[Game Thread] Chapter Seven: Bloodlines

[Xian]

Adam & Sublime Originally Posted by Arte "No, thank you. It's not to my taste." Sublime rolls her eyes, which her brother ignores. "Based on what I just heard, your brother could sure use one... or perhaps a hundred." Adam says unperturbed to Sublime and in mimicry of Arte's own brushing off Adam directs his response to his sister. Sublime's brother may be a divine being and from the way he was acting one of those that believed that he was smarter than everyone else... even his own kin. Adam did not fault that... what Adam did fault was he was behaving and treating others like it. Arte may not have known it but by the way he spoke to his sister, clearly showed his character to him... not his kind of company. Adam never liked are those that acted and treated others like they were better because they believe that they "knew" better... and Adam had not seen a case where that was not dangerous in and of itself. "You were right... your brother has definitely got a serious corncob up his a-hole... if you ask me he could stand to gain from your advice and lighten up... eternity is a long time to be a dick." The end times had definitely come. Adam had said that Sublime had given sound advice twice now. Twice.

[dalarangreen]

Brood didn't understand much of the story that the Rudaa spoke, but the emotion and vulnerability of the tale were palpable. It was clear to Brood that Mrith had chosen to share something personal in response to her own strange story from the past.

Brood let the momentary silence pass over the pair, staring into the embers of the campfire. In some sense, Brood had always been at war with the fiends. How could life be any different? But Mrith's "prologue" touched some part of her brain that she hadn't visited in a while. Was it a wistfulness for a freedom from duty? That wasn't quite right, but it captured some part of it. Mrith clearly had chosen a path not to avoid her duty from now on. Yet her tones held a certain melancholy...

"Those who are strong are the ones who choose to protect others," Brood responded to Mrith's last comment, after a long pause, "I do it not for duty, but because it is the path I have chosen to walk. To change the destiny of those whose destiny has had them shackled. For whom such a thing as choice and freedom are only figments of their imagination."

Brood looked closely at Mrith, assessing her, "Whatever hesitation has plagued you has been left far behind you. You have the eyes of a warrior."

[Blue]

She considered her for a moment, wondering. She seemed about to say something for an instant, then stopped.
After Brood's praised her, her smile broadened with amusement quickly tried to hide by changing calming her expression. She did not want to give the impression that she was taking her lightly or that there was anything to be embarrassed about, and so she did not pause to speak her mind, suspecting that she would have noticed.

"I must explain. I chose to abandon such freedom for the sake of duty. And my duty is not to do battle... mine is a most tedious destiny that can at times feel like being shackled. You look at the sky and wonder how far you would be if you didn't have to stay to care for those that need you to tell them what needs doing. But that is my duty to my kin and people. Fighting this here war is another form of duty I am using to... momentarily free myself of other duties. Duty to the world, you could say, though perhaps with a pinch of self-gratification. And the world should come first, all should agree, yes? Better still, officially I do not fight, I am but a diplomat."

The amusement returned to her face. Quite satisfied with herself, though with a bit of sadness in her eyes.
"I am not a warrior, Brood. Until quite recently I had never really fought for my life or for another's, and even then it felt pretty one-sided. If anything, you could say that I am a hunter. But not an hesitant one, granted."

Thinking back on why she had come to speak with her to begin with, she changed the subject.
"Were you hoping for tales about Wainraith? I have precious few that can be told and even then almost all are from Nevh's perspective."

[Makenshi]

 

Tinker looks a little startled to be addressed out of the blue. "I'm your who now?" He glances from Nallaul to Bane. "Oh, right, the thing with the rapey guy down below."

It's Bane's turn to look confused now. "What?"

"Yeah, his head's over there somewhere." He gestures to where Sublime and the three heads are. "Granted, I'd have killed him anyway, since he was a d!ck of colossal magnitude well before then." he looks back to Nallau. "Surprised that you're here with me when you could be making kissy-face with my sister to be honest. Not that I'm complaining of course, to be honest it's more than a little creepy as far as I'm concerned."

 

Sublime laughs. "True enough. He's far too concerned about magic this and OOC - I like to imagine her doing a Robin Williams impression herephenomenal cosmic power that. How he enjoys that sort of thing is beyond me. If I wasn't convinced that he was asexual then I'd suspect he sleeps with magical tomes and treatises."

 

There is a momentary hush, followed by a hollering cheer, radiating out from the Children around what was once an inn. Even a quick glance makes it quickly evident why as the Shadow that Walks, also known as Coiya or the Sword in the Dark, exits the building along with a large group of other Children, all of whom were known by reputation at least among the other Children and i.e. everyone except Adameven among the investigators.

Breaker, Keeper of the Firstborn, was a Shadowkin - pitch black skin, stark white hair tied into a thin tail at the nape of his neck but otherwise cut short and piecing yellow eyes. It was impossible to give his youthful face a region and even the age was suspect for any Shadowkin, let alone one living on the Plane of Shadows. He was considerably shorter than not only Coiya but shorter than most of the other Keepers too. He had a matt black sword at his hip, which had a tendency to blend in with his armour.

Rising, Keeper of the Waking Dream, was tall, dark-haired and pale-skinned, with dull brown eyes and a distinctly Shalian/Sharakan look, rather than the mixing pot of most multi-generational Children. He was otherwise one of the more unassuming of the Keepers, as well as the youngest of them (but still have two hundred years old). Unlike most of the others, he had a pair of daggers attached to his belt rather than a single weapon.

Dancer, Keeper of the Black Bones, looked like a cheery clean-shaven middle-aged man with a mop of brown hair and brown eyes. Of course, this was an appearance worn for the benefit of others, given that he was not only one of the original Keepers but a Lich and necromancer of considerable skill and power. Unlike most Children, he didn't wear armour, but a patch-work black/grey robe with arcane symbols stitching it together. Like most non-fighters among the Children his 'sword' was a dagger, hanging openly at his belt.

Mercy, Keeper of the Last Breath, had a somewhat...off quality to her. She looked young, with long dark hair, yet there was something about her red eyes that made her look much, much older. While many if not most Children were impossible for Freeborn to assign an ethnicity to, Mercy was the same to other Children, even the other Keepers. The pale skin and red eyes were the first clue as to why: Mercy was a vampire, but not just any old vampire, she was quite possibly the oldest still living vampire in the entire cosmos as far as the Children knew and supposedly one of the first ones ever created.

Wit, Keeper of the Old Blood, was of middling age and height, with dirty blond hair, green eyes and something between heavy stubble and a short beard. Like Dancer, he wore patch-work robes, albeit in mostly dark earthy colours, and had a dagger at his hip rather than a sword. The two of them were also similarly cheery and known to get on very well and even had similar magic (Wit being a conjurer/summoner).

Strider, Keeper of the True Dawn, was a middle-aged woman with short reddish hair and blue eyes, with a plethora of tools, trinkets and magic items dangling from the overcoat she wore over her armour. At first glance, she didn't appear to be carrying a weapon on her, but given what little even the Freeborn knew about about the Children, it seemed unlikely that she didn't have one on her somewhere.

Ruin, Keeper of the Wild Soul, looked to be a woman in her prime, with dirty blond hair and yellow eyes with slight bags under them, making her appear tired. Despite this, she had a very serene and controlled air about her. Her long hair was even slicked backwards, presumably with some kind of wax, and both her clothing and armour was similarly pristine. This, coming from a Lycanthrope in particular, was a little jarring. She had a dagger at her hip, despite otherwise looking more like a fighter than a mage.

Future, Keeper of the Young Heart, was a young Tiefling woman with dark curly hair, dark skin and brown eyes. More importantly she was visibly pregnant, with a dagger at her hip and wrapped in a cloak of dark furs. The only real sign of her Tiefling nature were a pair of small horns just above her temples.

Coiya himself was in his usual guise - that of a humanoid shadow with pointed 'ears' that appeared completely featureless except for its grey eyes.

With some parting words between them, the group soon split up. Coiya and Future head towards the the tent with the young children in, where Vulcar, Celes and Cypher were already. Dancer heads over to check out the heads near Sublime and Adam. Breaker and Strider head towards another nearby building, quickly disappearing within. Mercy and Ruin head towards the central bonfire, talking among themselves. Wit makes his way towards Tinker, Bane and now, Nallaul too. Finally, Rising approaches a gathering of children, amongst whom L'arabiel seems to have finally made her own appearance. Perhaps surprisingly for a famous paladin, she doesn't appear to be wearing any form of armour or carrying a weapon, however her wings and general stature were enough to give her away to everyone except for the two Children, who will need to make a DC 25 Knowledge Religion check to identify herthose who knew of her.

 

Who and Where? Brood: Taking with Mrith, by the central bonfire. Mrith: Talking with Brood, by the central bonfire. Adam: Talking with Sublime. Nallaul: Talking with Bane and Tinker. King Vulcar of Halva, Vulcar's fiancéePrincess Celes of Shali, Cypher is the eldest of the Sword's three Children but also the least seen. This is because she is a Face in the Dark (see classes thread), meaning she has spent most of her time infiltrating Fiendish churches and cults. In her case, she infiltrated the Church of Deimos in Sharak and even spent a time as King Kaeyin's religious advisor. At some point during this she become pregnant with and bore a twin daughter and son of Kaeyin (although neither he nor anyone else was aware of them) who have been raised by the Children in the Dark when she is not around. As a Face in the Dark she is highly skilled at divine magic, stealth and subterfuge. Being a Godling she is also among the most powerful of mortals although not quite a full-fledged God.Cypher of the Firstborn In'ira and her twin toddlers, Ismael and Miya: Inside one of the tents, where the babies/toddlers/younger children mostly seem to be. Most often shortened simply to Bane, he is the middle-child of the three but also the tallest and bears a striking resemblance to his grandfather, Vulcar Halva I, the man who founded Halva and the First Halvan Empire. Bane's Gift is for understanding magic items, which are somewhat of a speciality of his and generally what he spends most of his time doing outside of freeing slaves, striking out against the Fiends or otherwise performing his duties. He is an Eye in the Dark (see the classes thread), meaning he is skilled at stealth and arcane magic. Being a Godling he is also among the most powerful of mortals although not quite a full-fledged God.Balor-Bane of the Firstborn In'ira: Talking with Tinker and Nallaul. Min is the youngest, most reckless and most immature of the three, having only passed her Swordright in the past few years. Unlike her siblings, she has embraced her psionic heritage and uses it in combination with the sublime way, having had a lot of training in both from various other Children. Min is a powerful Wilder and a highly skilled Swordsage, as well as having learnt how to further manipulate psionics by being an Elocator. Being a Godling she is also among the most powerful of mortals although not quite a full-fledged God.Min of the Firstborn In'ira and her sword-brothers, Toy and Geld: Mingling with other Children. One of the original investigators and without doubt the most high profile of them even before the investigations were revealed to the world at large during Chapter Five. He has made a name for himself for shouting at or otherwise picking fights with powerful and/or influential people, including a few Gods, most often by trying to call them out on their behaviour. As well as having fostered a close working relationship (if not friendship) with the King and his soon-to-be Queen, Morgan is also a childhood friend of Kala (one of the newest Gods in Aheka), a former pupil of Esiard Emlyn and, as has been revealed recently, not only currently in a relationship with Minloth Zilira but also responsible for freeing her from the binding that had been placed on her to serve the Halvan royal family for almost a thousand years. Despite this recent prestige he still maintains a network of friends and allies from all walks of life throughout Halva.Archmage Morgan Wainwraith, Kala was a deaf-mute Seer long thought to be the reincarnation of Airis, partly because she was innately talented at using divine magic with little to no training from a startlingly young age. It has recently emerged that she is in fact the daughter of Airis and Malvain, broken free by Malvain and entrusted into the care of her half-brother Malhas (see Other) who stunted her natural gift in order to better hide her. Her true power was unlocked by Fisali and she has since steadily grew in strength and power, with her political influence, especially to the worshippers of her parents, likewise growing and growing. Since becoming a Demi-Goddess, Kala has displayed powerful divine magic, with a particular knack for using glpyh and symbol spells as well as healing magic. She has even proven capable of resurrecting the dead, however it appears to tax her in some way.Kala, Malhas is a son of Malvain born around a century ago or more (exactly when is unknown), although he has never been very widely known, even among his father's own followers. His most notable act was masquerading as his father in order to provoke an alliance of Deities (good and evil) to fight and slay Malvain. Malhas has recently claimed he did so because Malvain was planning some sort of world-spanning war which, given the separate machinations of Zera to do likewise, could very well have been a catastrophe. Malhas has recently emerged as being the one responsible for hiding Kala's true power, as well as keeping an eye on her by masquerading as a worshipper of Airis by the name of Kahlas. He has been helping her out since, although the two do not always see eye to eye. Malhas is a highly skilled and varied user of both arcane and divine magic although he full abilities and limits have never really been tested.Malhas and a Drow Demi-Goddess who was thought dead. Most notably, she is both the ultimate female ancestor of the Halvan dynasty/had been bound to serve them into recently by powerful magic and the mother of Coiya Halva, the second ever King of Halva and better known now as the Sword in the DarkMinloth Zilira: Yet to arrive, but expected to arrive together. Didina Reid is a beautiful young Tiefling woman, most notable because of her large horns which she habitual decorates with jewellery. Although she was born to the former High Council member (but still influential Council member) Alleron Lyrason her father not only disinherited her due to her obvious Tiefling nature - claiming that she was not his daughter - but has repeatedly hired people to try and kill or otherwise deal with her. Didina has survived against these attacks in part due to having forged her own network of allies/friends and in part through her natural psionic talents. Eventually, this gained the King's attention and he not only named her a Lady but also took lands and wealth from her father in recompense, all in order to recruit the Mindbender and Thrallherd to aid in investigating the attempt on his life. Despite being a powerful Telepath, Didina dislikes fighting which has only intensified recently with the death (and revival) of her closest friend, Misa Serokai (see below). She has stressed that she was hired to investigate, not to fight, so it unclear how much she intends to continue to help with current events, especially with their original task having been completed once they confirmed it was Zera behind the assassination attempt. As a Telepath, Mindbender and Thrallherd Didina is highly skilled at using Telepathy powers and mind-effecting powers in general. Didina revealed that she had contacts/friends in the Church of Inanna much earlier in the story, however it has recently emerged that not only did she have some sort of contact with the Cult of Acedia but had some form of interaction with Acedia herself that she avoided talking about. It is because of this that she did not join the rest of the party in confronting Acedia and later getting involved in the battle between several Archgates and several of the Unknown Gods.Lady Didina Reid and Misa Serokai is a generally scruffy-looking young Arian woman, however as the daughter of the long-serving Arian ambassador to Halva she was born and raised in Halva. She was brought into the investigation in part because of her close friendship with Didina Reid but also because of her own minor seer abilities. Namely, that having been born blind she has greatly refined the Serokai's natural precognition to allow her to experience the world through what she describes as some form of 'touchsight', more feeling it than seeing it, as well as sometimes getting vague premonitions of danger. This form of 'sight' even allowed her to recognise the incredibly powerful mage known as Shade, who ordinarily can not be recognised unless he wants to be due to some sort of magical amnesia effect that he constantly emits. Misa was not only killed, but reduced to dust during the most recent Fiendish incursion upon Aheka however the newly ascended Demi-Goddess Kala was able to not only restore her but cure her blindness in the process - something that Misa has refused in the past as her people believe it is a distraction from the true sight she has mastered and fears her abilities will fade as a result. She stayed behind with Didina when the party left to confront Acedia and her forces.Lady Misa Serokai: Yet to arrive but expected to do so together. Archgates Mirik Orn, Selene Jual, Sei'Theofan Rudaa, Shara Segali, Sei'Raeth Segali, an Alainn: Mingling amongst the Children. Anorde and Celi: Yet to arrive (will arrive with Ashen Black). A (literally) ethereal looking woman with blonde hair, one green eye and one blue eye that appears to float/fly about, passing through most physical objects and attacks (which is likely where the name comes from). Has a very unusual appearance (pale skin, wings, clothing that appears to have melded into her skin). Like her siblings and unlike all the other Unknown Gods, she has outright admitted to/claimed to be a daughter of Airis and Zera, which has earned suspicion from many (most importantly Jester of the Demon's Moon). Other than her incorporeality she has mostly displayed powerful divine magic, potentially even reviving the recently slain (Revivify) and using various high-level healing/restoration spells to aid others.Airiel the Unbound: In one of the larger buildings, helping tend to injured Children rather than joining the festivities (so far anyway). The most striking of the 'Un' siblings because of his uncanny resemblance to his father, Zera, save for the blond hair and blue-green eyes of his mother (Airis). Fortunately for him, Zera's face isn't widely known outside of the Sei and high-ranking military types. Fought with and killed Gula by taking an immense beating and then somehow 'transferring' his injuries onto Gula once Gula tried to use a God-killing poison on him. As Gula was dying Tinker (see below) used an unknown artifact to steal and store his divinity. He has displayed powerful psionics, in particular having repeatedly absorbed injuries from those around him to heal them and transferring both these and his own injuries onto Fiends. Against both Gula and Jester (see the linked to Chapter) he has displayed not only an incredibly resilience (i.e. taking lots of damage) but an incredible ability to rapidly heal himself when he chooses not to transfer his injuries. He has also displayed another former of magic using an unknown tongue, mostly by simply calling out a single word/short phrase, however exactly what it is is unknown.Airin the Undying: Using his psionics (in particular telekinesis) to help the last of the rebuilding/fixing going on. Like her sister, Airza's appearance is highly unusual as she not only has stone-like and bronze-coloured (actually bronze, not just tanned) skin with patches of incandescent scales on it but also pitch-black cracks running all across her body forming strange symbols all over her body. Her having one blue eye and one green eye doesn't register nearly as much as it normally would as result. She was mostly active in the Fiendish Planes before helping to defend her brother from Jester (see the end of the current Chapter). Unlike her more magical siblings, Airza has shown simple but brutally effective overwhelming force when she has fought, mostly using her fists and/or an oversized bastard sword, as well as an ability to not only rapidly heal herself but simply shrug off most forms of damage in the first place. In the unlikely event that a Binder meets her, they may recognise that her appearance and certain other abilities are a result of Binding magic.Airza, the Unbroken: Mingling with the Children. At first glance, Arte doesn't look very remarkable, and unlike his sister, Sublime, has shown a tendency to hang back and strike from afar rather than get into the thick of fighting. He also tended to kill almost exclusively with practical, quick bouts of magic, rather than toying and humiliating his opponents as his sister did. Most notably, the two of them killed Superbia, with Arte countering any of her attempts at magic and even seemingly to re-direct her attempts to teleport away while Sublime killed her in (otherwise) single combat. Has displayed a large variety of both arcane and divine magic, even sometimes combining the two, but has mostly worked with his sister, Sublime to compliment her focus on fighting. Like her, he hasn't really shown much in the way of 'support', with even his divine magic being used for almost exclusively offensive purposes.Arte: Gone to look for Rapture or 'one of the triplets'. Boss' appearance is by far the most intimidating of the Unknown Gods. Not only does he bear an uncanny resemblance to Deimos (same hair colour/general build, but different eyes and a skull mask that covers the top of his face rather than the bottom of it) but his entire body is covered in writhing, living spiked chains that he not only fights with but uses to move around on. He has almost exclusively shown up in Phare in the recent fighting, specifically their capitol Feid, helping to fight the Fiends, albeit in an incredibly brutal fashion and usually while cheerily singing inappropriate songs in the process. For those who who have been/were recently victims of particularly nasty people (especially those using a position of power to avoid paying for their crimes) he may have revealed himself as much as a few years before the current events, coming out of no-where to either kill the person in question or confer some sort of compulsion-laden mark on them to force them to 'atone' (with the compulsion often being rather sadistic in nature). All such targets of his have been nasty pieces of work and he tends to arrive and leave in an abrupt fashion. Apart from using the spiked chains wrapped around his entire body like combat tentacles and brutally ripping things into pieces he has also shown a smattering of sorcerous magic (albeit, not very high level), some powerful invocations and a knack for striking at weak points.Boss: Using his chains to help with the building/repair work. Lady is the most visible (literally) of the Unknown Gods, mostly because her appearances tend to be heralded by her exuding waves of blinding light from her body. What makes her obvious affinity for light more unusual is that she is a dusky/grey skinned Drowtouched, wearing mostly white with some grey and black. She first emerged as Deimos and the Fiends attacked the Drow underground but subsequently moved across Aheka turning up in various places to help out. Each time usually using not only her light powers but mass telepathy to announce her presence, threaten the fiends or rally the people. Along with her (seemingly innate) light-based powers, she has also displayed powerful offensive psionics and sorcery, as well as occasionally fighting with a sword.Lady/Sulion: Using her psionics/magic (mostly telekinesis) to help the rebuilding/repair work. A tall grey-skinned Drow-touched man wearing goggles, a tattered wide-brimmed hat and a long overcoat filled with various bits and pieces. He has mostly only shown up in order to use some sort of device to strip Gula, Ira and Superbia of their divinity before they were killed, however he has fought a little as well. Tinker has displayed skill with a pistol, the use of various magical items (most notably the one that appears to drain divinity) and the occasional use of high level arcane magic.Tinker: Talking with Bane and Nallaul. Faces, as he has generally introduced himself recently, is an incredibly skilled shapeshifter that has only recently been revealed as being 'Mask' (see People of Aheka). His 'default'/diplomatic form is a young man with dark hair wearing a mask with a simplistic stylised grinning face on it. Although he joins the other Unknown Gods in confronting Jester in the most recent Chapter his other antics are otherwise unknown. It seems likely he has masqueraded as others to either use the chaos to spy or sneak up people. Even his 'Mask' persona seems to be just another persona, as he acts much more reserved and unassuming in his 'grinning face' guise. Like the other self-confessed Children in the Dark among the Unknown Gods he is not only unknown to them but the Family he claims to belong to (the Harlequins) is similarly completely unknown. Other than his shapeshifting he hasn't really displayed any real skills as Many Faces except for being very good at pretending to be someone else, however as Mask his using a variety of skills/magic led people to believe he is a Chameleon (i.e. capable of using a wide variety of abilities/magic depending on the situation). Given the revelation of his true power this may have been an inaccurate assumption.Many Faces: ??? Rapture is an unusually tall elf-touched woman (6ft+) wearing the traditional mismatched armour of the Children in the Dark who carries a halberd with magical runes and markings carved into it like a staff would have. Like the other self-confessed Children in the Dark among the Unknown Gods she is not only unknown to them but the Family she claims to belong to (the Dervishes) is similarly completely unknown. She has displayed not only great skill with using her halberd in battle, but also appears to use it as a focus/aid to both high-level offensive arcane and divine magic.Rapture: Mingling with the Children. After the Lady in the Light, Shadow has been the most noticeable/seen of the Unknown Gods, mostly as a result of engaging in a very public fight with Invidia in Feid. That she has been fighting by using some sort of shapeshifting 'shadow' that surrounds her and tends to take on large monstrous forms with great fluidity certainly helped make her noticeable. She also revealed herself to the Children before the current events, specifically Teaches Humility (a former PC who you can find in the Lords and Ladies thread). Like the other self-confessed Children in the Dark among the Unknown Gods she is not only unknown to them but the Family she claims to belong to (the Avengers) is similarly completely unknown. She has mostly relied on immense physical prowess to fight, combined with the fluid shapeshifting, reach and natural attacks of her 'shadow beast armour/suit thing', but using the occasional bit of arcane magic (usually to banish Fiends from a distance).Shadow: Using her 'shadow form' to help the rebuilding/repair work, mostly with tentacles/brute strength. Except perhaps for Many Faces, Snark is the most unassuming of the Unknown Gods. He wears the typical mis-matched armour of the Children in the Dark and, unsurprisingly predominantly fights with a sword, but if anything he's a little shorter than average and definitely shorter than most of the other Unknown Gods. Most notably, he seems to only speak by quoting sayings, bits of scripture or even parroting what other people say around him (often mockingly). He has generally accompanied Lady, both among the Drow and on the surface, but occasionally split up from her to deal with threats by himself. Like the other self-confessed Children in the Dark among the Unknown Gods he is not only unknown to them but the Family he claims to belong to (the Silencers) is similarly completely unknown. He has shown himself to not only be a skilled swordsman but a practitioner of the Sublime Way, including some supernatural uses of it (mostly Devoted Spirit manoeuvrers/stances). He has also displayed minor magical abilities, great skill at stealth and a keen eye for weak spots.Snark: Mingling with the Children. Sublime is by far the most talkative of the Unknown Gods, although this mostly takes the form of boasting, mocking and generally being an annoyance in any way she can while fighting. True to her boasting, she is a strikingly beautful woman with long dark hair, pale skin and clothing that while cut to allow her freedom of movement is obviously ornate, high quality and designed to also show off her physique. Although she predominantly fights with a sword it has the ability to rapidly change shape to suit how/who she is fighting, mostly taking the form of various melee weapons but sometimes pairs of them or even a metallic bow that creates its own entirely metallic arrows to fire. She most notably killed Superbia in (mostly) single combat (her brother countered Superbia's magic and attempts to flee, otherwise not engaging her) but also swathes of other demons. Even against Superbia Sublime maintained her cocky arrogance, constantly belittling and mocking the Goddess as they fought and claiming that she was disappointed with how weak Superbia was before beheading her and using her decapitated head as a make-shift flail against her own forces. She appears to fight for the thrill of fighting and/or to prove herself superior as far as has been observed. She has almost exclusively fought physically, bar some supernatural uses of the Sublime Way, and mostly at melee, but of particular note is not only her use of archery but that she somehow appears to be able to use the Sublime Way with it. Her skill, particularly with the Sublime Way, is quite frankly equal parts terrifying, awe-inspiring and unequalled as far as most people will have ever seen, making her boast of being 'Perfection Personified' more understandable (but still very arrogant).Sublime: Talking with Adam near the heads of the slain Sins (which are on poles nearby) and joining in with nearby celebrations. The oldest of the Hybrids, having been created when a Succubus stabbed the Paladin of Trinity, Nero Ardin, sixteen years ago without knowing the true nature of the dagger. He appears as a dark-haired, pale-skinned and plainly dressed Shalian man, making him much more unassuming in appearance compared to the two other Hybrids. Like with all of the Hybrids, those who meet his gaze feel like it almost pulls them in, with their pupils appearing like starry voids. Nehrahk has spent the past sixteen years secretly converting his own army of Fiends (and Fiend-blooded creatures) from the various Fiendish planes, using his influence over Fiends to try and turn them into a force for good. All of these Fiends have his mark (a series of smaller and smaller equilateral triangles within one another at different angles) somewhere obvious on their body (usually the forehead). He has been operating out of his own demi-plane attached to the Plane of Shadows and is known to a few in the Children of the Dark, but was otherwise unknown until now. Although obviously attempting to be a force for good Nehrahk has made it clear that his intention is to protect Aheka from Fiends - not to get involved in internal Ahekan affairs - so he is not to be counted on to fight Zera. He has displayed the ability to both make and 'unmake' matter on a variety of scales, from creating clothes to entire demi-planes and not just disintegrating objects/beings but, according to his own description, unravelling their very presence in reality (making it impossible to restore/revive them).Nehrahk: Unknown if he will appear. The newest of the Hybrids but has quickly become the most well known as he moved across Aheka during the recent troubles slaying swathes of Fiends with little effort while also holding off/repelling Fiendish Deities as well. He has auburn hair, tanned skin and golden eyes that resemble rolling, whirling liquid fire. Like with all of the Hybrids, those who meet his gaze feel like it almost pulls them in, with their pupils appearing like starry voids. He was created when Lekan Alyyryk of the Kashyyn, a Tyyrykan who had been helping the PCs to investigate the assassination and then Zera in general, elected to sacrifice himself in part because of a prior meeting with the Oracle having convinced him that doing so was for the benefit of Aheka as a whole, even if - by his own personal beliefs - it would not only destroy his soul but prevent the eventual reincarnation that his people believe in. Lekan came to the PCs attentions because his identical brother was used to try and assassinate the King - by Zera as it eventually turned out - however it emerged that it was due to Zera's mental manipulations. It was also discovered that the Blue Woman was in fact originally Lekan's sister - with the three of them being triplets - and is being controlled/manipulated by Zera. His brother and sister had both been trying to infiltrate Zera's operations before they were discovered and Zera twisted them to his own ends. Still being 'newborn', the full extent of Lekkar's powers are unknown, however he retains Lekan Alyyryk's psionic abilities (albeit, greatly amplified) as well as possessing an affinity for innate fire magic. In particular, he appears to use it to move around, either appearing in a blaze of fire from out of no-where or sometimes literally exploding from out of Fiends during the recent troubles. Just as Nehrahk has an affinity for manipulating Fiends and the Blue Woman has an affinity for Trolls, Lekkar's influence seems to revolve around Seers and, more broadly, humans to a degree as he has shown some sort of empathic sense towards humanoids as a whole - such as being able to tell that the Drow were being enslaved and slaughtered after looking at a single Drow.Lekkar Alyyryk: Unknown if he will appear. Coiya/the Sword in the Dark: With the babies/toddlers, along with Vulcar, Celes, Cypher and Future. Dancer, Keeper of the Blackbone: Speaking with the Children near Sublime and Adam/checking out the heads of the slain Gods. Breaker, Keeper of the Firstborn: Disappeared into another building with Strider. Mercy, Keeper of the Last-Breath: Speaking with Ruin on the other side of the central bonfire to Mrith and Brood. Wit, Keeper of the Oldblood: Approaching Nallaul, Tinker and Bane. Strider, Keeper of the True-Dawn: Disappeared into another building with Breaker Ruin, Keeper of the Wildsoul: Speaking with Mercy on the other side of the central bonfire to Mrith and Brood. Future, Keeper of the Young-Blades: With the babies/toddlers, along with Vulcar, Celes, Cypher and Coiya. Rising, Keeper of the Waking Dream: Speaking with L'arabiel. L'arabiel: Speaking with Rising. Name: Location. If there's anyone else from the People thread (or for the vets, that you've met before) that you're keeping an eye on/want to meet then let me know and I'll add them here if they're expected to attend and update when they arrive.

~MTWC

[Acathala]

"I'll be honest. Yours is the first face I recognised. Plus I'm sure I heard the words magic items. Wizard's curiosity. Also looking to expand my social circle."
On Ira he shrugged. "I did try to buff you all for hat particular fight. Alas your spell resistance protected you all except Lady."
On Lady/Sulion he says "Oh I intend on seeking her out later. I am given to understand she's busy just now."
Nallaul realises he's being rude and speaks to Bane. "Hello. I am Nallaul. Forgive my rudeness. Who might you be? Oh wait, you were the one on the dragon."

[Alphaeus]

Silverforge and Pe'er A single Silverforge is Fey'ri, so he certainly isn't human. With Alter Self at will as a racial ability, however, and being a Face in the Dark, it's his habit to take whatever form he pleaseshuman man wanders into the group. Tendrils of wavy hair such a pale blonde as to be essentially wide curl around his face, poking out from underneath a finely crafted hat perched at a rakish angle atop his head. His clothes are elegant to the point of luxury, much in the style of a reputable nobleman. His build is slender, but not without muscle. His face is noble, but not unlike many other young noblemen of similar bearing and nature. A silvery gray piece of slender bone is cradled loosely in the fingers of one hand, rolled back and forth as a some kind of little bauble or fidget. He moves with the casual but firm gait of a someone who is used to luxury but attended military school for some brief time. His Pe'er, his Shadow Elemental companion. Incorporeal, and in the long habit of perfectly imitating Silver's shadow.shadow trails behind him, dancing back and forth in the light of flickering fires. In general, he is the type who draws attention when he approaches -- largely due to his unusual but rather fashionably and flashy Halvan haute couture -- but at the same time is too generic to be remembered for long when he passes. He glances to the side complementing a nearby Child on the way she has styled her hair as a casual off-handed gesture, his voice a measured and smooth lilt betraying a distinct Halvan accent before continuing towards the central bonfire. In his passage, he hesitates, glancing around and seeming to speak under his breath to himself. Spotting Balor-Bane, whom he seems to recognize, he approaches the young Child. Upon reaching him, he nods to the other members of the group, a kind of half-bow of the head, before Bane, being a Godling, would likely recognize Silverforge by the silvery-grey bone he's playing with in his hand -- his spectral dagger, or the hilt of it at least. Silver often uses this as a fidget, which allows him to simultaneously keep it in his hand, in plain view, and as a sign to those who would recognize a signature personal possession. Specializing in magical items, Bane would be well familiar with the unusual magic dagger used by his sister's tutor and friend.addressing Bane. "Pardon my interruption, but would you happen to know where Cypher and her twins may be found? I was hoping to pay them a visit. It has been too long since I last encountered them."

OOC Well, glad to finally get into this! Hope to have fun with everyone.

[Makenshi]

Nallaul/Silverforge Bane dips his head in return. "Balor-Bane of the Firstborn In'ira, though feel free to just call me Bane." With that little tid-bit, its now easy to identify the source of the many teeth on the man's necklace - they were all fangs from a Balor. "Mmmm. You were the...spider mage, right? Arachnomancer is it called?" He gestures to Tinker. "At first, I was trying my luck about that device he used-" "The De-Deifier." Bane ignores the interruption. "-but that didn't go far. Mostly we've just been comparing notes on effective components." Tinker grins behind the goggles. "I'm trying to figure out what would be the best way to harness natural lightning strikes for practical purposes, but the problem is that their force is so great that they'll break or crack most focussing components and the foci best suited to control such a wild flow of energy are generally quite delicate. I did think that perhaps diamonds would work, but then I realised that they would have too much of a scattering effect on the energy, rather than a directing or focussing effect." Before Tinker can continue his ramblings a newcomer approaches, addressing Bane by name despite not looking at all like a typical Child, as Nallaul had seen before at least. "Pardon my interruption, but would you happen to know where Cypher and her twins may be found? I was hoping to pay them a visit. It has been too long since I last encountered them." Bane looks a bit taken aback by the man at first, but after glancing down at the item he's fiddling with in his hand, recognition seems to dawn. "Ah, I'd wondered if you'd show your...well, a face." He smiles. "Cypher and the twins are in the babes' tent-" He gestures in its direction. "-along with our father, Future, the King of Halva and his...hmmm, I forget the term, but it means they intend to become Bonded I think." "Fiancé." Tinker provides offhandedly, his own attention mostly drawn to the item in the man's hand. "That sounds about right." He looks back to the man. "Anyway, the female twinMiya will no doubt be more than pleased to chase Pe'er around if you let her. Just be careful, take your eye off her for a moment and she has a habit of disappearing." He lets out a guffaw. "At this rate she'll make a very good Hand in the Dark sooner than we think."

~MTWC

[Alphaeus]

Silverforge Silver casts a glance of his shoulder in the direction Bane indicates, laughing at his comments about Miya. "Haha, darling little thing. Thank goodness Pe'er is good at keeping track of things. If she doesn't grow out of this stage I've been thinking of trying to teach her how to get a similar companion herself. Depends on her inclinations once she get's older." Turning to the gregarious goggled gadgeteer, he cocked his head thoughtfully for a split second before speaking. "I overheard your conversation slightly as I approached. In regards to lightning, try using fulgarite. It's a very hard and unusual stone -- or, rather type of stones since it can vary greatly -- formed when lighting strikes the earth and melts the minerals contained therein, fusing them into a new form of rock. Given the natural qualities of it and source, it just might work." He then shifted his gaze to Nallaul, smiling briefly. "You are an Arachnomancer, Bane said. Logical given your heritage, of course, but an interesting area of specialization nonetheless. In my experience monstrous spiders and the like can be quite helpful beings if you take the time to understand them." A brief pause followed, before he placed a hand of his chest. "Forgive me, though, for I presumed upon my familiarity with Bane and neglected an introduction. I am Master Tavrin Wolvera. Freelance Advisor and Professional Assistant for politics, business, military, and generally any matter worth handling at all."

[Acathala]

OoC Taking a 10 for a 37 on Knowledge Arcana and spell craft.

[Makenshi]

[Acathala]

"Yes, arachnomancer is the correct term. Bane is a good name. Intimidating with brevity."
When the newcomer arrives, Nallaul gives him a brief nod and proceeds to correct him. "Actually most monstrous spiders are mindless. Very few varieties have any sort of intelligence. The phase spider for example. My favourite spider, and it can phase. Do not get me wrong, I find spiders to be fascinating creatures, I just do not revere them. Studying them took away their mystique. A view which I had ever expressed in the Underdark, would have led to my organs being extracted."
On Tinker's problem, Nallaul thinks. He strokes his hair absent mindedly. Eventually he speaks. "Use both Diamonds and fulgarite. If you divert the initial flow into multiple vessels such as fulgarite, your delicate components are better able to withstand the lightning. Using multiple paths is best I think."

[dalarangreen]

Originally Posted by Blue

She considered her for a moment, wondering. She seemed about to say something for an instant, then stopped.
After Brood's praised her, her smile broadened with amusement quickly tried to hide by changing calming her expression. She did not want to give the impression that she was taking her lightly or that there was anything to be embarrassed about, and so she did not pause to speak her mind, suspecting that she would have noticed.

"I must explain. I chose to abandon such freedom for the sake of duty. And my duty is not to do battle... mine is a most tedious destiny that can at times feel like being shackled. You look at the sky and wonder how far you would be if you didn't have to stay to care for those that need you to tell them what needs doing. But that is my duty to my kin and people. Fighting this here war is another form of duty I am using to... momentarily free myself of other duties. Duty to the world, you could say, though perhaps with a pinch of self-gratification. And the world should come first, all should agree, yes? Better still, officially I do not fight, I am but a diplomat."

The amusement returned to her face. Quite satisfied with herself, though with a bit of sadness in her eyes.
"I am not a warrior, Brood. Until quite recently I had never really fought for my life or for another's, and even then it felt pretty one-sided. If anything, you could say that I am a hunter. But not an hesitant one, granted."

Thinking back on why she had come to speak with her to begin with, she changed the subject.
"Were you hoping for tales about Wainraith? I have precious few that can be told and even then almost all are from Nevh's perspective."

"Fighting is not the only way to be a warrior," Brood notes. She doesn't say this aloud, but it is clear to her that despite Mrith's dismissal, the Rudaa possesses the aura of someone who will stand behind her beliefs, and face destiny when it comes her way. Even if Mrith was not always like this, her current experiences made this aura perceptible, at least to Brood. No, Mrith definitely had what it took to be a warrior...

Instead of saying this, Brood merely shrugs her shoulders, her piercing eyes returning to the sky. After the pairs sharing, Brood felt surprisingly comfortable sharing secrets. And if it was true that Mrith was a hunter...

"Well, I suppose I am not entirely interested in Wainraith. I guess I just assumed that since he was the most infamous person on my list of individuals to scope out, that I ought to at least learn more about."

Brood removed The two faces of the coin were of a man and a women, with both always grinning, however the exact face changed whenever you weren't looking at it or the coin was turned over and it never repeated the same face twicea coin from her pockets, flicking it in the air towards Mrith.

"I've been asked to return this coin to its owner. The Sword in the Dark mentioned that..."

The rest of Brood's sentence was momentarily drowned out by the roaring crowd. And as is often the way with conversations, just as she spoke his name, the Shadow that Walks appeared from the inn nearby with all of the Keepers. Brood silently and humbly bows her head, acknowledging the presence of their great leaders amongst them.

[Blue]

Her attention shifted to the Sword in the Dark as well when Brood's own did.
She would nod acknowledgingly to him if he looked in her general direction, but otherwise wouldn't do much more than smile throughout the procession.

Then looking back to Brood, on whose conversation her thoughts hadn't really left despite the brief interruption.
Pointing at the coin without moving her arm.

"Interesting bauble, this. Do you have the name of the owner?"

Giving it another, sharper look. She squinted while rubbing mouth sideways pensively. Then pointed at it again with two fingers of the same hand.

"May I?"

ooc : Mrith would try assert the nature of the coin and discern its properties and the way it works. And also try to activate it with a Use Magic Item if allowed to handle the object. Provided she doesn't get a bad impression from it first.

- - - -

When her discussion with Brood would end, she would join L'arabiel in whichever discussion she would be having then.
"So good to see you again! For you there must much to celebrate, I must imagine!"
She'd poise herself leaning slightly forward, quickly trying to assess in her demeanor whether any physical contact was expected or hoped for in greeting, and which kind if any.

"I spoke with some of these godlings. They seem to come from this world, but not quite. As if a different reality such as those seen by the Oracle. What do you make of them?"
She would probably have a similar conversation with Wainraith, but this was only meant to be an introduction topic with her. She had other things to talk about in mind.

[Makenshi]

[Blue]

Looking at it further, she paused again.
"The archmage Wainraith has a similar coin. He brought it back from the world beyond death. A tale in its own right."

Her smile broadened slightly further.
"Hopefully your coin's owner isn't there or bringing it back might be unpleasant. Could be that Val'erin is handing them out to those that get close enough. And if that is so, why? A blessing? A means to spy into this world, or even return? Perhaps even a game used to set up a stage."

Whatever the case, considering who seemed to be the one making them, or at least who those coins represented, it was bound to be interesting.

"You might want to show it to Wainraith. See what happens when they are together. I know I'd like to."