It sounds like you have an idea what some of these Courts actually represent.
The court of blades in conjunction with Fable gets me a link to 3 entities, King, Queen and Jack, from the 'Void,' who came to Albion to take over. Almost, like a classic world domination Saturday morning cartoon plot.
The shadow court seems to be a cult(?) in Fable 2 as it gathers people to be sacrificed. The best I can get is the wiki.
That just leaves the Court of Diamonds, of Hearts and where exactly does Camelot fit into the court structure?
Also, the man named Scythe is referenced in Fable 1 as a minor Necromancer, but he's described solely as an immortal. At the very least, a man who has cheated death.
The Court is the "faction" Jack is from in the original Fable.
The Court had a schism at some point in the quests backstory hence there are now four "courts"
Known Courts and their speculated leaders:
The Court of Blades (The Jack (of Blades))
The Court Of Diamonds ( The Queen)
The court Of Clubs (The King( Arthur)
And the court of Hearts (The Knight)
The Original Court only consisted of (in order of power) The Queen, The Jack and The Knight.
The Queen and the Knight were slain by the first Hero William Black wielding the Sword of Aeons. The Jack however survived by pouring himself into his mask and ticking William into believing him to be truly dead.
After "killing" the Court William Black became the Archon: an immortal being whom ruled over The Old Kingdom until its sudden and mysterious collapse.
Jack is widely assumed to have been involved in the old kingdoms fall but nothing actually proves it (to my knowledge).
After the fall of the old Kingdom William Black renounced the title of Archon and became Sythe.
Eventually afterwards the Kingdom of Camalot came into being, ruled by king Arther with the aid of his advisers (the round table) and his court wizards Merlin.
We assume that ether Merlin's tower was corrupted by Jack and turned into The Spire (from fable 2 and 4) which over time corrupted Merlin who then corrupted the round table and king Arthur or Merlin was already working with Jack, knowingly created the spire and corrupted Camalot. After an undoubtedly impresive battle between the two, Merlin was banished from the world by Lady Vivian with her final breath.
Mordred "killed" Arther like in the stories and was entombed after the battle (he's awake now, training the hero of Oakvale and fighting The Court Of Clubs).
Okay your explanation was superior to anything I could rustle up online.
I would like to point out that the Court of Diamonds is probably independent of Scythe like the Hero Guild from Fable 1. You can see it with the Shafiq family, a non-Isle family.
Shafiq. The oldest pure blooded family of Great Britain, they can trace their origins to Babylon. They lost a lot and had to escape due to the Muslim invasion of Persia, but they have an unmatched ingenuity when it comes to unearthing old mysteries.
Following: The Court of Diamonds, Paracelsus and Nicolas Flamel.
Courted by: Scythe, Rowena Ravenclaw.
Okay your explanation was superior to anything I could rustle up online.
I would like to point out that the Court of Diamonds is probably independent of Scythe like the Hero Guild from Fable 1. You can see it with the Shafiq family, a non-Isle family.
... Aside from the whole 'Fuck Jack' thing, I wonder what having Fable around'll do for the setting. Especially considering this is Fable I we're talking about... Guild Symbol around somewhere, mayhap?
Since Fable has a lot of old, very old legends and the like, this will change history, and a lot of things will be different from what you're used to, including Dace himself. In which ways? You don't know, you didn't take the options for it.
Sooo, yeah, you all better make sure the Aife bait was worth the future pain .
It occurs to me that there isnt really anything we can do to protect ourselves from cherry when her "time out" ends.
Just another brick in the wall of problems I suppose.
It occurs to me that there isnt really anything we can do to protect ourselves from cherry when her "time out" ends.
Just another brick in the wall of problems I suppose.
Friends in high places would help. So figure out who qualifies as Meta 2 and how to appease them.
Appeasing Andraste might also be enough if Andraste gets powerful enough in those 10 years.
Though bringing the meatpuppet thing Cherry had going for her to light could cause a few troubles for Cherry in the higher planes.
Also, as long as Dace isn't dead, I suppose a well-warded, fortified and guarded position could go a long way in fending off her mortal agents(if any).
[X] His daughter seemingly getting possessed and collapsing in front of him.
[X] His daughter trying to poison him.
[X] 7 : Whispers spoke of an isolated village being annihilated, and of dark whispers in the night ( Fable )
He needed to try and make sense of the situation.
First. His daughter tried to kill him. The poison was a bit insulting considering who he was and already had an antidote ready, but he'd give it an acceptable for trying, he thought, having come back to the lounge and seen the tea damage the wooden floor. However, it was to be expected, if a bit out of character due to her usual 'holier than thou' persona.
She was his heiress, and if he died, she would inherit. Though, the consequences wouldn't be enjoyable for anybody, considering he was the one who was keeping the muggleborn population's bitterness towards the purebloods in check. It wasn't like Dace didn't understand why they felt superior, considering how much of an advantage bloodlines constituted. However, most of the purebloods became overly reliant on them, which caused them to lash out each and every time a muggleborn outperformed them, but since they were the one with money, power, and well established businesses, there was precious little the Ministry could do against them . After all, purebloods controlled how laws were made, and as such, they had full freedom to hire whoever they see fit, no matter how competent those people truly were. But enough with that, and back to his daughter.
Empathy check: 0 Need 10 Failed
Apart from the potential inheritance, she had to have known that her marriage wouldn't be dissolved, and using poison showed some measure of planning and forethought, but he couldn't think of any other reason she would want him dead, especially at the risk of her becoming a criminal. Furthermore, there was another thing.
The problem was what came as he was about to ingest the poison. The flash of silver he saw in her eyes before she knocked the cup off his hands. While he would like to think it being her having last second regrets or a change of mind, her behavior and fainting spell afterwards indicated that it was anything but. The silver especially, was out of place, and he would have known if she was under control of the imperius spells, as the eyes become unfocused or, in extreme cases, gain a milky quality.
Lore Check: 50 Need 60 Failed.
He didn't know what happened, and it did look like possession, but after taking a closer look, it lacked the draining element getting possessed usually showed. So he was left here, inspecting the tea. He recognized the poison. It killed by causing fatal anemia, so that even if its intended victims managed to survive, it would damage critical areas, like the heart and the brain. This certainly explained some of the actions he supposedly took in that vision, but he was still reluctant to believe in them, due to some rather glaring differences between them and the world he knew.
Still, he may have to hasten his check up, even if he had it last year already.
[] Get a specialist as soon as possible 5000 G. Dace gets checked within the year.
[] This can wait for a bit 2500 G. Dace will get checked within the next 2 years.
[] He didn't drink the poison, this is probably a false alarm. Dace will get checked in 8 years, as usual.
Though, that brought him back to Aife and her move.
Requires Aife SL Ranks 2/4/6 : 2 successes.
Empathy Check : 0 Need 5 (reduced from 20 due to previous success) Failed
Aife was most certainly able to brew it, he taught her himself, after all, she was supposed to be his heir, and she had none of his difficulties when interacting with other people. Now, if only she didn't ruin it all by bedding that mutt, she might have become an acceptable substitute for himself come the ten years mark.
....
What was supposed to happen in ten years?
Dace's head fell on his hand and he had to sit down due to the massive headache that stabbed his brain.
This wasn't right. Aife and him never interacted.
But they did.
Didn't they?
He breathed in, then out. Facts. He needed to deal with facts.
There was poison. Poison given to him by Aife.
Those were facts.
Motives didn't matter.
He leant back, resting his back against the sofa as he closed his eyes. What was he supposed to do with Aife?
[] House arrest, Rosier would probably agree to it, that lovestruck fool.
[] Disinherit her. She tried to kill him, and while family ought to look for each other, she proved to be unreliable.
[] 'Deal' with her. Aife's good. She's an elite fighter, and she's got the ability to persuade anyone. If you let her go, he could be certain she would strike again, this time with numbers on her side. She won't be more vulnerable than she is now.
Perhaps it was to push back the moment of the final decision, but after taking something to deal with his headache, he began reading some reports about the village that got destroyed. It was a small, isolated Cornish wizarding village near the sea, which made its quiet disappearance all the more alarming. After all, an entire village of magic users disappearing without so much as a whisper was plenty concerning enough, but them disappearing without a trace? This was even worse.
He needed more information to work with, he didn't like being in the dark like that, and he was fairly sure others would, too.
[] Mount an expedition to investigate.
If Taken :
-[] Basic expedition (-2 000G in equipment and bribes)
-[] Normal expedition (-4 000G in equipment and bribes, +10 to rolls during mission)
-[] Heavy expedition (-6 000G in equipment and bribes, +20 to rolls during mission)
--[] Go there himself to help investigate
[] Get in contact with other families with similar interests. He can't be the only one this is worrying.
[] Do nothing. This didn't concern either Wales or him
The phone in Dace's office began to ring and he jumped a little at that, he reached for it, making sure he hadn't inverted the position again, but as he pressed it against his ear, all he could hear was warbled noises of destruction and a small, familiar voice that emitted a wet cough.
"Don't... Leave the Isles..."
Then the sound cut after the moaning of metal made his ear ring and left him holding the phone, stupefied.
That was Elizabeth. His mind turned towards half forgotten memories, of kind green eyes and a radiant smile over a too pale, bloodied face. He shook his head. He may be worrying too much, but Elizabeth never pranked him even once over the phone, especially with such an ominous message, and she was the only one to even have his number.
He jumped off his seat and threw floo powder, saying her adress out loud, but the green flames only danced as they would, without the distortion that was the telltale of two chimneys getting connected.
'Don't leave the Isles.' An ominous but explicit message, meaning he'd be in danger anywhere else. The surrounding noise indicated mass destruction, but he couldn't discount the possibility that someone had faked that message, which is why he tried contacting the Welsh Ministry, only for it to be unavailable.
Well then, he'd have to see how the English were faring then.
The chimneys connected and he went through, arriving into an overpopulated atrium. There, he could see many familiar faces, and was almost bowled over by Augustus Bulstrode, the bear of a man, who also got out of one of those chimneys. The man grunted, but caught Dace's arm before he could fall.
"You here for the warning?"
Dace's eyes narrowed.
"I'm afraid I have received no official warning whatsoever. Would you mind explaining its contents to me?' He answered smoothly, making the connection with Lizzie's message.
"He probably cannot, but I certainly can." Anthony Travers, the person in charge of the Floo in the United Kingdom approached them, his robes springled with a bit of bright green powder, and looking a bit frazzled. His eyes briefly turned towards Bulstrode, who grunted and nodded in greeting, before they turned back to Dace.
"About one hour ago, I've begun to receive complaints from several witches and wizards who tried, without avail, to floo towards the American continent, both Southern and Northern. After some investigation, I've managed to get some sort of explanation, but the result was so nonsensical that I forwarded it to the Department of Mysteries so that they can analyze it further." He readjusted his glasses, before pinching his lips, looking around before speaking again, in a lower tone of voice. " The results I have gotten indicate that America was wiped off the map, and the last things that were recorded were something about a 'Shadow'. Ridiculous, I tell you."
"Not as ridiculous as you may think, young man." Augusta Longbottom arrived, the eyes of the stuffed vulture on her hat gleaming cruelly. She lifted her hand imperiously and held it out to Dace, who took and kissed it, before she got a few rolls of parchment out of her bag and gave them to Travers and Bulstrode. "Minister Bagnold has called for an extraordinary Wizengamot session, to decide how to deal with this. The muggles are currently panicking everywhere and as such, we need to decide what is it we will do."
Dace felt his fist tighten uncomfortably and exhaled slowly, which Augusta noticed, her eyes widening slightly before softening. She put a hand on his shoulder and spoke again, this time in a tone of compassion.
"I know this is not something you want to hear, my ancestors know I didn't want to either but... My condolences, Mr. Gwallawg."
Dace closed his eyes and tried to keep his temper in check, only managing a few words before he turned back to the flames and his office. There, he got his wand out and proceeded to demolish systematically everything that stood there, before storming out, to the small woods behind his house, and let loose his temper.
Several hours later, it was night, and as he came in, he saw his staff, a group of maids surrounding a crying few, assembled before him. Their spokeperson, a young man with black hair and brown eyes; advanced hesitantly towards him.
"Is it true.. That.. You know, America was destroyed?"
Dace ignored his temper raising its head once again and nodded stiffly, which caused gasps and small screams to spread within the crowd. The young man gulped, and asked him one more question.
"What are we going to do now?"
[] Continue as usual, they need more actionable information before taking action.
[] Be cautious, shore up their defenses, and begin looking into venues to ensure their protection, but no blackout yet.
[] High alert, fortify the place, ensure that they reach self sufficiency as soon as possible , then, prepare for war. Panic will do strange things to the average people and they would not be taken by surprise.
His decision made, Dace barked orders to his servants before stomping towards his daughter's room, who was beginning to stir. It seemed that their confrontation was long overdue.
America was lost to ???
Elizabeth Gwallawg SL lost!
And so, the seams strengthened as the Masquerade continued, and all but one last door closed...
World corruption : + 50% : 80%
Threshold reached.
[X] Keeping the family together
[X] House arrest, Rosier would probably agree to it, that lovestruck fool.
[X] Get a specialist as soon as possible 5000 G. Dace gets checked within the year.
-[X] Normal expedition (-4 000G in equipment and bribes, +10 to rolls during mission)
[X] Be cautious, shore up their defenses, and begin looking into venues to ensure their protection, but no blackout yet.
I am feeling for being lenient with Alfie. Being the only one left having SL with and generally lacking people right know. For now at least. We have bigger concerns rigth now to deal with.
There is also the fact that Alfie has a better relationship with Dace. She definitely had a better relationship with Elizabeth .
I don't want to put more effort into to search action. Bigger contributions means people will notice.
"The last quest might be a hindrance" applies, but concerns last time around were 1: there was good shit on that expedition, and 2: going personally attracted attention from other people, including Riddle.
[] Plan Restraint.
-[] This can wait for a bit 2500 G. Dace will get checked within the next 2 years.
-[] House arrest, Rosier would probably agree to it, that lovestruck fool.
-[] Mount an expedition to investigate.
--[] Normal expedition (-4 000G in equipment and bribes, +10 to rolls during mission)
-[] Be cautious, shore up their defenses, and begin looking into venues to ensure their protection, but no blackout yet.
Get checked soon but don't drop everything for it, mount a normal expedition but don't join and don't advertise it(Dace having less diplomacy seems like he'd be less of a socialite and with Elizabeth gone he has a good reason to not want to talk to people).
Likewise, what Aife did hasn't appeared to have left the house yet and House Arrest can be explained by Dace wanting to be with family after losing his(estranged?) wife.
And while going no expedition could also work, it'd highlight our lack of interest for things beyond Wales which could increase heat on our increased fortifications.
Could swap out the Defense version for the bigger reaction to help sell the "my wife just died" but inquiring normally fits with not rushing the doctor. And being the Bastard of Wales with the large number of Muggleborns in his employ, rushing that one could draw heat(despite how much an overreaction might be warranted).
Edit:
[X] Plan Self-sufficiency in the British Isles.
-[X] This can wait for a bit 2500 G. Dace will get checked within the next 2 years.
-[X] House arrest, Rosier would probably agree to it, that lovestruck fool.
-[X] Mount an expedition to investigate.
--[X] Normal expedition (-4 000G in equipment and bribes, +10 to rolls during mission)
-[X] High alert, fortify the place, ensure that they reach self sufficiency as soon as possible , then, prepare for war. Panic will do strange things to the average people and they would not be taken by surprise.
Switching to the less restrained fortification tier.
With 80% of the world being corrupted, that's going to hurt the accessibility of trade goods, better become self-sufficient soon.
Urie could scream, or he would if raising his fists and yelling to the sky didn't demand so much effort. News about the disappearance of the American continents had swept past the college, bringing everyone down to his level.
If only he had gone on that exchange trip that Sharon had pushed on him. He could have disappeared into the void, but no. He was still here, alive and miserable, while Sharon had let some other lucky bastard take the spot.
His sobbing mate, who was currently crawled up to the wall holding the picture of some actress. "ELIZABETH" he screamed. "YOU WERE TO YOUNG".
It made his ears hurt.
He could move somewhere more quiet, but that meant he would have to leave this cozy spot.
Decision decisions
[] Move somewhere quieter, the library have recently acquired a new sofa. Chance of increased skill in Learning or Mystic
[X] One of the nearby cliffs had suffered a landslide recently. If he went there, maybe a new one would happen and bury him alive. Chance of discovery. Minor chance of death.
[] Visit Sharon, it might turn out to be pleasant, or a chore. Chance of increased SL with Sharon
[X] Plan Strict Parenting.
[X] This can wait for a bit 2500 G. Dace will get checked within the next 2 years.
[X] Disinherit her. She tried to kill him, and while family ought to look for each other, she proved to be unreliable.
[X] Mount an expedition to investigate.
-[X] Normal expedition (-4 000G in equipment and bribes, +10 to rolls during mission)
-[X] Be cautious, shore up their defenses, and begin looking into venues to ensure their protection, but no blackout yet.
Well damn, the Shadows from Fable don't play. Also, we should probably disinherit her this time, or at least until Dace can be sure of her health.
Some are voting for this and considering we are kinda in the early stage of voting I have to say, is this really a good idea to leave to her husband?
I mean, lovetruck with his wife which was Freya Blessing and last I recall, one of Penguin comment in the original quest about her was when despite of all the charges she had of her murdertrial (?) she came out clean cause she got the chance to talk.
Leaving her in the care of her husband so she can wrap him around her fingers seems really like a bad idea.
Say what you will about the fact that I haven't voted or proposed a plan yet but I am the only one who think this is not an ideal option?
Some are voting for this and considering we are kinda in the early stage of voting I have to say, is this really a good idea to leave to her husband?
I mean, lovetruck with his wife which was Freya Blessing and last I recall, one of Penguin comment in the original quest about her was when despite of all the charges she had of her murdertrial (?) she came out clean cause she got the chance to talk.
Leaving her in the care of her husband so she can wrap him around her fingers seems really like a bad idea.
Say what you will about the fact that I haven't voted or proposed a plan yet but I am the only one who think this is not an ideal option?
@LordPenguin you should add a link to the discord on this thread.
Right now it's mostly people freaking out over Elizabeth being dead and the Americas getting wiped out.
The qm did reveal a few other things.
The british isles are safe. Turns out there's a bright side to having a bunch of gods sticking SIs into HPverse. The rest of the world isn't safe. Martha from the previous quest was in America too.
Discord was to distracted grieving over Elizabeth's death to tell the thread what they learned, but now that the pain has subsided, information will flow.
Both American continents are overrun with the Darkness, including all the islands people consider to be a part of them. The landmass is unaffected, so no water level changes.
Russia and Australia also have Darkness infestations, but they are doing at least marginally better against them, since they are still "here".
The MP system form last time has been Nerfed; it can negate a Nat1, it can't create any changes that affect Meta 1 and their blessed or the QM will get inventive, and it can guarantee a Tier 2 success.
Rufus is dead, as well as Martha, they were both in America. Any of our assets in America are gone as well. Though Olliver is alive, he was visiting his mother in France.
Because of the Game the "gods" are playing, we have the largest concentration of god in the UK right now, protecting us from immediate annihilation.
Because of how insular wizards are, the collapse of global trade won't hit us as hard, we will have a tougher time getting ingredients, as a lot of sources are now unreachable. The mud from the Euphrates was given as an example, so the Middle East isn't doing so hot either.
Ouch. Alright, the economy is fine so Dace can surely make some profit which funds his actions. Also, means we get to meet new and different people, and the gods are nearby scheming but what else is new.
The Wizarding economy is doing fine but might still see a bit of an economic downturn. Because while it might be insular to a very high degree, there's still a yearly influx of Muggleborns(and Wizarding tourists venturing out into the nonMagical side to be a tourist and look at the Muggles might be a thing because the community is so insular). And the Muggle economy probably isn't nearly as insular and is therefore more likely to be affected by the collapse of global trade.
This might also have an effect on the quality of Muggleborn students coming out of Hogwarts(and therefore the ones likely to enter GASL) down the line if they end up having to buy their stuff second-hand.
Depending on just how bad the Muggle economy gets hit by the panic resulting from whatever is happening to large parts of the world and the subsequent collapse of global trade, any Adult, near-adult and/or desperate Muggleborns might start looking for a way to either support their Muggle relatives from the Magical side of things or to bring their Muggle relatives over.
It's the "prepare for war" bit of the "fort up" vote that worries me. As without Elizabeth, getting too much of a military going will probably demand we take actions bribing people to retroactively get the permits and/or spend actions assuring the Ministries/Purebloods that the Muggleborns aren't getting organized in preparation for a future revolution.
Though equally, being too late at forting up carries its own set of problems...
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