seasong's Light Against The Dark II (May 13)
- Thread starter seasong
- Start date
seasong
First Post
I just can't write it succinctly. It's gonna take more text, and more posts, than I had expected. Oh well. We'll just start with Greppa 
.
Olympiad: Service Day
Although there is bleed over into the other days of the official Olympiad (Theralis being as military-oriented as they are), the second day is the formal day for all military tournaments, athletics and shows.
Stumbling out into the noonday daylight, Bellos, Greppa and Merideth stuck together more closely today, moving swiftly from event to event, and cheering each other on in those events they participated in. Then they went and watched the grappling contests, Bellos out of a manly love of watching butt-kicking going on, Greppa and Merideth for more prurient reasons.
Conjuring
Arcanists typically run three major competitions. In a fit of insanity, Greppa decided to participate in all three...
The first, of course, is a game fondly known as conjuring. A table is set up and both arcanists prepare themselves on either side. Using prestidigitation, they summon miniscule elementals and planar creatures, conjure tiny sandstorms, cause electrical crackles across the "landscape" of the table, and otherwise go to war with each other using only the most minor of extradimensional energies. More a game of concentration and creativity than power, the arcanists paired off with each other must attempt to take the other's "land" until one side or the other has gained at least three quarters of the table.
As the rules are almost non-existent (other than that only the one spell is allowed), fights are typically won in a matter of minutes, as one side manages to get an edge early on and destroys the opposing armies and energies in a violent clash of tiny, marching creatures. Underdogs have come out on top often enough, however, to keep it interesting.
Today seemed to be Greppa's day. In his first fight, he started with a veritable wavefront of barely visible flames, beating a path to victory for his inch-long fire serpents over his foe's unfortunately-chosen ice fortress and demi-infernal grublings. His opponent, smiling gently, simply remarked on the advantage a sun mage had over ice - at which laughter erupted, and Kyriotes, never caring about Greppa particularly, just said, "And so why did you use ice against a sun mage?"
His second battle, too, went well, although not so easily. He opened again with a miniature firestorm, but only to hide the tiny motes of light preparing their siege of stinging sunbursts and beams of light. His opponent, better prepared for the fire with vicious, finger-length earth serpents and a wave of moisture to carry them, was caught by surprise by the lights, but nonetheless managed an impressive (and very nearly fatal) assault before the Greppa, sending his motes flying over the heads of the serpents, took just enough undefended land to win the table.
His third round, however, he drew Kyriotes as his opponent, and Kyriotes calm concentration, level gaze, and immense experience in matters of summoning tactics, completely overwhelmed Greppa's forces with an immense, organized front of tiny creatures, an immense array of conjured elemental attacks, and erupting inch-high walls... all at the same time. Like all of Kyriotes' opponents, Greppa retired from the competition in under a minute, to watch the remainder of the battles, and to play variants with other arcanists (including "hop", in which the attempt is to force the opponent's summonings to move to one corner of the table - kind of a conjuring sumo).
.Olympiad: Service Day
Although there is bleed over into the other days of the official Olympiad (Theralis being as military-oriented as they are), the second day is the formal day for all military tournaments, athletics and shows.
Stumbling out into the noonday daylight, Bellos, Greppa and Merideth stuck together more closely today, moving swiftly from event to event, and cheering each other on in those events they participated in. Then they went and watched the grappling contests, Bellos out of a manly love of watching butt-kicking going on, Greppa and Merideth for more prurient reasons.
Conjuring
Arcanists typically run three major competitions. In a fit of insanity, Greppa decided to participate in all three...
The first, of course, is a game fondly known as conjuring. A table is set up and both arcanists prepare themselves on either side. Using prestidigitation, they summon miniscule elementals and planar creatures, conjure tiny sandstorms, cause electrical crackles across the "landscape" of the table, and otherwise go to war with each other using only the most minor of extradimensional energies. More a game of concentration and creativity than power, the arcanists paired off with each other must attempt to take the other's "land" until one side or the other has gained at least three quarters of the table.
As the rules are almost non-existent (other than that only the one spell is allowed), fights are typically won in a matter of minutes, as one side manages to get an edge early on and destroys the opposing armies and energies in a violent clash of tiny, marching creatures. Underdogs have come out on top often enough, however, to keep it interesting.
Today seemed to be Greppa's day. In his first fight, he started with a veritable wavefront of barely visible flames, beating a path to victory for his inch-long fire serpents over his foe's unfortunately-chosen ice fortress and demi-infernal grublings. His opponent, smiling gently, simply remarked on the advantage a sun mage had over ice - at which laughter erupted, and Kyriotes, never caring about Greppa particularly, just said, "And so why did you use ice against a sun mage?"
His second battle, too, went well, although not so easily. He opened again with a miniature firestorm, but only to hide the tiny motes of light preparing their siege of stinging sunbursts and beams of light. His opponent, better prepared for the fire with vicious, finger-length earth serpents and a wave of moisture to carry them, was caught by surprise by the lights, but nonetheless managed an impressive (and very nearly fatal) assault before the Greppa, sending his motes flying over the heads of the serpents, took just enough undefended land to win the table.
His third round, however, he drew Kyriotes as his opponent, and Kyriotes calm concentration, level gaze, and immense experience in matters of summoning tactics, completely overwhelmed Greppa's forces with an immense, organized front of tiny creatures, an immense array of conjured elemental attacks, and erupting inch-high walls... all at the same time. Like all of Kyriotes' opponents, Greppa retired from the competition in under a minute, to watch the remainder of the battles, and to play variants with other arcanists (including "hop", in which the attempt is to force the opponent's summonings to move to one corner of the table - kind of a conjuring sumo).
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seasong
First Post
Olympiad: Greppa 2
The next major event, the one Greppa honestly hoped to do better in, was ray-shooting. Also based around a cantrip, this one the various minor rays arcanists learned early on. Kyriotes presided over this one, preferring the more strategic nature of conjuring to the brute athleticism of ray-shooting.
The concept was simple: An area large enough to accomodate the maximum range of the rays was cleared, the arcanist would stand in the center, and Kyriotes would summon a puff of light which would then swoop, dive and zoom through the area for exactly one minute while the arcanist threw ray after ray at it.
The puff of light (default color blue) flashed red on a direct hit (symbolizing blood, and worth 3 points), and white on a partial hit (symbolizing shock, and worth 1 point). Points were tallied based on how many hits and of what type, and the person with the most points won.
As Kyriotes and his apprentices watched dispassionately, the puff of light zipped through the circle, and arcanists, some of them more than a little happy on wine, laughed and tried to hit it. The serious competitors mostly scored between 10 and 20, and Greppa, starting early with a total of 24, felt hopeful.
Not of getting first, of course - Ophanara was in the competition, and she consistently scored in the mid-30s, often getting a ray off every three seconds, and targetting them with deadly accuracy. But he might make second or third.
Then, alas, two strong competitors came in and beat him by a hair, with 25 and 27 respectively, and Ophanara finally went and, in a veritable fit of no-missing, two-handed ray-shooting, scored a 38, easily the highest score in current living memory. That pushed Greppa out of the runners-up entirely, although he was still in the top end of competitors (and next year, he would be viewed as one of the strong competitors).
Then Aglaelos, a relative unknown from Little Lake, stepped in and began throwing quickened rays of heat like there was no tomorrow. An evoker who specialized in elemental fire, he'd been among the pure fireball-throwing crowd during the war, and so had not had much of a chance to make a name for himself like those who were constantly boosting the soldiers did, but this lazy afternoon, he shone. His score had to be tallied twice - 43 points - and he took the grape vine laurel with a grin that could have fit the valley.
Greppa, meanwhile, was getting a back-pounding from Merideth and Bellos, Merideth because he'd done well, Bellos because he finally caught a glimpse of the grim determination Greppa put into his combat skills (it had been there during the fight with the hydra, but Bellos had been a bit distracted then). He suffered the sore shoulders, and grinned. He had done well, and his talents, recognized by Hurath, were finally starting to really show.
In celebration, Greppa entered a wine tasting contest, got rather drunk, and failed to impress any judges whatsoever. But he didn't care - the important part about a wine tasting contest, to his mind, was expensive wine for free.
Now thoroughly happy, he and his friends stumbled off to the performance casting tournament, already in progress. He had a bleary idea, firmly embedded, that he was going to show them all how an arcanist performed...
Performance casting is an art form that involves more of impressing the audience and less of any kind of real power, but in which, as with many impressions, power does matter. Illusionists and arcanists both tended to participate, and illusionists tended to win, but not always.
Today, Greppa had a real beauty of a plan - he was going to summon Uripedes (the sun falcon from Allas' realm) in his largest, most glorious form. Summoning him in that form was harder, but Greppa had gotten pretty handy with the spells, and even drunk, was pretty sure he could pull it off.
Uripedes, he muddily thought, ought to be impressive enough for ANYONE. Greppa was a bit more loyal than sober, in this.
Upon casting, Uripedes burst from the arcane circle, glowed brightly, and landed next to Greppa, dwarfing the ellini, and... a few people cheered, but mostly, they waited for the kicker.
Mumbling to himself, I'll show 'em a kicker, Greppa began drunkenly casting fireball. He was saved by a tackle from his friends who, upon recognizing the starting words, did their best to prevent the conflagration, and his voice, squeaky with alcohol-induced-fury, could be heard over the laughter, "What! They liked it when I did it before! They'll like it now, yes they will!"
The rest of the afternoon went a bit better.
The next major event, the one Greppa honestly hoped to do better in, was ray-shooting. Also based around a cantrip, this one the various minor rays arcanists learned early on. Kyriotes presided over this one, preferring the more strategic nature of conjuring to the brute athleticism of ray-shooting.
The concept was simple: An area large enough to accomodate the maximum range of the rays was cleared, the arcanist would stand in the center, and Kyriotes would summon a puff of light which would then swoop, dive and zoom through the area for exactly one minute while the arcanist threw ray after ray at it.
The puff of light (default color blue) flashed red on a direct hit (symbolizing blood, and worth 3 points), and white on a partial hit (symbolizing shock, and worth 1 point). Points were tallied based on how many hits and of what type, and the person with the most points won.
As Kyriotes and his apprentices watched dispassionately, the puff of light zipped through the circle, and arcanists, some of them more than a little happy on wine, laughed and tried to hit it. The serious competitors mostly scored between 10 and 20, and Greppa, starting early with a total of 24, felt hopeful.
Not of getting first, of course - Ophanara was in the competition, and she consistently scored in the mid-30s, often getting a ray off every three seconds, and targetting them with deadly accuracy. But he might make second or third.
Then, alas, two strong competitors came in and beat him by a hair, with 25 and 27 respectively, and Ophanara finally went and, in a veritable fit of no-missing, two-handed ray-shooting, scored a 38, easily the highest score in current living memory. That pushed Greppa out of the runners-up entirely, although he was still in the top end of competitors (and next year, he would be viewed as one of the strong competitors).
Then Aglaelos, a relative unknown from Little Lake, stepped in and began throwing quickened rays of heat like there was no tomorrow. An evoker who specialized in elemental fire, he'd been among the pure fireball-throwing crowd during the war, and so had not had much of a chance to make a name for himself like those who were constantly boosting the soldiers did, but this lazy afternoon, he shone. His score had to be tallied twice - 43 points - and he took the grape vine laurel with a grin that could have fit the valley.
Greppa, meanwhile, was getting a back-pounding from Merideth and Bellos, Merideth because he'd done well, Bellos because he finally caught a glimpse of the grim determination Greppa put into his combat skills (it had been there during the fight with the hydra, but Bellos had been a bit distracted then). He suffered the sore shoulders, and grinned. He had done well, and his talents, recognized by Hurath, were finally starting to really show.
In celebration, Greppa entered a wine tasting contest, got rather drunk, and failed to impress any judges whatsoever. But he didn't care - the important part about a wine tasting contest, to his mind, was expensive wine for free.
Now thoroughly happy, he and his friends stumbled off to the performance casting tournament, already in progress. He had a bleary idea, firmly embedded, that he was going to show them all how an arcanist performed...
Performance casting is an art form that involves more of impressing the audience and less of any kind of real power, but in which, as with many impressions, power does matter. Illusionists and arcanists both tended to participate, and illusionists tended to win, but not always.
Today, Greppa had a real beauty of a plan - he was going to summon Uripedes (the sun falcon from Allas' realm) in his largest, most glorious form. Summoning him in that form was harder, but Greppa had gotten pretty handy with the spells, and even drunk, was pretty sure he could pull it off.
Uripedes, he muddily thought, ought to be impressive enough for ANYONE. Greppa was a bit more loyal than sober, in this.
Upon casting, Uripedes burst from the arcane circle, glowed brightly, and landed next to Greppa, dwarfing the ellini, and... a few people cheered, but mostly, they waited for the kicker.
Mumbling to himself, I'll show 'em a kicker, Greppa began drunkenly casting fireball. He was saved by a tackle from his friends who, upon recognizing the starting words, did their best to prevent the conflagration, and his voice, squeaky with alcohol-induced-fury, could be heard over the laughter, "What! They liked it when I did it before! They'll like it now, yes they will!"
The rest of the afternoon went a bit better.
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Serpenteye
First Post
Greybar
No Trouble at All
Yeah, what Serpenteye said.
I really like the magic competitions being done with low-level stuff (well, except for that last one). It makes it more of a common-man thing, and therefore more acceptable and open. A good example of how a world can blend having a reasonable amount of magic around without the "witchcraft" or "magocracy" approaches that come from the few and the elite being the only ones with magic.
John
I really like the magic competitions being done with low-level stuff (well, except for that last one). It makes it more of a common-man thing, and therefore more acceptable and open. A good example of how a world can blend having a reasonable amount of magic around without the "witchcraft" or "magocracy" approaches that come from the few and the elite being the only ones with magic.
John
seasong
First Post
Yeah, cantrip and ray of frost variants, that's about it . If you can't tell, I purchased Tournaments, Fairs and Taverns before I ran the Olympiad, and spent about two nights reading through it. I was generally impressed (the rules for drinking and degree of success in competition were particularly good), but when I got to the magic section, everything was just... implausible.
A wizard spends most of his life being unable to even practice the skills needed for the contest, and THEN, suddenly, he's in a life or death transformation competition? That works in mythology, where being a wizard is an on/off affair, but in a world where the majority of wizards are low level and have a competitive spirit, they will develop competitions they can play in.
The conjuring game was obviously inspired by miniatures, Magic the Addiction, and the militant nature of Theralis.
The ray shooting competition was suggested by Greppa, and overall I think it was rather excellent. A measure of reflexes, mastery of rays, and certain feats, it makes an excellent test for a particular kind of arcanist combat. It also gave me an idea for a northern tradition of spell duelling with rays & a 0-level shield (will save to interpose the shield between the ray and yourself). Ray duelling isn't done in Theralis, but Greppa may find himself in such a situation when they travel north.
The "impress the crowd" contest is mostly a matter of Perform skill and a good idea. Props to Greppa for an excellent portrayal of a drunk arcanist entering with neither one.
Next up, Bellos finds out that backwater Theralese know how to use a sling as well, and Merideth demonstrates remarkable development as an esper.
. If you can't tell, I purchased Tournaments, Fairs and Taverns before I ran the Olympiad, and spent about two nights reading through it. I was generally impressed (the rules for drinking and degree of success in competition were particularly good), but when I got to the magic section, everything was just... implausible.A wizard spends most of his life being unable to even practice the skills needed for the contest, and THEN, suddenly, he's in a life or death transformation competition? That works in mythology, where being a wizard is an on/off affair, but in a world where the majority of wizards are low level and have a competitive spirit, they will develop competitions they can play in.
The conjuring game was obviously inspired by miniatures, Magic the Addiction, and the militant nature of Theralis
.The ray shooting competition was suggested by Greppa, and overall I think it was rather excellent. A measure of reflexes, mastery of rays, and certain feats, it makes an excellent test for a particular kind of arcanist combat. It also gave me an idea for a northern tradition of spell duelling with rays & a 0-level shield (will save to interpose the shield between the ray and yourself). Ray duelling isn't done in Theralis, but Greppa may find himself in such a situation when they travel north
.The "impress the crowd" contest is mostly a matter of Perform skill and a good idea. Props to Greppa for an excellent portrayal of a drunk arcanist entering with neither one
.Next up, Bellos finds out that backwater Theralese know how to use a sling as well, and Merideth demonstrates remarkable development as an esper.
seasong
First Post
Olympiad: Day Two, Other Stuff
Bellos the Slinger
One tournament finally caught Bellos' eye, and Greppa and Merideth cajoled the merchant to let him in. Bellos was a damned fine slinger, able to generate sufficient power to make a hydra feel the impact through its hide, and he hoped to make an impression in the contest.
An impression was made on him.
Although rarely talked about in the way front line spearmen or shield carriers are, the Theralese slingers are an important part of the military force. A sling stone can crack skulls, has excellent range for mountain fighting, is useful in close quarters, and is extremely cheap and fast to make. The only problem is the skilled required to do any real damage with it... and the Theralese slingers do little else but practice that skill.
Bellos had trained his slinging for maximum power; he had honed his skill for short encounters with wilderness beasts. And when it came to that, he could put a dent in iron shields... but the Theralis soldiers trained for accuracy and consistency over the long haul. It wasn't important that they be able to penetrate the hide of a wyvern, or make a hydra feel it... it was important that they be able to hit the much softer head of an orc at fifty paces or more, over and over again.
The first few targets were okay, and well within Bellos accurate range, but as the targets got further and further away, he fell rapidly behind in points as the master slingers among the Theralese racked up an impressive number of bull's eyes.
Still... many of the slingers came by to admire the force he managed, and complimented him on his swift pull and aim at closer ranges. They talked shop, and Theralese and Bellos both went away with new ideas to train in and try.
Merideth the Esper
Among the espers, there is a similar contest to the arcanist conjuring, but its effects are more subtle to watch, less prone to chance wins, and far more exhausting for the competitors. To participate, both competitors summon up their inner energies to create a faint, barely visible cloud of ethereal plasm in the air between them. The clouds, tinted with the color of the esper's soul, begin to interact and, driven by the will of each esper, attempt to dominate the other cloud by sheer force.
The espers are typically exhausted within minutes, and many competitions are decided by collapse of one or the other; most competitions, however, are decided by raw will power.
Visibly, little happens. Two wispy clouds float together and then, in an almost creepy manner, begin to consume one another. The competitors' brows bead with sweat, their faces taut and drawn, until one collapses or until one cloud envelopes the other. To help see the clouds, the room is typically darkened, lit only by candles, and a ring forms around the two competitors.
That evening, Merideth made her way into the small tavern where it was being held, away from the bustle and noise of the majority of the Olympiad. The owner of the tavern was happy to see them (it was a popular watering hole among espers), and swiftly made room.
The expected champion was Morphamos, a self-titled master of will and (given his abilities) reasonably arrogant and self-assured owner of a number of vineyards. He had won the past three Olympiads, and had only gotten stronger in the intervening years. Merideth, this being her first year to be old enough to participate in Olympiad, beat him, within seconds, in the first round.
She then went on to hammer her competition, stopping only for brief breaks before taking a sip of wine and stomping the next one. Round after round, her slender face tight with concentration, she completely failed to falter.
By the end of it, she had a crowd of espers gathered on her side of the table, and she spent much of the remainder of the evening discussing theory and enjoying her sudden popularity and the grape vine wreath upon her head.
And Other Stuff
After that, Bellos took his leave of Greppa shortly after spotting the dark-eyed gymnast from the night before, and Greppa took his leave from Bellos to watch a few final wrestling matches. Arkos* had made it into semifinals, and Greppa was damned if he was going to miss that. Afterwards, although Arkos failed to make it all the way to the finals, Greppa took him out for celebratory drinking, and ended up spending the entire night with him.
* For those who don't remember, Arkos was one of the Keraunesti who went with the party to hunt for an ancient, lost mine. He was a buddy of Athan's, and Greppa never really lost contact with him. Kyliados, Arkos best bud last year, wasn't around, but he hasn't died.
Bellos the Slinger
One tournament finally caught Bellos' eye, and Greppa and Merideth cajoled the merchant to let him in. Bellos was a damned fine slinger, able to generate sufficient power to make a hydra feel the impact through its hide, and he hoped to make an impression in the contest.
An impression was made on him.
Although rarely talked about in the way front line spearmen or shield carriers are, the Theralese slingers are an important part of the military force. A sling stone can crack skulls, has excellent range for mountain fighting, is useful in close quarters, and is extremely cheap and fast to make. The only problem is the skilled required to do any real damage with it... and the Theralese slingers do little else but practice that skill.
Bellos had trained his slinging for maximum power; he had honed his skill for short encounters with wilderness beasts. And when it came to that, he could put a dent in iron shields... but the Theralis soldiers trained for accuracy and consistency over the long haul. It wasn't important that they be able to penetrate the hide of a wyvern, or make a hydra feel it... it was important that they be able to hit the much softer head of an orc at fifty paces or more, over and over again.
The first few targets were okay, and well within Bellos accurate range, but as the targets got further and further away, he fell rapidly behind in points as the master slingers among the Theralese racked up an impressive number of bull's eyes.
Still... many of the slingers came by to admire the force he managed, and complimented him on his swift pull and aim at closer ranges. They talked shop, and Theralese and Bellos both went away with new ideas to train in and try.
Merideth the Esper
Among the espers, there is a similar contest to the arcanist conjuring, but its effects are more subtle to watch, less prone to chance wins, and far more exhausting for the competitors. To participate, both competitors summon up their inner energies to create a faint, barely visible cloud of ethereal plasm in the air between them. The clouds, tinted with the color of the esper's soul, begin to interact and, driven by the will of each esper, attempt to dominate the other cloud by sheer force.
The espers are typically exhausted within minutes, and many competitions are decided by collapse of one or the other; most competitions, however, are decided by raw will power.
Visibly, little happens. Two wispy clouds float together and then, in an almost creepy manner, begin to consume one another. The competitors' brows bead with sweat, their faces taut and drawn, until one collapses or until one cloud envelopes the other. To help see the clouds, the room is typically darkened, lit only by candles, and a ring forms around the two competitors.
That evening, Merideth made her way into the small tavern where it was being held, away from the bustle and noise of the majority of the Olympiad. The owner of the tavern was happy to see them (it was a popular watering hole among espers), and swiftly made room.
The expected champion was Morphamos, a self-titled master of will and (given his abilities) reasonably arrogant and self-assured owner of a number of vineyards. He had won the past three Olympiads, and had only gotten stronger in the intervening years. Merideth, this being her first year to be old enough to participate in Olympiad, beat him, within seconds, in the first round.
She then went on to hammer her competition, stopping only for brief breaks before taking a sip of wine and stomping the next one. Round after round, her slender face tight with concentration, she completely failed to falter.
By the end of it, she had a crowd of espers gathered on her side of the table, and she spent much of the remainder of the evening discussing theory and enjoying her sudden popularity and the grape vine wreath upon her head.
And Other Stuff
After that, Bellos took his leave of Greppa shortly after spotting the dark-eyed gymnast from the night before, and Greppa took his leave from Bellos to watch a few final wrestling matches. Arkos* had made it into semifinals, and Greppa was damned if he was going to miss that. Afterwards, although Arkos failed to make it all the way to the finals, Greppa took him out for celebratory drinking, and ended up spending the entire night with him.
* For those who don't remember, Arkos was one of the Keraunesti who went with the party to hunt for an ancient, lost mine. He was a buddy of Athan's, and Greppa never really lost contact with him. Kyliados, Arkos best bud last year, wasn't around, but he hasn't died.
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Greybar
No Trouble at All
"where it was being held" I assume, just for a editorial note.
I had a wonderful image of this tavern.
"Oh, miss, I'll have one of..."
"I know, here it is"
Telepathic serving staff. It's the way it should be.
I know, I know, that's not really the way it is in Theralis. Now the image of a *totally silent* tavern is another fun one. Only the click and clank of the wine and beer being consumed, perhaps with soft music played in corner by a musican, while clusters of espers have telepathic conversation occasionally punctuated by laughter.
John
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