Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Cerebral Paladin" data-source="post: 3699086" data-attributes="member: 3448">We actually discussed that out of game, but I didn't include it in the Storyhour.  Our assumption is that Lady Elaine has a courtesy title as the heir-apparent of her parents (much like how Alistair's father was Marquis Belconnen as the heir-apparent of the Archduchess of Canberry, and his eldest child will be styled Marquis or Marchioness Belconnen).  She could use a dowager title (from her husband) if that were higher, but it is fairly clear that her husband was at best a manor lord or landed knight, because otherwise Abigail would have inherited a higher title than "Lady" upon her father's death.  This would all be clearer if we knew exactly what title Dame Brionna's parents held, but we don't, so...  (At least in Canberry, succession order is not dependent on gender.)* * *“Do the three Old Gods have names?”“They had many names, but the most common names were titles: the One Beside; the One Other; and many titles for the last one who consumed her brother, the Devourer of All, the Goddess of the Pale Bone.  It is said that so great is her hunger, that all of her creations are intended only for one purpose, to consume the world so that she can consume them and everything.  Her cult exists in other lands but it has always been strongest in the lands devoted to Berta.”  Dame Brionna bit back curses at Berta-- her mother might still be offended by criticisms of the family’s traditional religion.  “What did our maid do?”“She offered blood sacrifice to the Goddess of the Pale Bone, slaying various animals.  She had killed several animals, probably in an attempt to bring a here’ku through.”“Here’ku?”“One of the chief servants of the Goddess of the Pale Bone.  I do not believe she brought them through.  The here’ku are like dopplegangers, but substantially more powerful.  They might take the place of anything.  The only way to tell is to cut them.  They do not bleed blood, but a colorless ichor.  They can mimic perfectly besides that test, even mimicking mannerisms and reading the surface thoughts of those within fifty feet, allowing them to tailor responses to match expectations.  The here’ku nearly toppled the South Kingdoms eight-hundred years ago.”“Do they have weaknesses?  Could we fight them?”“While they are potent in combat, they are not as potent as the demons of the Horned Rat.  They can be slain as anything else, but you need to hit them hard because weapons do not bite as deeply into them as you would expect.”“What of the other Old Gods?  Would they seek to infiltrate as well?”“No.  The One Other and the One Beside also have their servants, but they cannot pass within human society, so they raise up their mountains and fortresses.  But you cannot treat them as separate threats; they work as a triumvirate frequently.  Many years ago, a temple of the One Beside arose to the east of the Kingdoms.  It was the cause of long-term combat, particularly with the fey of the Silentwood.  Then the sea rose up and consumed the island, and not seen since.  If the island were seen again, would mean he had enough cultists and power to raise it from the ocean.  I can’t imagine that would happen, even with the desperation of the refugees.”“The refugees?  Surely they would not follow the Old Gods.”“Not originally, but many believed the Lady of Chaos failed us.  They might turn to the other gods they knew of, the One Other and the One Beside.”Dame Brionna thought about that for a moment.  It was insane, but she could understand, if only barely, how they could have reached that point.  After all, she had rejected Berta after the fall of the South Kingdoms as well.</blockquote>

Verification