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

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Part MMDCCXV: Of the Dark Gift
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    • Of the Dark Gift​

    Twenty-Eighth Day of the Eighth Month 293 AC

    Unfortunately it soon becomes clear that the Faceless Man has said all that he is going to on the matter of Sallosh, perhaps even more than he had strictly intended to, and all the rhetorical gambits you might have summoned are no use against stubborn silence. So you leave the matter be for now and instead test the waters on the idea of restoring true life, lifting the burdens of age, and otherwise extending one's time in this world without drinking of the bitter cup of undeath.

    The question might be said to apply to you for taking on a dragon's form by sorcery, but truth be told you are more concerned about what the answer could mean for your mother and others whom you had restored to life. That you could burn down the House of Black and White you do not doubt, but the assassins themselves would be much more perilous to fight. It is said in Braavos that they engineered the Doom of Valyria. Perhaps it is only a tale on the wind, but you have heard too many such tales with a whisper of truth within.

    "Such lives are spread thin, like a film of oil upon a quiet pond. In time the oil will be scattered, the water shall flow free," comes the cryptic reply.

    You hold back a sigh, for it will serve no purpose save to anger the assassin, if indeed such a one can still feel anger. "What if it does not? How long must one live to draw the displeasure of the Many-Faced God?" you ask instead.

    "As lives become frail so is the cost of their end lessened as their soul calls out for the Gift," the assassin explains.

    By what arcane measure do the Faceless Men measure their contracts? you wonder, yet know that is a question you will receive no simple answer to this day. Perhaps there is no simple answer, for death is their sacrament. You could as soon ask a priest of R'hllor to explain their purifying flame, or a septon to measure the Father's justice or the Mother's mercy.

    Perhaps in time you will see those answers reflected in the workings of Death's hands, but for now it is your turn to make a show of faith, to answer questions in turn. "My thanks for your patience with a scholar's curiosity," you offer sincerely. "Ask of me what questions you will."

    For a long moment the assassin is silent and nothing but the distorted song from behind the masking veil can be heard. Finally he speaks: "Tell me, Wisdom, how did you grow so mighty in your understanding of hidden truths in the shadow of the Palace of Dusk? How did you avoid its bitter fruits?" He pauses. "Mistake me not, I do not ask for an account of all your life, but if we two are to be more than two strangers chance-met in a monster's halls then I must know at least as much of you as you do of me, the scales of secrets balanced."

    What do you reply?

    [] Write in

    OOC: I know this is rather short, and I tried to figure out how to move things further, but there is only so much the assassin will share with you on the strength of scant acquaintance. Time to flesh out Master Liu a bit.
     
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    • Now I want to write an elaborate and edited backstory which is basically just Harry Potter with Voldemort replaced with YET ANOTHER Lich.

    It would be supremely ironic given the subject of conversation probably has a lot to do with greater undead.
     
    "My mother was a vampire who liked to experiment. She invented this 'False Life' spell that allowed her to conceive me and, well ... "
     
    Crake said:
    Now I want to write an elaborate and edited backstory which is basically just Harry Potter with Voldemort replaced with YET ANOTHER Lich.

    It would be supremely ironic given the subject of conversation probably has a lot to do with greater undead.
    Click to expand...
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    Albus Dumbledore, in Azel's omake series:
    *Long and dramatic reveal of the relation between Volandemort, Harry Potter, and the Prophecy*

    Lya:
    "Wait, I've heard this before :confused:"
     
    How about simply stealing Siduri's life story? That way if they divine it later (they can't divine us directly, we're under Mind Blank), it'll come up as possible.
    "Yes, it has been done. Yes, these Valyrian descendants exist."
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Maybe, but I'm not entirely sure why you would want to. He is asking you about your history, probably because he has a job of a mage or would just like your aid in general. You are not tying to tempt the emotionless assassin to the dark side, just solidify your cover.
    Click to expand...
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    We're ambidextrous Boss, we can juggle with one hand while we're looting with the other, and don't even ask me what our tail is getting up to.
     
    This isn't really my kind of thing, but it's a start, I guess.

    [X] "While I originally hail from Qarth, I spent little time there as a child and even less as a man grown. It was but the first step on a journey spanning creation itself, one which I return to now out of familiarity and nostalgia.
    -[X] "Although magic has once more flowered upon the Garden, there have long existed rare sites which somehow held a remnant of ancient power. Even more rare, however, were those places which did not so much serve as a reservoir for lingering magic, but instead acted as a timeworn bridge between disparate Planes, allowing a slow trickle of otherworldly energy to coalesce, often with unexpected results.
    --[X] "It was one of these places, where the barriers of reality itself grew thin and mystical wonders were still possible, even decades ago, that I discovered as a child of just three and ten. Of course, at the time I thought myself ready to be called a man, but few are those who cannot look upon their past selves and despair at their childish naivety.
    ---[X] "And so I found myself in another world, where the skies shone like molten steel and the air was like the breath of a freshly stoked forge. Needless to say, it was an unpleasant introduction to the greater cosmos, and one which nearly killed me a dozen times over in my first handspan of days there.
    ----[X] "Life was harsh, but I persevered, aided by the awakening of my magic. With magic came power, and through the exercise of that power life grew bearable, then comfortable. I did not forget about the world of my birth, known among creation as the Plane of Balance, but neither did I let its absence rule my existence.
    -----[X] "What good was it to long for that which I could not have? Luck and happenstance had brought me to the Molten Skies, but no amount of research or treasure could have opened the way for my return to the Garden. I instead contented myself exploring the many Planes, gathering power and lore, and no small amount of wealth. And then a disaster struck, or a miracle was granted, depending upon whom you ask.
    ------[X] "Much changed among the Planes with the realignment of the spheres, not least of all the reopening of the Plane of Balance to one such as I, who had not stepped foot on native soil for nearly two score years."
    -------[X] "So to answer your question, I grew mighty not in the shadow of the Palace of Dusk, but as far from it as any man could ever hope to be."
     
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