- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
[X] Find the priest.
When in doubt, consult an expert.
When in doubt, consult an expert.
And The World Shall Tremble: A Class War in a LitRPG World
- Thread starter notbirdofprey
- Start date
- Original
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Find the priest.
Father Whazzis-Name seems like a nice guy, and considering the big roadblock in our way are the Skills benefiting the aristocracy, we need more info on our enemies.
Father Whazzis-Name seems like a nice guy, and considering the big roadblock in our way are the Skills benefiting the aristocracy, we need more info on our enemies.
- Location
- Southbend indiana
So given our skills I'm thinking we try to turn our revolutionary class into something like guerilla ambush sabatoge and assasination via explosives will probobly be our shtick
- Pronouns
- He/She/They
[X] Find the priest. Alex never got the priest's name, but it would be worth speaking to him, both about history and about the system of classes and levels. Plus, he seemed to have some problems with the local lord, it would be useful to find out more.
- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Find the priest.
Solarstream
It's all in the cards
- Location
- Zombie World
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] To the Free City.
always_confused
Perpetually unwanted
- Location
- SEA
[X] To the Free City.
- Location
- Not the asylum anymore
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Find the priest.
Random Member
Gardener of Human Happiness
- Location
- Behind You
[X] Find the priest.
fallintolife
the worst vegan
- Location
- Los Angeles
- Pronouns
- They/Them
[x] Find the wizard. Lord Erthwing was rather abusive to the wizard, which seemed unwise, since she can presumably strike him with lightning. Maybe she can teach Alex how to do that on her behalf? Or maybe she can explain a bit about this Seminary.
Tabascoheath
Unkempt, Evil-eyed Charlatan, and Pseudo-Mystic
- Location
- Your Nearest Orbital Habitat
[X] Find the priest. Alex never got the priest's name, but it would be worth speaking to him, both about history and about the system of classes and levels. Plus, he seemed to have some problems with the local lord, it would be useful to find out more.
- Location
- UK
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Why is it considered impolite to ask someone what their level is?
- Location
- Te Ika-a-Māui
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Find the priest. Alex never got the priest's name, but it would be worth speaking to him, both about history and about the system of classes and levels. Plus, he seemed to have some problems with the local lord, it would be useful to find out more.
Vote closed
III. The Words of the Father are Righteous
Out from the audience hall, Alex stepped away. They hadn't been given any actual work yet, and they itched to learn more about this world, to ask about the local military, or head to the free city and meet the exploited laborers there. But making a nuisance of themself seemed unwise, as did going out into such an unfamiliar world with so little knowledge.
Fortunately, there was a ready source of information, one they suspected would be happy to talk at them. And, Alex realized, slightly embarrassed, they never got the priest's name.
Quickly, they found a servant, a young woman in the red and white that seemed to be part of the lord's colors. She was happy to give directions, and off Alex walked, taking care to thank the maid before she left, earning them a titter that made a smile appear out of nowhere.
"She's probably not used to it, that bastard doesn't seem like the type to pay his servants any mind," Alex thought as their footsteps echoed in the stone halls.
The castle was large, but it was old, and it seemed parts hadn't been maintained properly. As Alex made their way down from the towers for important retainers, guests, and audiences, they noticed drafts of cold air, drippings of water on the floor, and flickers and sparks coming from the lights. They also passed several more servants, all frantically working to try and hide the worst evidence of the decay such as faint films of some kind of slime that stretched for a dozen feet across one particularly exposed wall. The intensity of their movements made Alex suspect there were some serious consequences on the line, and the bags under their eyes said they had been dealing with these problems for a while.
It was an easy enough guess to make - a noble in a feud costs him enough it makes it hard to keep up appearances, but he's too proud to let things go, so he pushes the burden off onto everyone he could. They wouldn't be surprised to find him horribly in debt, or secretly selling off his peasants to slavers.
As those dark thoughts chased each other through Alex's mind, they walked past without a word, except for a stronger resolution to end this rotten system and a desire to speak to the servants and see if they had any interest in setting something better up.
They made their way to the lowest floor of the keep, into a chapel, or perhaps a temple. It was a wide, rounded space of smooth gray stone, the floors neatly swept. Altars stood in a semi-circle, each with a bowl for coins and a cover woven in various patterns. It roughly matched what Alex had pictured.
Except of course, for the injured man sitting with the priest. He was holding it in a way that made Alex wish they had been a medic instead of an engineer and he was trying very hard not to cry as the priest ran his hands along the injured limb. Slowly he squeezed, drawing a strangled scream from the wounded man, and then there was a flash of light that seared Alex's retinas.
By the time they could see again, the man was standing, uninjured, tearfully thanking the priest, who protested and insisted it was merely his duty, sounding like he actually meant it. He departed, and Alex stepped forth.
The priest met them with a smile.
"Ahh, Outsider, I do apologize that you had to see it. Normally, I do my healing in the back, but Geoffe needed to get back to the stand if we are to have enough firewood for winter, so I did it where we stood. I hope I did not disturb you?"
Alex swallowed memories. "No, not at all. If you have other patients, I can..."
The priest shook his head. "None at this time, Outsider. How can I help you?"
"Well, since I am a stranger here..."
His eyes lit up, and Alex regretfully crushed his hopes, just a little. "I was hoping you could tell me things. Not just history - that too - but...well, everything. And also your name, I didn't get it before."
Father Casking had exactly the sort of laugh you would expect from someone who looked like him.
"Now, where should we start? I suppose with my profession."
He spoke about the Divine first - how the world was made by a great family of gods, how they lifted the mountains and sunk the seas, how they peopled the world. And to guide their people, they created the System. He described it rapturously, with lots of imagery about perfect clockwork machinery. Then, some among the Divine thought the System too lenient to their people, that it made them weak. Others thought it too harsh and demanded it be destroyed and all the power in it set loose. The Divine quarreled, and those who opposed the System made secret bargains and ambushed one of the Divine, luring him away under false pretenses and slaying him while acting as friends, a heinous betrayal that began the Divine War.
It was a conflict that waged for eons and for the drawing of a single breath, that stretched from one edge of the world to another and was contained within a mote of dust. In the end, many lay fallen and much was ruined. And so the defeated, who had sought to destroy the holy System, were cast down into the great chasms, bound with unbreakable chains to the bottom of the world. They became the Fallen.
Now there are only the Divine, although there were many who worshipped them in different ways. "I, and all in these lands, keep to the Creed of the Seven. There are others, but I could tell you little of them. And of course, there are always those who say the Fallen are worshipped by one group or another. I think none do so intentionally, but many do by violating the System."
Alex wished they could quirk up one eyebrow. "How do you violate the System, Father?"
He coughed. "Now, I imagine you wanted to learn history..."
Alex wanted to press the man, but let him talk instead.
He explained how the Divine War had left scars in the world, scars that took generations to be expunged. "For seven thousand years, heroes hunted demons and abominations the likes of which cannot be imagined. They were destroyed, and those who remained created their own kingdoms and nations. As men are wont to do, the mightiest among them sought to be mightier still, and many terrible wars were fought. The ruins created by those wars are accursed places, places where only the foolish go."
Eventually, the wars ended, and one of those kingdoms forged was the Rexumic Imperium, an alliance against conquerors and marauders that became one due to the honor and wisdom of its founder, Emperor Donatim of House Donatio. How the Emperor and those who followed him invested many of his subjects with special rights and privileges, how the empire expanded across vast distances. How vassals were empowered in countless ways by new powers and simple distance.
"And so we come to the root of the feud. House Denkedaus conquered these lands on behalf of a more powerful lord, a great Count with vast resources, but the mountains to the south made it so the Denkedaus hold their newly conquered lands with ease against outsiders, and eventually they grew greedy and rebelled against their liege, severing those oaths in favor to bonds with a more distant Viscount. Now House Erthwing, descended from a chief who became a loyal retainer of the Denkedaus during their conquest, seeks to do the same, to protect their people from being seized and sent to the mines."
A note of uncertainty enters the priest's voice. Alex smiles. It seems they are not the only one who is aware of how rotten this whole system is. And a priest is someone of no small importance.
"Do you think he's doing a good job?" Alex asked.
The priest licked his lips, nervously. "[Seal of the Confession]" he said.
Alex felt an instant of overwhelming guilt, and then it vanished from their mind.
"You are not sworn to his lordship. You are under no obligation to speak to him of these things. But I have healed many, many wounds during my years here. The soldiers of both houses are brutal, to their enemies and to those they have sworn to protect. I have seen villages destroyed and the survivors bring famine upon those they flee to, and I have held those who escaped that fate in my arms and offered them absolution. These things do not serve the System, they do not please the Divine. And my superiors do not seek to end this bloodshed. Not my priestly ones, and certainly not Lord Erthwing."
"So no, I do not think he is doing a good job."
Father Casking licked his lips again. "All that was said was under Seal, and may not be repeated unless oaths demand it."
Alex blinked. That seemed...very abusable. But they devoutly hoped Father Casking wasn't the sort to take advantage of it, and left the matter lie.
"Father Casking, I agree completely with you. We can talk about this again, sometime. But first..."
Alex wanted to know about classes and skills, about this system that was apparently so important. Revolutionary seemed like it would be useful, but they had no idea how to level up in it, or what sort of things they could expect. Or why it was rude to ask about someone's classes and skills, when they were freely used in front of them.
And they would need to sound Father Casking out a little bit more, to try and see how much of their ideas they could share. If there was a holy book, perhaps they could get their hands on one.
But before they could begin putting any of those plans into action, they were interrupted.
A young girl, one Alex had seen before, strode in, followed behind by two very harried-looking maids.
It was Lord Erthwing's daughter. Despite themself, Alex's lips quirked up again. She was adorable, and she was incredibly sweet, even for an aristocrat. She bowed to Father Casking and looked up at him earnestly. "Father, I know I need to do my lessons with you, but it is such a lovely day out, and I promise I will read a chapter of Demotio's History before I go to bed. Might I be excused?"
She gave him puppy-dog eyes, full blast, and for nearly ten seconds the sheer cuteness of it overwhelmed Alex. Father Casking didn't stand a chance. "Oh very well..." he murmured, and she let out a squeal of thanks before turning on her heel.
"I'll bring you something sweet from the kitchens next time, Father! Stranger, would you be so kind as to accompany me?"
Although the girl's cuteness ray (was that a skill? What kind of class lets you do that?) didn't work on Alex, they weren't going to disobey the local despot's daughter on something like this.
"Of course."
They found themselves struggling to keep up with her. "Father says your Class is all about making things change. That will be so terribly exciting, could you teach me how to do it?"
Alex considered, hesitant. "Well, maybe I could teach you a few things. I think my class has requirements for it that you might not be able to meet, not easily. But I can tell you about..."
[] The natural world. Alex will talk not just about botany and zoology, but the beauty of watching the sun rise over desert sands and the intricate complexities of a spider's web. Will reflect an environmental focus in Alex's politics and lead to Alex learning more about the local wildlife.
[] Science and technology. Alex will talk about the amazing benefits innovations like labor-saving devices brought to people on Earth, how they went to the moon and plumbed they depths of the oceans. Will reflect a techno-optimist bend to Alex's politics and lead to Alex learning more about local technology.
[] Blood and battle. Alex will talk about things they picked up about fighting, from lessons of epic campaigns to tricks for handling yourself in bar brawls. If she's anything like the Party brats, the gory stuff will thrill her. Will reflect a militarist streak in Alex's politics and lead to Alex learning more about the local military.
As they talked, they also walked, since there was no way the girl (Alex really needed to get better about asking people's names) would sit still. They went to the...
[] Servant's quarters. Literally underground, which leaves them damp and dank, but warmed by their proximity to the massive kitchens, this lets the young lady play with her lower-class friends and gives Alex more of a look at what the life of those who keep the castle running is like and who leads them.
[] Castle yard. Outside but protected by the curtain wall and various fortifications, this lets the young lady find excitement in everything from the soldiers sparring to the artisans laboring. It also lets Alex see the behavior of the garrison for themself, and how they treat each other.
[] Village green. As far as she's ever gone from the castle without a small army of guards, this visit is full of thrills, from the herds of sheep and cattle and goats penned up on the green to the struggles of the farmers working to feed themselves. It will also give Alex information about the daily struggles of the peasantry.
Fortunately, there was a ready source of information, one they suspected would be happy to talk at them. And, Alex realized, slightly embarrassed, they never got the priest's name.
Quickly, they found a servant, a young woman in the red and white that seemed to be part of the lord's colors. She was happy to give directions, and off Alex walked, taking care to thank the maid before she left, earning them a titter that made a smile appear out of nowhere.
"She's probably not used to it, that bastard doesn't seem like the type to pay his servants any mind," Alex thought as their footsteps echoed in the stone halls.
The castle was large, but it was old, and it seemed parts hadn't been maintained properly. As Alex made their way down from the towers for important retainers, guests, and audiences, they noticed drafts of cold air, drippings of water on the floor, and flickers and sparks coming from the lights. They also passed several more servants, all frantically working to try and hide the worst evidence of the decay such as faint films of some kind of slime that stretched for a dozen feet across one particularly exposed wall. The intensity of their movements made Alex suspect there were some serious consequences on the line, and the bags under their eyes said they had been dealing with these problems for a while.
It was an easy enough guess to make - a noble in a feud costs him enough it makes it hard to keep up appearances, but he's too proud to let things go, so he pushes the burden off onto everyone he could. They wouldn't be surprised to find him horribly in debt, or secretly selling off his peasants to slavers.
As those dark thoughts chased each other through Alex's mind, they walked past without a word, except for a stronger resolution to end this rotten system and a desire to speak to the servants and see if they had any interest in setting something better up.
They made their way to the lowest floor of the keep, into a chapel, or perhaps a temple. It was a wide, rounded space of smooth gray stone, the floors neatly swept. Altars stood in a semi-circle, each with a bowl for coins and a cover woven in various patterns. It roughly matched what Alex had pictured.
Except of course, for the injured man sitting with the priest. He was holding it in a way that made Alex wish they had been a medic instead of an engineer and he was trying very hard not to cry as the priest ran his hands along the injured limb. Slowly he squeezed, drawing a strangled scream from the wounded man, and then there was a flash of light that seared Alex's retinas.
By the time they could see again, the man was standing, uninjured, tearfully thanking the priest, who protested and insisted it was merely his duty, sounding like he actually meant it. He departed, and Alex stepped forth.
The priest met them with a smile.
"Ahh, Outsider, I do apologize that you had to see it. Normally, I do my healing in the back, but Geoffe needed to get back to the stand if we are to have enough firewood for winter, so I did it where we stood. I hope I did not disturb you?"
Alex swallowed memories. "No, not at all. If you have other patients, I can..."
The priest shook his head. "None at this time, Outsider. How can I help you?"
"Well, since I am a stranger here..."
His eyes lit up, and Alex regretfully crushed his hopes, just a little. "I was hoping you could tell me things. Not just history - that too - but...well, everything. And also your name, I didn't get it before."
Father Casking had exactly the sort of laugh you would expect from someone who looked like him.
"Now, where should we start? I suppose with my profession."
He spoke about the Divine first - how the world was made by a great family of gods, how they lifted the mountains and sunk the seas, how they peopled the world. And to guide their people, they created the System. He described it rapturously, with lots of imagery about perfect clockwork machinery. Then, some among the Divine thought the System too lenient to their people, that it made them weak. Others thought it too harsh and demanded it be destroyed and all the power in it set loose. The Divine quarreled, and those who opposed the System made secret bargains and ambushed one of the Divine, luring him away under false pretenses and slaying him while acting as friends, a heinous betrayal that began the Divine War.
It was a conflict that waged for eons and for the drawing of a single breath, that stretched from one edge of the world to another and was contained within a mote of dust. In the end, many lay fallen and much was ruined. And so the defeated, who had sought to destroy the holy System, were cast down into the great chasms, bound with unbreakable chains to the bottom of the world. They became the Fallen.
Now there are only the Divine, although there were many who worshipped them in different ways. "I, and all in these lands, keep to the Creed of the Seven. There are others, but I could tell you little of them. And of course, there are always those who say the Fallen are worshipped by one group or another. I think none do so intentionally, but many do by violating the System."
Alex wished they could quirk up one eyebrow. "How do you violate the System, Father?"
He coughed. "Now, I imagine you wanted to learn history..."
Alex wanted to press the man, but let him talk instead.
He explained how the Divine War had left scars in the world, scars that took generations to be expunged. "For seven thousand years, heroes hunted demons and abominations the likes of which cannot be imagined. They were destroyed, and those who remained created their own kingdoms and nations. As men are wont to do, the mightiest among them sought to be mightier still, and many terrible wars were fought. The ruins created by those wars are accursed places, places where only the foolish go."
Eventually, the wars ended, and one of those kingdoms forged was the Rexumic Imperium, an alliance against conquerors and marauders that became one due to the honor and wisdom of its founder, Emperor Donatim of House Donatio. How the Emperor and those who followed him invested many of his subjects with special rights and privileges, how the empire expanded across vast distances. How vassals were empowered in countless ways by new powers and simple distance.
"And so we come to the root of the feud. House Denkedaus conquered these lands on behalf of a more powerful lord, a great Count with vast resources, but the mountains to the south made it so the Denkedaus hold their newly conquered lands with ease against outsiders, and eventually they grew greedy and rebelled against their liege, severing those oaths in favor to bonds with a more distant Viscount. Now House Erthwing, descended from a chief who became a loyal retainer of the Denkedaus during their conquest, seeks to do the same, to protect their people from being seized and sent to the mines."
A note of uncertainty enters the priest's voice. Alex smiles. It seems they are not the only one who is aware of how rotten this whole system is. And a priest is someone of no small importance.
"Do you think he's doing a good job?" Alex asked.
The priest licked his lips, nervously. "[Seal of the Confession]" he said.
Alex felt an instant of overwhelming guilt, and then it vanished from their mind.
"You are not sworn to his lordship. You are under no obligation to speak to him of these things. But I have healed many, many wounds during my years here. The soldiers of both houses are brutal, to their enemies and to those they have sworn to protect. I have seen villages destroyed and the survivors bring famine upon those they flee to, and I have held those who escaped that fate in my arms and offered them absolution. These things do not serve the System, they do not please the Divine. And my superiors do not seek to end this bloodshed. Not my priestly ones, and certainly not Lord Erthwing."
"So no, I do not think he is doing a good job."
Father Casking licked his lips again. "All that was said was under Seal, and may not be repeated unless oaths demand it."
Alex blinked. That seemed...very abusable. But they devoutly hoped Father Casking wasn't the sort to take advantage of it, and left the matter lie.
"Father Casking, I agree completely with you. We can talk about this again, sometime. But first..."
Alex wanted to know about classes and skills, about this system that was apparently so important. Revolutionary seemed like it would be useful, but they had no idea how to level up in it, or what sort of things they could expect. Or why it was rude to ask about someone's classes and skills, when they were freely used in front of them.
And they would need to sound Father Casking out a little bit more, to try and see how much of their ideas they could share. If there was a holy book, perhaps they could get their hands on one.
But before they could begin putting any of those plans into action, they were interrupted.
A young girl, one Alex had seen before, strode in, followed behind by two very harried-looking maids.
It was Lord Erthwing's daughter. Despite themself, Alex's lips quirked up again. She was adorable, and she was incredibly sweet, even for an aristocrat. She bowed to Father Casking and looked up at him earnestly. "Father, I know I need to do my lessons with you, but it is such a lovely day out, and I promise I will read a chapter of Demotio's History before I go to bed. Might I be excused?"
She gave him puppy-dog eyes, full blast, and for nearly ten seconds the sheer cuteness of it overwhelmed Alex. Father Casking didn't stand a chance. "Oh very well..." he murmured, and she let out a squeal of thanks before turning on her heel.
"I'll bring you something sweet from the kitchens next time, Father! Stranger, would you be so kind as to accompany me?"
Although the girl's cuteness ray (was that a skill? What kind of class lets you do that?) didn't work on Alex, they weren't going to disobey the local despot's daughter on something like this.
"Of course."
They found themselves struggling to keep up with her. "Father says your Class is all about making things change. That will be so terribly exciting, could you teach me how to do it?"
Alex considered, hesitant. "Well, maybe I could teach you a few things. I think my class has requirements for it that you might not be able to meet, not easily. But I can tell you about..."
[] The natural world. Alex will talk not just about botany and zoology, but the beauty of watching the sun rise over desert sands and the intricate complexities of a spider's web. Will reflect an environmental focus in Alex's politics and lead to Alex learning more about the local wildlife.
[] Science and technology. Alex will talk about the amazing benefits innovations like labor-saving devices brought to people on Earth, how they went to the moon and plumbed they depths of the oceans. Will reflect a techno-optimist bend to Alex's politics and lead to Alex learning more about local technology.
[] Blood and battle. Alex will talk about things they picked up about fighting, from lessons of epic campaigns to tricks for handling yourself in bar brawls. If she's anything like the Party brats, the gory stuff will thrill her. Will reflect a militarist streak in Alex's politics and lead to Alex learning more about the local military.
As they talked, they also walked, since there was no way the girl (Alex really needed to get better about asking people's names) would sit still. They went to the...
[] Servant's quarters. Literally underground, which leaves them damp and dank, but warmed by their proximity to the massive kitchens, this lets the young lady play with her lower-class friends and gives Alex more of a look at what the life of those who keep the castle running is like and who leads them.
[] Castle yard. Outside but protected by the curtain wall and various fortifications, this lets the young lady find excitement in everything from the soldiers sparring to the artisans laboring. It also lets Alex see the behavior of the garrison for themself, and how they treat each other.
[] Village green. As far as she's ever gone from the castle without a small army of guards, this visit is full of thrills, from the herds of sheep and cattle and goats penned up on the green to the struggles of the farmers working to feed themselves. It will also give Alex information about the daily struggles of the peasantry.
Last edited:
- Location
- the Republic
- Pronouns
- He/They
Father Casking is a cool guy. We need to bring him on for some real liberation theology stuff.
[X] Science and technology.
[X] Village green.
I'm curious about the servant quarters and interested in militarism, but also it seems like as a Revolutionary we should be exposing our new friend to exciting new ideas and places, plus I think it'll be fun to learn more about the local peasantry and tech.
[X] Science and technology.
[X] Village green.
I'm curious about the servant quarters and interested in militarism, but also it seems like as a Revolutionary we should be exposing our new friend to exciting new ideas and places, plus I think it'll be fun to learn more about the local peasantry and tech.
- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Blood and battle.
[X] Castle yard.
Influence the noble daughter with militant revolutionary ideas?
[X] Castle yard.
Influence the noble daughter with militant revolutionary ideas?
[x] The natural world
[x] Village green
alex as an eco-socialist engineer who has seen the horrors of military destruction on the natural world in the name of imperialism
[x] Village green
alex as an eco-socialist engineer who has seen the horrors of military destruction on the natural world in the name of imperialism
Tabascoheath
Unkempt, Evil-eyed Charlatan, and Pseudo-Mystic
- Location
- Your Nearest Orbital Habitat
[X] Science and technology.
[X] Servant's quarters.
[X] Servant's quarters.
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Science and technology.
[X] Village green.
I agree with Etranger.
[X] Village green.
I agree with Etranger.
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Etranger