(IR) The 5th IR - 3rd OOC Thread (OPEN)

[Gurdjieff]

First of all, Merry Christmas to all!
Second, I finally got a copy of Living Greyhawk Gazetteer (for Christmas, indeed), so I'll be extending my knowledge about Greyhawk quite soon. This indeed delayed my RPing once more with another day, but it should make it better.
Finally, with Christmas-day today, I'm not sure if I can combine the reading of LGG, reading all/most posts and writing up some good stuff myself, but I hope I can. I've been postponing this all long enough, so I'm gonna push this to the front of my "to-do" list. Orcreich & The Khanate, under control of Ogrim Scarseer, coming in a post near you !

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

From the Drow (Public)

FROM THE EMPIRE OF ECLAVDOR TO:

TO THE LEAGUE OF ATHYR (ELUVAN) (from Eclavdra via Magic Mirror, spoken in her soft, gentle voice, chidingly)

King Rhynnon speaks of your possible abandonment of Greater Nyrond.
Would you truly do such a thing?
Will you abandon millions of your kinsfolk to massacre; their lands to the fire? Will you abandon the Elves of Greater Nyrond?
We, the drow, appreciate the value and potential of our Surface Brethren. We regret their Seldarine delusion and resultant weakness, but we still have understanding. Are we not the drow?
We would not see our Surface Brethren destroyed by the coming quake. In the Way of Lolth they would flourish and prosper, if only they had the chance to gain enlightenment.
Al'Akbar, your neighbor in the west, knows wisdom and has seen that only in alliance is there safety. He will move to protect Greater Nyrond, if the quake strikes them. Surely you will be there for your ancient ally?
Iuz, your enemy in the Greyhawk Wars, is ready to put down his Sword, and agree to non-aggression with you. And in this, he exercises enormous self-restraint, considering your behavior towards him and his people. He exercises the wisdom that the Mighty One is so famous for, in seeking this non-aggression.
Before you rebuke me, or quote theology and philosophy, or simply dismiss me, consider your predicament:
The Whispered One is coming. Perhaps all the combined power of the Flanaess put together can stop him. Perhaps not.
If the Flanaess is weakened by war, what fate do you think will befall you then?
If the Whispered One takes the Gift of the Devils and uses it, if he builds weapons of 'science' and arsenals of 'technology', and if he develops High Magic, what fate do you think will befall us all, and the whole of Oerth?
One thing you can be sure of: some will ally with the Whispered One when he comes. And thus, there will not be a united Oerth to stop him. Yet even weakened, we have a chance ...
But we must unite for that chance to be.
You may have Geoff back. We do not expect your goodwill from this gift, but we hope this will encourage you to come to your senses and acknowledge the gravity of the current situation.
I am Eclavdra, Queen of the Drow, and those are my thoughts to you.

TO THE ILLITHID (CREAMSTEAK) (spoken via intermediary)

You seem to have abandoned communications with us.
The Illithid have little use for others, but the Illithid are beings of extraordinary intelligence and intellectual capabilities. And wisdom is theirs.
You have heard our communication with the League of Athyr.
Now we send the same message to you.
You may have no use for humans, demihumans, or humanoids, but surely you see wisdom in alliance?
The Whispered One would see you enslaved.
Would you, the Illithid, be enslaved to a human?
There HAS been alliance and military cooperation between drow and Illithid before. We believe the time has come for alliance and cooperation again.
What say you?

 

[Edena_of_Neith]

If nobody minds, and just for the sake of completeness, I'm going to color in Ratik as being a part of Greater Nyrond (the nearest power that could help that nation) and the Spikey Forest and Sable Wood as part of Paxus's dominion (he holds the adjacent Corusk Mountains) And the Interior Amedio Jungle would go to Guilt Puppy, who holds the periphery of that area.

This is just for completeness: every part of the map would now be claimed.

If you, Serpenteye, want to overrule me, please go right ahead.

I just think Guilt Puppy's map is neat, and wish to see it fully colored in.

EDIT: I gave little Purmill to Rikandur (Iuz.) I gave the Olman Isles, with their unique culture, to Thomas (who made a point of picking countries with specific types of cultures.)

Unless Serpenteye changes the colors via his rulings, the map is now fully colored in!

- - -

One other thing.

Serpenteye, you need to make a ruling on the IC of Suhfang, Album Xs' country. Of his three countries, that one does not yet have an assigned IC.

 

[Radiant]

hey, she's Drow. Been expecting nothing less. Sanakan would rather cut of her hand than trust her.

Btw, I asumed it would be obvious but if not yeah the Claw realy are Neutral.

 

[Bugbear]

The following is public information.
No leaders or anyone of any sort was informed beforehand.
This just comes right out of the blue.

Eclavdra states her desire for a formal military alliance with Greater Nyrond.

Our two peoples are only just coming to know one another, and though the potental for cooperation on many issues is present, we would at this time prefer to judge each endevor, both of a Military and Peace-time nature by it's own merits. It may seem to you, with such a threat fast approching, that a Formal Alliance between us would be prudent, but a time may come when our objectives may differ by a great margin, resulting harsh feelings between our goverments.

Though a Formal military allance is out of the question at this time, Greater Nyrond proposes a pact of non-aggression between our peoples, in hopes that should conflict arise, that it may be dealt with through communication first and with force of arms as a last resort.

 

[Xael]

Merry (rather late) christmas from me too. I'm still not completely healty, and I can't spend much time in front of computer for a few days, so I'll have to postpone thosed diplomatic replies (which probably have outdated already) again. I just awoke yesterday to find out that I have very hard time moving my neck and thus, sitting, getting up, walking, etc. were rather hard for me to do, so no sitting in front of computer. Now I can actually move my neck and tilt my head, but I can't sit down for long in one place for a few days, so I won't be reading messages and posting much for the next few days.

I'm getting seriously left out of this diplomatic war (since I haven't ansvered anybody), but I'll have to try to fix it later.

 

[Radiant]

concerning the Drow

Eclavdra blinks as Jade disappears, then relaxes and smiles, and sips her darkwine.
She continues conversationally with the other diplomats at the table, awaiting Jade's (or whoever comes) return.

When the Sikari return, if they teleport right into the hall, Eclavdra raises an eyebrow, and tsks, and says bemusedly:

Dropping in via teleport to the Queen's hall without notice?

Then, she giggles, tucks her hair back behind her ears, and beckons them to sit. Then she speaks, her voice soft, gentle, and amused:

Be wary of doing so in the Halls of Rel Mord, Rel Astra, Chendl, or Molag. People of the Flanaess are not accustomed to your ways yet. Allow them time to learn the ways of the honorable Sikari of the West.

-

If the Sikari teleport to outside the High Palace, the guards bow in silent respect, and usher them in at once, as they did before.
Once they enter the audience hall, Eclavdra stands and curtsies, bowing her head to the Sikari, then beckons them to sit at the table once more.

for Edena of Neith:

[sblock]Even thought Jade might have been surprised enough to simply teleport out of the throne room she doesn't. Apart from that being an incredible show of bad manners she simply asumes the the Drow-Queens palace is warded against intruders like her and she can't just teleport in and out as she likes. Othwise she's quite sure there would be another Drow ruling here right now... .
"I am very sorry for my long absence queen Eclavdra. As you might imagine your offer was not exactly what my people had expected.
She motions to her own followers to leave them alone. Once they're gone she briefly consider to errect wards against spying.
Who am I kidding. This place is more protected than anything we could come up with on the fly even if we had the whole frist talon here. At least you can allways be sure Drow are efficient at what they do.
Her pure silver eyes settle on the queen. Once they are alone a lot of her thin diplomatic facade crumbles. She's a warrior and that's that.
"Despite my council Intruder is considering this. But she's not giving you this deal right now. You're Drow and to say that you have a bad reputation would be the understatement of the century. She doesn't need your troops, only some experts in the kind of shadow wars your society consisted of until recently. They need teachers and assasins, not soldiers. I'm sure you have more than enough local experts in that you won't miss. She's offering you Talons for whatever goal you have with those armies you are buidling up, no questions asked. Duration, number and all are just a question of price and I'm sure we both have scribes to do the exact numbers.
If you keep up your end she will speak with you about settling your Drow up in the Imperium. We have whole cities that need to ressetled, place is not an issue. But she'll only even consider negotians if she has at least some feeling she can trust anything you say so that's not an option for now.
That's her deal, you can take it or leave it.
Jade obviously is not happy at all that her leader is even thinking about what she considers totaly crazy. Yet she has one more thing to say if she personaly likes it or not.
"One last thing. We happen to have a very aggresive orc kingdom as our neighbor right now. No promises here but if they attack us we will exterminate them. Since our people will not leave the holy borders of the Imperium that might bring us a lot of unused land. In fact a whole kingdom ready for some underdark race that happens to want to settle on the world above."[/sblock]

to all: more answers on the way, just couldn't get myself to post the last week. Creative blackout.

 

[Radiant]

matters of the dead

Public Post, all can read!

Radiant!

Your messangers reach the city of Shavarash, escorted by a patrol of Skeletons led by an arrogant Vampire Noble. You see the eccentric Palaces of Nosferatu Lords, with huge towers of silver, crimson, black and purple illuminated by faint magical lights. Shapes of some citadels resemble Demonic Beasts, while others are similar to surface architecture, either flamboyant or ascethic. This magnificent city could surpass the beauty of Erelhei-Cinhu, Drowish capital, if it had a more unified style.

On the streets you see thousands of humanoid slaves, few of them even humans or elves, wearing expressions of apathy, sometimes terror and despair, they clearly abandmomed all thoughts of opposing their cruel Masters. There are also some living non-slaves too, mostly Duergar, Drow and Kuo-Toa merchants, though they also seem to feel uneasy in this place. You also see Skeleton and Zombie patrols, some created from minotaurs, Ogres, Trolls and even Giants, all marching in perfect order and sinister silence. Finally there are Vampires, riding giant lizards, they look at other beings as a one would look at vermins.

As in most cities the Claw emissaries come in number around two dozen. Unlike in most others not only one but five of these are Sikari. The Soulwarped have spread around their human followers. With flawless dignits the men and women walk through the horrors around them but their fear is evident. A nervous glance here, a sweaty palm there... .
Even the Claws are entirely comfortable in these soroundings. But somehow they seem to fit in just a little more.
(asuming there are at least a few necromonacers, ghosts, etc, who could sense this about).
Every single Sikari has the taste of death about him. Though they are clearly alive it almost feels as if ghosts would follow their trail. A very skilled Necromancer might even realize that the feelong originates within the Rixiss-Armors they are wearing. As if the Claws would not only consist of one living soul but also nearly a dozen dead ones. And finaly a real master of the arts of the dead might realize that the black cristal of their armor consists of souls, souls that flawlessly merge with the conscious of the persons currently wearing the suits.

After the gloomy journey you reach the biggest palace, simple black dome with crimson towers, statues of Vampires brutally slaughtering their enemies presented in the courtyard. Here you are greeted by a beautiful Vampire, female half-Drow wearing silver dress and jevelry. Only the spark of hatred and greed in her eyes spoils this charming presence.

Once they are greeted Princess Lanfear their leader steps out between his scribes and followers. The rest of the group is busy to politely ignore both the half-drows hatefull stare and her incredible looks but the golden haired youth regards her with as much interest as he would a squeaking mouse. The other Sikari are weary of him and he carries an aura of dead with him that would make a lich proud. In a normal city he would probably inspire fear in mortals within miles but of course in this place he only "fits the mood". His Rixiss Armor looks a lot different than that of the others. There is no space at all between the cristal plates and they seem to have grown jagged, massive, and rough (forming quite a contrast to his young and innocent looking face).

"Welcome, I am Princess Lanfear, i will bring you before my father!"- She smiles like a she-tiger, showing her impressing fangs, and leads you to the giant chamber, where ceiling resembles the night sky of Oerth, every star and constellation visible. Here you see a figure sitting on the throne, a very handsome, regally looking man, dressed in black armor and crimson robes, with long raven black hair. You can feel a terrible aura of dread around this being, implying great power and evil."Greetings, I am Gallador, you have interrupted my meditations, it is hard even for a strong and pure mind to fully understand recent events. What can the Claw offer me? What do you seek on Oerth, what are your origins?"

The golden haired youth takes in the scene with cold, dead eyes. Then he smiles.
The dead thing on the throne has power. Enough power to destroy him. He does not see that often. Only two claws can hope to do that. Maybe not even them. Death brings power, he know that, even if the other Claws do not. And this thing knows it as well.
As much as he enjoys the simple pleasure of being in this place he remembers that he has a task. Not that he cares but what Intruder wants is done so he guesses he has to answer.
His voice is soft and pleasant, again not matching the aura around him that seems like a weaker version of the vampire lords own.
"We are terrribly sorry about that Lord Gallador. A time of troubles like ours surly requires a lot of attention. Yet we have come to offer solutions to many things that could, if not trouble, at least concern you. In your language we are the Claw, and in the same my name would be Darkness. If, in your meditations, you realize that handling so many of the current problems is too bothersome for beings as advanced as your own you should feel free to contact us. Making our clients rest more easy is what we do. I am sure a nation like yours has many enemies."
He takes a look around.
"Of course they hardly deserve the name considering what a pathetic threat they might be. Or maybe you will make plans to expand your own realm, vanquishing the lesser kingdoms around you. Again, we will be here if you call."
The Claws goal may be profit but somehow Darkness seems to enjoy the mere promise of destruction and killing for its own sake.

 

[Radiant]

concerning a certain demon-binder

To Radiant (A public post):

[sblock]Eli Tomorast is an imposing figure - tall, bold, magically and supernaturally active beyond most reasonable limits. Easily a match for most Sikari. He evaluates your proposal quietly, caressing his long beard, before responding.
"Your offer is intriguing," he says simply. "I do think your people and mine could work well together indeed. Please, do come here."
He stands, and with a gesture raises a great map of his little corner of Oerth - the Greyhawk Isthmus, which connects the League of Athyr and Greater Nyrond, which locks the Nyr Dyv from the Sea of Gearnat.
"This is the expanse of my power - and by 'my', I of course include by honorable companions Rary and Robilar," he says firmly. "Observe to the left the vast expanse of the League of Athyr, noble, proud, and utterly overwhelming to the face of our feeble military power. Observe to the right Greater Nyrond, who holds that our city Seltaren is unlawfully stolen from them and holds no love for us. Observer to the north the dread Iuz, one of the last living gods, whose ambition is limitless and borders the north shore of the Nyr Dyv."
"These are the game pieces that concern me, and your presence could make things easier for me, and for you."
"We desire your contract with us as a deterrent force. In exchange for your public committment to defend the Triumvirate Rebellious and our territories from aggression by foreign powers - you would certainly have no obligation to aid us in any fits of imperial ambition on our part - we would support the Celestial Imperium with our counterinsurgency expertise and with favorable tribute in goods and wealth. Does this appeal to you?"[/sblock]

for Anabstercorian only:

[sblock]The Claw sent to Eli is a young man named Sandheart. He is not very powerfull but quick, smart and most importantly one of their best strategists.
"I have to admit, it is real easy to understand your concern."
He takes a closer look at the chart.
"The Claw intents to allways provide the best support possible. If you just need fighters we will gladly provide any number you want to pay for. But I'd rather see the points there your defense is most vulnerable and strengthen it with a few elite formations. I am sure we can come to an agreement that will profit the both of us."
Almost as if he just thought about it Sandheart goes on.
"Now that you mention Iuz. Let us say the reasons are nothing worth your time but the Claw happens to be in the position to ensure you a non-aggresion pact with the followers of Iuz. One they would actualy keep of course. Our fee would be most moderate."
He smiles, he seems genuinly happy that he might prevent some unnecesary bloodshed.
Then his smile fades and he looks not very pleased to say the next thing.
"I fear I have not only good news though. Sadly we can not reveal our potential buinsess partners but I can tell you that someone is looking at your realm in a most unkind and greedy way. So greedy in fact that we allready have an offer, concerning you. One that I hope will not be accepted by my superiors. We are favouring the defense of your own lands is just, invasion on the other hand is a crime whatever name they might give it."[/sblock]

 

[Radiant]

Radiant and Album Cover X: If I can be of any help to either of you, you can e-mail me at williamwronald@aol.com.

Radiant, the barrier around Greyspace and the disappearance of the gods is not scheduled until the start of turn 1, as I recall, which has not yet started. So, possibly something happened with either the Emperor or the gods of the Celestial Imperium. (Your call at Serpenteye's discretion.) I have to presume that your message to everyone went out just before Al'Akbar's arrival, otherwise I think your Sicarii would have told you there is a demigod and hero deities in the Baklunish Empire. Look for a communication soon. (Okay, I am trying to catch up, but we seem to be operating in different time zones in more ways than one. No great problem.)

well, I certainly screwed that up big time then. Since it is a bit too late I will just asume that something else made the priests go mad. Whatever it was. Maybe Serpenteye will do something with it, maybe it will just be an unexplained note in history.
Thanks for the offer, I do have some questions but I'll need an idea of the number I have to work with before I can even start to ask them so that has to wait until Serpenteye gives those out.