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Visitor :  Dice Roller| Game Info| The Cast |
| Mission 1. Posted by Guild Master Renfold. | Group: 0 |
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| Author | Message | Page: 4 3 2 1 [all][bottom] |
"Mror Holds." She tasted the words. Dwarfs lived in the mountains, or so she heard from the stories. Perhaps these mountain-homes were called holds? She contemplated the dwarf. "You may come. We will speak. We are of one pack now." She continued outside. This message was last edited by the player at 14:00, Sat 10 Sept 2022. | |||
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"I come from there. But there are many sects of druids. Many tribes. My tribe is of my people. Shifters. Our traditions are different from the Wardens. We look to the Moons, and those who speak for them. The Wardens look to the Great Druid, who we respect but do not follow. But there is no strife between our sects." Radira stepped outside as they talked. Immediately she looked up to see the sky once more, free from the confines of the building. She took a deep breath. She knew where every moon was, night and day, even if she could not see them. She could feel them, each pulling at her. Whispering in words she could not understand. Feeding her inner beast, the ancient lycan blood, giving her strength. Every shifter drew power from the moons, or so she believed. Her people's bond to them was strong. She tried to imagine life without it, as the other races had to, but could not. She thought it must be an empty existence. She looked down at Magnus. "Where do your people draw strength from?" | |||
When she asked her question, he tilted his head to the side. "Well, complcated question. If you mean as a dwarf, then the answer would be the very stones. Said we were born of Eberron itself, and why we are so close to the underground, the mines, the mountains. If you mean my house?". He rolled up the sleeve of his robe, up to his bicep, showing off a Dragonmark. "I suppose some of us draw power from these. But, as a whole, the wealth and bounty of the stones. Most dearves are natural crafters. We fo love to build with our hands." | |||
They readied to head back to the books for some reading, but stopped to listen to the religious discussion. The enigma of Moonspeaker tradition which seem wholly disconnected from Vvaraak's prophecy, and the first Orc druids, was of course interesting, but there was little hope the shifter was a scholar of such things, perhaps an elder could give some answers. The best tact would be to be polite interested and interesting, until better opportunity for inquiry became available. "Not to put too fine a point on it. We are strength. Dwarven crafted weapons are solid strength multipliers, but we Warforged are martial strength made form. Dwarves live and work the mountains, but we forged for war are stone, wood, metal and dragonshard made life." Despite the monotone, there was enough of a pitch drop in the construct voice at the end to actually sound a bit sad about it. | |||
"A dragonmark? I have heard the tales.." She mused. Then she rose again, contemplating the strange magical connection. "My people do not possess them. But they are somehow tied to the world, of that I am sure, so it is said among my people. But I like your first answer better. Stone, the very solid ground we stand on. That is a thing of great strength, and your people must surely be connected to it for your skill at crafting it and even living so deep within it. Your people share that bond. Is that not a far deeper connection than that offered by the dragonmark within your House?" She then looked sadly up to the Warforged. "Life, as you say, yes. To see your kind is to know you do live in body. But I sense your despair, warforged. Yours is a crafted people. Outside of nature and the intended pattern of things. There is no higher power to call your own, or any purpose but the one you were build for or make for yourself. As the moons call to me, and the earth we trod lends strength to Magnus, you are disconnected from such things, are you not?" | |||
We Warforged are as much a part of Eberron as any other. Your "nature" is an aesthetic idea of how things aught to be, not unlike the church of the Silver Flame who sought to impose their aesthetic values on what was. We were created in the liminal space between strongly held opposing ideas. Holy War, Political War, They call it the last war, not because it was the most recent, but because it is unlikely anyone would survive the next one so there must never be another war. Our most unifying aesthetic is war, war was the intention behind our creation, war was the forge that made us who we are, and yet we must prevent war for the good of all." The monotone of the construct was ever hard to read. The eyes dimmed slightly as if absent in thought they showed no sign of anger or distress, but began walking slowly towards the reading room. | |||
"Theirs is a false faith, stained with the genocide of my people. You think you carry wisdom? Why do my instincts tell me that all you do is parrot that which others have spoken?" | |||
He follows the sound to the location where she argues with the warforged. Expecting the shifter to attack when he makes his presence known,he steps into view with trepidation. His stance is natural, non-threatening, loose, with his hands at his sides, his gaze unfocussed to tale in all around him, his feet shoulder width apart. And, when he speaks, his voice is calm, collected, and serene, almost matching the monotone of the warforged. For all of your bluster about the zealous history of themember od the Church of the Silver Flame, even in regards to those of us who are too young to have been involved in the murder of your people, it seems to me that YOU are the one filled with hate and prejudice. One of my teachers once said, "One must be careful when fighting monsters, that they do not become like the monster they fight." You, my dear, have become like the monster you hate. | |||
"What rubbish. None of your kind have changed into Shifters. But call us monsters you do. Who cares this was in the past? My people are still driven from their ancestral homelands to the far ends of the world to this day. All the things taken from us, the Silver Flame never thought to return. No, they profess their holiness and say 'it is of the past' as if that excuses their crimes. It does not. Blood clings to the Silver Flame, and will until it has made full amends to my people. Until then all who adhere to its wishes share in its sins. You cannot overlook the Purge. It had defined your faith." The Shifter's agitation transferred to Fang, who similarly became restless as she continued. "I know it must be hard for you, boy. You want your patron to be shiny and holy and good. But it isn't. It is a thing of evil and genocide wearing the mask of benevolence. What it has done once it will do again. All it takes is for it to decry a new target as evil, and the Purge begins again. What will it be? Another round against the Shifters and the Lycans? Or the 'monsters' of Droam? Maybe the soulless Warforged? Or now that you have a theocracy, perhaps your neighboring nations?" | |||
That was when the conversation once again turned ugly, as the Warforged was.. insulted? Hard to tell, but of course he had to try comparing the feral girl to the silver flame. Was the warforge trying to get a rise outta her? As the Warforged started down philosophy Magnus rolled his eyes. "Sparky was it? Your logic appears flawed to me. A nest may be of nature, but does not make it natural. Just as these stone streets and buildings. Stone is from nature. Stone is natural. The building is not. So while you might be of nature, your still crafted. Anothers hands made you, or several. You were built, sensless. Inanimate, until whatever the creation forge did to you to animate you. Give you life. And yet, still most still so mechanical. When granted freedom, many regiments remained wgere they were for days. They had to be ordered to leave and disperce. Your right in that you were a tool, a piece of equipment little different from the skeletons and zombies Karrnathi armies used. And you are foolish if you think wars will end." That was when the Flamer showed up speaking how Radira was a monster being as close minded as those she fought against and condemned. Was this pick on the shifter day? He quickly stepped between the two. "Eh, we all ot histories. But insultin each other aint gonna do naught but make this job harder. She obviously hot some ruffed fur when it comes yo the flame. And its gonna be hard enough since we gonna be going through Thrane, luckly its the top part and only the one stop is on our trip is Thaliost. So it should be easy. Lets keep cool heads, and learn to work together. The Guildmaster did say that this might become a more permanent arrangement." Radira fired back at the Flammer and he stayed between the two to keep in the middle. "Radira, it is in the past. Its ok to not forget or forgive. But you need to learn yo control ypur anger and show temperance. The Church does good works and runs food kitchens, and many of your kind are among its members. Like all faiths and beliefs it calls to some more then others. The Flame calls to him the way the moon calls to you. You are both drawn to it. As you say hos faith makes him culprit to the crimes of his church are you held account by the horrors spread by your kin? The werewolves that would turn whole villages? Or the attacks by shifters from the woods against the encroaching civilization they deemed was unnatural? Or any of the other events that the Church used to justify their Silver Crusade? Do you condem the Flamers that hod shifters? Or the shofters that acted as scouts for the crusaders to ferrit put Lycan dens?" | |||
"Shifters and Lycans were never aligned. That's how the whole purge started, based on lies. We understand them better than most, can interact to some degree as we sometimes share the land, but they are too feral for even us to reason with for long. As for my people attacking interlopers.." Her hard stare, now filled with a cold anger, returned to Jusepus. "..we have been driven to the far end of the world. When you corner any animal, there comes a point where it turns back and fights." | |||
He considers the area around and looks back and forth.....what excitement awaits around this area and is there indeed trouble to be found...perhaps a rapscallion selling an arcane tome, or some beggars to get any local rumors.... 21:07, Today: Jack Springhill rolled 23 using 1d20+5. spot This message was last edited by the player at 01:07, Thu 22 Sept 2022. | |||
Really? Have you personally been driven to the far enda of the world? Or, were you simply born there? Jusepes voice remains calm, showing no signs of anger or rancor. Are you going to continue living in the past? For that way is where death and a repeat of those events lie. His eyes go unfocussed as he stairs past her. I see the past, I know the past. And those are very uncomfortable truths. Horrible things were done by both sides. Your people's claws and fangs are no cleaner of blood than the swords and arrows of the Silver Flame. But, the Silver Flame was born of Hope, and Goodness triumphing over Evil. He shakes his head sadly as his gaze returns to the present. Sure, there is Darkness in the Flame. Just as there is Darkness in all of us. But, which one survives in you depends upon which one you choose to feed. I choose to feed the Light. I choose not to live in the past,but to live for the future. One where, hopefully, if I extend my hand in friendship, you won't try to rip it off and slap me with it. He shrugs. I have no ill-wil,l or hate, or fear, for you. Just as I hold no ill-will, or hate, or fear, for changelings. Or orcs. Or goblins. Or dragon-kin. Or Cyrans, for that matter. He shrugs again. None of us is worthy of hate directed at us for being who and what we are born. It is what we do that determines that. | |||
"Emeralde Tomes and Crimson Phylacteries"..... "This holds some promise..." He walks through the beaded curtains into the incense filled air.....(ad lib)... "Hello?" Casts detect magic through his arcane attunment.... He looks into the melange of curiosities, baubles, trinkets, and other knick knacks...... This message was last edited by the player at 14:32, Fri 23 Sept 2022. | |||
Radira prowled, watching her enemy intensely with feline eyes. "The mistakes of the past being repeated is exactly what you are doing. Throwing allegiance to a monstrous force that conquers nations and commits unspeakable evil in the name of so-called good. So eagerly you spread its lies and defend it, ignoring the horror it spread because it does not suit you to think on it, nor do you make any effort to have it account for its misdeeds." | |||
Perhaps a softer question of lunology would help break the ice. I was forged under Zarantyr the storm moon. Zarantyr influences the mark of Storms born by the house Lyrandar and is connected to Syrania the Azure Sky which manifests in Sharn, which is as close to home as I have. Those made under Zarantyr are said to possess wild unbridled and boundless energy. What about you Jusepus, when were you born? They say more Paladin of the Flame are born under Olarune, than in any other month, though a skeptic I believe this was more to do with certain unofficial sacraments of Promisetide." The Construct "Sparky" Buzzed slightly with inner power talking about boundless energy, but mostly seemed to want to position itself as a scholar above and separated from the underlying conflict. OOC: In modern terms she just asked Jusepus what his astrological sign was. https://eberron.fandom.com/wiki/Calendar https://www.worldanvil.com/w/e...s-of-eberron-article Each month is named after one of the twelve moons. Olarune is associated with both the Silver Flame and Shifters. | |||
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He shakes his head but gives a small smile. I was a small and frail child, an orphan of The War in a refugee camp, he explains, near death when I was brought to Flamekeep by one of The Flame's paladins. They healed me. Fed me. Clothed me. Housed me. Raised me. Cared for me, Taught me. Trained me. Gave me a life, a family, a sense of purpose. Would your people have done the same for me? Or, would my death just have been "the course of nature"? He turns to the warforged. I don't know when I was born. The closest I know to my birthdate is the day I was rescued, which was in Therendor. Hells, I don't even know how old I am; the priests estimated I was about four years of age when I was found. But, if I take the day I was saved from death, as a kind of "re-birthday," I am seventeen. His gaze and attention return to the shifter. How many werewolves and wererats are responsible for the ultimate fate of people who have "gone missing"? | |||
She looked over the boy. She understood his loyalty to his saviors, but it made him blindly loyal. "I cannot speak for what a Shifter might do when they find an abandoned human babe at their doorstep. That is up to the Shifter, or tribe. We would not take one in, that much is true, as our ways do not fit humans. But perhaps we would pass it on to the human tribes or druids. It would be a small burden to do so. Perhaps you would have grown up under the Great Druid's tutelage. And perhaps the Shifter does not want to bother, and would have ignored your plight. Is it not the same for humans? How many passed you by before your masters came? Who is to say they did not adopt you just so you would become their little preacher, serving their own ends?" | |||
But there seem to have been other changes as well. Druidic scholar observed that even previously kind breeds of lycanthropes such as werebears became violent and sadistic. There is also the matter of Sharn. Sharn had multiple wererat nests, the infection rate spread the curse through the lower city with ease. Infected wererats marched together against the church of the Silver Flame in armies as if an organized attempt to break the ward holding the Overlords in Khyber. The shifter tribes were not innocent bystanders in this. Several tribes aligned themselves with and even seemed to worship the Lycanthropes an apparent corruption of the Blessing of Olarune theory of Lycanthropy, which seems likely to have been a cynical geopolitical land grab that went very poorly in the end. Most tribes seem to prefer neutrality but the Lycanthrope positioned themselves to use the Shifter tribes as a shield. Add a bit of perfidy by Lycanthropes, sympathetic shifters, or possibly infected shifters and you end up sparking the slaughter you describe. And yes Puritans saw this and spuriously concluded all Shifter were culpable should be slaughtered but the official stance was shifters were innocent until they personally committed to the lycanthropic cause. These details lead me to believe the confluence of moons of moons explanation is unlikely to be complete. Personally I find the Demonic Overlord loosening it shackles, most likely in which case the goal of it's using perfidy to get shifters slaughtered was to drive a wedge between two orders of sentinels that defend Eberron. After all it is Olarune the Sentinel who brings more paladin of the Flame to be born that month than any other. I am incapable of sleep and have no war to fight to occupy my days. If I'm not working I'm reading. I have read several thousand tomes on the matter. I know more of religious matters than most priests even those who are scholars." The construct locked primarily on Radira, gazing hard through the crystals where the eye should be. Points of lightning burned at a constant low intensity producing a barely audible buzzing sound. | |||
"Hello? I have coin, I am a customer......" He takes in all the curiosities of the shop, perhaps there is a dusty tome of magic to be found here, or some trinket to add to his growing collection of odds and ends...... This message was last edited by the player at 13:34, Tue 11 Oct 2022. | |||
He looks around. I think I could use a meal, and I do not feel like returning to the temple, yet. I wonder where I can find a decent tavern. Or,at least one that washes the glasses sometimes. This message was last edited by the player at 18:43, Fri 30 Dec 2022. | |||
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