Lack of Life

a little while back i had the kinda random idea that lucrezia might be/inspired/hijacked the mythos of the skifandrian goddess eshkigax, and now it looks like my theory might have legs to stand on!

additional reasoning:

lucrezia already is/inspired/hijacked the mythos of the geisterdamen's goddess, so it's totally something she would do

she clearly has knowledge about skifander. [though admittedly this particular point is somewhat weak, as barry also knows stuff about skifander, and lucrezia presumably learned about skifander prior to becoming the other since she knew enough to exile klaus there (unless she just set the mirror to a random destination). it seems very possible that the heterodyne boys, et al. travelled there on an adventure, though why that contact never became well known in either europa or skifander is something of a mystery, but i digress.]

more significantly, the geisterdamen have knowledge of skifander. given that both are underground, its possible that they have had some amount of contact and/or cultural exchange, which could include religion

and

"Impossible! Couldn't be done! Of course, once I knew that it was possible, why, the method was obvious!"

All things are possible once they've been done.

They did not have to be possible before that.

(But once they are...they can be understood.)

MY ADVENTURES WITH SUPERMAN — "Into the New World" (3.01)

Hal's choice not to fight in the Falconer's Rebellion was a personal choice about prioritizing his own family (and whether he could even leave his two older children with Elodie to go off and fight is not totally certain). But it was, of course, not a choice made in isolation. He argues that even their father decided to hang up his blade at some point, but our understanding of the lot of orcs before the Shaper's War is that that wasn't a choice their father could have made 60 years prior. That under Azgra, Hal would almost certainly have been forced to march to war, never mind his three young children at home. There were clearly orcs who weren't on the front lines, orcs who built the cities and smithed the weapons and provided whatever food the community had, but by and large orcs were made as weapons and used as such. Thjazi's letter referenced turning swords into plowshares. In some ways, Hal's whole life between the War of Axe and Vine and now has been a version of that. The Falconer's Rebellion was a just cause, and it's probable that if more people had been willing to join it, Araman wouldn't be in the mess it's currently in. But Hal's choice to abstain is a very different choice from Aranessa's choice to abstain. The politics of an orc saying "I will not fight" even when the cause is just are far more nuanced. Because isn't this part of the freedom Vokjan Murzat fought and died for? Orcs in nice clothes, with flowers all around, and time to go see beautiful art made by their own people? Orcs who raise children and start businesses and hang up their swords? A life free from war? Finally. We don't know whether Hal was thinking about those politics when he made his choice. I suspect he was "I choose the Rungjani" indicates that to me, but you can easily read the scene another way. Whatever your take on his thought process, the politics of the choice are undeniable. A healthy orc in his early 30s refusing a call to arms barely 50 years after Azgra's death means something for the Rungjani.

it’s so easy to be cynical and tell the story of a revolution that eats itself or a heroic character who is corrupted by power or a rebel who becomes the thing he once fought against but that wasn’t Thjazi and more importantly that isn’t this story

But before that. When Tyranny sees he looks like he’s about to vomit. That he’s terrified.

All he can say is, “How—? How do you..?”

How does Einfasen have this artifact of his family’s when it was melted away? The answer, we know, is that its black wax was abandoned in the Palazzo Davinos. The corpses were cleared away. The blood. Everything spotless. Except for that wax on the floor. Why wasn’t that cleaned with the rest? It was still human fat, viable to be swept up with the rest of the organic mess. Still a risk to any who can divine secrets from objects. Primus’ panic in the present shows how aware he is and had to be of what the candle could reveal as evidence.

And yet it was left behind. Perhaps with the assumption that his vassal crew would take care of it and the other repair work and magic sanitization that would come with the day after. Could be. A noble needn’t clean up after himself beyond what his necromancy can deal with. But! Now he sees the assumption was wrong! The black wax was already missing, reconstituted into the candle, before his people showed up to set dress the gala. Meaning someone out there got their hands on the wax the night of the massacre, right after the Tachonises and ghouls cleared out, Mended it, and delivered it to Einfasen as evidence.

That How? isn’t just a question of ability. It’s a question of Who?  

True, Otto did not namedrop Azune in his dressing down of Primus. Presumably Groto’s name is unavoidably there in print on the paperwork. But with hindsight, I don’t know how Azune’s name can’t be in the documentation that Primus himself had copies of—that all the Sundered House heads presumably got briefed on. At best, I wouldn’t put it past the Einfasens to be careful about it; precious and secretive about a young man who might just be of their own blood.

Except Capt. Nayar was namedropped by the Candescent Creed at the Hallowed Round within this same evening. Because House Halovar knew about the promotion. Perhaps because Filoneus clocked the name of his favorite Good Man(!) and passed it on to the clerks. Possibly after reading the brief from Einfasen.

Meaning that if Otto and Harondus were more proud than cautious, more adherent to the rules than secrecy, Captain Azune Nayar might actually have his name right there in ink for Primus to see as the lead inspector on the case against him. The same fine Arcane Marshal who also led the investigation on the Palazzo Davinos. What a fine cover for this sorcerer to have ‘happened to find’ the black wax at the crime scene, when Primus knows that shit should have been scrubbed out of existence by the same crew who cast abjuration bleach all over the place.  

I hope like hell it’s just Groto’s name in there—sorry, man—because if House Tachonis puts two and two and Azune together, they’re going to know the sunset sadman is the guy who nabbed the wax and remade the candle the same night they used it.

…and, if that other Overture shoe is still waiting to drop, it might lead someone in the family to recognize the very same Arcane Marshal their fake Misty Step spell glyph was designed to fool in the Thjazi escape attempt just a week and change ago.

Bluminarmour Project Update (sorry for the croaky voice)

Hey folks, it is with great sadness that I need to let you know that it looks like the Bluminarmour Project on Kickstarter is going to have to take a backwards step. Due to some communication issues with one of the people I was working with on the project, there has been a copyright dispute that has resulted in its suspension.

Unfortunately after several days of communication with Kickstarter and the affected parties, it seems like the best way to proceed will be to first ensure that Kickstarter refunds all backers, and then cancel the project and begin again. Obviously I will update you all if anything changes but for now this seems to be the best option.

I do have an armourer that I’m very excited to work with moving forward, and I still want to do this the best way that I can, but that means I need to take a different approach for now.

This line, from Halandil to Vokjan, hurts me in a very specific way. Because it's not that they only have a chance now. It's not that Vokjan didn't have a chance before.

Vokjan did have a chance. His successors would prove this because they won. If they didn't have a chance before, no victory could have ever been possible. So, in truth, Vokjan did have a chance. His rebellion could have worked. There's no cosmological guarantee that it wouldn't have worked.

The difference between Hal (Thjazi) and Vokjan is that Vokjan fought his rebellion, without any proof that he could win. Vokjan fought knowing that there's never been a victory before. Vokjan fought because what other option was there? If all the choices he had were revolution or oblivion, then of course he was going to fight. It was never about fighting on the chance that he could win. It was always about fighting because the fight is the better option, which effectively makes it the only option.

Now, Hal (Thjazi) have that proof of concept. They stand on the shoulders of Shay and the Lloys who fought Azgra and won. Now, they know that gods can fall. Now, they know that there's a chance.

But they always had that. The Shapers could never take that from them. The Houses can certainly try. But nothing is ever a given. So the chances are low and never zero.

It strikes me that Hal says they have a chance now. But what if he was in Vokjan's shoes? What if they switched eras? Would he side with a revolutionary or would he be a priest if he didn't have that proof of a possible victory?

Yeah. Eventually he would become a rebel. If circumstances degrade enough that even certain doom would be better than prolonging life under brutal tyranny, people will fight.

But now, in theory, it shouldn't have to get that bad before people join the fight. They know better now. They know that there's a chance for victory. They know that regimes can fall. They have been forcefully made aware that no authority is absolute. So, in theory, knowing there is a chance empowers people long before they're that desperate.

Because maybe revolutions are a constant and inevitable component of society. Tyrants rise. Rebellion foments. On and on, the wheel turns. But the cycle is not a flat, 2D circle where you end at the beginning with no material change. The cycle is more like a helix, a 3D object that yes, goes down, but it can also go up. With each revolution, people can circle just a little higher than before, building on the victories made by their predecessors.

Because there's always a chance. There's been a chance before, there is a chance now, and there's going to be a chance in the future. Chance is a constant and irrevocable thing.

Yanessa supposedly casts a Zone of Truth on him. Zone of Truth can be cast by bards, clerics, paladins, and druids. Yanessa is none of these. Even if she secretly were, the following means she either faked the casting, or simply held her tongue about Primus not actually submitting to it.

“It was never my intention to slaughter any who sit now at this table.” Past tense. And there are more ways to kill than a slaughter. Questionable.

“The window has closed. We were running out of time. […] It is no longer a threat.” Tannesar has been gathering sand and dust for ages. Tansul made it in his ancient lifetime. What tight schedule was your undead angel project possibly on, Primus? Lie.

Lore drop about the Royal House of Obridai, to which all the currently Sundered Houses once knelt as vassals. The ancestors of Einfasen, Cormoray and Royce only acquired the lands they did because their ancestors knelt to the kings of Obridimia and the Shapers, despite being of more ancient magic lineage to Aramán. A historical point that none of the houses can refute. Truth.

‘Royce quarrels with Einfasen, Einfasen with Cormoray.’ Aranessa went to Otto as an ally. Otto said his house had friends with House Cormoray who they’d speak to about commending Murray. Primus is trying to tilt a narrative that doesn’t align with his speech. Lie/Questionable.

“Seventy years ago, we had an emperor.” More history. There was an emperor still ruling at the time of Tansul’s slaying. Truth.

“I speak truth to you now. My plan with the Deva Vindicta was the same as always.” Cue a reveal of broad real estate plans with the other Sundered Houses’ names staked out on them. “Western Telmora to the Einfasen. Eastern Telmora to the Cormoray. The Golden Orchard moved from its proximity to the closed doors of Faerie into the Tenebral Reaches for use by my family, and Yanessa, the razing of Telmora’s druid groves. Plenty of real estate to build cathedrals. We are true allies to all of you here. The Deva Vindicta was not meant to slaughter you. It was meant to make you kneel. […] The Vindicta would’ve been our winning gambit in the game that we all play here.” House Tachonis is not playing the same game, full stop. They don’t care about the Material Plane or its politics except as an obstacle prior to dying away to their growing empire in the Tenebral Reaches, where all souls bow to them. The Sepulchral Lord business with Grandpa Nullus is sign enough. The Deva Vindicta might have an extra use of making other lords bow to the Tachonis in life, but that’s secondary. The focus is on an existential scale, not a mortal one. It’s believable that the Golden Orchard is a coveted target. It’s believable that they’d want the druids to lose some of their foothold. It’s a shrug as to whether Tachonis cares enough about living Aramán to divvy it up to fellow lords or not. Lie/Questionable.

“Lord Einfasen, how goes the search for the Jotunøks? My Lord Cormoray, I understand that your grant at the Pentevral has gone through. Congratulations. I heard there was some celebration at the old Kalystra quarries? And I’m glad you’re well, Lady Halovar. Terrible case of bellows fever going around, wouldn’t you say? And of course, your wonderful Aspirants. How exceptional that these demons are here because they have been…saved.” Translation: Tachonis has eyes and ears aware of all the other Sundered Houses’ secret projects. Those same Sundered Houses had only guesswork to go off of with Tachonis, if that. It took all our heroes risking their lives and working overtime to dredge up enough evidence to reveal a fraction of what Tachonis, the house that works in shadow, was actually working on. Primus was caught off guard at the meeting’s start because he was shocked that any secret of his house could leak at all, let alone through the mystery of the reconstituted candle. Even so. Tachonis knows much more about the other houses than any of them even suspect of Tachonis. Truth.

[INSERT ARISTO ASSHOLE CLASSIST SPIEL HERE.] Part sales pitch. Part earnest shitty belief. It means nothing for House Tachonis to kneel to another house in life when they still rule in death. Questionable.

When questioned, Primus insists his push to have Thjazi Fang executed was only to bait Aranessa and her company to rush into range. Mentions the Candle of Slaughter requires noble blood to be spilled for it to work. The former is a good cover, entirely leaving out the significance of the Tachonis scar on Thjazi, intended to force him into servitude in death. The latter is a unique confession to make about how the spell components of your murder candle work in a room full of nobles. An admission so unflattering it would be taken for a grudging truth by his audience. (And possibly a good protection for later, if or when the second Tachandle is lit and used to kill off a bunch of nobodies for another slaughter.) Lie and a (Questionable) Truth.

“That is the sum total of it. I’ve told you all I can.” LIE. LIE. LIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE.

Petra and Ryah, behind him: “We have much to discuss, my lords and lady, of the Revolutionary Council and its weakness following the assassination attempt on the Timmonish king and the Photarch.” An assassination attempt they knew was coming. Possibly all of them knew it and/or had a hand in it. They all wanted King Gus dead and the Council weakened. “There have been heated words exchanged. We need not make a decision tonight. Let us calm ourselves and let cooler heads prevail.” That the same line you sold to Amadah before you went hunting for Occtis on Altradler? “Come. We have laid a feast for you as a token of our apologies.”

Ma’ams. Ladies. My heroin chic skeletal gals. I know the “Zone of Truth” wasn’t “”cast”” on you, but come on. Your dad spent half his time here openly lying to everyone’s face about the Royce and Occtis killing and had to have his apology*** dragged out of him like pulling teeth. That Fantasy Doordash buffet was not laid for any apology. Either you’re up to some Red Wedding poisoning shit—thanks for mentioning the need for noble blood to spill, Primus!—or House Tachonis is simply incapable of opening its mouths and telling the truth at the same time.

And what a surprise. Primus and Yanessa want a private ‘just us priestly houses~’ chat while the other houses (plus a Termina!) get herded to the dinner table. Shocking.

I would be reluctant to use fridging in this exact context, because this isn't some imaginary scenario to generate manpain for a white hero, this is a much more common experience of Native American and First Nation people, having their wives and daughters and sisters (in particular, but not exclusively) go missing. And never getting answers, never learning what happened, and not being believed that there's a problem in the first place.

This is like how being rescued from a tower by a prince is not particularly empowering or affirming to cis physically able straight thin perisex white women and girls, but can be for basically anybody else. Particularly black girls and women, who do not get a lot of cultural messages that treat them as people who are so valuable and precious, who may not have the strength to save themselves, or may wish that they didn't fucking have to save themselves (and everyone else) all the time.

White men have this story so often happen that we have a trope name specific to one specific and particularly egregious version of this, but you don't often see men who look like Robbie dealing with this type of story in fictional settings, even though it happens for men like Robbie in real life with horrifying frequency.