Domhani Bairdéir 03
- Thread starter Maidhc O Casain
- Start date
Cerallos
Mike, just to get a feel for things, where is Ruarc during this ceremony? I take it he's not at my side?
One other thing, 2 actually, even with the new attire, is Cerallos free to continue to wear certain things he's extremely attached too and most importantly, his face paint? Or has the 2 years in the Coláiste Oiliúna Bairdéir changed his view on certain things?
Mike, just to get a feel for things, where is Ruarc during this ceremony? I take it he's not at my side?
One other thing, 2 actually, even with the new attire, is Cerallos free to continue to wear certain things he's extremely attached too and most importantly, his face paint? Or has the 2 years in the Coláiste Oiliúna Bairdéir changed his view on certain things?
Scotley
Hero
Gavril wears the official uniform for the ceremony, carefully tailored and of the finest materials of course. His hair and beard are carefully groomed. He kneels without a grimace though his friends know he must feel some pain on this occasion. He recites the oath in a strong and confident voice. As he leaves the stage several of his teachers breath a sigh of relief that he did nothing to cause undo spectacle. He follows the queen eager to hear what she has for them--a mission perhaps?
Maidhc O Casain
Na Bith Mo Riocht Tá!
draven14 said:Mike, just to get a feel for things, where is Ruarc during this ceremony? I take it he's not at my side?
One other thing, 2 actually, even with the new attire, is Cerallos free to continue to wear certain things he's extremely attached too and most importantly, his face paint? Or has the 2 years in the Coláiste Oiliúna Bairdéir changed his view on certain things?
OOC:
I actually had envisioned Ruarc as a part of the ceremony - he's as smart as most of the party (though in a different, more animalistic sort of way) and should be a functioning member of the Criú. As to your weapons - you are a part of a decidedly military organization, and an irregular part at that. You're pretty much expected to be yourselves, other than the uniforms. As to the face paint, that's up to you. Just remember that you gained some points for the wearing of it, so to lose it you'll either have to buy it back or trade it for another Disadvantage worth the same amount.
Maidhc O Casain
Na Bith Mo Riocht Tá!
An Audience w/ the Queen
(It is now Mid-Winter’s Eve – the turning of the year in the Domhani calendar – two years to the day since most of you met at the Wickshine’s Last Inn)
The group – Béar, Dílis, Gavril, Cerallos, Ruarc (because if he’s out by himself he scares the bejesus out of the horses), Skáth, and Cairn follow the Queen to her private audience chamber.
As the last time you were all here, she seats you and serves you herself.
Once everyone is comfortably settled, Máthair seats herself as well. She examines each of you in turn, again taking your weight and measure. Just before the silence becomes uncomfortable, she begins to speak.
“When you were in this room almost two years ago, I told you there were events occurring in Domhan of which I could not give you details. I would now give you a history of the world that is not what you have been taught previously.
Millenia ago, when Humans were far more primitive than their current state, the world was ruled by another race – the CéaDaoine. They were mighty in magic, but not in stature. Great studiers of the world, inventors and creators, they were as far above the Humans of the day as we were above ants. They were naturally long lived, but not particularly hardy.
It came to pass that one among them, Cruthaigh, conceived the notion of creating a race to serve the CéaDaoine. Two attempts he made, because his first did not turn out as he wished. His first attempt resulted in a race that was completely unpredictable in form and function, but whose members all had one thing in common – they manipulated the magic of the world as naturally as breathing. However, these Daoine deBith did not have the desire to serve that their creator wished – in fact, their temperament was as unpredictable as their form, and he cast them out, finding them unsuitable.
The second attempt to create a servant race resulted in the Laoch, who turned out exactly as he wished. Strong and hardy, artistic, and best of all bred with the need to serve the CéaDaoine. In fact, they could not long survive without being bonded in a special ceremony to a member of their creator’s race. Even if a Laoch chose to die rather than bond, the bond could be forced on them by any CéaDaoine who new the proceedure and had a will strong enough to overcome the resistance of the Laoch. Additionally, this bond could be used to compel the Laoch to act against their will.
When he presented his creations to the rest of his race, however, they deemed him evil for subjecting sentient beings to his will and demanded that he cease. He would not, and a great war was fought. This war changed the face of the world, so that when it was finally over and Cruthaigh was defeated it was no longer recognizable as their home. Cruthaigh somehow escaped the carnage of the last battle, fleeing to a stronghold he had prepared for such an event. The CéaDaoine found themselves unable to pry him from his refuge, and decided instead to seal him inside for all eternity.
After the war, the two new races were treated well. The Daoine deBith were, of course, allowed their complete freedom. For the Laoch, the CéaDaoine did what they could. They granted the Laoch the freedom to choose whom they would to bond, and it was mandated that the bond, the Cuibhreach, not be used to compel them in any way.
The CeaDaoine continued to decline, and over the next thousand years gradually disappeared from the face of the world.”
Here the Queen pauses for a moment, looks around at those gathered in the room, and then continues.
(It is now Mid-Winter’s Eve – the turning of the year in the Domhani calendar – two years to the day since most of you met at the Wickshine’s Last Inn)
The group – Béar, Dílis, Gavril, Cerallos, Ruarc (because if he’s out by himself he scares the bejesus out of the horses), Skáth, and Cairn follow the Queen to her private audience chamber.
As the last time you were all here, she seats you and serves you herself.
Once everyone is comfortably settled, Máthair seats herself as well. She examines each of you in turn, again taking your weight and measure. Just before the silence becomes uncomfortable, she begins to speak.
“When you were in this room almost two years ago, I told you there were events occurring in Domhan of which I could not give you details. I would now give you a history of the world that is not what you have been taught previously.
Millenia ago, when Humans were far more primitive than their current state, the world was ruled by another race – the CéaDaoine. They were mighty in magic, but not in stature. Great studiers of the world, inventors and creators, they were as far above the Humans of the day as we were above ants. They were naturally long lived, but not particularly hardy.
It came to pass that one among them, Cruthaigh, conceived the notion of creating a race to serve the CéaDaoine. Two attempts he made, because his first did not turn out as he wished. His first attempt resulted in a race that was completely unpredictable in form and function, but whose members all had one thing in common – they manipulated the magic of the world as naturally as breathing. However, these Daoine deBith did not have the desire to serve that their creator wished – in fact, their temperament was as unpredictable as their form, and he cast them out, finding them unsuitable.
The second attempt to create a servant race resulted in the Laoch, who turned out exactly as he wished. Strong and hardy, artistic, and best of all bred with the need to serve the CéaDaoine. In fact, they could not long survive without being bonded in a special ceremony to a member of their creator’s race. Even if a Laoch chose to die rather than bond, the bond could be forced on them by any CéaDaoine who new the proceedure and had a will strong enough to overcome the resistance of the Laoch. Additionally, this bond could be used to compel the Laoch to act against their will.
When he presented his creations to the rest of his race, however, they deemed him evil for subjecting sentient beings to his will and demanded that he cease. He would not, and a great war was fought. This war changed the face of the world, so that when it was finally over and Cruthaigh was defeated it was no longer recognizable as their home. Cruthaigh somehow escaped the carnage of the last battle, fleeing to a stronghold he had prepared for such an event. The CéaDaoine found themselves unable to pry him from his refuge, and decided instead to seal him inside for all eternity.
After the war, the two new races were treated well. The Daoine deBith were, of course, allowed their complete freedom. For the Laoch, the CéaDaoine did what they could. They granted the Laoch the freedom to choose whom they would to bond, and it was mandated that the bond, the Cuibhreach, not be used to compel them in any way.
The CeaDaoine continued to decline, and over the next thousand years gradually disappeared from the face of the world.”
Here the Queen pauses for a moment, looks around at those gathered in the room, and then continues.
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Maidhc O Casain
Na Bith Mo Riocht Tá!
An Audience w/ the Queen
“These things we know to be fact. When my father was a boy he imagined himself a great explorer and spent much time roaming the mountains behind our city, poking and prying into everything as boys will. In his ‘travels,’ he came upon a cave somewhat higher up Áit Naofa than is Tearmann. Inside this cave, he found artifacts and writings in a much older form of our own language indicating that the sacred mountain was once the location of the last of the CéaDaoine cities.
The rest of my tale is nothing more than educated guess and supposition.
During this time, the Humans continued their climb up the ladder to full sentience, and eventually found their way to their present state. It was discovered along the way that all three of the races of the world could interbreed, and for hundreds, maybe thousands of years, they did so. This resulted in a dilution of the blood of all three so that it appeared that for the most part they became one race.
However, it seems that the blood of the Daoine deBith was too powerful to be completely subjugated by Human or Laoch heritage, and there continued to be born . . . creatures . . . that appeared to be fully Daoine. Occasionally, children who appeared completely Human manifested powers that spoke of Daoine heritage as well.
As the number of people who manifested Daoine physical traits declined, they became viewed more and more with suspicion and hatred by the ‘normal’ members of the race, and were eventually driven into hiding and seclusion. As you know, this continues even into the present day – children who appear mis-Born are left out to die and are often taken by the Daoine. Also, you are aware that the Daoine form their own kingdoms which they call Contae. There they deem themselves subject to their own laws only, and hold themselves apart from the human kingdoms.
What was not known until recently is that there are those born also who manifest traits of the Laoch as well. Some of these appear to be almost fully Laoch – these die shortly upon reaching adulthood, when the Tnúth, the Longing, comes on them. They sicken and die, and most still believe that they are simply struck by a wasting illness. The truth is known but to a few.
Some, however, are born with the blood of the Laoch subdued beneath their Human heritage. In these, the blood can be awakened. This grants them the abilities – the strength and hardiness – of the old Laoch, but also awakens in them the need for the Cuibhreach, the bond.
Fortunately for those in whom the Laoch blood manifests fully, there is another of the old races that has not completely passed from the world. Indeed, the CéaDaoine could also breed with the Humans, who appear to be infinitely adaptable. Those who manifest the old blood of the creators rarely show physical signs, and until recently there was nothing to set them apart from the Humans. However, there is enough of the CeaDaoine in them to complete the Cuibhreach and to lay rest to the Tnúth.”
Again, the Queen pauses and looks around as though gauging your reactions to her tale.
“These things we know to be fact. When my father was a boy he imagined himself a great explorer and spent much time roaming the mountains behind our city, poking and prying into everything as boys will. In his ‘travels,’ he came upon a cave somewhat higher up Áit Naofa than is Tearmann. Inside this cave, he found artifacts and writings in a much older form of our own language indicating that the sacred mountain was once the location of the last of the CéaDaoine cities.
The rest of my tale is nothing more than educated guess and supposition.
During this time, the Humans continued their climb up the ladder to full sentience, and eventually found their way to their present state. It was discovered along the way that all three of the races of the world could interbreed, and for hundreds, maybe thousands of years, they did so. This resulted in a dilution of the blood of all three so that it appeared that for the most part they became one race.
However, it seems that the blood of the Daoine deBith was too powerful to be completely subjugated by Human or Laoch heritage, and there continued to be born . . . creatures . . . that appeared to be fully Daoine. Occasionally, children who appeared completely Human manifested powers that spoke of Daoine heritage as well.
As the number of people who manifested Daoine physical traits declined, they became viewed more and more with suspicion and hatred by the ‘normal’ members of the race, and were eventually driven into hiding and seclusion. As you know, this continues even into the present day – children who appear mis-Born are left out to die and are often taken by the Daoine. Also, you are aware that the Daoine form their own kingdoms which they call Contae. There they deem themselves subject to their own laws only, and hold themselves apart from the human kingdoms.
What was not known until recently is that there are those born also who manifest traits of the Laoch as well. Some of these appear to be almost fully Laoch – these die shortly upon reaching adulthood, when the Tnúth, the Longing, comes on them. They sicken and die, and most still believe that they are simply struck by a wasting illness. The truth is known but to a few.
Some, however, are born with the blood of the Laoch subdued beneath their Human heritage. In these, the blood can be awakened. This grants them the abilities – the strength and hardiness – of the old Laoch, but also awakens in them the need for the Cuibhreach, the bond.
Fortunately for those in whom the Laoch blood manifests fully, there is another of the old races that has not completely passed from the world. Indeed, the CéaDaoine could also breed with the Humans, who appear to be infinitely adaptable. Those who manifest the old blood of the creators rarely show physical signs, and until recently there was nothing to set them apart from the Humans. However, there is enough of the CeaDaoine in them to complete the Cuibhreach and to lay rest to the Tnúth.”
Again, the Queen pauses and looks around as though gauging your reactions to her tale.
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Maidhc O Casain
Na Bith Mo Riocht Tá!
An Audience w/ the Queen
“I know you must be wondering where all this is going.
Through studies of the remains my father discovered, and through experimentation on my own, I have come to the realization that I have the CéaDaoine blood, and am able perform the Cuibhreach. I also know that where there is enough of the Laoch in a person, I am able to force that blood to awaken. In the four years since I came to possess that knowledge, I have been scouring the countryside to collect to my service all of those with sufficient Laoch blood that I am able to find. This is for two reasons:
First, I would make those who possess such blood aware of the danger to themselves. There are certainly others of the CéaDaoine out there, ones who would not scruple to force the awakening of the Laoch, and then bond them against their will. I now believe that such a one ensnared your friend Deasaigh in the mines two years ago.
Second, I would offer those who wish it the opportunity to bond with me, along with a promise. I will never use the Cuibhreach for compulsion, or force the bond. Those who bond with me will always be welcome to sever that bond so that they may bond with another, or so that they may simply be free for awhile before they are taken by the Tnúth. To my knowledge, once a Laoch is bonded that bond may not be broken except by the CéaDaoine who holds it, so bonding with me would protect the one bonded from being forced to bond with another.
I am now offering each of you the opportunity to awaken the Laoch blood that resides within you, and to complete the Cuibhreach and bond with me. The disadvantages – the fact that I could compel you to action, the fact that the nature of the bond would compel you to consider my best welfare in all your actions and choices whether I will it or no, and the fact that once the Laoch is awakened you must bond or waste away and die, are offset by a dramatic increase in your physical toughness and your ability to resist seductions or mental attacks and by the ability to occasionally boost your abilities beyond the human.
Please understand that you are under no compulsion whatsoever from me in this regard. You have sworn service to me, and I am content with this. My gratitude for your trust in me and my opinion of you will in no way diminish should you refuse. You also will receive no special consideration if you choose to be awakened – in fact, I will not hesitate to use you the harder for the good of the realm, but never will I compel you to such service. You will always have the same choice as all, to sever your service to me and return to civilian life. In such a case, I would of course leave the Cuibhreach in place to protect you from the depredations of other CéaDaoine without my scruples.
The majority of those in my service do not possess the Laoch blood, and of those who do some have refused to awaken it. However, there are some few scattered throughout the different areas of service to me who are awakened and bonded.
Do you have any questions? I wish to make sure you are fully informed of the consequences of your decision before you make it.”
“I know you must be wondering where all this is going.
Through studies of the remains my father discovered, and through experimentation on my own, I have come to the realization that I have the CéaDaoine blood, and am able perform the Cuibhreach. I also know that where there is enough of the Laoch in a person, I am able to force that blood to awaken. In the four years since I came to possess that knowledge, I have been scouring the countryside to collect to my service all of those with sufficient Laoch blood that I am able to find. This is for two reasons:
First, I would make those who possess such blood aware of the danger to themselves. There are certainly others of the CéaDaoine out there, ones who would not scruple to force the awakening of the Laoch, and then bond them against their will. I now believe that such a one ensnared your friend Deasaigh in the mines two years ago.
Second, I would offer those who wish it the opportunity to bond with me, along with a promise. I will never use the Cuibhreach for compulsion, or force the bond. Those who bond with me will always be welcome to sever that bond so that they may bond with another, or so that they may simply be free for awhile before they are taken by the Tnúth. To my knowledge, once a Laoch is bonded that bond may not be broken except by the CéaDaoine who holds it, so bonding with me would protect the one bonded from being forced to bond with another.
I am now offering each of you the opportunity to awaken the Laoch blood that resides within you, and to complete the Cuibhreach and bond with me. The disadvantages – the fact that I could compel you to action, the fact that the nature of the bond would compel you to consider my best welfare in all your actions and choices whether I will it or no, and the fact that once the Laoch is awakened you must bond or waste away and die, are offset by a dramatic increase in your physical toughness and your ability to resist seductions or mental attacks and by the ability to occasionally boost your abilities beyond the human.
Please understand that you are under no compulsion whatsoever from me in this regard. You have sworn service to me, and I am content with this. My gratitude for your trust in me and my opinion of you will in no way diminish should you refuse. You also will receive no special consideration if you choose to be awakened – in fact, I will not hesitate to use you the harder for the good of the realm, but never will I compel you to such service. You will always have the same choice as all, to sever your service to me and return to civilian life. In such a case, I would of course leave the Cuibhreach in place to protect you from the depredations of other CéaDaoine without my scruples.
The majority of those in my service do not possess the Laoch blood, and of those who do some have refused to awaken it. However, there are some few scattered throughout the different areas of service to me who are awakened and bonded.
Do you have any questions? I wish to make sure you are fully informed of the consequences of your decision before you make it.”
