#and i have a partial headcanon that spell yanking was on purpose

[scrollsfromarebornrealm]

unexpected hitch (shadowbringers)

(takes place shortly before Ran’jit’s first meeting with the Exarch)

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The whole affair was giving him a bad taste in his mouth.  And as if fate had decided to simply make matters worse...

I couldn’t stop her!  She just went through--and came back with them!

"I warned you that trying to separate them would not end well.”  Urianger ground out.  The ‘them’ being Riven’s fellow Warriors of Light.  The success of the overall plan hinged on Riven being completely isolated from her sworn-brothers.  In fact, Urianger suspected that the senior Scions being pulled to the First and not them was no accident-despite what the Exarch claimed. The twins would believe his words, as would Thancred. Y'shtola was...well, Y'shtola. She'd immediately sensed the charade, and when she couldn't get any answers, she had left the Crystarium. But she would generally trust that he only had good intentions--and so everything had seemed to be going well...

And then as was her wont, Riven had set everything awry. When the Exarch had (finally) initially gotten a lock on her soul to transport her to the First, it had been in the midst of a major offensive between the Empire and the Eorzean Grand Alliance. Urianger wasn't fully aware of the details, but he'd partly eavesdropped on the talk between Riven and the Exarch after her summoning had finally been successful (somewhat).

Riven had been angry. And she had every right to be, but it had been a while since Urianger had seen her that worked up. Had the Exarch been his younger self, he would have wilted under the force of her rage. Urianger had to admit to a personal satisfaction as Riven unleashed months of pent-up anxiety for the well-being of her friends.

"Where are they now?"

Settling in. Though I expect another confrontation, more than likely from Bishop. I gave orders for them to have the same privileges as she does. I just know that'll set his suspicions off. The Exarch replied.  Urianger sighed.

"I will do my best, but I can make no promises." He said. "I know Riven will believe me. If she believes me, they will extend me the same grace. How much, depends on them individually."

Can you handle them if the need arises? Urianger was silent for several moments.

"...There may be no need." He finally said. "Bishop will be the most suspicious, but he has the heart of a true healer. He will be distracted by the pain and suffering of this world. Augustine and Reinhardt will have their hands full ensuring everyone's safety once Vauthry realizes Riven is a threat to him and his plans. Sebastian will more than likely take up the challenge to try and bring additional aetherical balance back to what remains of this realm." Urianger paused for several moments, them continued.

"And Riven will throw herself heart and soul into stopping the Lightwardens. Her brothers will be distracted, and by the time the corruption begins, she'll pass it off as stress." The words had a bitter taste on Urianger's tongue. So much could go wrong with this plan, but it was all they had. Once again he was using his trusted companions, his friends, like game-tokens on a board.

Please gods, do not let this end in her death! Everyone else was expendable, even the Exarch and him. Riven had to live, had to survive this ordeal. Even if it came with the loss of the Scions, of her beloved sworn-brothers...she had to live. Her continued existence and the breaking of the Lightwardens' hold on the First superseded all else. The Exarch was silent, perhaps considering Urianger’s words.

It will all work out in the end. He offered. But the platitude was weak, and both men knew it.  Too much hinged on this plan, this sheer desperate gamble.  Urianger had no doubts that if the scheme was threatened, the Exarch would become even more ruthless than he already was.

Let it not come to that, please!

“I assume once they are fully settled, you will send them here?”  There was no answer to the question, and Urianger frowned.

“Exarch?”

I have to go.  Something has come up--but yes.  I would advise that you start getting ready to receive guests.  And with that, the linkpearl signal cut out, leaving Urianger alone with his thoughts and guilt. 

[utilitycaster]

Wizard Breakdown Tracker #3, episode 133

Greetings and salutations to the exercise I have set upon myself, which is to say deciding the relative mental stability of Wizard NPCs who have been subjected to the Mighty Nein. My intent is to do this at least until Trent Ikithon has fucked off this mortal coil and/or been thoroughly deposed and humiliated.

As a reminder Caleb Widogast is a member of the Mighty Nein and a PC and therefore excluded from these calculations. Wizards who haven’t been seen or heard from lately and about whom I don’t have anything funny to say about will not get a full blurb, but as they re-enter the main narrative so will they re-enter the list. Currently, this is the Essek Thelyss Show ft. Trent and the Volstruckers with guest appearances by Yussa and Allura.

Currently sidelined: Oremid Hass, Known Gem Wizard Hotsauce Lutefisk (I am going to reuse this stupid joke name for him until it doesn’t make me laugh at my own joke anymore, which will probably be never), Pumat Sol (who I hope is having a great day), Ludinus Da’leth (who I hope is not but in true laissez-faire rat bastard form, probably is).

Vess D wasn’t there/morning time in Eiselcross or at her job or anywhere/they snuck in and took her life/and we noticed that her spellbook’s gone and that she’s covered in red eyes.

Trent Ikithon: Okay with the caveat that it’s been a very long time since I saw the entire movie and our only update is Artagan taking a moment from his busy schedule of traveling the globe in the direction of the sun such that he is always technically day-drinking to tell Jester that Trent’s biding his time, I’m getting real Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame Frollo vibes. Except instead of Catholicism and lust, it’s nationalism and an unquenchable thirst for power and control, and also he does not feel guilty in the slightest. He’s not at Hellfire levels yet but he will get there and I am slightly disappointed that due to the constraints of a D&D game we do not get an even more fucked up version of the song Hellfire.

Conclusion: 6/10. Slowly stepping it up. Also here’s the great thing: while we know Caleb is going to come after him next, he doesn’t, and the Nein didn’t tell any world governments about the threat of the city unless you count the Tal’Dorei Council via Allura, which means for all intents and purposes they just disappeared into Eiselcross...except Trent also knows Caleb disappeared for five or six years once before and reports of his death were greatly exaggerated. If Caleb weren’t dedicated to the noble goal of ending the Volstrucker program ASAP, he could just chill for a year or so and then pull a really stellar Surprise Bitch move and maybe just get Trent’s heart to explode.

Essek Thelyss: He got a good night’s trance and weird physical affection from a giant ape Caleb and he was healed by Caduceus and he had a serious conversation with the first true peer and one of the first friends he’s ever known about how high-level wizardry may not necessarily corrupt absolutely. And, of course, soup. I mean they are about to head into a terrible battle but he’s at full health and spells and he’s a valued member of the team and his friends love him SO MUCH.

Conclusion: 5/10. There is a distinction between a breakdown and being in a very high pressure situation, and he got some nice moments of respite this week. With that said do I think that post-battle, should he survive (HE BETTER) a whole lot of anxiety will come crashing back? Yeah.

Astrid Beck: With Trent in a holding pattern he’s got to be turning up the mind games on her; I have to imagine he suspects and then she suspects that he suspects and it’s a whole mess, but I’ve said that already. But also just like, in general, I think her speech to Caleb back when he first contacted her was genuine in many ways and specifically I think she was likely to have been Trent’s New Golden Child and then suddenly that got yanked out from under her for still more mind games; I think her difference in demeanor between that meeting and the dinner was partially Trent being present, but partially her having realized in the interim that she will likely never have anything to show for two decades of pain and doing terrible things and nonstop bullshit.

Conclusion: still keeping her at 8/10 until further notice but like. Astrid’s having a bad time.

Um actually Eadwulf is the monster? The hero’s name is Grendel: Okay meanwhile here’s my totally unsupported Eadwulf headcanon of this week which is that he meanwhile always knew he was not the favorite and probably never would be and while I doubt he ever had particularly noble goals I would not be surprised if he had an exit strategy. Personally I hope he tries card-counting in that casino in Ank’harel and gets kicked out posthaste and then tries being a wizard/some kind of divine caster multiclass in Vasselheim and also gets kicked out but finally becomes like an old-school hermit figure somewhere in the woods of Issylra and Campaign 3′s party runs into him.

Conclusion: also keeping him at 4/10 until further notice.

Allura Vyesoren: It’s time to acknowledge that this episode covered a span of like...8 hours? And presuming the Nein are sort of trying to keep a normal sleep schedule, maybe, and using a comparison of Eiselcross being at a comparable time zone to say, Nicodranas, and it’s 5 hours into the night for them, and we know that around mid-day for Nicodranas was early morning for Emon...honestly she’s probably relaxing with a glass of wine. Unless Wensforth contacted her.

Conclusion: I’m going to let Allura have a good day. She’s at 2/10 because the threat of Aeor will be in the back of her mind but also she’s seen a bunch of idiots kill dragons and Vecna and they didn’t even have a wizard.

Yussa Errenis: Experiencing a great disturbance in the Astral Sea, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and then just like, kept doing that.

Conclusion: I decided to really go all out last week on the infinity jokes and left myself nothing to go on, huh. Anyway this breakdown goes to 11 (out of 10).