Session 36.5

Chancel_Amyra
Chapter 6

[BethL] There was a mention waaaaay back about James doing something about the gangs...
[Knockwood] Yes, eating them. *smile*
[BethL] I would think that they would have too much bad cholesterol. And lead.
[Random Nerd] Lesser Destruction Of Inedibility!
[JamesUrban] Pish. Mere gangs would only keep me busy a bit. Now Gangs of Carnivorous Giant Evil Bees is another matter.
[Knockwood] We've had those...
[BethL] Not carnivorous though...
[Knockwood] Damn close.

[BethL] How much does the Power of History hate enChancelments like ours?
[Random Nerd] Given that all actions of Imperators rewrite history, I imagine the Power of History drinks.
[Random Nerd] A lot.
[BethL] RN - see, I was bored at work and was thinking about how many Powers we ticked off just by enChanceling. That and that Steven Spielberg was a better director when he was Amyran.
[BethL] (Ooo, now there's a thought...if ET was based off of a native Amyran creature/being...)
[JamesUrban] Extra ! Extra ! ET's plague the Reeses Pieces Crop of Amyra again!
[Random Nerd] You got your topaz in my chancel? No, you got your chancel on my topaz?
[BethL] I was actually surprised...the book I'm reading on Prester John has only mentioned topaz once. And I'm more than halfway through the book.
[Knockwood] how about other gems? ISTR emeralds from somewhere...
[BethL] More precious gems are mentioned a lot. PJ supposedly had a scepter carved from an emerald. And there's a river that has gold and gems flowing through it. And fish.
[Knockwood] Hm... OK, now that probably would mean there were gold and gem seams in the riverbed...but could that possibly become more literal post-enChanceling?
[BethL] The river supposed was flowing out of Eden. And there was a different one of rocks/sand that flowed for 6 days and stopped on the Sabbath.
[Random Nerd] Wasn't there a wall of flame or something, for a while?
[Knockwood] Sounds like a Borderguard.
[BethL] RN - *nod* On the Sabbath, I think a wall of flame came up. It was supposed to either separate the whole country from the outside world or the Jewish section from the rest of the country.
[Random Nerd] So, that raises the question. Is this the first time Amyra has been Enchancelled?
[Random Nerd] And if so, how did it get disenchancelled, and who'd done the enchancelling?
[BethL] How do you break Chancels? Kill the Imperator and how else?
[Random Nerd] That's the main one.
[Random Nerd] S'probably other ways, but they'd have to be Epic.
[Knockwood] OK, but what would motivate him to not only leave but put away his toys?
[Knockwood] We've been assuming we were a first-world country pre-Chancel. Therefore we must have been hooked to the world.
[Random Nerd] True. Amyra was connected to the world for the few centuries preceding the game. But it seems that it may have been a chancel for a while, several hundred years ago.
[JamesUrban] I would think the Imperiator could de-chancel at will though if he didn't need it.
[Random Nerd] The Imperator, to enchancel, has to embed his soul in the chancel. That's why all Imperators with Nobles will generally have Realm 5.
[Random Nerd] Oh, and one other thing. These aren't just random mysteries, I do have a pretty good idea of Amyra's history as a chancel. And it connects to the previous Power of Courage! And the Maple, kinda.
[Knockwood] If the prior landlord wasn't Kudzu, but some other Imperator who got 'disempowered', he might still be around... but the Chancel might go back, and the memories edited to accommodate it. In fact, maybe that's why the place was so hard to find in the middle ages, it was either out or in transit
[Knockwood] PJ's letter could be a tool to hook it back up, or an attack on either the Chancel or Imperator.
[Random Nerd] Or, something else entirely.
[BethL] Well..it did inspire a lot of Courage...

[Knockwood] OK, RN, honest answer time:

• Random_Nerd looks shifty.
  

[Random Nerd] I reserve the right to not answer, or give technically-true weasel word answers.
[Knockwood] If we stumble upon an idea that you think is better than what you cooked up, would you stay with yours, or switch? *smile*
[Random Nerd] Hmm. Depends.
[Random Nerd] Some of my ideas for these mysteries are tied in to other ones and to stuff that's shown up.
[Random Nerd] Revising certain ones would require reconceptualizing a lot of my mental backstory. So, to replace one of those, it'd have to be significantly cooler.
[Random Nerd] As for the other stuff, as long as the new answer was equally consistent with the evidence to date and would require no retcons, I'd at least strongly consider changing it if it was more interesting.
[Random Nerd] Why?
[Knockwood] Just wondering. *smile*
[Knockwood] Maybe Kudzu ate the previous Courage!
[Knockwood] Of course, my backstory includes mention of the previous Courage... then again, maybe it wasn't _Courage_ that was in trouble.
[Random Nerd] There was a previous Courage. But the Library doesn't have anything about him in it, and Kudzu's not mentioned him at all.
[Random Nerd] I assume I have a bit of latitude to develop the history of the previous Courage, yes?
[Knockwood] Ah... yes. And I'll go ahead and give you permission to change the details of the 'big fight', as well.
[Random Nerd] And you don't mind if it eventually ends up connected to major ominous backstory elements?
[Knockwood] OK, I'll probably regret this but... I'll allow it, depending on coolness.

[Random Nerd] Am I too mysterious, as a GM?
[BethL] I would like to plead the fifth on that question, as I am due to marry you soonish.
[Knockwood] You're competing with RSB in the mystery department.
[JamesUrban] There is mystery, but there are also logical clues. The killer isn't introduced in the last chapter so far. Plus the game lends itself to mystery a bit.
[Etheric] Well, I only know you as an HG, though that may change soon with the WotG game. But, I think the mystery is by no means overbearing, though it is significant.
[Random Nerd] Variant GM-titles cause leprosy, if used with a straight face.
[Random Nerd] And I don't wanna be no leper, see.
[Etheric] Leprosy? Ack!
[Random Nerd] I'm, basically, trying to put a variety of guns on the stage in the first act, so they'll be there if we need them in the third act. But I can do less of it, if people prefer.
[JamesUrban] Chicks dig a man of mystery (or so I've heard.)
[Random Nerd] Nah, the man of mystery routine only works if you have a trenchcoat. And a katana helps a lot.
[JamesUrban] Little bit of scruff on the face too. and a steely gaze. and the ability to walk off into the sunset or fog.
[Knockwood] Yeah but arranging to have the sunset or fog in the right place is a royal pain.
[JamesUrban] Well, I start small by just being mysterious and hoping for the best sometimes.
[BethL] I like it, even if I keep wanting to poke at the Maple too much.
[Random Nerd] You just want Mysterious Syrup.
[JamesUrban] Veee have ways of making you talk Herr Maple. Bring out the woodchuck!
[BethL] It is reasonable to be worried a lot about whatever Entropy would think breaks his rules?
[Knockwood] I'm OK with mysteries, as long as we can _solve_ the bloody things...
[Random Nerd] You can, I think. You just came across a couple relevant details to some of them in the last two or three sessions.
[Etheric] I like the air of mystery as it is so far. Not overbearing, but still tangible.

[Knockwood] Our next plot has to involve finding and eliminating the Typo Fairy. All in favor?
[BethL] Knock - think you just taste good for the Fairy. Or maybe you are actually Summoning it.

[Knockwood] The other guy the King reported as being impossible to differentiate, even when looked at directly. The last thing we know of with that property was the 'tool' Consequences was using to put the good parts of that guy in another body.
[Knockwood] If those are connected, that'd mean... Kudzu went scouting with Barakiel.
[Random Nerd] Consequences, himself, had a similar property.
[Random Nerd] Barakiel, it appears, did not.
[Random Nerd] After all, people know what he looks like.
[Knockwood] Could be that he can obscure that when he wants
[BethL] And we were able to tell his feather apart from other stuff.
[Knockwood] Of course, that also means us meeting with Consequences was one helluva coincidence.
[BethL] *thinks* What if the other person was Consequences himself? He's old.
[Random Nerd] Yes. If it was Barakiel, it was a massive coincidence.
[Random Nerd] The connection between Barakiel and Lesson is not a coincidence, given where you got him.
[Random Nerd] Don't, incidentally, assume that the being was an angel just 'cause John did. He's the guardian of the Grail, so he's got angels on the brain to some degree.
[Knockwood] Barakiel is, among other things, the Angel of Shadows.
[Random Nerd] He is.
[Random Nerd] (I'm not saying it /wasn't/ an angel, just not to assume that it /was/.) Oh, and I will say that the issue of who John saw is not just a massive coincidence.
[Random Nerd] I don't like those.
[Knockwood] OK, so it isn't Barakiel
[Random Nerd] If it /is/ Barakiel, there's a /reason/ why it was, at least.
[BethL] So many mysteries...
[Random Nerd] I'm a GM.
[Knockwood] Let's see, if we view all this through a filter in which the Sneaky Bastard knob is turned to 11...
[Random Nerd] Also, this is Nobilis. I need to give you guys interesting stuff to do that can't just be solved with blatant force, 'cause if everything could be handled that way, you'd be done by lunchtime and then sit around wondering what to do.
[BethL] And that's why you're a better one than I am. I can't keep secrets/mysteries worth spit.
[Random Nerd] You don't seem to try as hard.
[Knockwood] ...Consequences is actually a Deceiver who is working to undermine us right at our most vulnerable, having heard about the impending enChanceling via scouting potential Nobles alongside Kudzu.
[Random Nerd] Could be!
[Random Nerd] You've only contacted him through the channels he gave you, and while the information he gave you about his Familia is correct according to the Library, he could have just looked that up.
[Knockwood] Who himself is playing the fence, so to speak, by cooperating with him to hedge his bet on which side will win the Valde Bellum.
[Random Nerd] So, it would be consistent with everything you've seen for him to have been a deceiver-shard disguised as Consequences.
[Knockwood] The Maple is actually Kudzu's illegitimate child, who will suddenly become a major plot point, after which he'll suddenly be played by another actor due to contract troubles.
[Random Nerd] *snicker*
[Random Nerd] Oh, and if Consequences was a deceiver, it means the Aides are probably spies.
[Knockwood] The Ark isn't actually the Ark, but instead contains something even more valuable... Elvis' demo tapes. All that shininess is from the rhinestones.
[Random Nerd] No... the Ark actually contains the briefcase from Pulp Fiction.
[BethL] How could the Aides be spies, as the places we visited were very highmagic for just something pulled together by a Shard.
[Random Nerd] Well, maybe they've been using the Aides as spies for quite a while.
[Random Nerd] That, in turn, might indicate that Luc is in on it.
[Random Nerd] So, obviously he's an Excrucian, and he killed those Nobles.
[Knockwood] William is actually a 'shadow' of Jack Klugman, and Samuel is a mummy of Tony Randall, and their bickering is actually their compulsive re-enacting of the Odd Couple dynamic.
[BethL] (*imagines the Power of Conspiracies listening in and saying, "Eeeeexcellent..."*)
[Random Nerd] The Maple is secretly a ninja.
[Knockwood] Well, yeah, being Kudzu's kid, he'd have effective Aspect 5+, so duh.
[Random Nerd] In fact, he's actually the Power of Shadows, who of course must be a ninja.
[BethL] He must be a ninja...I never see him move.
[Random Nerd] The whole "looking like a tree"…this is just ninja disguise techniques.
[Random Nerd] And not speaking... well, everyone knows ninjas are silent.
[BethL] Nah, I think that the Power of Shadows would have the gift of Lesser Creation of Ninja.
[Knockwood] BTW, being a Japanese word, the plural of ninja is ninja... not ninjas or ninjae. I shouldn't let that bug me on the Photoshop-Games thread...
[Random Nerd] Nah, 's an English word now that came from Japan.
[Knockwood] Though if I had any decent skills I'd put together a Vamp cover that says 'Angst-Puppy: the Mincing' or somesuch.
[Random Nerd] I mean, this is /English/. Just about /every/ word is borrowed from another language and then folded, spindled, and mutilated to fit.
[Knockwood] OK, then why the pseudo-Latin plural?
[Random Nerd] Because that's how English words do plurals, except when they don't.
[Random Nerd] Would you prefer ninjice?
[Random Nerd] Ninjies?
[Random Nerd] I mean... okay, what's the plural of "saga"?
[Knockwood] I mean, if you're going to have a fucked-up plural, at least have the _properly_ fucked plural... ne?
[Random Nerd] The Power of English is a dick. QED.
[BethL] Plural of saga = book.
[Knockwood] Or mythos.


Chancel_Amyra
Chapter 6