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

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Crake said:
Assuming Renly waits that long, Baedar could join the journey into the Feywild since technically one could count the disappearance of Renly as something worth the Inquisition's attention. Though that's like going on a 3D tour of the REAL Skull Island ala Peter Jackson and then afterwards orbital dropping straight into fucking Catachan.
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Baedar! That's his name. Why can't I remember that?

/is going to bookmark this page just in case
 
DragonParadox said:
Songs of Blood ​

Eighteenth Day of the Ninth Month 293 AC

There is no overt sign given when Dany steps forth near the bones of the ancient dragons, but all the eyes of the gathering are upon her, from Riz'Neth's gleaming fourfold gaze to Zherys looking on with politely veiled fascination to Lord Valeryon's anxious glances.
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There is a typo in the first sentence. I think the Lord's name is spelled differently.
 
Duesal said:
The checking is frankly to appease you and the others who don't trust the initial divination. I'm perfectly content with trusting the initial divination and interrogation.

It's pretty damn frustrating for me that you guys seem to be deadset against even talking to it and seeing via divination if it will keep its word.
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You have my support now and my vote when I catch up @Duesal, to make these kind of decisions without the reasonable pursuit of information to do so in an informed manner is pretty out of character imo.

And I say this not for the concept of "fairness" (though I believe it applies in part) but for the benefit of the Empire that protects and advances all within it's embrace.


Abhishek M said:
Mindless destruction cant really be called worse than Mindfull malice.
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What?

Of course it can, reality is order by definition, all things tend towards a certain state of being, patterns are the foundation of existence.

And within the context of having a working relationship, mindful anything > mindless anything.



Crake said:
Thread: *continues to compare the Feywild to the Abyss*

:V
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The Abyss has the decency to be reasonably consistent in its nature.

Knowledge is King and Surprises Deadly, the Feywild denies you subverts the former and takes great glee in the latter.


TalonofAnathrax said:
The alternative is to go "fuck protocol" and use magic to talk to him despite everything. How about sneaking up and using a surprise Mindscape spell? Remember, the spell we used against the Herald of Ymeri in the cursed Volantene mansion?
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You know you have my support for this, don't even need line of effect, knowing he exists is plenty and it's just about impossible to keep us 1,200 feet away from anything.

But that's a vote or two away.

Crake said:
convincing him that right now, in this time and place, his greatest threat is not the Scion of the Seafarer to the south, but instead She who's greed is unmatched,
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@Crake this is referring to the Azure Emperor correct?

Could we expand upon this and mention the other claimants/potential claimants, the way this reads at the moment kinda shows our favour to the Azure Emperor by specifying that particular disagreement.

[X] Crake

Edit:
DragonParadox said:
towheaded headed
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Duplication.

Consolidated a couple posts, sorry if weird notifications
 
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Crake said:
That's... how does that even compute? Even jumping through the hoops to explain that he was in position to become a tool of Tiamat and we were simply working to prevent it, if we're being seen as on friendly terms with people who are claiming his title, that just magnifies every single reason he has to be cautious about us. All of those things which at present in a political context are working our favor would instead become an active detriment. Relations "cooling" between us would be the best case because we make it clear that his realm being weak and divided is a perfectly happy state of affairs without trying to at least hide it, behind a veneer most savvy statesmen could spot anyway.

The most I could say we could get away with is this, if we grace Orange-y with our personal presence first before the Azure, that is a grave fucking insult. Which is probably the most cogent counterargument to your line of thought (just guessing honestly) that I could make and no amount of sweet talk can fix that.

A agent two or three times removed from our inner circle is about as close a relationship as we could make to our actual identity, and whatever he thinks of the truth of that if he should hear about it, we both have the polite fiction that "some rogue element claiming to serve us" meddled in the area.
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It's like, would Viserys be offended if he knew the Shaitan and Djinn are checking out Robert?
They propably are, though it might be too late for any decisions on their part, as they already signed a deal with us while essentially treating us as the ruler of an area that includes Westeros.
Still doesn't matter, because Bobby can't offer them anything even close to VIserys' contributions in war and trade alike.

If you are clearly selling the better product (in this case the better alliance), then you don't need to fear costumers looking at the concurrence-products for a bit.
And we are very obviously shopping for an ally, both here and in the imperial capital.
 
Artemis1992 said:
It's like, would Viserys be offended if he knew the Shaitan and Djinn are checking out Robert?
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Yes, I mean he would not let it get in the way of his alliance but knowing Robert had received an official delegation would grate I'd say and likely set off quite a few suspicions. There is also the fact that the scales are a lot more even between Blue and Orange than between Viserys and Robert.
 
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Adhoc vote count started by Goldfish on Dec 21, 2019 at 4:23 AM, finished with 61 posts and 16 votes.
  • [X] You are an agent from the West swerving between two oaths and reconciling both by marrying their efforts against enemies to all mortal realms as much as their princes.
    -[X] So long as the leaders across the world can set aside differences when contending with the threat from the Shadow as much as dark gods like She-of-Many-Colors, the (you carefully do not use the word 'petty') wars and disputes between both can wait.
    --[X] You can exposition a bit better than that, and one should assume that Corlys, being one of your most common covers, deserves as much attention to his background as Master Liu did. Luckily most of Viserys' early background is rather obscure and there are plenty of stories of youths left to fend for themselves due to tragedy and unwise fathers, so he won't have to be directly caught in a lie to forge a story of a young man with a will of iron attempting to seize the age with both hands, carefully walking along a tight rope between duty and ambition and hoping against hopes neither blade shatters in hand.
    -[X] Knowing much about the enemy at the gates, so to speak, you had hoped someone high in the council of Pol Qo could aid in convincing him that right now, in this time and place, his greatest threat is not the Scion of the Seafarer to the south, or even more distant threats like the Yellow-Silhouette-Peering-Beyond-Shadow, but instead She who's greed is unmatched, wrath boundless and malice never-ending, and not far behind her old evils from Yi Ti's past as much as that of the West coming back into light to darken the day.
    -[X] "If we don't deal with them, no one will rule anything but ashes by the end of the decade."
    -[X] Assuming we can convince her of our intentions, the next part would admittedly be getting as much information out of her as we can about Pol Qo's court, seeing as how she's currently out of favor that will likely mean trying to exploit some other avenue into the would-be Emperor's presence, but as she is his sister her insight shouldn't be dismissed.
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Adhoc vote count started by Goldfish on Dec 21, 2019 at 4:23 AM, finished with 61 posts and 16 votes.
  • [X] You are an agent from the West swerving between two oaths and reconciling both by marrying their efforts against enemies to all mortal realms as much as their princes.
    -[X] So long as the leaders across the world can set aside differences when contending with the threat from the Shadow as much as dark gods like She-of-Many-Colors, the (you carefully do not use the word 'petty') wars and disputes between both can wait.
    --[X] You can exposition a bit better than that, and one should assume that Corlys, being one of your most common covers, deserves as much attention to his background as Master Liu did. Luckily most of Viserys' early background is rather obscure and there are plenty of stories of youths left to fend for themselves due to tragedy and unwise fathers, so he won't have to be directly caught in a lie to forge a story of a young man with a will of iron attempting to seize the age with both hands, carefully walking along a tight rope between duty and ambition and hoping against hopes neither blade shatters in hand.
    -[X] Knowing much about the enemy at the gates, so to speak, you had hoped someone high in the council of Pol Qo could aid in convincing him that right now, in this time and place, his greatest threat is not the Scion of the Seafarer to the south, or even more distant threats like the Yellow-Silhouette-Peering-Beyond-Shadow, but instead She who's greed is unmatched, wrath boundless and malice never-ending, and not far behind her old evils from Yi Ti's past as much as that of the West coming back into light to darken the day.
    -[X] "If we don't deal with them, no one will rule anything but ashes by the end of the decade."
    -[X] Assuming we can convince her of our intentions, the next part would admittedly be getting as much information out of her as we can about Pol Qo's court, seeing as how she's currently out of favor that will likely mean trying to exploit some other avenue into the would-be Emperor's presence, but as she is his sister her insight shouldn't be dismissed.
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Part MMMCCXLIV: Old Ways and Young Travelers
  • Threadmarks
    • Old Ways and Young Travelers ​

    Twenty Seventh Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    While the full truth may be more likely to catch Ning's attention so long as she has been mindful of rumors flowing up the trade routes you do not know her enough to guess if she would keep that truth to herself. Being received by Pol Qo as Viserys Targaryen would damage your efforts in Yin for small and uncertain gain so it is Corlys Waters you will be, your oldest and most well worn mask if not the most finely carved so far.

    Luckily, accounts of those months scrambling for power and influence in Braavos are rather obscure and there are plenty of stories of youths left to fend for themselves due to tragedy and unwise fathers, so you won't have to be directly caught in a lie to forge a story of a young man with a will of iron attempting to seize the age with both hands, carefully walking along a tight rope between duty and ambition and hoping against hope neither blade shatters in hand.

    The account is odd in places, and not just because of the far off places it is said to have taken place in, but in the end enough of it plays to Yi Tish sensibilities to let you come out as a Junguan heir, that is to say of solid military stock that is respected in the northwestern provinces cast to the whims of fate by the sly Guanfang, the bureaucrat officials of the land. Half from the spells of translation and half from the young mage's reactions you get a sense that in Trader Town at least 'idle' and 'eunuch' may as well be synonyms, for if a man has not sons to take up their duty to the land after him and sacrifice at his grave than what care would he have of his duty? Tyene's words of there being far more than one Yi Ti to contend with come back all the louder, but that is not what you are here to discuss.

    You speak of Tiamat the many hued, careful to not invoke her name yet of her deeds and manner you share aplenty, you speak of the Golden Company, what they were and what they have become. Faced with a cultural context that is more likely to hold warriors in high esteem you frame their tale as a tragedy, with those few who were not blinded by greed and evil pacts seeking fealty to a better lord and the rest becoming a ravening hoard worse by far than the zorse people of the wide planes. Thus you conclude: "So long as the leaders across the world can set aside differences when contending with the threat from the Shadow as much as dark gods like She-of-Many-Colors, the..." you swallow the word 'petty', "wars and disputes between both can, must wait."

    Ning sighs, hands clasped before her in frustration. "You speak truth, man of the western reaches, this I know for the Kami have whispered as much to me though before this moment I could not bind their heavenly wisdom and earthly reality together quite so well. Know that my brother is not blind to this threat and that he has no intention of marching south with that viper at his back. He seeks to rouse the great eastern storms and fill them with fire to slay the dragons of the enemy, but it is difficult to gather enough shugenja, many have forgotten the old ways."

    For a moment you think she means sorcery as a whole, but she goes on to explain: "Too many lock themselves away from the world, whispering endless koans to themselves. Did not our ancestors cast back the darkness under the banners of the Kami-given-form? Did not their blood run in the veins of the Eight Great Clans?"

    "Pardon a foreigner's ignorance," Tyene interjects. "But are not the Eight Clans gone from the world under sun and moon, the last fallen six hundred years before Valyria met its end?"

    "So they are, but they live on in all of us," Ning replies, sparks flying from her fingertips. "Do not the Kami who are deathless speak to us because we remind them of their companions of old? The old masters in their ragged cloaks and mountaintop fastnesses say that it is likeness of spirit that draws them to give aid to the shugenja, but I could see them as a child before even my first winter had passed, though they did not then have the strength to act upon the world."

    "That must have been difficult for one so young," Aradia says, her tone carefully neutral lest too obvious sympathy give offense.

    "I learned not to speak of them quickly," the young mage replies, her expression darkening in anger not towards you but something only the eyes of memory can see. "And now again I am shut out by the... Lady Xue, I will not call her Venerable for she is scarce ten years my elder but would presume to be my teacher in the ways of the Kami, teach me to let go of my attachments." She gives a short mirthless laugh. "Strange how upon my final refusal she pledged to aid my brother in obtaining a male heir. Perhaps she thinks she is doing me a favor by pressing me to choose the life she would prefer for me. For all her wisdom she is blind, mine is not mere forge fire to be contained in walls of iron." Her voice rises ever higher as anger glitters in her gaze.

    Silence falls, then a long sigh and a faint shuffling of silk. "My apologies for the outburst," her past is obviously not one she is used to speaking, but she does so just the same. "Still, I imagine you are concerned with the shape of the court. There is the Lady Xue of the Smoldering Cloud Monastery to look towards and not only her own disciples, but also foolishly many of the younger shungenja, the keepers of the Three Roads: Xi who is weakest, trembling behind his guards as you have seen, Shun Rong, Keeper of the Sand Road is old and eager for a chance to die in battle before his strength leaves him, and finally Tu Wei, a younger man much in the favor of the Shrine of Daikoku, Fortune of Trade and Honorable Work, a wise man usually but more concerned with keeping the flow of silver into the treasury than talk of either war or spirits. He too has refused to give me passage back into the court."

    "Under what terms were you sent away?" Mereth asks a touch bluntly, but Ning gives no sign of offense.

    "I was not formally banished, merely not invited," she explains. "I suppose my brother hoped that I would seek out the Lady Xe's good graces to be allowed back and all would be as it had been." Though she struggles to keep her words even it does not take that fine an ear to hear how little she thinks of the notion.

    "How many of the younger shungenja look to you instead of the Smoldering Monastery for guidance, my lady?" you ask in turn, beginning to see the full context of the court.

    The lady ponders her answer a long moment before replying. "As of this morning nineteen, though there were twenty one as recently as a week ago. And so the old ways fade again because we are not wise enough to grasp them." Almost too softly to hear she adds. "Sometimes I wish we could just leave to whence the fortunes lead us like the Kirin Clan was said to have done..."

    What do you reply?

    [] Try to figure out how much she may have meant those last words, twenty new mages of a tradition you had no knowledge of would be a grand prize indeed
    -[] Write in

    [] Focus on what you came here to do, a way to get into court and warn the Orange Emperor
    -[] Write in

    [] Write in

    OOC: Viserys' inhuman charisma and social skills once more serve you well, though the rolls were consistently good too.
     
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  • Threadmarks
    • We take them - we fuck things up with Asure emps, don't we?
    Ah, it is truly sad when we are forced to choose between two different forms of shiny.

    She obviously care for her brother, so we won't be able to leave him to just "war it out" (and, implicitly, lose) with Asure Emperor when the time for that comes, given we grab her as person-loot.
     
    Great, the good ol' young people trying to use the 'new way' and the old generations keeping to the 'old ways'.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Old Ways and Young Travelers ​

    Twenty Seventh Day of the Eleventh Month 293 AC

    While the full truth may be more likely to catch Ning's attention so long as she has been mindful of rumors flowing up the trade routes, you do not know her enough to guess if she would keep that truth to herself. Being received by Pol Qo as Viserys Targaryen would damage your efforts in Yin for small and uncertain gain, so it is Corlys waters you will be, your oldest and most well worn mask, if not the most finely carved so far.

    Luckily, accounts of those months scrambling to power and influence in Braavos are rather obscure. There are plenty of stories of youths left to fend for themselves due to tragedy and unwise fathers, so you are unlikely to be directly caught in a lie forging the story of a young man with a will of iron attempting to seize the opportunities of this mew age with both hands, carefully walking along a tight rope between duty and ambition, and hoping that neither blade shatters in hand.

    The account is odd in places, and not just because of the far off places it is said to have taken place in, but in the end enough of it plays to Yi Tish sensibilities to let you come out as a Junguan heir, that is to say of solid military stock that is respected in the northwestern provinces, cast to the whims of fate by the sly Guanfang, the bureaucrat officials of the land. Half from the spells of translation and half from the young mage's reactions, you get a sense that in Trader Town at least 'idle' and 'eunuch' may as well be synonyms, for if a man has no sons to take up their duty to the land after him and sacrifice at his grave, then what care would he have of his duty? Tyene's words of there being far more than one Yi Ti to contend with come back all the louder, but that is not what you are here to discuss.

    You speak of Tiamat the many-hued, careful not invoke her name, yet of her deeds and manner you share aplenty. You speak of the Golden Company, what they were and what they have become. Faced with a cultural context that is more likely to hold warriors in high esteem you frame their tale as a tragedy, with those few who were not blinded by greed and evil pacts seeking fealty to a better lord and the rest becoming a ravening hoard worse by far than the horse people of the wide planes. Thus you conclude, "So long as the leaders across the world can set aside differences when contending with the threat from the Shadow and dark gods like She-of-Many-Colors, the..." you swallow the word 'petty', "wars and disputes between both can, must wait."

    Ning sighs hands clasped before her in frustration. "You speak truth, man of the western reaches. This I know, for the Kami have whispered as much to me, though before this moment I could not put their heavenly wisdom and earthly reality together quite so well. Know that my brother is not blind to this threat and that he has no intention of marching south with that viper at his back. He seeks to rouse the great eastern storms and fill them with fire to slay the dragons of the enemy, but it is dificult to gather enough shugenja. Many have forgotten the old ways."

    For a moment you think she means sorcery as a whole, but she goes on to explain, "Too many lock themselves away from the world, whispering endless koans to themselves. Did not our ancestors cast back the darkness under the banners of the kami-given-form? Did not their blood run in the veins of the Eight Great Clans?"

    "Pardon a foreigners ignorance," Tyene interjects. "But are not the Eight Clans gone from the world under sun and moon, the last fallen six hundred years before Valyria met its end?"

    "So they are, but they live on in all of us," Nung replies sparks flying from her fingertips. "Do not the kami who are deathless speak to us because we remind them of their companions of old? The old masters in their ragged cloaks and mountaintop fastnesses say that it is likeness of spirit that draws them to give aid to the shugenja, but I could see them as a child before even my first winter had passed, though they did not then have the strength to act upon the world."

    "That must have been difficult for one so young," Aradia says her tone carefully neutral, lest too obvious a sympathy give offense.

    "I quickly learned not to speak of them," the young mage replies, her expression darkening in anger, though not towards you but something only the eyes of memory can see. "And now I am again shut out by the... lady Xue. I will not call her Venerable, for she is scarce ten years my elder, but would presume to be my teacher in the ways of the kami, to teach me to let go of my attachments." She gives a short mirthless laugh. "Strange how upon my final refusal, she pledged to aid my brother in obtaining a male heir. Perhaps she thinks she is doing me a favor by pressing me to choose the life she would prefer for me. For all her wisdom, she is blind. Mine is not mere forge fire to be contained in walls of iron." Her voice rises ever higher as anger glitters in her gaze.

    Silence falls, then a long sigh and a faint shuffling of silk. "My apologies for the outburst," the word is obviously not one she is used to speaking, but she does so just the same. "Still, I imagine you are concerned with the shape of the court. There is the lady Xue of the Smoldering Cloud Monestary, to whom look not only her own disciples, but also foolishly many of the younger shungenja. Then there are the Keepers of the Three Roads; Xi, who is weakest, trembling behind his guards as you have seen, Shun Rong, Keeper of the Sand Road, is old and eager for a chance to die in battle before his strength leaves him, and finally Tu Wei, a younger man much in the favor of the Shrine of Daikoku, Fortune of Trade and Honorable work. A wise man usually, but more concerned with keeping the flow of silver into the treasury than talk of either war or spirits. He too has refused to give me passage back into the court."

    "Under what terms were you sent away?" Mereth asks, a touch bluntly, but Ning gives no sign of offense.

    "I was not formally banished, merely not invited," she explains. "I suppose my brother hoped that I would seek out the lady Xe's good graces to be allowed back and all would be as it had been." Although she struggles to keep her words even, it does not take that fine an ear to hear how little she thinks of the notion.

    "How many of the younger shungenja look to you instead of the Smoldering Monestary for guidance, my lady?" you ask in turn, beginning to see the full factions of the court.

    The lady ponders her answer a long moment before replying. "Nineteen as of this morning, though there were twenty one as recently as a week ago. And so the old ways fade again because we are not wise enough to grasp them." Almost too softly to hear, she adds. "Sometimes I wish we could just leave to whence the fortunes lead us, like the Kirin Clan was said to have done..."

    What do you reply?

    [] Try to figure out how much she may have meant those last words, twenty new mages of a tradition you had no knowledge of would be a grand prize indeed
    -[] Write in

    [] Focus on what you came here to do, a way to get into court and warn the Orange Emperor
    -[] Write in

    [] Write in

    OOC: Viserys' inhuman charisma and social skills once more serve you well, though the rolls were consistently good too. Not yet edited.
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    Here's an edited version of the chapter, DP.
     
    So at least we have a better reason as to why she got sent away. If she was giving portents of doom while most of his other mage advisors either still had hope of a solution or denied her words outright, it could look a lot more like she was trying to dissuade him for her own gain.

    Additionally, that comment about eunuchs sheds some light on why he's so focused on an heir. Even setting aside the deep influence our home culture can have on our value system, if no one will take a man without a direct heir seriously then he might face serious political consequences for not having one.

    So there at least exists the possibility that he's not as dickish as his treatment of his sister would otherwise imply. Her gender could be functionally irrelevant compared to the other issues not having an heir of his body is causing him.
     
    Hm.
    Thing is, we can ensure he has an heir, regardless of any magic/curse trying to stop that.
    Fleshcrafting of ours is just about advanced enough for that, seeing how we can make a body for Syrax-Reborn (but choose not to).

    And if his inability is purely physical... it's even easier.

    Question is, should we?
    He doesn't seem like an overtly horrible person/ruler/general.
    He might just stabilize the region he's in to a very large degree... While Asure will be focused on stabilizing and consolidating his region.

    And both will be, in an ideal world, focused on surviving coming Long Night, and fighting off Bloodstone!Emperor.
    ...And maybe Hastur.
    -----------------------------------------------
    Bah, this is all bullshit.

    We should learn what's that Fire-Storm he's trying to make to burn away the Golden Company's forces.
    I can all but guarantee it won't really work regardless, either the Clerics will find a way to turn it around, or get everyone immune to it (because Dragons = fire, and Tiamat = bullshit).
    But if he can get it started at just the right time...
    We could hit GC far harder than the single Moonchaser's worth of force-projection would allow for.

    (and yes, for all that the attack would include an extreme amount of Companions and Minions, it is the Mooncahser that I believe would really be driving the assault on the "normals", - as something even the drakes of GC have no hope of getting through)
     
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    egoo said:
    We should learn what's that Fire-Storm he's trying to make to burn away the Golden Company's forces.
    I can all but guarantee it won't really work regardless, either the Clerics will find a way to turn it around, or get everyone immune to it (because Dragons = fire, and Tiamat = bullshit).
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    It's worth noting that Pol Qo is not planning to kill the whole army with a firestorm, just the drakes.
     
    egoo said:
    ...Okay, I have far less respect for the plan now.
    :V

    Unless he can make it Searing and around 40d6, or something...
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    065tdsa said:
    Unless these Shugenjas are way more impressive than they seem to be, I do not see how this deals with all those casters who are his actual problem.
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    Consider how impressive and powerful rituals can be, think of something like raising a Heart Tree and apply those principles to making the biggest firestorm you can.

    Viserys does not know enough IC to make much of a guess, but he is not inclined to discount the notion out of hand
     
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