#like. do you not know how the luxon works. do you not know how the gods work.

[pyrotechnicdarts]

twitter critrole fans love to not know the lore of their own show its their favorite thing

[hazelcephalopod]

Matron seems to be on team ‘the gods are holding mortals back’. She’s sick of the other gods and sick of this job.

some relavant points-

She did not know what would happen to Vax as she couldn’t “see his thread” after he became her champion. Also he’s rash and therefore hard to prefect. But doesn’t derserve his current state.

When asked about the Archearts plan. Says They wish to destroy the divine gate and deal with Predathos directly. Consensus amongst those who designed it has not been made.

Says she wants fate to decide the gods destiny, specifies she wants Exandrians to decide the fate of the gods.

She will not flee and excited by new possibility and trusts in her abilities.

When asked what happens to the souls in the afterlife currently. Says there were spirits before her brethren came and she assumes Exandria’s natural cycle will reestablish itself. “The substance of the soul is forever it will find its way”.

Why did she become the god of death? Admits there is some truth in her just having ambition, and also she wanted to see if she could. Additionally she did so with the help of the one who came before. She first tried to take the secrets of divinity from him. They became teacher/student(?), friends and ultimately she thinks she loved him. He asked her to become a god, helped her craft the rite lf ascension.

What became of him? Peace. “Wherever gods go when they come undone”.

Dows she still feel him? She feels echoes of him in is domains and her work. Maybe she still feels for him, but she feels for many including BH.

Is it worth it? For her in the end? She doesn’t know. Which is perhaps why she’s so curious.

What do you know of Predathos? It was before her time, and the family has kept the knowledge from her until they couldn’t. Whatever Predathos is it is bound to where they came from.

Asking someone who became a god. How do they contain what Predathos is? The same thing that allowed her to survive despite it being unlikely, what she is. Love.

We don’t share the love for Predathos, but we love each other? Love for each other might be enough.

The Archeart is bold and impulsive and wants them to do something, she just wants empower mortals to do as they wilt. She has no interest in breaking down the wall and doing another Calamity and refuses to be part of it.

Are you two willing to become new Betrayers? She is.

We’ve been told to embrace Predathos by some, but do you believe we can undo it? Anything is possible. “Anything is possible for you.”

Could you lend us any kind of help to tip the scales? Predathos undoes and unravels the power the gods rely on and she is uncertain what she could provide that wouldn’t also unravel in its presence but is willing to try.

She offers them her mask, Braius reaches for it. She tells him he’s at a crossroads and asks if he knows what that is and he says that a choice is ahead. She lets him take it, and says I’m a moment of need one of them may wear it and call for her aid. Aid might come.

Says she’ll see them all eventually but first one more question at least: are they to replicate the rite of ascension? That is not possible, she made sure of it.

oh and another! If you go what happens to your champion? I don’t know. I like not knowing.

and more. When was the last time you were surprised? Vax, three decades ago. The sacrifice/s he made.

Mortals are great because they keep defying the gods. And that is a sign the gods should stop forging the future of mortals.

If mortals let them stay they should damn well let the gods know why and renegotiate the terms.

Is there anyway we could help your champion? Destroy the key but make sure to remove the beacon first. As the (Luxon) beacon -in the bloody bridge machine- can change the universe in ways almost as terrifying as Predathos.

Can’t you just cut his thread now? His thread is beyond any of our grasp. (Edit: this refers to Ludinus)

Why are the gods afraid of these? Bc they don’t understand them. And they don’t like to admit they aren’t all knowing or all powerful.

If they should trust the people they fight? That choice is up to them she just wanted to see if they could do what it takes.

Laudna’s fate thread is silver and her fate is between realms, or did but now is connected to other fully living people, turning hers gold. The Matron considers her a victim not anathema. Could Laudna be whole if she continues the path of connections to her friends? Anything is possible.

Matron thinks she “deserves little but remembers what it means to fight for her survival and has her ways.”

[ekaeb]

My theory so far on what's going on with the Bright Queen re: Essek.

The gist of it: It's canon that Essek isn't being actively pursued by the Dynasty. His name is on a list somewhere and he had to flee his position in Eiselcross 7 years ago, so he is a person of interest, but we don't know what all the Bright Queen knows. She could know everything down to what socks Essek wore during his beacon heist and how long he and Caleb's last make out sesh was, or she could want him arrested on suspicion of telling Ludinus den Thelyss' recipe for frost worm stew. I think it's somewhere in between, possibly with some religiousness sprinkled in. Either way, if he is on her mind, Armageddon isn't really the time or place to arrest someone. Especially not an extremely powerful someone you'd want in the vicinity if the fight came to you.

The longer version:

I think that the Bright Queen, at a minimum, knows where Essek lives and who with. To me, it makes sense that she's had eyes on the Mighty Nein, especially Caleb due to him being an outsider with a non-insignificant knowledge of dunamancy, regardless of their association with Essek. We don't know why exactly Essek had to flee, or what information the Dynasty has on him. He's said that he might be able to get in contact with other Dunamancers if they can look past his past transgressions. That could be referring to him stealing the beacons, working with the assembly, and/or something else we don't know about. What I'm thinking is based on the assumption that at a minimum Essek is suspected to have been working with the assembly. I feel like if they thought/knew he stole the beacons, they would be actively looking for him.

I don't think the Bright Queen has Essek on her mind, at least not right now. She has a whole country to worry about on a day to day basis, and the potential end of Exandria as it is now to focus on. Essek is a loose thread on a large quilt. Essek is very important to the audience because we care about him. We know he's significant to the story. We know he stole the beacons and why. We know he worked directly with Ludinus and Trent. We have information that the Bright Queen most likely doesn't, so it makes it feel like he should be a much bigger blip on her radar than he probably is.

Now, I do think she knows where he is and is aware of his Seth persona. He lives with Caleb and works with Beau, so it wouldn't make sense to me if she wasn't(20 bucks says she has at least one Lens member posing as their neighbor.). There are a lot of possible reasons for why she hasn't had him captured yet. It could be that he just isn't her problem anymore. It's been over 7 years, what's done is done, and he doesn't seem to be actively making things worse for the Dynasty. He's still an Arrest on Sight if he's caught in the Dynasty, but he isn't an issue right now.

Another reason could be that he changed a lot since then. The Mighty Nein seem like genuinely good people who overall want to do good in the world in the most chaotic way possible, and the Bright Queen seems to admire that. Essek started coming out of his shell once they came into the picture, and by the end of the campaign had helped save the world simply because he cares for the people who were doing it to get their friend back. This is another instance of not knowing what the Bright Queen knows, but if she is keeping tabs on things, then she would know to an extent how dramatically Essek's changed from the egotistical, selfish, self centered prodigy that she knew him as. Back when campaign 2 ended and Matt gave more info on the Luxon, a lot of people were talking about how similar Essek's story is to it. Essek refused fundamental aspects of the culture he was born in, which led to a long period of loneliness and searching. He found something he loved (Dunamancy) and dedicated his whole being to it to the point that it eventually tore his life apart, but in doing so he found a new light. He found the Mighty Nein, who helped him put the pieces back together again, but better. Matt said Essek started to question who he was once he started to love the Mighty Nein. He asked himself, "Who am I?" and the Mighty Nein answered back, "Essek, our friend."

This combined with the religious and cultural beliefs of the Dynasty make me hope that the parallels wouldn't be lost on her. Essek is carving his own path, but needed a healthier and more accepting environment to do so. By the law, he should be prosecuted for his crimes. He should be arrested, put on trial, and punished accordingly. From an individual perspective, he's grown so much since he was Shadowhand Essek Thelyss, that I'd hope she'd think it was worth seeing where he goes.

Either way, I don't think expending the resources to capture him right now would be logical. It's all hands on deck, so expending the time, resources, and potentially soldiers to arrest a highly powerful mage and send him back to the Dynasty for legal proceedings isn't really possible with the current situation.

[ludinusdaleth]

i'm not interested in finishing watching c2 (first 10 episodes bored me to death) and i only know c3, so what's the deal with essek? did he have a bad redemption arc? did he have a good one? do people just not like him for some reason? because i keep seeing his fans say the only reason c3 fans are saying his redemption arc sucked is to defend imogen and her mom and that seems too shallow to be the real reason.

first of all thank you for trusting in me to give a nuanced answer. ill do my best. essek is one of my favorite characters, but also so historically loved by fandom it has led to altercations and the drowning out of pretty much any other character in fandom spaces. ill try to explain. im sorry for how long this will be.

he was already deeply beloved as an npc for a long while before campaign 2 episode 97 dropped the fact that he was working with ludinus. he had taken luxon beacons (the object ludinus used to power the malleus key, what made opal & ted, what's in ashtons head) from his people in the dynasty - these objects were considered completely sacred to them, and the realization the empire had them, and the dynasty retaliating to get them, led to the war of ash and light which permeates much of c2's plot. so, functionally, essek's action led to war. essek was also at times in charge of or allowed to run interrogations on dynasty prisoners including nott/veth's husband yeza. to keep suspicion off of him, essek shifted blame onto a man in the dynasty who he had a petty grudge against, changed his memory, and set the dynasty onto him - this man was later given to the empire in a peace negotiation, so ludinus then had all control over knowledge on essek's involvement (bar the m9).

his remorse began with the m9, and how their lives had been effected by war and what the empire had done, and there is some implication that essek realized he was perhaps groomed by ludinus (and to a lesser degree made uncomfortable by his cohort trent) - though i should note essek was a (young) adult in government when he gave his people's artifacts away. essek hated the fact that his people were religious in regards to the luxon and did not wish to research it, and thought the cerberus assembly would be able to learn more about it.

essek's arc has been long praised as a very good one, and i think it mostly is. while i cant say we really see his kindness & newly brimming empathy fully extended, he does learn to see others as more than tools. he is still smug over his peoples religion vs his knowledge of the luxon, but learns to respect his culture enough that ludinus probably would not be able to sway him from it by insulting it now. he fights at the m9's side during the last arc, defends caleb from trent & the vollstreckers, helps fix caduceus's home. he is loyal to them forever and not just a traitor any longer. i definitely see some holes in it as he doesnt show much care to anyone but the m9, it is relatively quick how he descends into self hate about his actions that hes generally comforted for, and i worry at times he sinks too much into the soft hot boy flanderization due to everyone even the cast pushing it onto him (yes, softness & being too harsh exist in his characterization and are disliked at once, i know they are opposite traits). but i think it's good when a character is still an ass after redemption and matt clearly wants to avoid him being a soft boi in c3 whilst also maintaining that he has learned humanity & love.

you can see how that would be compelling, along with his general personality and good looks. this made him so compelling that his fans got, uh.... interesting. and that is probably the base problem that sets this discourse. (be aware my experience of his fans is primarily on twitter and in chats.)

folk would get mad and call the show unwatchable without his presence as if every other character was disgusting & boring to them (as if calebs character arc is not. literally. a parralel to esseks). they only cared about shadowgast (but only cared about essek within it, not caleb) and would be furious these two deeply aloof traumatized men didnt fuck on screen after 6 episodes knowing each other, called caleb abusive for not messaging him after a few episodes, called liam (who is iirc bi) homo/biphobic and abusive to matt for not kissing essek at one point or another. when caleb & essek did bond at the end of c2 and it was said they got together for a time that was not enough for fans, who claimed it homophobic (this magically mostly disappeared when folk saw other mlm stories did and do continue to play out in cr, which they only realized when orym existed and was a gold star gay - i, as a gay man, do not care on the scale they do lol). astrid was completely slammed into the mud by essek fans for being his mirror but a woman (they magically did not hate wulf, the last mirror in this scenario, a man, as much). people were furious essek did not have merch at the point where not even many pcs did yet and said it was homophobic (this magically stopped when he eventually got a portrait and chibi). a few learned he was ace/demi and called it a cop out, or otherwise ignored any nuance of it because they were horny about wizard yaoi (im aware ace/demi folks do have sex, but sometimes folk use that as a justification for ignoring the ace spectrum part of an identity). from personal experience, essek fans can be..... very disturbing, predatory individuals with no regard for who they are deeply sexual around, but that is just who i met and i do not want to go into that experience. in short, a lot of c2 era fandom has BEEF with them. i cannot say it is unjustified.

so with all that context, where does that leave the character and why do people compare him to liliana & imogen?

it is my genuine opinion from observation a lot of fandom on here & twitter that essek/shadowgast/caleb fans can be.... sexist. it does not go unnoticed to me that imogen has an extremely similar moral arc to caleb and yet is called evil when caleb is called traumatized & struggling with demons but a good man. caleb was part of the vollstrecker (assassins for the empire) as a youth but broke, and ran, after killing his parents, and had to learn he was more than dirt, and learn to love again. imogen began easily jealous & in turmoil about herself and her mother, but has grown to be one of the most empathetic people who is constantly struggling between sacrifice and her simple wish to live with laudna, that it seems the universe wants to fight. both are aware they could be or are seen as living shit for their youth or conception and accept it. both dont really know how to find a way out of that. i think both are incredible characters. i notice when fans only acknowledge the hero's journey of one.

as for liliana & essek..... look, essek has a very defined character arc that we have seen come to fruition and end in redemption. liliana (and by extension bor'dor and other ruby vanguard folk) have not yet. essek was framed as neutral at first and liliana was framed as ludinus's ally. i get it. but it is impossible to me to not see liliana in the steps of essek at the beginning of his own arc. if anything i think her intentions (if not actions) are infinitely less selfish than esseks, as she wished to do this to save her daughter. ludinus has caught so many in his web, and essek got out, and liliana just realized she's in the webbing. whats interesting is how we see clear as day every conversation they have that liliana has been brainwashed into cult mentality & justification, and yet only had one or two conversations vaguely indicating this about essek, and yet essek is always praised as a survivor where liliana is not. bor'dor is very clearly like essek in being an oppressed young man who sees a calling made by a powerful older man, but entire breakdowns of how men of color are recruited into the far right have been written about essek where bor'dor (actual man of color) is despised by the same people. the tldr on this is i do think some folk can be so drunk on Hating Essek juice they swing too far in their assumptions, but the pattern of his fans misinterpreting everyone else to elevate him is based on precendent thats happened for years, and i think it is deeply.... disappointing? to watch such a nuanced story play out in c3 and refuse to engage with it whilst claiming anyone who wishes to analyze the way a cult breaks your brain is misandrist.

im so sorry this is so long, but i really do not know how else to describe all this without its nuance. i hope i wrote something that made sense.

[sky-scribbles]

Playlist for my Aeor longfic

I failed to figure out how to do a fancy spotify embed like the kids do but uh. Here's the playlist for Gravity!

I listened to this while planning and writing, and there are even a few shout-outs to the songs in the fic... Songs are arranged chronologically, so you should be able to hear the story happening, hopefully :'D

Further yelling about song choices under the cut!

A Matter of Time - This one is... sort of the fic's opening titles in my head? I wanted to start out with an instrumental, to capture the vibes of the months before the fic opens - Essek and Caleb apart, thinking about the T-Dock, and each other. Wondering. Waiting.

Horse to Water - Essek in Chapter 1, knowing his life as the Shadowhand is ending, waiting for Caleb to come and take him away to whatever comes next. (I'm normally very picky about not putting songs that reference modern day stuff on fantasy playlists but this one's vibes were too perfect)

Dear Fellow Traveller - Two wizards heading into Aeor together.

Conquest of Spaces - A song for Aeor. A dark, beautiful city, the remains of a people who lived by greed and power. (And two wizards in the ruins, trying to draw closer to each other.)

Neptune - This is mostly for Essek's breakdown in chapter 5, as he worries he'll never break out of his Shadowhand manipulation, wanting to be closer to Caleb and not knowing what that would even look like. And it's a little for Caleb in chapter 6, too, grappling with his feelings for Essek and his fears that they'll ultimately be bad for each other.

Please Don't Say You Love Me - ... and as they move past those fears, this song is for them tentatively acknowledging what they might be to each other. Not yet. But maybe soon.

Woodwork - This is for the chapters 6-9 span, as they learn more about Brashaar's plan. The pressure of a crisis has an odd way of making them realise just how deep their trust and care for each other runs.

Two Evils - Since we're at the point where Brashaar shows up, she gets a song now! This is pretty much her internal monologue during her confrontation with the wizards (though she really should have paid attention to 'if you're not careful, you will lose her' in reference to Quaera...)

Winter - Travelling northward, and yearning. Wishing they had more time.

Mind - A song for a young Quaera, slowly forming a personality, wondering about who she is and how her identity forms...

The Tower - ... and having their own breakdown.

What Could Have Been - I love me a good villainous breakdown, and this is a song for Brashaar's. This is how I imagine she feels during the final confrontation, raging against the gods, against Caleb and Essek, against Quaera after they turn from her. Not quite able to let go of what she thinks Aeor could have been. What, in her eyes, the world is meant to be. (As a bonus, I think the second verse sounds a bit like a retort to her from Quaera...)

Everybody Wants to Rule the World - This is such a fun cinematic cover, and I can't tell you how many times I've imagined a mental AMV of the final battle with Brashaar set to it :'D

Ori, Embracing the Light - I wanted an instrumental here too, because... Essek is dead, Caleb is in shutdown, and Essek and Quaera are communing with the Luxon, a being that doesn't really speak with words. Also, 'embracing the light' is exactly what Quaera does at this point.

Would That I - I know we all use this as Caleb's 'learning to live and love again' song... and I am no exception. This is for him after the T-Dock, finally fully acknowledging his grief, and his love for Essek.

First Day of my Life - Just two wizards realising that they have a future, and agreeing to slowly work at what's between them.

Ready to Call This Love - This one speaks for itself, honestly.

Five - Both of the wizards in the final chapter, but especially Essek realising how isolated he's been from the world, and letting it all in so he can feel it. (Also, studying the universe is a love language - )

Gravity - Gravity is a metaphor for love!!!!

[queenofthedorks]

CR3 92 -- A list. Spoilers? I guess.

So I normally watch the first hour or so of CR and then go to bed, because time zone and work in the morning, but of course, I had to watch ALL of it last week and by the end, I was so sleepy that I vowed to rewatch it on Friday. Then my dog got into a fight with a raccoon, and we ended up at the emergency vet at 2am (he's fine now). I realized I hadn't finished watching Kymal, so I had to go watch that, and I didn't get back to rewatching the ep until yesterday/today.

1. The growth of Aimee fucking Carrero as a player. Love it so much.

2. Aabria Iyengar is perfect. No notes needed.

3. It’s so fun to watch Matt be one part tactician 2 parts himbo.

4. Robbie is absolutely coming back to the main table. He said Dorian feels like he needs a purpose, but he’s the only Crownkeeper who isn’t favored by a god.

5. Betrayed God Champion one shot. Go go. They could be Exandria's Suicide Squad.

6. I need someone, not me, I've got shit to do, to chart out the timelines for the last IDK two months game time?

7. WHAT IF BH GOES TO AEOR AND POPS A BUBBLE AND THAT IS SAM'S NEW CHARACTER????? That's just a thought I had.

8. M9 one shot in Aeor please or just have half the table play M9 and half the table play BH. I want Caleb and Beau involved in taking down Luddy.

9. Alternately, BH could go meet HotBoi!Essek.

10. ALSO WHAT IS THIS LUXEN BULLSHIT THAT YOU JUST DROPPED AABRIA? Please elaborate.

11. Did Opal's mom know Vex and Vax?

12. Is Opal Ruidus born?

13. Are all of the PCs on the excult/exfundie side of Tiktok or what?

14. How many cults are we up to now? We've got the 420 Hive Mind in Bassuras, Ruidian stuff, Assholes who thought it would be a good idea to put a piece of a primordial entity into a child, and now Third Secret Option Luxon.

15. Ash, Imogene, and Opal need to form the "Children of Deadbeat Parents who went and got involved in a cult and caused their children a lot of heartache" support group.

I love me some comic horror, but is it next Thursday yet?

[ourdreamsareneon]

I'm sorry if you don't follow me for niche takes on gang culture but UGH I hate Christopher Luxon (NZ's PM) for many many reason, one of which is him saying this government is going to be "harder on gangs" BITCH HOW???

Sentencing is already harder if you're in a gang or gang affiliated. You already can't wear patches in most establishments. The cops already are harsher on people if they know they're patched/affiliated/just happen to live in an area like Cannon's Creek where gang crime is high. The government already busted most of the trap houses in the Wellington region back in 2013.

What more are you planning to do that doesn't involve just killing people in the streets? Or locking people up that haven't even committed any crimes (or that you don't have evidence of because mostly everyone who is patched will have committed a crime to get patched.)

Labour actually worked with gangs to reduce violent crime and give back to the communities that are struggling to prevent young people from entering gangs as a last resort. National/ACT/NZ First has no interest in making life easier for people living in poverty and actually seem dead set on putting more people into poverty - and what have we learnt from decades of gang culture? When shit is bad, people join gangs because a gang is a family that will put food on the table and a roof over your head, and a government is a cold, careless institution that will put you on the streets and starve you so that they have one less person to give health care to.

[ariadne-mouse]

The Anachronist please! 😯

Hi there! :)

The Anachronist is an oldie but a goodie, a WIP that I started in 2021 and wrote a tidy 13k centered on that oh-so captivating feature of Aeor: stasis bubbles. However my momentum fizzled out as I got pulled into other projects. I'm including it in this meme because my motivation to finish it has been given a boost by the current Aeor arc! Nothing like seeing the source concept again to get the wheels turning.

Here's an excerpt under the cut:

“Hello, my friend,” Essek greeted quietly as he approached, smiling at the familiar joke. “How is your day?”

Inside the sphere, the Aeorian mage did not reply.  He never did, of course, but once Essek had begun talking to him many months ago, he’d found it difficult to stop.

“I almost made it past the temple yesterday,” Essek reported, floating cross-legged above the cracked stones of the street, leaning his cheek tiredly on his hand. “I’ve been hoping to find another arcane canon to protect the outpost.  But those ice basilisks are very frustrating.  And there are three of them now, and I am low on healing potions.  As a calculated risk, it did not… what is the Common phrase?  Pen out.”

He paused, imagining what the mage might answer.  It was a harmless game, if an undignified one.  It didn't matter: no one was here to see it.  No one was here to see Shadowhand Essek Thelyss, secret traitor to the Dynasty, having a pretend conversation with a relic preserved in arcane amber.

“Yes, I thought it best to stay back, as well.  But now that I am here, I don’t suppose you will finally tell me where you are running off to, or what you are casting?” 

Silence.

Essek sighed. “I thought not.  You do enjoy your mysteries.”

Idly, Essek mimicked the somatic shape of the wizard’s hands, as he had many times before.  What could this gesture correspond to?  What shapes and movements came before or after?  The wizard’s mouth was slightly open - the beginning of a verbal component?  What was he saying?

His current guess was still something in the realm of transmutation, but he didn’t know what.  There was too little information, and Essek was not a transmutation specialist.  

Stirred to movement by his thoughts, Essek got up and took a slow turn around the dome.  He trailed his hand across its glassy surface and left iridescent swirls of energy in his wake, like eddies in a stream. Looking down, he noted once again the stark transition between the dark grey ruin outside the dome and the smooth, painted street within it.  On the inside there were even some small flowers peeking through gaps in the stone, their leaves an exotic green, their white and yellow button faces a cheerful, childish imitation of the sun that would have been overhead.  

Essek hypothesized that the reason the spheres in this sector glowed so brightly was due to Aeorian sunlight captured within - its energy reflecting off the street, the people, any objects or plants - and trapped in that infinitesimal instant, forever.  They reminded Essek of decorative trinkets that were popular in the Dynasty: daylight flowers preserved in a blob of resin or glass. Ranging from the size of a plum to a melon depending on the wealth of the owner, they were illuminated from within by an enchantment, a symbol of the Luxon giving life to the earth.

This frozen Aeorian mage was like Essek’s very own preserved flower.  Not for religious vanity, but a symbol of learning, and innovation, and the collaboration that must have been flourishing in a city run by magic users.   A symbol of a world Essek would never be able to have.

Not the warmongering - there was plenty about Aeor he would not want to replicate - but a society of thinkers and creators and experimenters, unshackled from austerity and tradition?  To sit across from this man and talk openly of sacrilege?  Of progress?

“Well, I suppose sacrilege didn’t work out so well for you either, considering what happened here,” Essek concedes aloud. “But I can imagine your heyday, no?  The few books I have recovered speak of so much learning, so many projects - you can’t blame me for being wishful.  The last collaboration I tried… did not go so well for me, as you know.”  He bared his teeth in a bitter laugh.

The Aeorian mage listened to his words in silence and absolute stillness, just like he had all of Essek’s confessions.  Theft of the beacons, betrayal of his people, lying to the small band of adventurers who eventually became his friends… all of it, spoken into the dusty silence of the Praesidis ward, to ears that could not hear him. 

The perfect audience.

[utilitycaster]

I feel like every time there’s an episode that highlights the ways in which Laudna’s character is hollow, we get the opposite moment from Ashton.

Like, Laudna has explicit reason to be pro-god, she was resurrected by one, her rant disregards a large chunk of what’s happened in-game and tries to make a point that fully eludes her.

On the other hand, Ashton’s anti-god/ pro-faith rant makes sense for the character. It’s also wonderful ironic, with the meta-knowledge of the Luxon being a sliver of divinity.

And then there’s the other moment, where Laudna has a conversation with Imogen in which they circle the same topics as always and end undecided about what they want for themselves.

Whereas Ashton has a conversation with FCG that highlights how far both have come as characters and how much their relationship has changed and exactly what each of them is fighting for.

I don’t know. Over and over again, I look at Laudna and Ashton and see two high-concept, aesthetic characters, and one found a way to be rooted in the world, and the other just… didn’t.

How many new NPCs does Ashton’s backstory bring to the game? A dozen? More? And Laudna has… Pate? She just feels so ungrounded and disconnected from the reality of the world.

Yeah...for what it's worth: I don't mind that Laudna doesn't have a pro-god stance. While I do think it's fair to say the gods have in fact done something for her, she spent very little time with Pike and it might not be on her mind. It's just...why would Laudna feel strongly about this at all. Why is she talking. Like, part of what was interesting about her in Hearthdell is that it's easy to see an argument for her fully siding with the villagers (after all, she also had an external force come into town and start fucking things up, was also overthrown by a mostly external group and returned to those who originally led it) but her attitude was "why are we dealing with this stupid bullshit when there's far greater things to worry about." Which was fascinating! And then she was betrayed by a member of the Vanguard! And then she comes back and she's furious and angry and upset...and then it just vanishes and she starts taking the opposite position for no apparent reason, and like, I know this is improv but she kept talking after like 2 or 3 glaringly obvious buttons on the conversation.

It would make perfect sense for Laudna to have the same position as Ashton, is the thing. "People have done harm in the name of the gods (Hearthdell) and I don't know if they've ever listened to me or intervened in my suffering, but Ludinus is doing incalculable harm on a much grander scale right, and we need to be against that, and I am open to the gods making their position more clear to me." Literally that's it.

As for the two...honestly I think the fact that Laudna...isn't high concept is the problem. Like, you can build a character on an aesthetic as a starting point. That's fine! But Ashton is not just punk in looks, but also punk in attitude. Taliesin asked the question "what would punk look like in Exandria" from a philosophical standpoint, worked with Matt to create a chaotic barbarian class, thought pretty extensively through the backstory that led them to the point where we see them at the start, has played a consistent throughline, and so when Ashton takes a stand it feels earned. With Laudna...the things that finally started to build during the Issylra arc (actually expressing unhappiness and anger, being upset with people on both sides of this argument) just vanished, and again, it increasingly seems true that almost all the work done was to support the aesthetic without then going back and weaving it into the story.

I will also add: I don't think having a ton of NPCs is important or a good metric - in fact there was a really good D&D court in which someone had a ton of NPCs in their backstory that their DM had asked them to tone down. I can think of plenty of characters who don't have a ton of NPCs in their backstory, either created by them or by Matt, who are great. Like, actually, part of the issue is again that Laudna is supposed to have this incredibly lonely, empty backstory, and we don't actually feel it. It's been so much tell and very little show.

[skeletonsloverockcandy]

I know everyone loves C2 episode 97 as like a fav Essek episode, and I do too, but I feel like people sleep on episode 91 sometimes because of that

That episode is so fucking cute you guys,

It’s got hot tub shenanigans and bonding and sharing close personal secrets and awkward ice breakers

It’s the first time Essek really goes out of his way to spend time with the M9 and realizes how lonely he’s gotten in their absence

It’s when the M9 really begin to trust him not just as an ally but also as a close friend

In hindsight it’s so good because you can really pin-point the conflict in Essek and the anxiety because he got close to these chucklefucks because they were a security risk to him, but he *actually* grew to like them and really care about him because they’ve only ever been nice to him, even when he was a ball of hidden anxiety because they were close to finding out his secret

Hindsight is also good because we can see just how much Essek lies this episode, how much he’s dancing along the truth to save his own skin, but also how much he’s opening up about himself.

He lies about being consecuted, he lies about his involvement with the beacons and the Assembly, he obfuscates how much he really knows, and his reactions reveal just how much he’s been kept on the outs of the Assembly’s research as well—

This all to save face in front of the Nein to what most would assume would be standards of his culture (pretending to be consecuted when he’s not for example), but at the same time being strangely forthright with the Nein about other things that would be considered heresy in Dynasty culture, like his views on religion and the Luxon and his willingness to keep secrets from the Bright Queen, to his admission of his father’s death from the result of angering him.

It’s so interesting to go back and see what he was lying about and what he was being mostly truthful about, and dancing this line of being nervous anytime the Nein got close to questioning something he might have had involvement in to the genuine endearment he is gaining as he learns more about these individuals.

He admitted himself that he accepted their invitation after some thought because he didn’t realize how lonely he was and he was lacking good friends, how he began to lean towards the Nein because they are not strongly affiliated with either side of the conflict and not held up to one strong ideology over another, so he feels he can be himself around them and not hide his true feelings about certain subjects

This in turn endears him to the Nein because they agree with him on his candidness and because him endangering himself to hang out with them and help them and be nice to them in a world where so few people are nice to them let’s them really grow to like him

And in this group of secrets where they are known for hiding secrets upon secrets from each other and the world, seeing Essek appear to reveal some secrets to them and be trusted with some of their secrets I feel really brought them together

This episode (and the many episodes preceding it) I feel really built up the foundation of their friendship that could withstand the revelation of episode 97, because otherwise they would have turned him in or he would have fought back if he cared about them just a little less. And while it fundamentally changed their relationship I think for the better to have everything out in the open, that couldn’t have happened without all the hard work put into it first

I find myself grateful in a way that the M9 didn’t suspect Essek’s involvement with the beacons or possibly being the traitor up until the peace talks, because if they had been more suspicious or guarded with him, they would never have grown close enough to be hurt by his betrayal, and he would not have become friends enough to consider it one.

It was something he did before he ever met them, and it only became a betrayal after he grew to care about them, and by that point it was too late to take back, and this he is left with this mingled feeling of guilt and gratefulness to have met them in the first place.

Also episode 91 is just awesome anyway, you’ve got the Traveler Pitch, you’ve got Essek not knowing how to do small talk so he asks about their Ultimate Goals™️, you’ve got the Fjord Stone revelation, you’ve got “I’m the transmutation Wizard, but you’re the one that changes people”, you’ve got “I smell like a crayon” you’ve got the completion of Halas’s spell and Caleb hugging Nott and Essek, it’s literally the Best. I love this episode so fucking much, I keep having to pause it to kick my feet and giggle at how much I love Essek because of how awkward he is and how much he’s trying and he’s stress drinking and bashfully dipping his feet in the hot tub and I’m just 💜✨🥰💕❤️💜✨💕❤️🥰✨💜💕🥰❤️✨💕❤️✨💜

Anyway, in conclusion: Hot Boi Wizard is fav ❤️

[odusseus-xvi]

I've seen some people feeling weird about Bells Hells sentiment about the gods saying that "they did get signs from the gods and they just ignored them" and THAT's actually rubbing me the wrong way, because that's not really what happened. (I'm not saying they are right to think that the gods did nothing, just that they ignored the gods is not entirely true :)

"The Everlight resurrected Laudna through Pike" and that's a crucial detail, not only do they not know about the Everlight doing that specifically, but they most probably believe PIKE did that, not her godess. It's not the Everlight that said "Hey let me bring back your friend", Pike did, and like they said countless times : "I have faith in the people."

The Wildmother has had interactions with both Orym and Fearne : Yes, and he actually has kept that to himself (maybe he should have talked about it with more than just Chet) and he actually is one of the Bells Hells that is for saving the gods. As for Fearne, she doesn't seem to care much in general.

"Ashton has the Luxon in their head !" None of them know what the Luxon is.

"The Dawnfather had interactions with Deanna and brought her back to life !!" And again they probably think (and honestly I think with reason) that the Dawnfather didn't initiate that alone, someone else had to do that. Plus with Team Issylra's adventures it probably didn't help.

"The Changebringer and FCG ??" Well yes, and FCG is the only one that is fully for saving the gods. Not only that but they saw FCG perform magic on his own before meeting the Changebringer, they don't know if interacting with Avandra really brought anything.

"They just got a message of the Matron of Ravens", yes, that boiled down to "HELP". They already know that the gods need help.

Basically what they feel (or at least what I felt was happening) was not so much "The gods are not giving us signs" but more "Where were you when I actually needed you, when so many people got screwed over all around me. If you have so much power, why didn't you use it.". And again I'm not saying that it's how this works (I do think it's quite the opposite actually), but it makes sense to get that sentiment from people who's life got screwed multiple times and who had no education of the gods, and of which's signs recently was mostly distress calls.

And honestly I do think this sentiment will change over the course of future events, because I do think this is not how they are gonna save the world. (waiting for Chet to worship the Matron, and for The Luxon to reveal itself to Ashton.)

(Also saw someone say "do they not know that without the help of the gods Vox Machina would not have defeated Vecna", well, probably not, The Mighty Nein, wich happened only 7 years prior to Bells Hells barely knew about Vox, and outside of maybe Orym, all of Bells (first did not know about Vox) were surpsied to know Keyleth got to meet gods.)

(sorry for the probable many syntax mistakes english's not my first language)

[essektheylyss]

With the added context we’ve gotten from the Ruby Vanguard, I’m curious what a fellow Exandrian cosmologist has to say regarding the relationship between one eldritch embodiment of entropy and another - what do you think Tharizdun the Chained Oblivion and Predathos the God-Eater think of each other, if they know or think at all?

Are they allies? Could the Chained Oblivion be some fragment of the God-Eater, splintered during the Founding? Is Tharizdun among those the Lord of the Hells considers “his siblings?” Does the Chained Oblivion have any concept of a thing?

Man, now I'm just thinking about how great being a cosmologist in Exandria must be. The bullshit phonemena never cease.

We do know that all of the pantheon are pretty afraid of Tharizdun, as they all worked together to seal it away, though it is technically also a Betrayer. With that in mind, I think that there is a specific distinction between the Tharizdun and the gods, or Predathos: Tharizdun is far more of a force than anything else, far more than any of the gods or Predathos are. Predathos is said to have physically eaten gods, but Tharizdun is never suggested to have anything but an amorphous formless existence.

(Because I was gonna make a joke about my cosmological specialty lying elsewhere—this is also why the Luxon feels like it sits in opposition to Tharizdun on a domain level. It also tends towards the concept of 'force' more exclusively than the rest of the gods, and doesn't seem to manifest in any physical manner that might resemble a humanoid, as the gods can and do.)

Essentially, in terms of oblivion, I get the sense that the scope is drastically different—Predathos seems to be some kind of extraterrestrial predator, quite literally, but if Predathos is an invasive species, Tharizdun is a natural disaster. Predathos seems to have arrived with intention: to hunt. Tharizdun doesn't have that kind of intention nor the capacity for pointed plans—it pushes the minds of mortals to madness and they act further.

It's possible Tharizdun is influencing Predathos, but I think it more likely that Predathos is simply an agent of destruction and therefore aligned with Tharizdun in a passive way. Tharizdun's domain exists because chaos and oblivion exist, beyond of the boundaries of the explicable world, so I would guess that Predathos operates under Tharizdun's domain the way any other destructive phenomenon does; as a piece of that extant chaos. The scope is so much smaller than Tharizdun, which seeks not only to feed on what could be termed "lesser animals," as Predathos seems to, but the fabric of the universe itself.

[grigori77]

Critical Role, Campaign 3 Episode 86

Matt: "Don't ask." Yes, probably best ...

Maps! Yay! I love maps! Oh! Czepeku! I love these guys! Nice! And now the costumes make sense. Matt: "What's happening?" Yeah ... we're with you. And now he won't say their name ... Marisha: "Say it, bitch!" LOL

A Luxon D20 with a LIQUID CORE?!!! OH MY GODS ... so cool ... O.O

Liam O'Brien delivered a truly BIZARRE Jester impression there ... cue OG turn from Laura to show us how it's really done ..

Oh yeah! Fearne's in another dimension ... so where is she?

Perception check? Nat20! Nice ... oh yes, US the portal still there? It is ... oh thank fuck ... in she goes ... and she's BACK!!!

Yeah, actually sleep sounds good. They really need it. Goodbye mist form, but still ... like they really are on the verge of exhaustion ...

BTW I am going quietly nuts over Marisha's look tonight ... it's genuinely adorable ... :3

Through the mouth? Is that an EXCUSE, Fearne? Are you being sneaky flirty?

Yes! Anchor a line with the rod. Good idea. It WOULD probably pay to check this out. Be a good retreat point if needed ...

Oh yeah, good point. Would that transfer thing be a potential beacon for Otohan?

So Imogen gets an extra Sorcery point? That is pretty cool ...

Ah yes, Chetney's tools. Affixing a piton for thd rope. Meanwhile Fearne takes the tethered Immovable Rod ... while still a leaf sheep sea slug? Not gonna work ... no, Orym takes it while she guides him through ...

Wow ... Liam STILL doesn't know zll his stats that well ... XD Messy ...

They're trying SO HARD to make Matt accidentally describe this as passing through a weird magic butthole ... XD

Travis: "Chetney's leaving to pursue his fortunes elsewhere."

Aha ... so they ARE on Exandria? Interesting ... but WHERE?

Turning into clouds while still in the water would probably be a bad idea ...

Discussing Fearne and Werewolf Chetney's "sexy time" ... yeah ...

On the shore of this strange lake ... ah yeah, Nature Check! Smart ... pine-trees ... higher altitude ... this is VERY NEW to them ... interesting ... are they on Tal'dorei, perhaps? Near Vasselheim, maybe? THAT would be interesting ...

Mist once more ... heading UP!!! So what do we see?

T-shirt shenanigans ... oh Samuel, you are playing with fire ... XD

A village! Nice ... heading down again ...

Street level! Here we go ... well into the evening ... the place seems to be abandoned ... strange ...

Dusty empty general store ... looks like it's been empty for a while ...

FCG suggests they're in an alternate dimension ... unfortunately much what I was considering ... not that I LIKE this idea any ...

Overgrown gardens ... yeah, another suspicious sign ... some of the buildings are collapsed ...

Ria'doin village ... Lake Umamu ...

It's somewhere in Marquet? Issylra, maybe? Hmmmm ...

Ashton checks out the most expensive house ... which seems to have been ransacked ... but a long time ago ...

Imogen picks up shoreline pebbles snd loose bits of wood from the town.

Grim Psychometry! Here we go ... no joy ... hmmm ...

Chetney joins Ashton, starts checking the house for hidden rooms, etc. Small compartment under the bed, but already emptied ... yup ...

Laudna finds mention of people disappearing ... a whole slew of families leaving ... no, DISAPPEARING ... rumor, conjecture ... then nothing? Weird ...

It's all very X-Files, really ...

FCG casts Speak With Animals on a local bird ... oh, he really does HATE birds, clearly ... talk about trauma ... XD

Matt Mercer ... master of creepy looks ... LOL

FCG has to mark off a Stress Point ...

People walk into the lake? Oh boy ... yeah, this place is CURSED!!! I fucking knew it!

Chetney DEFINITELY wants to sleep here now, just to see what happens ... yeah ...

Aha! Yes, is Imogen picking anything up with her telepathic abilities right now? Nothing ... hmmm ...

Deciding to sleep in the expensive place. It's serviceable fir the night, at least. Setting in ...

Oh dear ... worst time for intrusive thoughts ... XD

Examining spoils ... a Ring of Life Awareness ... whoops ... well THAT'S not a good thing at all ... does thr Ring have tracking? Crap ...

His new feat? Oh yeah, his deal with Nana Morri ... of course ... Master Craftsman! Ooooooòoooooh ... O.O

First watch, Fearne and Chetney ...

Nothing happens ...

Second, Orym and Imogen ...

Orym is attempting to communicate with Caleb Widogast ... oh fuck me it WORKS!!!

CALEB!!! THE DIRT WIZARD LIVES!!! I mean obviously WE know this already, but still ...

Imogen casts Sending to Caleb ... and it WORKS ... then tries to Send to Keyleth ... fuck, it worked AGAIN!!! Sweet!

Catamaran Reach in Issylra! Yup! They were right!

Okay, so she's gonna try snd meet up with them? That's smart ...

Awwwwwwww ... such a sweet moment for these two ... :3 Orym DESERVES a break, so he needs this.

Holy fuck, it's Jester! Oh my gods!

Yeah, she is as adorable as ever ... I love how she can just keep it up now with Unlimited Sendings ... XD

Orym tries to get through to Dorian ... gods I want this to work SO BADLY ...

No response, but he's sure he heard something OUTSIDE?!!! He thinks it might be Dorian ... oh fuck! Creepy horror movie vibes! DO NOT GO, ORYM!!!

No, Orym is just GOING TO THE DOOR ...

Laudna sends Pate to look for him ... literally CHUCKS HIM out the window ... oof ...

Yes, this is a super creepy situation and NOBODY should go ANYWHERE ... and now Ashton can hear something ...

Oh right, of course, clearly there is something IN THE LAKE that's trying to draw people in ... they need to IGNORE THIS FREAKY FEELING!!!

Hunter's Bane? Oh, smart ...

Chetney and FCG are going to investigate ... for fuck's sake ... and now more of them are going ...

Yeah, this is all going south SO FAST ...

Imogen casts Detect Thoughts ... oh shit there IS something IN the fucking lake! Great ...

Liam: "We are in Derry, Maine." Of fucking COURSE they are ...

Imogen tries to Command them all to return to the house ... it works, but not on Ashton ... CRAP!!!

Laudna sends Pate after him ...

And now the other two are going in again! Shit! And NOW Matt decides to call a fucking break? SERIOUSLY?!!!

Welcome back to SHEER FUCKING PANIC!!!

Imogen tries to hold onto Orym ... strength check? Somehow he STARTS TO BEAT HER in that, so they're now BOTH going in! Aaaaaaaah!!!

Fearne tries to Scorching Ray all of them ... but they're ALREADY underwater! Crap!

Laudna sticks her head UNDER THE WATERro try snd see boats? Hmmmm ... amazingly, there are FOUR sunken boats here! Wow ...

She PULLS ONE UP out if the water ... oh fuck she's BROUGHT IT TO FUCKING LIFE!!! And it can talk and crawl around ... bloody hell ... as is THE ROPE ATTACHED TO IT!!! She sends both to collect the others ...

FCG's going down to try and help ...

Weird underwater growth? Oh for FUCK'S SAKE it's some kind of twisted monster! Lovely!

Damn, it's COLD down here! And it's starting to have an effect on EVERYBODY down here now ...

Oh shit it's fucking HYPOTHERMIA!!! They are in DEEP SHIT right now!

Bones. Lots of bones. Yup, this is definitely NOT GOOD.

Mind Sliver? GO IMOGEN!!! 16 points of Psychic damage to this ... THING ...

Fearne bamfs out Mister ... who DOES NOT HAVE WATER BREATHING right now! Crap!

All but Ashton manage to snap out of the trance ... lovely. They are back in control but VERY MUCH lost in darkness and icy cold right now ...

Form of Dread! Undead pirate style! Sweet! And they DIVE!!! It's all gone very POTC with the crew of the Flying Dutchman ...

Dimension Door! Nice one Mister! FCG is now free ...

Laudna (pirate voice): "Arrrr! All aboard the Queen De Rolo!"

Imogen stand again, more psychic damage!

Blood Maladict! Chetney does some damage too ... it does not have blood, but he does hurt it. Now he's swimming for his life ...

Orym makes pushing attacks and succeeds ... he's got some "breathing" room ... and he sees the bones ... tries to grab a skull, but it manages to grab him again in the process! Crap ...

FCG grabs the boat's bough ... grabs his coin snd tries to Turn Undead ... BOOM!!! Unfortunately the creature manages to resist ... but LAUDNA IS EFFECTED TOO!!! Shit ... Nat19! Oh thank fuck ... she resists because "she's a dope underwater captain." XD

The rope grabs Chetney and pulls him up. Laudna: "Give yerself to the Kraken!" LOL ... He unleashes Turmoil and Blasts the beastie ... POW!!!

Marisha: "This is THE BEST SPELL and I'm so glad I took it!"

Now she's trying to frighten the thing with her Form of Dread. Travis: "You CAN intimidate this kelp!" Whoa, a fucken NAT1!!! Jeeze ...

This has become SO VERY SURREAL ...

Somehow BOATY SAVES HER LIFE ...

Shocking Grasp! Go Imogen! 12? Balls ...

Fearne tries to swim in to rescue Ashton ... that's a SHITE roll ... yeah, he is just TOTALLY obscured still ...

Orym breaks free, and now he can BARELY make Ashton out ... wait, HOW THE FUCK did he just move like that? He slashes through snd now Ashton's free ... but he just starts trying to claw his way back in again? Fuck ... Orym tries and fails to break him out again ...

Chetney swipes with Turmoil again ...

Fearne tries to snap Ashton out of it ... NO JOY, and it's BECAUSE OF THE HERO'S FEAST?!!!

FCG tries to flip the coin underwater ... and loses it! It sinks ... but then ACTIVATES!!! BOOM!! Somehow that manages to break Ashton out of the trance! Yes! He books it!

Laudna breeches the boat back to the surface!

Big boom! Everybody run! But YES!!! That's a good point! They need to stay and warn about the thing down below ...

Crap ... the bost and rope are NO LONGER alive ... they swim back to the shore ...

Well, at least they're all out again ...

Balls ... they can't send any more messages ... Chetney carves a warning on the dock. A very obscure warning ... hmmm ... oh, leave the skull for people to talk to?

Orym (spooky voice): "Dead gnomes make no toys!"

They're all so tired ... wait, they're going BACK IN?!!! Hmmm ...

They set up signs matking where yo go, then go back in ... the creature is not there at this time, so they can safely go back through thd portal ... back jn the cave, then ...

Laudna sets up for a watch ...

Orym wonders why Dorian didn't answer the stone ... oh no, don't do that to yourself, wee man.

Wow ... Laudna is having a weirdly profound existential conversation with Pate ... hmmm ...

Oh for fuck's ... DO NOT talk to Delilah, Laudna!

Disturbingly, the ruthless evil bitch is actually giving her some pretty good advice ... oh boy, and here comes the seduction, right on time ... back off, Delilah ...

Laudna: "Are you Pate?" Oh boy ... thankfully no ... oh for fuck's ... now she's SEEING HER ...

Thank the gods ... FINALLY a long rest ... morning comes ...

Oh fuck, greasy takeout sounds SO GOOD right now ... damn you, Ashton ...

Going up sounds like the smart move ... yes, as Orym's saying, "stay curious."

Leaving an arrow to follow ...

A Ring of Protection? Nice. The Tiny Tank (aka Orym) takes it ...

Laudna puts the Harness on and drains the other ring ... whoa ... she gets a permanent 2 extra HP! Sweet ...

Time to climb ...

Group Athletics Check ... great ... 2 Nat20s? Automatic success ... phew ...

FCG tries to Scry on Ira ... the connection fails ... interesting ... communications are once again buggered ... even more interesting ... seems like the Latticework is blocking the signal between worlds ...

Bane-worm? Crap ...

The tunnel just ENDS? Balls ... it's just a hard compacted collapse, no way through.

Oh yeah, can Ashton do something about this? Oh wow, he's doing it ... Ashton activates his Shard and goes all Dragonball Z again ...

Sweet, our boy is now a burrowing GOD ... that's VERY COOL ... he just powers his way STRAIGHT UP ... and surfaces headfirst into a massive dust storm ... he goes back down ... SUPERHERO LANDING!!!

Chetney ATTACKS ASHTON by chucking his chisel at him ... and HITS!!! Oof ... he just POPS IT BACK OUT and stabs it VERY DEEP INDEED into the wall ... that is VERY COOL ...

So they're going up? Okay ... he carves another diagonal tunnel for them up to the surface.

Still a storm up here, but lighter now ...

Scry balk is dark ... phew ...

Imogen tries to reach out to scan the area, Ruidusborn style ... now they have a path, but may also have broadcast their location ...

So goals ... find the Friends of the Volition ...

The Scroll? Ah crap ... read it! Put the protective magic up ... now they're theoretically undetectable ...

Imogen leaves a triggered message that can only activate if an ally passes by ... a Mind Egg? Hmmm ...

So now they're walking through the chappy dust and wind ... charming ...

A vibration in the air? Oh hell what's THIS SHIT?

EVERYTHING'S lighting up? Oh fuck ... IT'S A FLARE!!! FUCK!!!

Imogen and Fearne and now just PULSING OUT ... weird shit ...

It passes and Fearne's still glowing but Imogen's gone ... crap, she's HOVERING IN THE AIR and just SUPERCHARGED ... she snaps out of it and drifts down ...

They BOTH now have 15 temporary Hit Points? Awesome ...

Ashton is just CRUISING THROUGH THE GROUND ahead of them. Like a land shark ... O.O

Eventually he pops up and changes back ... and now he is A WRECK ... great ... TWO WHOLE POINTS OF EXHAUSTION?!!! Holy shit ...

FCG casts a 4th Level Greater Restoration to bring him back up to health again ...

Fearne turns into a direwolf and scouts on ahead.

A carved valley? Hmmm ... oh, an actual CITY ... that's Kreviris, then ...

And that's it for the night ...

Phew ... at least it's s chilled out end for once ...

[critterfloozy]

Critter Gen Week Day 3 - Cross Campaign

For Cross Campaign, I'm posting the first part of my upcoming Delilah Briarwood and Delrta Thelyss work! Unbetad, also don't have a name yet. But will be posting this on AO3 by the end of the week!

(I also had things for day one and two, but I'll post them on day seven - life kinda got in the way)

785 PD.

Delilah Briarwood first arrived in Rosohna as a newly minted member of the Cerberus Assembly with little fanfare. Archmage of Antiquity was neither a role with potential trade implications like the Archmage of Industry or Diplomatic Union, nor to be watched the way the Archmages of Civil Influence, Dysology, or Domestic Protection. There was always the chance that some Luxon historical artifact might be found within Dwendalian space, but barring the unearthing of some new great fallen city in the next few short decades, Deirta had little hope.

Still, respect must be paid, if only to keep the other Western wizards in line. And thus, a grand tour for the little mage.

Deirta, as a point of fact, thought little of most wizards. She’d fought wizards, a near millennium ago, and still remembered all the ways to get around their little tricks. She recognized Da’leth as a dangerous and pretentious fool of the old sort, and could only hope that his bizarre machinations brought him down sooner rather than later. In the meantime, he was a pretentious fool with an army, and they were aiming for peace.

The newest archmage looked painfully young, wide eyes taking in the Lucid Bastion and a precision in her step that seemed artfully designed to hide any sort of nervousness. Everything looked to be exactly put into place, just so, standing as if her spine had been put into a vise.

Perhaps one day she’ll learn that the best way to show power is to appear to relinquish some of that control. Or rather, to make it seem effortless, just so. Perhaps she wouldn’t.

“Is Leylas Kryn a title, also? Or an honorary name?” Archmage Briarwood asked.

“How do you mean?”

“Forgive me for being blunt - but while I realize that I am new, and young by your standards, we do have recorded history. I made a point of studying all of them, and have found most- if not all - mention that the ruler’s name is Leylas Kryn. She is a drow in the most recent accounts, but the first encounters between our Empire and yours mention a tiefling.” She smiled. “We may be short lived, but we do jot such things down.”

Archmage Briarwood looked smug behind her polite facade, as if she had caught the Kryn out on some sort of grand lie. She had no idea that she’d just revealed her complete ignorance to the entire group. How little they had to fear from Dwendalian spies, if they did not even know the secrets of consecution?

Part of Deirta pitied her, maybe. Or maybe it was to gloat. Or maybe it was that the Umavi Mirimm was in hospice and not around to stop her. In any case, she said, plainly. “Leylas Kryn has undergone the right of consecution and has been reborn.”

“Ah, how interesting! It’s always a pleasure to learn about other people’s beliefs!” Archmage Briarwood said, though her fellow Archmage and diplomats shot her quelling looks. Perhaps she had not been properly briefed. Deirta focused more on the others, who seemed more worth her time. She’d done her part to be polite to the ignorant condescending mayfly.

In that moment, Briarwood showed no more interest in prolonging life. But she had been so young at that time, and youth always confers the illusion of immortality. Deirta shouldn’t have expected her to stay dismissive.

799 PD.

Deirta received a sending from the Archmage Briarwood a few days before the Dwendalian delegation was supposed to arrive. A somewhat covert meeting request - slip away for a few minutes. The stated purpose of this trip was renewing discussions of trade routes over the Ashkeeper Peaks - nothing the Archmage of Antiquity should have been needed for.

The new northern discoveries had already some intriguing results, perhaps they’d found something they think Leylas Kryn would be willing to negotiate for.

Deirta decided to take the meeting. Leylas seemed less patient these days, less willing to think of the long term consequences, and Abrianna wasn’t around to stop her. It wouldn’t do to bargain away half of western Xhorhas on the promise of some Dunamantic scraps.

And she’d remembered stories of Aeor from her childhood. Yes, they had a duty to spread word of the Light as far as possible and to see if there was any knowledge to be scraped away from the wreckage, but it seemed opportune to her to let their rivals take all of the risk first.

“That’s the story we’re going to go with, yes - I’ll try to sweet talk you into some baubles, you’ll call my bluff and shout a little bit, and nobody will think anything more about me going on this trade talk,” Delilah said breezily, in one of the small suites created for semi-private dalliances in the Lucid Bastion.

“You know this isn’t actually private, yes? The Lens monitor each room in this building. It would be very inconvenient to me if you caused a diplomatic incident.”

“Not a worry,” Delilah tapped an anti-scrying amulet around her neck. Typical wizard - overlooking the nonmagical means of achieving a goal. “But also, your side is not the one I’m worried about. I fully expect that you’ll need to discuss this with your Queen.”

Oh, well, that was intriguing. Deirta chose to let that show. “Why are you here, really?”

“Consecution,” Delilah said, and then stared up at Deirta. She truly was short for a human. “I need to know how it works.”

Deirta kept her voice steady, doing her best not to betray any irritation. “The mysteries of the Luxon….”

“Are saved for the most devout, or richest, or specialist, I’m sure.” Delilah cut her off with a wave of her hand. “I only wish to know how it works.”

“I see. And what will you give us in return?”

“Full access to the Aeorian ruins. I’ll find a reason to step back. Ludinus wouldn’t be happy, but he’ll live.” She took a deep breath. “My husband is dying. We think it may have come from the north - it appears incurable.”

Deirta made a show of considering Delilah for a few seconds, gauging how desperate she was.

“I’ll discuss this with the Bright Queen when she is next able to grant me private audience,” Deirta said, and then respectfully bowed before leaving the room.

Deirta met Leylas for brunch the next day.

“Do you think they’ll truly cede the ruins over to us?” Leylas said, sipping her drink.

Deirta snorted. “Almost certainly not. Or at least not for long - Ludinus would find a way to dispose of her, and anything she said would be erased.”

And, again, she didn’t really mind the Dwendalians spending their soldiers and agents getting destroyed in the ruins.

“But you still think it’s a good idea.”

“I think she doesn’t realize the true asset being offered, and that makes it a fabulous idea.” A thankful Archmage, one asking to to be indoctrinated - one who knows the secret workings of the Dwendals and of Da’Leth - would be a significant catch indeed. Even if she’s resistant at first, there’s always the husband. Or simply waiting for their next life - a childhood growing up in the light of the Luxon has a way of changing loyalties.

Leylas sighed. “You still haven’t forgiven House Dwendalos, have you?”

“We could have had it all! They were in line for the throne! All they had to do was stay quiet, maybe murder a few choice people -“

“- Their siblings in that cycle -“

“-Or simply give us the information that could have helped us!”

“They chose to not commit treason and betray their birth family,” Leylas said a little playfully. “Most would say that it would be a good thing.”

“A little treason would have been nice,” Deirta muttered, but it was mostly for show.

Leylas gave her a comforting pat on the shoulder. “So what is your plan with your new Archmage?”

“I’ll let her know that you have agreed that we might share information, so long as we start seeing the retreat of Dwendalian agents away from Aeor. But - you will also not blaspheme, and one must be a true believer to be Consecuted. The Archmage Briarwood and her husband would be expected to go through the entire catechism before Consecution.”

Leylas waved one of the servants over to take their dishes away. “I do think Abrianna would keep us from proceeding if she were around.”

“Well, that just means we would have to succeed before she comes back.”

[12pt-times-new-roman]

LORE DUMP LORE DUMP

Ludinus Da'leth leads an organization known as the Ruby Vanguard. The group may align loosely with the Verity, but is diametrically opposed to Vasselheim. They, or at least this mage, appear to venerate and revere Da'leth as a near-god himself.

The Vanguard's goal -- Da'leth's goal -- is to release Predathos to hunt the gods and destroy them. Their justification is that Predathos is the natural predator of the gods, and releasing it would therefore restore the natural order. They believe that the gods impose their will unfairly upon mortalkind, and that the only way for mortals to be free to do as they wish is if the gods are dead.

There are many gears in motion to free the chains that have bound every mortal life since the beginning of time on this planet. You walk in the shadows of the supposed creators, and have since the very beginning. Imagine if we all had the freedom to walk as we wish, undriven by fate, untethered by the wills of things that came far before we did and have lost the right to call themselves gods... from what we've understood, and have been working towards under him for some time, everything that ever existed is part of some cycle of life, an ecology. To the smallest scale, the tiniest insects to the mightiest beasts. There is prey, and there is predator. The gods we have been told from the beginning are the top of all life -- where did they come from? If they founded this world, they came from somewhere. And wherever they came from, they aren't the only ones. Everything has a predator that hunts it... and when the shark finishes eating the fish, it doesn't go after the plankton.

Now, of course, this sounds very much like the teachings of the Luxon -- I'm pretty sure Essek literally, word-for-word, said that the Luxon allowed its followers to "break free from the destinies the gods left for them." We also know that Ludinus was in extended contact with 3 separate beacons as of 836 PD (the two they stole and the one from Pride's Call), that the beacons were being studied by Aeorian mages trying to destroy the gods, and that Aeorian artifacts were the cause of Molaesmyr's destruction (of which Da'leth was a survivor).

And since wizard hubris is timeless, this of course also sounds like the talk we heard in EXU: Calamity about mortals being on-par with the gods. But there's a distinctly different tinge to this, I think -- to me, this feels like Ludinus is being manipulated by Predathos to release it, similarly to how Obann was being manipulated by Tharizdun.

Also, as others have pointed out, the machines he's building are called "malleus keys," so they may be related to the "factorium malleus" -- the name of the Aeorian god-killing weapon the M9 found in Aeor.

Ties to others:

Ira: Ira has been a "loose thread" for a long time, presumably since the Apex War. The mage says that Ludinus should know that Ira is still "out and about," so it sounds like they want to get rid of Ira because he knows too much.

Otohan: Otohan is another devout follower of this ideal and a member of the Ruby Vanguard. She's been part of the organization for a long time, but it still sounds like she reports to Ludnius, like he's above her in rank.

Unseelie Court: The mage hasn't been working directly with the Unseelie, but Otohan and Ludinus have been.

[severalsmallhedgehogs]

I’m Going To Talk About the Five Gods

Specifically the Penric and Desdemona novellas. If you follow me for fic, know that they were the inspiration for the Luxon’s whole vibe in Memory. Maybe mild vibe spoilers for Memory underneath? Definitely some spoilers for Penric’s Mission and Orphans of Raspay. But I have to talk about this. Fair warning there is no structure I’m just talking

Ok so there’s The Mother, the Father, the Son, the Daughter, and the Bastard, okay? I love the Bastard. I love how when two children of one of his saints got kidnapped by pirates he went “Ok how do I fix this? Penric and Desdemona are out at sea, they’ll immediately instinctively protect the kids, let’s get them kidnapped by the same pirates and that’ll work itself out. :) Also Penric will light some metaphorical fire in that temple while we’re at it.”

I still think about that little moment in the Cedonia trilogy when Penric opens the Father’s offering box and finds a ton of money in there and is like “oh someone wants to win a legal battle huh” and later he starts to suspect that the Father borrowed him and Desdemona for this fake treason charge stuff. I’m imagining the Father going “Ok I’m gonna borrow these two a little for a long game, but I’ll make sure people are donating enough money for them to take out of the offering box ok? ok”

Or the story about the Daughter’s temple in Limnos, and a group of occupying raiders getting struck by a plague from the Daughter. “Or a really angry woman poisoning the well.” The really angry woman poisoning the well could be argued as the plague sent by the Daughter. The Bastard’s Order’s motto is “The gods have no hands but our own.”

There’s also the situation in Lodi, with Penric grieving people he couldn’t save and expectations he couldn’t meet, and Chio grieving the demons she’s seen destroyed. The Bastard basically pushed them together and was like “You two will understand each other really well. Comfort and spiritual counsel both ways. Go”

Even Penric getting Desdemona (the demon who lives in his head and lets him do magic) was probably arranged by the Bastard. The person Desdemona was with last wanted to take a different route to town. Penric was late leaving for a ceremony. And as a result Penric came across the previous person as she was dying, and Desdemona jumped to him. Her previous person thought of Penric as the “Bastard’s last blessing.” The Bastard is the god of accidents and mischance, by the way. All disasters out of season.

And don’t even get me started on the guy who just wants to sit beside a river pretending to fish, and kind of offered the Bastard companionship and a place to just sit around because he figures the Bastard doesn’t get offerings like that very much. And the Bastard went “That one. I love that one. I’m gonna make him a saint so my order will pay for him to sit around and take naps on the riverbank and occasionally do a little work for me.”

I love how these gods kind of nudge and arrange things, mostly. And then also appear in dreams and be like “You did good. Also I see you’re worried about snow. No rush, just don’t stay here more than three days ok”

I have a lot of feelings about the Bastard in particular but that’s its own post and it’s late