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A Sword Without a Hilt: A Song of Ice and Fire/D&D 3.5 Crossover

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DragonParadox said:
Blood Tithe ​

Thirteenth Day of the Eleventh Month 294 AC

Ritual Chamber, the Palace of the Archon, Volantis

On the very day that Zherys Naethyreon rose to the peak of power behind the Black Walls, he had begun delving the walls of the chamber, black dragonstone now polished to a shine that gleamed in the light of gilded lanterns of unwavering flame, an ancient altar of Balerion reconsecrated to arcane purpose and brought here in haste. Well, the altar had been here since the start but the polish had taken a while longer. It could not really be helped. When else, after all, would he have found sacrifices of such an old and venerable line who were at once fools and daemon's puppets whose deaths would be celebrated in the streets rather than questioned.

He smiled now, thinking of how petty the uses he had found for the blood of his foes then, empowering the palace wards or spying on Benerro to ensure the truce held. He had even bound one soul into his arcanist's ring to make it more responsive to his will in a duel, when all he would have had to do would have been to seek a more skilled enchanter for the task and he would not now get distracted in odd moments by the sound of distant weeping.

These days it would be more trouble than it was worth to obtain a permit do do the same, submit his work for review by a Scholarum-certified board and even then the Inquisition could refuse to actually give into his keeping a prisoner which could be legally sacrificed. More red tape than red blood really. The dark-haired Sorcerer winced at his own thought. For someone who thought of puns as the lowest form of humor, he was unfortunately quite sensitive in recognizing them.

Still, that did not mean he had sealed away his Athame. After all, there was no injunction and far less paperwork in spilling the blood of those merely of bestial intellect.

Another man might have flinched at the bloodcurdling screech that came out of the darkness of the far chamber, but Zherys merely motioned the specifically crafted servitors, Seeker variants, to fetch the centerpiece of the ritual. Unnaturally strong though they may have been, they still struggled with it and not without cause. On the stony shores of Sothoryos there dwelt still a breed of wyvern as feral as the dragons of Valyria in its later years, though thankfully not as large or as powerful, easy enough for a skilled hunter to track, though capturing one alive had been quite the premium.

"You shall have to do, I suppose," he said, unheard by any but the mute servitors. He could feel the magic surging within the beast, not the all consuming flame of its greater kin, but enough for his purposes. It would have cost far more, not in marks but favor, to make use of a feral dragon and while he did not object being in debt to the throne for most things, the thought that he might fail and that would be known thereby was unacceptable.

If the ritual failed he had contingencies. Three of them, in fact, though the third would actually be worse then simply asking for a dragon and then having nothing to show for it.

Ah, my palms are sweating, the mage realized. I cannot even blame the heat given the preliminary ward-work.

There was something almost dance-like, almost gentle about the way he raised the dagger, chanting arcane phrases and moving in sympathy to the motions of the heavens and the turning of the tides of molten stone deep beneath the earth, yet there was no trance here, no mage lost in the flow of magic. The craftsman who has mastered working all his life by candlelight will not be overcome working in the plain light of day no matter how grand the working.

The blade flashed like the cold sickle moon over dead mountains, one dragon-kin died... and another ascended.

Scales grew and fire flashed, flesh like water flowed and it was all as easy as breathing, as easy as sorcery that was his birthright of old. Zherys Naethyreon roared his victory, like thunder in the depths of the earth.

OOC: I felt that it would make sense to lean into Zherys' actual skills in getting that spell rather than just 'he dreamed it like any other spell'. Mechanically it is the same of course. Not yet edited
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Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.

That was a neat way for Zherys to learn a new spell.
 
DragonParadox said:
Keep in mind he did not sacrifice random slaves, but actual demon worshipers. That is not actually something the Imperium shies away from.
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Wait, when did we bind the souls of our enemies into eternal torment?
I think the worst we've done is simple oblivion. Indeed, AFAIK our most common method of blood sacrifice doesn't even touch their souls!

But yes, Zherys would probably not suffer any legal consequences if some whistleblower told everyone about what he's done.
 
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Part MMMDCCCLVII: Fires of Faith
  • Threadmarks
    • Fires of Faith ​

    Twenty-First Day of the Eleventh Month 294 AC

    Rumors fly faster than even wings of flame. It is not the news you had expected to hear upon your return to the Red Keep to celebrate the end of Flea Botton, but if wishes were rafts than beggars would set sail. You turn to the new head of the newly founded branch of the Scholarum in King's Landing.

    Adian Perk had been a hedge wizard once, a cunning man and procurer of tinctures and herbs, though one would be hard-pressed to see any sign of rustic origin in his carefully combed salt-and-pepper hair or in the grey doublet fastened with jet buttons he wears for the occasion. Doubtless he would not be expecting to get this sort of news precisely during your visit, but such is ill fortune like a thief in the night. "There was some hesitancy to take to the sanitation teachings among the healers in the city and the populace more broadly, but it all smoothed out when it became clear the ships would keep coming and the renovations to... well not Flea Bottom, it is going to need a new name... In any case when the renovations were clearly going to plan..."

    The governor interjected, her words calm and clear. "I make no excuse for what has happened. It is I who should have paid more attention to the dissemination of sanitation among the peasantry and how they would take it. The task of the Scholarum is to train and enforce the standards of responsible magic use. It was no sorcerer who was at fault for this, no matter the news from Sharp Point. No matter the needs of King's Landing it was folly of me to forget those who went into the hinterlands bearing messages of learning and mercy..."

    You raise a hand for silence. "I appreciate not seeking to shrink your responsibility Governor, but you should not take on the crimes of others."

    A crime there had indeed been been committed near Sharp Point. One of the phoenixes who had volunteered for the task of explaining basic sanitation to the populace had been killed. If the murder had been born of superstitious fear or some act of madness then it would have still been a tragedy of course, but not a conundrum for you now to solve. As news trickled in from the kawmen sent to investigate it became clear that you are dealing with far more than that. The phoenix, Zoran by name, had been protecting a handful of faithful of the Lord of Light from their enraged neighbors when he died.

    These people, all new made converts over the past several months, had sought the fiery winged phoenix as a herald or at least a symbol of their new god and they had been the first to accept his 'holy teachings'. The attempt to use the presence of the obviously magical being to further spread the faith of the Lord of Light further had been as a spark to dry tinder. Curses and threats had escalated to violence ending with five dead, including Soran, by the time order was restored... and the worst of it is that the rumors that phoenixes serve the Lord of Light and boiling water to prevent infection is 'heathen magic' or 'holy miracles' depending on where you are standing is not unique to that village or even that part of the Southern Crownlands.

    Basic sanitation had become the bone of religious contention with many healers not daring to learn the techniques, or for those who have learned to use them openly.

    Providing Basic Training
    • Southern Crownlands: 9 (Failure)
    • Northern Crownlands: 55 (Success)
    Sanitation Teachings embroiled in religious conflict

    What do you do?

    [] Try to work with the faith to deescalate things again

    [] Increase armed guards on the teachers sent into isolated villages

    [] Write in

    OOC: Still not crit fail, but this was a pretty low roll.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • [X] Work with the Faith to Deescalate the situation.
    -[X] Send out Heralds to the most contentious areas, they are more than capable of public speaking and are unlikely to cause unnecessary bloodshed compared to a group of grounded soldiers faced with an angry mob. Most angry mobs don't have wings.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    and the worst of it is that the rumors that phoenixes serve the Lord of Light and boiling water to prevent infection is 'heathen magic' or 'holy miracles' depending on where you are standing is not unique to that village or even that part of the Southern Crownlands.
    Click to expand...
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    ...



    If anyone needs me I'll be in the backroom with a bottle of whiskey, his sister gin, and their cousin vodka.

    No calls.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Fires of Faith ​

    Twenty-First Day of the Eleventh Month 294 AC

    Rumors fly faster than even wings of flame. It is not the news you had expected to hear upon your return to the Red Keep to celebrate the end of Fleabottom, but if wishes were rafts then beggars would set sail. You turn to the head of the newly founded branch of the Scholarum in King's Landing.

    Adian Perk had been a hedge wizard once, a cunning man and procurer of tinctures and herbs, though one would be hard pressed to see any sign of rustic origin in his carefully combed salt-and-pepper hair or in the grey doublet fastened with jet buttons he wears for the occasion. Doubtless he would not be expecting to get this sort of news precisely during your visit, but such is ill fortune like a thief in the night. "There was some hesitancy to take to the sanitation teachings among the healers in the city and the populace more broadly, but it all smoothed out when it became clear the ships would keep coming and the renovations to... well, not Fleabottom, it is going to need a new name... In any case when the renovations were clearly going to plan..."

    The governor interjected, her words calm and clear. "I make no excuse for what has happened. It is I who should have paid more attention to the dissemination of sanitation among the peasantry and how they would take it. The task of the Scholarum is to train and enforce for the standards of responsible magic use. It was no sorcerer who was at fault for this, no matter the news from Sharp Point. No matter the needs of King's Landing, it was folly of me to forget those who went into the hinterlands bearing messages of learning and of mercy..."

    You raise a hand for silence "I appreciate not seeking to shrink your responsibility, Governor, but you should not take on the crimes of others."

    A crime there had indeed been been committed near Sharp Point. One of the phoenixes who had volunteered for the task of explaining basic sanitation to the populace had been killed. If the murder had been born of superstitious fear or some act of madness then it would have still been a tragedy, of course, but not a conundrum for you now to solve. As news trickled in from the lawmen sent to investigate, however, it became clear that you are dealing with far more than that. The phoenix, Zoran by name, had been protecting a handful of faithful of the Lord of Light from their enraged neighbors when he died.

    These people, all new made converts over the past several months, had sought the fiery-winged phoenix as a herald or at least a symbol of their new god and they had been the first to accept his 'holy teachings'. The attempt to use the presence of the obviously magical being to further spread the faith of the Lord of Light further had been as a spark to try tinder. Curses and threats had escalated to violence, ending with five dead including Zoran by the time order was restored... and the worst of it is that the rumors that phoenixes serve the Lord of Light and boiling water to prevent infection is 'heathen magic' or 'holy miracles', depending on where you are standing, is not unique to that village or even that part of the Southern Crownlands.

    Basic sanitation had become the bone of religious contention with many healers not daring to learn the techniques, or for those who have learned to use them openly.

    Providing Basic Training
    • Southern Crownlands; 9 (Failure)
    • Northern Crownlands 55 (Success)
    Sanitation Teachings embroiled in religious conflict

    What do you do?

    [] Try to work with the faith to deescalate things again

    [] Increase armed guards on the teachers sent into isolated villages

    [] Write in

    OOC: Still not crit fails, but this was a pretty low roll. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.

    I guess a crit fail would have ended up with the opposition smearing themselves with shit and inadvertently Summoning Daemons?
     
    Goldfish said:
    I guess a crit fail would have ended up with the opposition smearing themselves with shit and inadvertently Summoning Daemons?
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    how would that be a crit fail after all the stupid ones would be doing us a favor by killing themselves off along with anyone moronic enough to follow their example plus their pointless and horrid self inflicted deaths would vindicate our claims while disgracing their own
     
    Speed53066 said:
    WTF. We already covered this in our broadsheet.
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    Take it from someone from the deep south, if you said that a *insert religion of your choice here* does this in order to keep themselves healthy you'd have people doing the exact opposite because clearly doing something from a foreign religion is heresy.

    God forbid they think for a moment and ask why such a practice might actually help keep someone alive before passing judgement.

    mmgaballah said:
    how would that be a crit fail after all the stupid ones would be doing us a favor by killing themselves off along with anyone moronic enough to follow their example plus their pointless and horrid self inflicted deaths would vindicate our claims while disgracing their own
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    Clearly they were killed by the cultist serving that other god, spreading their heathen sickness in those peasants' clean frog, bug, assorted feces, and fungus covered wells.
     
    Evaunit02mark1 said:
    Take it from someone from the deep south, if you said that a *insert religion of your choice here* does this in order to keep themselves healthy you'd have people doing the exact opposite because clearly doing something from a foreign religion is heresy.

    God forbid they think for a moment and ask why such a practice might actually help keep someone alive before passing judgement.


    Clearly they were killed by the cultist serving that other god, spreading their heathen sickness in those peasants' clean frog, bug, assorted feces, and fungus covered wells.
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    This is why I love the R'hllorists. They don't pull this sort of shit.

    Perks of being their almost messiah.
     
    Goldfish said:
    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.

    I guess a crit fail would have ended up with the opposition smearing themselves with shit and inadvertently Summoning Daemons?
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Summoning daemons is a mite harder than that thankfully. A crit fail would have involved dead nobles an some good old fashioned justice vengeance from the local lord. So now you would have to deal with the fact that all the criminals and a bunch of people who were not criminals were murdered extra-judicially... in the name of the crown.
     
    What I'm wondering is why people are so quick to get the rope and pitchforks out.

    It's not like we advertised our industrialized murder.
     
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