Remove ads

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

Reader mode
Had a very intersecting idea for the next magic warped species to be reborn.

Namely the Tressym, slightly above average human int cats with wings.

Have their own language and are in general an upgrade to the common house cat
 
Artemis1992 said:
Keep in mind, Demonlords are, similar to Archdukes, usually Quasi-Deities still a good bit below gods, especially big ones like Tiamat.

And another point is, she's Tiamat. Even if she had no divine power at all, she would still be the biggest, oldest and meanest Dragon out there, that alone counts for CR 30+.

Edit: This is no overestimation by the way. A Red Great Wyrm is already CR 26. Slap an advanced template, all Chromatic's immunities and SLAs and 4 more heads with independant bites and breaths on and you can call it 28, and suddenly you are only a few statboosts and special abilities away from the 30. And Granny certainly has a few of those.
Along with the best loot in the multiverse.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Hot damn. Dragons are such glorious bullshit.

I still have some hope on the other part though. Even assuming Tiamat doesn't have many grudges from other gods to look out for, if she can only get stuff done by going out herself to act as a dragon she'll be done as a god.

This whole thing is basically tripping her at the top of a flight of stairs with a length set by how many enemies she has; even if it doesn't kill her watching Tiamat fall down an up escalator for centuries will still be fun.
 
BronzeTongue said:
Hot damn. Dragons are such glorious bullshit.

I still have some hope on the other part though. Even assuming Tiamat doesn't have many grudges from other gods to look out for, if she can only get stuff done by going out herself to act as a dragon she'll be done as a god.

This whole thing is basically tripping her at the top of a flight of stairs with a length set by how many enemies she has; even if it doesn't kill her watching Tiamat fall down an up escalator for centuries will still be fun.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Tipping our grandma down the stairs... wow we are now really going evil and going for elder abuse.. especially as we would be doing it for fun apparently.:o
 
Cats are annoying... We had a cat... it was annoying. Ergo all cats are annoying and we should fireball every cat we see forevermore.
 
Last edited:
MTB said:
Cats like chasing shiny moving things ...
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Cats want to die anyway we would be doing them a favour... Remember the talking cat we had who wanted to die for like centuries, so eager to sacrifice itself.. obviously such an old cat speaks for the species. So really we would be the pinnacle of goodness if we fireballed some cats.

Edit: I am not a cat person obv.
 
Last edited:
Remove ads
Interlude DXLXXIX: Sharp Gifts and Clever Words
  • Threadmarks
    • Sharp Gifts and Clever Words ​

    Twenty-Fifth Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC

    The court of Yin appeared both familiar and strange to Tyene Sandviper. It was familiar in how the pale luminaries of the court orbited around the young man on the dragon throne bound in twined webs of protocol and ambition, but its strangeness niggled at the back of the mind for a long moment while she made her bow. It was not the silks cut to a foreign style, the blades curved in gentle crescents of tempered steel, nor was it even the glitter of arcane talismans, brighter and more common by far than she had seen in any other court. No... it was the lack of families.

    Since girlhood long before she had awoken to magic and found herself upon the shores of Braavos Tyene had learned to read the bonds of kinship that bound together interests, ambitions, and power. Here those bonds were wholly absent and others took their place. What did a eunuch dream of, and who carried his hopes for the future? she wondered as she stepped forward to offer her bow and greetings to the Emperor. The only example she had to draw on was the Spider, and his madness could hardly be taken as typical of anything.

    If nothing else the crowd of eunuchs, filling every role from bureaucrat to scribe to their unfortunate greeters, made it all the easier to pick out the uncut men in the crowd. Most were soldiers, clearly marked by cunningly wrought articulated armor shaped into fanciful and even monstrous design, court wear not battle dress, though one man among them looked like he could stand upon the field of war with his skill not dulled one whit even so. General Hua Heng, commander of the palace guard and time and again sword of the dynasty when they could find no other.


    There stood a man of peerless skill and loyalty, unless Viserys' suspicion about the loud celebration of his troops marking collusion with malcontents in Jiang should prove true. Tyene, being no great believer in the virtues of human nature, particularly where power was concerned, certainly was not willing to rule out the possibility, but she took care not to let her gaze linger overlong on him just in case. They were already harboring his absconding daughter, the last thing they needed was the general's attention.

    The glitter of magic clinging to his robes, as the brush and scroll in his hand, drew her eye to a man of middling age and unassuming dress standing close to the right hand of the sovereign. He certainly was not doing anything so mundane as taking notes of the meeting. There were plenty of others doing that, bent over their scrolls with almost frantic concentration, while the scroll held over his arm was magic... and so we he. This then was Ping Lan, the 'Thrice Enlightened Seeker', court mage by any name one might wish to give him. He was certainly looking intently at the Westerosi delegation, but there was no anger or resentment to that searching gaze as one might have feared.


    "Approach and speak, envoys of the Archon of the West," Bu Gai proclaimed, cutting off her chance to surreptitiously observe his court.

    "Oh Lord By Heaven Crowned to Whom the Earth laid out its bounty, know that we come with gifts forged of blood and fire, of magics long forgotten brought again to light," she proclaimed, extracting a chest far too large to have fit there by mundane understanding from one of the bags at her belt. Inside was a pair of weapons forged in the eastern manner, one long and the other short, both wrought of Valyrian Steel.

    Judging from the slight widening of his eyes even behind the mask of state he had been trained to wear all his life, Bu Gai recognized them. The mage, Ping Lan, certainly recognized the metal, his face hardening.

    "These are enchanted, are they not?" the emperor asked, his voice carefully neutral, though the court certainly did not share his poise to judge from the renewed whispers.

    At an unspoken signal from his lord, Ping Lan stepped forth to observe the metal. "There is no curse upon the metal, but only a blessing." The mage hesitated a long moment, his eyes slipping off all places to Waymar's sword. "However, they are workings of blood sorcery."

    If the court had been whispering before then now it sounded like a high wind through a forest's branches. Tyene had anticipated the moment, or something like it, but decided to go ahead with the gift anyway. If a gift of Valyrian Steel would prove too much for the emperor's sensibilities then there was less common ground to be found with him than with Lucan Longfield, and it was better to know sooner rather than later.

    "Was this steel forged within the borders of the Golden Empire?" the emperor asked plainly.

    "It was not, Most Honored One," Tyene answered in like manner.

    "Then no law was broken, and it is excellent steel, a fact of which not only my guard but also many old and honored families can attest," the emperor proclaimed as he deliberately ranched out to grasp the longer of the blades, holding it with some skill. "I am certain these will serve as well and as enduring." So saying he handed the blade to a guardsman to his left. The man paled slightly as though he had just been handed a venomous snake, but recovered under the stern gaze of his commander.

    The remaining eight weapons were handed out with less fanfare, though Tyene noted that the emperor only tested the balance of the swords, apparently as mindful of the trouble accidentally cutting himself would bring as she was.

    When the Mithral mirror is at last unveiled Bu Gai seems puzzled for a moment by the meaning of the gift before his court sorcerer interjects. "There is no magic upon this save the resonance of the steel, but that is Moon Silver, hard as steel and light as a feather."

    "And here I was showing off my strength," Tyene jested as she hefted the mirror, drawing a smile from the emperor and the expected cascade of giggles from the more daring courtiers in its wake.

    There had obviously been some silent communication between the emperor and his court mage while the Valyrian Steel weapons were being handed out, for no sooner had the mirror been carried away that Ping Lan presented Tyene with an ancient but obviously well cared for dagger, its hilt of black jade and its blade of Adamantine, enchantments singing along its edge. The way its aura seemed to want to slip from one's sight the longer one looked at it made Tyene suspect Asshai'i shadowcraft.


    "There is a proverb that claims a dagger in the shadows is worth a thousand swords in the light," Bu Gai began to a rather uneasy court. "Most take that to speak of the use of assassins and other dishonorable deeds, but they forget that just as a traitor can stand at the head of an army so can an honorable man or woman," he nodded his head towards not just Tyene, but the whole party, "use a dagger." This then was not just a gift to return for the steel, but in thanks for helping save his life.

    Tyene bowed deeply in thanks, but then the time had come to speak of deeper matters. "Alas that we do not only come to exchange gifts and well wishes, but to bring warning of enemies who would bear the guise of friends... a matter which might be better spoken of more privately." If there weren't at least ten people in Illyrio's pocket in attendance I'm a septa, Tyene thought. The Golden Company would of course be able to guess from their mere presence that the emperor had been warned, but she could not share that the enemy had been infiltrated in open court.

    "Of course, that can be arranged," the young emperor replied, looking quite satisfied.

    OOC: Here we are, a look at the court and the audience, though not quite the end of the arc.
     
    Last edited:
  • Threadmarks
    • zxzx24 said:
    Minor yes... Well... We are foreigners. And they are going to ave to put up with a lot more shady decisions on our part.

    Best to start small.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...

    Too true. Best they get used to some minor discomfort.. Dealing with us at all in any manner will bring much more. After all its never quiet wherever we go lol.
     
    Sharp Gifts and Clever Words ​

    Twenty-Fifth Day of the Tenth Month 293 AC

    The court of Yin appeared both familiar and strange to Tyene Sandviper. It was familiar in how the pale luminaries of the court orbited around the young man on the dragon throne, bound in twined webs of protocol and ambition, but its strangeness niggled at the back of the mind for a long moment while she made her bow. It was not the silks cut to a foreign style, or the blades curved in gentle crescents of tempered steel. It was not even the glitter of arcane talismans, brighter and more common by far than she had seen in any other court. No... it was the lack of families.

    Since girlhood, long before she had awoken to magic and found herself upon the shores of Braavos, Tyene had learned to read the bonds of kinship that bound together interests, ambitions, and power. Here those bonds were wholly absent while others took their place. What did a eunuch dream of, and who carried his hopes for the future? she wondered as she stepped forward to offer her bow and greetings to the Emperor. The only example she had to draw on was the Spider, and his madness could hardly be taken as typical of anything.

    If nothing else, the crowd of eunuchs, filling every role from bureaucrat, to scribe, to the unfortunate greeters, made it all the easier to pick out the uncut men in the crowd. Most were soldiers clearly marked by cunningly wrought articulated armor, shaped into fanciful even monstrous design, court wear rather than battle dress. One man among them, however, looked like he could stand upon the field of war, his skill not dulled one whit even so. General Hua Heng, commander of the palace guard, and time and again sword of the dynasty when they could find no other.


    There stood a man of peerless skill and loyalty, unless Viserys' suspicion about the loud celebration of his troops marking collusion with malcontents in Jiang should prove true. Tyene, being no great believer in the virtues of human nature, particularly where power was concerned, certainly was not willing to rule out the possibility, but she took care not to let her gaze linger overlong on him just in case. They were already harboring his absconding daughter, the last thing they needed was the general's attention.

    The glitter of magic clinging to his robes as the brush and scroll in his hand drew her eye to a man of middling age and unassuming dress standing close to the right hand of the sovereign. He certainly was not doing anything so mundane as taking notes of the meeting. There were plenty of others bent over their scrolls with almost frantic concentration, the scroll held over his arm was magic... and so we he. This then was Ping Lan, 'the Thrice Enlightened Seeker', court mage by any name one might wish to give him. He was certainly looking intently at the Westerosi delegation, but there was no anger or resentment to that searching gaze, as one might have feared.


    "Approach and speak, envoys of the Archon of the West," Bu Gai proclaimed, cutting off her chance to surreptitiously observe his court.

    "Oh Lord By Heaven Crowned to Whom the Earth laid out its bounty, know that we come with gifts forged of blood and fire, of magics long forgotten brought again to light," she proclaimed, extracting a chest far too large to have fit there by mundane understanding from one of the bags at her belt. Inside was a pair of weapons forged in the eastern manner, one long and the other short, wrought of Valyrian steel.

    Judging from the slight widening of his eyes, even behind the mask of state he had been trained to wear all his life, Bu Gai recognized them. The mage Ping Lan certainly recognized the metal, his face hardening.

    "These are enchanted, are they not?" the emperor asked, his voice carefully neutral, though the court certainly did not share his poise to judge from the renewed whispers.

    At an unspoken signal from his lord, Ping Lan stepped forth to observe the metal. "There is no curse upon the metal but only a blessing." The mage hesitated a long moment, his eyes slipping of all places to Waymar's sword. "However they are workings of blood sorcery."

    If the court had been whispering before then now it sounded like a high wind through a forest's branches. Tyene had anticipated the moment, or something like it, but decided to go ahead with the gift anyway. If a gift of Valyrian steel would prove too much for the Emperor's sensibilities, then there was less common ground to be found with him than with Lucan Longfield, and it was better to know sooner rather than later.

    "Was this steel forged within the borders of the Golden Empire?" the emperor asked plainly.

    "It was not, Most Honored," Tyene answered in like manner.

    "Then no law was broken, and it is excellent steel, a fact which not only my guard, but also many old and honored families can attest," the emperor proclaimed as he deliberately reached out to grasp the longer of the blades, holding it with some skill. "I am certain these will serve as well and as enduring." So saying, he handed the blade to a guardsman to his left. The man paled slightly, as though he had just been handed a venomous snake, but recovered under the stern gaze of his commander.

    The remaining eight weapons are handed out with less fanfare, though Tyene noted that the emperor only tests the balance of the swords, apparently as mindful of the trouble accidentally cutting himself would bring as she was.

    When the mithral mirror is at last unveiled, Bu Gai seems puzzled for a moment by the meaning of the gift before his court sorcerer interjects. "There is no magic upon this save the resonance of the steel, but that is Moon Silver, hard as steel and light as a feather."

    "And here I was showing off my strength," jested Tyene, who had been easily hefting the large mirror, drawing a smile from the emperor and the expected cascade of giggles from the more daring courtiers in its wake.

    There had obviously been some silent communication between the Emperor and his court mage while the Valyrian steel was being handed out, for no sooner had the mirror been carried away than Ping Lan presented Tyene with an ancient but obviously well cared for dagger, its hilt of black jade and its blade of adamantine, enchantments singing along its edge. The way its aura seemed to want to slip from one's sight the longer one looked at it made Tyene suspect Asshai'i shadow-craft.


    "There is a proverb that claims a dagger in the shadows might be worth a thousand swords in the light," Bu Gai began to a rather uneasy court. "Most take that to speak of the use of assassins and other dishonorable deeds, but they forget that just as a traitor can stand at the head of an army so can an honorable man or woman," he nods his head towards not just Tyene but the whole party, "use a dagger." This then was not just a gift to return for the steel, but in thanks for helping save his life.

    Tyene bowed deeply in thanks, but then the time had come to speak of deeper matters. "Alas that we do not only come to exchange gifts and well wishes but to bring warning of enemies who would ear the guise of friends... a matter which might be better spoken of more privately." If there weren't at least ten people in Illyrio's pocket in attendance then I'm a septa, Tyene thought. The Golden Company would of course be able to guess from there mere presence that the emperor had been warned, but he could not share that the enemy had been infiltrated in open court.

    "Of course, that can be arranged," the young emperor replied looking quite satisfied.

    OOC: Here we are, a look at the court and the audience, though not quite the end of the arc. Not yet edited
    Here's an edited version of the chapter, @DragonParadox.

    The Yi-Ti interlude arc has been a treat. I'm not looking forward to it coming to a close.
     
    lockingbane said:
    Looks like we may have committed a minor faux pass with the valerian steel
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    zxzx24 said:
    Minor yes... Well... We are foreigners. And they are going to ave to put up with a lot more shady decisions on our part.

    Best to start small.
    Click to expand...
    Click to shrink...
    It could have been a small faux pas, but Bu Gai covered for us very well, reminding those at court that Valyrian Steel weapons are still in use among his guard or by the old and prominent families of Yi-Ti.
     
    Bu Gai: "I will just point out, a man who would gift ten Valyrian Steel weapons to a perfect stranger probably doesn't give a fuck about social faux pas, and we should tread very carefully and not look a gift dragon in the flaming maw."

    Tyene: "It took Westerosi Lords who are more used to His Grace far longer to figure that out, Most Honored Son of Heaven."

    Bu Gai: "Yes. I am not a barbarian savage so..."

    Bu Gai: "Er, no offense."

    Tyene: "None taken."

    Waymar: "Some taken."

    Garin: "What's the negative sum for offended?"

    Bu Gai: "You found it amusing."

    Garin, to Tyene: "He knows his audience."
     
    Reader mode
    You must login or register to reply here.
    Remove ads
    Back
    Top