Unsounded Q&A

It's in volume 3! :D Kissfist Baxter was quite an interesting duelist. Little-known though he is, a number of conspiracy theories have grown up around him since he vanished so suddenly. One of the most popular ideas is he was a Soud son from the wealthy Grettaerin granary families who'd run away from an unwanted marriage and future. That young man vanished from the countryside one summer right around the time of the great Harehaenun v. Kissfist brawl, and had been rumoured to be a fine - if unorthodox - wright.

Others say Baxter was actually a glamoured Crescian Aseptick, an agent of the Queen come to expose Durlyne's harmful labour practises and then return with fodder for fresh anti-Aldish propaganda back home.

The Fraternal sect originated when one of the old Aldish kings wanted to split with the Ulestry-controlled Gefendur church, finding it distastefully aligned with his rising nemesis Cresce. Into this new take on the faith, the king put his own ideals: the worship of power, the elevation of government hierarchy and authority, the rights of men over women, the careful celebration of greed.

"Gefendur means givers" to the original Gefendur, but that's not the case to the Fraternal. Every man has a right to take and to keep what he likes, provided he respect his place within the lawfully structured hierarchy. If you fail within this system? You're being punished for failures in a past life, and shouldn't complain. To succeed is a blessing from the gods, and to fail and fall into illness or poverty is likewise a sign that they're putting you in your place.

First Silver is the most capacious extant First Material. That means it can hold more Aspects and spellwork than any other FM, essentially making it the most powerful. Why is this the case? No reason; it's a brute fact of the physical science of Kasslyne.

But it's been speculated to be connected to the Silver Wood. The Silver Wood purportedly girds the khert, separating it from the Outside, where the gods (or Ssael) reside. First Silver comes from the bone marrow of the agib, or the senet birds. Were the birds born of the Silver Wood? Or was it born from them?

Unusual, definitely. But Duane moreso. Paladins typically come from better families, even among the Soud. The kit and the tutelage is expensive, and it's prestigious to have a son in the Lions.

Some people acquire such largess that the surrounding humans lose their humanity to them, becoming props, tools, basically furniture on the stage of their life. These people broke the social contract, left the species, and their wealth shields them from all consequences.

Jivi dislikes Duane 'cause Duane has repeatedly been an asshole. From smacktalking everything Crescian to literally assaulting Sara and Mistress Lori and then assisting invading soldiers in their effort to rape and kill an entire building of children, Duane's been a villain. Jivi's dislike of him is entirely justified, reasonable, and in fact reflects well on Jivi :)

They LOVE this, this is why they EXIST. They dream about it at night, and it's the first thing they think about when they wake up. There's nothing else in the world for them but serving Master Valentin. Nothing else is as exciting, as pleasurable, as fulfilling, as necessary.