I'd say it's as much him as that was Keron in the statue - the same guy in a different container. He has the memories from after Telthalus killed him in part because I think he was dying as his body was repurposed.
Oh, oh my. Oh me oh my, Telthalus had another trick up his sleeve. We'll just have to think about that for a while. And maybe write a book about it, eventually.
Personally, I think we should open up with a hug. It's the Elys thing to do. We start explaining things, of course, but I think a "welcome back, grandma!" is in order, and a hug will do for an appetizer.
...oof. Poor guys... really hammers home the tragedy of their existence. Especially since as far as I know, Mawroth didn't really mean to stick their minds in this weird stasis.
Mawroth: "Hah! I love these guys! They're hilarious! But they're going to get themselves killed sooner or later." (Pause) "I know, I'll make it so when they die they come back a little while later just the same as they were before!"
Time passes. Eventually, Mawroth notices that Sildar and Jorantul are stuck in a weird stasis and keep losing their memories.
Mawroth: "Aw, crud. I have no idea how to fix this."
...sorry you're gonna miss out on Tavi's council once you're born, Hedgy. And almost everyone else in the Hedge Maze is also gone too thanks to that time Samaya visited to rescue Raef. And... hmm, didn't the goblin's presence in the maze keep Mahri alive for long enough for Hedgy to get to her and help her more thoroughly? So... Mahri is, probably gonna die, and Hedge Maze God will wake up completely alone, ignorant of the world, and devoid of most opportunities to learn more or grow stronger. Yeah, this could certainly qualify as... unintended consequences.
Bwahahaha, Telthalus continues to be awesome, right up until the very end, and it still isn't confirmed that it was his end! He might just be trapped outside the universe or something... and knowing him, he's possibly still kicking ass out there.
I'm not sure if Elys will ever get the chance to find out what actually happened to Telthalus, but... Yeah, the truth is out there somewhere.
I continue to have nothing but contempt for Nymandor... but this poor thing is not Nymandor. Has all his memories (and more), apparently including ones from after he left the universe itself (assuming I'm interpreting "Outer Void" correctly), but... this entity is clearly not really him, and I don't just means in terms of being a weaker copy.
It's entirely possible that Nerya created this version of Nymandor out of raw dream stuff when she attempted to summon him. He may not have existed before then.
When I ended AHMIY, someone complained that they'd never been given a chance to rescue Zora Alishanda. Well, after more than five years, it's finally done.
I'd say it's as much him as that was Keron in the statue - the same guy in a different container. He has the memories from after Telthalus killed him in part because I think he was dying as his body was repurposed.
Gods are difficult to kill off completely. Despite his 'death' at the hands of the demons, it's clear that Nymandor was somewhat aware of what was going on up until the moment when Telthalus took his broken remains and used them to strengthen Creation's outer walls.
Which reminds me: hey, this here probably just fixed/prevented all the bullshit in Har, without Elys having to get directly involved there! Get fucked, King Maginn. Congratulations, Tavi and other Riorns!
...sorry you're gonna miss out on Tavi's council once you're born, Hedgy. And almost everyone else in the Hedge Maze is also gone too thanks to that time Samaya visited to rescue Raef. And... hmm, didn't the goblin's presence in the maze keep Mahri alive for long enough for Hedgy to get to her and help her more thoroughly? So... Mahri is, probably gonna die, and Hedge Maze God will wake up completely alone, ignorant of the world, and devoid of most opportunities to learn more or grow stronger. Yeah, this could certainly qualify as... unintended consequences.
We may have butterflied away the good people in Hedgies maze, but other good people may arrive.
And we could have butterflied enough that Mahri doesn't get abducted... When was she taken again?
Bwahahaha, Telthalus continues to be awesome, right up until the very end, and it still isn't confirmed that it was his end! He might just be trapped outside the universe or something... and knowing him, he's possibly still kicking ass out there.
Or he decided that all eldergods being gone means freedom for mortals.
All gods dreamed up by mortals are the result of their agency.
So he might have decided to trust in mortals and let them go, to fly on their own wings.
Without any preexisting gods to keep them as their pets.
I'm not sure of the exact point on the timeline relative to both now and relative to the start of AHMIY she got stuck in the maze, only that it was many years, possibly even enough that it could have already happened. But, if I remember correctly, Mahri wasn't even abducted, exactly; she just sorta, accidentally wandered through a stray portal Hurondus made and didn't bother to close up. I doubt Hurondus even knew she was there.
One of many god problems to fix later, that later have never gotten fixed. Sildur and Jorantil are much more amusing and good than the average deferred deific mess, though.
Mahri wasn't even abducted, exactly; she just sorta, accidentally wandered through a stray portal Hurondus made and didn't bother to close up. I doubt Hurondus even knew she was there.
Yeah, that's right - he left open a portal into the past and she happened to wander through maybe a week or two before Hedgy gained sentience, which means Hurondus was long gone before she arrived. With any luck, Kaerina will remember her and send someone (like Elys perhaps) to keep her from starving to death.
I'm not sure of the exact point on the timeline relative to both now and relative to the start of AHMIY she got stuck in the maze, only that it was many years, possibly even enough that it could have already happened. But, if I remember correctly, Mahri wasn't even abducted, exactly; she just sorta, accidentally wandered through a stray portal Hurondus made and didn't bother to close up. I doubt Hurondus even knew she was there.
Yeah, that's right - he left open a portal into the past and she happened to wander through maybe a week or two before Hedgy gained sentience, which means Hurondus was long gone before she arrived. With any luck, Kaerina will remember her and send someone (like Elys perhaps) to keep her from starving to death.
She was trapped there for a few months, which is why she nearly starved to death, and she damaged her teeth by trying to eat some things that were magically protected.
Anyway, I'm back. It may take me a while to write the next update, but I'll get it done fairly soon. Be seeing you.
For the first time in eons, she was awake. Her prison door was open. But she was surrounded by strangers. Their faces she vaguely recognized, as if she'd seen them in a distant dream, long ago.
One of them tried to hug her. A tall girl, simply dressed, with long dark hair and richly tanned skin like the first glimpse of sunrise. She instinctively brushed her off and immediately regretted it.
Would my Lissa have looked like you? She wondered and fantasized, but knew it was useless. She'd missed her daughters' entire lives so far. They weren't her babies anymore.
"Grandmother! Uh, welcome back!" cried the tall girl, awkwardly lowering her arms. She smelled like salt spray and sea air, with an almost imperceptible fishy aroma lurking underneath. Not unpleasant, but it was further proof that she wasn't Lissa, whose scent was of fresh blossoms, soil and spring rain. Or Nyssa, who had a ripe fruity smell, in which harvest fragrances were mingled with late flowers and rotting leaves.
Why do you call me grandmother? Who are you to me? There were too many questions she wanted to ask.
"Zora Alishanda. Goddess," said one man who was kneeling before her. A short, sinewy fellow with yellow eyes, ears like crinkly leaves and a faintly greenish tinge to his leathery brown skin. He was a goblin, one of the people she had guided out of the Dreaming World. Or one of their descendants. That was much more likely. It was so long ago…
"We came here to rescue you, but the Demon Lord Melphior has come to kill you," said the goblin. "He plans to steal your throne and become the new god of dreams."
"He and his forces are currently fighting our friends and allies who are guarding the portal we used to get here," said a tall, muscular man with a bushy black beard and a livid birthmark. Zora Alishanda sensed the power of her son Strashan coursing through this man, empowering him, making him much more than an ordinary mortal. "We need your help to defeat him and his minions."
Strong and tough, just like Strashan. Not like Astran, whose cries of pain and despair I heard even in the darkest depths of the Dreaming World. My poor boy… He needs his mother.
"Also, he has a powerful ally," said a nondescript woman. Everything about her was plain, drab and unremarkable, to a suspicious extent. "An archmage. A master of portals. Beware of him."
Zora Alishanda peered at her, for a moment, curious as to what she was hiding. If she had power like some of the others, it was swathed in too many layers of falsehood to be easily revealed. There's something familiar about her, but I'm not sure what.
"He must be something special. Otherwise, you wouldn't have mentioned him," she murmured. "Much has changed in the last… ahh, six thousand years?
"He's one of a group of archmages who've been doing favours for the Demon Lords in exchange for power," said the nondescript woman.
"And you want me to kill him for you. It's personal," Zora Alishanda surmised. She stifled a yawn, took a deep breath and blinked a few times. "But I am weak and weary after such a long sleep. I don't know if I'm in a fit state to fight anyone." A sly smile spread across her face. "Let's find out, shall we?"
Her prison and its surroundings had been merged with the Dreaming World. Not how I would have done it, but… ingenious nonetheless. She'd have to discuss the ritual with them later.
It was a simple matter to extend the spell over a wider area, to connect one place with another and then…
She was looking down over a battlefield. There were a great many shadow demons, but even more of them had been slain and left behind a filthy residue. Dozens of Keron's Myrmidons had been torn apart, into tiny pieces, or reduced to little more than puddles of gore. Some of them were still trying to put themselves back together.
"Keron's statue is gone," said the dark-haired girl who'd tried to hug her.
"So is Hurondus," said the nondescript woman. "He must have taken his trophy with him."
"That's a problem for later," said the goblin soldier who'd spoken before. "For now, we have a battle to fight. His not being here should make things a little easier, so long as he doesn't come back unexpectedly."
Almost all of the remaining demons were clustered around a silvery metal cylinder, as large as a house, which was lying on its side. It was guarded by soldiers with faces like skulls, or beasts, or fearsome monsters. They fought ferociously, side-by-side as if locked together, heedless of exhaustion or injury. Supporting them were goblins dressed in bloodstained uniforms, who evidently weren't as injured as they had been just a short while ago. And some of Keron's elves were there, fighting with single-minded purpose, as if they were parts of a machine. Of course, they were little more than automatons.
And then there was the Demon Lord Melphior, who looked like an ugly mishmash of all the different gods he'd usurped, bleeding from a dozen dreadful wounds but still too huge and powerful to be stopped. He blasted apart the brave defenders of the silver cylinder and ordered his underlings to pour in through the breach.
"We have to help them!" cried dark-haired huggy girl.
"He's not here, so… I suppose it doesn't matter so much now," muttered nondescript woman, opening multiple portals her allies could go through to join the battle as quickly as possible. Charge the demons from behind, take them from the rear and so on.
"Well, I guess it's up to us," said Strashan's champion, the one with the birthmark like a splatter of blood. He was talking to a muscular elf with scarlet hair, who had two swords hanging by his sides.
No, it's up to me, Zora Alishanda thought to herself. She called upon the armies of the Dreaming World to be ready for battle. All the storybook heroes and monsters that had been conjured out of people's imagination. All the lesser spirits and nightmares who paid tribute to her as their queen. All the men and women who'd lived and died and chosen the Dreaming World as their final resting place. They would all come as she had commanded. Soon. Very soon.
Melphior was standing over a broken body. A young goblin. A man who had dedicated much of his life to freeing his goddess from her prison.
"How does it feel, Jaqari?" asked Melphior in a tone of sneering self-satisfaction. "You know that your attempts to free your goddess have only hastened my victory. Soon, she will be dead and I will have claimed her throne. All because of you."
Blood bubbled from Jaqari Pruyte's open mouth. He didn't appear to be listening to what Melphior was saying. Perhaps he was already dead.
Reaching out with as much of her power as she could muster, Zora Alishanda pulled everyone into the Dreaming World. The demons, the goblins, the elves, the champions of various gods, and Melphior himself. The entire battlefield.
She stepped past the shadow demons, ignoring them. As well as the goblins and their mighty allies, they would have to fight an unending horde of dreams and nightmares. Unless they could discarnate and flee back to the Underworld, they would all die eventually. Meanwhile, she would take the fight to their master.
"You want to rule this place?" she said, marching up to him. There was a bright, beatific smile on her face.
Melphior must have realised the perilous situation he was in. He clawed at her, blasted her with magic and tried to confound her with illusions, but she was too angry to be beaten back by anything he did. She threw him to the floor, produced a fool's cap that had belonged to one of her masks and rammed it onto his misshapen head.
"Here is a crown for you," she said in a singsong voice.
"You could lock him in the same jail cell you were imprisoned in for so long," someone suggested. It must have been one of the people who'd rescued her. Huggy girl, possibly. "It's always been his ambition to take your place, so… why not let him?"
Zora Alishanda produced some ragged strips of cloth that, just like the fool's cap, had once belonged to the King in Rags and Tatters. She tied them around him, binding him tightly, while saying, "And these are your royal vestments."
However, Melphior continued to struggle. And she didn't think she'd be able to hold him for long. Still, while he is bound in this way, he cannot discarnate. He's trapped.
"Do you have the keys to the jail cell?" she asked, unwilling to risk turning around to see who she was talking to.
"Well, no. And there isn't just one key. There are twenty-seven in all. But I'm sure we could summon the dream version of Nymandor again!"
"It's a good idea, but… unnecessary," said Zora Alishanda. "Time to finish this."
Melphior was already wounded. His earlier battle against the defenders of the silver cylinder must have taken a toll on him. She took hold of the loose flesh around his most grievous injury, tearing it open even wider. His screams were piteous, but she was resolute. She didn't stop until she had torn him apart, piece by piece. Then, she scattered those pieces as far as she could, all across the Dreaming World, where it would mingle with moon dust and the residue of faded memories, until at last there was nothing left of him.
"Of course, in many ways, I am the Dreaming World. That's what being a god means," she murmured. "Now, you can be too."
I leave it up to you to decide where Elys is while the events described above are happening place. Also, how does she react?
"You could lock him in the same jail cell you were imprisoned in for so long," someone suggested. It must have been one of the people who'd rescued her. Huggy girl, possibly. "It's always been his ambition to take your place, so… why not let him?"
WOW. Zora Alishanda coming in hot. We've gotten a powerful ally today. Wow. Wooow. Definitely the goddess I would follow if I was living in your world. WOW!
I'd be interested in seeing Elys's reaction to Zora Alishanda calling in the cavalries! ((Will we see Sussureen among them, cackling as he answers the call of the Dream Mother, riding upon a palanquin formed of fear?))
And after that, going along to Jaquari to see if we can do anything. If not for him, at least for the other defenders.
... We should probably make sure there's a reunion party for her after all this. Talk to the Chosen, see if they can pass a message along and all.
One of them tried to hug her. A tall girl, simply dressed, with long dark hair and richly tanned skin like the first glimpse of sunrise. She instinctively brushed her off and immediately regretted it.
Melphior: "All that work just to fail spectacularly. As soon as I get to her, I am going to pound your goddess into mush"
Zora Alishandra: "Well? Start pounding."
Melphior: panicked scream
Melphior was already wounded. His earlier battle against the defenders of the silver cylinder must have taken a toll on him. She took hold of the loose flesh around his most grievous injury, tearing it open even wider. His screams were piteous, but she was resolute. She didn't stop until she had torn him apart, piece by piece.
Yeah, I think Elys might best be served trying to save what lives she can while the saving is good. Also, front row seats to All of That, assuming she's looking in that direction.
Yeah, I think Elys might best be served trying to save what lives she can while the saving is good. Also, front row seats to All of That, assuming she's looking in that direction.
And for the us deciding where Elys is during all this, i think the "maybe huggy girl" things should be "huggy girl", without the maybe.
Also pushing to get to the wounded (First: Jaqari) to heal them.
She ist a healer and healing is needed.
Invite everybody to the undersea palace.
Have Mishrak or the respective Chosen contact the Seasons.
Zora Mishrak interactions. (Consider the difference between Mishrak and how dragons were made to be, how their maker envisioned them. Must be wild for Zora to see that stark contrast)
Also: cute Interactions between Zora and (dragonling form) Catharne.
WOW. Zora Alishanda coming in hot. We've gotten a powerful ally today. Wow. Wooow. Definitely the goddess I would follow if I was living in your world. WOW!
I'm glad you approve. Although she may be "weak and weary after such a long sleep", Zora Alishanda is one of the most powerful gods in all Creation, on a par with the Elder Gods (which is why it took two of them to defeat and imprison her).
I'd be interested in seeing Elys's reaction to Zora Alishanda calling in the cavalries! ((Will we see Sussureen among them, cackling as he answers the call of the Dream Mother, riding upon a palanquin formed of fear?))
There at at least four reasons for that:
1. As you've rightly noted, Zora Alishanda is more powerful than Melphior. And now she's awake.
2. If Melphior had done it himself, he could have merged Tyrepheum with the Dreaming World without months of rituals. But he didn't. He got his cultists to do it for him. And they have much less magical power than he does, so they need a lot more prep time.
3. It's easier to expand a spell that already exists than to create a new spell. Elys and her friends had already cast a spell to merge part of the Moon with the Dreaming World. All Zora Alishanda had to do was expand it.
4. The Moon and the Dreaming World both belong to Zora Alishanda, so she's able to manipulate them much more easily than anyone else could.
Yeah, I think Elys might best be served trying to save what lives she can while the saving is good. Also, front row seats to All of That, assuming she's looking in that direction.
Thus Operation "Hugs" failed, but it was not a complete failure. Elys just needs to try again, perhaps asking permission first.
In addition, it seems that the mortal mage realized that the venture would not end in anything good much earlier than the Demon Lord. I wonder if he lost his received power when Melphior was scattered?
And speaking of healing, wouldn't it be easier for Elys to use portals to send the wounded to the healers? Entrust them to someone who is actually good at it.
Definitely, and I also mean that in that we should try hugging again when lives stop being at stake. Maybe it'll make thing turn into a big "Zora Alishandra offers all of her children a hug" moment.
A damning condemnation if I ever heard one - his inaction here was precisely the warning time Elys needed to gather a force powerful enough to actually oppose him.
Definitely, and I also mean that in that we should try hugging again when lives stop being at stake. Maybe it'll make thing turn into a big "Zora Alishandra offers all of her children a hug" moment.
Well, I guess we're finally close enough to the furthest point the timeline ever reached that major changes are now permitted without everything falling apart!
I'm imagining the 8 7½ remaining Demon Lords' reaction to this. A couple, such as the remaining half of Kolhinon, are probably panicking right now. Others, from the impression I got of them at the end of AHMIY, are probably just... letting out a defeated sigh and demanding that their minions bring them an alcoholic drink. Mamnioch... probably in the latter category, but with a short laugh preceding the sigh, and followed by raising his drink in a toast to our victorious heroes even as he halfheartedly makes plans to kill them all.
He won't have lost the power that Melphior and the other Demon Lords already gave him, but he won't be able to receive the second half of the payment Melphior promised him.
Well, I guess we're finally close enough to the furthest point the timeline ever reached that major changes are now permitted without everything falling apart!
Hmm. It's still around sixteen years before the start of A Hedge Maze Is You. There may still be dire consequences because of the changes to the timeline. They just haven't happened yet.
Anyway, I'm not ready to write the next update. I'm still thinking about it. So, for now, I thought I'd write another Informational post. See below.
*
Remnants of the Elder Gods
Despite the fact that the nine Elder Gods are all dead, disappeared or hopelessly trapped (with the possible exception of Aea), there are many remnants of them scattered throughout Creation. This is one of the things that makes it difficult for other gods to step into their shoes. After all, if Rynn is the sea, how can anyone else take over from him as the god of the sea? (So, there are lots of lesser gods of parts of the sea – Mishrak is the god of the depths, Ydrassa is the goddess of drownings, sailors pray to Strashan to keep them safe from storms and so on – but there is no greater god of the oceans.)
Here is a list of all the remnants I can think of:
1. Aea
There are six pieces of Aea scattered throughout time and space. Recently, a water spirit named Kyrina absorbed one of these pieces and became a new goddess, Kaerina. She plans to find and absorb more pieces of Aea. Also, it could be argued that the time stream itself is one of Aea's remnants.
The twenty-seven time elves (now reduced to only eighteen) were each imbued with a significant portion of her power, enabling them to carry out her duties even though she has been gone for more than six thousand years.
2. The old Death God
The Forgotten God and the All-Devourer are both remnants of the old Death God, the one who is now nameless. (I'm so tempted to call him 'the Nameless One'. You know how much I love Planescape: Torment.)
3. Keron/Kull
The fact that Keron was defeated in battle by Mawroth, Telthalus's lieutenant, is probably the reason why there are now so many gods (including Mawroth, Lothol, Corrothir, Agor-Ravaash, Strashan and others) that are all considered to be gods of war. Basically, he was beaten at his own game and so the domain was taken from him.
Keron's statue (on the Moon) was a major repository of the last remnants of his power. Since it was destroyed, he only has a few scattered remnants left. One of them is the Blood Sword, an incredibly potent weapon that has a nasty tendency to lead its wielders to their doom. And it is likely that he left something behind on Kerondar, the planet he created. Also, Keron's warrior elves were each imbued with a tiny fraction of his power.
4. Narra/Dynarra/Oa
Narrath's major land masses are all part of her domain. It is possible that she has a physical body somewhere that is entombed under the earth and in an enchanted sleep. Also, her elves (which look like fauns or dryads) were each imbued with a tiny fraction of her power.
5. Nymandor
The wall that separates Creation from the Outer Void is Nymandor. Also, Nerya Fair-Hair was able to conjure up a dream version of him, although it is unclear as to whether this existed before or if it was newly created out of raw dream stuff.
Nymandor's shapeshifting elves are all imbued with a tiny fraction of his power.
6.Rynn
The Wading God is the main part of Rynn, a giant who constantly wanders all over Narrath's seas and oceans, searching for the part of his soul he lost to Telthalus in a foolish wager. This is despite the fact that, too an extent, all of the seas and oceans are considered to be part of him, so how could his missing piece be hidden inside himself?
Also, Rynn made a lot of elves who look like mermaids and sirens. Each of them is imbued with a tiny fraction of his power.
7. Telthalus
The sky is still considered to be Telthalus's domain even though he has been gone for six thousand years.
In the Dreaming World, the dream that is commonly known as 'the General in Irons' is a remnant of Telthalus, although it is unclear if this is something he deliberately left behind or if it consists of Zora Alishanda's memories of him.
8.The Fates/The Norns/The Three-In-One
The Well of Knowledge is a remnant of the Fates. As are the 'Fate cards' that are commonly used for gambling and divination all over Narrath.
9. Vlakoroth
It has been suggested that Vlakoroth imbued all of his dragons (including Mishrak) with some of his essence and planned that one of them would be the seed of his eventual resurrection.
This is by no means an exhaustive list and I may continue to add things later on.
There are six pieces of Aea scattered throughout time and space. Recently, a water spirit named Kyrina absorbed one of these pieces and became a new goddess, Kaerina. She plans to find and absorb more pieces of Aea. Also, it could be argued that the time stream itself is one of Aea's remnants.
"Recently"
(Not a critique of the write up, just enjoying what timetravel does to words like "recently". It could be seen as happening in 16 years (when Hedgy would happen, including the end with our little timefish), or when Elys was born (first narrative point influenced by Kaerina iirc, making it the point where this timeline branched off), or any point in time Kaerina could timetravel to once she absorbed that part, so it is recently now, it was recently six thousand years ago and it will be recently in six thousand years.)
It has been suggested that Vlakoroth imbued all of his dragons (including Mishrak) with some of his essence and planned that one of them would be the seed of his eventual resurrection.
Nope.
Nope Nope Nope.
(Nope Nope Nope)³
Mishrak is too cool an uncle to be used to ressurect a douche like Vlakoroth.
We are not giving up our Druncle!
Just as a thought, if he could reincarnate himself through one of the dragons that he's created, might that mean he'd be able to also bodyjack Elys if she's channeling Mishrak's power?
Regardless, it's a suggestion moreso than an inevitability. If it's really something to avoid, we should consider why it hasn't happened yet.
