Isknvald's host looked to Clara, her gaze was not cold. Nor was it warm. It was merely...hard. As hard as a mountain, or a valley, or ice carved with runes.
    "And so too, does...your attendance gives me joy, Clara-progeny-of-Kari. I do can will attest that I am sound in mind and spirit and self and being. I do accept responsibility for the Long Winter, unfortunate, sad, regretful as it is. I will stand true to those that would be kin for as long as I am capable, even until the end of time. I will hold my doom true if my worth is lacking. But I think it not lacking. No."

    Quote Originally Posted by SquirrelWizard View Post
    [Secret Banquent of Secretness]
    King Yven had been content to listen and watch the other members of various nations at the table go back and forth over the subject of this spirit Isknvild, all the while sipping thoughtfully upon his meal. It had seemed a moot point to him, the other religion's gods were merely spirits, worshiped by many, but with bloated egos to go with their substantial power.

    "What, is your aim here?" Yven had directed the question to "Isknvild" but also to Yfga. "You may be a spirit of ice and frost, but I doubt that it is the origin of this long winter that plagues the Northwest. Because if you had that power then you would not need mortals to integrate you into a religion. If I had to guess, you have some piece of the Dragon that fell around these regions, akin to the the Wings that you, Yfga, used when you sailed east to do battle with Krace, capable of warping and distorting the weather patterns of the regions. I'd hazard another guess that if what Duke Gyeon says is true, the chimes they have been working on could very well undo your work, or reveal the actual source of the power you've been using. Once that is gone you would fall back into obscurity."

    "So I will ask again, what is it you are looking for here?"
    The woman shakes her head again, more vigorously than last time. "I do not need to join the pantheons of the others. I desire it, want it. I seek it. My deification depends not upon that; but I am not all things, Yven-progeny-of-Vaylan. I desire not to be all things. I am the spirit-soon-god called Isknvald by mortals, and would seek companions and fellows and guides and kin and allies in my divinity. My Digits are lovely -" at this, the smile becomes genuinely warm for a few seconds; it seems the possessed are not without their faculties- "But to be a god alone is to invite assault and danger and risk. And, for total truth and honesty and courtesy, it means more sacrifices. More worshipers, over more area. More capability and power and knowledge and experience."

    She bends her neck to either side, cracking it and sighing as she continues to stretch and move the entire time she speaks. "You are not wrong, however. Though the cold-spread-softly-storms are my fault, I am not their only cause. Not only my doing. Partially but not in full. The, the, the Temple of 'Gxe'dhok, Aeshma-progeny-of-Grund called it. It housed the remnant-death-corpse-force-strength of the great sea-wind-lightning source that was slain by the rune-bearers and the rune-carvers and the shamans through cunning and treachery. I was lesser, then. Curious as it leaked from the temple. Mausoleum. Tomb. And hungry. I touched it. A mistake, I would learn. My touch...froze? Crystallized? No. Ah, triggered! That is a better term. My touch triggered it. Like an avalanche started by sound of tree trunk cracking under snow. I believe it used my touch as template, as action plan, as newfound purpose, lost after the death and abandonment by the spirit, the essence, the presentness of the source-body once called 'Gxe'dhok. It grew and spread and grew, and it connects back to me still, but I am limited. I tried to stop it by consuming what spread and grew and spread, and this grew and spread and rose me up. But I was not yet learned then, and it is too large now to control in all. Not while I am only spirit and not god."

    Quote Originally Posted by Roarke View Post
    "I am angry spirit but do not think my emotions make me weak or susceptible to manipulation. You ask what I desire? Answer King Yven. What is it you truly desire and what are your aims in using the Frigid Digits to carry out your will in the mortal realm?

    Bo leaned back but remained standing his eyes firmly locked on the avatar of Isknvild until they flicked over towards Yfga. If what "the Philanthropist" said was true perhaps it was necessary the Frigid Digits no longer be around to carry out their insane contract.
    The woman sighs, a long exhalation of fog that soon strips the brew in front of her of it's steam. She scratches along her left arm with her right hand while her left hand dips a finger into the broth, as if testing the temperature. Apparently finding it acceptable, she lifts it to her mouth and takes a small sip, savoring it as she drinks. "I desire to become a god. I know not why you disbelieve on this point. Gods are by nature tied to mortals, and soon-gods by our nature soon-tied to mortals. You are interesting, intriguing, fascinating creatures. And in my time since contact with the remnant, I and we and they have learned that my divinity is the only means by which the Winter may abate for longer than shortly. Your, your, your chimes are a boon, to be sure, but they are temporary. Stopgap. A bucket to bail water, not a plug for the hole. I am stronger by far now than I was then, but still I am only so large. I seek to be god for reasons themselves that are mine. To learn and be great and be safe and be strong. And to be a god will mean I am wide-big-cloudy enough to gather up the winter and reign it back to itself. To control it entire, to make it unwild. You, you, you worry for the contracts breaking, but they have never chained me the way you imagine, Bo-progeny-of-Yald, and the contracts between divine and supplicant are as binding, as fulfilling, as holding as any pact you might conceive. I have never allowed myself to be enslaved by my shamans; always have we been partners."

    The woman takes another large drink, and settles into a stance, bare toes curling and uncurling as she makes one last statement in her response. "I and we and us hope these have made things less cracked, less airy, more solid, clear."
    Sincerely,
    Role P. Geek

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    The Wedding, Regno's Arrival

    Magi Armis reviewed and filled out the document for the Harbor Master, even as he looked at the councilman. Asking them both, the delegate from Regno said, "So I take it you disagreed with your countrymen during Regno's War on Two Fronts?"




    Private Banquet

    "Spirit Isknvald, I am Magi Armis, of Family Petram, Son of Dulce and Laetus." Armis rose calmly, not at all shaken by what had been transpiring. More, if anything, Armis was privately worried about what Aeshma would do if things escalated or the wrong answers were given. There was a great deal of sense in what Amham's Duke and Yondar's King were asking; beings of great power had risen before, but to call them gods? Even if they were asking permission first? It was hard for Armis to accept. He was fairly sure Isknvald could sense that too, so the important question that the Magi of Regno had finally broke his silence.

    "What of those of us whom do not convince your... patron Digits? You say that you will be loyal, and true, to those whom honor you. Partners to them. Regno can understand this. Yet, if Whern were to lean in the direction of adding your ascension to godhood to - for the purpose of this example - Jalyeong-bo. Would the rest of us continue to suffer this Long Night?"

    Magi Armis turned to the assembled guests and the host, "I cannot - nor will not - deny that the Sultanate had a hand in the slaying of 'Gxe'dhok. She was a powerful creature, whom some called a god, that had gone too far. Initia is not meant to be used for the continued persecution and destruction of entire nations, and could not support an Aspect - or even a part of an Aspect - that willingly brought destruction like 'Gxe'dhok did. Or like the Long Winter continues to threaten to do, without the proper preparation and resources. Resources that are growing slimmer and slimmer, even as the Long Night grows longer, stronger, and spreads further."

    "So, to the assembled here, are we petitioning for this... Spirit-soon-god to stop the Long Winter, once and for all, for everyone... or only for those privileged to be selected by our hosts and Isknvald? I know where Regno stands on that question."
    Last edited by Gengy; 2019-03-26 at 12:01 AM.
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    BladeofObliviom said:
    I've only seen a character at anything resembling this level of absurdity thrive exactly once, and he/she/what-the-jongo had the advantage of being written by Gengy, who I look up to as a writer.

    "What-the-Jongo?"
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    Wedding, with Regno
    "We were not in favor of the War of the Three Queens, no. However, as a dutiful member of the Chief's council, I nonetheless abide by our Chieftesses' orders even when they do not agree with my own feelings." Harbormaster Struffen said with a conspiratorial wink towards the delegate from Regno.

    "Poppycock!" Interjected War Chief Vignar, "It was you who approached me with that scrapped plan to assas- sorry." He was silenced with a quick nudge from the harbor master.

    "- To make a long story short, the two of us opposed the war, though for different reasons." the harbor master concluded, "I was concerned about the effect of hostilities on Whern's recovering economy -and let me tell you, it has not been good, while my esteemed colleague here is a great softie for the lives of his troops."

    Private Banquet
    As Isknvald finished answering the second round of questions, the servants appeared again, removing the soup from the table and replacing it with bowls of salad. The last one to leave the room bowed to the delegates and announced the next course.

    "Spinach and Kale Salad with fried halibut in onion and garlic dressing."

    Shaman Agnar nudged Yfga, who started as if from a stupor. She realized that while the spirit spoke, she had been silently mouthing out all of its words. They simultaneously stood and bowed deeply to the possessed acolyte, and Agnar spoke.

    "Your understanding of humans and your wisdom grows by the day, Yskenvald. Already you are fit for godhood, by next summer's expedition to do the deed you will be a model deity."

    As they sat down again, Yfga recollected her thoughts while the salads were set down and the Regno delegate spoke.
    "Uhhh, Magi Armis, ignoring your extraordinarily hypocritical comment about privilege, we negotiated a contract granting safety to Isknvald's worshipers. This is guaranteed. What Isknvald chooses to do with its godhood its its own decision. Even should the good god not see fit to save all of Regner to prove its benevolence, as a Magi you know that all magic, even protection, comes with a price, and in comparison to a few grams of Bani this is an exceedingly good one. How much effort does it take to say a quick prayer once a week, or wear a holy symbol around your neck, in exchange for safety from the cold? The Mandates might encourage you to accept spending lives in cruel and senseless defiance of gods, dragons, and spirits as necessary for the triumph of humanity, but that is not our way, and neither is it yours, as your record with the Father of Silence and protection payments to Gwitna Pirates shows. The better part of wisdom is not letting an opportunity to save those you can save pass you by for the sake of a hollow idealism.".
    Last edited by Potato_Priest; 2019-03-26 at 12:51 AM.
    Quote Originally Posted by No brains View Post
    See, I remember the days of roleplaying before organisms could even see, let alone use see as a metaphor for comprehension. We could barely comprehend that we could comprehend things. Imagining we were something else was a huge leap forward and really passed the time in between absorbing nutrients.

    Biggest play I ever made: "I want to eat something over there." Anticipated the trope of "being able to move" that you see in all stories these days.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gengy View Post
    Private Banquet

    "Spirit Isknvald, I am Magi Armis, of Family Petram, Son of Dulce and Laetus." Armis rose calmly, not at all shaken by what had been transpiring. More, if anything, Armis was privately worried about what Aeshma would do if things escalated or the wrong answers were given. There was a great deal of sense in what Amham's Duke and Yondar's King were asking; beings of great power had risen before, but to call them gods? Even if they were asking permission first? It was hard for Armis to accept. He was fairly sure Isknvald could sense that too, so the important question that the Magi of Regno had finally broke his silence.

    "What of those of us whom do not convince your... patron Digits? You say that you will be loyal, and true, to those whom honor you. Partners to them. Regno can understand this. Yet, if Whern were to lean in the direction of adding your ascension to godhood to - for the purpose of this example - Jalyeong-bo. Would the rest of us continue to suffer this Long Night?"

    Magi Armis turned to the assembled guests and the host, "I cannot - nor will not - deny that the Sultanate had a hand in the slaying of 'Gxe'dhok. She was a powerful creature, whom some called a god, that had gone too far. Initia is not meant to be used for the continued persecution and destruction of entire nations, and could not support an Aspect - or even a part of an Aspect - that willingly brought destruction like 'Gxe'dhok did. Or like the Long Winter continues to threaten to do, without the proper preparation and resources. Resources that are growing slimmer and slimmer, even as the Long Night grows longer, stronger, and spreads further."

    "So, to the assembled here, are we petitioning for this... Spirit-soon-god to stop the Long Winter, once and for all, for everyone... or only for those privileged to be selected by our hosts and Isknvald? I know where Regno stands on that question."
    The woman offered up a nod to Magi Armis as he rose, using her fingers to stuff the salad into her face, chewing only just enough to swallow as she waited for him to finish. Her eyes shone like the jewels around her neck.

    "Armis-progeny-of-Laetus, your concerns, your fears, your meaning is anticipated. My, my, my plan is to pull back and away and in the whole of the spreading cold, wherever it may be. But, if I were to turn out to be, to be, to be mistaken, and unable to tame it, to reign it in, to call it to me, for this reason or that reason, from lack of the reach I hope to gain, or insufficient strength from insufficient sacrifices, especially if no pantheon will join me to theirs, or a severing of my connection...then I must focus my energies upon my followers first, much as a Sultan must tend to their own subjects first, or a King, or a Duke."
    Sincerely,
    Role P. Geek

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    Quote Originally Posted by Gengy View Post
    "Spirit Isknvald, I am Magi Armis, of Family Petram, Son of Dulce and Laetus." Armis rose calmly, not at all shaken by what had been transpiring. More, if anything, Armis was privately worried about what Aeshma would do if things escalated or the wrong answers were given.
    Upon thinking this, Armis realized that his intuition, his worry about what Aeshma might do was so strong, it must be the spirit speech response he'd been awaiting. With it clearer in his minds eye, he could internalize the message more effectively. Armis could sense potential energy radiating off of Revolutionary Aeshma like an overfed furnace. Armis could now see Aeshma's spiritual intent was that of a magistrate, weighing the appropriate sentencing of confessed criminal. By the same coin, Armis could also see Aeshma as a would be hunter, sizing up a mighty beast as potential game.

    Armis was given a brief vision of dozens of hands laying over Aeshma's in solidarity, as if to communicate that he's arrange co-conspirators in this building, awaiting to aid in whatever extreme action he may be considering.

    Isknvald's host turns to leer at Aeshma, and her smile is cold, as she lifts her hands to twist her fingers in her hair. She pauses before responding - this could be a sign of hesitation...or simply part and parcel of a powerful spirit possessing a multitude of hosts, trying to translate back and forth between mortal and spiritual terms. " I can see your purpose here in your countenance, Aeshma-progeny-of-Grund. Like a glacier looks at a mountain. Your hate. Your ire. I know of the Sycoraxi view of spirits. Your hatred of me. My kind. Our existence."

    Her stare is cold as she matched his gaze, despite the difference in their statures and forms, fingers rubbing the nape of her neck. "But I welcome your attempts to, to, to discredit me, Aeshma-progeny-of-Grund. To sabotage my standing. To undermine my name. They will give me new strength in their failure. In their falsity. In my righteousness." She shakes her head; in the party upstairs, some of the attending Initiates (among others) might notice a number of individuals in unrelated conversations shake theirs at the same time. All were members of the Frigid Digits.
    Aeshma face settled into a slightly bemused frown as he let out a single derisive snort, which for him must have been equivalent to a fit of uproarious laughter. He listened in silence as Isknvald made their case and answered the other guest's questions. He listened for some of their responses in kind, patiently enjoying his salad all the while.

    He waited for what seemed to him fair enough an opening to be heard in the disorganized proceedings, announcing his intention to speak by the gentle thud of his empty salad bowl unto the table in front of him.

    "Let history remember, that as a guest of this shelter, never did I speak such slander as I have here received! Let all here bear witness that in reply to my courtesy, the Spirit Isknvald has accused me of falseness and unfounded bigotry, setting a baneful mark to my name without evident cause. I do therefore invite scrutiny upon all have said, and all that I shall say and do within these halls, so that by dent of true words and righteous action I may be vindicated of this slander. Witness, I shall offer no slander in reply to the indecency done unto me, and may all witness that every word I speak in regards to this Spirit Iskvald shall be in the light of all that which has been witnessed of that spirit's words and deeds.

    "I call on the testimony of the honorable Duke Bo Danerdhuf. I trust he can tell you that Sycorax of the younger generation, such as myself, have shed much of our historic enmity to spirits. We understand that spirits are as a manner of folk. Just as there are wicked folk, there are wicked spirits, and so to, just as their are noble folk, there are noble spirits.

    "Again, before I continue, let it be written as it is witnessed, I offer no accusation of hidden deeds or motives on the part of this Spirit Iskvald, for there is no need for me to indulge in such dishonor. In that light, I ask all goodly folk here, how should one judge, with all available fairness, and in light of honest witness, whether a given spirit be wicked or noble?

    "Let us say there is a spirit of fire who approaches a shelter in a time of cold. This spirit offers in courteous humility its powers to heat the shelter, in exchange for tribute, so that both shelter and spirit may fairly profit.

    "Let us by contrast say a similar spirit of flame comes to the shelter, but rather than barter, the spirit issues ransom. Should the shelter refuse tribute, the spirit shall force its heat upon the shelter until all inside are burnt or driven out to die in the cold.

    "Now, based on what we know of this Spirit Iskvald, what manner of spirit would we say they are? Again, I offer no slander, and happily invite any misconceptions I hold to be corrected by honest testimony, but it would seem to me, based on what has been spoken thus, the Spirit Iskvald may be worse than either example.

    "I beg someone enlighten me, what positive value does this Spirit Iskvald, or its cult, offer our world? Hm? Thus far, they confess they have mingled their essence with a death curse. They confess they have profited greatly from the harm inflicted, and they seek to profit more, to grow exponentially stronger, and in exchange for our contribution to their swelling ambition, they have promised only tentative and provisional exception to ongoing hardship.

    "What then are we to take of this proposal by the cult who serves this spirit? The Sycorax, Anham, and New Bhule, all of us have been striving to end this curse, to drive it back and eventually conquer it. By contrast, what is the practical implication of what the Frigid Digits offer? To preserve it. To preserve and grow the power of this storm Forever. To rename 'The Long Winter' so hence forth it be called 'The God Iskvald'. A name to be feared by our children, and their children, and their children's children for uncountable generations.

    "Besides a demand of ransom, a usurious loan of fleeting safety, what does this spirit offer us?"
    Last edited by DoomHat; 2019-03-26 at 05:29 AM.
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  21. - Top - End - #21
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    Overvann Assembly

    Clara turns irritatedly to the Sycoraxi delegate. "Need I remind you that this is not a trial, and that you are are not among the easily-roused rabble of your homeland. Your attempts at agitation are not appreciated. You give baseless accusation of hostile intent, but do not listen to Isknvald's words. It has made no threat against you, and has even graciously agreed to listen to your words, but you still wish to state its ill intent." She turns to Isknvald's representative. "I will need some time to consider." She takes another pinch of herbs, and, fingering the pouches of grave dirt in her other pocket, goes into a trance once more.
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    Private Banquet
    Bo was quiet for a time after Isknvald's first reply to him sitting down to think. She spoke that her ascension to some level of godhood was "the only means by which the Winter may abate for longer than shortly" but could no more prove that than Bo might prove there were no gods, only greater spirits, as Animist thought dictated. The Chimes had been in the works for literal decades with a great effort put into both their preparation and execution. His mother and his own work to awaken the southern spirits to combat this unnatural northern chill surely amounted to more than "a bucket to bail water." How could this spirit who mistakenly unleashed the freezing terror speak of their further empowerment as the only way forward without proof and expect immediate unfounded belief outside these Frigid Digits sycophants who were prepared to follow Isknvald into an entirely unknown system of belief? Bo didn't like the smell here. Yfga, the avatar for Isknvald, all the Digits here smelled of corruption. Maybe not to the Mandates of Lindeen but certainly in desperate and opportunistic devotion to a foolish northern spirit which sought to reach beyond its natural grasp. "Partners"? Bo wondered quietly as he poked at his salad what promises Isknvald had made Yfga and her followers for attempting to pull off this ludicrous plot.

    Bo was jerked from his quiet contemplation when the Sycoraxi leader shouted his name in testimony. The Sycorax were a loud and peculiar folk but what Aeshma spoke was true. The aid of Witnesses of Initia during the reign of Caliban had been integral to completing the Chimes as quickly as they had been. The mechanical mostly reliable magic of Initia was indeed part of the Chimes' very architecture at certain points though most of the power was to come from the numerous ocean and sky spirits bound in contract. As Aeshma spoke further Bo found aligning once more with the Sycorax on an important international matter. The way in which this whole scenario had been presented was a false choice and Bo had enough of playing by the rules set out by this overambitious spirits.

    "You must think quite little of your brother-sister spirits that the efforts of a great many of them, including in their number Yeunopihm of high order should pale in comparison to your singular ambition to ascend within a more widely known pantheon. Indeed, the Frigid Digits who follow you must think little of spirits as a whole despite their oaths and contracts made in the words of Jalyeong-bo that they should seek a private contract to pursue your godhood spirit. A private contract created before consultation of the wider world on where Isknvald the god should even live?"

    "I hope you shall not accuse a shaman who believes in safe uncontracted contacts with spirits and soon intends to orchestrate the greatest spiritual working of this age to be as the Sycroaxi biased against all spirits when I align myself with the viewpoint that what is offered here is a threat posing as salvation,
    Bo rose to his feet once more, "Gamle Mater may welcome you to join their pantheon and you may die Isknvald spirit of the Long Winter and the Frigid Digits may choose to convert their spiritual beliefs to the norms of a pantheon but if I am wrong in my belief that these Digits and yourself Isknvald are purely in pursuit of power for yourselves then allow me to offer this alternative. Join the Spirit Chimes Pact of the Ortassa-Albar. Pledge your spiritual strength to those already committed to ending this Long Winter and share the burden of your mistake in touching the ghost of 'Gxe'dhok among many rather than you alone. Rhunic Animists believe there are no gods, only spirits of lesser and greater power. I know for a spirit who turned away from selfish pursuits to join the greater whole working to stop a disaster would be loved not only by myself but by many who follow the machinations of the great spirits."

  23. - Top - End - #23
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    Secret Banquet

    The prince, who had seemed rather out of place among the council of great spiritual leaders and sages, finally broke his stoic silence, gathering the points of his opposition and gauging where the... 'Problem' in their propositions were. He had come in rather frustrated that his guardswoman and holder of an artifact of dejanic power was barred from entry, internally blaming it on sabotage lain by the Feast of Rieba, who had been closely allied with Avakonia's most ancient enemies. When Cattius spoke his tone was confident, perhaps too confident.

    "These Animist practices... Rather strange to not believe in gods in an age where they actively feud with dragons and grant boons, don't you think? I am Cattius Kren El Sira, husband of Lofn of Izbefe, and I see that you, great God of Winter, do not seem content to settle in as merely another great spirit. You quickly grow beyond that. You could be added as an 'element' or settle in as an equal among other lesser pantheons, but your ambition keeps you above that. Ambition not unlike Dejan's, the first mortal to ascend to godhood."

    Flashing a business-like smile to the others in the room, he continued.

    "The imperial core has recently put down the dragon that ruled over it. Not with the united power of many kingdoms, but by one under a single god's blessing - the god declared divinity by man. The god whose followers cast off the persistent threat of hardship and corruption that no Perijanist force even attempted to avenge after they struck down the final bastion of their faith in the empire. If you seek followers with spine enough to carry your vast tribute, search no further than Dejanism, my friend."

    "Fitting you in for most faiths would be the hard part for most others here, it seems. Thankfully, we do not have this issue. You clearly already wield powers most fantastic, and so convincing those around you that you may protect them from the most intense of winters is the easy part. Godhood will be yours undoubtedly. Local gods under the Dejanic principles are not only acknowledged but encouraged, as the great conqueror presides only over the domain of war and success. See the large number of Telir Giza and Perijanist folks that still preside in the Avakonian heart as a sample of such a thing... Our faith is syncretic, not exclusive. Dejan is merely a representation that divinity is within all of our reaches, and surely with the combating of the Long Winter you will find that those from Altessa to Sfaire putting stock in your name. If you seek company, within Dejanism you will find not only the great conqueror - But all of the many other faiths who have incorporated his name within theirs."


    He shifts a bit, and glances at the door a bit less enthusiastically after delivering his pitch.

    "A bit of history no textbook would tech you... The Spellfather revealed to us that Gods were once hunted by dragons as prey in an age long past. Outside this very room I have brought the claw of this would be hunter, laid low and removed of curses by Dejanic sages. You might be able to feel it from here, but suffice to say that the Dejanic league is truly the only one who is proven capable of defending their own gods from such injustices, where others come to plead to them for help. The question is not 'What can Isknvald do for us, but what can we do for Isknvald?'"
    Last edited by Zayuz; 2019-03-26 at 02:22 PM.
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  24. - Top - End - #24
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    [Banquet Secret of Banquetness]

    Again Yven has lapsed into silence, listening to the spirits response, his father's name earning a quirk of his eye from the spirit and nothing more, and the responses of the others. The Sycoraxi outburst into a legal rant over a perceived slight had been mildy amusing but not wholly unexpected. Their people had held a hostile view to the spirits of their lands, so it seemed a bit silly to call slander when the spirit was speaking the truth, in this instance. Bo had brought up an important point that the Rhunic Animists did not perceive Gods and Spirits as separate, rather that there was a scale of spirits based on their influence, and power, but spirits none the less. And as astute as Bo was, he failed to touch upon the important aspect of a spirit's growth. Catticus's remarks drew a long internal sigh from Yven at the Dejanite blowhard.

    Yven toyed with the salad as he thought hard upon what his faith meant to him, how they viewed the spirits who protected them, strengthened them. Setting his fork to the side he clasped his hands infront of him an spoke, "Isknvald, perhaps the spirits of the west are unaccustomed to the Rhunic faith, but what Duke Gyeon has said is true, we do not recognize gods as anything other than spirits of great power and influence, but spirits just the same as the great Jumi and Sáráhkká down to the lesser spirits that reside in the shrines of our homes. Yet you speak of transcending the spirit to become... something more."

    He paused to stroke his beard as he thought over his next words, "What troubles me is your goal, and the circumstances that surround it. You speak of being accepted by my people but then to be given a place outside of our current patron spirits, a place of honor and power. As for the protection you seek, I must be mistaken, but strength attracts strength; even among the realm of the spirits this is true. Sáráhkká is not a great spirit solely because of her strength but also because of the spirits that attend to her and her domain. For a spirit seeking to stand alone is worrisome, for even the most capricious spirit can find lackies and servants if its strength is great enough."

    "I do not know if your interactions with the remnants of the dragon were out of greed, malice, or just plain curiosity. But from what I have heard, and seen, you seek power. That is a dangerous proposition. The last mortal who grasped at godhood caused much in the way of suffering for my people, and my allies, before he was put down. And to my understanding the most notable spirit to attempt such a thing was Pohjoinen, the north wind, who is locked behind the wards of the north. If I may deter you from this course, I offer you to enter into council with my shamans or those of Duke Gyeon. Join as your are, a spirit, and give up this dangerous desire for power and learn how to cultivate real strength."

  25. - Top - End - #25
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    Sigyn

    A shadow had drawn her north. For all the pretense of Var's wedding, for all the many days of planning between herself and the Järlin, Sigyn's nights had been plagued by visions. The Tomb of Gxe'Dhok loomed above her in silent grandeur, thrumming with a power at once familiar and utterly alien. She felt it calling to her, emboldening her to reach out her hand to the waiting shadows. And every night, the shadows reached back. Every night of the long journey to Whern, the feeling had grown ever stronger, ever more insistent, bleeding into the waking world alongside the whispers that were never now far from her mind. She had attended to their arrival in a daze, leaving many details to Herja as she slipped ghostlike down the halls of the Feast of Rieba. Her mind began to clear as she passed an unassuming banquet hall, only to sharpen to terrible clarity as she beheld the guards barring one door among many. Glowering down at them with terrible purpose, she waved a clawed hand to one side. There was a pause, a glance shared between the Frigid Digits, until with a nod they stepped aside.

    The Padishah could feel the electricity in the room beyond like bands of vibrating silk between the assembled. Eyes of green fire passed over the eminent leaders of a half dozen faiths, pausing only twice. Once on the Magi of Regno, and once on her son-by-marriage. For her part, Sigyn cut an unearthly figure in the arctic cold, tawny scales wrapped in a billowing gown of void-black silk that glittered with innumerable stars. Her horned crown rose high above the Mark of Fate on her brow, accompanied by ornaments of gold and jet that fell in coils along her arms. Black claws drummed a staccato beat as she passed the seat of Cattius, brushing the young man's cheek with predatory affection before she spoke.

    "Greetings, noble lords. It seems we have stumbled into this conference mere moments from calamity and collapse."

    Blue-painted lips curled into a smile, drawing attention to the ten smooth emeralds affixed around Sigyn's eyes.

    "But we well understand your fervor. The Long Winter has taxed your lands greatly, tested your people unjustly. Cruelly. It is only natural that promise of salvation should be viewed with a skeptical eye."

    She circled the table, reaching out only once to spear a sliver of halibut and catch it in ice-black teeth.

    "But we know better than most the price of the dragon's wrath. Overvann has paid in blood. Regno in flesh. Our people in spirit. It is unwise to rush too hastily into malediction and fear when met by another seeker in the dark."

    She paused finally before the girl that was Isknvald, reaching out her hand as she had in dreams uncounted.

    "Welcome, sister."
    Last edited by TheDarkDM; 2019-03-26 at 05:17 PM.

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    Secret Banquet

    Norá av Aanaar had grown weary of the lands of the northwest in recent years, the growing storm there reminiscence of old legends that gave her pause. So it was she had held back, depsite his own husband's presence, allowing the other great leaders so invited into the these sequestered halls to speak their peace for a time. The act of patience was in part a means to gauge those present and where they stood. The short, middle aged Rhunite stood near the entrance beside her eldest children. A beautiful woman with long brunette hair and intense, dark eyes, her calm and observant attempt to gauge the field was a lesson to the two teenage girls, who would one day rule the United Confederacy and Yondari League.

    The eldest, Korppi, seemed to handle the lesson well. Her parentage was undoubtable, a youthful image of her mother, lutrine tail and ears included, though her hair and eyes were darker. Her hair was bound up in many tight braids, bound up in a twisted bun held in place by spiral horn hair pins. A lock of free bangs hung over her visage, obsurring an eye, a bored and almost contemptous look on the youth's face as she watched the strange sight unfold. Beside her, the nearly identical Naná could not have seemed more different. Dark hair cut in a simple bob with bangs, her dark eyes seemed alight with an excited energy. She possessed the sciurine ears and tail of her father's people, standing there bouncing on her heels as she seemed to pet her own fluffy tail obssessively, gaze darting with peaked interest at the many influencial people present.

    The girls' mother eyed them quickly, making a gesture for them to remain standing near the room's entrance as she finally stepped forward, slowly making her way to the table with swaying hips before prompting taking a seat beside her husband. She reached out a hand, casually grasping Yven's as she offered him a reassuring smile before her gaze turned to the others present. She audibly cleared her throat before speaking.

    "Esteemed Isknvald, may I ask why it is you believe that only you, and you alone, can end this unnatural storm? The north houses many beings of power, after all, with a history of cooperation. I do not think my husband is misplaced in invoking the name of the Mad Wind in this moment either. The forces of Whern only just formed the bounds of kinship in arms with the Animists in ending the madness of the fell warlock Krace, whose goal was to free Pohjoinen from the prison that has held that twisted... Yeunopihm since his ancient disgrace. The demands you make now... They ring in my ears like echoes of that fell being. It is likely from this echo of days past that caution about your intention arise among those of the north. We all just narrowly escaped the fate of a wintery spirit of ambitions claiming dominion over the skies due to the Mandate's meddling. Should we trade one for another simply on the promise the new one will correct their mistakes? Perhaps it best if your plea be judged by more wizened spirits, rather than the mortals present. Would you defend and profess your earnestness before Jumi and Sáráhkká, among whose number you wish to join?"
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  27. - Top - End - #27
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    Overvann Assembly

    Clara has been slowly coming out of the trance for the last few minutes. She becomes aware enough to nod as the dejanist finishes his speech, and then go glance suspiciously at Sigyn. Unlike her daughter in law, she has little trust for the padishah. Harkening back to Cattius, she formulates a response. "It is an excellent question, 'what can we do for you, Isknvald?' You seek kinship and aid in your future endeavors. In Overvann, we have a saying, "The adopted son is no less than the trueborn." The meaning is simple. If you are in our family, you are in our family forever, no matter how you came to join, and we support and protect our families. The same is true of our gods. They are a family, and they work together. You would be among those who would give a hand to guide you through the transition and teach you how to use your newfound powers. They would stand alongside you in your time of need. Other pantheons cannot boast the unity of ours, the steadfast devotion only family can provide."
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  28. - Top - End - #28
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    A thumping, stomping sound is heard approaching the from outside. The Frigid Digits at the door step aside to allow entry to a single person: a Frostbind woman dressed in a sealskin tunic and holding a birchwood staff. She bows curtly to Aeshra, smiles at Duke Bo and the Sycorax delegation, then moves to speak with Chief Yfga.

    My name is Priestess Anhah, guardian of the tomes of knowledge stored in the Fferhaven Library, and speaker of the will of Ignatix. I have come to meet this new spirit whom I have heard so much of. Please, tell me about the Isknevald. Is it true that it has caused the Long Winter which we now suffer under?

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    Private Banquet

    "Please, take a seat," Yfga beckons the Frostbinder woman. "This is a banquet, not a marketplace.

    And yes, this is true. The spirit has recently confessed that it accidentally triggered the curse, though the winter's locus of power is the Brinefather's grave in Bhule."


    Yfga eats some of her salad, with an apparent preference for the fried halibut chunks over the Kale.

    "And Nora, after we fought by your side to defeat Krace I am insulted that you would think us unable to judge the intentions of a spirit for ourselves. After all, Whern has been making contracts with them since time out of mind."
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    Spirit Sisters - Sigyn

    The woman paused in the midst of taking a breath, as if to gather herself to attempt to be heard, upon Sigyn's entrance. With every step the Padishah took, the temperature dropped. Candles along the table flickered and seemed to dim. Breath fogged and did not dissipate, and the fires along the walls grew weak and shallow. The blue coloration of Isknvald's host's eyes seemed to spread across them like creeping ice. The veins around her eyes were highlighted against her translucent skin, and the frostnip at her fingertips and toes began to creep up her hands, as she stared. The candles closest to the spirit-possessed woman flickered out, and a heaviness overtook the room. All in the room would be able to feel the pressure of Isknvald's presence as it focused into this small, insulated space; it was as if someone was looming just behind each of the individuals present, and gently but insistently pressing ice against every inch of exposed skin.

    When the girl hosting Isknvald spoke, her words carried a foreboding aura, like that of a hole so deep it appears to have no bottom.

    "You...you smell like it. Like her. Like the source, like - yes. You too have seen, have felt, have drank, have wandered and found and lost and learned. I can taste-smell-touch it on your mind, leaking like the, the, the melts in thaw."

    Frost collected on the girl's hands as she reached her own hand out, utterly still beyond this singular, measured movement; even her breathing has frozen in response to this revelation. Ice crystals grew on her eye lashes as the crystalline blue bled from her irises to the whites of her eye, and the pupils appeared to expand likewise, like great rifts of black in glistening spheres.

    "Yes...yes, I know you, though you are mortal, I know you, remember you, have seen you in passing. I do not know how, know why, know where, but it is. You, you, you are the dreamer. The dreamed. The, the, the...yes. Yes..."

    The girl blinked, once, and appeared to remember where she was - or rather, where they were. Warmth returned to the room all at once, and fires roared back to life, nearly leaping from their confines in their renewed exuberance. The host herself slowly began to regain her coloration, as her eyes returned to a more typical appearance, her breath returned, and the frost on her skin turned to water. But something had certainly changed in her countenance - now she did not fidget and move her body in seemingly random fashion.

    "It is...good, joyous, excellent to see you here, sister, kin, old friend, compatriot. We should, need, would enjoy to continue our, our, our discussion another time, place, company. Apologies." The girl brushed Sigyn's arm with her fingers as she retracted her arm, and continued, addressing the rest of the assemblage. "I apologize for the interruption, outburst, presence - it is not every day one gets to meet a new old friend."


    Animate Disagreement - Yven, Norá, Bo

    Isknvald's host turned to each of the followers of the spirit faiths present, and spoke after a moment to recall what had been said after the distraction of Sigyn's arrival.
    "Bo-progeny-of-Yald, I am certain that the efforts of, of, of my less ambitious fellows will not go awry in this accord, and I would be, pleased, relieved, overjoyed to have their aid, their assistance, their friendship. But their efforts will be undone in ten, twenty, thirty years, when the winter marches back. Will you call upon their aid and demand such effort as they will put out here with every generation until the end of time, merely to spite my ambitions?

    God, Yeunopihm, greater spirit, reflection - the names matter not. I desire to be greater and broader and brighter than chasms in the ice and cracked glaciers and frozen valleys. I wish to be a spirit of you mortals, to accompany and entreat and aid and be aided by. My ascension to higher status does not demand your permission nor will I beg of it, Bo-progeny-of-Yald; the contract was private because it does not need consultation of outsiders. I seek power to grow beyond my present stature, yes, but my desires are broader than that alone. If it will grant me the power to see the world and secure myself against assault, I would be glad to remain in the company of my fellow vaunted spirits and kin.

    But if you will bid me to keep to my station, remain in my place, forget my ambitions and desires and seek to be no more than what I am now, whatever I may become, I ask you, Norá-progeny-of-Lieđđi, Yven-progeny-of-Vaylan, is that how your families came to hold such wide dominion? By never seeking to be greater? Remaining what they were since their blood first made itself known? If that is how kings and margravines and duchies and sultanates and empires are founded, then my confinement has been yet more restrictive and my education concerning mortals less learned and my shamans less knowledgeable than I believed.

    I would be pleased to present my case before the great Jumi and venerable Sáráhkká, Norá-progeny-of-Lieđđi, and let them see the sincerity of my intents and desires; then you would see my nature as true and of heart. Yet it is precisely the limits you say I should not overmount, the bonds that you claim should please, the restrictions you tell me I should not escape, that keep me from going to speak with them, and my lesser status, my stature, my strength that keeps me from asking them to come to me. My, my, my personal aid is required due to my connection. My influence. My involvement and amendment and most of all my knowledge with my time in the depths of the winter."




    Pious Petition - Clara, Cattius

    Now the spirit turns their attention towards the seeress and the prince, and appears to be in deep consideration for a few moments before responding.
    "It is...a very pleasing question, idea, mindset to witness, yours. To stand above-alone-apart or stand together-as-kin-as-equals; both appeal but in very different ways. I bless you, Cattius-progeny-of-Khäsglis, for your recognition, validation, honoring of my desires, rather than seeking to impose your own over top of them as others appear to. And I ble you, Clara-progeny-of-Kari, for your welcome, your graciousness, your offer of kinship, to welcome me into new family from that near-family which I am leaving and yet take with me. Your offers I take to heart, to soul, to self and must consider carefully - I admit curiosity and confusion and desire as to where I would fit in both instances - for a spirit to become a god is surely as strange a thing to the followers of Dejan as to those here who see no gods but spirits greater and lesser and in-between? And I know not the trials I would face, nor those who I might displace in the old ways of the north, Clara-progeny-of-Kari. I would bid you speak of these things"

    Calm Before, The - Aeshma

    Isknvald's host-face is cold and calm as they address the Sycoraxi representative, allowing Agnar and Yfga to respond to the Bhulian delegate, whereupon they could prepare themselves accordingly.
    "I am unsurprised, expectant, bored that you see no value in the blessings and boons and favor of the divine, Aeshma-progeny-of-Grund. Your attempt to proclaim me baleful is ill-fated and proves my understanding of your purpose here true. I seek to reduce, to mitigate, to lessen the harm I have caused by my actions, however accidental, unintentional, mistaken they may have been, even to reverse it and you call me usurious and demand I offer to you some fashion of service beyond that which I already promise and am obliged and intend. In exchange, you offer what as payment? As tribute? Peace, in exchange for service? I deny not that opportunities and chances and possibilities are seized upon, but your claim remains farcical. Preposterous. Imprudent. And wrong. And yet you behave just as you accuse me of doing, demanding and accusing and threatening by your history. What value bring you to this meeting, Aeshma-progeny-of-Grund? We sought peace, resolution, understanding between my peoples and yours, and I see now you seek it not."
    Last edited by Rolepgeek; 2019-03-29 at 04:48 PM.
    Sincerely,
    Role P. Geek

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