[X] Childhood memories, and how two people can view them very differently
The Last Daughter -- Dragon-Blooded Sorcery School Quest
- Thread starter Gazetteer
- Start date
- Fantasy
slybrarian
Creature of Fable
- Location
- A Far and Sunless Land
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Childhood memories, and how two people can view them very differently
mothematics
How wide is the concept of "you"?
- Location
- the bottom of a coffee cup
- Pronouns
- She/Her
[X] Mothers
- Location
- NYC
Wasn't Amiti initiated by mutilating her soul?
- Location
- Nova Scotia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
She ritually cut out a piece of her soul and forged it into soulsteel, leaving a spiritual wound that will scar over but won't ever really heal entirely, so that part of her is like, already dead and she can use that hollow to gather Underworld Essence. A lot of necromantic initiation has this element of bringing yourself closer to the dead in order to wield power that's inimical to life. Her little soulsteel pendant is that part of herself, which is why it's tied into her necromancy and it just kind of screams and blood-curdlingly in her voice whenever she casts spells. Sai, her teacher, used the same method.
The other necromancer who has shown up in this quest is Yula, and she's got like... Scarring on her neck and burst blood vessels in her eyes that you'd associate with a strangled corpse.
- Pronouns
- Reader
yup. some good old soul mutilation to forge it into a casting aid. good stuff. There is a part of me which will always regret missing our on a chance to assist her with that
since Sola's sword quest was available for several years.
just imagine if the screaming metal alloy pendant Amiti wears had a little of Ambraea's blood and anima as one of it's components? I imagine the earth anima would be a bit more stabilizing and the blood something of an amplifier, given it's partially the empress and a house older than sesus's bloodline.
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[X] Childhood memories, and how two people can view them very differently.
- Location
- Nova Scotia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Some people at the time went out of their way to avoid having to have anything to do with "instructor Sai" while she was at the school, because it was obvious to the readers that she was a Sidereal, and they were worried that if Ambraea had anything to do with a Sidereal that she would be drawn into an intricate web of manipulations because obviously Sai was at the school for sinister purposes.
She was there on sabbatical, doing a couple years of teaching to take a break from her periodically extremely grim work for the Division of Endings, and did not super care about Ambraea's schoolgirl adventures at the time. I also knew where I was going with Peony already at that point, so it was very funny for me.
mynameisyouQQQ
Miss Brightside
- Location
- A Hell of my own making
- Pronouns
- They/She/He
[X] Childhood memories, and how two people can view them very differently
- Pronouns
- He/Him
Sidereal holidays - just turn up somewhere in Creation holding the right Destiny and just act it out for a few years, without a goal. Someone has decided to take over a random field and become a farmer at some point.
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
[X] Childhood memories, and how two people can view them very differently
Careful - that's how you end up with Nasuverse mages.
Ehhh... I think that's pretty unfair to Hope and the context she's operating in. It's not a matter of "popularity", sucking up, or trying to impress people. Amatha is an elder and likely mentor to whom Hope very possibly owes her life several times over. They're part of a society for whom favours, courage, and keeping your word are the currency of worth. Not only was her choice closer to "I can cut my losses here at the risk of gravely disappointing someone to whom I owe a very great deal and gaining a reputation as unreliable and self-interested in circles where being able to rely on others and reciprocate is vitally important", but Hound calling her a coward pushed her buttons hard for very good reasons.
Funnily enough there is/was (I don't know if 3e has retained it) an actual cult for newbie Solars that engages in the kinds of manipulations being discussed; it's run by Sidereals.
Huh, I'm surprised the narration is committing to that much that far ahead of the built-in crisis point of the quest (i.e., uh, right now).
This is really tricky. There's a lot Ambraea could stand to learn here that she could never have learned from Peony within their original relationship, and I'm torn between the deepest/most fundamental stuff versus the stuff she might get the most real-world use out of in terms of character growth. "Lady and servant" applies to one of her big character flaws (her obliviousness towards mortals/servants) and to her relationship with Maia (or at least how it looks to others). "Mothers" is, well, it's hard to imagine how a conversation there could get very far past everyone's awareness of exactly who Ambraea's mother is, though part of me does enjoy choosing difficult options to see how Gazetteer will pull them off.
I think I'll have to go for:
[x] Childhood memories, and how two people can view them very differently
...Because I can see Grace/Mei successfully steering a conversation that way subtly enough, and Ambraea getting enough food for thought to apply to a lot of different "not everyone sees things the way I do" situations, with childhood friends, servants, mortals, Deizil, her siblings...
- Location
- Ohio
My friend is aware of this.
- Location
- Nova Scotia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
The Cult of the Illuminated is still a thing, being a persecuted religion that looks at Solars as "Shining Ones", promised saviours who they worship. Propping it up and guiding new Solars to it is still a major project for a significant chunk of the Gold Faction. It's not painted as being as nakedly exploitative as in previous editions, but at the end of the day, it's still Sidereals trying to steer Solars into a framework that makes them more sympathetic to their goals and direct them toward pursuits that are advantageous to the Gold Faction, even if Ayesha Ura genuinely believes in a lot of its teachings.
The Gold Faction is more of an eclectic big tent coalition made up of the Bureau Sidereals who are actively opposed to the Bronze Faction's political goals and the continued dominance of the Realm now, though. Sidereals with a lot of different beliefs, goals and methods are trying to work together to oppose their common political enemies, rather than it just being a "Dragon-Blooded rule bad, Solar rule good" thing.
- Location
- an unseen void
- Pronouns
- Any
finally, i have caught up again in time to vote! it'll make a big difference, glad i am here to break the tie
[X] The depth and limits of the bond that can be shared between a lady and a servant
(it was v good do not have many words)
[X] The depth and limits of the bond that can be shared between a lady and a servant
(it was v good do not have many words)
- Location
- GTM-3
Another straggler finally catching up! I am insane about this now! Thanks!
Seriously tho this is so good and nerverwracking and stimulating and we haven't fully gotten into the politicking part yet... I am honestly kinda glad I joined in the last year of Ambraea's instruction, even if I do regret missing most of it, so that I can contribute to the household building aspect sooner! (<-has "Matriarch" as a sim aspiration)
These (relatively) back-to-back battles to the death have been a fucking ride. I must agree with Kymme here, for all I was horrified at what they did, during the entire Anathema segments, their mindspaces and reactions, a current running perpetually in my mind was "these could easily be my characters"heck, one of my characters is a Zenith Solar with an axe to grind against the realm and a name alluding to her truthfulness.
Ambraea's upbringing and POV really works wonders to abstract you to the fact the Realm *is* a brutal colonial power stamping out dissent in all forms and draining vassals dry of resources and dignity, and whose head (Mom) is this intensely cruel woman who has done the most heinous things to be where she is. But of course, that is one of the things you must accept as a general rule of playing Realm Dragon-Blooded, and much more if you are playing up the courtly intrigue, so it's not something I am bothered much by. It was really interesting to see our Circle as these hard-lining self-righteous pillars of order, rather than the norm-breaking, demonized pariahs we have grown accustomed to, tho.
I am so so glad that we've gotten to see what is of Peony/Grace now that she is a Sidereal, and have her be so painfully entangled to this mess. I am liking Nettle a lot as well, it's as if she has gotten her own personal Deizil, lol. And on that note
[x] Mothers
As a mommy issues haver and Lohna enjoyer I must go for this option, even if the childhood memories one is the most resonant.
And now... fufufu... now I can read all the informational threadmarks without spoiling myself! Ahahahahahaha! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA! YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!
Seriously tho this is so good and nerverwracking and stimulating and we haven't fully gotten into the politicking part yet... I am honestly kinda glad I joined in the last year of Ambraea's instruction, even if I do regret missing most of it, so that I can contribute to the household building aspect sooner! (<-has "Matriarch" as a sim aspiration)
These (relatively) back-to-back battles to the death have been a fucking ride. I must agree with Kymme here, for all I was horrified at what they did, during the entire Anathema segments, their mindspaces and reactions, a current running perpetually in my mind was "these could easily be my characters"
Ambraea's upbringing and POV really works wonders to abstract you to the fact the Realm *is* a brutal colonial power stamping out dissent in all forms and draining vassals dry of resources and dignity, and whose head (Mom) is this intensely cruel woman who has done the most heinous things to be where she is. But of course, that is one of the things you must accept as a general rule of playing Realm Dragon-Blooded, and much more if you are playing up the courtly intrigue, so it's not something I am bothered much by. It was really interesting to see our Circle as these hard-lining self-righteous pillars of order, rather than the norm-breaking, demonized pariahs we have grown accustomed to, tho.
I am so so glad that we've gotten to see what is of Peony/Grace now that she is a Sidereal, and have her be so painfully entangled to this mess. I am liking Nettle a lot as well, it's as if she has gotten her own personal Deizil, lol. And on that note
[x] Mothers
As a mommy issues haver and Lohna enjoyer I must go for this option, even if the childhood memories one is the most resonant.
And now... fufufu... now I can read all the informational threadmarks without spoiling myself! Ahahahahahaha! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA! YAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!
- Location
- Nova Scotia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Nettle is one of two characters in this quest that I've actually played as a PC previously. I try to resist the urge to insert my old player characters just for its own sake, but it's fun to do when I have other reasons to. I wanted a slightly older Bronze Faction Sidereal to go along with Grace for this arc, and ideally one who mixed with her sensibilities like oil and water. Lets me do a few things with the eclectic nature of the Fivescore Fellowship and how Grace is settling into it.
- Location
- an unseen void
- Pronouns
- Any
I really enjoyed her approach to Laughing Monster, I think because my initial associations with it were more esoteric or more kind of mocking swashbuckler, and this really leaned into how dickish and cruel it can be in a really striking way. Like when she mocks his decades of torture - it lands hard, it is not a sympathetic moment, it's courting more risk in some ways, but it's also leaning into the style and the way it draws power from being infuriating even in very high stakes situations.
- Location
- Nova Scotia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Laughing Monster is basically like, philosophically dedicated to playing the heel. You're empowered by making your opponent fucking hating you, by driving them to attack you again and again while ignoring your allies, by being an infuriating little shit who they want to just punch in the throat, but everytime they try, you lean mockingly out of the way and then slap them full in the face or kick them in the shin while they're unbalanced. And that's like, before you get into techniques like Thieves Fall Out/Friendship-Dissolving Venom, which force your enemy and their allies to get into each other's way and drives them to supernatural anger with each other, or Unitary Being Forge, a charm which I got to describe at some length during this last update.
I love the flavour text on that last one, it's so incredibly passive aggressive and bitchy.
Article: A true warrior sets aside everything but the fight, letting no errant idea stray onto the battlefield. The stylist helps enemies with a strike that unbinds unnecessary thoughts, expelling such beasts of the mind.
I love the flavour text on that last one, it's so incredibly passive aggressive and bitchy.
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- Location
- New York
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Mothers
- Location
- Virginia
[X] Childhood memories, and how two people can view them very differently
Vote closed, Interlude 6 05
- Location
- Nova Scotia
- Pronouns
- She/Her
- Location
- India
- Pronouns
- He/His
So, I have got to ask, Ambraea is said to be set to graduate her school as a great sorceror, and so is Amiti. Deizil is also a very accomplished Sorceror, according to the narrative. But I look at their char sheets, and they only know 4 official spells, with Deizil having 5 because of his earlier initiation. 4 spells learnt over 6 years. How are they great sorcerors with only 4 spells? Then how many spells does the Empress, the supposedly greatest sorceror, know? 8? 10? Is there something about sorcerors that limit their spell library so harshly?
Also, Ambreaea is a sorceress. Yet the entire fight, she only used her sword. No snakes, no breath, only unga bunga. Is there a reason she ignored her main skillset?
Also, Ambreaea is a sorceress. Yet the entire fight, she only used her sword. No snakes, no breath, only unga bunga. Is there a reason she ignored her main skillset?