Session 110

Chancel_Amyra
Chapter 13

Knockwood: Kewl! Everybody got your wooden swords and garbage can lids for the big attack on Entropy, then? :)
BethE: I've written my will, yes...
Thom: I'm sure you'd be able to supply whatever sharp pointy things I'm missing
Knockwood: OK, let's see if I have the situation right...
Knockwood: We should be getting a summons to appear before the COuncil of Four to tell them that either Sakharoth or Suebi has now taken up residence on Dionyl...
Random_Nerd: Correct...
Knockwood: and also, we've agreed to talk to Qadosh (?) to convince him to vote with Barakiel on his desperate plan to stop the coming disaster by executing Attaris
Random_Nerd: No. You've agreeed that if you happen to have his ear, that you'll try to convince him.
Random_Nerd: But you don't have to make the first move.
Knockwood: I'm not sure how they'd do that, though...
Knockwood: Attaris seemed to indicate she could fire off the Age End at any time.
BethE: She also said she'd do it in at least three months, if not sooner.
Random_Nerd: Not if you jump out of the bushes and hit her with a brick in a sock?
Knockwood: Therefore, executing her would mean a) making sure she doesn't hear about this, b) finding an Abhorrent Weapon bad enough to kill an Imperator, c) in ONE SHOT, d) getting close enough to do it, and e) actually doing it
Random_Nerd: Pretty much, yeah.
BethE: Glad we haven't been asked to do it, then.
Knockwood: (Don't SAY that!)
Random_Nerd: But, yeah. This isn't the sort of plan you come up with when you think you have other options.
Random_Nerd: Although, here, you've been kinda seeing one of the unspoken assumptions of the plan questioned.
BethE: (I've already said it to him before. If that's what he plans, nothing I say and no amount of lingerie will change his mind.)
Knockwood: hm?
Random_Nerd: Well, part of the stuff behind the plan was the idea that if Creation had a major catastrophe, the Excrucians would take the chance to win because /they/ wouldn't have any such problem.
Knockwood: ah yeah, you mentioned that there's an Excrucian Apocalypse going on.
Random_Nerd: But all the weird Warmain-flavored stuff that's been happening doesn't seem to be the End of the Age itself unless Attaris was lying.
Knockwood: which is a possibility
BethE: We should check to see if other Wildlords are remembering.
Random_Nerd: On a side topic, Thom, do you feel ready to have Stories start in this session, and meet the others at the convening of the Council?
Knockwood: ours is less communicative than usual...
Thom: Yep
Thom: Still have to go over character creation mechanics if you want anything major to happen first, but otherwise I'm good
Thom: I think I've got a handle on his character and I don't mind having him sit around and just listen
Thom: It's part of what he's about, anyway
Random_Nerd: That works.
Random_Nerd: So, anything else before we start?
Knockwood: hm...

• • • You are now known as Theresa.
      
    • Knockwood is now known as DanteE.
      

Theresa: Is there a dress code for appearing before the Council?
Thom: (If introductions are necessary, character is Thomas Lynn)
Random_Nerd: Don't wear anything that says "Entropy is a big fat idiot" on the front.
Thom: I see I'll have to change then
DanteE: damn it, there go all our t-shirt profits...
DanteE: oh, one question:
Random_Nerd: But, seriously, Ananda is there. You will not look good in comparison no matter what you wear. You could have a suit made of rainbows and sewn together with unicorn sinew and it'd still seem dull.
Theresa: Hmm...I could wear my 'I saw an Excrucian up close and all I got was this lousy t-shirt...' shirt...
DanteE: has Kudzu become any more receptive in the interim?
Thom: You'd still be fabulous though
Random_Nerd: He's had mumbled conversations, but has not grown fully coherent yet.
Theresa: That's...not encouraging.
DanteE: We'd probably want to tell him "Hey, we're seeing the Council. You want anything?"
Random_Nerd: So! Let's have a quick cast of characters. The star of the evening is Lord Entropy.
Random_Nerd: He's also called the Darkest Lord, or Old Bloody-Hands. He more or less runs the Council of Four, and through it, Earth.
Theresa: (Ooo, we can see if Physics was accurate in looks...)
Thom: (Don't stare at his hands)
Random_Nerd: He's a jerk, but he's also good at leading the War on its major physical front.
Random_Nerd: Oh, and he's been known to change his appearance at a whim, with only the bloody hands as a telltale sign.
Random_Nerd: Next, we have Ananda!
Random_Nerd: He's the Lord of the Age to Come. His estates are Murder, the Infinite, and the Fourth Age.
Random_Nerd: He has a chancel, but no Powers (And, yes, this is a departure from the GWB, as are some other bits.) This is considered weird. Few have asked why, and none have been answered.
DanteE: (and we saved his butt last month. Maybe.)
Random_Nerd: Ananda never votes against Entropy.
Random_Nerd: Next, we have Surolam. Surolam is generally considered to be the most predictable member of the Council, as he consistently votes in favor of tradition and habit. He has no Chancel, and his Estates are unknown.
Random_Nerd: And finally, we have Ha-Qadosh Berakha. Nearly everyone believes him to be a Wildlord.
Theresa: (There is another choice? True god?)
Thom: (You mean it's not immediately obvious?)
Random_Nerd: He always votes for whatever would be best for him, personally, either by doing what he wants, or doing something he'll be repayed for.
Random_Nerd: (It's not entirely clear that he's a Wildlord, and he doesn't give interviews on the subject, but between when he showed up and his pattern of behavior, it fits.)
Random_Nerd: Barakiel and Consequences want you to get Ha-Qadosh to support them, if you ever get the chance.
Thom: (Based on his voting patterns in the past, is there any sort of conclusive pattern that can be drawn about his interests/purviews?)
Random_Nerd: This is because they think they have Entropy in their corner, and know they will never have Ananda or Surolam.
Random_Nerd: So, if they can get Ha-Qadosh, they win, else, they lose.
Random_Nerd: (Ha-Qadosh always works for what helps him personally out the most. This is nearly always either because it directly gives him more prestige, or because someone else offered something he really wants in exchange for making it happen.)
Random_Nerd: So, are we ready to go?
Theresa: I think so.
Thom: Aye boss
DanteE: (OK, what are Kudzu's and Barakiel's standing with these guys?)
Random_Nerd: (Kudzu vaguely gets along with Ha-Qadosh, but while they have friends in common neither really likes the other.)
Random_Nerd: (Kudzu doesn't like Entropy but doesn't pick fights with him.)
Random_Nerd: (Kudzu finds Ananda to be strange and unsettling. Ananda barely knows who Kudzu is.)
Random_Nerd: (And Surolam and Kudzu don't think about each other at all.)
Random_Nerd: (Barakiel has some pull with Entropy. Surolam and Barakiel can't /stand/ each other, and if not for the War, one would likely have knifed the other at some point in the last few hundred years.)
Random_Nerd: (Ananda frightens Barakiel, because of what he represents.)
Theresa: (Huh. Why on the knife fight?)
Random_Nerd: (And Ha-Qadosh is someone that Barakiel wants to win over, but who doesn't actually care about Barakiel at all.)
Random_Nerd: (Because Barakiel is not the kind of angel that fights with flaming swords. He's the kind of angel who stabs you with a concealed weapon while you're distracted.)
Random_Nerd: (So, with all of that background, are you ready to go?)
DanteE: (Sure)
Thom: (I'm good)
Random_Nerd: ___________________START_________________
Random_Nerd: (Now, do you guys want to start when you get the summons to the Council, or to when you meet them?)
Theresa: (Did Kudzu give a response when we told him we were going to meet the Council?)
Random_Nerd: ("Mgrrrmghph.")
Theresa: (And do we get Carrie/Eve with us?  :) )
Random_Nerd: (Depends on what Etheric thinks.)
DanteE: (Well, a squirrel turned purple. And exploded.)
Random_Nerd: (So... guys. What do you want?)
Theresa: (I vote that we are there.)
Thom: (Presumably I'm already where the Council's at)
Random_Nerd: (Okay, last call for people who want to not be there yet.)
DanteE: (Well, keeping an eye on the situation on Dionyl. Any news there?)
Random_Nerd: (The Suebi/Sakaroth guy has settled in in the arranged place, and his followers are building a city. He has not yet enchanceled. but he's hardly had time.)
Random_Nerd: (He seems to be sticking by the agreement.)
DanteE: (Basically, I'm asking: any changes in the interim?)
Random_Nerd: (Only the fact that they've gone from camp to the beginnings of a city.)
DanteE: (and another call from Obama canvassers...)
Theresa: (Does it look like Herb's City?)
Random_Nerd: (Guys. We need to start. Please, make up your minds.)
DanteE: (At the Council.)
Random_Nerd: (No, but Herb's city was more of a conceptual one than a specific physical shape.)
Random_Nerd: (Okay, looks like you're at the Council.)
Random_Nerd: ________________START, FOR REAL THIS TME_________________________
Random_Nerd: On this particular meeting, the Council of Four has elected to raise up a giant palace of obsidion in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.
Random_Nerd: This building was not there last week, nor will it be there next week.
Random_Nerd: In it, are the Four themselves, assorted hangers-on and petitioners, and an audience.
Random_Nerd: Among the petitioners are Dante, Theresa, and the three Dionyl Nobles. Among the audience, in his role as a reporter, is the Power of Stories.

• Theresa whispers to Dante. "What number are we?"
  

Random_Nerd: You're next.
DanteE: "Um... giraffe."
Thom: Who flicks continuously through a small notebook, muttering to himself and occasionally writing things down. The pen in his hand flies across the page, and occasionally what issues forth from the tip doesn't coincide with the movements of his hand.
Random_Nerd: Those waiting are not in the Council chamber. This is in part for their protection, as for low-Spirit Nobles, looking at Ananda is rather like staring at the sun.
Thom: (Define low-spirit with regard to an Imperator)
Thom: (like... 5)
DanteE: (50)
Random_Nerd: (Shall we say that if you're below Spirit 2, you shouldn't look at him for more than a few seconds, and Spirit 0 you shouldn't look directly at him at all.)
Theresa: (Oh crud.)
Random_Nerd: (If you're Spirit 4 or above, you can maintain eye contact over the course of a conversation without being overawed or stunned.)

• Thom squints at Ananda for a moment, tries to jot down a rough description, and spend a few futile minutes ripping out pages before giving up.
  

Random_Nerd: As you've no doubt tried before, you fail to have more than a vaguest outline. Language is designed to discuss things that occur with some frequency, and Ananda is a special case.
Theresa: (Would we have been warned about that previously?)
DanteE: (Hrm. That'd mean we need Hope...)
Random_Nerd: A particularly large ogre carrying an iron staff and dressed in a white toga comes to where you're standing, slams the butt of the staff on the glossy black floor, and shouts "Dominae of Courage, Plants, Blue Shock, Conceptual Tint, and The Triad, you are permitted to enter."
Random_Nerd: The ogre strikes two tall black doors with his staff three times, and they open.
DanteE: "OK, which of you has been keeping the closest eye on your new neighbor?"
Random_Nerd: Oh, and because the Dionyl Nobles are here, their Estates are currently manifest on Earth.
Random_Nerd: So, the Ogre has a faint blue and gold aura around him, and smells of sandalwood and lemon as well as smelling of Ogre.

• Theresa adjusts her sunglasses.
  

Random_Nerd: Blue Shock: "I've been watching him the most."
DanteE: (I'm trying not to think about what a sandalwood lemon ogre smells like...)
Random_Nerd: (That's for the best.)
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock is currently 'wearing' a long white scarf which swirls throughout his body.

• Theresa is in a serious outfit, chic, black, and fit for fighting in, just in case.
  

DanteE: "You lead, then."
Random_Nerd: Triad is wearing a three-piece suit, exquisitely tailored to fit him.

• DanteE is wearing what he wore when addressing Parliament
  

Random_Nerd: Conceptual Tint is "wearing" a cloud of silvery dust which swirls through him.
DanteE: (Ergo, Dante has the funk. :) )
Random_Nerd: As you walk in, you come to a huge circular room, lit by a thousand points of light in the ceiling.
Random_Nerd: Everything in the room other than the lights and the people is made of polished black stone.

• Thom is wearing a suit which has pinstripes faded into near-invisibility and a trilby, cocked to one side.
  

Random_Nerd: In the very center of the room is a large circular opening that the Ogre leads you to.
Random_Nerd: In front of that, spaced out over 180 degrees of the room, are the four members of the Council.
Random_Nerd: Lord Entropy has elected to appear today as a tall woman in a bright red dress, with a severe face and clawed hands dripping with blood.
Random_Nerd: Ananda is... Ananda. About six feet tall, of medium build, and the most beautiful thing that anyone anywhere has ever seen.
Random_Nerd: Even for a Noble, it's difficult to glance at him without spending the next hour mumbling to yourself about how beautiful he is.
Random_Nerd: Ha-Qadosh has taken the form of a angular and jagged silver statue.
Random_Nerd: And Surolam is shaped like what you would get if you dismembered several giant wasps and stuck the pieces back together at random.
Random_Nerd: In the back half of the room are benches on which those permitted by the Council to watch sit and watch.
Thom: (Is that a statement about his temper? -rimshot-
Theresa: (Surolam should meet Ick...)
Random_Nerd: Some of them are silent, some shout to each other about how likely it is that this will be an interesting meeting.
Random_Nerd: Stories, you have a reasonably prominent seat, as you're at least somewhat favored by the Four.
Theresa: (Council's Pet!  :) )
Thom: (I give them good press)
Random_Nerd: The ogre that led you in strikes his iron staff on the glassy floor and shouts your names, and then retires to the doorway in the back.
DanteE: (What is "good press" relative to Entropy's usual image?)
Random_Nerd: Lord/Lady Entropy: "You have been permitted to come to this Council and request our guidance and direction in a matter pertaining to the War."

• Thom leans forward upon hearing the Estates of the petitioners. Some of them don't make sense, but I'd have heard of the others before.
  

Random_Nerd: (The sort of press that encourages the way that Entropy prefers to be seen.)
Thom: (I never make jokes about him being caught red-handed)
Thom: (We lose more promising journalists that way)
Theresa: (*snort*)
Random_Nerd: (You would likely not be familiar with the three Dionyl ones, as they're not manifest on Earth.)
Theresa: (Did the group of the 5 of us decide on who's leading? Dante's Honest.)
Random_Nerd: Entropy's hair shimmers and changes, going from a very dark black to an almost glowing red, and back again, every half minute.
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock glances at you guys, as if trying to figure out if he should make the first move.
Thom: (Strobe-hair? How tacky)
DanteE: to Blue Shock: "You know the most about the situation."

• Theresa nods at Blue Shock.
  

Random_Nerd: Blue Shock nods, and steps forward.
Random_Nerd: BS: "While not formally among your subjects, my siblings and I have long heard of your keen judgement in matters concerning the War. You are held to know the Enemy better than any other. So, when we were confronted with a baffling situation involving them, we wished to speak to you, both to request your advice, and to ensure that we do not by accident work at cross-purposes with you."
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock then gives a simple and straightforward description of what happend, to the extent that it makes sense.
DanteE: (Kiss that butt! Kiss that butt! Kiiiiiiiiiss it!)
Random_Nerd: (Well, somedays you kiss the butt, some days you get torn apart by god-eating locusts.)
Theresa: (Somedays it's both.)
Random_Nerd: (Where Do You Want To Go Today?)
DanteE: (Depends on their mood...)
Thom: ("You are held to know the Enemy better than any other"? Thin ice. And his name abbreviates to BS? Ouch.)
Random_Nerd: Entropy paces in a restless manner as Blue Shock talks. Surolam draws his various legs, wings, and mandibles across each other. Ha-Quadosh stands stock-still, and I'll assume that none of you are looking directly at Ananda.
Theresa: (No, thank you. I like my eyeballs.)
DanteE: (Well, I can for a few seconds)
Random_Nerd: Lady Entropy: "In this, I do not believe you have done wrong. Although my Laws did not apply to you, still, you followed them."
Random_Nerd: Ananda, to Theresa and Dante: "Of those here, it was you who spoke directly to this being. What is your conclusion regarding its nature and desires?"
Random_Nerd: Triad fidgets in a way impossible to someone who has merely a solid body with joints and muscles only in specific places.
DanteE: (Ladies first. :) )
Theresa: *donotlookdonotlook* "It desires truth. It is willing to fight to prove the truth it knows is best and if it loses, then the opponent's truth is the better. He seems lost without the concrete of memories."
Random_Nerd: Ananda: "You think this creature genuine in its search for truth?"
DanteE: "It is definitely ... confused."
Theresa: "It is genuine in its fight for the truth. The very nature of how it defines truth makes it go forth and search."
Random_Nerd: Surolam: "You said that the creature was confused. Did it strike you as vulnerable to attack?"
DanteE: "Possibly.
Random_Nerd: (Oh, and I've assumed that you didn't bring your Aides here. After all, looking at Ananda can cause heart attacks, strokes, or seizures in mundane mortals.)
Theresa: (Well, if you're an Imperator, yeah _sure_, you can try to smear him across the pavement. You ain't gonna get this Wildlord-shard to do it, though.)
Theresa: (Correct. No Lesson or Red or Ick either.)
Theresa: (Does Ananda come with a warning label? <g>)
DanteE: (Aw, we could have got them tourist photos!)
Random_Nerd: Entropy: "You. Courage. Tell me what do you believe should be done with this being."
Theresa: (*patpatpat*)
DanteE: "I honestly don't know. We didn't have a chance or the real ability to tell if he was actually Sakharoth or Suebi.
Random_Nerd: Entropy: "Didn't ask you that. Whatever it is, what should be /done/ with it?"

• Thom leans forward in the gallery intently. History is being made.
  

DanteE: (Eep. Don't actually know. hmm.....)
Thom: (An embassy?)
Random_Nerd: (Let's see, to picture Entropy, the closest analogue I can think of is Felicity Huffman, if she was taller and had a different hair color.)
DanteE: "Isolate him, so he doesn't rip apart Dionyl any further.
DanteE: "Determine who he really is.
Random_Nerd: Entropy: "You. Dionyl. With the white silk. Can this be practically done?"
DanteE: "Get the Intel about the Other Side.
Theresa: (Oh _thanks_, dear. Now I'm imagining Dana from Sports Night with bloody hands. Dana was not _sane_, you know...)
Random_Nerd: Surolam, in a sussurating tone: "Does it seem to know useful information for the War?"
DanteE: "It barely knows who it is. But, oddly enough, he does remember being both Sakharoth and Suebi."
DanteE: "If the memories of the latter are recovered...."
Random_Nerd: Ha-Qadosh, tilting his head to the side: "Dangerous, but perhaps, useful."
Random_Nerd: Surolam: "This being is without precedent. Now do you explain it?"
Random_Nerd: (err, How.)
DanteE: (What's the proper term of address for them?)
Thom: (pleasedon'tkillme)
Theresa: (Your Weirdnesses?)
Random_Nerd: (Ymera <full name>)
DanteE: (Presumably we'd have grilled our Aides on that kind of thing)
DanteE: (How about as a group?)
Thom: (Ymerae?)
DanteE: (And how long IC have we been Noble?)
Theresa: *thoughtfully* "My theory is that when it came through the Wall, the Wall swiss-cheesed the memories."
Thom: (They don't have specific titles? Councilors?)
Random_Nerd: (Ymarae if you are talking about them as a group of people, Council if you are talking to the Council as a collective of them.)
Random_Nerd: (They don't need specific titles. Everyone knows who they are.)
Random_Nerd: (And you have been Nobles in character for two or three months.)
Random_Nerd: Ananda, quietly: "Theresa, what happened to your fingers?"
Theresa: "They are the price I paid for knowledge gained from Jan Ben Jan, Imperator of the Second Age. In return for my fingers and the promise to explain the price of my questions, he answered truthfully to the extent of his knowledge."
Random_Nerd: Ha-Qadosh: "The Wall? Memories. Tell me about that. Now."
DanteE: (That could be a problem... do we know that IC?)
Theresa: (They...don't know about James, huh...)
Random_Nerd: (Everything you've seen that came through the wall either had memory gaps or you weren't able to determine whether such gaps existed. It's a plausible deduction.)
DanteE: "We had a brother... James, Lord of Urbanization.
DanteE: "He was sent by our Ymera on an errand through the Weirding Wall.
Random_Nerd: Ha-Qadosh's body lengthens and thins, and his empty eye sockets glisten with blood.

• Theresa really hopes that Dante doesn't mess this up and cause a raid upon the Chancel...
  

DanteE: "When he came back, he was ...

• Thom waits with bated breath.
  

DanteE: "... not complete... mentally. Gaps in his memory. Big ones. Knew us, but as distant acquaintances.
DanteE: "In the words of our Ymera, 'Broken'.
Random_Nerd: Ha-Qadosh: "And the creature that came to Dionyl also had memory gaps?"
DanteE: "As a result he was ... well, 'reclaimed', and his domain passed to another."
Theresa: (And the fact that the Wildlords came through the Wall and left their memories outside is well known.)
DanteE: "So it seemed. He wasn't even sure what he was."
Theresa: "He did. He could not determine if he was the Domination from our side of the Wall or the Warmain from the Outside."
DanteE: "But he remembered both being and killing both Sakharoth and Suebi."
Random_Nerd: Ha-Qadosh: "
Random_Nerd: "If you find anything more about this, you will tell me at once."
DanteE: (Yeah, that
Random_Nerd: He looks at his fellow council-members.
DanteE: (OK, what's your cell number?)
Random_Nerd: HQ: "Will you support me in this?"
Thom: (Time to ask for favours)
DanteE: (Isn't he asking them?)
Random_Nerd: Surolam glances at Entropy, and then nods. Entropy shrugs, and then says: "Anything you discover about this is to be told to Ha Qadosh Berakha and also to myself."
Random_Nerd: The air takes on a reddish glow.
DanteE: (Please let that be a disco...)
Thom: (Entropy on rollerskates! Take it away!)
Theresa: (I think it's more of a 'so it has been said, so it shall be' thing of the court?)
Random_Nerd: Court Ogre, in back: "It is the decree of the Council of Four that any information the Powers of Courage, Plants, The Triad, Blue Shock, and Conceptual Tint discover about the Weirding Wall's effect on memory is to be at once reported to Ymera Entropy and Ymera Ha-Quadosh Berakha!"
DanteE: to Theresa: "Maybe the boss can cough up James..."
Random_Nerd: Entropy hops onto the edge of the barrier that separates her from you, and perches on the edge of it with feet rather like a hawk's.
Theresa: (Slit up the leg of the skirt?)
Theresa: "He may be digested by now."
DanteE: "We did just see him..."
Random_Nerd: (Legs together. Skirt goes down to slightly below the knee. Nothing showing, which is good for the sanity of all.)
Theresa: (Thank you...)
DanteE: (If you really want to look, there are diagrams in Wraethuthu that can help. :D )
Theresa: "Who knows the stomach acids of a Wildlord?"
Random_Nerd: Entropy: "If you have any doubt about the loyalty of your Imperator to the War, tell me now. If you tell all that you suspect now, you will not be held responsible."
DanteE: (urgk)
Theresa: "I do not doubt his loyalty."
Random_Nerd: Ha-Qadosh's body grows taller and thinner yet, and the blood in his sockets is crusting.
Random_Nerd: Entropy, poised as if ready to leap at you: "And you, Courage?"
DanteE: "He has sent us to fight the forces of Harumaph. I believe he is loyal to Creation."
Random_Nerd: The blood dripping from Entropy's hands onto the floor steams as if it were hitting a hot griddle.
DanteE: (Should have that looked at.)
Random_Nerd: Entropy shrugs, and then steps down the front of the barrier, starting to pace around the center area where all of you are.
Thom: (Or not. People who look at Entropy's hands, well)
Random_Nerd: The Dionyl nobles all seem very nervous, and have a greenish glow and a smell of old sweat around them.
Random_Nerd: (Isn't "Whatever you do, don't stare at the hands." in the list of things every new Noble should know?)
DanteE: "You know we've taken down three Shards ourselves?"
Random_Nerd: Ananda: "That proves nothing, Dante. Several Mimics before have had Nobles who were themselves loyal to Creation."
Thom: (I wonder how much even they know about Kudzu)
Random_Nerd: Ananda: "But know that you are not yourself accused of disloyalty here. It is merely your Imperator whose behavior is doubtful."
Random_Nerd: Entropy glances at Ananda in a somewhat nervous way for a moment.
DanteE: (Ananda makes Entropy nervous?)
Random_Nerd: (In particular, Ananda of his own initiative explaining to people what Entropy /really/ means makes Entropy nervous.)
Random_Nerd: Surolam makes a screechingly loud cicada noise.

• Theresa shrugs. "Sanity is a crutch. Not even we understand _everything_ our Imperator does. But we believe that he desires the Universe to not be anhilated."
  

Random_Nerd: Ananda: "We four will trust your judgement on the matter, then."
Random_Nerd: Entropy gives Ananda another nervous glance.
Thom: (Can't vote against Entropy if Entropy hasn't voted yet. Clever.)
DanteE: (And now the new game: Who'
DanteE: (Who's Screwed Now?)
Theresa: (I prefer the one called 'So, Is It My Turn to Shovel Now?')
Random_Nerd: (Yeah, and if Ananda votes first, and Entropy votes against him, then there's a nonzero chance that the world will end.)
DanteE: to BS: "How many Dionyl are with him now?
Random_Nerd: Entropy stands beside you five, and sets his hand on Triad's shoulder: "You will watch the intruder. You will not of your own initiative challenge his reality for dominance. I know you have that code, but you will find a way around it. And you and the channcels around you will prepare the area to be defended against him should he attack."
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock: "Close to a thousand, now. Those that were with him before, and also some others have gone to him of their own will since then."
Random_Nerd: Entropy, to Triad: "I have no power to demand this, you realize? I cannot compel you in this matter. But you will still do it, won't you?"
Theresa: (Remind me to get Triad to a good cleaners.)
Random_Nerd: Triad fidgets in a manner like unto an earthquake.
Random_Nerd: Triad: "...yes, Ymera."
Thom: (Everyone melts when Entropy turns on the charm)
Theresa: (Wait a minute...isn't Triad the one of the three that isn't Domination?)
Thom: (Sometimes literally)
Random_Nerd: (Yes, Triad himself follows Splintering, although he lives in a Domination-oriented Chancel. This is part of why he was behind in the Chancel rather than leading a militia against the intruder.)
Theresa: (Then this must be really harsh on him. Entropy pulling this stuff might feel like being Dominated.)
DanteE: (Well, it's not really DOmination. It's a Force of Nature asking him nicely."
DanteE: )
Random_Nerd: (And also, Entropy is asking Triad, specifically, to do a Splintery thing rather than a Dominationy thing, and to get his Domination-following siblings to go along.)
Random_Nerd: Entropy takes her hand away from Triad's shoulder, leaving a steaming bloodly clawprint.
DanteE: (Should we tell them about Jaris?)
DanteE: (Or just presume they know?)
Random_Nerd: Entropy puts her hand on Theresa's shoulder and looks her in the eye: "Tell me everything you suspect about the Power of Urbanization."
Random_Nerd: Surolam, chittering: "Not the Power of Urbanization, Entropy."
Random_Nerd: Entropy, tense voice, to Theresa: "Explain this to me."
Theresa: (She's getting bloooood all over my suuuuuuit...)
Thom: (I suspect his name makes him more suitable to be the Power of Plants)
Theresa: "Which one, the previous Urbanization who came back from the Wall or the current one?"
Theresa: (Thom - ;P )
Theresa: ("Herb has this fixation on ninjas, but I've noticed that in small boys before...")
Random_Nerd: Ha-Qadosh: "The Power of Urbanization who came back from the Wall is dead?"
Random_Nerd: (Bah. He only created one ninja. He can stop any time he wants.)
DanteE: "Well, maybe not. We do know our Ymera ate him, but we did see him later."
Theresa: "As part of our Imperator. He changes shape often."
Thom: (That's what they all say. And then they have to go on a 12 step programme. I know this one guy, he says he's clean, but when he thinks we're not looking he starts playing with SHURIKEN)
Random_Nerd: The crust of blood on Ha-Qadosh's eyes crumbles and fresh blood flows from his sockets.
Random_Nerd: HQ: "Kudzu absorbed him, but incompletely?"
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock turns and stares at Dante.
DanteE: "Well, we saw his face kind of floating in the boss and complaining about his plight when he introduced the new Urbanization."
Theresa: "We don't know. We know that James was sent Outside. We lost contact with him. He reappeared in a kiln with starry eyes. Our Imperator dragged him underground and ate him. Kudzu changes form often, usually with multiple heads, arms and other limbs."
DanteE: "That could be clearer."
Random_Nerd: Ha-Qadosh: "Interesting. If he ever separates from his Imperator, he may consider himself summoned to the Council at the next meeting. You will tell him this should the situation arise."
Random_Nerd: Entropy, taking her hand off Theresa's shoulder: "Starry eyes?"
Theresa: "Yes, James had them. Not the kiln."
Random_Nerd: (Oh, and incidentially, because of the fact that the light is provided by a huge number of bright points, the eyes of everyone here look starry if you look at them directly.)
DanteE: (Did Sak/Suebi have starry eyes?)
Thom: (Oooooh. Nifty effect. Ominous too)
Theresa: (That's not reassuring. And I don't think we could see his eyes under the armor.)
Random_Nerd: (Sak/Suebi did not have eyes. But he did have drifting points of light in the place where his eyes would have been if he'd had a visible body under the armor.)
Random_Nerd: But the starry eyes here, in this room, don't drift. Theresa, Entropy is staring at you with eyes that look like they have stars in them, but stars that stay perfectly still and do not drift.
DanteE: (Did we ever touch James after he came back?)
Random_Nerd: (A couple times, probably.)
Random_Nerd: (Why?)
Theresa: (Ward.)
Random_Nerd: (Oh, the Warding. No, it did not affect him as if he were a Shard or Excrucian.)
DanteE: (Dim Warding.)

• Theresa looks back at Entropy through her sunglasses.
  

Random_Nerd: Entropy paces over to Dante.
Random_Nerd: Entropy: "Courage. I believe that you have a secret that you wish me not to know, that would do you danger if I knew it. Is this true?"
Random_Nerd: Entropy's clawed feet leave scars on the glossy black floor as she walks.
DanteE: "Probably several."
Theresa: ( o.O)
Theresa: (Entropy has Detect Honest, doesn't he? )
Thom: (Honesty and Courage, a suicidal mix)
Random_Nerd: Entropy: "I accept this, then, for the time being."
Random_Nerd: Entropy runs a talon-like finger across Dante's cheek, leaving a thin trail of blood.
DanteE: (I'm tempted to do another blood divination now...)

• Theresa boggles at the thought of Entropy...flirting.
  

Random_Nerd: Entropy: "But remember this, I enforce my laws and exert my power at my own pleasure, not according to fixed rules or patterns. Sakaroth hates this, and always has, but it is my way. Remember that just because I do not harm you does not mean that I have no reason or desire to."
Thom: (If you see that skirt start to hike I don't care how brave you are. Run.)
DanteE: "You know Sakharoth?"
Random_Nerd: (Oh, great. No, that was a thinkographical error. I meant Surolam.)
DanteE: (OK, back up 2 statements, then?
Random_Nerd: (Yeah, we can retcon out that line.)
Random_Nerd: Surrolam buzzes angrily.
Random_Nerd: Entropy walks back to the Dionyl and turns her back on Dante.
Theresa: (Somewhere out there, there is Entropy fanfic.)
Random_Nerd: Entropy: "I have made my decrees. My fellow council-members, do you have anything to add?"
Thom: (EntropyxLadyMoonSilverFaerieGardPowerofSimplePlanandbeingPopular)
Random_Nerd: Ananda: "Theresa. Dante. You are familiar with the Angel Barakiel, and his family?"
Theresa: (I am seeing a Twilight fanfic using Bella Swam and Ananda and I think I am retching...)
DanteE: "Yes. We've met them."
Theresa: "Nice Chancel."
Theresa: (Bella Swan even)
Random_Nerd: Ananda: "It is my wish that the next time you speak to him, you are to say something that you believe will make him afraid."

• Theresa _will not facepalm in front of the Council_.
  

DanteE: (Boo?)
Thom: (Oh God. Fire isn't enough to kill it with.)
Theresa: (This may be an Aspect miracle of Not Facepalming.)
Random_Nerd: Ananda: "Or if you do not speak to him within two weeks, you are to say something to his majordomo the Dominus of Consequences that, conveyed to Barakiel, will make him fear."
Thom: (I think Entropy has the hots for you.)
Random_Nerd: Ananda: "Does anyone oppose me in this?"
Theresa: (That's a horrible thing to insinuate!  :) You fit in very well...)
Random_Nerd: The other Council-members, including Entropy, look slightly confused but do not say anything.
DanteE: "Anything specific in mind?"
Theresa: (*makes mental bet on what the message is*)
Thom: (I aim to please)
Random_Nerd: Ananda: "I trust your judgement in this. And you are not required to succeeed, merely to try with the intent to succeed."
DanteE: (I think I know too...)
DanteE: (Hm.... I'd have to lie, but you could say it.)
Random_Nerd: Ananda: "But if you cannot think of anything, it may be helpful merely to state that I wish him to fear."

• Theresa blinks.
  

DanteE: "Can I ask why?"
Random_Nerd: Ananda: "Because I know two things which he does not wish me to know."
Theresa: (Oh, okay. I get it now. I thought he had a _specific_ message, not the 'oh by the way, mess with an Angelic Imperator's mind, k thanx bye.')

• Thom by now has run out of paper and is scribbling feverishly on his shirt-sleeve.
  

DanteE: (I think I know what one is...)
Random_Nerd: Ananda: "Another thing. Tell Shadows, the current one, that I bear him personally no ill will."
DanteE: (And scratch that 'I;d have to lie' thing, I can do it)
Theresa: "He's a very nice kid."

• DanteE should probably write this down...
  

Random_Nerd: Ananda: "Dante, Theresa, this is all. Powers of Triad, Tint, and Shock. Know that I regard you favorably."
Random_Nerd: The Dionyl nod while trying not to look directly at Ananda.
Random_Nerd: Ha-Qadosh, blood pouring from silvery eyesockets: "I have made my decree already. It would be wiser to aid me in this than to oppose me."
Random_Nerd: Surolam: "I wish merely for you to know that if you have lied to us in any respect here, I will discover it. Now, be done with this tiresome and unsettling business."
Theresa: (If you dropped a peroxide bomb into the place, with all of the blood, you'd take the roof off...)
Random_Nerd: Entropy paces back to the barrier that separated her original seat from the center area you are in, feet scratching the floor. A rectangular gap appears in the barrier.
Random_Nerd: Entropy: "You are dismissed, all of you."

• Thom rises from his place abruptly, and leaves the audience chamber, heading for the anteroom where the waiting petitioners are kept.
  
• Theresa turns around and heads out. Will not collapse until we get farther outside, thank you...
  
• DanteE follows the others, supporting anyone with wobbly legs...
  

Random_Nerd: Court Ogre: "Behold, tbe glorious will of the Council of Four. It is right to value and praise them!"
Theresa: (He says this with a straight face?)
DanteE: (It's his job)
Random_Nerd: The Court Ogre walks out the door you are leaving, looks at another smaller ogre, and shouts: "You! Get two more and bring rags to clean the floor, polishing stones for it, and a big block of shiny stone! We had a messy one."

• DanteE wipes off the blood... and keeps it
  

Random_Nerd: As you walk out, a flayed carcass with glowing red eyes stops you.
DanteE: (Martyrs?)
Random_Nerd: Carcass: "What do you want in exchange for the objects that have been touched by Ymera Entropy's blood?"
Random_Nerd: (No, not Martyrs. Similar look, but you can tell the difference.)

• Theresa looks at Triad.
  

Random_Nerd: (Martyrs looked to have been flogged with really sharp whips. This one is male, and seems more to have been vivisected.)
Random_Nerd: Triad: "...why do you want them?"
Random_Nerd: Flayed Dude: "Although he is not one of us, we value him. Those things that have been touched by Ymera Entropy's blood are held to be sacred relics by some of those who serve Hell."
Thom: (Am I allowed to accost them at this point?)
Random_Nerd: (Yes.)
Random_Nerd: Flayed Guy: "For the patch of cloth with blood on it from each article of clothing, I will give fifteen humans, or seventeen demons, or I am willing to offer other things if I know what you desire."
DanteE: What's the wiped-off blood look like to The Sight?
Random_Nerd: (Blood. Mundane.)
DanteE: "Humans from where?"

• Thom drawls, "And be those fifteen humans fresh off the griddle, or nabbed off the streets?"
  

Random_Nerd: Carcass: "Hell."
Theresa: (Wonder what Triad would want.)
Random_Nerd: Carcass: "For you, clothed spirit, I can offer only nine of your kind for it. Is this acceptable?"
Thom: (Isn't Dionyl all about subjective morality and perception? How do Dionyls end up in Hell?)
Random_Nerd: Triad: "No. I like this suit."
DanteE: (Hm. Saving 15 people from Hell... but, that's 15 people who went to Hell.)
Random_Nerd: (Hell pulls people of a certain sort, and Heaven pulls those of another sort. Most people, of course, bounce between the two as they die and are born.)
Random_Nerd: Flayed: "Understand, we do not wish these objects to do harm to anyone. Your scruples here are not affected. These are not tools to us, but mementos of something we value."
Random_Nerd: (Thom, what do you do?)
Thom: (It's not really my place, considering I don't own any of the object he's after. Not really sure if it's entirely appropriate to rush in to offer advice.)
Theresa: (Oh yeah, forgot that Entropy touched me too.)
DanteE: (YOu know the Stories of others who's taken this offer, ne?)
Thom: (Depends on whether he's a Noble)
DanteE: (Yeah, you've got a bloody handprint on your shoulder
Random_Nerd: (Dante has drying blood on his cheek, you have some on your shoulder.)
DanteE: )
Thom: (Here, have some cheek. I've got plenty to spare.)
DanteE: (No, I wiped that off. So it's on a handkerchief, I guess)
Theresa: "Would these be souls of humans or whole humans? In what condition?"
Random_Nerd: (Thom, you've seen this happen before. Some powers of hell does this whenever they hear that Entropy got blood around. They keep their bargains, but the whole thing is creepy.)
Random_Nerd: Flayed: "Normal people from our herds in Hell."
Thom: (Is the flayed guy a Noble?)
Random_Nerd: Flayed: "But if you wish, we can select them specifically if you have certain desires.)
Random_Nerd: (He's an Anchor that's currently being inhabited by his Noble.)
Theresa: "Who are you, by the way?" *forms a new less formal shirt under the stained one*
Random_Nerd: (Pro Tip: If anyone offers you the chance to be the Anchor of a power of Hell, wave something shiny at him and then kill yourself when he isn't looking.)

• Theresa shurgs out of the stained shirt.
  

Random_Nerd: Flayed: "I have set my name aside. I am merely a servant of corruption."

• Thom taps his pen against his teeth for a moment. "Your Estate, then."
  

Random_Nerd: Flayed: "Concessions Made To An Enemy."

• Thom fans himself with his trilby. "I can't tell whether that's dreadfully apropos or merely poignant."
  
• DanteE hands over the hankie with E's blood...
  
• Thom turns to the others. "Well, from what I know, the Powers of Hell are fairly upfront about these dealings. I'm not sure where your moral compass sits when it comes to freeing people from Hell though. Or dealing in Imperial relics."
  

Theresa: "We can't all have short names." *hands over the shirt* "I bind you to your word for the removal of fifteen humans from Hell. May I send my specifications later or do you need them now?"
DanteE: "Send 15 people who from your herd to ... where can we meet them?"
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "IF you are particular in your tastes, we may not be able to have 15. What type of human do you want?"
Theresa: "We have some relics of our own in our Chancel, not Imperial though. I don't think that Entropy's blood kills Nazis though."
DanteE: (so, do we get 15 each?)
Random_Nerd: He smiles fondly. "Ah, Nazis. They in themselves weren't so interesting, but they made so many wonderful /possibilities/ in the people around them."
Thom: "Entropy's blood might kill -anyone-."
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "It's just /blood/. It's not magic. We don't want it for power, but to show it our respect."
Thom: (If possible, I attempt a Lesser Divination regarding exchanges of this nature and whether they tend to be discreet.)
DanteE: "Assuming there's a sliding scale, can we get 30 people from the low end of depravity?"
Thom: "Well, that's being a bit blase, isn't it? Everything's magic."
DanteE: (Don't want 30 serial killers coming back...)
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "If you are not particular at /all/, I can get you... twenty one."
Theresa: (These would be helpful toward the Wild, yes, because they are being held against their will?)
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "If you want to be picky, ten, maybe."
Random_Nerd: (There are stories told about this sort of exchange.)
Thom: (Arguable, since it seems in Nobilis terms some people end up in Hell because on some level they feel they should.)
Random_Nerd: (The people who sell blood and other relics to Hell talk about them more than Hell does.)
Random_Nerd: (Incidentially, if you have a discarded claw that Entropy left in someone's back, you can get a hundred humans for it.)
Thom: "It occurs to me that if you people are interested in any particular period of history, you might want to lay claim to individuals who hail from that period. They might be able to answer some interesting questions."
Thom: (Remind me to push someone into him next time. Or her.)
Theresa: (I think this form of Entropy had a manicure.)
DanteE: (!)
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "So, do you want a smaller number of less corrupt individuals, or a greater number of randomly selected ones?"
DanteE: (Do we have a line on when Amyra was a Chancel last time?)(
Random_Nerd: (Hmm? I didn't think Amyra was previously enchanceled.)
Random_Nerd: (Kudzu's past history wasn't in Amyra.)
Thom: (Would someone who lived in a time before Kudzu have his perceptions altered once Kudzu came in and took over his current Estates?)
Random_Nerd: (Yes, to some degree.)
DanteE: (YEah, but he'd be speaking Babylonian)
Random_Nerd: (Now, Kudzu is a Wildlord, so his estates were forshadowed before he arrived. But you could, for instance, get people from before there was Hope and Plants and so on.)
Random_Nerd: (So? You're a Noble. You speak all languages.)
DanteE: (The people they'd be living with don't)
Thom: (I wonder where the souls of dead Nobles go)
Thom: "Say, got any ex-Nobles down there by any chance?"
Random_Nerd: (You have Herb, who has a pile of Realm. He could trivially make them understand any language he wanted to as long as they were in Amyra.)
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "A few. They are not for sale."
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "I offer to you from the herd, not from my personal collection."
Thom: (Well, he's been very up-front, and you guys have already bought in on it. -shrug- This should be interesting.)
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "So, what do you want for the cloth from your shoulder?"
DanteE: "Who do you have from Amyra?"
Random_Nerd: Concessions seems to be thinking for a moment.
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "Three."
DanteE: "We might get one or two guys Lesson stuffed in a fridge."
DanteE: "How about from before the enChanceling?"
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "It's a chancel?"
Thom: "When you offer to release someone from Hell, is that for good? If/when they die again, are they barred from Hell? Because if not, it seems like more of an extended loan to me."
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "We have nothing to do with the process that brings people to Hell. It just /happens/. It's natural law. People don't change much, so they'll probably go back to Hell within a life or two. But that's just a guess."
DanteE: "Yeah, it's been a Chancel for 3 months now"
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "But I'll tell you this. It's a better chance of getting out for good than they'll have if they stay in Hell."
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "So, Domina, what do you want?"
DanteE: "They might be the world's best preachers."
Theresa: "I'll take folks from Amyra and the rest of run of the mill humans."
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "Is the three from Amyra and five more assorted ones acceptable? Six more, if we get the dried blood from your brother's face."
DanteE: "You said 15."
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "FIFTEEN RANDOM ONES. IF YOU ARE PICKY, YOU GET LESS!"
Theresa: "The eight are fine for me. My brother's specifications are up to him."
Thom: (Wow, someone seems near the end of his rope.)
DanteE: "I'll take the 6, then."
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "There isn't much blood on your face, but I'll give you one for it. More, if we can also get the skin that Entropy touched."
Random_Nerd: He sticks a hand into a gaping rent in the left side of his torso, and comes out with a very sharp knife.
Random_Nerd: Concessions: "Six humans for that patch of skin?"
Thom: (He might find cutting Dante takes a bit of doing.)

• Theresa is glad she didn't shake hands. She likes the fingers she has left.
  

Random_Nerd: C: "Don't worry, it's sharp. You won't feel a thing."
DanteE: "I'm Blades as well. I'll get that..."
Random_Nerd: C: "So, six for the blood and the skin?"

• DanteE cuts the skin from his own cheek. Not too deep, but enough to hold together."
  

Random_Nerd: Concessions's anchor nods, and hands Theresa the knife to cut off the shoulder of her suit.

• Theresa just hands the whole suit jacket/shirt to him.
  

DanteE: "Here. Now let's talk about where they'll meet."

• Thom blanches slightly, and busies himself with rolling a cigarette.
  

Random_Nerd: C: "So, where do you want them delivered?"
Random_Nerd: He takes a square of purpleish-red silk from the gap in is side, and wraps Dante's flap of skin in it.
DanteE: "Roof of the Sears Tower. We can take them from there. And they might as well enjoy the view for a few minutes."
Random_Nerd: C: "Works for me. Is twenty-four hours enough?
Thom: (And also not being on fire. Or something.)
DanteE: "Sure."
Random_Nerd: He reaches in again and takes a tiny box made of rusty iron, and puts the folded silk into it.
Random_Nerd: C: "Then I will have your humans delivered to you there tomorrow at this time."
DanteE: (My face is probably already healed anyway)
Random_Nerd: (Yeah.)
Random_Nerd: (No scar, unless you want one.)
DanteE: (Naah.)
DanteE: (Besides, I've got a scar from my eye anyway)
DanteE: "See you soon..."
Random_Nerd: Concessions puts the box in his torso, and starts to walk away.

• DanteE looks over and sees Thom properly.
  
• Thom offers Dante his tobacco box.
  

Random_Nerd: As Concessions walks away, the red light in his eyes fades.
Thom: "Looks like you've had a rough time."
Thom: (Cigarette Bond, how I love you so)
Random_Nerd: Triad: "That was actually more creepy than the Council itself."
Theresa: "We walked out of the Court alive. Yay us..."
DanteE: "We may have actually got some respect.
DanteE: "And monkeys may fly out of my butt, but what the hell."
Theresa: (recon, please. Council Meeting instead of Court.)
Theresa: (Auctoritas would mess with that, though..>)
Random_Nerd: (So, a little more talk, and then we stop?)
DanteE: "Are you the court reporter of something?
Thom: (I'm fine with that.)
DanteE: (Thom should do a proper intro...)
DanteE: *or something
Thom: "Or something."

• Thom cracks a smile, exposing very white teeth.
  

Thom: "I be Thomas Lynn, Power of Stories. I heard that you recently faced a Warmain and didn't even get a T-shirt. What be that like?"
Thom: (notapirate)
Theresa: "We make our own t-shirts." *creates, hands a nicely folded one to Thom that says 'I faced a Warmain and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.'*
DanteE: "We didn't face him ourselves. We just got some Chancel inhabitants to safety while he faced off with Jaris and Orion."
Thom: "Orion? That be interesting. No one has seen that auld duffer move in ages. It must have gotten antsy for a while, yes?"
DanteE: "I know he took a good hit to the leg..."

• Thom slings the shirt carelessly across the shoulders of his pinstriped jacket, where it sits like a particularly gouache scarf.
  

Random_Nerd: (Anything else?)
Thom: "Aye, he's never been quite the same on that side since Diana got to him, to be sure."
Thom: (I'm fine)
DanteE: "We could talk about it more.
Theresa: (I'm good and/or braindead.)
Random_Nerd: _____________STOP_________________
DanteE: "Maybe over a tankard o'rum ..."
DanteE: So, you've got a sub-Domain over September 19? :)
Thom: -puzzled-
Thom: pirates?
DanteE: Talk Like a Pirate Day
Thom: I'm aiming more for a Northern English thing

• • • You are now known as BethE.
      

Random_Nerd: Aaarr.

• • • DanteE is now known as Knockwood.
      

BethE: Scottish?

• • • Thom is now known as Glass.
      

Glass: oops
Glass: Well, kind of. It's a bit funny really. The current 'proper' usage of "is" instead of "be" is merely a southern convention that became formalised because London, being in the south, kind of dictates linguistic norms
BethE: Well guys, I had a lot of fun and now I need sleep. Good night! And welcome back Etheric!
Knockwood: oyasumi-nasai Beth
Glass: If I ever have the chance to flesh out a backstory, Thom's from before standardised English.

Chancel_Amyra
Chapter 13