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

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Farther to Fall ​

Fourteenth Day of the First Month 294 AC

City of Brass, Bazaar of a Thousand Sins

When Maelor had first began carefully looking for slaves the king might have an interest in buying and freeing, he had expected to witness cruelty, madness, and tragedy in greater measure even than in the rest of this damn city. There was a reason, after all, why he hadn't eaten anything yet today. You got less nauseous on an empty stomach. He had learned that trick back when going to bed hungry was as common as doing so cold. These days he didn't need to eat, thanks to one of the enchanted rings he bore and he certainly couldn't think of any place in this city that was cold, but some things never changed.

The clink of chains... the snap of whips... the short sharp breaths of swallowed tears.

What he had not expected was to see so many folk trying to sell themselves to 'good masters' before they ended up in worse straights. It did make sense in a twisted sort of way, the boy supposed. Being a slave in the City of Brass at least granted one the protection afforded your master's property, as opposed to waiting for the debtors and moneylenders to close in like vultures.

Today had an even stranger surprise in store for him, one of the turtle sprites of Nirvana, the sorts that were more comfortable on water than land, which is to say a thousand times more comfortable anywhere besides the City of Brass, trying and mostly failing to keep the gaze of passersby from his companion, a delicate figure with shimmering crystal wings that the darkness at the back of his mind knew at once as a choral angel, though Maelor could have done without the not-quite-memories that came attached to that thought. The angel looked sick, or maybe cursed, threads of rippling chaotic colors running through her flesh. "You wanna buy one of us you buy both of us," the agathon said in a tired, almost resigned voice that made Maelor suspect he had to repeat that many times over.


"What's wrong with her?" the boy asked brusquely. Wouldn't do to come off as too nice to future slaves lest he draw attention to himself.

"She's Falling, but she's holding it off with jena to make herself forget herself," the shelled warrior replied in a tone that probably accounted for the other reason he hadn't found a buyer.

"Jena? Isn't that a little weak for that kind of thing?" Maelor asked startled.

"Yes," the angel breathed, almost too soft to hear. "Used to take something stronger... gone now... all gone." There was loss and sorrow in those words, but above all there was fear of what she might turn into. Well, the king had hired outright demons, so it might be worth taking that gamble. Maybe they'd even be able to get her to Yss in time.

Do you buy the celestial pair?

1 Advanced Chelonidal - 9HD CR 8
1 Choral Angel Bard Creature 8 HD CR 7

Cost: 11,760 IM

[] No, too much uncertainty

[] Yes
-[] Wait and catalogue the process of Falling
-[] Try to get the angel to Yss as quietly as possible to keep her from anchoring to any of the lower planes

OOC: Only one of the potential hires this time around, it's late and I can't concentrate on writing properly. Hopefully it's an interesting enough situation to make for an engaging vote. Not yet edited.
Here's an edited version of the chapter, @DragonParadox.
 
[X] Yes
-[X] Wait and catalogue the process of Falling

Rare opportunity to observe the metaphysical process of an outsider transforming into something else and it's not as if Yss could stop it. Also doesn't risk the CoB operation over a single angel.
 
[X] Yes
-[X] Try to get the angel to Yss as quietly as possible to keep her from anchoring to any of the lower planes
 
I don't think we'd be able to stop her Fall, guys, even with Yss' help. That is something deeply innate to the Outsider in question. We also couldn't have stopped Yrael's Fall no matter what we did, because that came from a realization within himself that he believed Asmodeus was right in the way he waged war. It'd probably be something similar for this angel.

Similarly, if we want to hire her (and I assume the answer is yes) her being anchored to a lower plane isn't really an issue. As a Neutral Good angel she'd be anchored to Abaddon, and we've already got a ritual to break away Demons from the Abyss and one to break Devils from Hell. Abaddon is somewhere between that in difficulty, definitely not that hard for us.

[X] Azel
 
[X] Yes
-[X] Bottle the Angel and her Agathion friend using Smoky Confinement scrolls so they can be transported to Sorcerer's Deep without undue haste. If she is going to Fall, we can at least ensure she does so in a controlled environment with proper monitoring equipment and personnel on hand to help, should it be needed (Lya would certainly wish to observe). Otherwise, if she desires, perhaps she can try to anchor herself to a different Plane entirely, such as the Realm of the Ferryman or Storm Father, or swear herself into Yss' service so that He can intervene.
 
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Didn't we decide Daemons are more trouble than they were worth?

[X] Goldfish
 
[X]Goldfish

this seems like the besy move here. i really don't want a Daemon but if we get one let's do so in a place we can actually study the transformation not in the middle of the city of brass
 
Duesal said:
I don't think we'd be able to stop her Fall, guys, even with Yss' help. That is something deeply innate to the Outsider in question. We also couldn't have stopped Yrael's Fall no matter what we did, because that came from a realization within himself that he believed Asmodeus was right in the way he waged war. It'd probably be something similar for this angel.

Similarly, if we want to hire her (and I assume the answer is yes) her being anchored to a lower plane isn't really an issue. As a Neutral Good angel she'd be anchored to Abaddon, and we've already got a ritual to break away Demons from the Abyss and one to break Devils from Hell. Abaddon is somewhere between that in difficulty, definitely not that hard for us.

[X] Azel
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Yss can just anchor outsiders to himself through oath. that would keep her as more similar to an angel than not (assuming that is whats he asked for which she seems to prefer).
 
So, she is not falling, but outright turning into a fiend.

Interesting. We don't see this every time.

There is no guarantee to which lower plane it will bind to, though.
 
Crake said:
Didn't we decide Daemons are more trouble than they were worth?

[X] Goldfish
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Pretty sure we did. Devils have the most potential for usefulness and Demons are edge cases requiring a lot of effort that can sometimes be useful, but Daemons are just irredeemable assholes who want to destroy all life. There's not much use for them.
 
See, the cognitive dissonance is breaking, that is was ultimately makes her fall... but also means we can manipulate it.

Who knows, if we hold her in stasis for long enough, we might have our first outsider attuned to our Imperial Deity.
 
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Duesal said:
I don't think we'd be able to stop her Fall, guys, even with Yss' help. That is something deeply innate to the Outsider in question. We also couldn't have stopped Yrael's Fall no matter what we did, because that came from a realization within himself that he believed Asmodeus was right in the way he waged war. It'd probably be something similar for this angel.
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Not only do we already have rituals to fundamentally change the metaphysical nature of an Outsider, we also have a pet snake who regularly does similar things to all sorts of beings. I expect Yss absolutely can stop her from falling - but he'll probably do that by making her outlook on things more snakelike, and thereby change her into some sort of snake-Outsider.
 
I am opposed to prevent her from falling just to do so.

I want to use her fragile mental state to give her a new purpose as one of the many heralds of our Imperial Deity
 
TalonofAnathrax said:
Not only do we already have rituals to fundamentally change the metaphysical nature of an Outsider, we also have a pet snake who regularly does similar things to all sorts of beings. I expect Yss absolutely can stop her from falling - but he'll probably do that by making her outlook on things more snakelike, and thereby change her into some sort of snake-Outsider.
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If she chooses the Yss route, it would make a lot of sense for him to change her into a Yssian Lillend. Same HD range, same magical inclinations (Lillends are natural Bards and she has the Bard Creature template), and they're like angelic serpent ladies. It's a perfect fit.

EDIT: I would expect a Yssian Lillend to be Lawful Neutral rather than Chaotic Good like a traditional Lillend. That would be a fairly significant change for a previously Lawful Good Angel, but it wouldn't be quite so drastic as mainlining Evil from one of the Lower Planes.
 
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TalonofAnathrax said:
Not only do we already have rituals to fundamentally change the metaphysical nature of an Outsider, we also have a pet snake who regularly does similar things to all sorts of beings. I expect Yss absolutely can stop her from falling - but he'll probably do that by making her outlook on things more snakelike, and thereby change her into some sort of snake-Outsider.
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That changes where they anchor themselves. In the case of Devils and Demons they go from being anchored in the Fiendish Planes to having Prime Material as their home plane, while also changing them from True Outsiders to Native Outsiders. It doesn't change who they are as individuals. They're still evil, just contractually bound to us.

But in regards to Falling, @DragonParadox, the update's language wasn't clear. When I read that I thought she was going through what Yrael went through, which simply changing alignments, rather than already being evil and shifting from a celestial to a fiend.
 
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