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<billy> go on
<ademus05> I think she was born a natural v'honian, and raised in the faith, but in the rashness of her youth she volunteered to be a brother-witch of silence, and something bad happened.
<billy> huh.
<billy> interesting
<ademus05> Now she's officially an apologist, but since she can't go home, she's also become a wanderer
<billy> i like that a lot
<billy> go on
<ademus05> she wants to heal V'honia, heal her coven, and to atone for what she's done.
<ademus05> so she's really an apologian, both for the wanderers, and for herself.
<billy> excellent
<billy> is she a theresan?
<ademus05> Not knowingly,
<ademus05> I think she has a strange relationship with silence.
<billy> nice. she's someone they sometimes tap for info.
<billy> go on
<ademus05> While it can be used for good, she largely believes that it is immoral
<ademus05> she still believes in cycles (moon), connections, and magic.
<billy> awesome
<ademus05> but silence lets bad cycles continue, and it breaks connections, and it is utterly opposed to the central idea of V'honia
<ademus05> which is the sharing of magical knowledge. On the other hand, I think she's good at it, along with other magics she finds reprehensible.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> Due to her magic spheres and her willingness to show them off in her youth, she views herself as tainted. She wants to overcome that, to cleanse herself.
<billy> interesting
<ademus05> because this is your last chance to show Valhonians off, I want to embed their central stuggle in minature, and being an apologist gives her ample opportunity to encounter both groups.
<billy> yeah, i like that a lot
<billy> so i wanna ask a series of questions
<billy> how old is she?
<ademus05> not sure,
<ademus05> in human years or in elf years?
<billy> if you tell me human years, i will translate it for you
<ademus05> let's say 40
<ademus05> and things changed for her at 22
<billy> so 220ish and 400ish
<billy> (see how easy that was?)
<billy> (i'm good at that)
<ademus05> add-a-zero ?
<billy> yeah, i'm making fun of myself
<billy> and it's not really that easy, 'cause elven 100 is human 18
<billy> but after about 200, it's an add a 0 correlation
<billy> anyway
<billy> she's traveled a lot and for a long time
<billy> has she stuck to any specific parts of the world?
<ademus05> I think she's been all over, but she perhaps spends a third of her time on one continent.
<ademus05> I'm not sure which one
<billy> her home continent is palhur, and it's the biggest in the world.
<billy> i think that one is key for a third of her time
<ademus05> that sounds good.
<billy> she has never been to the starfall continent (formerly fasune)
<billy> and if she's spent time on ansulym, she did not stay long
<ademus05> so, I think her spheres are bad ones.
<ademus05> Undeath. Darkness. Hatred, etc.
<ademus05> Pestilence.
<ademus05> Famine
<billy> cacophony.
<ademus05> so she might have been to ansylum to try and come to terms with herself, but she'd not find it tasteful
<billy> or very safe
<ademus05> yeah.
<ademus05> Full unbridled use of her magic is what led to the badness
<billy> and i am serious about cacophony. i wanna see the new sphere in aciton
<ademus05> sure! IC, that works with her, it's just as destructive as silence.
<billy> and it contains disconnection
<ademus05> OOC, I like the puzzle aspect of playing a good person with horrible evil spheres
<billy> i do, too
<ademus05> and figuring out clever ways to use them. Evil archmages are rarely PCs.
<billy> yeah
<ademus05> She doesn't know what it says about her and her soul that she is only good at evil spheres. She worries about that a lot.
<ademus05> she also tries to hide that aspect from other people out of shame
<billy> she also has meta
<billy> automatically
<ademus05> (she has to have silence, but she considers it evil)
<billy> is she a soul mage or heart mage?
<ademus05> soul
<billy> figured
<billy> all right.
<billy> what does she do to earn money?
<ademus05> Things she's proud of and things she's not so proud of.
<billy> go on
<ademus05> What she's proud of is being a lesser diplomatic courier for the apologists. They pay her per-job. She also helps with negotiations-- it's her responsibility to get people in the same room.
<ademus05> sometimes that happens via throwing parties, raising events, etc.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> things she's not so proud of include smuggling
<ademus05> and there are people who will pay handsomely for evil spellwork. If she does do magic for money, she tries to only choose jobs that she can justify to herself.
<ademus05> if she can.
<ademus05> I think she keeps up two personas:
<ademus05> one as a happy, engaging, effervescent low-ranking diplomat who is a "party planner", who spends time wandering with the wanderers
<ademus05> and another as a evil wizard who will do spellwork for hire. The evilness of the wizard is played up for her own safety
<billy> nice
<ademus05> to keep people away, and so she's not blackmailed or threatened into someone else's service.
<billy> i like it
<ademus05> the truth is that she feels a deep shame for knowing that she's good at evil, and she wants to atone. That's her big conflict. She finds excuses not to use magic around other V'honians.
<billy> interesting.
<billy> okay
<billy> who were the other witches in her coven?
<ademus05> I have no idea
<billy> does she remain in contact?
<ademus05> no. And one or more of them might be dead because of her actions.
<ademus05> ideas?
<billy> let's figure out what she did
<billy> any thoughts
<ademus05> if the idea is to repeat the downfall of Valhonia in miniature, then she was arrogant and irresponsible.
<ademus05> I think she volunteered to be a brother witch because of her affinity for silence and evil spheres
<ademus05> or she was nominated, and her feelings were hurt
<billy> interesting. go on
<ademus05> and as they cast a spell she also cast one to sever her connections with all of them, to erase herself from the coven.
<ademus05> and perhaps it worked too well?
<ademus05> those she was closest to in that circle now don't even remember her. She misses them.
<ademus05> it cast her out, socially, and now she spends time trying to start over and make amends.
<ademus05> how does that sound?
<billy> works for me
<ademus05> that really highlights why she thinks of silence as evil
<billy> yeah
<billy> okay
<billy> tell me about her family
<ademus05> are brothers and sisters rare in elven families?
<billy> no, but there can be significant age gaps
<ademus05> Her mother was a witch, and was in the coven. Her mother doesn't remember raising her.
<billy> nice and dark
<ademus05> Her father was an academic, and helped get her in with the apologists.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> She wanted to be a witch, but after the incident it was too painful to stay, so she left.
<billy> siblings or other significant relatives?
<ademus05> No, I think she needs to feel isolated. No siblings. Perhaps an aunt?
<billy> an aunt is good
<billy> her mom's sister who still remembers her
<billy> but is freaked out a bit by her
<ademus05> I think her dad also wanted her gone before brotherslayers could make up their minds on what should be done with her.
<ademus05> Just in case.
<billy> nice
<billy> okay
<billy> does she have any previous or current romantic connections?
<ademus05> (re dad wanting her gone, I wonder how a coven leader would react to suddenly someone claiming to be her daughter who they can't remember and have no love for, but has done something blasphemous to your religious beliefs)
<billy> yeah
<billy> poorly
<ademus05> romantic connections, I think she has had the equivalent of summer romances that have fizzled
<billy> nice
<billy> is she physically healthy?
<ademus05> she likes flirting, but she has trouble sharing that last little bit of herself, that ball of evil that she keeps hidden from others and herself. This guard ends up destroying her relationships. Once she got hurt because a guy said that he couldn't wait for her to open up and let her in. So now she ends things before they get too serious and tries to keep things light and fun.
<ademus05> yes, she is physically healthy. I think her soul is a bit tarnished.
<ademus05> is this what you needed?
<billy> it's a good start
<billy> she's pretty well educated, right?
<ademus05> I could do heart magic or soul magic, her casting a bigger silence spell than she intended could fall well under heart magic.
<billy> soul is fine
<ademus05> ok, soul it is.
<ademus05> equivalent of college education followed by an embassy apprenticeship.
<billy> okay
<billy> there's a lot of detail about education in valhonian culture
<billy> so what are her thoughts on the elven disease/impending extinction issue?
<ademus05> it's every elf's duty to study and find out what is causing it, and it is every elven woman's duty to try and bear a child.
<billy> wow, nice
<ademus05> for her part, it's all the more essential to unite the two cultures of Valhonians, as their knowledges complement each other.
<billy> very nice.
<billy> so the first session is going to take place in the ailanean capital. elves from all over the world are going there to hear the high priestess of the silver mother speak
<billy> i think your witch is there to try to meet wanderers
<billy> who are flocking there in droves
<ademus05> that sounds good to me
<billy> what is her bonded creature?
<ademus05> some sort of lethal poisonous insect
<billy> one sec
<ademus05> how long does Valhonian school last?
<billy> http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/ValhonianCulture <--it's in there somewhere
<ademus05> not for the nationals.
<billy> oh, one sec
<billy> it's the same as for the wanderers, on average.
<ademus05> then she's odd in that she's studied with both schools
<ademus05> with the Nationals from 50-220, and with the Wanders for 80 years after that.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> which also explains why she thinks they need to get together
<billy> i am looking up poisonois insects
<billy> yeah
<billy> can it be supernatural?
<ademus05> sure
<ademus05> so when my character has sex with male elves, it will be more than just flirting and being sex-positive
<ademus05> it will be her doing her moral duty as an elven woman.
<ademus05> to at least try and carry a child
<billy> how horrifying are you willing to go with your bonded insect?
<ademus05> I want something she can view as her intrinsic nature to hurt those closest to her.
<ademus05> I wanted another tick in the "welp, all signs point to evil" box.
<billy> browse these and tell me if any catch your fancy: http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/Hornets
<billy> there is also this: http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/Thornfly
<ademus05> yeah, she's bonded with thornflies.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> she likes sweet things too.
<billy> so envy is definitely a sphere she has, too
<ademus05> poor gal
<billy> okay, the usual stock questions:
<billy> What does the character fear?
What hopes and dreams does the character have?
What is the worst thing the character ever did?
What is the best thing the character ever did?
What is the character's greatest flaw?
What is the character's greatest strength?
What line won't the character cross?
<ademus05> fear: being alone, forgotten.
<hopes> reconnecting with her coven and with everyone, and reuniting the valhonians.
worst thing: Erased herself from her coven's (and mother's) memory. Smuggled contraband. Visited Ansylum and inflicted great pain on someone who was blackmailing her. She did this last part in self defense to build a reputation as someone not to be trifled with.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> best thing: helped convince a whole circle of Valhonians to come back to Valhonia for some time.
greatest flaw: Ashamed of what she is and has done. She can be prone to fits of evil emotions, but she tries to repress that part of herself and overcome it.
greatest strength: She knows her flaws. She is humble, and wants to be a reflection of the change she wants to see in the world.
<ademus05> lines that shall not be crossed: Outright blaspheming the spirit of her faith. Cutting someone out of her life. Denying mercy or second chances.
<billy> excellent
<billy> http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/TheSeedsCharacters <--the naming convention for valhonians is on this page
<billy> just use the first and last name to make your character page
<ademus05> so valhonians have a lot of names
<billy> 11
<billy> the magic number
<ademus05> what aspect does my family favor?
<billy> roll a d8
<ademus05> 8
<billy> balance
<ademus05> iiiiinteresting. Ok.
<ademus05> I didn't know that was a sphere of magic.
<billy> (you rolled pantheon. had you rolled anything other than an 8, you woulda rolled another die for the specific sphere. but there's only balance in the sienna scales pantheon)
<billy> yeah
<billy> only void and science aren't
<ademus05> I actually rolled a d8, I had one right beside me
<ademus05> what is the name for balance?
<billy> make it up
<ademus05> I think her mother has mostly holy spheres.
<billy> nice
<billy> she would also have the balance sphere, because all elven stuff is matrlineal
<ademus05> should we do spheres now?
<billy> yeah, what do you have in mind?
<ademus05> spheres that my character would be hesitant to use.
<ademus05> and that are extremely hard for a good character to use with a clean conscience.
<billy> meta, silence, envy, cacophony, darkness, undeath, stillbirth
<billy> actually
<billy> i don't think any elf ever has stillbirth
<ademus05> yeah
<billy> famine, destruction, chaos, pestilence, hatred, despair, deceit
<billy> and agony
<billy> i think she should have agony
<ademus05> agony is a sphere now?
<billy> i haven't written up the god or goddess thereof yet.
<billy> but i think that's the archon of obsidian obelisk
<billy> agony, harm, punishment, pain, torture
<ademus05> how many spheres should my character have?
<billy> nightmare
<billy> soul magic is innate
<billy> it's what she's born with
<billy> there's ways to unlock ones that are latent
<ademus05> right, I was asking GM preference.
<billy> but there's no way to learn ones that aren't there. you can magically graft new ones on, but that's horrifying
<billy> anyway
<billy> point is
<billy> because of that
<billy> i usually just make a random roll
<billy> so... roll a d10
<billy> a ten means "a lot"
<billy> a one means "not many"
<ademus05> 9
<billy> pick 20-25 aspects, of which she will have 10 latent (unknown to her or at least under developed)
<billy> 2-3 will be professional (13+). only 6 others will be proficient (10+). the rest will be under 10
<billy> the ten latents will be under 3
<ademus05> I'll leave the 10 latents up to you. She just knows that she doesn't like herself when she casts.
<billy> then you pick 12 others besides meta, envy, and silence.
<ademus05> actually, I might change her bonding animal:
<billy> yes?
<ademus05> NakataniWasp
<ademus05> which would go well with agony.
<billy> yeah, agony and despair
<ademus05> how's that look?
<ademus05> http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/RindacsaCoacolina
<billy> 's good. what score is meta?
<ademus05> I don't know, what is appropriate?
<billy> would she have focused study on it?
<ademus05> it's one of the few spheres she doesn't have a problem casting in.
<billy> thenit should probably be her highest
<ademus05> balance being the other, she's just not very balanced.
<ademus05> I'm going to give her a 13 meta
<ademus05> she's practiced it a bunch, but it's not her core talent
<billy> a'ight
<billy> i'm gonna add the ten latents
<ademus05> ok
<billy> http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/RindacsaCoacolina
<billy> she's mostly not aware of her latents. anything with a 2 or more she's aware of but really not good at accessing
<billy> anything with a 1 she has no idea is there
<billy> she probably suspects she has more magic, but she's put off to finding it since all the one's she's found are so horrible
<ademus05> yep
<ademus05> yeah, even the neutral spheres she's aware of are bad in the context of the rest of her spheres.
<billy> yeah
<ademus05> so I'm reading the wikipedia page on wicca to steal ideas
<billy> go on
<ademus05> I remember a lot from that witchcraft class we took, and I remember even more clearly the one samhain ritual I attended
<ademus05> but I needed a refresher on the dogma
<ademus05> there are some neat quotes here
<billy> do tell
<ademus05> "it's a religion of ritual rather than theology. The ritual is first; the myth is second."
<billy> very nice
<ademus05> I might need you to keep track of the phases of the moon
<ademus05> that might be important to my character.
<billy> http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/1003
<billy> it's your job to ask me the date
<ademus05> ok
<ademus05> she has a grimoire, it's one of her holy objects.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> in her tradition every witch's grimoire is different, copied by hand from those higher in the circle and adapted with her own discoveries.
<billy> is she part of a circle or a coven?
<ademus05> I'm working on figuring out that now,
<billy> cool
<ademus05> from what I remember about Wicca from class, it's very much "believe what you want if it works for you."
<billy> on shem, there are traditions that have their own, well, traditions, but every witch is free to redefine it.
<ademus05> so in british traditional wicca, there are 3 stages of initiation
<ademus05> one where you are tried out by the coven for 1 year and 1 day, you become a member. That's the first stage
<ademus05> at the second level you can initialize other people into the craft and hold your own semi-autonomous covens
<ademus05> and to get to the 3rd level, you need to perform "the great rite", which is basically a sex ritual.
<billy> well, i'm converted
<ademus05> at that level you can go out and start your own covens.
<ademus05> and when you make your own coven, you become a "queen" and can wear the moon crown
<ademus05> in Gardnarian wicca
<ademus05> I think her old order is way orthodox,
<ademus05> in that they claim that they come from an order of witches that practiced witchcraft back before there was a Middle Magic god, when witches revered the moons
<billy> nice
<ademus05> I think that their choice of goddesses of Sanzue and Moons are defined, and participants and encouraged to find their own goddess for the third of their trinity.
<billy> neat
<ademus05> The choice of the male opposing god is also determined by the third. In her tradition, the most common reason for covens splitting is choosing who is the third goddess and opposing god.
<ademus05> in earth wicca, the male god isn't evil, just different
<ademus05> usually more animalistic and a hunter
<billy> the male god in shem witchcraft doesn't have to be evil.
<ademus05> right, just opposed.
<billy> right. go on
<ademus05> so, the Great Rite can be done symbolically as well
<ademus05> I think my character's central conflict came from her participation in a Great Rite ritual.
<ademus05> she was a second order initiate in her order, but she wanted more than anything to become a high priestess. Instead, she was given the task of taking on the Male mantle of Silence for the ritual because of her affinity for it. They wanted to cast some major spell, I'm not sure what.
<billy> they were trying to cure someone of the elven disease?
<ademus05> sure.
<ademus05> I think that performing this ritual would officially make her a Brother Witch and would make it so that she could never become a high priestess.
<ademus05> however it would make her a 3rd degree initiate, so she could go out and form her own coven.
<ademus05> Her function in the ritual was to wield silence like void, to remove those aspects that would distract the other witches so they could focus and become one with magic, trying to find a cure.
<billy> go on
<ademus05> She went into the ritual unhappy about being left out of this great spiritual connection to magic. She went in fully intending that this would be the last ritual she would do with them. After all, after this she couldn't truly advance with them, and she'd technically be able to go and form her own group.
<billy> keep typing. i'll be roight abck
<billy> right back
<ademus05> She's still a bit hazy on what happened--that's what happens when you wield that level of silence. She knows that there was an argument during the ritual, and that the disruption caused great danger. She also knows, through later prayer, that the spell that erased her from her mother and her coven was "to remove herself as their concern."
<ademus05> She does remember waking up first filled with feelings of spite and separation, and a sense of loneliness. She closed the circle and left. The effects of the spell became apparent when her mother came home and demanded to know who she was.
<billy> go on
<ademus05> The ritual failed, and I think her mother viewed her as a rogue Brother Witch. She left to find the authorities, so her father called in a favor and had someone in the diplomatic's core of the Apologists take her out of the area. The intent was it to be temporary while he cooled her mother down
<ademus05> that temporary exile turned into a more permanent one when her father advised her not to return yet.
<ademus05> I think she's technically still a part of her old coven, but she can start her own. She hasn't though, she travels too much.
<ademus05> she holds rituals by herself, or she joins other covens as a guest practitioner
<billy> nice
<ademus05> she can also technically marry people or bury the dead
<ademus05> her work now is with the Apologists. I think she's essentially a low ranking diplomat
<ademus05> she carries messages, talks with people, sends back reports, and makes arrangements for the real diplomats to arrive.
<ademus05> that's why she describes herself as a party planner-- a lot of her job is eating with people and setting up the logistics for official visits.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> also, I think this is a good idea
<ademus05> I think any apologist is obligated to act like a Valhonian embassy when they are in an area with no embassies. If she sees another lost elf in trouble, she's obligated to help.
<billy> i approve
<ademus05> I do want her personal story to echo the Valhonians as a whole. She feels the disaster that predicated her exodus was her fault. Her whole group was foolish trying to wield that much power, and she was especially immature to go into such a ritual with bad intentions.
<ademus05> she feels the loss of her home acutely, but at the same time she is not sure if she should ever return or if there is anything for her there.
<ademus05> but she does want to soothe this feeling she feels. She identifies with both the wanderers and the nationals.
<ademus05> I have questions for you when you are ready
<billy> ask away
<ademus05> what do valhonians look like?
<ademus05> I just want to have a good mental picture
<ademus05> do witches have an equivalent of a priest's collar?
<billy> what more do you need than the description on the race page?
<ademus05> oh, I just need to read the race page.
<ademus05> I'll find it.
<billy> and since it's a personal religion, the symbols are personal, or coven/circle based. you can make up an equivalent or say her tradition didn't use one
<ademus05> The azure crystals that the Valhonians grow, what do they do? I imagine she keeps a piece of one with her.
<billy> one sec
<ademus05> her coven name is "Raccelwe", it's her elven community name.
<billy> the crystals are just cyrstalized magic rock, basically. they're pure mana.
<billy> basically, one the size of a human thumb would be a 1 in meta magic if you know how to access it
<ademus05> hers is a necklace
<billy> just one stone or a whole chain of them?
<ademus05> one stone
<ademus05> a memento
<ademus05> I think most apologists have one to remind them of home.
<billy> that makes sense
<ademus05> ok, going back to the religion
<ademus05> I think her order views magic like the foundation
<ademus05> it's the lifeblood of Shem, and it's what everything comes from.
<billy> there is a mythical realm called the manaheart where people think magic came from
<billy> but no one has ever found it
<billy> so what are her contacts like?
<ademus05> ... varied? I want to give her a 7 in Beggars,
<ademus05> for contacts.
<billy> let me rephrase:
<billy> who are her contacts?
<ademus05> ah, ok. Lemme think.
<ademus05> On Palhur, she has a friend at the connection church. She met this friend when she was young and invited her to a circle ceremony. This friend later became a priestess of connection, and they stay in contact. Her friend is now in her 60s
<ademus05> human lifespan.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> when things went bad in the original ceremony, her father contacted a wanderer friend he knew well to take her in. That man (and his wife) are one contact within the wanderers.
<ademus05> After her father told her that her mother had put out a warrant for her arrest, she had a rough time. The wanderer family that took her in for 10 years or so really helped during that time period
<ademus05> At the end of that 10 year period, an apologist stopped by and they got to talking. It was that apologist that called in favors to hire her on as a contractor. She considers that person a lifesaver.
<billy> i approve
<ademus05> When she was first learning how to travel, she had a fling with a young merchant. She'd accompany him once every couple of years on her rounds. He grew old while she didn't, he died, and now she's good friends with his son who has taken over the family business.
<ademus05> On Lyrilla, she fell in love with a Wanderer. They were together for 15 years, but he cut it off because she was holding things back.
<ademus05> she has other coven leaders she's friends with in the wanderers.
<ademus05> and she has her mom, and her Aunt, and etc, that she's had to cut all ties with. She's also cut ties with her father.
<ademus05> she's avoiding her warrant.
<billy> so she doesn't go back to valhonia
<ademus05> not for at least the last 100 years
<billy> wsa that when the incident was?
<ademus05> yes
<ademus05> she also never got to say goodbye, she had to leave rather abruptly.
<billy> so how does she feel about the following:
<billy> the guardians?
<billy> the malhuenes (metal-faithful, native american objectivists)?
<billy> the kren'atanics? (dragons that are the major source of power on palhur)
<billy> the goblin hordes? the trollish hordes?
<billy> (both of which are making noise like they're going to invade the rest of palhur)
<ademus05> the guardians of mortality? She finds their anti-religion stances ugly. She believes that Goddesses and mortals were meant to work together.
<ademus05> the mahuenes? I think she respects them and has befriended at least one of their holy-men.
<billy> malhuenes, from malhuin
<ademus05> She respects the power of the dragons, they are to elves as elves are to humans. They exist on a different scale. That doesn't make them more important, but it does provide a new and interesting point of view that both sides can learn from.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> I don't think she regularly frequents enough high-power events that she'd have a dragon friend.
<billy> that's fair
<billy> how does she feel about the thaumars (magen) in darneyn?
<billy> they're ven more scholarly and insular than the valhonians
<ademus05> they need to come to Valhonia and work on the sickness
<billy> but largely irreligious
<ademus05> or risk losing a valuable ally
<billy> true
<billy> what about the wathites?
<ademus05> as for goblins and trolls, she likes some of them and doesn't like others. Some of the best nights of her life she's had in bars with goblins and trolls. Some of the worst nights of her life she's had in the company of the same.
<ademus05> wathites? Skill race?
<billy> might
<billy> conan the barbarian as a race, basically
<ademus05> IIRC, conan hated mages.
<billy> well, the wathites don't as a race
<billy> they have mages
<ademus05> but he was also fucking cunning as hell
<billy> they have elric of melnibibble
<billy> wathites get more powerful for every feat they perform
<billy> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elric_of_Melnibon%C3%A9
<billy> as much as conan the barbarian
<ademus05> she respects the wathies and their goal of self betterment. They are very similar to the Valhonians in that respect.
<ademus05> She also likes how direct they are, and wishes she could be as straightforward
<ademus05> sometimes she sees herself as aligned with them, but then she shies away.
<ademus05> For her, she thinks that giving in to might means becoming evil. She envies those who can give in and not become evil
<billy> interesting
<billy> how does she feel about the summer empire (faeries)?
<ademus05> roughly the same as dragons I think.
<ademus05> she thinks the dragons are more straightforward
<ademus05> but she likes that the fairies are more approachable
<ademus05> and that they know how to party.
<billy> and they are related
<ademus05> she has a contact with the beggar head in a big city. She was really low on money and didn't want to do magic to make some. Some beggars took her in and showed her where to go. She made a point to drop in to them with gifts every couple of years hence, and give them the news of what she's seen.
<ademus05> Now that she's a little better established, she also tries to set up charitable works to help the beggars out, tells then which Valhonians to talk to the next time they come to town.
<billy> demopolis on jesenya. sicily
<ademus05> they are also the ones that got her into smuggling, though a connection of a connection
<ademus05> which led to the Srisia incident.
<billy> makes sense
<ademus05> which was bad.
<billy> yes
<ademus05> On the other hand though, it let her make friends with a few other merchants and make a few extra dollars.
<ademus05> I don't think she's smuggled much in the last 20 years or so
<billy> the big one: does she have connections on merukis?
<ademus05> at least one from her smuggling.
<ademus05> when she goes from continent to continent she hears him out. I imagine him as grossly galdunic.
<billy> ha
<billy> orleans monteleone, head of the spicers' guild
<billy> (or-lon mont-uh-lee-own)
<ademus05> nice
<billy> he actually smuggles his own goods to avoid tariffs
<ademus05> Nice. She travels with him when she's in town. They share passage. He thinks having a mage along would help. And she does have silence.
<billy> he has homes in merukis, galdun, tara'hin, talune, jesumein (where the guardians are), and several other places
<billy> but she knows him from merukis
<billy> she would have a contact in the summer empire, and in ailanea (where the original elves live).
<ademus05> ok. I wrote all these things down. I also added a goblin mercenary group
<ademus05> who she's traveled with and had drinks with. They were lots of fun and surprisingly good conversation.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> I think she even talked the leader into doing a ceremony with her, so she could ask the Godesses for a blessing on their behalf to wish them health.
<billy> after you tell me about her faerie and ailanean contacts, tell me what she thinks of the various elven subraces
<ademus05> for the fae friend in the summer empire, she met him in a city and had a fun couple of weeks. They spent a week playing practical jokes (she used to really like the goddess of mischief before she switched to connection post-incident). He's the one who taught her how to plan parties-- he kept inviting her to them because she livened things up.
<billy> nice
<billy> he was a fay.
<ademus05> as for ailanea, hmm
<billy> it could be a weird wanderer who settled there, or a local
<billy> a local ailanean witch, even
<ademus05> I think it's a chance connection that she developed... I'm thinking.
<ademus05> I think it is a diplomat, actually. They got to talking during a party while she was doing an errand for the Apologists
<ademus05> they bonded over their professions, their bosses, etc.
<billy> a diplomat to ailanea from somewhere else?
<ademus05> a diplomat in ailanea
<billy> or from ailanea to somewhere else?
<ademus05> from ailanea I think, they met with the arbor elves. She had come in with some Wanderers and was tasked because she was close by.
<billy> arboreal elves 11:19 < rblake> I can also help coming up with Rindacsa's mom
11:20 < glazomaniac> did you make up a name for her?
11:20 < glazomaniac> and her father?
11:20 < glazomaniac> just tell me all about them
11:20 < rblake> I think her faiths are Greater Magic, Moons, and Lesser Magic, the original triplet from First Shem before the Goddess of Middle Magic. It makes sense for balance that she have mostly good spheres but a neutral diety
11:21 < glazomaniac> go on
11:22 < rblake> It'd also explain Rindacsa's intuitions on ritual for a Valhonian elf.
11:22 < rblake> I didn't have a name for them
11:22 < glazomaniac> that's fine, i'll make them up. i just didn't wanna overwrite anything you had come up with.
11:23 < glazomaniac> go on with telling me about them
11:25 < rblake> I think Rindacsa's mother is somewhat strict and severe, but deeply compassionate for those she cares about. She's the kind of person who doesn't have too many friends, but the friends she does have she is extremely close to and would do anything for. Her friendship has to be earned, if that makes sense.
11:26 < rblake> I think her mother is "Keeper of the Rites" for her coven, and as such is often consulted by Valhonian scholars for various esoteric things. This would explain her devotion to the "old schools" of witching, and how she derives some political power/respect.
11:27 < rblake> I already thought that Rindacsa's mom was an orthodox witch that takes great pride in deriving her faith from the oldest oral traditions
11:29 < rblake> I think Rindacsa's mom would be horrified by Rindacsa practicing her faith with Wandering witches all over willy nilly with no structure. She's see coming up with rituals on the fly as amateur hour.
11:29 < rblake> you know, if she didn't think Rindacsa was an abomination.
11:30 < rblake> I don't think school was a great refuge for Rindacsa-- it's like being a Hufflepuff put in the Slytherin house, given her talents.
11:31 < rblake> her mother and her had their relationship through and about faith. Rindacsa idolized her mother and saw faith as a way to redeem her nature. She still does. That's why being cast as the counterpoint hurt. Even in her faith, she was the bad guy.
11:33 < rblake> I see her father as quiet, scholarly, slow to anger, and patient. Her father tempered her mother,
11:34 < rblake> I think he's the equivalent of a Postdoc research scholar. Never heads up his own studies, doesn't have any real glory, esteem or power.
11:35 < rblake> In exchange, he's got a comfortable low stress life doing other people's work, and he has free time
11:37 < glazomaniac> and people like/trust him.
11:37 < rblake> I think he has Silence, Story, and Knowledge as spheres (that's where Rindacsa got her silence). He works in a library and loves reading non magical literature, especially trashy mystery novels.
11:40 < rblake> between Rindacsa and her mother, her Dad is the people person. He's the one that chats up all the other token male spouses at important dinners the women drag them to. 17:07 < Nas> is the prospect of becoming a mother going to change her attitude about her own mother?
17:07 < rblake> she's wanted to become a mother for some time
17:07 < rblake> partly because of the baby craze, partly to help preserve the species, and partly for religious reasons
17:08 < rblake> to be involved in the circle of life, to move from maiden to mother to crone.
17:08 < rblake> she idolized her mother, still does in some ways
17:09 < Nas> if she becomes consequent she can be a crone for a very long time
17:09 < Nas> you're not a real crone until your grandchildren have grandchildren
17:10 < rblake> yep
17:11 < rblake> she felt like she was constantly disappointing her mother just by who she was
17:11 < rblake> her magic, her inability to enjoy her studies,
17:13 < rblake> her bubbly personality, an inability to "take things seriously" (her Goddess was Mischief before the accident)
17:15 < rblake> Her penchant for hiding things (a no-no for a mother that considers Mystery to be opposed to the pursuit of knowledge & magic)
17:15 < rblake> I imagine she kept her first spell (Silence) secret for a week before her mother found out because she didn't want her mother to be disappointed.
17:16 < rblake> everyone else mostly found it hilarious that a child who first cast in the sphere of silence would then keep it secret.
17:17 < rblake> Her mother has to have Light and Truth as spheres, and a personality to match
17:23 < rblake> I think every so often when she's on a depressive streak, she'll pick up a trashy mystery, read it, then ship it to her father with no "from" or return address
RindacsaHistory RindacsaLetters
Full Name
Rindacsa Edronderin Ovea Taldain Raccelwe Tyeringole Entulmar Nucumpende Coacolina Full name(s)- Rindacsa Edronderin - circular trail escaping a dark forest, mothers name + father's name combined into a sentence.
- Ovea - Balance, favored family sphere.
- Taldain - silent footfall, first spell
- Raccelwe - cursed heart, elven community name
- Tyeringole - magic prayer, chosen name
- Entulmar - return home (apologist), chosen profession
- Nucumpende - humble poor, chosen by Wandering teachers.
- (blank) - chosen at 500
- Coacolina - soul, family name
- Palthasa - agony mastery, pallid
Racial info
Bonded animals
- NakataniWasp
- Frogs
Original development conversation
<ademus05> I want to take the central conflict of the V'honians-- hubirs begets tragedy begets humility and exploration, and incorporate it into her story.<billy> go on
<ademus05> I think she was born a natural v'honian, and raised in the faith, but in the rashness of her youth she volunteered to be a brother-witch of silence, and something bad happened.
<billy> huh.
<billy> interesting
<ademus05> Now she's officially an apologist, but since she can't go home, she's also become a wanderer
<billy> i like that a lot
<billy> go on
<ademus05> she wants to heal V'honia, heal her coven, and to atone for what she's done.
<ademus05> so she's really an apologian, both for the wanderers, and for herself.
<billy> excellent
<billy> is she a theresan?
<ademus05> Not knowingly,
<ademus05> I think she has a strange relationship with silence.
<billy> nice. she's someone they sometimes tap for info.
<billy> go on
<ademus05> While it can be used for good, she largely believes that it is immoral
<ademus05> she still believes in cycles (moon), connections, and magic.
<billy> awesome
<ademus05> but silence lets bad cycles continue, and it breaks connections, and it is utterly opposed to the central idea of V'honia
<ademus05> which is the sharing of magical knowledge. On the other hand, I think she's good at it, along with other magics she finds reprehensible.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> Due to her magic spheres and her willingness to show them off in her youth, she views herself as tainted. She wants to overcome that, to cleanse herself.
<billy> interesting
<ademus05> because this is your last chance to show Valhonians off, I want to embed their central stuggle in minature, and being an apologist gives her ample opportunity to encounter both groups.
<billy> yeah, i like that a lot
<billy> so i wanna ask a series of questions
<billy> how old is she?
<ademus05> not sure,
<ademus05> in human years or in elf years?
<billy> if you tell me human years, i will translate it for you
<ademus05> let's say 40
<ademus05> and things changed for her at 22
<billy> so 220ish and 400ish
<billy> (see how easy that was?)
<billy> (i'm good at that)
<ademus05> add-a-zero ?
<billy> yeah, i'm making fun of myself
<billy> and it's not really that easy, 'cause elven 100 is human 18
<billy> but after about 200, it's an add a 0 correlation
<billy> anyway
<billy> she's traveled a lot and for a long time
<billy> has she stuck to any specific parts of the world?
<ademus05> I think she's been all over, but she perhaps spends a third of her time on one continent.
<ademus05> I'm not sure which one
<billy> her home continent is palhur, and it's the biggest in the world.
<billy> i think that one is key for a third of her time
<ademus05> that sounds good.
<billy> she has never been to the starfall continent (formerly fasune)
<billy> and if she's spent time on ansulym, she did not stay long
<ademus05> so, I think her spheres are bad ones.
<ademus05> Undeath. Darkness. Hatred, etc.
<ademus05> Pestilence.
<ademus05> Famine
<billy> cacophony.
<ademus05> so she might have been to ansylum to try and come to terms with herself, but she'd not find it tasteful
<billy> or very safe
<ademus05> yeah.
<ademus05> Full unbridled use of her magic is what led to the badness
<billy> and i am serious about cacophony. i wanna see the new sphere in aciton
<ademus05> sure! IC, that works with her, it's just as destructive as silence.
<billy> and it contains disconnection
<ademus05> OOC, I like the puzzle aspect of playing a good person with horrible evil spheres
<billy> i do, too
<ademus05> and figuring out clever ways to use them. Evil archmages are rarely PCs.
<billy> yeah
<ademus05> She doesn't know what it says about her and her soul that she is only good at evil spheres. She worries about that a lot.
<ademus05> she also tries to hide that aspect from other people out of shame
<billy> she also has meta
<billy> automatically
<ademus05> (she has to have silence, but she considers it evil)
<billy> is she a soul mage or heart mage?
<ademus05> soul
<billy> figured
<billy> all right.
<billy> what does she do to earn money?
<ademus05> Things she's proud of and things she's not so proud of.
<billy> go on
<ademus05> What she's proud of is being a lesser diplomatic courier for the apologists. They pay her per-job. She also helps with negotiations-- it's her responsibility to get people in the same room.
<ademus05> sometimes that happens via throwing parties, raising events, etc.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> things she's not so proud of include smuggling
<ademus05> and there are people who will pay handsomely for evil spellwork. If she does do magic for money, she tries to only choose jobs that she can justify to herself.
<ademus05> if she can.
<ademus05> I think she keeps up two personas:
<ademus05> one as a happy, engaging, effervescent low-ranking diplomat who is a "party planner", who spends time wandering with the wanderers
<ademus05> and another as a evil wizard who will do spellwork for hire. The evilness of the wizard is played up for her own safety
<billy> nice
<ademus05> to keep people away, and so she's not blackmailed or threatened into someone else's service.
<billy> i like it
<ademus05> the truth is that she feels a deep shame for knowing that she's good at evil, and she wants to atone. That's her big conflict. She finds excuses not to use magic around other V'honians.
<billy> interesting.
<billy> okay
<billy> who were the other witches in her coven?
<ademus05> I have no idea
<billy> does she remain in contact?
<ademus05> no. And one or more of them might be dead because of her actions.
<ademus05> ideas?
<billy> let's figure out what she did
<billy> any thoughts
<ademus05> if the idea is to repeat the downfall of Valhonia in miniature, then she was arrogant and irresponsible.
<ademus05> I think she volunteered to be a brother witch because of her affinity for silence and evil spheres
<ademus05> or she was nominated, and her feelings were hurt
<billy> interesting. go on
<ademus05> and as they cast a spell she also cast one to sever her connections with all of them, to erase herself from the coven.
<ademus05> and perhaps it worked too well?
<ademus05> those she was closest to in that circle now don't even remember her. She misses them.
<ademus05> it cast her out, socially, and now she spends time trying to start over and make amends.
<ademus05> how does that sound?
<billy> works for me
<ademus05> that really highlights why she thinks of silence as evil
<billy> yeah
<billy> okay
<billy> tell me about her family
<ademus05> are brothers and sisters rare in elven families?
<billy> no, but there can be significant age gaps
<ademus05> Her mother was a witch, and was in the coven. Her mother doesn't remember raising her.
<billy> nice and dark
<ademus05> Her father was an academic, and helped get her in with the apologists.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> She wanted to be a witch, but after the incident it was too painful to stay, so she left.
<billy> siblings or other significant relatives?
<ademus05> No, I think she needs to feel isolated. No siblings. Perhaps an aunt?
<billy> an aunt is good
<billy> her mom's sister who still remembers her
<billy> but is freaked out a bit by her
<ademus05> I think her dad also wanted her gone before brotherslayers could make up their minds on what should be done with her.
<ademus05> Just in case.
<billy> nice
<billy> okay
<billy> does she have any previous or current romantic connections?
<ademus05> (re dad wanting her gone, I wonder how a coven leader would react to suddenly someone claiming to be her daughter who they can't remember and have no love for, but has done something blasphemous to your religious beliefs)
<billy> yeah
<billy> poorly
<ademus05> romantic connections, I think she has had the equivalent of summer romances that have fizzled
<billy> nice
<billy> is she physically healthy?
<ademus05> she likes flirting, but she has trouble sharing that last little bit of herself, that ball of evil that she keeps hidden from others and herself. This guard ends up destroying her relationships. Once she got hurt because a guy said that he couldn't wait for her to open up and let her in. So now she ends things before they get too serious and tries to keep things light and fun.
<ademus05> yes, she is physically healthy. I think her soul is a bit tarnished.
<ademus05> is this what you needed?
<billy> it's a good start
<billy> she's pretty well educated, right?
<ademus05> I could do heart magic or soul magic, her casting a bigger silence spell than she intended could fall well under heart magic.
<billy> soul is fine
<ademus05> ok, soul it is.
<ademus05> equivalent of college education followed by an embassy apprenticeship.
<billy> okay
<billy> there's a lot of detail about education in valhonian culture
<billy> so what are her thoughts on the elven disease/impending extinction issue?
<ademus05> it's every elf's duty to study and find out what is causing it, and it is every elven woman's duty to try and bear a child.
<billy> wow, nice
<ademus05> for her part, it's all the more essential to unite the two cultures of Valhonians, as their knowledges complement each other.
<billy> very nice.
<billy> so the first session is going to take place in the ailanean capital. elves from all over the world are going there to hear the high priestess of the silver mother speak
<billy> i think your witch is there to try to meet wanderers
<billy> who are flocking there in droves
<ademus05> that sounds good to me
<billy> what is her bonded creature?
<ademus05> some sort of lethal poisonous insect
<billy> one sec
<ademus05> how long does Valhonian school last?
<billy> http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/ValhonianCulture <--it's in there somewhere
<ademus05> not for the nationals.
<billy> oh, one sec
<billy> it's the same as for the wanderers, on average.
<ademus05> then she's odd in that she's studied with both schools
<ademus05> with the Nationals from 50-220, and with the Wanders for 80 years after that.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> which also explains why she thinks they need to get together
<billy> i am looking up poisonois insects
<billy> yeah
<billy> can it be supernatural?
<ademus05> sure
<ademus05> so when my character has sex with male elves, it will be more than just flirting and being sex-positive
<ademus05> it will be her doing her moral duty as an elven woman.
<ademus05> to at least try and carry a child
<billy> how horrifying are you willing to go with your bonded insect?
<ademus05> I want something she can view as her intrinsic nature to hurt those closest to her.
<ademus05> I wanted another tick in the "welp, all signs point to evil" box.
<billy> browse these and tell me if any catch your fancy: http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/Hornets
<billy> there is also this: http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/Thornfly
<ademus05> yeah, she's bonded with thornflies.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> she likes sweet things too.
<billy> so envy is definitely a sphere she has, too
<ademus05> poor gal
<billy> okay, the usual stock questions:
<billy> What does the character fear?
What hopes and dreams does the character have?
What is the worst thing the character ever did?
What is the best thing the character ever did?
What is the character's greatest flaw?
What is the character's greatest strength?
What line won't the character cross?
<ademus05> fear: being alone, forgotten.
<hopes> reconnecting with her coven and with everyone, and reuniting the valhonians.
worst thing: Erased herself from her coven's (and mother's) memory. Smuggled contraband. Visited Ansylum and inflicted great pain on someone who was blackmailing her. She did this last part in self defense to build a reputation as someone not to be trifled with.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> best thing: helped convince a whole circle of Valhonians to come back to Valhonia for some time.
greatest flaw: Ashamed of what she is and has done. She can be prone to fits of evil emotions, but she tries to repress that part of herself and overcome it.
greatest strength: She knows her flaws. She is humble, and wants to be a reflection of the change she wants to see in the world.
<ademus05> lines that shall not be crossed: Outright blaspheming the spirit of her faith. Cutting someone out of her life. Denying mercy or second chances.
<billy> excellent
<billy> http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/TheSeedsCharacters <--the naming convention for valhonians is on this page
<billy> just use the first and last name to make your character page
<ademus05> so valhonians have a lot of names
<billy> 11
<billy> the magic number
<ademus05> what aspect does my family favor?
<billy> roll a d8
<ademus05> 8
<billy> balance
<ademus05> iiiiinteresting. Ok.
<ademus05> I didn't know that was a sphere of magic.
<billy> (you rolled pantheon. had you rolled anything other than an 8, you woulda rolled another die for the specific sphere. but there's only balance in the sienna scales pantheon)
<billy> yeah
<billy> only void and science aren't
<ademus05> I actually rolled a d8, I had one right beside me
<ademus05> what is the name for balance?
<billy> make it up
<ademus05> I think her mother has mostly holy spheres.
<billy> nice
<billy> she would also have the balance sphere, because all elven stuff is matrlineal
<ademus05> should we do spheres now?
<billy> yeah, what do you have in mind?
<ademus05> spheres that my character would be hesitant to use.
<ademus05> and that are extremely hard for a good character to use with a clean conscience.
<billy> meta, silence, envy, cacophony, darkness, undeath, stillbirth
<billy> actually
<billy> i don't think any elf ever has stillbirth
<ademus05> yeah
<billy> famine, destruction, chaos, pestilence, hatred, despair, deceit
<billy> and agony
<billy> i think she should have agony
<ademus05> agony is a sphere now?
<billy> i haven't written up the god or goddess thereof yet.
<billy> but i think that's the archon of obsidian obelisk
<billy> agony, harm, punishment, pain, torture
<ademus05> how many spheres should my character have?
<billy> nightmare
<billy> soul magic is innate
<billy> it's what she's born with
<billy> there's ways to unlock ones that are latent
<ademus05> right, I was asking GM preference.
<billy> but there's no way to learn ones that aren't there. you can magically graft new ones on, but that's horrifying
<billy> anyway
<billy> point is
<billy> because of that
<billy> i usually just make a random roll
<billy> so... roll a d10
<billy> a ten means "a lot"
<billy> a one means "not many"
<ademus05> 9
<billy> pick 20-25 aspects, of which she will have 10 latent (unknown to her or at least under developed)
<billy> 2-3 will be professional (13+). only 6 others will be proficient (10+). the rest will be under 10
<billy> the ten latents will be under 3
<ademus05> I'll leave the 10 latents up to you. She just knows that she doesn't like herself when she casts.
<billy> then you pick 12 others besides meta, envy, and silence.
<ademus05> actually, I might change her bonding animal:
<billy> yes?
<ademus05> NakataniWasp
<ademus05> which would go well with agony.
<billy> yeah, agony and despair
<ademus05> how's that look?
<ademus05> http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/RindacsaCoacolina
<billy> 's good. what score is meta?
<ademus05> I don't know, what is appropriate?
<billy> would she have focused study on it?
<ademus05> it's one of the few spheres she doesn't have a problem casting in.
<billy> thenit should probably be her highest
<ademus05> balance being the other, she's just not very balanced.
<ademus05> I'm going to give her a 13 meta
<ademus05> she's practiced it a bunch, but it's not her core talent
<billy> a'ight
<billy> i'm gonna add the ten latents
<ademus05> ok
<billy> http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/RindacsaCoacolina
<billy> she's mostly not aware of her latents. anything with a 2 or more she's aware of but really not good at accessing
<billy> anything with a 1 she has no idea is there
<billy> she probably suspects she has more magic, but she's put off to finding it since all the one's she's found are so horrible
<ademus05> yep
<ademus05> yeah, even the neutral spheres she's aware of are bad in the context of the rest of her spheres.
<billy> yeah
<ademus05> so I'm reading the wikipedia page on wicca to steal ideas
<billy> go on
<ademus05> I remember a lot from that witchcraft class we took, and I remember even more clearly the one samhain ritual I attended
<ademus05> but I needed a refresher on the dogma
<ademus05> there are some neat quotes here
<billy> do tell
<ademus05> "it's a religion of ritual rather than theology. The ritual is first; the myth is second."
<billy> very nice
<ademus05> I might need you to keep track of the phases of the moon
<ademus05> that might be important to my character.
<billy> http://madziar.net/wiki/Shem/1003
<billy> it's your job to ask me the date
<ademus05> ok
<ademus05> she has a grimoire, it's one of her holy objects.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> in her tradition every witch's grimoire is different, copied by hand from those higher in the circle and adapted with her own discoveries.
<billy> is she part of a circle or a coven?
<ademus05> I'm working on figuring out that now,
<billy> cool
<ademus05> from what I remember about Wicca from class, it's very much "believe what you want if it works for you."
<billy> on shem, there are traditions that have their own, well, traditions, but every witch is free to redefine it.
<ademus05> so in british traditional wicca, there are 3 stages of initiation
<ademus05> one where you are tried out by the coven for 1 year and 1 day, you become a member. That's the first stage
<ademus05> at the second level you can initialize other people into the craft and hold your own semi-autonomous covens
<ademus05> and to get to the 3rd level, you need to perform "the great rite", which is basically a sex ritual.
<billy> well, i'm converted
<ademus05> at that level you can go out and start your own covens.
<ademus05> and when you make your own coven, you become a "queen" and can wear the moon crown
<ademus05> in Gardnarian wicca
<ademus05> I think her old order is way orthodox,
<ademus05> in that they claim that they come from an order of witches that practiced witchcraft back before there was a Middle Magic god, when witches revered the moons
<billy> nice
<ademus05> I think that their choice of goddesses of Sanzue and Moons are defined, and participants and encouraged to find their own goddess for the third of their trinity.
<billy> neat
<ademus05> The choice of the male opposing god is also determined by the third. In her tradition, the most common reason for covens splitting is choosing who is the third goddess and opposing god.
<ademus05> in earth wicca, the male god isn't evil, just different
<ademus05> usually more animalistic and a hunter
<billy> the male god in shem witchcraft doesn't have to be evil.
<ademus05> right, just opposed.
<billy> right. go on
<ademus05> so, the Great Rite can be done symbolically as well
<ademus05> I think my character's central conflict came from her participation in a Great Rite ritual.
<ademus05> she was a second order initiate in her order, but she wanted more than anything to become a high priestess. Instead, she was given the task of taking on the Male mantle of Silence for the ritual because of her affinity for it. They wanted to cast some major spell, I'm not sure what.
<billy> they were trying to cure someone of the elven disease?
<ademus05> sure.
<ademus05> I think that performing this ritual would officially make her a Brother Witch and would make it so that she could never become a high priestess.
<ademus05> however it would make her a 3rd degree initiate, so she could go out and form her own coven.
<ademus05> Her function in the ritual was to wield silence like void, to remove those aspects that would distract the other witches so they could focus and become one with magic, trying to find a cure.
<billy> go on
<ademus05> She went into the ritual unhappy about being left out of this great spiritual connection to magic. She went in fully intending that this would be the last ritual she would do with them. After all, after this she couldn't truly advance with them, and she'd technically be able to go and form her own group.
<billy> keep typing. i'll be roight abck
<billy> right back
<ademus05> She's still a bit hazy on what happened--that's what happens when you wield that level of silence. She knows that there was an argument during the ritual, and that the disruption caused great danger. She also knows, through later prayer, that the spell that erased her from her mother and her coven was "to remove herself as their concern."
<ademus05> She does remember waking up first filled with feelings of spite and separation, and a sense of loneliness. She closed the circle and left. The effects of the spell became apparent when her mother came home and demanded to know who she was.
<billy> go on
<ademus05> The ritual failed, and I think her mother viewed her as a rogue Brother Witch. She left to find the authorities, so her father called in a favor and had someone in the diplomatic's core of the Apologists take her out of the area. The intent was it to be temporary while he cooled her mother down
<ademus05> that temporary exile turned into a more permanent one when her father advised her not to return yet.
<ademus05> I think she's technically still a part of her old coven, but she can start her own. She hasn't though, she travels too much.
<ademus05> she holds rituals by herself, or she joins other covens as a guest practitioner
<billy> nice
<ademus05> she can also technically marry people or bury the dead
<ademus05> her work now is with the Apologists. I think she's essentially a low ranking diplomat
<ademus05> she carries messages, talks with people, sends back reports, and makes arrangements for the real diplomats to arrive.
<ademus05> that's why she describes herself as a party planner-- a lot of her job is eating with people and setting up the logistics for official visits.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> also, I think this is a good idea
<ademus05> I think any apologist is obligated to act like a Valhonian embassy when they are in an area with no embassies. If she sees another lost elf in trouble, she's obligated to help.
<billy> i approve
<ademus05> I do want her personal story to echo the Valhonians as a whole. She feels the disaster that predicated her exodus was her fault. Her whole group was foolish trying to wield that much power, and she was especially immature to go into such a ritual with bad intentions.
<ademus05> she feels the loss of her home acutely, but at the same time she is not sure if she should ever return or if there is anything for her there.
<ademus05> but she does want to soothe this feeling she feels. She identifies with both the wanderers and the nationals.
<ademus05> I have questions for you when you are ready
<billy> ask away
<ademus05> what do valhonians look like?
<ademus05> I just want to have a good mental picture
<ademus05> do witches have an equivalent of a priest's collar?
<billy> what more do you need than the description on the race page?
<ademus05> oh, I just need to read the race page.
<ademus05> I'll find it.
<billy> and since it's a personal religion, the symbols are personal, or coven/circle based. you can make up an equivalent or say her tradition didn't use one
<ademus05> The azure crystals that the Valhonians grow, what do they do? I imagine she keeps a piece of one with her.
<billy> one sec
<ademus05> her coven name is "Raccelwe", it's her elven community name.
<billy> the crystals are just cyrstalized magic rock, basically. they're pure mana.
<billy> basically, one the size of a human thumb would be a 1 in meta magic if you know how to access it
<ademus05> hers is a necklace
<billy> just one stone or a whole chain of them?
<ademus05> one stone
<ademus05> a memento
<ademus05> I think most apologists have one to remind them of home.
<billy> that makes sense
<ademus05> ok, going back to the religion
<ademus05> I think her order views magic like the foundation
<ademus05> it's the lifeblood of Shem, and it's what everything comes from.
<billy> there is a mythical realm called the manaheart where people think magic came from
<billy> but no one has ever found it
<billy> so what are her contacts like?
<ademus05> ... varied? I want to give her a 7 in Beggars,
<ademus05> for contacts.
<billy> let me rephrase:
<billy> who are her contacts?
<ademus05> ah, ok. Lemme think.
<ademus05> On Palhur, she has a friend at the connection church. She met this friend when she was young and invited her to a circle ceremony. This friend later became a priestess of connection, and they stay in contact. Her friend is now in her 60s
<ademus05> human lifespan.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> when things went bad in the original ceremony, her father contacted a wanderer friend he knew well to take her in. That man (and his wife) are one contact within the wanderers.
<ademus05> After her father told her that her mother had put out a warrant for her arrest, she had a rough time. The wanderer family that took her in for 10 years or so really helped during that time period
<ademus05> At the end of that 10 year period, an apologist stopped by and they got to talking. It was that apologist that called in favors to hire her on as a contractor. She considers that person a lifesaver.
<billy> i approve
<ademus05> When she was first learning how to travel, she had a fling with a young merchant. She'd accompany him once every couple of years on her rounds. He grew old while she didn't, he died, and now she's good friends with his son who has taken over the family business.
<ademus05> On Lyrilla, she fell in love with a Wanderer. They were together for 15 years, but he cut it off because she was holding things back.
<ademus05> she has other coven leaders she's friends with in the wanderers.
<ademus05> and she has her mom, and her Aunt, and etc, that she's had to cut all ties with. She's also cut ties with her father.
<ademus05> she's avoiding her warrant.
<billy> so she doesn't go back to valhonia
<ademus05> not for at least the last 100 years
<billy> wsa that when the incident was?
<ademus05> yes
<ademus05> she also never got to say goodbye, she had to leave rather abruptly.
<billy> so how does she feel about the following:
<billy> the guardians?
<billy> the malhuenes (metal-faithful, native american objectivists)?
<billy> the kren'atanics? (dragons that are the major source of power on palhur)
<billy> the goblin hordes? the trollish hordes?
<billy> (both of which are making noise like they're going to invade the rest of palhur)
<ademus05> the guardians of mortality? She finds their anti-religion stances ugly. She believes that Goddesses and mortals were meant to work together.
<ademus05> the mahuenes? I think she respects them and has befriended at least one of their holy-men.
<billy> malhuenes, from malhuin
<ademus05> She respects the power of the dragons, they are to elves as elves are to humans. They exist on a different scale. That doesn't make them more important, but it does provide a new and interesting point of view that both sides can learn from.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> I don't think she regularly frequents enough high-power events that she'd have a dragon friend.
<billy> that's fair
<billy> how does she feel about the thaumars (magen) in darneyn?
<billy> they're ven more scholarly and insular than the valhonians
<ademus05> they need to come to Valhonia and work on the sickness
<billy> but largely irreligious
<ademus05> or risk losing a valuable ally
<billy> true
<billy> what about the wathites?
<ademus05> as for goblins and trolls, she likes some of them and doesn't like others. Some of the best nights of her life she's had in bars with goblins and trolls. Some of the worst nights of her life she's had in the company of the same.
<ademus05> wathites? Skill race?
<billy> might
<billy> conan the barbarian as a race, basically
<ademus05> IIRC, conan hated mages.
<billy> well, the wathites don't as a race
<billy> they have mages
<ademus05> but he was also fucking cunning as hell
<billy> they have elric of melnibibble
<billy> wathites get more powerful for every feat they perform
<billy> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elric_of_Melnibon%C3%A9
<billy> as much as conan the barbarian
<ademus05> she respects the wathies and their goal of self betterment. They are very similar to the Valhonians in that respect.
<ademus05> She also likes how direct they are, and wishes she could be as straightforward
<ademus05> sometimes she sees herself as aligned with them, but then she shies away.
<ademus05> For her, she thinks that giving in to might means becoming evil. She envies those who can give in and not become evil
<billy> interesting
<billy> how does she feel about the summer empire (faeries)?
<ademus05> roughly the same as dragons I think.
<ademus05> she thinks the dragons are more straightforward
<ademus05> but she likes that the fairies are more approachable
<ademus05> and that they know how to party.
<billy> and they are related
<ademus05> she has a contact with the beggar head in a big city. She was really low on money and didn't want to do magic to make some. Some beggars took her in and showed her where to go. She made a point to drop in to them with gifts every couple of years hence, and give them the news of what she's seen.
<ademus05> Now that she's a little better established, she also tries to set up charitable works to help the beggars out, tells then which Valhonians to talk to the next time they come to town.
<billy> demopolis on jesenya. sicily
<ademus05> they are also the ones that got her into smuggling, though a connection of a connection
<ademus05> which led to the Srisia incident.
<billy> makes sense
<ademus05> which was bad.
<billy> yes
<ademus05> On the other hand though, it let her make friends with a few other merchants and make a few extra dollars.
<ademus05> I don't think she's smuggled much in the last 20 years or so
<billy> the big one: does she have connections on merukis?
<ademus05> at least one from her smuggling.
<ademus05> when she goes from continent to continent she hears him out. I imagine him as grossly galdunic.
<billy> ha
<billy> orleans monteleone, head of the spicers' guild
<billy> (or-lon mont-uh-lee-own)
<ademus05> nice
<billy> he actually smuggles his own goods to avoid tariffs
<ademus05> Nice. She travels with him when she's in town. They share passage. He thinks having a mage along would help. And she does have silence.
<billy> he has homes in merukis, galdun, tara'hin, talune, jesumein (where the guardians are), and several other places
<billy> but she knows him from merukis
<billy> she would have a contact in the summer empire, and in ailanea (where the original elves live).
<ademus05> ok. I wrote all these things down. I also added a goblin mercenary group
<ademus05> who she's traveled with and had drinks with. They were lots of fun and surprisingly good conversation.
<billy> nice
<ademus05> I think she even talked the leader into doing a ceremony with her, so she could ask the Godesses for a blessing on their behalf to wish them health.
<billy> after you tell me about her faerie and ailanean contacts, tell me what she thinks of the various elven subraces
<ademus05> for the fae friend in the summer empire, she met him in a city and had a fun couple of weeks. They spent a week playing practical jokes (she used to really like the goddess of mischief before she switched to connection post-incident). He's the one who taught her how to plan parties-- he kept inviting her to them because she livened things up.
<billy> nice
<billy> he was a fay.
<ademus05> as for ailanea, hmm
<billy> it could be a weird wanderer who settled there, or a local
<billy> a local ailanean witch, even
<ademus05> I think it's a chance connection that she developed... I'm thinking.
<ademus05> I think it is a diplomat, actually. They got to talking during a party while she was doing an errand for the Apologists
<ademus05> they bonded over their professions, their bosses, etc.
<billy> a diplomat to ailanea from somewhere else?
<ademus05> a diplomat in ailanea
<billy> or from ailanea to somewhere else?
<ademus05> from ailanea I think, they met with the arbor elves. She had come in with some Wanderers and was tasked because she was close by.
<billy> arboreal elves 11:19 < rblake> I can also help coming up with Rindacsa's mom
11:20 < glazomaniac> did you make up a name for her?
11:20 < glazomaniac> and her father?
11:20 < glazomaniac> just tell me all about them
11:20 < rblake> I think her faiths are Greater Magic, Moons, and Lesser Magic, the original triplet from First Shem before the Goddess of Middle Magic. It makes sense for balance that she have mostly good spheres but a neutral diety
11:21 < glazomaniac> go on
11:22 < rblake> It'd also explain Rindacsa's intuitions on ritual for a Valhonian elf.
11:22 < rblake> I didn't have a name for them
11:22 < glazomaniac> that's fine, i'll make them up. i just didn't wanna overwrite anything you had come up with.
11:23 < glazomaniac> go on with telling me about them
11:25 < rblake> I think Rindacsa's mother is somewhat strict and severe, but deeply compassionate for those she cares about. She's the kind of person who doesn't have too many friends, but the friends she does have she is extremely close to and would do anything for. Her friendship has to be earned, if that makes sense.
11:26 < rblake> I think her mother is "Keeper of the Rites" for her coven, and as such is often consulted by Valhonian scholars for various esoteric things. This would explain her devotion to the "old schools" of witching, and how she derives some political power/respect.
11:27 < rblake> I already thought that Rindacsa's mom was an orthodox witch that takes great pride in deriving her faith from the oldest oral traditions
11:29 < rblake> I think Rindacsa's mom would be horrified by Rindacsa practicing her faith with Wandering witches all over willy nilly with no structure. She's see coming up with rituals on the fly as amateur hour.
11:29 < rblake> you know, if she didn't think Rindacsa was an abomination.
11:30 < rblake> I don't think school was a great refuge for Rindacsa-- it's like being a Hufflepuff put in the Slytherin house, given her talents.
11:31 < rblake> her mother and her had their relationship through and about faith. Rindacsa idolized her mother and saw faith as a way to redeem her nature. She still does. That's why being cast as the counterpoint hurt. Even in her faith, she was the bad guy.
11:33 < rblake> I see her father as quiet, scholarly, slow to anger, and patient. Her father tempered her mother,
11:34 < rblake> I think he's the equivalent of a Postdoc research scholar. Never heads up his own studies, doesn't have any real glory, esteem or power.
11:35 < rblake> In exchange, he's got a comfortable low stress life doing other people's work, and he has free time
11:37 < glazomaniac> and people like/trust him.
11:37 < rblake> I think he has Silence, Story, and Knowledge as spheres (that's where Rindacsa got her silence). He works in a library and loves reading non magical literature, especially trashy mystery novels.
11:40 < rblake> between Rindacsa and her mother, her Dad is the people person. He's the one that chats up all the other token male spouses at important dinners the women drag them to. 17:07 < Nas> is the prospect of becoming a mother going to change her attitude about her own mother?
17:07 < rblake> she's wanted to become a mother for some time
17:07 < rblake> partly because of the baby craze, partly to help preserve the species, and partly for religious reasons
17:08 < rblake> to be involved in the circle of life, to move from maiden to mother to crone.
17:08 < rblake> she idolized her mother, still does in some ways
17:09 < Nas> if she becomes consequent she can be a crone for a very long time
17:09 < Nas> you're not a real crone until your grandchildren have grandchildren
17:10 < rblake> yep
17:11 < rblake> she felt like she was constantly disappointing her mother just by who she was
17:11 < rblake> her magic, her inability to enjoy her studies,
17:13 < rblake> her bubbly personality, an inability to "take things seriously" (her Goddess was Mischief before the accident)
17:15 < rblake> Her penchant for hiding things (a no-no for a mother that considers Mystery to be opposed to the pursuit of knowledge & magic)
17:15 < rblake> I imagine she kept her first spell (Silence) secret for a week before her mother found out because she didn't want her mother to be disappointed.
17:16 < rblake> everyone else mostly found it hilarious that a child who first cast in the sphere of silence would then keep it secret.
17:17 < rblake> Her mother has to have Light and Truth as spheres, and a personality to match
17:23 < rblake> I think every so often when she's on a depressive streak, she'll pick up a trashy mystery, read it, then ship it to her father with no "from" or return address
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Topic revision: r4 - 16 Nov 2013, RobBlake
GrandGuignol
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