Dakashi speaks up from his silence, "We don't destroy it... we use the power of the Divine Sphere to rebuild the Weave and Mystra herself..."
"Hmm, that would be a very difficult proposition, but not entirely improbable," Tocrhor ponders.
"Divine spheres have been used to re-coalesce a divine Aspect that was partially destroyed or lost beyond the Veil of Stars, but I'm not sure what it would do to Outlander deity. More than likely your Magus would be remade as an Aspect of the Unification Church. She would have all the power of the stars behind her, but she wouldn't be the same deity, in theory."
"Attempting to deconstruct a divine sphere to rebuild your magical weave? I don't know that any on this sphere possesses that level of power, save perhaps that deity who just spoke through your prophet here.
"I've studied the history of the Outlands and every time an Oulander god came into contact with a Divine Sphere, it did not end well. In most cases, the deity was simply sundered by the power of thousands of Aspects connected to the sphere. I think in one case the god's power was corrupted and it fell from grace and became a demon. Of course, I read that ages ago during my youth and it was a story not a historical text."
Shazer'a bowed his head to both Eltan and the wounded hobgoblin, "I apologize your Grace, it was not my intention to imply you could or should not follow your own laws. I was trying to speak to your statement of harming him to gain information, that I could not allow in good conscience. As Tocrhor says, it is hard to not thing of Imperial law applying somewhere, especially for one born of a great house. I meant no disrespect.
"I accept you apology," Eltan replies.
"We will not let it fester. Tocrhor has agreed to submit to the rule of the Grand Dukes and I will hold him and you to it. That is good enough, for now. We have bigger concerns." He speaks to Tocrhor,
"What can you tell me of this guild you belong to? Are there any who would follow your lead and help us?"
"The Royal Exploratory Service isn't a guild, as you would call it," Tocrhor says to Eltan.
"It is a star-spanning organization that is nearly as old as the Empire. The members of the RES, often called trailblazers, are on the front lines of exploration in what we call the Outlands. Worlds such as yours exist in in the Outlands and are, legally, not considered to be part of the Dragon Empire. Diplomacy is, to put it simply, our bread and butter. The RES makes contact with new worlds and determines whether or not to recommend a world for integration into the Empire. It is not our way to conquer. The RES began as a limb of the Qesemet long before the bulk galaxy came together to form the Dragon Empire under the Imperial Charter. Before this, the Golden Kingdom was in conflict with the Asamet of the Iron Kingdom in a Great War than spanned the stars. Only once peace was forged, did the RES become a tool for the Empire as a whole, although trailblazers prefer to avoid the worlds under the rule of the Asamet. The RES is protected by the Qesemet to this day.
The RES has three main divisions, or guilds if you prefer, there are the Explorers and Contactors who travel through the Outlands and meet with the leaders of worlds that seem promising to add to the Empire. This is done carefully, as many Outland worlds such as Toril have no knowledge of the Dragon Empire. To visit these worlds overtly is considered, what word would you use, taboo? It isn't completely forbidden but it not advisable. The damage that could be done to such, developing worlds is considered dangerous. It could lead to insurrections, holy wars, and even plagues. The other guild are the Scientifics. They are more concerned with learning about the planets and stars, as well as unknown magical phenomena. They don't do well with humanoids.
"As for whether or not there are members of the RES who would come to Toril's aid, I would say yes, as long as the Qesemet give the order. As with all such organizations, there are factions within the RES that lean more towards the Asamet but they are rare." Tocrhor gives a sideways glace towards Shaz,
"There is another division in the RES that I was recruited into that is a guarded secret even from Qesemet's most loyal soldiers. They... we are called the Rundowns. We're mainly spies and enforcers that act as the eyes and ears in the Outlands even those Outland worlds on the edges of the one of the Asamet domains. It is a tough life filled with danger and fear. Being caught isn't an option. The RES will not speak out for us if we're caught by the minions of the Iron Kingdom. There are many amongst the Rundowns that want to do more than spy and hunt for Imperial criminals. They want to fight. I- I never considered myself to be willing to fight back, until now."
"Are any others from your guild here?"
"No, but I could send a message with the right, technology. There wouldn't be a guarantee that any of them would hear it. I know there are some Rundowns working in the Arkhan system and across the Altara boundary. If I had an ansible, it would be simple." Tocrhor notes the puzzled look on Lord Eltan's face.
"An ansible is a magical device that allows the user to send a short message across the stars with no limit on distance. It works much like a universal spell, sending, and can be sent to a person or another ansible. An interstellar telegraph, if that makes sense."
"What's a telegraph?" a wounded citizen asks.
"Never mind," Tocrhor sighs before looking at Shaz.
"I'm assuming you don't have one?"
Listening raptly as the prophet began speaking, Shazer'a can only nod his head and whisper to Nelalwe,
"so that is what happened. Odd that this planet was once part of the Empire but lost to us in the wars of Asemet and Qesemet..." and he is cut short as the voice of a god echos from the prophet. Looking intently at the human, Shazer'a gives him a nod of respect when Kelemvor stops speaking.
Nelalwe retreive the datapad from the hobgolbin's pack and brings it over to Shazer'a. Fiddling with it for a moment, he is able to bypass the encryption and begins verifying what Tocrhor said.
OOC:
Knowledge (Geography): 1d20+10 = 24
The datapad contains everything Tocrhor said it would, as well as details about the activities of the RES in the Aegis Region. It seems this sector of space is considered a gold mine for Imperial research. Not only is there details on new worlds discovered at the boundaries of Imperial Space, but also previously unknown data on the region known as the Thel'math'shar Frontier. A star map of the region shows not only Toril's system, Amaunator, but also three other stars along the frontier that Shazer'a has never heard of before: Lernaean, Tinja, and Liga, as they are named on the map. Shazer'a knows that the last star in this region added to the Imperial archives, over twenty cycles ago, was the star known as Golden Star. Like Amaunator, Golden Star is a yellow star but the closest thing it had to a habitable world was a desert world that barely fell within the system's habitable zone.
Amaunator, it seemed, was very different with a powerful magical core that made it a prime target for the Dragon Empire. It's magical rating was well over 7,000! That would make it comparable to some of the Dragon Empire's most important core worlds. If conquered by the Empire, the system would become the center for Imperial expansion in the entire sector and beyond into the unknown Outlands. The system, and Toril would eclipse Savell as the most important outer system in the Domain of Golion. The system was clearly on the copper dragon side of the dividing line between the Domain of Golion and Domain of Altara of the whites. The world of Toril could one day rival House Golion's throneworld, Meneer, if it survives the whims of Emperor Mezzenbone.
Shazer'a also notes that both Tinja and Liga both have magical rating in the high 3,000s while another yellow star called Sirion has a rating that puts it between Amaunator and Tinja, in the mid 5,000s. Sirion sits right on the dividing line and is marked as being an ecological protectorate with a notation that Shazer'a doesn't recognize. These stars could lead to a new rush of colonization along the Thel'math'shar Frontier. Another star, well beyond the frontier, given the name Titanite, has little data on it and is marked with a warning icon.
It seems the RES has been very busy in this region of space.
However, it is Toril's mithral rating that is most troubling. It is the second highest possible, as Shazer'a knows it from his Imperial training. The Mithral Directive would be in effect the moment that Emperor Mezzenbone becomes aware of Toril. Mithral is valued by the Empire for use with starcaster. It's value is beyond compare, and Toril and the rest of the system has so much of it that the world cannot be ignored!
Tocrhor sees the look on Shaz's face.
"You understand, don't you? What is coming to this world no one can stop. Note even your Liege can save Toril from becoming part of the Empire. All we can do is try to save the world from being devoured completely and Dragon Empire resting its bulk on the world's bones." The hobgolbin gives Shaz a look that the half-dragon has seen many times before, abject acceptance.
"Check subfolder four," he adds.
"It shows the false report that Toril is an Imperial colony that is rebelling."
Shazer'a finds the subfolder and is incensed with what he finds! The report says that Toril has existed as a colony of the Dragon Empire for over 500 years. The world was contacted and peacefully settled. It says that in the last 20 years, dissidents and radicals have tried to turn the world away from Empire and declare independence. The report gives Toril a lower magical rating and a technology rating on par with Savall's primary world. It is a farce!
"There is no way that report isn't a fabrication," the hobgoblins states bluntly.
"All you have to do is look around you to know its not true. I don't know who wrote it, but it is watermarked with the Imperial symbols for both House Mazorgrim and House Golion. I cannot believe for a second that Grand Duke Kupric signed off on that document."
Shazer'a sees that three Imperial ships were 'dispatched' to deal with the insurrection. Two Imperial dropships and, he can hardly believe it, an Imperial battleship called the
Centurion. While not an Imperial flagship, the
Centurion is of a class of starship that is the second largest ship design to ever exist in the Dragon Empire behind only the feared deadnoughts. For such a ship to be sent, the Emperor's goals for Toril are clear. The names of the two dropships are omitted from the report but Shaz can guess that the ships will be dangerous constructs filled to the brim with armored troops, hovertanks, and worse.
He also reiterates a previous question, "What of the Gem Dragons? What is there place within this Dragonstar Empire? Perhaps we can enlist their help... or the help of Saridor."
"... the Gem's play little part in the galactic politics. Most of them are far to difficult to motivate to act in any one direction, and they have not yet put the will together to form their own kingdom like the chromatics and metallics have done," Shazer'a replies to both questions without looking up from the datapad he was scouring for information.
"Yes, those dragon's have little clout in Imperial politics, although they are definitely not powerless. Psionics has its place in Dragon Empire just like arcana and the divine power of the Unification Church. Imperial citizens with such abilities are highly valued, so psi-dragons, as they're often called, are even more so by their draconic peers. They tend to live in the domains that comes closest to matching their temperaments and individual values. They are highly independent and prefer to keep to themselves and remain neutral when issues come up. I doubt very much they will care about Toril or what is about to happen here. The psionic traditions on your world are, I'm sorry to say, typical in comparison to other worlds where bio-psionics are strong.
"Bluefall, for example, has a strong psionic field around it, as does, if you like stories, a desert world rumored to exist somewhere in the Outlands well beyond the edge of the Domain of Deserene. That world is likely a myth. There is a strong psychic tradition amongst the citizens of the star group known as the Thunder Cluster, but their mental abilities are magical not psionic. The people of Bluefall have a few powerful bio-psions. There is also the world called Tsalokhiin that once stood against the Empire. Unlike with Bluefall, the tsalokhi's star system isn't filled with magical dead zones, so when they stood up to the Empire, the Dragon Emperor sent in the Legions. They're world was conquered and destroyed and the tsalokhi are now star nomads."
OOC: More replies tomorrow. I have to work on my other campaigns.
