Samaya is pretty intense, I forgot. It's kinda funny trying to see her interact with Elys though, I get the feeling she's not entirely sure how to handle her.
Also, I think I figured out how the mirror portals work, theoretically! A device that makes portals independently would be a nightmare to make, simply because of the immense calculations necessary to open each portal, but that's the brilliance of the mirror portals - though each end changes location, by binding the entrance to an object and the exit to a specific subset of locations on a demiplane, the calculations go way down! You only need to track the mirror, and that can track itself pretty well. To put it another way, the mirror is a portal maker device that only opens portals between itself and a singular other location. Easy, comparatively! That doesn't exactly help us now, but it's fun to think about.
As for Samaya and Raef... there's not a lot we can offer them; unless we had the unbridled power of Aea on our side and she decided to shrug on her rules, there's no way we can return Samaya to the way she and her brothers and sisters used to be - like she said, she's been shaped by her experiences. Even if reunited, it wouldn't be the same.
[x] Offer Samaya a hug (not in trade, pro bono)
[x] Ask Samaya about her brothers and sisters (it's hard to help people you know nothing about)
[x] Tell Samaya you didn't quite realize what you were asking for - ask her if she thinks there's an easier way to accomplish your stated goals
It's kinda late so I'll leave it there, hopefully someone like Nevill will come up with something more coherent.
This is frustrating, because we actually do have stuff that Samaya and Raef would be interested in (the most obvious being, Green Flame is on the other side of the portal we want made)... but, Elys would only know to mention it if they trust her with more information about who they are and what they're doing. From this, it seems like they are... almost willing to tell Elys the truth, but are understandably paranoid and scared of everyone. Like, they've even crafted their appearance to be as unmemorable as possible. So, it comes down to, what can we say to get them to realize we'd be on their side.
[X] Ask Samaya about her brothers and sisters
is a good start. But from there... hmm... it would depend a lot on what they say.
Right now, even we the readers don't know exactly what they're lacking in their quest to get their family back. I'm assuming information is the main thing, but what are their current ways of gathering information? I'm sure there must be at least some sources of information that a royal family filled or allied with Chosen of various powerful Gods in wartime would have access to, that a group of teleporting, shapeshifting, powerful elves wouldn't be able to get on their own... but we'd kinda need them to say more to be sure.
Aside from Samaya and Raef, there are 4 members of their family they want back. Carver (dead) Wisp (dead) Peels (unknown, presumably still in the hands of Mystic Path) Nialliv (Somewhere in Nehweyr; either searching for his family, living peacefully in a monastery, or running a brutal resistance movement against the Accursed Ones depending on when in the timeline stuff happened... probably still one of the first two)
Of these, Nialliv is kinda, the only one we even have a chance to find outside of direct action against the Mystic Path.
Hmm... aha, got another thing we could ask.
[X] Ask Samaya what she knows about the Mystic Path, and why she's so interested in information about them
And finally, just to make things easier on Chandagnac with how much can be put in a post before asking how much to say, a conditional vote for:
[X?] Bring up Green Flame and our thoughts on her (if anything is said that would let Elys know that would be at all relevant)
-[X?] Offer to use our portal artifact to escort her and possibly other elves we meet in the future to Mishrak's undersea palace to meet up with Samaya (again, only if something is said to let Elys know to offer this)
I'm quite unsure where to go from here. Samaya's words imply to me a willingness to evil necromancy, as she much otherwise know that her demands are unachievable.
As for Samaya and Raef... there's not a lot we can offer them; unless we had the unbridled power of Aea on our side and she decided to shrug on her rules, there's no way we can return Samaya to the way she and her brothers and sisters used to be - like she said, she's been shaped by her experiences. Even if reunited, it wouldn't be the same.
RL is kind of a nightmare right now, so I'm unsure I have the where with all for a good write in though, sorry I'll have to leave this in other hands ><
This is frustrating, because we actually do have stuff that Samaya and Raef would be interested in (the most obvious being, Green Flame is on the other side of the portal we want made)... but, Elys would only know to mention it if they trust her with more information about who they are and what they're doing. From this, it seems like they are... almost willing to tell Elys the truth, but are understandably paranoid and scared of everyone. Like, they've even crafted their appearance to be as unmemorable as possible. So, it comes down to, what can we say to get them to realize we'd be on their side.
Right now, even we the readers don't know exactly what they're lacking in their quest to get their family back. I'm assuming information is the main thing, but what are their current ways of gathering information? I'm sure there must be at least some sources of information that a royal family filled or allied with Chosen of various powerful Gods in wartime would have access to, that a group of teleporting, shapeshifting, powerful elves wouldn't be able to get on their own... but we'd kinda need them to say more to be sure.
In the beginning, thousands of years ago, Samaya had many other brothers and sisters, but over the centuries their numbers were whittled down to only a few, until the Mystic Path wiped them out completely.
Raef has always been an idealist, a dreamer, someone who believed that everyone working together could make the world a better place. He had the idea of teaching at the Tyrepheum Academy so that he could train human mages to protect the world from cracks in reality, since there aren't enough of Nymandor's elves left to be able to do it. Also, he was probably the one who suggested allying with humans to defeat the shapeshifting demons during the 'Shapeshifter Wars', several thousand years ago.
On the other hand, Kari/Samaya is family-oriented. Whereas Raef is still dedicated to saving the world, she cares about the people she is close to, but she doesn't care very much about the 'duty' that Nymandor gave her (maybe she did in the beginning, but it's been thousands of years since then). For her, the highlight of the 'Shapeshifter Wars' was when she fell in love with a human named Atanu Vandion, got married to him, and had several adorable half-elven children. Much later, during The Tinpot Princess and Her Many Travels, after Gareth unwittingly freed Kari/Samaya from an Aspiti slave ship, she then travelled around the world freeing and/or recruiting as many elves as she could, building a new family (of sorts). And she's started her own Hidden Elf Village so that they can have a home of their own, somewhere they will be safe, somewhere that she hopes will never be discovered...
So yeah, Raef is a 'big picture' kinda guy, Kari/Samaya is mainly focused on the people she loves or is close to. I hope that makes sense. And that it helps with the latest vote.
Sensible planning, I'll second it
[x] Offer Samaya a hug (not in trade, pro bono)
[x] Ask Samaya about her brothers and sisters (it's hard to help people you know nothing about)
[x] Tell Samaya you didn't quite realize what you were asking for - ask her if she thinks there's an easier way to accomplish your stated goals
I had actually thought Samaya was being literal. She didn't strike me as a flippant person.
[x] Offer Samaya a hug (not in trade, pro bono)
[x] Ask Samaya about her brothers and sisters (it's hard to help people you know nothing about)
[x] Tell Samaya you didn't quite realize what you were asking for - ask her if she thinks there's an easier way to accomplish your stated goals
This is frustrating, because we actually do have stuff that Samaya and Raef would be interested in (the most obvious being, Green Flame is on the other side of the portal we want made)... but, Elys would only know to mention it if they trust her with more information about who they are and what they're doing.
Well, if we mention her name, that could help. Literally just the word elf in the conversation could do that, or if they ask her anything about her friends - Green Flame or that Dorian is half-elven would come right up.
[X] Ask Samaya about her brothers and sisters
[X] Ask Samaya what she knows about the Mystic Path, and why she's so interested in information about them
[X?] Bring up Green Flame and our thoughts on her (if anything is said that would let Elys know that would be at all relevant)
-[X?] Offer to use our portal artifact to escort her and possibly other elves we meet in the future to Mishrak's undersea palace to meet up with Samaya (again, only if something is said to let Elys know to offer this)
Perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly. Kari/Samaya was being serious when she said that more than anything else she wants her family back, but she didn't seriously expect Elys or Mishrak to offer to resurrect her family. Instead, she meant it as a test: what kind of person is Elys, really? And what would she be willing to offer in exchange for a nearly-priceless magical artefact?
Perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly. Kari/Samaya was being serious when she said that more than anything else she wants her family back, but she didn't seriously expect Elys or Mishrak to offer to resurrect her family. Instead, she meant it as a test: what kind of person is Elys, really? And what would she be willing to offer in exchange for a nearly-priceless magical artefact?
Yeah okay, makes sense, she doesn't know much about Elys, and she needs to before she can trust us with her secrets. In that case, the hug offer works in our favor, as far as a show of our character goes, not that that motivated that particular addition to my vote.
Elys: "pretty please make me an item that lets me be a portal mage like you?"
Samaya:
Here's the latest update. I've got a busy week ahead of me, so... ehh, I'm not sure what to say, but I'm not looking forward to having to stay at work for an extra five-and-a-half hours on Wednesday.
Oh well. I hope you enjoy reading this latest addition to Elys's adventures.
"We have little need for money," says Samaya, carelessly shrugging her shoulders. "You can't give me what I truly want."
"And what is it that you truly want?" you ask.
"I want my family back. All of my brothers and sisters, like we were before," says Samaya. "Can you give me that?"
"Well, I could–"
You hastily clamp your hand over Mishrak's mouth before he can suggest cloning her dead relatives: you suspect that might cause Samaya and her brother to take offense.
"You're not suggesting that I should resurrect them from the dead, are you?" you ask, letting go of Mishrak and putting on a faint moue of apprehension.
Samaya's expression is unreadable. After a long pause, she says, "No, even if it were possible, I wouldn't ask that of you. Besides, it wouldn't be doing them a kindness: quite the reverse, in fact." She heaves a forlorn sigh. "Their souls have long since returned to the Wheel and been reborn, I hope. No matter how much I miss them, it would be wrong of me to drag them away from their new lives and force them to resume their former existence. Especially considering that… in many ways, they were not happy as they once were. I can only hope that being reincarnated gave them a chance for happiness."
"We will all live again someday," intones Raef, sounding as if he is quoting someone.
"Maybe," says Samaya, in a tone of heavy irony, which you don't understand.
"Tell me about your brothers and sisters," you say. "What were they like?"
"Once, we were a large family. I had dozens of brothers and sisters," says Samaya in a dreamy voice. "They were a very varied bunch – or variable, you might say – and I had little in common with some of them except that we shared the same father."
"Dozens of brothers and sisters, hmm?" Jana puts on a contemplative expression, cupping her chin in one hand, and says, "Madam Samaya… are you, in fact, a rabbit?"
A gust of startled laughter escapes Samaya's pursed lips. Looking amused, she acknowledges Jana's joke with a nod and a muttered, "Very good."
Meanwhile, your frown deepens. "I don't understand what you want from me," you admit.
"Who says that I want anything from you?" Samaya gives an insouciant shrug. "I think I've made my point: the things that I want are beyond your power to give. I have no need for money, or pretty stones, or any of the treasures of the sea."
"So, you won't help me?" you ask, dismayed.
"I didn't say that," she replies. "I'm grateful for the information you've given me today and so I'll do you a favour in return: I'll transport you to Tyrepheum so that you can see your little friends. Or…" Her breath catches in her throat. She hesitates for a moment. "Uhh, that is to say, I have no desire to go within a hundred miles of that place, so…"
"I'll do it," says Raef, hurrying to her rescue.
"Thank you," she says, smiling at him. Then, back at you: "Raef will take you to Tyrepheum, this once."
"But what about the next time I want to see my friends? And after that?" you ask. "I want to see them fairly regularly."
Samaya shoots a disbelieving glance at you, chuckles softly, and says, "Well, that's a shame. I advise you to… think of how privileged you are, think of all the other young girls who will never have nearly as many opportunities as you do, and count your blessings."
"Or, I could learn how to use Professor Elthonar's mirror," you say, brightly, as if it had only just occurred to you. "You'll let me do that, won't you, Uncle Mishrak?"
The tiny dragon on your shoulder shifts uncomfortably; you feel his claws digging into your skin, not deep enough to draw blood. "Well, um…"
"I'm curious as to why you want to enchant an object that will enable you to open portals so that you can travel through them," says Raef, folding his arms. "Are you an enchanter?"
You shake your head. "No."
"Are you learning how to enchant? At that school of yours, perhaps?"
"I'm sure there must be someone at the Engelram Academy who could teach me. But… uh, they don't like me very much," you say.
"I've studied enchantment, but that was a long time ago; and, even then, I wasn't an expert," says Raef. "I'm not sure…" He turns to his sister. "Samaya, do you know anything about enchantment?"
"It's not something I've ever had much of an interest in," she replies. "What are you getting at?"
"I think your plan may be a little overcomplicated," says Raef, looking at you. "You want our help so that you can enchant an object to enable you to use portal magic, but before you can do that you will have to learn enchantment or find someone else to do it for you. There are a few unnecessary steps, don't you think?"
"Well, if you have an alternative, please tell me," you say. "I will be grateful for any advice you can give me."
"I could teach you portal magic," Raef suggests. "That would be simpler, easier, and – in the long run – I suspect it would be more useful to you than any magical artefact could be."
At that, you gasp. "You're offering to teach me?! What an honour! I accept, of course!"
"Need I remind you what happened the last time you had a student, Raef?" asks Samaya, in a tone of irritation.
Raef shakes his head. "I admit that I made a mistake. The whole of Creation has suffered because of it. I hope that this is my chance to repair some of the damage."
"Who was your last student?" you ask, rather frightened by his ominous tone.
"He wasn't my last student. Not quite the last. But a few years later, when he'd learned everything that he felt that he needed to know, he hunted down and killed all of my other students… so he may as well have been the last," says Raef, speaking in a slow, meandering tone that seems drained of emotion. "Kelamon Dumar was his name, before he changed it."
"And now he calls himself 'Agon Hurondus'," you say, remembering what Professor Elthonar wrote in his secret notebook. "He's a member of the Mystic Path."
"Indeed," says Raef, with a nod. "When I first met him, he was a very intelligent young man, with a great thirst for knowledge and a burning desire to prove himself. I believed that, with proper guidance and instruction, he would grow up to be a great wizard."
You nervously moisten your lips. "But instead he…?"
"Instead, he murdered all of Raef's other students. Destroyed what was left of our family. Learned what he could from us and then…" Samaya's voice trails off. She grimaces. "Now, he makes deals with the Demon Lords and hatches plots to become greater than all the gods."
"I had wondered why you were so interested in finding out about the Mystic Path," you say, rather shakily.
"Well, now you know," Samaya replies.
"Wasn't Hurondus an old bald guy?" asks Jana, remembering when you read Elthonar's notebook to him. "And you were his teacher, Mr. Raef? How is that possible? You look… uh, thirty-five, forty, maybe…?"
"I am seven thousand years old," says Raef. "Since I was born, the world has changed beyond recognition. Nothing remains of the tribe that my human parents were part of, nor the land where they once lived, nor even the gods that they worshipped. I have outlasted all of them."
"As have I," Samaya murmurs. "We have endured an eternity."
"And we must continue to endure," says Raef. "Eternally."
[X] So are all elves that old? My friends have a 'cadre leader' named Green Flame who's an elf, but she doesn't act as experienced as you do. I get the impression that she's still figuring out what she's doing, which Mom and Dad say is a young person thing.
[X] So are all elves that old? My friends have a 'cadre leader' named Green Flame who's an elf, but she doesn't act as experienced as you do. I get the impression that she's still figuring out what she's doing, which Mom and Dad say is a young person thing.
Didn't seem like Elys interacted with Green Flame quite enough to get that deep an impression of Green Flame, but eh, sure, I'll go with
[X] So are all elves that old? My friends have a 'cadre leader' named Green Flame who's an elf, but she doesn't act as experienced as you do. I get the impression that she's still figuring out what she's doing, which Mom and Dad say is a young person thing.
(Heh, amusingly, Green Flame claims to be roughly a millenium older than these two. Just, only a small fraction of that time was spent as an actual full person with free will.)
"Dozens of brothers and sisters, hmm?" Jana puts on a contemplative expression, cupping her chin in one hand, and says, "Madam Samaya… are you, in fact, a rabbit?"
A gust of startled laughter escapes Samaya's pursed lips. Looking amused, she acknowledges Jana's joke with a nod and a muttered, "Very good."
In this and all the previous quests in this universe, is this the first time we've ever seen Samaya show anything other than utter seriousness? Impressive work, Jana.
Considering some of the stuff that happened in A Hedge Maze Is You, it's good to see these two enjoying their immortality. Or if "enjoying" is too strong a word, then at least being fine with it enough to want it to continue forever?
Heh, amusingly, Green Flame claims to be roughly a millenium older than these two. Just, only a small fraction of that time was spent as an actual full person with free will.)
Green Flame was wrong (or maybe I made a minor continuity error). Considering that Creation itself is only eight thousand years old and the elder gods didn't start experimenting with elves until slightly more than seven thousand years ago, it's impossible for Green Flame to be eight thousand years old. (There's a timeline in The Tinpot Princess and Her Many Travels, if you want to check.)
Considering some of the stuff that happened in A Hedge Maze Is You, it's good to see these two enjoying their immortality. Or if "enjoying" is too strong a word, then at least being fine with it enough to want it to continue forever?
Actually, Samaya's line about "We have endured an eternity" was meant to suggest that she is somewhat weary of it, whereas Raef's follow-up line was meant to show that he still considers it his duty to protect the world for as long as it needs protecting.
"He wasn't my last student. Not quite the last. But a few years later, when he'd learned everything that he felt that he needed to know, he hunted down and killed all of my other students… so he may as well have been the last," says Raef, speaking in a slow, meandering tone that seems drained of emotion. "Kelamon Dumar was his name, before he changed it."
Yeah that tracks as far as AH goes, who else knows what you know is as important as what you know, as far as its value goes. We know his book exists, but I wonder if the contents are the same, if Raef is free.
"Indeed," says Raef, with a nod. "When I first met him, he was a very intelligent young man, with a great thirst for knowledge and a burning desire to prove himself. I believed that, with proper guidance and instruction, he would grow up to be a great wizard."
Great? Most certainly. Good? Definitely not. If School of Sorcery is a better take on a Harry Potter magic school, then AH is the better Voldemort, most certainly. AH has like... relatively specialized magic, and there's reasons he's known and feared, beyond his megalomania. Like, let's see Voldie write a book, huh?
"Dozens of brothers and sisters, hmm?" Jana puts on a contemplative expression, cupping her chin in one hand, and says, "Madam Samaya… are you, in fact, a rabbit?"
A gust of startled laughter escapes Samaya's pursed lips. Looking amused, she acknowledges Jana's joke with a nod and a muttered, "Very good."
I humbly submit: time travel, perhaps? If it was in the early days, before the laws were all set down and Aea made her time elves, maybe she was used as some sort of guinea pig? Or did Aea make her laws on time travel prior to elves being invented? Now I am kind of imagining a battle in which every elven combatant was the same elf, time-shifted.
[x] "So, wait, you're elves? Like Green Flame? She's my friends' teacher, and her story sounded a lot like yours did just now. I'm sorry about your brothers and sisters."
-[x] Thank Raef for his generous offer
--[x] Ask if Raef (and Samaya, but she seems disinclined to go to Tyrepheum) want to meet Cadre 1F (and Green Flame)
Green Flame accepts this without comment. "Once, I was human," she says. "I was born during the First Age, more than eight thousand years ago. But I remember nothing of that time. Keron, the Elder God of War, Conflict, and Striving, made me into an elf. He turned me and my brothers and sisters into automatons – his perfect machinelike soldiers – whose purpose was to protect this world from demons. That is what we did for thousands of years."
[x] "So, wait, you're elves? Like Green Flame? She's my friends' teacher, and her story sounded a lot like yours did just now. I'm sorry about your brothers and sisters."
-[x] Thank Raef for his generous offer
--[x] Ask if Raef (and Samaya, but she seems disinclined to go to Tyrepheum) want to meet Cadre 1F (and Green Flame)
It's my school's open evening. Last year, it was cancelled, as were the various parents evenings, but now they're back exactly the same as they were before COVID-19. For various reasons, I think that's a shame.
Yeah that tracks as far as AH goes, who else knows what you know is as important as what you know, as far as its value goes. We know his book exists, but I wonder if the contents are the same, if Raef is free.
Great? Most certainly. Good? Definitely not. If School of Sorcery is a better take on a Harry Potter magic school, then AH is the better Voldemort, most certainly. AH has like... relatively specialized magic, and there's reasons he's known and feared, beyond his megalomania. Like, let's see Voldie write a book, huh?
I think it would be arrogant of me to think that School of Sorcery is a "better" take on a Harry Potter magic school. For one thing, even though the later books in the Harry Potter series are massive doorstoppers, they're still much more succinct than any of the quests I've written in this fictional universe.
I prefer to think of School of Sorcery as a jazz riff on the whole 'magic school' concept, taking a lot of the tropes seen in the Harry Potter series (and elsewhere) and playing about with them.
I humbly submit: time travel, perhaps? If it was in the early days, before the laws were all set down and Aea made her time elves, maybe she was used as some sort of guinea pig? Or did Aea make her laws on time travel prior to elves being invented? Now I am kind of imagining a battle in which every elven combatant was the same elf, time-shifted.
There are a number of possible explanations (Green Flame could have been misinformed, or time travel could have been involved, for example), but I'd prefer to obviate the need for complicated explanations. So, I'm going to change what Green Flame said. Thanks, x_lksk.
Here's the vote tally so far:
Adhoc vote count started by Chandagnac on Sep 13, 2021 at 12:31 PM, finished with 8 posts and 5 votes.
[X] So are all elves that old? My friends have a 'cadre leader' named Green Flame who's an elf, but she doesn't act as experienced as you do. I get the impression that she's still figuring out what she's doing, which Mom and Dad say is a young person thing.
[x] "So, wait, you're elves? Like Green Flame? She's my friends' teacher, and her story sounded a lot like yours did just now. I'm sorry about your brothers and sisters."
-[x] Thank Raef for his generous offer
--[x] Ask if Raef (and Samaya, but she seems disinclined to go to Tyrepheum) want to meet Cadre 1F (and Green Flame)
Also, here's something else for you to think about: in the next update, it's likely that Raef will head to Tyrepheum with Elys and Jana in tow. But then what are you going to do?
Should Elys try to sneak into the school without being seen? Fly over the gates and pretend to be a pupil? Get Raef to open a portal inside the school? Go to Green Flame's office and try to meet her there? Or do you have some other ideas for how you might get in touch with Cadre 1F?
For instance, you could go to Tyrepheum's goblin town and ask about Venta. Or you might choose to ask around and find out that Dorian is the son of a fairly important magistrate whereas Philander belongs to one of the city's oldest noble families. Or... well, what do you think?
"Amusing as this is, we need to go immediately," says Mishrak. "I had to break through several wards, triggering almost as many alarms, in order to get into this place. I'd prefer it if I didn't have to fight my way out."
[X] Ask Mishrak about the wards he had to break through last time we were there. Would opening a portal safely bypass them?
-[X] Open a portal directly to Green Flame's office for the initial meeting.
--[X] (if she's not in there at the time) Have Elys and Jana pretend to be pupils in order to quickly find her (Raef could possibly also pretend to be a pupil if necessary, thanks to shapeshifting)
--[X] Ask Green Flame to gather Cadre 1F there so we can go over the situation together and figure out where to establish portals in the future.
It's my school's open evening. Last year, it was cancelled, as were the various parents evenings, but now they're back exactly the same as they were before COVID-19. For various reasons, I think that's a shame.
Which... did it bear his real name in hedgiequest? I don't believe so but I am far too sleepy to cross-reference on a phone.
I think it would be arrogant of me to think that School of Sorcery is a "better" take on a Harry Potter magic school. For one thing, even though the later books in the Harry Potter series are massive doorstoppers, they're still much more succinct than any of the quests I've written in this fictional universe.
I prefer to think of School of Sorcery as a jazz riff on the whole 'magic school' concept, taking a lot of the tropes seen in the Harry Potter series (and elsewhere) and playing about with them.
There's always editing passes on this stuff, but your worldbuilding makes a lot more sense and feels cohesive and coherent. I don't want to get into harry potter wars but your works have a lot going for them.
[x] Knock on the front gate and ask for Green Flame
It might be the lack of sleep talking but the simple plan seems useful here. Either that or goblintown!
Rereading, at least to the point where I have read to, it doesn't seem that we found out who How to Enter the Underworld was written by, except by implication. That is to say, the author's name was not given.
(Heh, amusingly, Green Flame claims to be roughly a millenium older than these two. Just, only a small fraction of that time was spent as an actual full person with free will.)
It's quite likely that, at least in terms of physical age, Green Flame is older than Raef or Kari/Samaya: she was turned into an elf by Keron, who wanted an automaton who would stay in one place and fight off endless hordes of demons. Apart from some of the enhancements he gave her (i.e. powerful fire magic, the fact that she is all-but-immortal, and her ability to shapeshift chitinous armour, claws, and a tail), she isn't much different from any other elf. Keron was following the same basic design that was used by the fey spirits who created the first elves, with relatively minor improvements.
On the other hand, when Nymandor created his elves, he wanted more sophisticated tools who would be able to blend into the human population, carry out their instructions more-or-less independently, and be clever enough to lie and manipulate people effectively. He spent a lot more time designing and finetuning his elves than Keron did. Therefore, it's likely that he created Raef and Samaya (and many of their brothers and sisters) much later than Keron created Green Flame.
Rereading, at least to the point where I have read to, it doesn't seem that we found out who How to Enter the Underworld was written by, except by implication. That is to say, the author's name was not given.
He wrote How to Enter the Underworld before he started calling himself Agon Hurondus, so it has his original name on it. I thought that I'd been fairly consistent about that, but… hmm.
Anyway, I'm going into hospital this weekend, so it's unlikely that I'll have time to write very much. So, enjoy this early update!
"I am seven thousand years old," says Raef. "Since I was born, the world has changed beyond recognition. Nothing remains of the tribe that my human parents were part of, nor the land where they once lived, nor even the gods that they worshipped. I have outlasted all of them."
"As have I," Samaya murmurs. "We have endured an eternity."
"And we must continue to endure," says Raef. "Eternally."
"You're elves, aren't you?" you ask, seeking to confirm a suspicion that has been growing in your mind ever since Raef and Samaya started hinting that they are much older than they look.
"Nymandor made us," says Raef, with a nod. "We are shapeshifters. Quite possibly the last of our kind."
"Our father intended that we should carry on his work." Samaya grimaces at that. "He wanted us to masquerade as ordinary human beings, gain power and influence enough that we would be able to manipulate entire nations into doing what he wanted, using them as weapons against the demons who seek to destroy all of Creation."
"I remember he said something about whispering in the ears of sleeping kings," Raef reminisces. "He warned us that, if we were discovered, humans would hate and fear us. They would see us as villainous monsters and do their best to exterminate us." He heaves a disconsolate sigh. "In a way, he was right about that."
"He was wrong about a great many things!" Samaya snarls. "I'm sure he would be very disappointed in us, if he were looking down on us right now." She puts on a mirthless smile. "I hope so, anyway."
"So… you're not fond of Nymandor, I take it?" you ask, shrinking back when she turns her furious gaze upon you.
"Did you really think it was a good idea to ask that question?" Jana mutters, rolling her eyes.
"Am I fond of the god who stole me from my real parents, mutilated me, and bound me in magical chains so that I would continue to do his bidding thousands of years after he disappeared?" says Samaya, framing her answer as a rhetorical question. "Well, what do you think?"
"No," you murmur, eyes downcast. "Of course you don't."
"I hate him," says Samaya. "I blame him for many of the things that are wrong with the world today."
Jana mutters under her breath something about 'daddy issues'.
"Undoubtedly, some of Nymandor's actions had negative consequences that still linger on today," says Raef, with a wary glance at his sister. "But the same could be said of almost anyone who lived during the First Age. Even you. Even me."
"We were children!" Samaya snaps at him.
"Indeed." Raef gives a nod. "It was a long, long time ago."
Samaya's rage subsides. She seems to sag, as if she were exhausted or carrying a heavy weight. "Well, what does it matter now?" she whispers.
"You're only the second and third elves I've ever met, that I'm aware of," you say, nervously chattering away. "The first was called Green Flame. She works with my friends at the Tyrepheum Academy. She's their 'group tutor'. I remember she said something about how she was born in the First Age and so she was eight thousand years old – or maybe seven thousand years old – uhm, I guess I don't remember that well."
"Oh, that poor girl," says Raef, holding his head in his hands. "I had forgotten about her until now."
"You know her?" you ask, blinking in surprise.
"I'm the one who… well, I did my best to restore her soul," says Raef. "I was going to free her, but… I hadn't quite finished by the time Dumar and his cronies attacked me."
"So… you're basically her dad?" you press him.
"An absentee father at best," he murmurs.
"Still, Audraine was glad to see you," says Samaya, a teasing note in her voice.
"Princess Audraine? Like in the fairy-tale?" you ask.
Raef shakes his head. "It's a long story."
"We've got time," says Jana.
"No, it's getting late," Raef replies. "If I'm going to take you to Tyrepheum, we'd better go before it gets too dark."
"I'll stay here," says his sister. "There are a few things I'd like to discuss with Mishrak, if I may."
Obligingly, the tiny dragon hops off your shoulder and down onto a nearby plinth that looks like it should have a decorative vase or statue on it, but doesn't. "What do you want to talk about?" he asks.
"The war against Aspitolm," Samaya says curtly. "I don't think it would be a good idea for me or my brother to attract too much attention. The Mystic Path may come for us if they realise that we are free. But there may be other ways that we can aid you…"
Meanwhile, Raef opens a portal to a shady graveyard surrounded by grey stone walls, glances through it and says, "I haven't been to Tyrepheum for a long time, but I still remember it fairly well. Some things are still the same, or so it appears. Shall we get going, ladies?"
"Where is that?" asks Jana, gazing through the portal.
"Behind the temple of the Forgotten God, if I remember correctly," says Raef. "I had a few friends there, back when I was Galadan the Mystic. That was around thirty years ago, so… I wonder if any of them still remember me?"
"Do you want them to?" you ask.
Raef pauses, considering for a moment. "Probably not," he decides. "It would put them in danger just as much as it would Kari and me."
He steps through the portal, into the graveyard. A moment later, you and Jana follow him.
By the time you arrive, he has changed shape: now, he looks like an elderly grey-bearded man with tanned skin and facial features that are vaguely reminiscent of yours or Jana's. "Anyone looking at us will see an old man out walking with his granddaughters," he explains. "Perhaps they will think we have come here to visit the family tomb." He shrugs his shoulders. "Of course, it doesn't matter what they think, so long as they don't suspect the truth."
"You don't think anyone will have noticed your portal?" asks Jana, glancing around suspiciously.
"Not unless they happened to be walking through the temple yard and standing in exactly the right place, in which case we would have seen them," Raef informs her.
"What if someone just happened to be looking out of the window?"
"To anyone in the temple who glanced in this direction, the portal would have been hidden behind a tree."
Jana frowns. "Well, is there any chance that they'll notice three people leaving the graveyard who they didn't see entering it?"
"If they placed a sentry by the main gate and had him pay careful attention to everyone who entered the temple grounds, then maybe," says Raef. "But I doubt it."
"Well, all right," says Jana, somewhat mollified.
Raef turns to you. "The Tyrepheum Academy is that way," he says, pointing through a gap in the trees. Over the graveyard wall, past the intervening buildings, you can see a tall, domed building festooned with gargoyles, grotesques, and other architectural flourishes. "How do you propose that we go about this?"
What will Elys decide to do next? (Choose one)
[] Knock on the school gate and ask for Green Flame.
[] Pretend to be a student, fly over the wall, and then head to Green Flame's office.
[] Remember that Venta is a goblin.
-[] Go to Tyrepheum's goblin town and ask to speak to her parents.
[] Tell Raef about the wards around the school. Ask him if portal magic can be used to safely bypass them.
-[] Propose that you should open a portal directly to Green Flame's office.
--[] If she's not there, pretend to be pupils in order to quickly find her.
[] Ask Raef about his old friends and contacts. Perhaps one of them would be willing to help you?
-[] Enter the temple of the Forgotten God and talk to an old priest who was a friend of Galadan the Mystic.
[] Do something else (write in).
Are there too many references to A Hedge Maze Is You continuity in this update? Please let me know what you think!
He wrote How to Enter the Underworld before he started calling himself Agon Hurondus, so it has his original name on it. I thought that I'd been fairly consistent about that, but… hmm.
Consistent, sure. I'm pretty sure you've never said anything to contradict that. But that's mainly because I don't recall you saying much at all about where on his timeline he wrote his book. Which makes sense, I mean it is a relatively minor detail in the life of the mysterious main villain who we mostly know from secondhand accounts or indirect effects of his actions.
Considering just how weird it would be if Raef and Samaya were having that discussion for the first time, now after all this time (whether that's in an actual millenia sense or just since Samaya and Raef were freed from their imprisonment a few years ago), in front of Mishrak and Elys and Jana... that implies that they have had this discussion many, many times before. So... yeah, daddy issues indeed.
Oof. So Raef's got two of them now. And if this makes it a pattern... possibly more, somewhere.
Anyway, glad to hear Audraine's doing well! For those who want to review her stuff, she's first mentioned in Chapter 122 of AHMIY, and starts consistently appearing just after that.
(Oh, and as for the "Princess Audraine" who that Audraine is named after, her story is briefly told in Chapter 137, along with the story of Nimble Jack)
Of course I'll vote for
[X] Tell Raef about the wards around the school. Ask him if portal magic can be used to safely bypass them.
-[X] Propose that you should open a portal directly to Green Flame's office.
--[X] If she's not there, pretend to be pupils in order to quickly find her.
since I'm kinda the one who suggested it in the first place, albeit in a less succinct way.
But really, all the suggested plans sound good to me (except the "fly over the wall" one, that one somehow both sounds like a recipe for disaster, and the least interesting option). Heck, if someone can come up with something that would combine elements of several of these plans, I'll go for that instead.
