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[ZEITGEIST] The Continuing Adventures of Korrigan & Co.
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<blockquote data-quote="gideonpepys" data-source="post: 7116404" data-attributes="member: 79141"><p><strong>Duchess Ethelyn of Shale</strong></p><p></p><p>Duchess Ethelyn of Shale resides in a lesser palace on the outskirts of Slate - a living, breathing expression of her brother’s mercy. (Other conspirators were executed. The closer they were to Ethelyn, the more cruelly they were treated.)</p><p></p><p>Concentric rings of guards surround her. Each ring has little or no contact with another.</p><p></p><p>You pass through empty, but well-tended grounds. Children play there, from local schools. They never see the Duchess.</p><p></p><p>She resides in a single, newly constructed ‘room’, which is more like a box, built within the great hall of the palace. The room has no windows. It was constructed, to the specifications of Harkover Lee, and consists of cold iron, salt, gold, and a half-dozen more esoteric materials resistant to magical interference. The door is guarded, secret and magically locked. You are blindfolded before you enter.</p><p></p><p>Inside, within an anti-magic field, the Duchess has a bed, table, chair and latrine (which she covers with a cloak). She is permitted a book occasionally.</p><p></p><p>The Duchess looks much older than she did when last you met, but still has fire in her eyes and steel in the timbre of her voice.</p><p></p><p>She makes jokes about Aodhan and her disloyalty; then wonders aloud if you really know who you serve. She asks if you heard that scurrilous Danoran propaganda about him shelling an orphanage. (You did, and one of the Danoran generals was very rude and angry about it during the Peace Conference Banquet). The Duchess now tells you it was true. She and Aodhan were trying to escape with the flagship they had captured (yes – she was there, he didn’t do it all on his own) and to create a distraction, Aodhan ordered the shelling of the nearby city of Cherage. Of course, he didn’t know he would hit an orphanage, and this was a time of war. But to this day the Duchess counts that as the moment she and her brother’s moral compasses began to diverge.</p><p></p><p>As you talk, she reminds you of the Skyseer Vision that prompted her coup attempt:</p><p></p><p>"A globe spins on its axis, and a steel ship sets off to war on a sail of shadows. The world passes into night, and blackness grips all of Risur as the stars fall from the sky. The king’s eyes turn a soulless white, and he moves as a puppet, his strings pulled by a man who has already died a thousand times."</p><p></p><p>She went to Aodhan with this warning, but he ignored her. Then she learned from Nathan Jierre that Danor were building even more grotesque war machines on Axis Island, and she decided she had to act, supported by her fey allies.</p><p></p><p>She has a sheaf of skyseer visions tucked under her mattress, including the visions of Nevard Sechim (some of which he shared with the crowds in Dawn Square before his murder; others that his friends circulated after his death). These were the visions you and the unit helped him to receive, by escorting him up Cauldron Hill:</p><p></p><p>“I saw a dark figure, standing atop Cauldron Hill, towering over our city. The sun set, and he cast a shadow across Parity Lake, stretching northwest, into the sea, beyond the horizon. He is born in our city, but his ultimate goal is elsewhere. And also things moved in his shadow— indeed, his shadow moved before he did, for while he was mighty, he was controlled by others.</p><p></p><p>“I saw smoke hiding his face, for he was made mighty by industry. In my vision, a king chased him out to sea and defeated him by slicing him free from his shadow. But the cauldron had already shattered, and many thousands were drowned and devoured in its roil.</p><p></p><p>“I saw three birds alight on the peak, the first of black silk, the second of black steel, both weeping blood. But the third was made of stars, and it sang many songs.</p><p></p><p>“I tell you this: Cauldron Hill is not safe. Twice will danger arise, and twice will we be deceived into thinking it is safe to return, but we must avoid the place and avoid being tricked. I have arranged shelter in the Cloudwood, where people can be safe until the darkness passes.”</p><p></p><p>The Duchess shares them with you in the hope that you will see that these visions came to pass; that the one she followed is thereby validated.</p><p></p><p>Other visions of Nevard Sechim, which she has been unable to fathom (as have many others) include:</p><p></p><p>“A woman sat on a leather couch in a waiting room, surrounded by red curtains. She held a gold coin and rolled it across the back of her fingers. A pick lay against the side of the couch. I asked her what she was waiting for, and she answered in a language I didn’t know, saying, ‘The place I’m going isn’t here yet.’</p><p></p><p>“A trumpeter carried a lantern onto the stage of a darkened theater, and the people gathered for his performance applauded, then lit lanterns of their own. The theater never got bright enough for him to see their faces.</p><p></p><p>“One man tore himself in two, and his twin selves fought over a</p><p>woman, tearing her into three, who ran away.”</p><p></p><p>“A man carrying a bronze staff with three keyholes was assailed by swords and arrows and fire, but nothing killed him. He began to take off his robes, revealing tiger fur beneath them, while stars fell from the sky all around him. Then the sky was dark, and when the sun should have risen, instead a pale glowing cloud floated in the dark.</p><p></p><p>“Finally, a tyrant and murderer languished in prison, hanging from twelve chains and hooks that pierced her feet, her legs, her thighs, her shoulders, her arms, and her hands. But the thirteenth hook that sealed her mouth swung loose, and it fluttered in the breeze as she whispered a map that led everywhere.”</p><p></p><p>The Duchess goes on to say:</p><p></p><p>“I foresaw my brother’s death in this vision, and tried to warn him. What did it matter if I killed him – he who would die already – in order to save the whole world from destruction? I was by that point beyond familial sentiment. Sentiment is for lovers, poets and lunatics. My target was not Risur, or her king, but their enemies. Enemies I thought I knew, and that, I have to admit, is where I was wrong. I was looking in the wrong place. We tried. Harkover spared some time at least, but found nothing. And you know why?</p><p></p><p>“Too well hid! To defy the divinations of the most powerful mage in Risur. Unheard of. What kind of power must it take? The Danorans aren’t capable of feats of magic so advanced, or we would have been lost long ago. This enemy must have hidden itself behind something truly ancient.</p><p></p><p>“Now that enemy has shown its face to you and you have a chance to strike at them. </p><p></p><p>“But don’t be naïve, Marshal. There are never two sides to a conflict. There may be three, four, five, even more. And within each of those ‘sides’ will be an internal conflict that breaks down into many more factions. And within each faction… Oh well, you get the idea.”</p><p></p><p>Then she talks for a while about the schism in the Dreaming, and how even that features wheels within wheels. On the face of it, it would appear that the rebellious Hedgehog Court seeks to oppose the Unseen Court and its continuing support of Risur, because of Risur’s technological advancement (which the fey cannot abide). But the Duchess admits she was concerned only with garnering support for her coup, not the finer points of fey politics. Only later did she realise that Greenteeth and her associates (a faction within the Hedgehog Court...) were entirely hostile to Risur’s interests, no matter what. As to their real motives, she has no further insights.</p><p></p><p>Then the Duchess closes her eyes and says she is tired. You wish her well and depart.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="gideonpepys, post: 7116404, member: 79141"] [b]Duchess Ethelyn of Shale[/b] Duchess Ethelyn of Shale resides in a lesser palace on the outskirts of Slate - a living, breathing expression of her brother’s mercy. (Other conspirators were executed. The closer they were to Ethelyn, the more cruelly they were treated.) Concentric rings of guards surround her. Each ring has little or no contact with another. You pass through empty, but well-tended grounds. Children play there, from local schools. They never see the Duchess. She resides in a single, newly constructed ‘room’, which is more like a box, built within the great hall of the palace. The room has no windows. It was constructed, to the specifications of Harkover Lee, and consists of cold iron, salt, gold, and a half-dozen more esoteric materials resistant to magical interference. The door is guarded, secret and magically locked. You are blindfolded before you enter. Inside, within an anti-magic field, the Duchess has a bed, table, chair and latrine (which she covers with a cloak). She is permitted a book occasionally. The Duchess looks much older than she did when last you met, but still has fire in her eyes and steel in the timbre of her voice. She makes jokes about Aodhan and her disloyalty; then wonders aloud if you really know who you serve. She asks if you heard that scurrilous Danoran propaganda about him shelling an orphanage. (You did, and one of the Danoran generals was very rude and angry about it during the Peace Conference Banquet). The Duchess now tells you it was true. She and Aodhan were trying to escape with the flagship they had captured (yes – she was there, he didn’t do it all on his own) and to create a distraction, Aodhan ordered the shelling of the nearby city of Cherage. Of course, he didn’t know he would hit an orphanage, and this was a time of war. But to this day the Duchess counts that as the moment she and her brother’s moral compasses began to diverge. As you talk, she reminds you of the Skyseer Vision that prompted her coup attempt: "A globe spins on its axis, and a steel ship sets off to war on a sail of shadows. The world passes into night, and blackness grips all of Risur as the stars fall from the sky. The king’s eyes turn a soulless white, and he moves as a puppet, his strings pulled by a man who has already died a thousand times." She went to Aodhan with this warning, but he ignored her. Then she learned from Nathan Jierre that Danor were building even more grotesque war machines on Axis Island, and she decided she had to act, supported by her fey allies. She has a sheaf of skyseer visions tucked under her mattress, including the visions of Nevard Sechim (some of which he shared with the crowds in Dawn Square before his murder; others that his friends circulated after his death). These were the visions you and the unit helped him to receive, by escorting him up Cauldron Hill: “I saw a dark figure, standing atop Cauldron Hill, towering over our city. The sun set, and he cast a shadow across Parity Lake, stretching northwest, into the sea, beyond the horizon. He is born in our city, but his ultimate goal is elsewhere. And also things moved in his shadow— indeed, his shadow moved before he did, for while he was mighty, he was controlled by others. “I saw smoke hiding his face, for he was made mighty by industry. In my vision, a king chased him out to sea and defeated him by slicing him free from his shadow. But the cauldron had already shattered, and many thousands were drowned and devoured in its roil. “I saw three birds alight on the peak, the first of black silk, the second of black steel, both weeping blood. But the third was made of stars, and it sang many songs. “I tell you this: Cauldron Hill is not safe. Twice will danger arise, and twice will we be deceived into thinking it is safe to return, but we must avoid the place and avoid being tricked. I have arranged shelter in the Cloudwood, where people can be safe until the darkness passes.” The Duchess shares them with you in the hope that you will see that these visions came to pass; that the one she followed is thereby validated. Other visions of Nevard Sechim, which she has been unable to fathom (as have many others) include: “A woman sat on a leather couch in a waiting room, surrounded by red curtains. She held a gold coin and rolled it across the back of her fingers. A pick lay against the side of the couch. I asked her what she was waiting for, and she answered in a language I didn’t know, saying, ‘The place I’m going isn’t here yet.’ “A trumpeter carried a lantern onto the stage of a darkened theater, and the people gathered for his performance applauded, then lit lanterns of their own. The theater never got bright enough for him to see their faces. “One man tore himself in two, and his twin selves fought over a woman, tearing her into three, who ran away.” “A man carrying a bronze staff with three keyholes was assailed by swords and arrows and fire, but nothing killed him. He began to take off his robes, revealing tiger fur beneath them, while stars fell from the sky all around him. Then the sky was dark, and when the sun should have risen, instead a pale glowing cloud floated in the dark. “Finally, a tyrant and murderer languished in prison, hanging from twelve chains and hooks that pierced her feet, her legs, her thighs, her shoulders, her arms, and her hands. But the thirteenth hook that sealed her mouth swung loose, and it fluttered in the breeze as she whispered a map that led everywhere.” The Duchess goes on to say: “I foresaw my brother’s death in this vision, and tried to warn him. What did it matter if I killed him – he who would die already – in order to save the whole world from destruction? I was by that point beyond familial sentiment. Sentiment is for lovers, poets and lunatics. My target was not Risur, or her king, but their enemies. Enemies I thought I knew, and that, I have to admit, is where I was wrong. I was looking in the wrong place. We tried. Harkover spared some time at least, but found nothing. And you know why? “Too well hid! To defy the divinations of the most powerful mage in Risur. Unheard of. What kind of power must it take? The Danorans aren’t capable of feats of magic so advanced, or we would have been lost long ago. This enemy must have hidden itself behind something truly ancient. “Now that enemy has shown its face to you and you have a chance to strike at them. “But don’t be naïve, Marshal. There are never two sides to a conflict. There may be three, four, five, even more. And within each of those ‘sides’ will be an internal conflict that breaks down into many more factions. And within each faction… Oh well, you get the idea.” Then she talks for a while about the schism in the Dreaming, and how even that features wheels within wheels. On the face of it, it would appear that the rebellious Hedgehog Court seeks to oppose the Unseen Court and its continuing support of Risur, because of Risur’s technological advancement (which the fey cannot abide). But the Duchess admits she was concerned only with garnering support for her coup, not the finer points of fey politics. Only later did she realise that Greenteeth and her associates (a faction within the Hedgehog Court...) were entirely hostile to Risur’s interests, no matter what. As to their real motives, she has no further insights. Then the Duchess closes her eyes and says she is tired. You wish her well and depart. [/QUOTE]
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