Idran1701 (11:50:39 AM): *The evening after their original meeting, Asp and Zant find their way to the Sentimer Gardens, to meet with the priestess. It doesn't take long to find her, sitting on the ground under the shade of an Outlands baobab.*
Jak Snide (11:53:03 AM): *Zant has come more fully dressed than he was the day before, seeing fit to actually cover up his torso after the woman's remark.* You mentioned a plan before, Asp. Do you believe you will have to resort to it?
DarkLordKelne (11:53:05 AM): *Man, that's a neat tree. It's all gnarly and water-retaining.*
DarkLordKelne (11:53:52 AM): No, I don't think so. It was kind of a mean plan anyway, as I think about it.
Jak Snide (11:54:21 AM): Oh? *he raises an eyebrow* Did you find her to be more reasonable than you had expected?
DarkLordKelne (11:57:45 AM): Yeah, pretty much. It was a good plan, but it's the kind of thing you do to mean people. *Sage nod* So I'll keep it in reserve for another time,
Jak Snide (11:59:06 AM): *nods to Asp then heads over towards the priestess*
Idran1701 (11:53:18 AM): Oh, there you are. I was wondering if you'd show alone or not. *she smiles, shifting position to give them room; with her arms exposed, her tattoos are now visible - thin lines of various colors that wrap around their length, stopping just at the shoulders*
Jak Snide (12:02:36 PM): My friend expressed an interest in our conversation. All is well, I trust?
Idran1701 (12:03:26 PM): I meant I was wondering if the two of you would show alone or not.
DarkLordKelne (12:03:31 PM): *Those are some nifty tattoos too.*
Idran1701 (12:03:41 PM): I somewhat suspected this might have been a trap.
DarkLordKelne (12:04:55 PM): Oh, well, the others are off doing other stuff. I don't think they've got any traps lined up yet, otherwise I'd want in.
Idran1701 (12:05:17 PM): Oh? So there are others?
Jak Snide (12:05:43 PM): Indeed. I expect that they are attempting to persuade your colleagues.
DarkLordKelne (12:05:48 PM): *All traps benefit from a kender's input. It's another of those articles of faith.*
Idran1701 (12:06:35 PM): Aha. *aulghs* I'd hardly consider them "colleagues", but I know who you mean. Good luck to them, I suppose, but I doubt they'll have any more luck than you.
Idran1701 (12:06:45 PM): Well, take a seat, why don't you two?
Jak Snide (12:07:38 PM): *complies* Perhaps, though my belief that you need not be ejected still stands.
DarkLordKelne (12:08:17 PM): Sure thing. *Folds himself into a lotus positon he's clearly picked up from somewhere and has decided is appropriate to the situation*
Idran1701 (12:09:27 PM): Well, I'm glad to hear that, but don't be offended if I consider that claim with some wariness.
DarkLordKelne (12:11:01 PM): Oh, being ejected isn't so bad. Of course, it isn't that effective either; people just wander back later.
Idran1701 (12:11:27 PM): Be that as it may, I can only assume the ones that hired you were hoping for a more permanent ejection than that.
Jak Snide (12:11:51 PM): I suspect so. Well then, let us discuss your activities here, if I might be so direct. Your, ah, friends asked you to this city for a purpose, but from what I have observed you have contented yourself with silverworking.
Idran1701 (12:12:38 PM): Among other things. I hold small services from time to time. Hardly popular here. And I have other personal interests, but I'll spare you the boredom of going into them.
Jak Snide (12:14:13 PM): *inclines his head* Respectfully, I must inquire about all your activities before I can put your case to those whou sought our aid.
DarkLordKelne (12:14:54 PM): And likely future activities. I think that's what worrues them.
Idran1701 (12:15:03 PM): Hmph. I hardly need my case presented. My business is my business, and if they want to throw me out, they're welcome to try. As are you.
Jak Snide (12:15:47 PM): Indeed they are, but I would argue the merit in persuading them that such attempts are not required.
Idran1701 (12:16:03 PM): Then do so.
DarkLordKelne (12:16:30 PM): You know, I don't think I've ever tried to run someone else out of town before. It'd be a whole new perspective on the process.
Idran1701 (12:17:34 PM): As I said, you're welcome to try. But if you want to argue with me on this, then do so.
DarkLordKelne (12:17:40 PM): *The chaotic being sent to eject the chaotic. Yeah, that was going to happen.*
Jak Snide (12:18:10 PM): *smiles* I intend to do so, currently at least, but I would know of what activities you busy yourself with so that I might present a convincing argument.
Idran1701 (12:20:03 PM): Like I said, they are none of your business. *scowls* And you gave the impression that you two wished to learn about my patron, not me.
Idran1701 (12:20:26 PM): If you want me to tell you about my personal life, you'll need to convince me more than "you may get thrown out if not".
Idran1701 (12:21:28 PM): Why are you so eager to disobey your employers, anyway?
DarkLordKelne (12:22:20 PM): Is that what we're doing? I thought we were exercising initiative.
Idran1701 (12:23:25 PM): Oh?
Jak Snide (12:23:27 PM): You intrigue me. I am one of Istishia the Waterlord's flock and my experience with those who worship fire are based around those who follow Kossuth. You do not conform to the stereotype of his priests, at least not as far as I have seen.
DarkLordKelne (12:23:28 PM): Not that people always appreciate it, mind you.
Jak Snide (12:23:38 PM): Thus I wished to hear of your deity.
Idran1701 (12:24:02 PM): ...*frowns* That's what yuo said before. But if that's the case, why ask about my personal affairs?
Idran1701 (12:24:19 PM): *you
Idran1701 (12:25:31 PM): If you wish to learn about Kagutsuchi, you need only ask. I'm happy to spread his word. And no, you're right, we don't follow in the footsteps of the Kossuthians.
Jak Snide (12:26:08 PM): That pertains to our employment. I wished to hear of your dogma and your activity so that I might decide if you are, as your friends fear, an excessive influence. From what I have seen that is not the case. But please, tell me more of Kagutsuchi.
Idran1701 (12:26:12 PM): We share some similar beliefs, but they're high-tempered maniacs by and large.
Idran1701 (12:26:50 PM): ...*relaxes some* All right.
Jak Snide (12:26:53 PM): As I was taught. And witnessed, on occasion.
Idran1701 (12:28:12 PM): Well...what do you wish to know about him? About my faith?
Idran1701 (12:28:32 PM): His principles are simple and core.
Idran1701 (12:29:12 PM): To spread freedom to all through the overturning of stagnant order. To use the purifying flame to burn away the deadwood on the tree of life.
Idran1701 (12:29:37 PM): There is no greater ideal than personal freedom. One should be free to do as they wish, how they wish.
Jak Snide (12:30:35 PM): *listens and nods his head* Quite a contrast when compared to the Kossuthian philosophy of "seek strife and improvement through such."
Idran1701 (12:30:55 PM): As I said, we have little in common.
Idran1701 (12:31:20 PM): Authority stagnates, and fire cleanses.
Idran1701 (12:31:37 PM): There is no greater source of purification than the flame.
Jak Snide (12:32:33 PM): *nods* What of the freedom of others? How would those of your order react should two of them wish to act in manners that impede each other?
Idran1701 (12:34:48 PM): In such situations, each should consider how strong their desires are. If they can be denied, they should, until the ocnflict is no longer an issue.
Idran1701 (12:35:05 PM): If not, than conflict would be inevitable anyway, and it should be allowed to play out in full.
Idran1701 (12:35:08 PM): *then
Jak Snide (12:37:05 PM): *nods, looking pleased with this response* What of your lord himself? I have heard little from your friends concerning the his nature, but I suspect it would be best to hear his tale from the mouth of one of his own.
Idran1701 (12:38:54 PM): ...What of him? His teachings are his beliefs, so I'm not sure I understand your question.
Jak Snide (12:39:56 PM): His origin, if you will. My own lord has existed since the conception of the planes, but I am led to believe there is a more complex tale behind yours.
Idran1701 (12:41:39 PM): *laughs* Many gods claim to have existed since the conception of the planes. If all such claims were true, the limitless chaos would have been quite a crowded place.
Jak Snide (12:42:16 PM): *smiles and waits patiently*
Idran1701 (12:44:46 PM): No, Kagutsuchi was not. He was the eighth god to be born to Izanami - the mother of creation - and of course therefore the most divine. Unfortunately, his innate nature boded ill for his mother, as she began to fall ill due to his great, fiery form.
Idran1701 (12:45:34 PM): His father, Izanagi, was enraged with grief. Mindlessly, he slaughtered Kagutsuchi in vengeance, demonstrating the lack of foresight held by all who claim power.
Idran1701 (12:46:35 PM): Kagutsuchi's nature was not to be rejected so easily, however. Many more deities were spawned as a result of the conflict, but Kagutsuchi eventually reformed.
Idran1701 (12:48:25 PM): His mother, her mind sick from the newfound death that began to take her, bore a final deity, Mizuhame-no-Mikoto, who was instructed to for all time watch for Kagutsuchi, and strike out if he were ever to act against those that dared to scapegoat him for the unfortunate happenings.
Idran1701 (12:48:35 PM): And so it has been in the eons since.
Jak Snide (12:50:21 PM): *Zant inclines his head* An interesting tale. Where does Kagutsuchi make his home among the planes?
Idran1701 (12:52:31 PM): In the realm of Uchi-Bi, on the layer of Pandesmos. Banished to its tunnels by his father's anger, as so many unfortunate mortal souls have been banished since.
DarkLordKelne (12:53:59 PM): Hey, how about that, you were just there. You could've looked him up if you'd known.
Jak Snide (12:54:25 PM): *frowns* Yes, that I was.
Idran1701 (12:55:36 PM): Oh?
Jak Snide (12:57:04 PM): Another task set to my guildmates and I. It was not a pleasant place, though the greatest threat we encountered was not born of the plane itself.
Idran1701 (12:57:25 PM): *nods*
Idran1701 (12:59:55 PM): I won't pry. Now, then, what more do you wish to learn?
Jak Snide (1:01:19 PM): Of your lord? I am satisfied for now. A most interesting tale, and a refreshing one. So often is fire a force of destruction and an opponent of my own lord. It is good to learn of a deity of fire that does not seek conflict needlessly.
Jak Snide (1:01:47 PM): Tell me, though, does your lord have a sibling who represents water within his pantheon?
Idran1701 (1:02:18 PM): ...Yes. That would be Mizuhame-no-Mikoto. *frowns*
Jak Snide (1:03:37 PM): Might I hear of it, or would it trouble you to speak of such?
Idran1701 (1:03:47 PM): I've already mentioned her.
Idran1701 (1:04:50 PM): There are others as well, though. Less offensive ones, representative of some aspects of water. Some are even the offspring of Kagutsuchi, formed from the blood spilled by Izanagi's slaughter of his infant form.
Jak Snide (1:05:00 PM): *my inclines his head again, recalling that name and the role of the deity suddenly* My apologies.
Jak Snide (1:05:14 PM): Water born of fire?
Idran1701 (1:05:33 PM): Is it so surprising?
Idran1701 (1:06:22 PM): When either of you is exposed to enough fire, isn't water born of your flesh? *smiles*
Idran1701 (1:06:50 PM): The radiating heat of the sun, perhaps.
Jak Snide (1:07:19 PM): *nods and smiles* There is truth in what you say.
Jak Snide (1:07:48 PM): Let us talk of your activities here. Those pertaining to your given purpose here, of course, not those of a personal nature.
Idran1701 (1:08:11 PM): ...I teach others as I've taught the two of you.
Idran1701 (1:08:33 PM): Of the need to abolish authority and embrace the freedom of choice.
Jak Snide (1:08:39 PM): How many do you count among your flock?
Idran1701 (1:08:44 PM): But as I've said, it's hardly popular here.
Idran1701 (1:08:58 PM): Seven.
Jak Snide (1:10:00 PM): *nods* It is to be expected in such a place. Do you count more as interested parties, or are there too many closed minds here?
Idran1701 (1:10:35 PM): On occasion one or another will sit for a time, but rarely stay for the whole ceremony.
Jak Snide (1:12:16 PM): *nod* It is to be expected. Do your colleagues, if I may call them that, tend to similar numbers?
Idran1701 (1:14:18 PM): I have no clue. We haven't spoken since we were brought to this city.
DarkLordKelne (1:15:14 PM): The impression I got was that they were more into the spread chaos brief than the spread faith one.
Jak Snide (1:15:50 PM): *nods* Disharmony as opposed to freedom.
Idran1701 (1:16:19 PM): Well, harmony is often merely a euphemism for tyranny and oppression.
Jak Snide (1:17:46 PM): If misused most certainly. Tyranny is merely the supression of conflict. Harmony is when all parties have come to understand one another and found balance.
Idran1701 (1:18:35 PM): And the latter is often claimed to follow from the former.
Idran1701 (1:19:02 PM): *she looks to Asp* So, what of you? I can understand your friend's interest, but I'm curious of yours.
DarkLordKelne (1:19:06 PM): Yeah, people generally see through that kind of thing in the end. Or if not the gods drop a mountain on them.
DarkLordKelne (1:20:42 PM): Oh, I'm alway happy to learn about new things. Most religions are interesting, even if I don't necessarily want to join.
Idran1701 (1:21:50 PM): Not the religious sort, I assume?
DarkLordKelne (1:21:56 PM): Although you'd be amazed how exclusive some of them can be. Or intolerant of perfectly reasonable questions.
DarkLordKelne (1:24:08 PM): Not really. I figure Fizban's looking out for me, and I'm not doing anything he wouldn't approve of, but I don't see much need for anything formal.
Idran1701 (1:24:20 PM): Fizban?
Jak Snide (1:24:33 PM): *looks to Asp curiously as well*
DarkLordKelne (1:25:19 PM): Oh, he's the chief of the good gods back home. He goes by Paladine mostly.
Idran1701 (1:25:50 PM): Ah. *nod* The name sounds familiar, I may have heard of him in my studies.
DarkLordKelne (1:26:17 PM): You've got you good gods, your evil gods and your neutral gods, and the world sort of swings back and forth between them.
Idran1701 (1:26:25 PM): You're lucky to have such a gracious pantheon. Some look ill on nonbelievers and those that refuse to respect their divinity with the proper rituals.
Idran1701 (1:28:17 PM): On the Prime world of Toril, I've heard those that don't follow the tenets of a god end up with their spirits used to form a great wall around the estate of their lord of death.
Idran1701 (1:28:33 PM): Never able to leave their state for all eternity.
DarkLordKelne (1:29:02 PM): Yeah, you get that a bit with the evil gods, but then their priests get all horrified when you make an effort.
DarkLordKelne (1:29:18 PM): ... Huh. Seems a bit extreme.
Jak Snide (1:29:29 PM): *frowns* Truly? And none of the gods see a problem with this?
Idran1701 (1:29:59 PM): Apparently not, though I doubt they would have a choice in the matter if they did.
Idran1701 (1:30:11 PM): None would have a claim on such souls but their death lord.
Idran1701 (1:30:53 PM): Encouragement away from the tenets of agnosticism, or even atheism, I presume.
DarkLordKelne (1:31:30 PM): That'd be pretty unfair if someone tried it back home. I mean, there were a few centuries when nobody believed.
Idran1701 (1:32:22 PM): ...*stares at Asp* How?
Jak Snide (1:32:46 PM): *is similarly giving Asp a most peculiar look*
DarkLordKelne (1:33:33 PM): Well, it all comes down to the Kingpriest. He worshipped the good gods, but went completely overboard with it.
Idran1701 (1:34:38 PM): *nods, listening as intently to Asp as Zant had listened to her*
DarkLordKelne (1:34:47 PM): Wanted the power to strike down all evil everywhere, and demanded the gods give it to him. So they dropped a mountain on him.
Idran1701 (1:35:02 PM): ...They were allowed to intervene so directly?
Idran1701 (1:35:14 PM): I've rarely heard of such a thing.
DarkLordKelne (1:35:39 PM): Probably a little overboard on the gods' part, as well.
Jak Snide (1:35:54 PM): Such is what occurs when the gods agree on a matter, it seems.
DarkLordKelne (1:36:30 PM): Well, the gods all agreed on the course of action. For differene reasons, I imagine, but there you are.
Idran1701 (1:37:08 PM): Good and evil alike?
Idran1701 (1:37:12 PM): Amazing.
DarkLordKelne (1:37:47 PM): Anyway, there was a fair bit of devastation. Seas formed, land uplifted, maps redrawn.
Idran1701 (1:38:00 PM): How long ago was this?
Jak Snide (1:38:15 PM): *raises an eyebrow* They brought about an apocalypse, then? For the folly of one man?
DarkLordKelne (1:38:40 PM): And, naturally, the people were a bit upset about this, so they turned away from the gods.
DarkLordKelne (1:39:44 PM): Well, it wasn't just him. He had a whole nation hanging on his every word, and nobody seemed terribly inclined to argue with him.
Jak Snide (1:40:03 PM): *inclines his head in response*
DarkLordKelne (1:41:55 PM): How did it go? 'The Kingpriest demanded in pride what the gods granted Huma in humility'. Something like that.
DarkLordKelne (1:42:47 PM): Anyway, the gods only really returned recently, during the War of the Lance.
Idran1701 (1:43:10 PM): So...your world was truly godless for centuries?
Jak Snide (1:43:11 PM): And the people took them back?
Idran1701 (1:44:09 PM): I thought perhaps you meant simply a...a city, or a kingdom.
DarkLordKelne (1:44:16 PM): Pretty much.
Idran1701 (1:44:41 PM): *shakes her head* What world was this?
DarkLordKelne (1:47:15 PM): Krynn.
Idran1701 (1:47:50 PM): *nods* I'll have to remember to look into that.
Jak Snide (1:48:38 PM): *nods silently*
DarkLordKelne (1:48:42 PM): *Simply shrugs in response to Zant* They're the gods. If anybody's going to go completely over the top, it's them. I think they argument goes that the people had already turned away in their hearts before they dropped the mountain.
Idran1701 (1:50:18 PM): What about your people? I assume you're native to Krynn? You don't look like any I've seen.
Idran1701 (1:50:20 PM): Well...some half-elves, but much shorter.
DarkLordKelne (1:52:20 PM): Oh, I'm a kender. Yeah, we're pretty much unique to Krynn. Haven't seen any others out on the planes so far, anyway. Which is a bit surprising, come to think of it, given the wanderlust.
DarkLordKelne (1:53:20 PM): We're related to dwarves and gnomes, back in the beginning. Bit of a magical mishap centred around an artifact.
Idran1701 (1:53:37 PM): *nods*
DarkLordKelne (1:56:38 PM): W were curious about what it was, the gnomes wanted to know how it worked, and the dwarves had the whole gemlust thing going. *grins* Or at least that's how it ended up.
DarkLordKelne (1:57:12 PM): Who the originals were varies depending on who's doing the telling.
Idran1701 (1:58:14 PM): *smiles, chuckling* Most stories vary that way, yes.
Jak Snide (1:59:18 PM): What is your own home plane like?
Idran1701 (2:01:18 PM): Mine? I grew up on the Outlands.
Idran1701 (2:01:59 PM): Two rings Spireward of Arborea.
Idran1701 (2:02:44 PM): It was a small village, mostly farmers.
Jak Snide (2:02:45 PM): *nods* Is your faith and pantheon native to a prime world? Or is it simply that I have not travelled enough?
Idran1701 (2:03:01 PM): Ah...that is an interesting question.
Idran1701 (2:03:13 PM): Mine is native to many Prime worlds.
Idran1701 (2:03:28 PM): Though I'm wholly planar, myself, as is my mother.
Idran1701 (2:03:52 PM): And my father, though he was of the elven gods, of course, not the kami.
Idran1701 (2:04:10 PM): Though he was somewhat...converted. *small laugh*
Idran1701 (2:07:54 PM): It was fairly quiet. You almost wouldn't know it was a plane, but for the petitioners, and the occasional walking castle.
Jak Snide (2:08:16 PM): Walking castle?
DarkLordKelne (2:09:12 PM): Really? Neat. We'll have to check that out some time.
Idran1701 (2:09:16 PM): ...Egh...it's been something of a...fad in the Outlands for the last few decades. Wizards create legged towers or keeps to live in, that meander all over the plane.
Idran1701 (2:09:21 PM): I don't pretend to understand why.
Jak Snide (2:09:59 PM): Wizards were never content to stay in one places. Or the most stable of sorts.
DarkLordKelne (2:10:43 PM): Aw, come on. Fancy castles are practically in jthe job description once you get up there in the power stakes. We have flying ones back hoe.
DarkLordKelne (2:10:54 PM): *home
Idran1701 (2:12:37 PM): ...Huh.
DarkLordKelne (2:12:37 PM): Somehow, they all seem to have wound up with the bad guys though. Very unaccommodating when it comes to tourists.
Idran1701 (2:12:53 PM): Well...frankly, that sounds nearly as ludicrous to me. No offense to your homeworld intended. of course.
DarkLordKelne (2:14:25 PM): Oh, none taken. You want ludicrous, you should visit Mount Nevermind. Amazing place.
Idran1701 (2:14:49 PM): ...I'm sure? Interesting name, at least.
Jak Snide (2:15:54 PM): I'm afraid I must ask; why does it bear that name?
DarkLordKelne (2:17:08 PM): Oh, the full name is... Let me see, I used to know it...
DarkLordKelne (2:19:32 PM): Aninactiveandesiteconestillbearingtracesofgeothermalactivitywithstrataincludingbutnotlimitedtobasalt -
DarkLordKelne (2:19:56 PM): *Pauses for a deep breath*
DarkLordKelne (2:21:54 PM): Drat, I've lost it. Cursed necessity to breathe. The gnomes can carry on for quite a while if you let them. I'm not sure anybody's ever finished.
Idran1701 (2:22:14 PM): ...*just blinks*
Jak Snide (2:22:26 PM): *smiles slighlt* Nevermind, I'm sure you will remember it eventually.
DarkLordKelne (2:24:08 PM): *grins* Yes, the gnomes were quite impressed by the Solamnic knights' ability to distil the very essence of the mountain into a single word like that.
Jak Snide (2:25:03 PM): Surely they possessed great wisdom.
Idran1701 (2:25:25 PM): I imagine so. *laughs*
Idran1701 (2:26:33 PM): I'm surprised you left it, it sounds like an interesting place.
DarkLordKelne (2:28:01 PM): Well, everybody has to move on eventually. By being exploded if nothing else.
Idran1701 (2:28:06 PM): Well, since we're all exchanging stories about our homerealms, what about you, Zant?
Jak Snide (2:35:45 PM): I hail from the Plane of Water, as does my mother. Hers are a nomadic people, as are most who live in Water, so I do not have a home town as such. The temple I joined when Ishtishia called to me lies within a town within a pocket of air, though I would not call Shellback my home.
Idran1701 (2:36:31 PM): Oh? What an interesting life. I've known some that lived like that, moving from place to place. Was it just your family, or a group of travelers?
Jak Snide (2:37:42 PM): My mother belonged to a small community, yes, as did I before I left. My father was a Planeswalker himself, so we did not see much of him.
Idran1701 (2:38:29 PM): *nods*
Idran1701 (2:41:15 PM): And how long did you live that life?
Jak Snide (2:43:20 PM): A little under two decades, I estimate. It was an interesting life, but it lacked purpose. Now I have all the planes to explore.
Idran1701 (2:43:51 PM): *nods, smiling* So you've only just begun your life alone? It must be an exciting time for you.
Jak Snide (2:44:42 PM): A refreshing one, most certainly, though it has not been without its perils.
Idran1701 (2:44:54 PM): I can imagine.
Jak Snide (2:46:06 PM): So, is your silvercrafting a hobby, or does it bear some religious significance?
Idran1701 (2:46:33 PM): A hobby. There was a silversmith in my home village, and I was always fascinated with it.
DarkLordKelne (2:48:07 PM): It looks as if you've gotten pretty good at it.
Idran1701 (2:48:15 PM): I'd like to think so. *smiles*
Idran1701 (2:48:49 PM): ...*glances out the window*...oh, no, I'm late. *laughs* I've been too caught up in this conversation. I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to take my leave. I'd be happy to continue this at a later time, though.
DarkLordKelne (2:49:09 PM): Sure thing.