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Tizbiz Zeitgeist Campaign
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<blockquote data-quote="Lylandra" data-source="post: 8197191" data-attributes="member: 6816692"><p><strong><em>A fractured mind and a broken heart</em></strong></p><p></p><p>After Desok has left again, Kasvarina finally smiles for the first time as she now clearly remembers the moment when we met last time. Even though she admits that her whole sense of time and memory is completely muddled right now. Which appears to be utterly frustrating for her. She does remember a bit more now, including a bit more than just her first hundred years.</p><p></p><p>While we are busy talking to Kasvarina, Asrabey seems as frustrated as Kasvarina. Carlyle watches him for a while and then understands that while Asrabey is willing to give his life for his beloved Matriarch, he is also not used to seeing her in this weakened, confused state. A state in which she doesn't remember him at all.</p><p></p><p>“You don't think about giving up, do you?” he asks Asrabey. “That wouldn't be fitting for a man like you. I've seen a lot of men over the last centuries, and I have rarely seen anyone as enduring, persistent and loyal to his wife as you. These are truly some qualities to be proud of.”</p><p></p><p>“Maybe. But the woman I see right now has nothing of the wife I've known.” he sighs.</p><p></p><p>We take some time to tell Kasvarina (and Asrabey) about the Obscurati threat and the fact that Nicodemus and his most loyal will most likely be searching for her right now. Kasvarina nods and adds that she can add Borne to the list as the Colossus once appeared before Sentosa to look out for her. And when he could not find her, he turned north and left. Regarding Kieran Sentacore, she explains that this scholar is tasked with feeding her with information about the past and, more specifically, her past life. Athryalla has deemed this necessary when she learned about Asrabey's rather young age and realized that the warrior was quite the opposite of an academic. And of course this made Asrabey feel even more useless.</p><p></p><p>We then ask Kasvarina to tell us about the things she does remember of her past and she instantly mentions Pillai, the love of her life and father of her two daughters, Dala and Launga. She also remembers losing Pillai in the first war and the feeling of anger and loss. She swore revenge on the Crisillyiri Theocracy and entered the Eladrin forces of the second war willingly. Everything after that is still unclear as she only remembers that Dala died in the second war while Launga survived, but she adds that she must have lost Launga, too, after that. There are also figments and echoes of the faces of men she knew well and she guesses that these might be other husbands. Asrabey, she adds, is one of these faces, but she doesn't remember what she might have shared with him, or even being ever married to “that man”.</p><p></p><p>This affects Asrabey visibly as his marriage to Kasvarina had been his main drive over the last two centuries. We try to assure him that her memories of him will come back in time and that she then will be able to see all of the sacrifices he made for her.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">(Ouch. One can only feel sorry for Asrabey, and this was the part where even Carlyle overcame his indifference and felt for him.)</span></p><p></p><p>Auryn then turns to Kasvarina again and tells her that while she is her family and will do her best to help her, there will be no better guide to lost memories than Gabriel Carlyle. Being a Deva, he has to deal with reincarnation, losing his past self and trying to unlock his past memories, so a Deva might be suited best for this job. She then encourages Gabriel to offer his guidance.</p><p></p><p>He nods in return and starts his counsel with the most important question of all: Whether Kasvarina actually wishes to remember her past life. He explains that right now, there are two options for her since she can either choose to remember her past life or stay the way she is and start anew. The first option would satisfy her need to know more about the person she was, but it comes at the risk of experiencing the darkness, her losses and all of the difficult or cruel decisions she has ever made once again, while she would also be confronted with personality traits she might find abhorrent now. The second option would keep her blissfully unaware and detached from the woman she was, giving her the chance to start a new life as a completely new person. Still she would never be able to fully understand why people would react a certain way or how she even ended up in the situation she is right now.</p><p></p><p>Kasvarina takes some time to think about Carlyle's proposals before she makes her decision:</p><p></p><p>“I need to understand the woman I was in order to see who I am and can be now. It is as you said, people react in a strange way when they see me and I wish to know why. Even though this woman is a complete stranger to me. I don't feel the need to become that woman again, but I want to remember what I did and maybe even why.”</p><p></p><p>In return, Auryn and Carlyle promise Kasvarina to help and guide her on this path. We even include Asrabey in this offer as both see that he is clearly suffering. In a first step, we tell her all about the tales we've learned from Matriarch Kaealys and her daughter Galadin and also remind her that she still has and will always have a family she can return to. Kasvarina is grateful for these stories, but also very much overwhelmed and confused as she barely knows us. So she asks us to tell us more about ourselves first and explain why we would care so much about her fate.</p><p></p><p>Carlyle is the first one to state his personal motives. He talks about the time of his first death and rebirth, and what this specific experience had done with him. That he felt disconnected from the life he had before, especially as a soldier of Crisillyir. That there was something else inside him while the world around him felt distorted, that he sensed the presence of the mourning dead and knew that he could not stay in such a place of tragedy, especially when he had been a part of it. He continues with his commanding officer who got him a new job in Risur and his need to serve loyally, something that helped him transition to his new life. But lately, the presence inside him has grown stronger and his tender sympathy for the Eladrin he had fought in his past life has turned to an honest need to care for them and their cause.</p><p></p><p>Auryn then talks about her childhood in Pallita, the path that was lain out for her. She continues with her need to know and experience more, her journey west and her tragic loss of Zahir. She, too, is fighting for the survival of Elfaivar and filled with a sense of duty for both the nation who saved her and helped her survive and her original home. In addition, she feels as if there is more than just one parallel between her and Kasvarina, so understanding more about the Matriarch and her motives would help her uncover her own personality, and maybe even her destiny.</p><p></p><p>“I didn't think too much about it, but now that you say it... it is like I am looking straight into a mirror. Maybe the threads of fate bind us even more than the bounds of blood” Kasvarina agrees, laughing with curiosity.</p><p></p><p>Auryn agrees though she immediately adds that she has a troubled relationship with “fate” as fate might be the ultimate death of true freedom. Still there are even more similarities between the two women as she tells Kasvarina about Carlyle's visions of her travels with the philosopher Miller in the Crypta. A man that Kasvarina doesn't remember at all.</p><p></p><p>“A defecting Crisillyiri, a man who was... close to you. Who walked with you through the cursed darkness, who held your hand.”</p><p></p><p>She looks at Gabriel and adds that the weight of the world becomes bearable once you don't have to shoulder it alone. Auryn then continues talking about her own experiences in Risur, how she came to be an RHC agent, how she eventually teamed up with Gabriel Carlyle, and how they stumbled across the Obscurati conspiracy. Following this trail led them both to Borne and to Kasvarina, a person her family had thought to be missing in action for decades. Auryn adds that Gabriel and she have since then become more than just professional partners, even though she would have never thought that she was even capable of feeling love. Especially for an ex-Crisillyiri.</p><p></p><p>All the while Asrabey stays silent as he appears to be deep inside his own mind. But when we take a break from our tales, he turns to Carlyle and says “You truly are a lucky man.”</p><p></p><p>We continue to stay in Kasvarina's new residence for another couple of days to show her our support and get accustomed to each other. During these days, we exchange stories, do some research with Kieran Sentacore and even include training sessions to try warm up Kasvarina's bodily memory as well as her mental. Somewhen in this process, Kasvarina tells us about a tale of an ancient artifact of Ingatan she has read in a dusty tome: A silvery crown, the arc of Reida, which is said to let a person relive their most important memories should they return to the place they experienced them in the first place. However, as much as this crown might help her with her memory problem, she would not be able to retrieve it as she is, as she reminds us, not allowed to leave her home.</p><p></p><p>We talk about the matter once again and Kasvarina cannot fully understand Matriarch Athryalla's order either. She tells us that Athryalla had some shady explanation that she'd be too vulnerable on her own, missing her memories and all that, but Asrabey would be able to make up for that with ease. So we guess that there might be some deeper rift between the two High Matriarchs, a rift Kasvarina would know nothing about as its truth is conveniently hidden behind the veils of amnesia.</p><p></p><p>“Very well then. Let us speak to her. If she honors the lineage of Matriarchs, she will at least listen to what a daughter of another and her Sahomi have to say.” Auryn says, packs her equipment and calls for Desok. Auryn says and Carlyle adds that asking for an audience might be a good idea as we two “outsiders” might be able to shed some light onto the shades of the past and get a clearer picture of what might have happened.</p><p></p><p>It doesn't take much time for Desok to appear in front of Kasvarina's residence and it turns out that he is still quite the young man despite his rank. To get to know him better, we first ask him for a tour through the Enclave and also mention that we'd like to ask for an audience with the High Matriarch. He agrees to both and points out that he is quite sure that High Matriarch Athryalla would be willing to talk to the Matriarch of Flint and her entourage. Which surprises Auryn as the only ones to call her by that name were the people of Pallita.</p><p></p><p>“I also heard tales from the Dreadnought and from the Unseen. You battled the Smoke Colossus in the Outside. You helped save Matriarch Kasvarina. You two can fight side by side with the Dreadnought. All while ruling a sheer gigantic enclave full of foreigners and standing up to a King.”</p><p></p><p>Auryn chuckles a little and quickly points out that while people call her “Matriarch of Flint”, she does not really rule this place as this would be the job of the Governor and the Mayors. She continues to explain the political structure of Risur, but it seems as if Desok sees this as yet another sign of the noble Matriarch's humility. This misunderstanding has its bright side though as Desok appears to be completely impressed by the pair and ever curious on our opinion.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">(one can only imagine what Carlyle's thoughts on Desok's misinformation and the uncontrolled spread of false political information about Flint and Risur would be. On one side, equating the risuri King with “a King” in the Eladrin sense would be the polar opposite of what a monarch like Aodhan stands for, and having the rumor that Auryn actually runs Flint could be potentially damaging for diplomatic exchange. On the other side, this whole construct must be utterly hilarious to him.)</span></p><p></p><p>To Auryn's surprise, Desok is also a married man whose wife is of a similar age. He says that Matriarch Athryalla believes in strength in numbers, so she encouraged her people to have many children. Which is why we see so many young women right now. He then leads us to several training spaces and finally to the “Bound Leaf” tavern. We have a snack there and see that this place is run by goblins, another oddity. Oh and there is also Copperhat who is having a drink and whom we briefly greet in a friendly manner. We can only guess that he might have followed Asrabey from the Dreaming but leave him as he is now.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">(that sneaky bastard... we didn't really try to investigate further though)</span></p><p></p><p>Next, we visit the forgery of a master weaponsmith who perfected the art of crafting supremely sharp weapons with a blue shimmer. Desok praises the excellent weapons, so we decide to go inside and take a look ourselves. On a first glimpse, these weapons appear to be masterworks, but as soon as Carlyle picks one up to assess its weight and feel, he feels a sharp sting that turns into excruciating pain.</p><p></p><p>“Sorry... my child...” he hears in a whispered voice inside of his head.</p><p></p><p>Carlyle is still Carlyle though and so he clenches his teeth and puts the weapon back into place without showing any obvious sign of discomfort. Auryn realizes his sudden cramp though and he mentally tells her that something about this weapon wasn't right as its touch was extremely painful. He repeats this process by briefly touching several other weapons and finds that all of them emit the same sense of torturous pain. After a while, the pain wears down as he realizes that Srasama's presence is now actively shutting him off the sensation.</p><p></p><p>He continues to tell Auryn about his results and we decide to get more information about these items from the weaponsmith. The Eladrin man is eager to tell us about the secret craftsmanship he had learned in Drakr and encourages us to not limit ourselves to our own culture when looking for an inspiration. He says that he is grateful that his master gave him his smithing tools as a gift when he eventually returned back to his elfaivaran home. We ask him to get a glimpse at these fabled tools and when he eagerly puts them on display, Carlyle gets the same sense of suffering. So we secretly check the place for traces of Witchoil, but find none.</p><p></p><p>Another discreet search for another possible source of pain is unsuccessful as well, so we decide to leave the matter for now. After all, that man is the most famous weaponsmith of Sentosa and no one but Carlyle seems to be able to pick up that sensation. So it might even be linked to a secret hatred of the Crisillyiri.</p><p></p><p>To continue our walk with Desok, we display our appreciation for the exquisite quality of the weapons and mentally agree to check this place later that night as Auryn doesn't wish to brush Carlyle's sensation off as being “exclusively Deva”.</p><p></p><p>Next, we come to a large building in the center of Sentosa that appears to be extremely well guarded. Desok calls this the “Anata Paudha” or “Lonely Companion” and we remember Gale's tale about this institution. As the mere thought about it is quite painful for Auryn, we prefer to not go inside. Desok explains that the Companions are an old tradition and a sacred duty, even if he doesn't know when and why it was first established. However, he knows that many children were born thanks to these women. Carlyle guesses that, if this institution was indeed that ancient and sacred, maybe it was the High Matriarch herself who has had good experiences with “experimentation”.</p><p></p><p>Both Desok and Auryn cough heavily to this idea, and Desok immediately calls this suggestion “indisputable” as the Matriarch would never be a Companion.</p><p></p><p>“If this is so 'indisputable', why would it be so sacred then?” Carlyle asks, but leaves the matter as it is.</p><p></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">(Oh yes, it is finally time to dissect the Anata Paudha / Akhela Sathi and what is wrong with it in my opinion. Tizbiz tried to save what was there to save by having Gale in opposition to the institution and limiting it to Eladrin with the noble pursuit of having more children without the complexity and constrictions of marriage or even an interpersonal relationship.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">The original version however was... very problematic to say the least. First, its origin partially taking root in rape prevention...really? The whole idea of the Enclaves was centered around men who followed the teachings of Vekesh and willingly agreed to the Matriarchy and its long survival plan so they'd be the more emotionally stable and resilient types anyway. On top of that, the stereotype of men needing to have sex with a woman or become violent is pretty harmful and dangerously close to incel arguments. Also, I'd imagine that any rape would be harshly punished, most likely with exile.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">Second, as Auryn said it many sessions ago, the institution basically gives every man the right to have sex at least once a year. No matter who it would be. Now if the Enclave was a “members only” club where every resident was hand-picked by the whole community then maybe it could be passable, but it includes even visitors, complete strangers.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">Which leads me to my third point: The Lonely Companion is meant to be the party's inn. Which more than just suggests that male PCs – being visitors – can have their one night with an Eladrin woman. No matter their race, no matter their background. Which feels just plain wrong and sends a really harmful message.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">Don't get me wrong, I am fully convinced that an eladrin society would be in general sex-positive to a point where the institution of marriage could become almost irrelevant in some enclaves (unless the Matriarchs go the 'selective breeding' route). But it could only work in a centuries-long stable construct with active choice on both sides.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)"></span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(65, 168, 95)">How would I improve the Akhela Sathi was it my campaign? I think would make it an in-person Tinder hub. It is still an inn and the PCs can rest there. Then they realize that this is basically a place where horny Eladrin hook up with each other, can get drinks, a free and luxurious room and go their separate ways once they had their fun. Of course they can try and flirt with the visitors, but don't expect to have an easy time when you don't know the culture. Maybe one Eladrin would even be intrigued by the "exotic foreigners" and start asking kind of inappropriate questions to turn the whole trope upside down)</span></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lylandra, post: 8197191, member: 6816692"] [B][I]A fractured mind and a broken heart[/I][/B] After Desok has left again, Kasvarina finally smiles for the first time as she now clearly remembers the moment when we met last time. Even though she admits that her whole sense of time and memory is completely muddled right now. Which appears to be utterly frustrating for her. She does remember a bit more now, including a bit more than just her first hundred years. While we are busy talking to Kasvarina, Asrabey seems as frustrated as Kasvarina. Carlyle watches him for a while and then understands that while Asrabey is willing to give his life for his beloved Matriarch, he is also not used to seeing her in this weakened, confused state. A state in which she doesn't remember him at all. “You don't think about giving up, do you?” he asks Asrabey. “That wouldn't be fitting for a man like you. I've seen a lot of men over the last centuries, and I have rarely seen anyone as enduring, persistent and loyal to his wife as you. These are truly some qualities to be proud of.” “Maybe. But the woman I see right now has nothing of the wife I've known.” he sighs. We take some time to tell Kasvarina (and Asrabey) about the Obscurati threat and the fact that Nicodemus and his most loyal will most likely be searching for her right now. Kasvarina nods and adds that she can add Borne to the list as the Colossus once appeared before Sentosa to look out for her. And when he could not find her, he turned north and left. Regarding Kieran Sentacore, she explains that this scholar is tasked with feeding her with information about the past and, more specifically, her past life. Athryalla has deemed this necessary when she learned about Asrabey's rather young age and realized that the warrior was quite the opposite of an academic. And of course this made Asrabey feel even more useless. We then ask Kasvarina to tell us about the things she does remember of her past and she instantly mentions Pillai, the love of her life and father of her two daughters, Dala and Launga. She also remembers losing Pillai in the first war and the feeling of anger and loss. She swore revenge on the Crisillyiri Theocracy and entered the Eladrin forces of the second war willingly. Everything after that is still unclear as she only remembers that Dala died in the second war while Launga survived, but she adds that she must have lost Launga, too, after that. There are also figments and echoes of the faces of men she knew well and she guesses that these might be other husbands. Asrabey, she adds, is one of these faces, but she doesn't remember what she might have shared with him, or even being ever married to “that man”. This affects Asrabey visibly as his marriage to Kasvarina had been his main drive over the last two centuries. We try to assure him that her memories of him will come back in time and that she then will be able to see all of the sacrifices he made for her. [COLOR=rgb(65, 168, 95)](Ouch. One can only feel sorry for Asrabey, and this was the part where even Carlyle overcame his indifference and felt for him.)[/COLOR] Auryn then turns to Kasvarina again and tells her that while she is her family and will do her best to help her, there will be no better guide to lost memories than Gabriel Carlyle. Being a Deva, he has to deal with reincarnation, losing his past self and trying to unlock his past memories, so a Deva might be suited best for this job. She then encourages Gabriel to offer his guidance. He nods in return and starts his counsel with the most important question of all: Whether Kasvarina actually wishes to remember her past life. He explains that right now, there are two options for her since she can either choose to remember her past life or stay the way she is and start anew. The first option would satisfy her need to know more about the person she was, but it comes at the risk of experiencing the darkness, her losses and all of the difficult or cruel decisions she has ever made once again, while she would also be confronted with personality traits she might find abhorrent now. The second option would keep her blissfully unaware and detached from the woman she was, giving her the chance to start a new life as a completely new person. Still she would never be able to fully understand why people would react a certain way or how she even ended up in the situation she is right now. Kasvarina takes some time to think about Carlyle's proposals before she makes her decision: “I need to understand the woman I was in order to see who I am and can be now. It is as you said, people react in a strange way when they see me and I wish to know why. Even though this woman is a complete stranger to me. I don't feel the need to become that woman again, but I want to remember what I did and maybe even why.” In return, Auryn and Carlyle promise Kasvarina to help and guide her on this path. We even include Asrabey in this offer as both see that he is clearly suffering. In a first step, we tell her all about the tales we've learned from Matriarch Kaealys and her daughter Galadin and also remind her that she still has and will always have a family she can return to. Kasvarina is grateful for these stories, but also very much overwhelmed and confused as she barely knows us. So she asks us to tell us more about ourselves first and explain why we would care so much about her fate. Carlyle is the first one to state his personal motives. He talks about the time of his first death and rebirth, and what this specific experience had done with him. That he felt disconnected from the life he had before, especially as a soldier of Crisillyir. That there was something else inside him while the world around him felt distorted, that he sensed the presence of the mourning dead and knew that he could not stay in such a place of tragedy, especially when he had been a part of it. He continues with his commanding officer who got him a new job in Risur and his need to serve loyally, something that helped him transition to his new life. But lately, the presence inside him has grown stronger and his tender sympathy for the Eladrin he had fought in his past life has turned to an honest need to care for them and their cause. Auryn then talks about her childhood in Pallita, the path that was lain out for her. She continues with her need to know and experience more, her journey west and her tragic loss of Zahir. She, too, is fighting for the survival of Elfaivar and filled with a sense of duty for both the nation who saved her and helped her survive and her original home. In addition, she feels as if there is more than just one parallel between her and Kasvarina, so understanding more about the Matriarch and her motives would help her uncover her own personality, and maybe even her destiny. “I didn't think too much about it, but now that you say it... it is like I am looking straight into a mirror. Maybe the threads of fate bind us even more than the bounds of blood” Kasvarina agrees, laughing with curiosity. Auryn agrees though she immediately adds that she has a troubled relationship with “fate” as fate might be the ultimate death of true freedom. Still there are even more similarities between the two women as she tells Kasvarina about Carlyle's visions of her travels with the philosopher Miller in the Crypta. A man that Kasvarina doesn't remember at all. “A defecting Crisillyiri, a man who was... close to you. Who walked with you through the cursed darkness, who held your hand.” She looks at Gabriel and adds that the weight of the world becomes bearable once you don't have to shoulder it alone. Auryn then continues talking about her own experiences in Risur, how she came to be an RHC agent, how she eventually teamed up with Gabriel Carlyle, and how they stumbled across the Obscurati conspiracy. Following this trail led them both to Borne and to Kasvarina, a person her family had thought to be missing in action for decades. Auryn adds that Gabriel and she have since then become more than just professional partners, even though she would have never thought that she was even capable of feeling love. Especially for an ex-Crisillyiri. All the while Asrabey stays silent as he appears to be deep inside his own mind. But when we take a break from our tales, he turns to Carlyle and says “You truly are a lucky man.” We continue to stay in Kasvarina's new residence for another couple of days to show her our support and get accustomed to each other. During these days, we exchange stories, do some research with Kieran Sentacore and even include training sessions to try warm up Kasvarina's bodily memory as well as her mental. Somewhen in this process, Kasvarina tells us about a tale of an ancient artifact of Ingatan she has read in a dusty tome: A silvery crown, the arc of Reida, which is said to let a person relive their most important memories should they return to the place they experienced them in the first place. However, as much as this crown might help her with her memory problem, she would not be able to retrieve it as she is, as she reminds us, not allowed to leave her home. We talk about the matter once again and Kasvarina cannot fully understand Matriarch Athryalla's order either. She tells us that Athryalla had some shady explanation that she'd be too vulnerable on her own, missing her memories and all that, but Asrabey would be able to make up for that with ease. So we guess that there might be some deeper rift between the two High Matriarchs, a rift Kasvarina would know nothing about as its truth is conveniently hidden behind the veils of amnesia. “Very well then. Let us speak to her. If she honors the lineage of Matriarchs, she will at least listen to what a daughter of another and her Sahomi have to say.” Auryn says, packs her equipment and calls for Desok. Auryn says and Carlyle adds that asking for an audience might be a good idea as we two “outsiders” might be able to shed some light onto the shades of the past and get a clearer picture of what might have happened. It doesn't take much time for Desok to appear in front of Kasvarina's residence and it turns out that he is still quite the young man despite his rank. To get to know him better, we first ask him for a tour through the Enclave and also mention that we'd like to ask for an audience with the High Matriarch. He agrees to both and points out that he is quite sure that High Matriarch Athryalla would be willing to talk to the Matriarch of Flint and her entourage. Which surprises Auryn as the only ones to call her by that name were the people of Pallita. “I also heard tales from the Dreadnought and from the Unseen. You battled the Smoke Colossus in the Outside. You helped save Matriarch Kasvarina. You two can fight side by side with the Dreadnought. All while ruling a sheer gigantic enclave full of foreigners and standing up to a King.” Auryn chuckles a little and quickly points out that while people call her “Matriarch of Flint”, she does not really rule this place as this would be the job of the Governor and the Mayors. She continues to explain the political structure of Risur, but it seems as if Desok sees this as yet another sign of the noble Matriarch's humility. This misunderstanding has its bright side though as Desok appears to be completely impressed by the pair and ever curious on our opinion. [COLOR=rgb(65, 168, 95)](one can only imagine what Carlyle's thoughts on Desok's misinformation and the uncontrolled spread of false political information about Flint and Risur would be. On one side, equating the risuri King with “a King” in the Eladrin sense would be the polar opposite of what a monarch like Aodhan stands for, and having the rumor that Auryn actually runs Flint could be potentially damaging for diplomatic exchange. On the other side, this whole construct must be utterly hilarious to him.)[/COLOR] To Auryn's surprise, Desok is also a married man whose wife is of a similar age. He says that Matriarch Athryalla believes in strength in numbers, so she encouraged her people to have many children. Which is why we see so many young women right now. He then leads us to several training spaces and finally to the “Bound Leaf” tavern. We have a snack there and see that this place is run by goblins, another oddity. Oh and there is also Copperhat who is having a drink and whom we briefly greet in a friendly manner. We can only guess that he might have followed Asrabey from the Dreaming but leave him as he is now. [COLOR=rgb(65, 168, 95)](that sneaky bastard... we didn't really try to investigate further though)[/COLOR] Next, we visit the forgery of a master weaponsmith who perfected the art of crafting supremely sharp weapons with a blue shimmer. Desok praises the excellent weapons, so we decide to go inside and take a look ourselves. On a first glimpse, these weapons appear to be masterworks, but as soon as Carlyle picks one up to assess its weight and feel, he feels a sharp sting that turns into excruciating pain. “Sorry... my child...” he hears in a whispered voice inside of his head. Carlyle is still Carlyle though and so he clenches his teeth and puts the weapon back into place without showing any obvious sign of discomfort. Auryn realizes his sudden cramp though and he mentally tells her that something about this weapon wasn't right as its touch was extremely painful. He repeats this process by briefly touching several other weapons and finds that all of them emit the same sense of torturous pain. After a while, the pain wears down as he realizes that Srasama's presence is now actively shutting him off the sensation. He continues to tell Auryn about his results and we decide to get more information about these items from the weaponsmith. The Eladrin man is eager to tell us about the secret craftsmanship he had learned in Drakr and encourages us to not limit ourselves to our own culture when looking for an inspiration. He says that he is grateful that his master gave him his smithing tools as a gift when he eventually returned back to his elfaivaran home. We ask him to get a glimpse at these fabled tools and when he eagerly puts them on display, Carlyle gets the same sense of suffering. So we secretly check the place for traces of Witchoil, but find none. Another discreet search for another possible source of pain is unsuccessful as well, so we decide to leave the matter for now. After all, that man is the most famous weaponsmith of Sentosa and no one but Carlyle seems to be able to pick up that sensation. So it might even be linked to a secret hatred of the Crisillyiri. To continue our walk with Desok, we display our appreciation for the exquisite quality of the weapons and mentally agree to check this place later that night as Auryn doesn't wish to brush Carlyle's sensation off as being “exclusively Deva”. Next, we come to a large building in the center of Sentosa that appears to be extremely well guarded. Desok calls this the “Anata Paudha” or “Lonely Companion” and we remember Gale's tale about this institution. As the mere thought about it is quite painful for Auryn, we prefer to not go inside. Desok explains that the Companions are an old tradition and a sacred duty, even if he doesn't know when and why it was first established. However, he knows that many children were born thanks to these women. Carlyle guesses that, if this institution was indeed that ancient and sacred, maybe it was the High Matriarch herself who has had good experiences with “experimentation”. Both Desok and Auryn cough heavily to this idea, and Desok immediately calls this suggestion “indisputable” as the Matriarch would never be a Companion. “If this is so 'indisputable', why would it be so sacred then?” Carlyle asks, but leaves the matter as it is. [COLOR=rgb(65, 168, 95)](Oh yes, it is finally time to dissect the Anata Paudha / Akhela Sathi and what is wrong with it in my opinion. Tizbiz tried to save what was there to save by having Gale in opposition to the institution and limiting it to Eladrin with the noble pursuit of having more children without the complexity and constrictions of marriage or even an interpersonal relationship. The original version however was... very problematic to say the least. First, its origin partially taking root in rape prevention...really? The whole idea of the Enclaves was centered around men who followed the teachings of Vekesh and willingly agreed to the Matriarchy and its long survival plan so they'd be the more emotionally stable and resilient types anyway. On top of that, the stereotype of men needing to have sex with a woman or become violent is pretty harmful and dangerously close to incel arguments. Also, I'd imagine that any rape would be harshly punished, most likely with exile. Second, as Auryn said it many sessions ago, the institution basically gives every man the right to have sex at least once a year. No matter who it would be. Now if the Enclave was a “members only” club where every resident was hand-picked by the whole community then maybe it could be passable, but it includes even visitors, complete strangers. Which leads me to my third point: The Lonely Companion is meant to be the party's inn. Which more than just suggests that male PCs – being visitors – can have their one night with an Eladrin woman. No matter their race, no matter their background. Which feels just plain wrong and sends a really harmful message. Don't get me wrong, I am fully convinced that an eladrin society would be in general sex-positive to a point where the institution of marriage could become almost irrelevant in some enclaves (unless the Matriarchs go the 'selective breeding' route). But it could only work in a centuries-long stable construct with active choice on both sides. How would I improve the Akhela Sathi was it my campaign? I think would make it an in-person Tinder hub. It is still an inn and the PCs can rest there. Then they realize that this is basically a place where horny Eladrin hook up with each other, can get drinks, a free and luxurious room and go their separate ways once they had their fun. Of course they can try and flirt with the visitors, but don't expect to have an easy time when you don't know the culture. Maybe one Eladrin would even be intrigued by the "exotic foreigners" and start asking kind of inappropriate questions to turn the whole trope upside down)[/COLOR] [/QUOTE]
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