Anything But Normal, Sailing the Endless Falls...

[Rystil Arden]

"Tempest, I think it would be prudent, given our precarious situaton, if we try to be diplomatic first rather than striking fear into those we meet. There are many powers in the Endless Falls, and a significant number of them, while not inclined against us, could easily destroy us if we anger them needlessly."

*Nissa nods at Ekilu.*

"You make a good point as well. I haven't heard of a ship that has the owner or original owner's name in front of it."

 

[Bront]

"Aella Aisa isn't bad--I prefer the Winds of Destiny to the Storm of Destiny, since a storm probably indicates ill tidings whereas winds are uplifting and carefree, like our friend Tempest as he flies about in the breeze."

"But now is a stormy time. We ride a ship of that storm. It is only right it be named as such."

 

[Shayuri]

Trebuchet's head pans to each person as they speak, attempting to draw out the patterns by which each one chose names.

"Perhaps...'Ship of Fate?'" it tries again. "Or 'Ship of Destiny?'"

 

[Voidrazor]

"Hee hee, Cap Merri play funny. But me and Fuzz Flap know. This Taalaship."

The three and a half foot tall ooze, a pink teardrop on stubby little legs, runs around beneath the gliding hadozee, "Taalaship Taalasheeeep!"

 

[Shayuri]

His armored head was not capable of making facial expressions, but Trebuchet's voice was frowning now.

"Taala's Ship of Fate? Taala's Fate? Ship of Taala's Fate? There are many combinations of these elements, though ignoring ones that violate grammar does narrow it down."

It pauses, then notes, "I am curious though. Why spare all this trouble simply to give a name to an object that is, by its nature, unique? There is no need to differentiate it from other elemental ships, after all."

 

[Isida Kep'Tukari]

Captain Merri raises a bushy eyebrow at the warforged. "Aye, this girl is unique, but the name defines who she is. Names have power, and doubly so with a ship like this. The name'll define her personality, and give her the power to defend herself if she must. Right now she's a bare field, and can be turned to any purpose. We best be pickin' carefully," he says with great solemnity.

 

[Kelleris]

Lupaz trots over from where he had been gazing out over the sea, panting gently. The assembled company hears a telepathic whisper at the back of their minds as he "speaks," but a dour, head-shaking "harrumph" makes the dog's views on the importance of this debate clear.

I would recommend we name it something more discrete than the rather ponderous fate-themed suggestions. I realize that such a vessel will stand out regardless, but we don't need to be attracting attention from people who are merely looking over a dock roster or cargo manifest. By the same token, I think we would be best off sticking to Common, "trade tongue" though it be - the language of the aristocracy advertises our affiliation rather too clearly. Perhaps Nightdream or World-Dancer? Or Firetreader, given where we're sailing?

 

[Rystil Arden]

"Well, if the name defines her personality, we want to name her something that is kind and good but loyal and staunch in defending her allies. We also need to choose something that is not in Common, as the point is to advertise our affiliation--we're carrying with us the regalia for naming a new king. I would hope that all of us here are loyal to the Kingdom of Knowledge. Therefore, we want to make it clear to any others who are also loyal that we are trying to restore peace to this land and not bring about some sort of civil war."

 

[Kelleris]

Lupaz opens his jaws in a vaguely mocking gesture before lying down on the terra-cotta surface of the island-ship.

Correction - we have stolen and are hiding the regalia for naming a new king. We have no current candidates for the job, and we have no good sense of who our allies are and who our enemies are. Until we can gather more information and resources, it would be foolish to advertise our affiliation any more than we must. And at this point the only alternative to a civil war is a straightforward coup that leaves those bastard time elementals in complete control of the Kingdom's resources, sans the weirds of course - that's already happened, and I can only pray that someone cares to dispute the change in rulership. I hope civil war keeps them busy long enough for us to do our duty and find a more appropriate ruler of the Kingdom. It's the best thing for our plans and is probably inevitable in any case. In any case, this is hardly the time to be worrying about the "personality" of our vessel - that will come in time and, perhaps, then we can rename her.

 

[Rystil Arden]

(OOC: I don't think we stole the regalia. Isida, can you give a ruling on that? Either way, I'm going to pretend you didn't say that we stole them, Kel, because otherwise we could wind up discussing something moot. Nissa will talk about the other things)

"First of all, I'm going to trust the captain here who says that the name is an irrevocable bond that forms the ship's personality. I can sense his primal connection to the flow of the land and its inhabitants, and I trust him on this. If you don't believe him about ships in general, I think you probably should about this ship in particular," Nissa points to the formless shapeless lump where the figurehead will be, "I'll bet that based on the name, that's going to form into a figurehead that will become the ship's avatar, so to speak. I can perform a magical analysis to determine if this guess is correct, if you'd like."

Anyway, since we don't support those time elementals, we need to pick a name that isn't in Common. Choosing a generic trade tongue instead of an official language for the ship's name will be seen as tacit support for the coup and the nonofficial rulers, such as the time elementals, who lack the blessing of the elements. And while skirmishes and anarchy are likely to occur and to keep the usurpers busy, we want to create peace as quickly as possible. When I speak of civil war, I speak of war between all sides for the crown, not war between the usurpers and those looking to restore a peaceful happy Kingdom of Knowledge. That second is a war of restoration, perhaps only a different in the naming, but an important point nonetheless. It is interesting how much easier it is to get someone loyal to sign on for a war of restoration than it is to get them to sign on for a civil war."