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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:
he produces a small silver-bound book, empty of any writing and touched by only the faintest of magics, then taps it with an ivory rod. Under your eyes ink races across the velum in a black spiderweb of cursive script, and when it is done you are looking at what seems to be a centuries-old military report, one of what you know from previous reading is a deeply unsuccessful campaign and the most recent reason why the Shaitan do not meddle in the Sea of Fire directly.
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Am real interested in this trick. Could we inquire in regards to particulars and its creation?
[X] Azel
 
Winning vote
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Feb 18, 2021 at 1:48 PM, finished with 59 posts and 11 votes.
  • [X] Plan "Poor Unfortunate Souls"
    -[X] Free trade with the Imperium and it's partners.
    -[X] Infrastructure
    -[X] Military and Espionage aid
    -[X] Access to the vast lore of the Scholarium with a branch in his capital city.
    -[X] Access to crop rituals, fleshforged plants, steam powered machinery and the many other marvels of the Imperium.
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Part MMMDCCXLVII: With Honeyed Words
  • Threadmarks
    • With Honeyed Words ​

    Thirtieth Day of the Fourth Month 294 AC

    The voices grow more muted, the clink of glasses stilling as you grow close to the table that hosts the small delegation from Last Lament. Still, the smiles do not dim, and unless you are gravely mistaken they are sincere besides. Perhaps they had not been expecting a meeting tonight, theirs was among the smallest delegations, their gifts more symbolic than grand. Part of you wonders with some amusement if they had heard of the legendary greed of Dragons. Would they recognize it when you laid out offers of infrastructure and lore, crop rituals and wonders crafted of steel and flesh?

    "A fortunate star shines upon our meeting, and a fortunate tide bears our fates together. I had heard much of the wonders of The Island of Sorcerers, but even sailors' tales pale before truth," Yanda Zaq flatters with easy cheer besides his youthful charm. "High are the halls, but higher still the flights of Dragons and the paths of the sky ships. Ah, to fly upon those wings of steel and sorcery..."

    "Even the tallest tree has its roots in the earth of the world," Jola Daa interjects, motioning with her fork above a salad of fruit and nuts, half of which are not native to the world. She is not afraid to experiment anymore than her husband, but she is quieter about it. "Of course, that is generally a saying and not a marvel under the sun stretching out its branches over all the land." She motions towards the Great Tree, a shadow against the starlit sky save for the faint glimmer of phoenix lights among its uppermost branches, from those rare flame spirits welcomed to come and go as they please by the Zomok.

    You had suggested the possibility of something more festive for the day, but the guardian of the tree had been less than interested in playing to the crowd. The wise should not play the fool in ragged cloak, he had sniffed, rather more attached to the Old Gods in the past months you had noticed.

    "Do you not find it difficult to rule over a land of so many waking gods each with their own purpose, so many tongue and manners?" Jola Daa continues. "Last Lament has but a fraction of a fraction, and yet we struggle to accommodate all. Some think they are masters and some wish themselves slaves to escape making any decisions of worth. Some drown in wine to forget, and others close their eyes to deeper truths lest they prove too dark in the knowing..."

    "No more talk of darkness when there is so much light about us," her husband interjects loudly before you can answer. "This is a day to celebrate life, not wonder at the portents of death."

    The priestess would not be deterred though. "And yet without the darkness how would we even see the lights?" She points to the stars. "When the sun is high we are denied that beauty, when hunters have no worry of the beasts of the jungle they do not think to gather around the campfire. Indeed, why would they even build walls if not to hold out the perils of the world?" Turning back to you she adds, "You have built great walls, Dragon Lord, all the more so for the fact that here in the heart of your power they are unseen."

    As compliments go that is by far the most insightful, though you wonder what she expects you to say in answer to her earlier question. Does she expect you to judge how you rule, or how you see yourself ruling?

    What do you reply?

    [] I have found that people of all sorts are more alike than they are different in what they expect of their rulers, security, prosperity and keeping out of those parts of their lives they deem private

    [] All the gods of the realm wish for their people a bright fate in their own way and so they are welcomed where darker powers are not

    [] Write in

    OOC: I got a headache halfway though writing this and had to break here rather than roll through. The alternative would have likely been no third update. Sorry if this feels dragged out.
     
  • Threadmarks
    • Duesal said:
    "So, would you like your bribe?"
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    Prosaic, but I think they do not doubt our blandishments.

    These people are... *sniff* philosophers.

    More seriously, @DragonParadox is implying that they do not see things with the same certainty of purpose and confidence in our actions that the thread does, they are shown that devils want to enslave everyone and usher in an age on unending darkness, blah blah blah--we see that and think, well, let's just subvert their agents to our own ends, slay their expedition leaders, infiltrate their outposts.

    Or "how do we control our mages even though throughout the ages mystery cults and cabals were rife with treachery and secrecy?"

    WE have answers to all of these things, THEY do not.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    With Honeyed Words ​

    Thirtieth Day of the Fourth Month 294 AC

    The voices grow more muted, the clink of glasses stilling as you grow close to the table that hosts the small delegation from Last Lament. Still, the smiles do not dim and, unless you are gravely mistaken, they are sincere besides. Perhaps they had not been expecting a meeting tonight? Theirs was among the smallest delegations, their gifts more symbolic than grand. Part of you wonders with some amusement if they had heard of the legendary greed of Dragons. Would they recognize it when you laid out offers of infrastructure and lore, crop rituals and wonders crafted of steel and flesh?

    "A fortunate star shines upon our meeting, and a fortunate tide bears our fates together. I had heard much of the wonders of The Island of Sorcerers, but even sailors' tales pale before truth," Yanda Zaq flatters with easy cheer beside his youthful charm. "High are the halls, but higher still the flights of Dragons and the paths of the sky ships. Ah, to fly upon those wings of steel and sorcery..."

    "Even the tallest tree has its roots in the earth of the world," Jola Daa interjects, motioning with her fork above a salad of fruit and nuts, half of which are not native to this world. She is no more afraid to experiment than her husband, but she is quieter about it. "Of course, that is generally a saying and not a marvel under the sun stretching out its branches over all the land." She motions towards the Great Tree, a shadow against the starlit sky, save for the faint glimmer of phoenix lights among its uppermost branches, from those rare flame spirits welcomed to come and go as they please by the Zomok.

    You had suggested the possibility of something more festive for the day, but the guardian of the tree had been less than interested in playing to the crowd. The wise should not play the fool in ragged cloak, he had sniffed. The Zomok seemed rather more attached to the Old Gods in the past months you had noticed.

    "Do you not find it difficult to rule over a land of so many waking gods, each with their own purpose, so many tongue and manners?" Jola Daa continues. "Last Lament has but a fraction of a fraction, and yet we struggle to accommodate all. Some think they are masters and some wish themselves slaves, to escape making any decisions of worth. Some drown in wine to forget, and others close their eyes to deeper truths lest they prove too dark in the knowing..."

    "No more talk of darkness when there is so much light about us," her husband interjects loudly before you can answer. "This is a day to celebrate life, not wonder at the portents of death."

    The priestess would not be deterred, though. "And yet without the darkness how would we even see the lights?" She points to the stars. "When the sun is high, we are denied that beauty. When hunters have no worry of the beasts of the jungle, they do not think to gather around the campfire. Indeed, why would they even build walls if not to hold out the perils of the world?" Turning back to you, she adds, "You have built great walls, Dragon Lord, all the more so for the fact that here in the heart of your power they are unseen."

    As compliments go, that is by far the most insightful, though you wonder what she expects you to say in answer to her earlier question. Does she expect you to judge how you rule, or how you see yourself ruling?

    What do you reply?

    [] I have found that people of all sorts are more alike than they are different in what they expect of their rulers, security, prosperity and keeping out of those parts of their lives they deem private

    [] All the gods of the realm wish for their people a bright fate in their own way and so they are welcomed where darker powers are not

    [] Write in

    OOC: I got a headache halfway though writing this and had to break here rather than roll through. The alternative would have likely been no third update. Sorry if this feels dragged out.
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    Click to shrink...
    Made some additional edits to the chapter, DP.
     
    Crake said:
    Prosaic, but I think they do not doubt our blandishments.

    These people are... *sniff* philosophers.

    More seriously, @DragonParadox is implying that they do not see things with the same certainty of purpose and confidence in our actions that the thread does, they are shown that devils want to enslave everyone and usher in an age on unending darkness, blah blah blah--we see that and think, well, let's just subvert their agents to our own ends, slay their expedition leaders, infiltrate their outposts.

    Or "how do we control our mages even though throughout the ages mystery cults and cabals were rife with treachery and secrecy?"

    WE have answers to all of these things, THEY do not.
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    They are concerned the complicated machine of empire might blow up at the seams, the talk of slaves and masters was the Red Priests not the devils
     
    DragonParadox said:
    They are concerned the complicated machine of empire might blow up at the seams, the talk of slaves and masters was the Red Priests not the devils
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    They should be more concerned at the devils. The Red Priesthood isn't integrated into the foundations of the Empire at its base, for all the fact most of Essos claims him as their patron, many more are taking all their cues and making doctrinal changes based on our actions, such as "all men are slaves". How does that work when Azor Ahai says "no more slavery, ever, anywhere"?

    By adapting. Just like we have, consistently, when we are asked to mediate a religious issue and make it align with our own secular concerns.
     
    DragonParadox said:
    They are concerned the complicated machine of empire might blow up at the seams, the talk of slaves and masters was the Red Priests not the devils
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    I guess that, as part of our answer, we should honestly asn them what thry see as troublesome and what ideas they have.

    I mean, we are all going to be one big family after all. In which we are the dragon god-emperor and they are the serfs. But a family nonetheless.
     
    The Red Faith isn't going anywhere. The options to pretend the Red Faith won't have an outsized influence on the world are gone, the Red Faith is unable to be told, in unequivocal terms, to fuck off while the End Times rapidly approaches and their doctrine tells them their goal is to spread Universalism to the far corners of the world in order to prepare for Go Time.

    We can either adapt the Faith to help the world come together without forcing everyone to convert, or watch them go apeshit when they realize their biases are all confirmed without anyone with a more moderate position ready to temper those notions.
     
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