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Aphonion Tales: The Archducal Council -- Unedited notes; later posts are edited transcripts (posts MWF, update 3/1/23)
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<blockquote data-quote="CPaladin" data-source="post: 8840541" data-attributes="member: 7030144"><p>[Session 138, cont'd]</p><p>"Do you know anything of how the Moriquendarim found out about this?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, they found an ancient tome that referenced a hidden storeroom. They didn't know of any hidden storeroom so they scoured their cellars until they finally uncovered the trigger, and it opened the door. Within the storage room was a stepping pad, that leads to a hidden part of my palace, three corpses in caskets, and the personal effects of the three of them separately. And in the greatest imaginable disgrace, he had written in the Sacred Book, 'So ends the House of Gwyr. I, Quinliart have done this.' I will kill him for this, if I can reach him."</p><p></p><p>"Would that be within your power?"</p><p></p><p>"Not to reach him currently. Even the High Clanslady of Aufaugautharim only killed a few field armies, and I am not her equal."</p><p></p><p>"I asked out of curiosity, because others have said things that suggested that they do not think they would be capable of besting him in combat. Do you think then that you could best Quinliart, if you have access to him?</p><p></p><p>"If I do not attempt to attack him mentally, for he will crush me psionically--but if I only defend and can physically reach him, yes. I must not engage him in psionic combat--deflection and defense is all I could possibly do, even bolstered by armor and allies. He is powerful beyond nearly any mental contact I've ever seen."</p><p></p><p>"And reaching him would be difficult in the extreme, with the great barrier around the capital city of Hanal and the blood driven turned loose. Perhaps if we colud get both the Noldar and the Eldar to assault the barrier at once..."</p><p></p><p>"I do not believe it would required a combined effort. We have breached the outer barrier, and now there is hope if someone could crush several of the supporting towers inside the city. But first, they would have to get inside the city and overcome the defenses."</p><p></p><p>"We'll have to think on that."</p><p></p><p>"Yes. Please keep me in mind while you're thinking on it."</p><p></p><p>"Indeed. Is there ought else we should hear of?"</p><p></p><p>"Just that you must be wary of confronting the stolen voller in the air, because this is effectively an Eldar war schooner. You know the different classes of warships for us? I understand that there are some different ones for humans."</p><p></p><p>"At least vaguely. There are armadas and men of war?"</p><p></p><p>"Armadas are the largest, next men of war, and then there are the war schooners and the flitters. And then you go to the barges and the scouts and other things that we haven't used in thousands of years. The schooners are the third largest of the ships and the most common because they're quicker to grow, they're easier to impress, which is what you must do with a voller to have good control of it. If you are going to fly with a minimal crew, which even for a schooner any less than three is a minimal crew, then you also should impress the weapons so they can fire on their own. Most war schooners mount one energy lance. Occasional war schooners mount one rear and one forward energy lance."</p><p></p><p>"Did this one mount two?"</p><p></p><p>"Of course. It was from the House of Gwyr. I'm sure if they allowed their young heir to travel all the way to Drucien, probably because he was young and adventuresome and wanted to, House Gwyr would send him well protected. House Gwyr is of course one of the six great houses--one of our six great houses, I should say--and the house that primarily grew our vollers historically. It is the house that focused the most heavily on psychokinetic abilities within the six houses, and on magic of elements."</p><p></p><p>"I take it there's some mystic significance to six?"</p><p></p><p>"Divine significance. No mystic significance that I know of."</p><p></p><p>"What is the divine significance?"</p><p></p><p>"When the Brothers were young, and the divide began, before the Kinslaying and the bloodletting, each of the Brothers chose six champions. After the bloodletting, from those champions came the six houses on either side. And never have we shot to increase the number either upon our hand or upon theirs."</p><p></p><p>"But of course that would be sacrilegious."</p><p></p><p>"Yes."</p><p></p><p>"And Quinliart just ended one of those lines."</p><p></p><p>"That is why the death of the heir of the House of Gwyr is such a blow."</p><p></p><p>"I cannot help but wonder if their next effort will be to end one of the Noldar lines."</p><p></p><p>"There was the death of the young Curinirim lord. He was the heir to that house, but I am not certain if he was the only one. I do not discount the possibility that he had already reduced the Noldar houses to five, and seeing the opportunity to also take the heir of one of the Eldar houses, could not help himself. And of course the inscription. Yes, it was boastful, but it was bound to be uncovered sooner or later."</p><p></p><p>"And under other circumstances, could have renewed the Kinslaying at the time when it might lead to the fall of the world."</p><p></p><p>"Indeed, that might almost be the purpose in and of itself had it happened before his perfidy was discovered."</p><p></p><p><<That would be my thought,>> Kit sends to the others as Dame Brionna departs. <<What do you think would have happened if unsuspected conspirators in the court of Dame Brenda had convinced her to insist before the Council of Opposition that Zorplona-Argoni search for any signs of the boy? And then if they had been the ones to "accidentally" stumble upon the secret pad that led to the heir's body in Zorplona-Argoni? What do you think would have happened?>></p><p></p><p><<They might well have attacked Zorplona-Moriquendarim directly. And then the Argoni would respond in kind and then off to the races... That raises another concern about the traitors. If gray elves known to be associated with Dame Brenda were to, say, find and murder a Noldar youngling...>></p><p></p><p><<You mean like the Noldar lord you're fostering, your grace?>></p><p></p><p><<I got there a moment after I thought that, but yes.>></p><p></p><p>Alistair heads over to explain to the Noldor lord personally why he's confined to the palace for the near future. They have a quick conversation about why he must stay in the palace, because of the risk of assassins (like the candy seller) and have his friends visit him. He understands immediately, in his child-like way, and agrees that he is the only high-born young Noldor outside the homelands. The next youngest in age beyond the homelands, though somewhat lower in status, is the Lord Proconsul Moriquendarim, and he is at least in full adulthood.</p><p></p><p>They also contact the Cities of Crystal to warn them about the gray elf traitors.</p><p></p><p>Finally, they think about something else Dame Brenda said:</p><p></p><p>“The temple of Glordiadel purged out a man well on the way to becoming a bishop, perhaps six months ago. Bishop Humbert would be the person to speak to about that. He uttered the word of entropy and escaped. There was recently a battle in the Underdark. My cousins have cadet houses down there—pretentious--and engaged in a battle to protect them.”</p><p></p><p>They decide to contact Archbishop Humbert about the fallen priest through the Archbishop. The Archbishop recognizes him as likely Peregrine Godric. "He became a priest from a humble beginning and rose rapidly. He fell into error and was removed shortly before he would have been elevated to one of the new dioceses. He'd been a priest in Enclaves, I believe. It was a considerable scandal. He was an excellent scholar, and had formidable powers. His word was said to be almost hypnotic."</p><p></p><p>"How long ago did he fall?"</p><p></p><p>"Less than a year, but certainly more than a few months. I'm aware of this primarily in conversations you may recall where we put Humbert and other people back in contact recently during the incident with your parents." The archbishop nods to Kit. "And he did send out a warning letter telling everyone that the priest was corrupt and had fallen into ultimate error, although he didn't exactly define that given the Ecumenical Council, and that if he appeared in any of our dioceses he was to be seized immediately by paladins of any of the most devout orders and held for questioning. That is an unusual instruction from Humbert."</p><p></p><p>"Unusual in that he would usually not be that aggressive?"</p><p></p><p>"Yes, Humbert gained his nickname 'the holy' for his extreme piety and humbleness before the light, not for sounding like a bishop militant and choosing someone for the question is about as out of character for him as I can imagine. It sounds almost Paranswarmian."</p><p></p><p>"We believe that as of a few months ago, the apostate may have been active in the underdark with various forces aligned with the enemy."</p><p></p><p>"Do you have any idea where he has gone?"</p><p></p><p>"No. We think he was not captured, but we're not certain."</p><p></p><p>"He's been described as being almost hypnotic. I cannot imagine that he's lost that gift of rhetoric."</p><p></p><p>"Almost hypnotic as in charismatic speaker or as in he had some other gifts that made it actually hypnotic?"</p><p></p><p>"People found it difficult to disagree with him..."</p><p></p><p>"So, we're thinking coercer," says Kit.</p><p></p><p>"How would he talk about the Light?"</p><p></p><p>"He talked about the Light like any other young enthusiastic priest, but something came up. I'm not privy to the exact details-- I'll send a missive to Humbert and see if he's willing to share the details, but something came up. The church did some form of an investigation and concluded he needed to be defrocked. And he got away. I cannot speak to whether or not it would be coercion. I don't know enough about those things."</p><p></p><p>"It really does sound coercive," says Alistair. "Does Enclaves check its people for psionics?"</p><p></p><p>"No," says Kit. "They don't because usually there aren't enough to make it worth testing and nobody knows what to look for anyway. That's how I got away."</p><p></p><p>"The Ministry of the Mind does here, although their record of identifying everyone who has in fact psionic is spotty. Lots of people go undetected especially if it was a more subtle gift like coercion. Most people would just think he was a charismatic preacher, unless they knew what to look for. And of course that could also be either that he had an untrained gift that manifested in that way, or that he was already working with, for example, the corrupted elves."</p><p></p><p>"Or that they saw his gift and recruited him because of it. Actually, for a young ambitious priest, being offered the way to a way to make your oratory more persuasive and convincing..." Kit trails off.</p><p></p><p>"That in and of itself could have been a key step in the tempting," continues Dame Brionna. "Especially for a low born priest. That can be a path to power and influence."</p><p></p><p>"Right, but that's why I'm wondering about the content of his sermons," says Alistair. "It doesn't sound like they were explicitly leading people theologically astray, in and of themselves."</p><p></p><p>"Oh, there's no excessive talk about purity, if that's what you mean," adds the Archbishop. "He talked a great deal about righteousness and the Light, and about self-sacrifice."</p><p></p><p>"That is not that unusual a topic."</p><p></p><p>"No. Wouldn't be consistent with falling into a Sytrian heresy, shall we say, but I'm not certain. I will contact Humbert and see what he's willing to share."</p><p></p><p>They discuss the need to systematically check the clergy and the nobility, as well as anyone with magical power, for corruption. They also make sure that they're contacting other major courts about the gray elves, but quietly--so that an inner circle will know to respond if they show up, but not tipping off the enemy that they know of them.</p><p>[End Session 138]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CPaladin, post: 8840541, member: 7030144"] [Session 138, cont'd] "Do you know anything of how the Moriquendarim found out about this?" "Yes, they found an ancient tome that referenced a hidden storeroom. They didn't know of any hidden storeroom so they scoured their cellars until they finally uncovered the trigger, and it opened the door. Within the storage room was a stepping pad, that leads to a hidden part of my palace, three corpses in caskets, and the personal effects of the three of them separately. And in the greatest imaginable disgrace, he had written in the Sacred Book, 'So ends the House of Gwyr. I, Quinliart have done this.' I will kill him for this, if I can reach him." "Would that be within your power?" "Not to reach him currently. Even the High Clanslady of Aufaugautharim only killed a few field armies, and I am not her equal." "I asked out of curiosity, because others have said things that suggested that they do not think they would be capable of besting him in combat. Do you think then that you could best Quinliart, if you have access to him? "If I do not attempt to attack him mentally, for he will crush me psionically--but if I only defend and can physically reach him, yes. I must not engage him in psionic combat--deflection and defense is all I could possibly do, even bolstered by armor and allies. He is powerful beyond nearly any mental contact I've ever seen." "And reaching him would be difficult in the extreme, with the great barrier around the capital city of Hanal and the blood driven turned loose. Perhaps if we colud get both the Noldar and the Eldar to assault the barrier at once..." "I do not believe it would required a combined effort. We have breached the outer barrier, and now there is hope if someone could crush several of the supporting towers inside the city. But first, they would have to get inside the city and overcome the defenses." "We'll have to think on that." "Yes. Please keep me in mind while you're thinking on it." "Indeed. Is there ought else we should hear of?" "Just that you must be wary of confronting the stolen voller in the air, because this is effectively an Eldar war schooner. You know the different classes of warships for us? I understand that there are some different ones for humans." "At least vaguely. There are armadas and men of war?" "Armadas are the largest, next men of war, and then there are the war schooners and the flitters. And then you go to the barges and the scouts and other things that we haven't used in thousands of years. The schooners are the third largest of the ships and the most common because they're quicker to grow, they're easier to impress, which is what you must do with a voller to have good control of it. If you are going to fly with a minimal crew, which even for a schooner any less than three is a minimal crew, then you also should impress the weapons so they can fire on their own. Most war schooners mount one energy lance. Occasional war schooners mount one rear and one forward energy lance." "Did this one mount two?" "Of course. It was from the House of Gwyr. I'm sure if they allowed their young heir to travel all the way to Drucien, probably because he was young and adventuresome and wanted to, House Gwyr would send him well protected. House Gwyr is of course one of the six great houses--one of our six great houses, I should say--and the house that primarily grew our vollers historically. It is the house that focused the most heavily on psychokinetic abilities within the six houses, and on magic of elements." "I take it there's some mystic significance to six?" "Divine significance. No mystic significance that I know of." "What is the divine significance?" "When the Brothers were young, and the divide began, before the Kinslaying and the bloodletting, each of the Brothers chose six champions. After the bloodletting, from those champions came the six houses on either side. And never have we shot to increase the number either upon our hand or upon theirs." "But of course that would be sacrilegious." "Yes." "And Quinliart just ended one of those lines." "That is why the death of the heir of the House of Gwyr is such a blow." "I cannot help but wonder if their next effort will be to end one of the Noldar lines." "There was the death of the young Curinirim lord. He was the heir to that house, but I am not certain if he was the only one. I do not discount the possibility that he had already reduced the Noldar houses to five, and seeing the opportunity to also take the heir of one of the Eldar houses, could not help himself. And of course the inscription. Yes, it was boastful, but it was bound to be uncovered sooner or later." "And under other circumstances, could have renewed the Kinslaying at the time when it might lead to the fall of the world." "Indeed, that might almost be the purpose in and of itself had it happened before his perfidy was discovered." <<That would be my thought,>> Kit sends to the others as Dame Brionna departs. <<What do you think would have happened if unsuspected conspirators in the court of Dame Brenda had convinced her to insist before the Council of Opposition that Zorplona-Argoni search for any signs of the boy? And then if they had been the ones to "accidentally" stumble upon the secret pad that led to the heir's body in Zorplona-Argoni? What do you think would have happened?>> <<They might well have attacked Zorplona-Moriquendarim directly. And then the Argoni would respond in kind and then off to the races... That raises another concern about the traitors. If gray elves known to be associated with Dame Brenda were to, say, find and murder a Noldar youngling...>> <<You mean like the Noldar lord you're fostering, your grace?>> <<I got there a moment after I thought that, but yes.>> Alistair heads over to explain to the Noldor lord personally why he's confined to the palace for the near future. They have a quick conversation about why he must stay in the palace, because of the risk of assassins (like the candy seller) and have his friends visit him. He understands immediately, in his child-like way, and agrees that he is the only high-born young Noldor outside the homelands. The next youngest in age beyond the homelands, though somewhat lower in status, is the Lord Proconsul Moriquendarim, and he is at least in full adulthood. They also contact the Cities of Crystal to warn them about the gray elf traitors. Finally, they think about something else Dame Brenda said: “The temple of Glordiadel purged out a man well on the way to becoming a bishop, perhaps six months ago. Bishop Humbert would be the person to speak to about that. He uttered the word of entropy and escaped. There was recently a battle in the Underdark. My cousins have cadet houses down there—pretentious--and engaged in a battle to protect them.” They decide to contact Archbishop Humbert about the fallen priest through the Archbishop. The Archbishop recognizes him as likely Peregrine Godric. "He became a priest from a humble beginning and rose rapidly. He fell into error and was removed shortly before he would have been elevated to one of the new dioceses. He'd been a priest in Enclaves, I believe. It was a considerable scandal. He was an excellent scholar, and had formidable powers. His word was said to be almost hypnotic." "How long ago did he fall?" "Less than a year, but certainly more than a few months. I'm aware of this primarily in conversations you may recall where we put Humbert and other people back in contact recently during the incident with your parents." The archbishop nods to Kit. "And he did send out a warning letter telling everyone that the priest was corrupt and had fallen into ultimate error, although he didn't exactly define that given the Ecumenical Council, and that if he appeared in any of our dioceses he was to be seized immediately by paladins of any of the most devout orders and held for questioning. That is an unusual instruction from Humbert." "Unusual in that he would usually not be that aggressive?" "Yes, Humbert gained his nickname 'the holy' for his extreme piety and humbleness before the light, not for sounding like a bishop militant and choosing someone for the question is about as out of character for him as I can imagine. It sounds almost Paranswarmian." "We believe that as of a few months ago, the apostate may have been active in the underdark with various forces aligned with the enemy." "Do you have any idea where he has gone?" "No. We think he was not captured, but we're not certain." "He's been described as being almost hypnotic. I cannot imagine that he's lost that gift of rhetoric." "Almost hypnotic as in charismatic speaker or as in he had some other gifts that made it actually hypnotic?" "People found it difficult to disagree with him..." "So, we're thinking coercer," says Kit. "How would he talk about the Light?" "He talked about the Light like any other young enthusiastic priest, but something came up. I'm not privy to the exact details-- I'll send a missive to Humbert and see if he's willing to share the details, but something came up. The church did some form of an investigation and concluded he needed to be defrocked. And he got away. I cannot speak to whether or not it would be coercion. I don't know enough about those things." "It really does sound coercive," says Alistair. "Does Enclaves check its people for psionics?" "No," says Kit. "They don't because usually there aren't enough to make it worth testing and nobody knows what to look for anyway. That's how I got away." "The Ministry of the Mind does here, although their record of identifying everyone who has in fact psionic is spotty. Lots of people go undetected especially if it was a more subtle gift like coercion. Most people would just think he was a charismatic preacher, unless they knew what to look for. And of course that could also be either that he had an untrained gift that manifested in that way, or that he was already working with, for example, the corrupted elves." "Or that they saw his gift and recruited him because of it. Actually, for a young ambitious priest, being offered the way to a way to make your oratory more persuasive and convincing..." Kit trails off. "That in and of itself could have been a key step in the tempting," continues Dame Brionna. "Especially for a low born priest. That can be a path to power and influence." "Right, but that's why I'm wondering about the content of his sermons," says Alistair. "It doesn't sound like they were explicitly leading people theologically astray, in and of themselves." "Oh, there's no excessive talk about purity, if that's what you mean," adds the Archbishop. "He talked a great deal about righteousness and the Light, and about self-sacrifice." "That is not that unusual a topic." "No. Wouldn't be consistent with falling into a Sytrian heresy, shall we say, but I'm not certain. I will contact Humbert and see what he's willing to share." They discuss the need to systematically check the clergy and the nobility, as well as anyone with magical power, for corruption. They also make sure that they're contacting other major courts about the gray elves, but quietly--so that an inner circle will know to respond if they show up, but not tipping off the enemy that they know of them. [End Session 138] [/QUOTE]
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Aphonion Tales: The Archducal Council -- Unedited notes; later posts are edited transcripts (posts MWF, update 3/1/23)
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