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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: 8309100" data-attributes="member: 7030144"><p>Session 52 (November 3, 2011)</p><p></p><p>Skard 15</p><p></p><p>We send little Lord Brightspan on messenger duty all around the palace to scan over people. We ask him to report on anything funny to the Sixth Daughter and to Dame Brionna. (About midday.)</p><p></p><p>Interrogating the cook:</p><p>Dame Brionna: We encourage you to tell us precisely what your mission here was.</p><p></p><p>The rakshasa is not intimidated, and fails his arrogance check, so he doesn’t pontificate. He silently stares at Dame Brionna.</p><p></p><p>“We have ways of making your death extremely painful. We have ways of making it go quickly. We could also just rip it from your mind, but I would prefer for you to remain sane and coherent.”</p><p></p><p>“But how could you let me die with honor?”</p><p></p><p>“What would it mean for you to die with honor?”</p><p></p><p>“A person of rank would have to strike me down, with my face to them.”</p><p></p><p>“I could guarantee that, in exchange for cooperation.”</p><p></p><p>“Your word as a paladin that my death will be honorable by the lights of my people?”</p><p></p><p>“By the Light of Glor’diadel, my god, I swear it.”</p><p></p><p>“You were clever to find me. There will be others soon, if there are not already. One of the lord’s servants, a quiet one, a small one, remained in the underways. The first sweep and the second sweep did not find him. He brings through others. Your wards are difficult, but your people do not remain within them. One of the ones he brought through is a coercer, he brings them down, draws out their memories. A powder of phoenix down and dragon’s blood I brought with me; it is now in the kitchen proper. To be placed beneath the Prince’s chair. And a focus I brought within the walls, but I do not know where that is now, for I put it down on a tray that I knew would be cleaned. It allows a preset series of commands placed there by a coercer to affect whoever first gazes into it. I do not know what the commands were, or who may have found it. It was put in the area where you keep your young ones.</p><p></p><p>Your lord has endured so many efforts on the part of my master. My lord is deeply concerned that he is a charmed one, whose set is to defeat my lord’s purpose. If he is a charmed one, he cannot be struck at directly, but those around him can be. The princess is the principle target, preferably before she is pregnant, but if necessary after. The mixture of phoenix down would summon an elemental even through the wards. Much is flammable in the dining hall, and the princess is flammable said the master. The down fire are concealed at the back of the vinegar cupboard.</p><p></p><p>By giving me honor, you protect my wife and kits. He cannot then in honor act against them for my failure. He will obey those; all who partake of the blood of the rakshasa, lawful or chaos, good or evil, will obey those.</p><p></p><p>Three primary, and three secondary: 1. If one dies with honor, their liege must provide for and protect their kits and kin. 2. Any agreement that is made and sealed in blood must be obeyed. 3. Those things which you have declared by your blood to be your truth and your way cannot be willingly abandoned unless you are willing to suffer the penalties for it.</p><p></p><p>Secondary. 1. Every rakshasa must choose a single path. Having chosen a path you can refine that, but you cannot change that. 2. There can be no mercy to the racial enemy. The vermin that serve the cthon must be fought until none of the rat cthon remain or until none of the rakshasa remain. 3. No rakshasa of the rank of baron or above may deliberately harm the powerless or the innocent, unless of course they be a servant of the cthon of rats.</p><p></p><p>Why would the prospective children of the princess not count as powerless or innocent? Once they are born, they would.</p><p></p><p>What has the Abomination of Shur declared to be his truth and his way? That he will divide all of the felines between himself and the Lord of Cats, and that he will strip away some portion of the power of the Lord of Cats and of those who serve him. There was a time, and I would swear to you, when he had a cleaner route than he has taken in recent decades.</p><p></p><p>What changed that?</p><p></p><p>You know that he was mortal once. When he became immortal, when he started step by step on the path, those greater than he took notice of him. The Lord of Cats did not deign to even give a flick of his paw to him, which showed how little he thought of him as a threat; and at least two greater demon lords, and other demons that were great but may not have been lords, spoke to him of friendship, and alliance, and the future, giving him power to strip away from the Lord of Cats until he was no more. It seemed to some as if they corrupted him to their way of thinking.</p><p></p><p>It seems you don’t agree.</p><p></p><p>Can you truly corrupt what is not already there? Those of us whose families have served him for generations… if there is no jealousy in your heart, do you become jealous?</p><p></p><p>Alistair says, I thought that the Abomination of Shur was indirectly aligned with the Horned Rat.</p><p></p><p>Dame Brionna asks, doesn’t that violate the second principle?Certainly the Lord of Cats would say so. But the Abomination would say, there is no reason to not be clever. And since the ultimate result would be to triumph against the cthon of rats, and against the Horned Rat who appears to be one of his avatars. That is why the lesser ones might be willing to come over. There is much conversation in the quiet of the evening.</p><p></p><p>I would argue… I would think that an argument could be made that my lord intends tremendous harm. But there is a trick in this. All of the prohibitions will cease to bind when he becomes fully a demon. It may be that they are already weakening. I do not like to think of this. It causes my soul to shudder.</p><p></p><p>Do not offer the coercer the deal that you have offered me. He is not of our blood, though he may appear to be. I cannot explain what he is. I do not understand it.</p><p></p><p>Can I take the picture from your mind? Certainly.</p><p></p><p>He appears to be a regal seeming rakshasa. He smells wrong. He looks like a noble of baronial rank, but all you need do is bend your nose to him and you can tell that he is not.</p><p></p><p>Your people do not smell as easily do they? Take a dog—it will cringe as far from him as it can get.</p><p></p><p>Where can we find the coercer? They are in the third ward of your city. There is a structure near one of the temples of light—it looks like a third story tenement that is covered over with boards. Go into the basement, there is an entrance to the sewer there. When last I saw them, there was the coercer, two bodyguards, and four others waiting to infiltrate.</p><p></p><p>There is a rumor within the palace, that you run more than your own life. That your great master is very fond of your counsel, to an amount that would seem unseemly among my branch of the rakshasa. The servants believe that her travels in the night are very clever. They admire her for it. Their betters do not believe it.</p><p></p><p>The guards do not seem to think about it. They gossip about other things—when Princess Caitlyn will deliver a child. They have a pool on it.</p><p></p><p>Dame Brionna mentions that she is in fact engaged to an honorable man who is a slave of the Abomination.</p><p></p><p>Is he a slave in the place of keeping? A great spire that rises out of the sea, the steps are grey and green stones. The worst of the master’s allies practice their great sorceries there.</p><p></p><p>The last I know of him, he was on a stone ship.</p><p></p><p>All that are being gathered to the great hold, the place of keeping, are taken there for a great sacrifice by the allies. They intend to let through a great mind on the turning of the next season. (Fall equinox, 75 days from now more or less).</p><p></p><p>All those who are there will have some special power.</p><p></p><p>I ask in return that there is a woodcut with my wife and kits. If you take the hold, treat them as well as you can.</p><p></p><p>Coercing device: it is the size of a cup for café or chocolate, a closed side, with many facets, it is glass, but it looks to be crystal. When you pick it up, you feel its power, but it does nothing until you look into it at your eye. It is most likely that it will contain… in the old days, it would contain knowledge and a command to study the knowledge. He is not one of us… it could contain anything. There would not be a compulsion to look at it, but it is a pretty thing, and young ones tend to pick them up.</p><p>[cont'd]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="CPaladin, post: 8309100, member: 7030144"] Session 52 (November 3, 2011) Skard 15 We send little Lord Brightspan on messenger duty all around the palace to scan over people. We ask him to report on anything funny to the Sixth Daughter and to Dame Brionna. (About midday.) Interrogating the cook: Dame Brionna: We encourage you to tell us precisely what your mission here was. The rakshasa is not intimidated, and fails his arrogance check, so he doesn’t pontificate. He silently stares at Dame Brionna. “We have ways of making your death extremely painful. We have ways of making it go quickly. We could also just rip it from your mind, but I would prefer for you to remain sane and coherent.” “But how could you let me die with honor?” “What would it mean for you to die with honor?” “A person of rank would have to strike me down, with my face to them.” “I could guarantee that, in exchange for cooperation.” “Your word as a paladin that my death will be honorable by the lights of my people?” “By the Light of Glor’diadel, my god, I swear it.” “You were clever to find me. There will be others soon, if there are not already. One of the lord’s servants, a quiet one, a small one, remained in the underways. The first sweep and the second sweep did not find him. He brings through others. Your wards are difficult, but your people do not remain within them. One of the ones he brought through is a coercer, he brings them down, draws out their memories. A powder of phoenix down and dragon’s blood I brought with me; it is now in the kitchen proper. To be placed beneath the Prince’s chair. And a focus I brought within the walls, but I do not know where that is now, for I put it down on a tray that I knew would be cleaned. It allows a preset series of commands placed there by a coercer to affect whoever first gazes into it. I do not know what the commands were, or who may have found it. It was put in the area where you keep your young ones. Your lord has endured so many efforts on the part of my master. My lord is deeply concerned that he is a charmed one, whose set is to defeat my lord’s purpose. If he is a charmed one, he cannot be struck at directly, but those around him can be. The princess is the principle target, preferably before she is pregnant, but if necessary after. The mixture of phoenix down would summon an elemental even through the wards. Much is flammable in the dining hall, and the princess is flammable said the master. The down fire are concealed at the back of the vinegar cupboard. By giving me honor, you protect my wife and kits. He cannot then in honor act against them for my failure. He will obey those; all who partake of the blood of the rakshasa, lawful or chaos, good or evil, will obey those. Three primary, and three secondary: 1. If one dies with honor, their liege must provide for and protect their kits and kin. 2. Any agreement that is made and sealed in blood must be obeyed. 3. Those things which you have declared by your blood to be your truth and your way cannot be willingly abandoned unless you are willing to suffer the penalties for it. Secondary. 1. Every rakshasa must choose a single path. Having chosen a path you can refine that, but you cannot change that. 2. There can be no mercy to the racial enemy. The vermin that serve the cthon must be fought until none of the rat cthon remain or until none of the rakshasa remain. 3. No rakshasa of the rank of baron or above may deliberately harm the powerless or the innocent, unless of course they be a servant of the cthon of rats. Why would the prospective children of the princess not count as powerless or innocent? Once they are born, they would. What has the Abomination of Shur declared to be his truth and his way? That he will divide all of the felines between himself and the Lord of Cats, and that he will strip away some portion of the power of the Lord of Cats and of those who serve him. There was a time, and I would swear to you, when he had a cleaner route than he has taken in recent decades. What changed that? You know that he was mortal once. When he became immortal, when he started step by step on the path, those greater than he took notice of him. The Lord of Cats did not deign to even give a flick of his paw to him, which showed how little he thought of him as a threat; and at least two greater demon lords, and other demons that were great but may not have been lords, spoke to him of friendship, and alliance, and the future, giving him power to strip away from the Lord of Cats until he was no more. It seemed to some as if they corrupted him to their way of thinking. It seems you don’t agree. Can you truly corrupt what is not already there? Those of us whose families have served him for generations… if there is no jealousy in your heart, do you become jealous? Alistair says, I thought that the Abomination of Shur was indirectly aligned with the Horned Rat. Dame Brionna asks, doesn’t that violate the second principle?Certainly the Lord of Cats would say so. But the Abomination would say, there is no reason to not be clever. And since the ultimate result would be to triumph against the cthon of rats, and against the Horned Rat who appears to be one of his avatars. That is why the lesser ones might be willing to come over. There is much conversation in the quiet of the evening. I would argue… I would think that an argument could be made that my lord intends tremendous harm. But there is a trick in this. All of the prohibitions will cease to bind when he becomes fully a demon. It may be that they are already weakening. I do not like to think of this. It causes my soul to shudder. Do not offer the coercer the deal that you have offered me. He is not of our blood, though he may appear to be. I cannot explain what he is. I do not understand it. Can I take the picture from your mind? Certainly. He appears to be a regal seeming rakshasa. He smells wrong. He looks like a noble of baronial rank, but all you need do is bend your nose to him and you can tell that he is not. Your people do not smell as easily do they? Take a dog—it will cringe as far from him as it can get. Where can we find the coercer? They are in the third ward of your city. There is a structure near one of the temples of light—it looks like a third story tenement that is covered over with boards. Go into the basement, there is an entrance to the sewer there. When last I saw them, there was the coercer, two bodyguards, and four others waiting to infiltrate. There is a rumor within the palace, that you run more than your own life. That your great master is very fond of your counsel, to an amount that would seem unseemly among my branch of the rakshasa. The servants believe that her travels in the night are very clever. They admire her for it. Their betters do not believe it. The guards do not seem to think about it. They gossip about other things—when Princess Caitlyn will deliver a child. They have a pool on it. Dame Brionna mentions that she is in fact engaged to an honorable man who is a slave of the Abomination. Is he a slave in the place of keeping? A great spire that rises out of the sea, the steps are grey and green stones. The worst of the master’s allies practice their great sorceries there. The last I know of him, he was on a stone ship. All that are being gathered to the great hold, the place of keeping, are taken there for a great sacrifice by the allies. They intend to let through a great mind on the turning of the next season. (Fall equinox, 75 days from now more or less). All those who are there will have some special power. I ask in return that there is a woodcut with my wife and kits. If you take the hold, treat them as well as you can. Coercing device: it is the size of a cup for café or chocolate, a closed side, with many facets, it is glass, but it looks to be crystal. When you pick it up, you feel its power, but it does nothing until you look into it at your eye. It is most likely that it will contain… in the old days, it would contain knowledge and a command to study the knowledge. He is not one of us… it could contain anything. There would not be a compulsion to look at it, but it is a pretty thing, and young ones tend to pick them up. [cont'd] [/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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