- Location
- Leeds
The lore that they found a waystone and though "What a neat maypole" suggests that they do not.
Any ancient halfling magic users probably fell into human traditions because the human ones where just better established.
Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest
- Thread starter Boney
- Start date
- Fantasy Users' Choice!
Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Any ancient halfling magic users probably fell into human traditions because the human ones where just better established.
- Location
- Australia
Why would halfling magic users leave their communities to submit themselves to human masters simply for the sake of a more established tradition?
- Location
- Leeds
Because attempting to learn magic on your own when there is no one else you know who practices magic is likely to end poorly.
You're better off finding some Hedgewise and learning from them.
Halflings are a bit odd, because they have their own gods and their own culture, but at the same time they are subsumed into Imperial society. I can honestly see arguments either way for Halflings having their own magical lores in canon, but I lean on the side that they don't because the rarity of Halfling wizards makes accumulating knowledge difficult, and it would be easier to try to join a human society of mages.
- Pronouns
- He/His/etc
They appear to have found a waystone and thought "we better make sure nobody messes with this", and then used their halfling powers of being underestimated to make everyone think of it as a quaint halfling tradition.
That might be the case but at this point it's pure Spekulationen. The only thing we know for sure is that the waystone in the moot is used as a maypole.
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- Location
- A Pit Of My Own Making
- Pronouns
- He/Him
The Waystone is in the mood to be used as a maypole? We'll I suppose it must get bored.
Kekek, already fixed it but if any waystone would be in the mood to be a maypole it would be the one in the moot.
- Location
- North Wales
- Pronouns
- He/Him/His
Mootland is still part of the Empire and so halfling citizens legally can't practise magic outside of the Colleges. Sure, they might not care and do it anyway, and their community might even let them. Until they fuck up from self-practice, make too much of a nuisance of themselves, and the elders gently encourage them to maybe go to the tallfolk school.
pucflek
Verified simpleton
- Location
- Czech Republic
The second part of your argument is actually pretty compelling argument for why Halfling equivalent to Hedgewise wouldn't exist tbh. Pretty neat reasoning.
dinomannitro6
all your gender is belong to us
- Location
- The Land Where The Sunflowers Bloom
The end of Lady Magister Mathilde Weber's promotion ceremony (2485 IC)(Decolorized)
Last edited:
BagFullOfLizards
Some bag, mostly lizards
- Location
- A bag
Another possibility is that the spell was invented by someone attempting to imitate Hidden Horse Style.
- Location
- Seattle
I think I saw something about elders of the moot giving halfling hedgefolk licences.
- Location
- Aotearoa
Senior Lecturer Emeritus Sarvoi: "The teachings of Hekarti are a pathway to many abilities some consider to be... unnatural."The end of Lady Magister Mathilde Weber's promotion ceremony (2485 IC)(Decolorized)
Aranfan
Team Plasma Grunt
That is very cute~!
- Location
- USA
Baba Niedzwenka: "Secret, shall I tell you? Grand Witch of Hags, am I. Won this job in a raffle I did, think you? 'How did you know? How did you know, Baba Niedzwenka?' Baba Niedzwenka knows these things. Her job, it is."
No Such Thing As Overprepared
Parabola
Divided Loyalties Librarian
- Location
- The Destination of Fate
- Pronouns
- She/Her
No Such Thing As Overprepared
Year 2494, possible timeline
Karag Nar
Eike Hochschild sighed as she went down the steps to the training hall. She knew what she was going to find, but the foreknowledge did not make her happy.
She reached the bottom and was greeted with a view of her Master, Mathilde Weber, doing push-ups. Wolf was sitting on top of her, panting happily. On the nearby couch, a very blank-faced Perpetual Apprentice of indeterminate gender said something quickly in Druhir. From the little she had picked up over the past few months, they sounded like directions.
"…'A dozen miles north-by-northwest', or at least that's the equivalent when translated to our units," said her Master, before doing another push-up.
"Correct," said the Perpetual. "You likely won't get lost even if you have to rely on things you overhear. And though your vocabulary and grammar could use some work, you're not likely to need those that much. You learn well."
"You teach well," said Mathilde, smiling. Her arms gave out, and she collapsed on the floor.
Wolf woofed softly, making Mathilde turn her head, in between pants. "Oh, Eike. Did you finish the assignment I gave you?"
Eike nodded, poker face in place. "Yes, Master. What's with the push-ups?"
"She said she needed to try to understand Druhir even when she was in situations that divided her attention," said the Perpetual. "In lieu of stalking me through a forest while she is using a Shadowcloak, we opted for the push-ups."
Wolf got off Mathilde, and she got onto her feet. They went up to the entrance hall and bid farewell to the Perpetual for the night.
"Now, my Apprentice, tell me of Anlec."
Eike winced. She knew where this was going. "Anlec was the home and great fortress of the first Phoenix Prince, Aenarion, after his wife and children died. It was a great bastion against the hordes of Chaos. He ruled from it until he died, and afterward his son Malekith took his position as prince there. Later, Malekith himself besieged it to hunt down the Cults of Excess. When the Sundering took place, he fled Nagarythe on his Black Arks, but he would return at the tail end of the War of Ancients, to again stake his claim on Ulthuan. He rebuilt Anlec and made it the base of his offensive. And later still, it was sacked and raised to the ground by the armies of Tethlis the Slayer. And-"
Eike hesitated. "It seems absurd to think that it would then go on to be rebuilt and then destroyed for a third time during the reign of Morvael the Impetuous."
Mathilde nodded. "It speaks a lot to how ancient and vicious the conflict between the Druchii and the Asur is. Some records suggest that it is the place where elves have died most in all of Ulthuan, maybe even in the entire world."
Eike looked down. She was trying to come up with the right words.
"Why did you have me learn this, if I'm not going? And why do you have to go if it's so dangerous? Why do you have to leave?"
She put a bit too much emphasis on that last question. Mathilde reached out and patted her in the head.
"Asides from serving as a lesson on how determined the Druchii are in seeking dominion over their kin, I had you learn this to dissuade you from wanting to come along. Nagarythe is a cursed land. I did not go as a Magister, for I was busy with Karak Eight Peaks and I feared my skill would be insufficient to make a great difference anyway. It is no place for an Apprentice, Senior though she may be. As for why I have to go at all… well, it would be an amazing opportunity to build connections with the people of Ulthuan, one that not many Magisters have. It's far easier for us to gain goodwill from dwarves, but as our time in Laurelorn should have taught you, the elves are even more difficult to impress."
She put her arm around the Apprentice's shoulders, and together they walked towards the training hall. "There's a few other minor reasons too. Simply bloodying the noses of the Dark Elves would be a reward in itself. I'm also a bit interested in sightseeing... And, I'll admit, I'm a bit of a thrill-seeker."
Eike nodded, a bit downcast.
"But don't worry. I'm not going for at least another year. Gotta put some finishing touches on the Waystone Project, train some other skills... Honestly, I might not even go until you're ready to Journey."
Eike gave a small smile. It was at least comforting that her Master was going to take every precaution before going there.
"Now, pick up your training sword. I need to beat the fundamentals of self-defence into you. You don't have much interest in it, I know, but at the very least, it'd be better than having no experience at all and needing it."
———————————
A month later, Eike repressed a sigh as she watched her Master finish weaving her new robes. She had said that it had been nearly ten years since she had gotten new ones, and she couldn't reproach her desire to be even more protected than she already was. But the level of detail involved… seemed excessive. The robe had scales from the Emperor Dragon Cython, retained her previous robes' Hellfire Drake scales as pauldrons, had some very light gromril inlays, and had been sown by Eonir artisans with silk from the We. And…
"Master… didn't you say that using a powerstone last time for your robes was a bit inefficient compared to the amount of energies you needed? So why are you using one of your Orbs of Sorcery?"
Mathilde smiled. "Well this time I'm having some connections also help me enchant it with some other spells. It's actually less of a waste like this."
"I suppose I don't know enough about enchanting to question you on that."
"Oh, by all means ask." She smiled. "I can tell you all the ways it can go wrong."
——————————
Yet some time later, she was confronted with a strange idea.
"Hmm. Eike, to your ears, does 'Issariour' sound awkward as a contraction of Issth na Sariour?"
Eike turned from her book to her Master. "What?"
"I'm trying to come up with an appropriate alias to use while there. Most of the important people involved would know who I am, but the Druchii are vengeful people. Worst case scenario, if I do exceedingly well, they'll probably want revenge on me."
"Oh," Eike said. And then: "D--n. Is that why your new robe has space for a removable hood?"
Mathilde frowned. "Yes, it is. Maybe I can get a mask or something too... Say, did you already get that Arcane Mark of yours under control?"
Eike nodded. "Yes, at least I'm not forgetting my own sentences when agitated. But I'm not sure how useful it really is, to self-censor like that."
"I don't know, I think it's an impressive linguistic feat. I'm sure you can find a way to improve upon it. I still need to improve upon my own Marks, not just control them."
Mathilde looked at her still shadow. "Yes, I can think of exactly how it would be useful…"
Eike tilted her head. She was aware that her Master had some strange Mastery that involved her shadow, but she had never seen it herself, or actually asked about it. Unfortunately, she missed the window to do so as Mathilde looked down at a notebook.
"…Maybe I should stick to my silver theme and go with a combination with Ithil? What do you think?"
——————————
Eike stared in horror at the thing. The… blackened shadow-rider atop a dark horse, wielding a great silvery halberd. It pulsed with menacing energy.
"What the ******* **** is that."
"It took me forever to incorporate some new insights into this bad boy. But it's very safe. I'm currently thinking of calling it, Rider of the Eclipse, for Mannsleib's own shadow is great indeed to behold. It would also tie in with the alias of Issariour without overlapping with Dammerlichtreiter. What do you think?"
Eike continued staring. "I am horrified to tell you that I think you've succeeded."
"I'm sure you can't tell right now, but I daresay your poker face has gotten really well."
——————————
Year 2495, Vorhexen, possible timeline
Wurtbad
Eike Hochschild accompanied her Master across the streets. Wurtbad had become strangely prettier over the past few years. With the vampire threat almost entirely quelled, Roswita Van Hal had decided to spend a bit more of her focus on making life in Stirland more pleasant for her citizens, instead of just removing the awful. It was a pleasant day.
"Eike," said her Master suddenly. "It's nearly time."
Eike turned and blinked. "Master?"
"I've been thinking about it for a while now. You've been my Apprentice for just about six years now. And you've shown yourself to be exceedingly ready. Eike… soon, you will begin Journeying."
She'd known it would come. She'd expected it to happen at some point. She was already 20 years old, as old her own Master had been when she first Journeyed and became Spymaster of Stirland. But it was still a shock to hear it so casually.
"Now?"
"Well, soon. You're more than ready for Relatively Simple spells. You've learned the values of patience and safety, now it is time for you to learn to become proactive and bold. To stretch your legs, so to speak. I will be teaching you Shadowsteed first, as it is of course terribly useful."
Eike seemed at a loss for words. "Master…"
"As for where you wish to go, that is up to you. Whether you wish to stay in Wurtbad, or alternate between it and Karak Eight Peaks, or even to serve as a link between the Empire and the Eonir… that's up to you. Most Grey Journeymen typically become diplomats or spymasters anyway, though not to the extent I was in at first. You'll have my letter of recommendation, of course."
Eike simply nodded, fearing her mouth would say something rash.
Mathilde smiled, a bit sadly. "It could be said that you are my final preparation for my trip. And I do not skimp out on preparations, as you know." She continued walking. Eike followed, shakily. They walked back to the EIC headquarters.
And so it came to be that by the beginning of the new year, Journeywoman Eike Hochschild learnt Shadowsteed, and then was given a witch-hunter's hat to hold on to, until her master came back.
——————————
Year 2494, possible timeline
Karag Nar
Eike Hochschild sighed as she went down the steps to the training hall. She knew what she was going to find, but the foreknowledge did not make her happy.
She reached the bottom and was greeted with a view of her Master, Mathilde Weber, doing push-ups. Wolf was sitting on top of her, panting happily. On the nearby couch, a very blank-faced Perpetual Apprentice of indeterminate gender said something quickly in Druhir. From the little she had picked up over the past few months, they sounded like directions.
"…'A dozen miles north-by-northwest', or at least that's the equivalent when translated to our units," said her Master, before doing another push-up.
"Correct," said the Perpetual. "You likely won't get lost even if you have to rely on things you overhear. And though your vocabulary and grammar could use some work, you're not likely to need those that much. You learn well."
"You teach well," said Mathilde, smiling. Her arms gave out, and she collapsed on the floor.
Wolf woofed softly, making Mathilde turn her head, in between pants. "Oh, Eike. Did you finish the assignment I gave you?"
Eike nodded, poker face in place. "Yes, Master. What's with the push-ups?"
"She said she needed to try to understand Druhir even when she was in situations that divided her attention," said the Perpetual. "In lieu of stalking me through a forest while she is using a Shadowcloak, we opted for the push-ups."
Wolf got off Mathilde, and she got onto her feet. They went up to the entrance hall and bid farewell to the Perpetual for the night.
"Now, my Apprentice, tell me of Anlec."
Eike winced. She knew where this was going. "Anlec was the home and great fortress of the first Phoenix Prince, Aenarion, after his wife and children died. It was a great bastion against the hordes of Chaos. He ruled from it until he died, and afterward his son Malekith took his position as prince there. Later, Malekith himself besieged it to hunt down the Cults of Excess. When the Sundering took place, he fled Nagarythe on his Black Arks, but he would return at the tail end of the War of Ancients, to again stake his claim on Ulthuan. He rebuilt Anlec and made it the base of his offensive. And later still, it was sacked and raised to the ground by the armies of Tethlis the Slayer. And-"
Eike hesitated. "It seems absurd to think that it would then go on to be rebuilt and then destroyed for a third time during the reign of Morvael the Impetuous."
Mathilde nodded. "It speaks a lot to how ancient and vicious the conflict between the Druchii and the Asur is. Some records suggest that it is the place where elves have died most in all of Ulthuan, maybe even in the entire world."
Eike looked down. She was trying to come up with the right words.
"Why did you have me learn this, if I'm not going? And why do you have to go if it's so dangerous? Why do you have to leave?"
She put a bit too much emphasis on that last question. Mathilde reached out and patted her in the head.
"Asides from serving as a lesson on how determined the Druchii are in seeking dominion over their kin, I had you learn this to dissuade you from wanting to come along. Nagarythe is a cursed land. I did not go as a Magister, for I was busy with Karak Eight Peaks and I feared my skill would be insufficient to make a great difference anyway. It is no place for an Apprentice, Senior though she may be. As for why I have to go at all… well, it would be an amazing opportunity to build connections with the people of Ulthuan, one that not many Magisters have. It's far easier for us to gain goodwill from dwarves, but as our time in Laurelorn should have taught you, the elves are even more difficult to impress."
She put her arm around the Apprentice's shoulders, and together they walked towards the training hall. "There's a few other minor reasons too. Simply bloodying the noses of the Dark Elves would be a reward in itself. I'm also a bit interested in sightseeing... And, I'll admit, I'm a bit of a thrill-seeker."
Eike nodded, a bit downcast.
"But don't worry. I'm not going for at least another year. Gotta put some finishing touches on the Waystone Project, train some other skills... Honestly, I might not even go until you're ready to Journey."
Eike gave a small smile. It was at least comforting that her Master was going to take every precaution before going there.
"Now, pick up your training sword. I need to beat the fundamentals of self-defence into you. You don't have much interest in it, I know, but at the very least, it'd be better than having no experience at all and needing it."
———————————
A month later, Eike repressed a sigh as she watched her Master finish weaving her new robes. She had said that it had been nearly ten years since she had gotten new ones, and she couldn't reproach her desire to be even more protected than she already was. But the level of detail involved… seemed excessive. The robe had scales from the Emperor Dragon Cython, retained her previous robes' Hellfire Drake scales as pauldrons, had some very light gromril inlays, and had been sown by Eonir artisans with silk from the We. And…
"Master… didn't you say that using a powerstone last time for your robes was a bit inefficient compared to the amount of energies you needed? So why are you using one of your Orbs of Sorcery?"
Mathilde smiled. "Well this time I'm having some connections also help me enchant it with some other spells. It's actually less of a waste like this."
"I suppose I don't know enough about enchanting to question you on that."
"Oh, by all means ask." She smiled. "I can tell you all the ways it can go wrong."
——————————
Yet some time later, she was confronted with a strange idea.
"Hmm. Eike, to your ears, does 'Issariour' sound awkward as a contraction of Issth na Sariour?"
Eike turned from her book to her Master. "What?"
"I'm trying to come up with an appropriate alias to use while there. Most of the important people involved would know who I am, but the Druchii are vengeful people. Worst case scenario, if I do exceedingly well, they'll probably want revenge on me."
"Oh," Eike said. And then: "D--n. Is that why your new robe has space for a removable hood?"
Mathilde frowned. "Yes, it is. Maybe I can get a mask or something too... Say, did you already get that Arcane Mark of yours under control?"
Eike nodded. "Yes, at least I'm not forgetting my own sentences when agitated. But I'm not sure how useful it really is, to self-censor like that."
"I don't know, I think it's an impressive linguistic feat. I'm sure you can find a way to improve upon it. I still need to improve upon my own Marks, not just control them."
Mathilde looked at her still shadow. "Yes, I can think of exactly how it would be useful…"
Eike tilted her head. She was aware that her Master had some strange Mastery that involved her shadow, but she had never seen it herself, or actually asked about it. Unfortunately, she missed the window to do so as Mathilde looked down at a notebook.
"…Maybe I should stick to my silver theme and go with a combination with Ithil? What do you think?"
——————————
Eike stared in horror at the thing. The… blackened shadow-rider atop a dark horse, wielding a great silvery halberd. It pulsed with menacing energy.
"What the ******* **** is that."
"It took me forever to incorporate some new insights into this bad boy. But it's very safe. I'm currently thinking of calling it, Rider of the Eclipse, for Mannsleib's own shadow is great indeed to behold. It would also tie in with the alias of Issariour without overlapping with Dammerlichtreiter. What do you think?"
Eike continued staring. "I am horrified to tell you that I think you've succeeded."
"I'm sure you can't tell right now, but I daresay your poker face has gotten really well."
——————————
Year 2495, Vorhexen, possible timeline
Wurtbad
Eike Hochschild accompanied her Master across the streets. Wurtbad had become strangely prettier over the past few years. With the vampire threat almost entirely quelled, Roswita Van Hal had decided to spend a bit more of her focus on making life in Stirland more pleasant for her citizens, instead of just removing the awful. It was a pleasant day.
"Eike," said her Master suddenly. "It's nearly time."
Eike turned and blinked. "Master?"
"I've been thinking about it for a while now. You've been my Apprentice for just about six years now. And you've shown yourself to be exceedingly ready. Eike… soon, you will begin Journeying."
She'd known it would come. She'd expected it to happen at some point. She was already 20 years old, as old her own Master had been when she first Journeyed and became Spymaster of Stirland. But it was still a shock to hear it so casually.
"Now?"
"Well, soon. You're more than ready for Relatively Simple spells. You've learned the values of patience and safety, now it is time for you to learn to become proactive and bold. To stretch your legs, so to speak. I will be teaching you Shadowsteed first, as it is of course terribly useful."
Eike seemed at a loss for words. "Master…"
"As for where you wish to go, that is up to you. Whether you wish to stay in Wurtbad, or alternate between it and Karak Eight Peaks, or even to serve as a link between the Empire and the Eonir… that's up to you. Most Grey Journeymen typically become diplomats or spymasters anyway, though not to the extent I was in at first. You'll have my letter of recommendation, of course."
Eike simply nodded, fearing her mouth would say something rash.
Mathilde smiled, a bit sadly. "It could be said that you are my final preparation for my trip. And I do not skimp out on preparations, as you know." She continued walking. Eike followed, shakily. They walked back to the EIC headquarters.
And so it came to be that by the beginning of the new year, Journeywoman Eike Hochschild learnt Shadowsteed, and then was given a witch-hunter's hat to hold on to, until her master came back.
——————————
My knowledge of Eltharin began about a month and a half ago so I can't say I know all that much of it, but I derived the above possible alias from knowledge of the wiki. I don't know just how well it sounds to contract words, though.
Issth - The Serpent of Light, dexterousness, trickery.
Na - And/Of
Sariour - The moon, magic, fortune, evil deeds, destruction
Altogether, Issth na Sariour might be roughly translatable as "Serpent of the Moon's Light", to reference how Mathilde is taking on a more sinister or deadly persona that strikes during the night; or possibly "Trickery under Moonlight", somewhat referencing Branulhune; but also possibly, "Wisdom Asp's Fortune", given how it was an irreproducible strike of luck (its own misfortune) to obtain its blood the way we did. All are meanings that can apply to us, in ways that aren't immediately obvious.
And... honestly, I think if we go to the Elfcation we will likely go with the Protector Coin on. And I've read Boney's statements on how it seems like it'd definitely mix really well with an alias, since that's the sort of story common to Ranald the Protector. I think there's some merit in exploring that idea, since we've never tried that.
Issth - The Serpent of Light, dexterousness, trickery.
Na - And/Of
Sariour - The moon, magic, fortune, evil deeds, destruction
Altogether, Issth na Sariour might be roughly translatable as "Serpent of the Moon's Light", to reference how Mathilde is taking on a more sinister or deadly persona that strikes during the night; or possibly "Trickery under Moonlight", somewhat referencing Branulhune; but also possibly, "Wisdom Asp's Fortune", given how it was an irreproducible strike of luck (its own misfortune) to obtain its blood the way we did. All are meanings that can apply to us, in ways that aren't immediately obvious.
And... honestly, I think if we go to the Elfcation we will likely go with the Protector Coin on. And I've read Boney's statements on how it seems like it'd definitely mix really well with an alias, since that's the sort of story common to Ranald the Protector. I think there's some merit in exploring that idea, since we've never tried that.
Parabola
Divided Loyalties Librarian
- Location
- The Destination of Fate
- Pronouns
- She/Her
Thank you! Took me forever to actually write this. I started a few days ago and my attention just kept drifting off to other things every hour or so. I couldn't manage the same rhythm as my previous omake. Still, I managed it before the next Boney update, so that's something.
- Location
- Earth
Days, you say... *avoids looking at the Turn 34 Branarhune post date*
Keep up the good work! It's always nice to see more character building pieces.
I still have one I started in the time between ordering the sword and actually getting it. It's actually already mostly written, but afterwards I realised it was the least interesting way to do it, and decided on writing another perspective....
dinomannitro6
all your gender is belong to us
- Location
- The Land Where The Sunflowers Bloom
Cor-Dum is Aslan.
I will not be elaborating further.
- Location
- The Surface Of A Hostile Planet
Since we're reanimating long-dead thread madness to fill in our current gaps, I say that clearly this is a sign that we should secure Eike an internship working with the Empire's steam tanks.