#knightxt

Divinity:

In ancient, ancient history there was no power cap or preventative measures to stop mortals from gaining power infinitely and becoming a god. At some point, Pharom, the god of natural laws and cycles, decided that he didn’t like the chaos this caused and invented mortality and “hell” and stuff. And now whenever someone gets too strong and encroaches on godhood, they get "smited/smitten", turned into a demon, and sent to his plane of existence which is Basically hell.

Recently, however, a new god has come into being by performing a ritual that gave them power instantaneously and prevented detection by Pharom so they were not smitten. This god is a god of unknowing and nonexistence, and also technically a brand new, second plane of magic. No one except Eduard knows about this god.

So Where Does Eduard Factor In?:

Eduard knows about this god because he read a tome left behind by them. The tome itself contains, among other things, a detailed account of how to ascend to godhood before Pharom can catch you.

Eduard died when he read that tome, but was "preserved" because the God (known from here on out as the second lattice or just the lattice) doesn’t feel good about killing people for something that is essentially its own fault.

[Above] Eduard speaking to a representation of the Lattice, which usually does not take a physical form.

So now Eduard is TECHNICALLY just a memory of the Lattice, and they are constantly taking some of his memories and storing them in their own plane--essentially lobotomizing him every second so he cannot become a god but still letting him gain newfound powers from having part of that information.

He got this tome because he was a librarian at the Library of Queen Lida, which is essentially the setting's equivalent to the Library of Alexandria, but its contents are mostly private and only available to high-ranking scholars or members of the Library itself.

It was technically a mistake for him to be handed the book at all. He was supposed to vet it and shelf it where it belonged after discerning its contents--but he wasn't nearly high enough rank in the library to be doing that kind of work with such a dangerous tome.

When he opened the tome it felt to him as if he had some of his time erased. He remembered opening it and reading its contents, but no time had passed and he didn't remember what was within the tome (this was the Lattice hiding away his memories).

It also spurred on his spellcasting (He technically couldn't cast spells before this! He is a warlock, after all!) and overall just freaked him out, so he grabbed the tome and the clothes on his back and fled to look for answers.

So What’s He Up To Now?:

He's currently in a mega-dungeon belonging to a Lich by the name of Modus Tollens that is basically his second unbelievably powerful sugar daddy. It would take me a whole different post to try to explain Modus Tollens and Eduard’s relationship with him, so I’ll try to summarize it quickly.

[Above] Eduard and Modus Tollens in his revitalized form. Typically the Lich looks like blackened bone.

Modus Tollens sees Eduard as a project for the most part; handing him power to help him gain an understanding of the thing in his head (The Lattice) so he can see what happens. Eduard, on the other hand, almost feels like he is using Modus Tollens' hubris to get what he wants because he knows Modus Tollens will never be able to learn about the Lattice, and Eduard needs the power to be able to kill Modus Tollens and get his life back.

Oh yeah, that’s another thing I need to explain.

Eduard essentially made a deal with the Lattice during one of the times they spoke, agreeing to kill Modus Tollens. The Lattice stated that it wanted the Lich dead because it didn’t like his grand plans; and in exchange, the Lattice would leave Eduard’s head along with all memories of itself, essentially bring him back to life and let his life return to normal.

The only catch is that when the Lattice erases all memories of itself from Eduard, they will need to be replaced by something. Eduard will have to have gotten his powers from somewhere to clean up all the loose ends. The Lattice has asked Eduard “What [does he] want to remember [himself] as?”, and that question coupled with the fact that Eduard is only a figment of a God’s imagination at this point has left Eduard with some pretty bad existential crises now and then. Thankfully, he has a handful of options--especially since he has begun to specialize in psionics rather than purely warlock magics, though the ability for psionics was still granted to him by both the Lattice and Modus Tollens.

[Above] Modus Tollens offering Eduard an eye of Queen Lida and kickstarting his psionic abilities.

[Below] Something about an infinite mind and infinite possibilities.

I think the fact that he is taking levels in Mystic is so cool also because Queen Lida (Yeah, the lady whose Library Eduard worked at), Eduard’s idol, was apparently also secretly a super-powerful psionic. (I could talk forever about her too.)

I suppose also important to note is that he was delving into the dungeon with three hardened soldiers, all members of the Order of the Black Rose.

The Black Rose?:

Jara, Ed, and Zack were the three individuals Eduard was traveling with. I only say “was” because currently Jara and Zack have left the dungeon to go get help from other members of their order, while Ed and Eduard must stay in the dungeon (more of Modus Tollens’ funky magic that I won’t get too far into right now).

[Above] Zack, Jara, Eduard, and Ed in order.

They are a perfect example of enemies turned player-favorites, because these three were definitely built to be minor antagonists. They were originally waiting outside of a cave with the intent of beating up the party and robbing them blind of any magic items they might have found, but Eduard was able to convince them to send Ed in with the party to help out and from there they just grew attached.

Their relationship was tenuous at first as Jara, Zack, and Ed (hereon referred to as the Rose) were practically on a suicide mission into the dungeon to retrieve a cursed rite of power that Zack had authored and was stolen from them. No one was supposed to know they were here, especially not other members of their order--so when Eduard asked if he could join the Rose on their delve into the dungeon, Jara initially refused. She cared too much about Eduard to lead him to his death.

Eduard was insistent, though, as at that current time he felt he had nothing else to live for. He had no answers about the Lattice yet and didn’t think he’d ever be able to live a normal life again.

Jara eventually said yes, and fortunately, Eduard’s particular abilities meant that all four of them not only survived but began to make real progress. Succeeding in their mission seemed more possible with Eduard around.

And, of course, with time there was homoerotic tension. I won’t go too deep into that right now, though (but I’d be happy to talk more about Eduard’s relationship with the Rose more if any1 is actually interested…)

First and foremost, Ed and Eduard are different people. Ed is the big, bald half-giant, Eduard is my little warlock man! It's confusing, I know, but my DM had no clue Ed was gonna be such a recurring character I'm sure. I'm going to be proceeding assuming you meant Eduard with every "Ed"

Alright, now that we've got that squared away, let's start with the questions!

What is his relationship with each of the Black Rose?:

I portray his relationship with all three of them as a happy, healthy polyamorous relationship. They are all in love with one another, no one is one-sided or anything like that.

That being said, the individual pairings do have their own dynamics.

[Above] Jara and Eduard's conversation on their way to the dungeon for the first time.

Jara was probably the first one Eduard fell in love with, but not the first one that he really began any sort of real romantic relationship with out of the three. Jara has been sweet and protective of Eduard from the very beginning. She is the group's captain and takes the leading position of the Rose, and as such the other three often look to her for direction, and she is always very caring of her boys. Despite being an elf and not requiring sleep, Jara would spend every night in the dungeon with Eduard holding him in her arms to make sure he got a good night's rest (he had problems sleeping then.)

[Above] Ed holding Eduard after the latter received healing. Eduard had dropped to like 3 HP moments prior.

Ed is likely the one that Eduard initiates things with. Ed is basically the darkest dungeon stress healer of the group. Without him, the other three would be walking around with rainclouds over their heads. Ed's influence makes Eduard want to be a better person--and it's likely the same for Jara and Zack who tend to also lean towards evil and neutral alignments. Ed's also the one that is most in touch with his feelings and is able to easily read how his companions are feeling--which means that he's the first one to realize that Eduard is in love with himself and his two companions, as well as vice-versa. With Eduard in particular, Ed is very protective and frequently puts himself in front of Eduard during combat to make sure he doesn't get hurt.

[Above] Zack taking an academic interest in Eduard but being kinda gay about it.

Zack and Eduard probably have had the most growth together in terms of their relationship. When Jara was trying to decide if she wanted to bring Eduard along with them on their delve into the dungeon, Zack said something along the line of, "Well if we bring him with us, there will be fewer questions when he disappears." But now, in current time, Zack forsook their mission (which they were all willing to risk their lives for, mind you) by influencing a magic ring tracking the rite to instead track Eduard to find him when he went missing--then scoured the halls of the lowest level of the mega-dungeon for four days to find Eduard. Their relationship went from conflicting, to curiosity (As Zack was interested in Eduard's warlock magics and the tome once Eduard confided in him), and now to only vaguely veiled yearning so desperate that they'd risk life and limb for one another.

When they entered the dungeon the rite was taken to, is that the same one that Modus Tollens has trapped people in?:

Yep! It's all part of the same mega-dungeon. Modus Tollens currently has Zack's rite within his vault, and that's why it would be a suicide mission. To attempt to steal a cursed rite of power from a Lich as powerful as Modus is basically a death sentence.

Do any of the Rose know about any of what's going on between Modus and Eduard?:

To be completely fair, "What's going on between Modus and Eduard" is not nearly as homoerotic as I like to depict it as, I'm just gay. HOWEVER, that being said, Eduard and Modus Tollens are still doing shady and dangerous shit, and the Rose does not know the full extent of it. This is not Eduard intending to be sneaky or anything like that, though. Eduard just sees no reason to burden his companions with that, he doesn't want to worry them. He believes he can handle it on his own, and it would keep the people he cares about safest if they didn't know everything.

Also, what's Ed[uard]'s connection to Queen Lida aside from working in a library named for her? She's an idol to him, but you said "was" a psionic, and the wiki lists her as possibly deceased... have they ever met?

Eduard has... sort of met her. Technically she disappeared about 700 years before the current game, but it was revealed that she had died within Modus Tollen's dungeon--and the Lich's influence stretches farther back in time than that. Queen Lida was killed and had her flesh eaten by Odrea--someone she had trusted--because Odrea wanted power from the Lich to help her own companions escape. It didn't work, and Odrea and her companions are still stuck in the dungeon to this day... sort of. That's another long story.

Back to Eduard, though. Eduard only knew of Queen Lida because of her history, her library, and the fact that she was the founder of the Order of the Black Rose; an order made with the intent of finding and obtaining sensitive information and relics, evil or not, and learning to harness them. It was a cause that resonated with Eduard, especially after his run-in with the Lattice.

He only discovered she was a psionic when Modus Tollens told him. The Lich offered him one of her eyes preserved in red glass, which alone granted him the ability to use his own psionics after he had touched it.

[Above] Meme with a living Lida, Eduard, and Lida's preserved eyes.

Another PC, Mendrin, had hold of her other eye at that point, and when Eduard learned of that he asked for it and acquired both eyes that way. By using both eyes as foci for his psionics, Eduard... uh... well, he brought Queen Lida back to life.

Sort of.

She revitalized as a pulsing, floating nervous system that connected to her reclaimed eyes, but she had no brain, no bones, no skin, etc. She was, however, insanely powerful, and vanished rather quickly after regaining her sentience. Modus Tollens is quite obviously frightened of her.

And how does Ed[uard] feel about the Lattice? Does he regret knowing them?

Eduard is scared of the Lattice. That's the easy way to put it. The Lattice scares him so long as it is basically holding him at figurative gunpoint. The Lattice could decide at any moment that keeping Eduard alive isn't worth it and simply vanish him from existence, removing his memory from every mind on every plane, erasing any loose ends so that the god can return to blissful anonymity.

He does, however, also appreciate it. The Lattice has offered him a life he never dreamed he could have had. Eduard was a book nerd working a cushy desk job at a fancy library preparing to go to a college for wizardry, but now he has experiences more incredible than any he has read about. He is altering real history with every action he takes, and he has three new companions in his life that he would do anything for.

He doesn't regret knowing the Lattice, but he does want to get it over with.

He's trying to get his old life back, do You as his player think he would be able to, even if his memories of the Lattice were removed?

Perhaps saying his "old life" was bad phrasing. Eduard would not like to go back to the way things were verbatim.

Eduard would, however, like to one day be able to settle down with his three partners in a black stone Chroma manor by the sea without fear of forgetting them, or worse, them forgetting him as he fades into the obscurity of the Lattice. That, I believe, is certainly within his power...