Session 107

Random_Nerd: When we last left, you guys had located two large mobs of Dionyl, which seemed to be under some sort of pressure from a figure you can't see clearly.
Random_Nerd: Also, I believe Dante had located Blue Shock in the nearer group.
Random_Nerd: __________________START______________
DanteE: (OK, set the scene? We're looking over the disturbance, and I;m guised as a local)
Random_Nerd: The murmuring of a thousand Dionyl fills the air. Individually, their words can't be made out, but it sounds like they're upset and nervous.
Herbert: (I'm not guised, I look a bit overwhelmed and Akane, my new ninja bodyguard is standing close to me, unsure of who to kill.)
Random_Nerd: The nearby ones are in two groups of roughly equal size, one somewhat nearer. The ground they're on is sandy-colored and has a glossy sheen to it.
Random_Nerd: Off in the distance, in the direction both groups seem to be looking at, there seems to be a smaller mob, although it probably contains close to a hundred.\
DanteE: "Blue Shock?"
Random_Nerd: Tough to tell from here.
Theresa: (I am also unguised.)
Random_Nerd: (Speaking at human volume, or aspect-based?)
DanteE: (Human, no sense messing people's minds up any further)
Herbert: (We were 'feeling' the presence of the intruder, no?)
Theresa: "We should probably split up."
Random_Nerd: (Well, bear in mind, people on Dionyl don't get DA in the way that folks on Earth would.)
DanteE: "And do what? The source is obvious..."
Herbert: "It is?"
Theresa: "Triage. Assess damage and the enemy might be using multiple prongs of attack."
DanteE: "We need to coordinate with the local Nobles..."
Herbert: "I agree, we have to talk to the local Powers."
DanteE: (Who's with us?)
Random_Nerd: (You guys, and you took Sameul and William.)
Theresa: (The ninja and Sam and Will.)
Random_Nerd: Suddenly, it feels for a moment like the world turned over. The furry green grass on the ground sings in a drunkenly off-key voice, while the sun bellows out the Dionyl equivalent of Gilbert and Sullivan songs in a pleasant baritone.
Random_Nerd: (oh, and there wasn't a sun, earlier. The sky was just uniformly bright.)
Theresa: "Ah, the crazy..it tastes like home."
Random_Nerd: The crowds of Dionyl start milling about more violently.
DanteE: "Now.... I seriously doubt two strange events on two Chancels at once is a coincidence..."
Random_Nerd: The crowd dynamics, incidentially, don't look exactly like they would with humans. Dionyl can't exactly bump into each other in the same way, but they can get caught in each others' vortices.
DanteE: "Let's get to Blue Shock, then go from there"
Herbert: "A concerted offensive?"
Random_Nerd: Over by the farther of the two large groups, the grass quiets down and stops waving.
DanteE: (Was there grass before?)
Theresa: "Not timed right for concert." *heads over toward what is probably Blue Shock.* "Seems more..panicy."
DanteE: "Sam... this would mean that something powerful is imposing its worldview on the local area, right?"
Random_Nerd: (There was not grass before. Instead, it was a shiny-smooth ground with odd glints to it.)
Random_Nerd: Sameul: "Even you guys felt that last one?"
Theresa: "The operatic sunshine was a clue."
Herbert: "So, where's that Blue Shock?" Herbert uses The Sight to locate Nobles.
Random_Nerd: (Okay, the Sight works a little differently here. Instead of the "everything is dark and grey that doesn't have some Spiritus Dei" look, it's more like the opposite of heavy objects on a rubber sheet.)
DanteE: "Oddly enough... the fact that there's grass and sun would mean whatever it is has a Earth-like worldview"
Random_Nerd: (Where you guys are, the "ground" is pushed up quite a bit, and it's brighter. Similarly, the two Dionyl groups are large uprisings, but each with a single peak, rather than several as by you.)
Random_Nerd: (And off in the distance there's what looks like a shining mountain.)
Theresa: (Geee...)

• Theresa will run over to the supposed location of Blue Shock, if there is a running path available.
  

Random_Nerd: Samuel: "This might not be its own preferred view, though. It could be trying to impose drastic shifts to shake people up, make them off-kilter and easier to win over."
Herbert: (I get it now! I was a bit tired at the end of last session...)
Random_Nerd: (There's a clear path, although the grass is about waist-height at the deepest between you and there.)

• DanteE heads for Blue...
  
• Herbert follows Dante. "Akane, stay close!"
  

Random_Nerd: Samuel: "Okay, now, if you want to change your view... I don't know how you do it, but that thing you do where you can trivially switch between the two worlds on Earth? It's like that."
Random_Nerd: Samuel: "Just pick how you want to see the world, and switch towards it, like you were picking a world on Earth."?
Random_Nerd: (err, no ?)
Random_Nerd: Akane the Duct-Tape Ninja: "Yes, master!"
DanteE: (AFK a sec...)
Random_Nerd: William: "And what do I do?"

• Theresa will change the grass so that there is a clear stable pathway.
  

Random_Nerd: Samuel: "Just... stay near one of them, that should help stabilize you. I don't have nearly enough power to keep your mind in one place."
Random_Nerd: The grass bends out of Theresa's way, its drunken melody suddenly overcome by mutterings and profanity.
Herbert: To Samuel, while he walks towards Blue: "So, we can control reality around us if we wish to?"
Random_Nerd: Samuel: "Yeah. Can't change the facts, but you can change how you see them."

• Theresa gives the grass the hairyeyeball as she is _Plants_ and will not be taking no backtalk at the moment...
  

Random_Nerd: Samuel: "Most of us have a preferred view, and stick to a city or shaping commune that sees things that way. Communicating with people with a different view is hard."
Random_Nerd: (Oh, and for the record, the grass is the thing that seemed like gleaming spots on the ground earlier. But it's close enough to what we'd call a plant that Plants miracles cover it.)
Herbert: "So, by default, my preferred view is the Earthly one?"
Random_Nerd: Sam: "I guess? I don't know, is it? Besides, there're two Earthly ones. Exactly two. Weird world, but I like it."
DanteE: (back)
Random_Nerd: (Okay, so, how many of you are moving towards Blue Shock?)
Herbert: "Oh yes, that's right." Herbert concentrates on prosaic thoughts as he progresses towards Blue. He does look unmiraculously at the bright mountain in the distance.
Theresa: (I believe all of us are.)
Random_Nerd: (The bright mountain is only visible to the Sight.)
Random_Nerd: (Without it... what's your Aspect?)
Random_Nerd: Dante arrives first at the nearby crowd, followed by Theresa, and then Harold and Akane.
Random_Nerd: When you reach the crowd, you feel faint tuggings on your perception, but not the massive churning slam of before.
Random_Nerd: Do you give in to them, or resist?
Theresa: (Resist.)
Herbert: (My Aspect is an abysmal 0.)
DanteE: (I'll go with it, it'll help us see what's going on)
Random_Nerd: (okay, with Aspect 0, you can't see anything notable in that direction.)
Random_Nerd: (The rest of you can see a group of Dionyl, close to a hundred, but can't see them clearly.)
Herbert: (I give in.)
Random_Nerd: Herbert, you're in the middle of a sculpted park in the Victorian style, looking at the path you guys have left through the blades of grass, which are playing golf, except for the ones that had to jump out of the way because of the miracle.
Random_Nerd: A rock is denouncing the materilism of modern society, to an appreciative audience of pebbles.
Random_Nerd: Meanwhile, the people are all waving swords and spears made out of words.
Herbert: (The people being the Dionyl? Great description by the way.)
Random_Nerd: To everyone else, things look the same.
DanteE: (People = ?)
Random_Nerd: (Yeah, but the fact that they're Dionyl seems perfectly ordinary. Meanwhile, you're surrounded by freakish beings of living meat.)
Random_Nerd: (Okay, Dante sees it too, if he goes with it. Missed that.)
Random_Nerd: Theresa, Harold, and the Ninja look repellant. It's like someone took the leavings of a butcher shop, tied and stapled it together into the rough semblance of a person, and tied some dull rags around it.
Random_Nerd: (Really, they look pretty much the same, strictly visually. But their appearance connotes that impression.)

• Herbert is suddenly disgusted by all that meat, but he tries to concentrate on the nearby Nobles.
  

Random_Nerd: Meanwhile, the people around Theresa stagger as if they were drunk.
DanteE: "Whoa! Damn, Martyrs wasn't that bad..."
Theresa: (*sigh* I'm never the pretty one...)
DanteE: (What about the ones around me?)
Theresa: "We're here to help. I'm looking for anyone who knows what's going on.":
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock parts the crowd, wearing a bright yellow robe, and with what looks like a WWI rifle over his shoulder.
Random_Nerd: "Plants, is that you?"
DanteE: "Blades here."
Random_Nerd: He swirls for a moment. "Oh, of course. And who's that with you?"
Theresa: "I'm over here. Where do you want us statined?"

• Herbert tries to shout angrily at the intruder in the distance, wondering if his words are going to be usable as melee weapons.
  

Theresa: (Stationed even.)
Random_Nerd: Herbert, a bright and shining sword comes out of your mouth and lands on the floor.
Theresa: "This is our new brother, Herbert. He is Urbanization." *pronounces the capital letter*
Random_Nerd: (Theresa, as far as you can see, he just shouted.)
DanteE: (Hey, that's my turf!)
DanteE: "Right now some of us are checking out the synesthesia you've got going..."

• Herbert grabs the sword with a smile and turns towards the others. "Hi! Pleased to meet you. How can we be of service?"
  

Random_Nerd: Blue Shock: "Okay, everyone, listen up. We have important visitors here, who have come to help us. Please, do not be alarmed or repelled by their appearance, it is completely natural for beings of their kind."
Random_Nerd: The sword starts fading, but then gleams again when Harold speaks.

• Theresa looks a bit sheepish.
  

Random_Nerd: Assorted Dionyl Around: "watermelonwatermelonrhubarbrhubarb" (or, on other words, generic crowd noises.)
DanteE: (/me tries pitching a watermelon at the whatever)
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock: "Okay, let's see. The problem is, I don't know exactly what's going on. If that's an Excrucian over there, he isn't attacking us."

• Herbert tries to keep up with the conversation, but feels compelled to start shouting "watermelonwatermelon..." with the others.
  

Random_Nerd: BlSh: "And we can't find out what he wants, because everyone who goes over to talk gets immediately won over to his side."
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock: "So, we've gathered as many able-visioned people as we could recruit into the militia, and we're trying to hold the changes off here, outside of the city."

• Herbert stops shouting "watermelon" and says: "Maybe we should go check it out. I doubt whatever that is can win us to his cause."
  

DanteE: "Well, it's not the guy who was attacking Chancel Jaris, he was much bigger..."
Theresa: "How is the rest of your Family?"
DanteE: "But I doubt it's a coincidence"
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock: "I don't know. If it's an Excrucian, or something woke up a sleeping god with brighter thoughts than most, he can probably impose his vision on even us."
DanteE: "Then you definitely need us humans."
DanteE: "Samuel, stay here.
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock: "That's why we aren't going in directly, because if we did, there'd be nobody to guide the militia."
DanteE: "William, you're with us, but stay back.
Random_Nerd: William: "Okay. Sorry, I'm just not quite sure what's happening."
DanteE: "That's OK, neither are we."
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock: "Conceptual Tint is with the other group, over there" *waves rifle* "and Triad is in the chancel, preparing the last line of defense."
Theresa: *to William* "Our minds are les flexible than those of the Dionyl. We can get close enough to get info and so forth without being brainwashed."
DanteE: "Blue Shock... you work on holding the line. If we can send your people back we will."
Theresa: (Laser-headed sharks?)
Random_Nerd: Demogogical Rock: *starts ranting about the low moral character of Kids Today*
Random_Nerd: Theresa, over in the grass, there's a squirrel chattering.
Theresa: (Hmm..I can't hear the rant, right, since I'm not in on the rock scene?)
Herbert: "SHUT UP!" Kicks the Rock away angrily.
Random_Nerd: (Correct. Instead, you see a six-legged squirrel.)
Herbert: "Sorry about that, I'm really stressed right now."
Random_Nerd: Theresa, Dante just kicked the squirrel
Random_Nerd: Rock: "Help, help, I'm being oppressed!"
DanteE: (Herb, not me)
Herbert: (Actually, Herbert did :p )
Random_Nerd: (To Theresa, it looked like Dante did it.)
Random_Nerd: Rock: "I have a family! You can't take me away to your gulags!"

• DanteE picks up the rock...
  

Random_Nerd: The squirrel is angry, Theresa, but Dante picks it up by the scruff of the neck.
Theresa: "Have we been reduced to kicking squirrels, now?"
Theresa: "I'm sure that with our current powers we could drop-kick it onto the Ash if you really wanted..."
DanteE: "Squirrels?
DanteE: "...what do you think I'm holding?"
Random_Nerd: Rock: "Fascist!"
Herbert: "This Rock is ruining my concentration with all that nonsense. SHUT UP!"
Theresa: "The result of a bad night tween a squirrel, Odin's horse and a keg of Pabst Blue Ribbon."
Random_Nerd: Herbert, your sword bends, and turns into more of a saber, and a rather rusty one.
DanteE: "Hm... to my point of view I'm holding a rock that's quoting Holy Grail."
Random_Nerd: Theresa, it sounds like Herbert has a bit of a cough, as his voice sounds a bit off.
Theresa: "Are you okay, Herb? You sound a little hoarse...
Random_Nerd: Akane: "Master, do you wish me to disembowel this unworthy rock?"

• DanteE puts the rock down in a nice place with all its rock friends
  

Random_Nerd: Pebbles:
Random_Nerd: "Yaay!"
Herbert: (How do I feel?)
Random_Nerd: Theresa, the squirrel rustles around in the grass.
Random_Nerd: (Fine. Your throat feels normal and your voice sounds normal to you.)
DanteE: "...let's get over there before things get more confusing"
Herbert: "I'm okay, just a bit confused."
Herbert: "So, we go take a look at whatever is causing the interference over there?"
Theresa: "Blue Shock, do you have any communication devices available?"
Random_Nerd: The giant tree made of blue metal screams in terror for a moment, then retroactively ceases to have existed.
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock: "We do, but it's not safe to use them here. If he could talk to us, he could affect us."
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock: "I ordered everyone in the militia to turn off their phones."
DanteE: (Can we pray to Blue Shock, or is the concept too alien to us?)
Theresa: "Got it. Okay, let's head out, guys. Sam, help out if you can, please?"
Random_Nerd: (You could, but he might not know it was you, and he's getting a lot of prayers right now. Or, honestly, you're high-aspect, you could yell really loudly.)
DanteE: "Oh, wait...
DanteE: "William, you and Sam have magic phones."
Random_Nerd: Samuel, to Blue Shock: "I don't know if you remember me, but I'm with the Society of Aides. We met at the gathering in Locus Kudzu. Is there anything I can do to help you?"
DanteE: "We'll take William with us, leave Sam here, and communicate that way"
Random_Nerd: William just looks sick.
Random_Nerd: William: "Magic...phones?"
DanteE: "Assuming William holds it together...."
DanteE: "well, phones."
Random_Nerd: William: "Yes. Cellular phones. Did you bring a satellite with you?"
Random_Nerd: William: "Sorry. Didn't mean to snap."
Theresa: "Dante, if Blue Shock's worried about sound contamination, we shouldn't risk it."
DanteE: "... point.
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock, to two militiamen: "You. You. You had phones, I saw them earlier. Give them to me. I'll give them back later if I can."
Random_Nerd: They do so, with a civilian's attempt at crisp military discipline.
DanteE: "Wait... if we talk to William and he relays it..."
Theresa: "And if there's a giant mouth in the background saying, 'Hey, tell them on the other end that I'm the High God of the Universe!' and backs it up with godlike convincing?"
DanteE: "All right... we'll go in alone, then, and improvise once we get there."
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock: "How about this. You take one phone, you call only if it's important, and before you do so, you make yourself see the world in some way that isn't what's going on over there. You talk only to me, who will have the other one."
Theresa: "Our favorite strategy!"
DanteE: "That works..."
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock hands Dante a phone, which looks surprisingly similar to human phones, except it's made out of marble.
Random_Nerd: Theresa, Blue Shock hands Dante a lump of rock, with quartz crystals growing out of the side.
Theresa: "Ready, Herb?"
Herbert: "Marble? How strange... Well, let's get moving."
Random_Nerd: Samuel: "I forget, did we invent phones and bring them over to you guys, or the other way around?"
Random_Nerd: William starts quietly reciting Jabberwocky to himself.
Random_Nerd: (That's what Theresa sees.)
DanteE: "William, need a little miraculous help holding it together?"
Random_Nerd: Dante, Herb, William starts taking little triangles of metal out of his mouth and sticking them to his jacket.)
Random_Nerd: William: "It can't hurt, sir."

• DanteE zaps William with a Ghost-LC-Courage
  

Random_Nerd: He nods, but keeps reciting/taking metal bits.
Herbert: (How's Akane holding up?)

• Theresa will shrug and head toward the group of Dionyl in the distance.
  

DanteE: "Later I can tell you the one about the Young Man from Nantucket, for emergencies."
Random_Nerd: Akane seems fine, and has a breezy ninjaish demeanor.
Random_Nerd: (Dante, as far as you can tell, he isn't reciting poetry.)
Herbert: (Are we moving towards the intruder?)
Random_Nerd: Blue Shock salutes, and then glares at his people, who salute as well.

• DanteE heads for the Whatever
  

Random_Nerd: (I believe you are now, having worked out the phone thing.)
Random_Nerd: William: "As soon as I get home, I'm enrolling in that shamanism class that Sam always was going after me to take. Locus Barakiel was bad enough, but this?"
Theresa: "Good teachers?"
Herbert: "All right, so if it's an Excrucian, what's the plan?"
DanteE: "William, stay in back just in case."
Theresa: "Gibber if it's a full on Excrucian. If we're lucky, it's 'just' a Shard."
Random_Nerd: Akane: "I shall slay the enemy as soon as you permit, master!"
DanteE: "Plans are for lesser beings..."
DanteE: (OK, Sight & Aspect 3... what do I see looking over there?)
Random_Nerd: (A bunch of Dionyl circling around an animate but empty suit of armor.)
Random_Nerd: (That's with normal Aspect 3 sight. To the Sight, the peak of the mountain corresponds to where the suit of armor is standing.)
DanteE: (Any miracles in effect on the Dionyl?)
Random_Nerd: (No greater ones that were done recently, you'd have to do a witch-hunt rite to find lesser ones or old ones.)
DanteE: (Let's see, which of us has the best Spirit?)
Random_Nerd: (I have no idea.)
Random_Nerd: (What do you each have?)
Herbert: (So, we're facing an empty suit of armor? I have one dot of Spirit.)
Theresa: (1 for me.)
DanteE: (2 here)
DanteE: (Guess it's my lead. What are they doing, when we get closer?)
Random_Nerd: (They appear to be singing, but you can't make out the tune.)
Random_Nerd: Then you get closer, and stumble into the arena. The other knights are making fun of you, but that makes sense, because you seem to have neglected both armor and horse, not to mention your lance.
Theresa: (If it's the Boom De Yada from the Discovery Channel, I'm outta here...)
Random_Nerd: (Only Dante sees things that way, since, as he has the highest Aspect, I'm assuming he was a bit ahead.)

• Theresa looks down her nose at those other knights.
  

Theresa: (I also have Aspect 3. herb is Aspect 0 and beats me on Will.)
Random_Nerd: Dante, the other knight is your exact opposite. He seems to have brought armor, lance, and horse, but neglected to include himself.
DanteE: (o/~ I love the weirder rites/I love insanity/I love the Aspect fights/And Powers after me... o/~ )
Random_Nerd: Theresa, you stumble into the arena too. Your dress hem is dragging in the dirt.

• DanteE approaches the Knight...
  

Random_Nerd: Knight Who's Invisible Or Not There Or Whatever: "What is your intent, sir?"

• Theresa does not care about her dress hem dragging. She is a hippy earth mother kindergarden teacher and a little dirt doesn't hurt!
  

DanteE: "Depends. What's yours?"
Random_Nerd: But Theresa, your dress is beautiful, long and flowing in deep blues and reds! It'd be shame to damage it!
Random_Nerd: Herb, you show up in the arena as well. You have no horse, but at least you brought a sword, even if it is a dull one.
Random_Nerd: What do you do?
DanteE: Also, what's the place look like to The Sight?
Random_Nerd: (To the Sight, it's like there's a valley between you and a peak on the other side. Your side's lower, even if the peak has three points instead of one.)
Herbert: "What the hell is going on?" Looks at the sword for a moment, and then at the knights. "Hey, you! What are you doing here? What do you want?"
Random_Nerd: Samuel: "Okay, now, he's basically challenging you to a duel of worldsight. It's a Domination thing. Basically, the stronger person makes the weaker see things his way."

• Theresa elementals her legs taller so the dress isn't dragging.
  

Random_Nerd: (Err, he isn
Random_Nerd: 't here.)
Random_Nerd: (Okay, he didn't say that.)
Random_Nerd: William isn't saying much of anything.
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "I wish to conquer or be conquered, so that the strongest vision prevails. Do you wish to challenge me, or to accept my vision?"
Herbert: (Oops.)
DanteE: (Nuts, that means we can't act on that)
Theresa: "Is it three on one or one on one?"
DanteE: "Why?"
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "So that, in the end, there will be only one world."
DanteE: "aha... Theresa, you remember what they told us about Splintering and Domination?"
Random_Nerd: In the open visor of his helmet, there are two gleaming spots of air, where you would expect eyes.
Herbert: To Theresa and Dante: "So that's a Dionyl?"
DanteE: "... so it would seem. He's some kind of Avatar of Domination."
Theresa: "That they fight like the Light and Dark at home."
DanteE: "But that would mean he's from our side of the Weirding Wall"
Random_Nerd: Knight: "I don't think that's what I am. I'm either the Domination Sakaroth, or the Warmain who killed him."
Random_Nerd: Knight: "And, lady, I will face you all at once, or one at a time, whichever you choose."
Theresa: "Ah, see, that's something different."
DanteE: "In the name of Sakaroth, Drop your weapons!"
Theresa: (That's the Mimic, Dante...)
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "No."
Herbert: "Who's Sakaroth?"
Theresa: (Oh, sorry, Deceiver.()
DanteE: "Worth a shot."
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "Me. Or him. I'm not quite clear on that part."
DanteE: (How far away?)
Random_Nerd: (About thirty yards.)
DanteE: (And I may know what happened...)
Theresa: "What are the rules?"

• DanteE strides forward.
  

Theresa: (Oh?)
DanteE: (Remember what RN said was a side effect of crossing the Wall?)
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "You win, or I win, and the defeated concedes the rightness of the victor's cause. No physical harm."
Herbert: (Same thing that happened to James?)
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "Do you happen to know which one I am? I can hardly be both the Domination Sakaroth /and/ the Warmain Suebi at the same time."
DanteE: "What if both sides are right?"
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "If both sides were right, there would only be one side."
Herbert: "And what is your cause Empty Suit of Armor?"
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "That the true world be found, and that all shall live in it."
DanteE: "There is a way to test what you are."
Theresa: "Will your purpose be to show us this true world?"
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "If my world is the true one, then yes. If yours is more true, then you shall instead show it to me."
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "What is that way, sir?"
DanteE: "Easy. Stay there..."
DanteE: (Now... am I correct in assuming that our Dim Warding would have _some_ effect even on a full Excrucian?)
Random_Nerd: (Probably. They wouldn't like it, but it wouldn't incapacitate them, and they could take it apart if they wanted to.)
Theresa: (You mean on a Shard instead of an Anchor?)
Random_Nerd: (If they did, Kudzu could put it back together for you once you get back home.)
DanteE: (Right. So if I touch him, and he feels something, he's an Ex.)
Herbert: (Or in love with you :) )
Random_Nerd: (Presumably.)
DanteE: (If he doesn't feel something--more likely, if I've got it right--he's from our side, just with his mind Swiss-cheesed by the trip)
DanteE: "Our worldviews are not incompatible, which means you and I have no reason to fight."
DanteE: (Hang on... didn't we hear the name Suebi before?)
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "They are not incompatable, but neither are they the same. One vision or the other shall be proven."
Random_Nerd: (No, you heard a similar one. Sueridas, I believe.)
DanteE: (Am I close to him?)
Random_Nerd: (Pretty close. Nearly within physical contact range.)
DanteE: "It's a simple test, which should tell us who you actually are.
DanteE: "Ready?"
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "I'm starting to think that I can't be either one, though."
Random_Nerd: EK: "What is the test?"
DanteE: "Easy... tell me if this hurts."

• DanteE lays a hand on him. (Literally.)
  

Random_Nerd: (On the armor, or inside it?)
DanteE: (Hm... armor first)
Random_Nerd: Doesn't do anything.
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "Who am I?"
DanteE: "Still checking... hold still.

• DanteE pokes a finger into an opening (deliberately avoiding any sensitive bits :) )
  

Random_Nerd: The Empty Knight jerks back.
Random_Nerd: EK: "Physical harm will not be permitted!"
Random_Nerd: Dante, you fall down the hole, and keep falling.
DanteE: "I don't intend to hurt you if you're from our side."
Herbert: "Uh-oh..."
Random_Nerd: Dante is just standing there.

• DanteE thinks about the comfy chair from his office.
  

Random_Nerd: Dante, you're falling down through empty space, a chair beside you.

• DanteE thinks about being in his office sitting in his chair
  

Herbert: "Dante, you're okay?"
Random_Nerd: The Empty Knight stares at Dante.

• DanteE tries to 'tune in' to Theresa's voice...
  

Random_Nerd: The office is visible around you for a moment, but then fades again. The chair seems a bit more vivid, though... and then you hear Herbert, and you're back standing where you were.
DanteE: (Oops, I mean Herb's voice)
Random_Nerd: (I figured.)
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "So, it was just a trick, then. I should have known. Go back to whoever sent you."

• Herbert starts thinking about cities, actually, about the archetypical City, he starts with its sounds and smells...
  

DanteE: "Herb? Keep talking..."

• DanteE tries taking his lance away
  

Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "Do any of the rest of you have theories who I am? I can think of persuasive arguments for both people I might be."
Herbert: "I'm thinking about a City... A great City made up of fragments of all of the great metropolises."
Random_Nerd: Herbert, you start to feel your city taking place around you.
Theresa: "We have been blessed with a touch that reveals Shards and their agents. If Dante has truly touched you and you are unaffected, this is a case that you are not a Warmain."
Random_Nerd: (Dante, you're trying to take his lance out of his hand?)
DanteE: (Yeah... while using Herb's voice to stay 'grounded')
Random_Nerd: He holds onto it, and then says "NO!" in a booming voice.
Herbert: "Athens, Rome, Paris, London, New York, Tokyo, Beijing, they all blend in my mind, as one great mosaic. A testament to Man's realizations, but also a thing with a mind of its own..."
Random_Nerd: (Okay, remember when you fought the Warmain Shards? Remember Winds of Hate? Yeah, about that.)
Random_Nerd: (Miracle level 6, Pen 3. Is your Spirit 3 or less?)
DanteE: (That would mean there's probably an opening...)

• Herbert keeps on dreaming of his ideal City, and arenas and knights and all of that nonsense pales in comparison to the richness of this urban tapestry.
  

Random_Nerd: (And, let's see, were you Sacrosanct or Durant?)
DanteE: (Sacrosanct)
Random_Nerd: (Good. Otherwise it'd be a deadly wound.)
Herbert: (Afk for a minute.)
Random_Nerd: Herbert, your concentration is broken by Dante flying through the air at a good clip, just past your shoulder.
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "You're my enemies, I think. I should be able to figure out who I am from that. Who are you?"
Random_Nerd: He waves his lance in the air.
Theresa: "We are the Nobles of the Imperator Kudzu."
Herbert: (I'm back.)
Herbert: (Does Dante look all right?)
Random_Nerd: EK: "I don't know you. Neither one knows you. Why are you my enemies, then?"
DanteE: (I think I took a Serious?)
Random_Nerd: (Dante looks abraded and bloodly, from where he scraped across the ground as he landed, but he doesn't seem to have any internal damage.)
Random_Nerd: (In other words, you're in pain, but aren't hurt in a game-mechanical sense.)
Theresa: "We were invited to this world to stop the damage that you are causing to the people who live here."
DanteE: to T&H: "Distract him..."
Random_Nerd: EK: "Oh, I know. The thing that you did to not die then, I saw how you did it. I saw how you did the thing that hurt me, too. I know how to make it so that you can't do that."
Theresa: "You were hurt? How?"
DanteE: (Can we get a gauge of his Spirit?)
Herbert: "Your cause is faulty. Our world is the true one."
Random_Nerd: (You can, by doing hostile miracle to him until one sticks.)
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "How can my cause be faulty, then, if there is a true world?"
Random_Nerd: Herbert, your city starts forming around you again, bit by bit the tournament ground being replaced by it.
Random_Nerd: William moves to stand closer to Herbert.
DanteE: "You two think he's a Warmain, or just in awe of my usual diplomatic skills?"
Theresa: "Your truth is not ours."
Random_Nerd: William: "Is there anything that I can do to help?"
Random_Nerd: Empty Knight: "Yes. So, we shall contend. Then, either my truth will be yours, or yours will be mine."
Theresa: *whispers to Dante* "If you actually hurt him, he's more probably a Warmain. Unless you happened to poke him in an appendix scar or something."
DanteE: "Tell us about Sakaroth and Suebi"
Herbert: "Your world is made of domination and conquests, of clashes and disputes. These pass. The City stays. Always."
Random_Nerd: EK: "If I was the Warmain, rather than the Domination, I think I would be killing you now. I don't think it would be very difficult."
Random_Nerd: EK: "That's my main evidence in favor of the theory that I'm Sakaroth."
DanteE: "If I touched you and it hurt, you're Suebi. If I touched you and it didn't hurt, you're Sakharoth, and you're hurt."
Random_Nerd: EK: "But cities are where truths are found. They are the strongholds of visions. Those who live in a city share the same view of the world. Those who do not see the same, and act against it, are punished or cast out. Those who come to a city from outside are won over to it, or else leave again."
Theresa: "If you were the Warmain, you would be dedicated to the cause of converting these Dionyl to yourself and thus would not stop until completed."
DanteE: to Theresa: "That's what he's doing.
Random_Nerd: EK: "No, conversion is what Dominations do. 'When faced with other perspectives, contend against them until there is a victor.'"
Random_Nerd: EK, to Herb: "Your City, does it contain one view, or many?"
Herbert: "Cities shelter truths and lies indiscriminately. It's a theatre of clashing viewpoints and ideas, of different people and classes. Conformity dies in its streets and houses."
Random_Nerd: EK: "Then it is no city. When people live together in one place, but no man sees things as his fellows do, there is strife, and suffering."
DanteE: (Go, Herb, go!)
Theresa: *to Dante* "No, he said that he would have been killing us. He's not, so there's conflict."
DanteE: "No... there's Splintering.
Herbert: "In its agora, today's victor is tomorrow's outcast. Your tournament means nothing in it. It will keep growing on the ruins of those who try to destroy it."
Random_Nerd: EK: "People may be of one mind, and live together. Or they may be of different minds, and live separately. But for there to be peace, people living in one place must see the same world."
DanteE: "Not humans...
Random_Nerd: EK: "The world I seek is a city, too. But a different city."
DanteE: "We have different worldviews... and live together."
Random_Nerd: The world around you starts shifting again, towards the city."
Herbert: "Your City is a Village, it has no future. The City will grow and engulf it in time. "
Random_Nerd: EK: "In the world I seek, all men see the same thing. They value the same things. They may disagree, if their motives are different, but they will not have incompatable axioms."
Random_Nerd: EK: "If they differ, it is because they have misunderstood one another. If that happens, they must spend time together and share their perspectives until they see things similarly. Disagreement is caused by misunderstanding."
Herbert: "Your world is as empty as an utopia. It is litteraly Nowhere. It is devoid of existence, thus irelevent."
Theresa: "What about people who argue for the fun of it?"
Random_Nerd: EK: "It is not here yet. But it will be. I am building it, even now. The building is not yet present, but the foundation has been laid, and the frame is even now being constructed."
DanteE: "Where is this city of yours?
Random_Nerd: EK: "Those who argue for the fun of it may well share the same view. Two may feign disagreement to find pleasure in dispute. Similarly, two may feign to be enemies so that they may try their skills at combat against each other, but with no real dispute or harm meant."
Random_Nerd: EK, to Dante: "It is in the Fourth Age."
Herbert: "The ruins of a thousand such projects are hidden within the nooks and crannies of great metropolises. The skeletons of the fools who pursued them lies besides the bones of those who didn't care for such enterprises. Your dream means nothing."
Random_Nerd: EK: "So your city has a place for all sorts, save those that dream of a different life?"
DanteE: "Where is it physically?"
DanteE: "More to the point... which side of the wall?"
Herbert: "All of those dreams are there, competing for realization. None of them is completely realized, none of them entirely disapear. Together, they form the tapestry of the polis, willed by all, controled by none."
Herbert: "That, is the City."
Random_Nerd: EK: "May it fairly be said, in your city, that one man is honest, or another man dishonest?"
Herbert: "There are all sorts there. So I suppose you could say that."
Random_Nerd: EK: "But is it true? If I say that a man I know is honest, and you say that he is not, is one of us correct, or both?"
Herbert: (I feel some clever paradox coming to bite my ass :p )
DanteE: (Hm... maybe we should just let Herb lead. :) )
DanteE: (watch as he comes into his own both OOC and IC.)
Theresa: (This is RN Arguement Prana. I recognize this from years of knowing/living with him...)
Herbert: "It depends on the circumstances I suppose."
Theresa: (And yes, there is usually ass-biting involved...oh, wait, wrong image there...)
Random_Nerd: EK: "How so? May a may be both honest and dishonest, in your city?"
Random_Nerd: (Err, may a man.)
Herbert: (As a last resort, I have my ninja.)
Random_Nerd: (Heh.)
Theresa: *to Dante* "If he was a Dominion, who was his Imperator?"
DanteE: quietly, to William: "Sakharoth. Tell me about him, now."
Random_Nerd: William: "A Domination is an Imperator. It is one of the two forms of Imperator unique to Dionyl."
Herbert: "Honest or dishonest? According to whose rule? To what situation? Those who populate the City can make their laws, they will always be imperfect, but necessary."
Herbert: (Dante, you asked for a distraction, I'm just delivering the goods ;) )
Random_Nerd: William thinks, and then touches the sphere in his ear.
Random_Nerd: EK: "So there is no truth? All men are both liars and truth-speakers, and at the same moment?"
DanteE: (Ah... keep distracting so we can do something rash)
Herbert: "A man may be honest to some, dishonest to others. Each can form their opinion on him, rulers may judge him. The truth of his honesty lies within himself."
Theresa: "Ah, thank you, William. How nice, we're arguing with yet another Imperator. And no distracting Nobles with shiny toys at the moment..."
Random_Nerd: William: "We don't know of such an Imperator. He might be obscure, or he might have died before we were formed."
Random_Nerd: EK: "So, if a man is truly honest, he bears a truth in him that is true even if those around him are not aware of it?"
DanteE: to William: "Is there a power of Arenas, or competitions, or something similar?"
Random_Nerd: William: "Not of arenas. There are several Imperators associated with competition."
DanteE: "... was there one of jousts?"
Herbert: "I suppose so."
DanteE: "And while you're at it, check the name Suebi?"
Random_Nerd: William: "If there was, he is forgotten, at least to us. But surely not, for you and I know what a joust is."
Random_Nerd: EK: "And is it the nature of an honest man to keep the truth concealed at all cost, or to share it with others when he can?"
Theresa: (Sneaky git...  :) )
Random_Nerd: William: "Suebi. Him, we know about. He's a Warmain of the Excrucians, considered fairly powerful, because it is believed that he once defeated an Angel in single combat."

• Theresa blinks. "Impressive."
  

Herbert: "He'll share it with others if he can when he's standing in a church, a university or the scene of a theatre; he'll keep it concealed if he's threading in the darkest and most dangerous alleys or the halls of the politicians."
Random_Nerd: William: "But I doubt this could be him. If it is, he is our enemy, and he would know this even more well than we."
DanteE: "Which means if this guy fought him he'd be a lot more hurt... if the reputation is right"
Random_Nerd: EK: "So, then, the places in which an honest man may not share the truth with others are of a low, dangerous, and contemptable sort?"
Herbert: (I'm not sure how much longer I can distract the Angel killer. Perhaps it's time to send in the ninjas ;) )

• DanteE tries to make the place more like a jousting tourney of old... sunlight, ribbons... brave soldiers all around...
  

Random_Nerd: William: "Yes. The Warmains of the enemy do not flee a battle save at last resort. Honestly, I'm surprised that the one that attacked Locus Jaeris was willing to run away."
Theresa: "I think he just insulted this Chancel, by the way..."
Random_Nerd: (Do you guys want to call it a night soon, or continue?)
Herbert: "Not necessarily, the hall of the politicians is home to intrigue and treason, but also to great dreams and realizations."
Theresa: (I think I might want to call it a night but I haven't been the best of help in all of this tonight so don't count my vote...)
Random_Nerd: EK: "So, high dreams and ambitions are honorable things, even enough to redeem an otherwise low situation."
Random_Nerd: EK: "And the truth is to be valued, and shared with others, and when situations do not permit this, it is they rather than the truth that are at fault."
Random_Nerd: EK: "I have decided. I value my city far above yours, as a place where the truth may be known by all, rather than concealed or misunderstood."
Random_Nerd: EK: "Are you persuaded, or do you still value discord over harmony?"
DanteE: (Any luck imposing my will on the scene?)
Herbert: "You may value your imaginary city more than mine, but yours is Nowhere, mine is all around us."
Theresa: "I too value the discord of life over your harmony."
Herbert: "I value discordant harmony, an orderly chaos, a chaotic order of things. I value the City. That which is real."
Random_Nerd: EK: "So, please, help me! The city of discord is all around us, the city of harmony is only begun."
Random_Nerd: EK: "What is real, as you say it, is only what is real now. It shall change. Change is the nature of things. Help me. Let us make them change for the better."
Herbert: "You think as a child, looking desperately for black and white, but the Truth is in an infinity of shades of grey. Wasting energy, looking for absolutes, is a foolish waste of time and resources. And you would ask for my help in this endeavor? I offer you repose in the halls of the great cities of the world."
Herbert: (And yeah, I'd probably call it a night soon :) )
Random_Nerd: EK: "And you speak like an old man, who has grown tired of striving. Or else a weak man who never tried. The great cities as they are are merely an approach to what hey may become."
Random_Nerd: (Err, what /they/ may become.)
DanteE: "You could argue that advocating the Domination mindset to this extent would verify his identity... a Warmain would just want to eat it. And/.or us."
Herbert: "But that's where you're wrong. There is no destination, no endpoint. The City is a palimpsest, it has no single author."
Random_Nerd: EK: "That's my theory. But on the other hand, I recall being killed by the Warmain Suebi, and I recall killing the Domination Sakaroth."
Random_Nerd: EK: "But if those memories I have of being Sakaroth are true, then they show that I am him, and if they are not, then they cannot prove anything."
Theresa: "But why would a Dominion be freaking out this way and trying to pick a fight _now_?"
Random_Nerd: EK: "Exactly! That is why I cannot merely impose the truth I see on others! I must find those with strong truths, and strive against them."
Random_Nerd: EK: "And if they are defeated, but still strong, they shall shape the truth I bear."
DanteE: "Could he have Tempered Sakharoth?"
Random_Nerd: EK: "This is why we must challenge all the truths we find, so that the final truth will be the product of all."
Herbert: "There is no final truth."
Random_Nerd: William: "He could have. It would make sense. But it doesn't do /this/. Warmains who temper themselves still remember who they are."
Random_Nerd: EK: "Yet."
DanteE: (Unless they cross the Wall afterwards)
Random_Nerd: EK: "Do you say that I am not merely wrong, but that I will fail? Prove it then. Stop me."
Random_Nerd: (William doesn't know how the Wall works, though.)
DanteE: (Neither do we IC)
Random_Nerd: (Shall we stop here, then? It seems like a good place for it.)
Herbert: (Sounds good.)
DanteE: (OK... though we might just go for the direct approach and try tackling him)
Theresa: (Sounds like a good place to stop for me.)
Random_Nerd: __________STOP_____________

• • • Herbert is now known as Harold.
      
    • DanteE is now known as Knockwood.
      
    • You are now known as BethE.
      

Harold: My ninja is moving into position as we speak to inflict him a deadly blow from which he'll never recover.
Random_Nerd: So, what did you think?
BethE: I'm sorry I've been so quiet, guys. I don't argue well, philosphically, and when I recognize the RN Arguement Prana, I can tell how useless I will be.
Knockwood: yer sneaky.
Harold: It's easier to play D&D ;)
BethE: If your ninja can take out an Imperator, I will nominate him for Emperor of Ninjas.
Knockwood: you need to watch for Beth coming up behind you with a tennis racket... :)
BethE: If I couldn't handle him being sneaky in arguements, I wouldn't have married him.  :)
Harold: There certainly is a Power of Ninjas out there.
Knockwood: OK, let's analyze this...
Random_Nerd: The Power of Ninjas is mentioned in the GWB, actually.
Random_Nerd: In the pink one, too.
Random_Nerd: He's the example of Unblemished Guise, I believe.
Harold: I liked the session a lot. I was a bit nervous about handling the philosophical conversation with the Empty Knight. English isn't my first language, so trying to convey complex thoughts can be a frustrating exercise.
Random_Nerd: Oh, wait.
Knockwood: He may be Sakharoth because 1) he's arguing passionately for teh Domination worldview; 2) He's not destroying the place; 3) he claims to remember killing the Ex...
Random_Nerd: He's the Power of Delusions, he just /thinks/ he's a ninja.
Harold: lol
Harold: That's the ultimate ninja trick.
Random_Nerd: No, he remembers killing the Domination.
Harold: Could he be Sakharoth, but somehow messed up by a trip outside of the Wall, like James was apparently?
Knockwood: He remembers both
Random_Nerd: No, he remembers killing the Domination and being killed by the Warmain.
Random_Nerd: Oh, by the way, third theory. It's possible to turn a dead Imperator into a true Excrucian.
Random_Nerd: Mimics are sort of a half-assed version of that ritual.
Harold: But a true Excrucian wouldn't be debating us no?
BethE: Rn's Excrucians would.
Harold: He'd be kicking concepts and taking names.
Random_Nerd: It would be rare but not unheard of.
Knockwood: He would if he didn't remember being a Excrucian because the Wall ate his memory
Harold: Trying to win us to the cause?
Random_Nerd: And more of a Strategist or Deceiver thing.
Random_Nerd: And Knock already tested the Deciever theory.
Random_Nerd: Err, Deceiver.
Harold: Still, we can't beat him in a straight fight can't we?
Random_Nerd: Hmm.
Harold: We're sort of forced to play by his rules...
Random_Nerd: I'd bet against it, but it's not impossible.
Knockwood: No we're not
Random_Nerd: He has pretty good offensive Gifts, a high Aspect, and decent Spirit, but he isn't Immortal.
Knockwood: You managed to create your city despite his presence.
Random_Nerd: Besides, there are other things to do. You could confuse him about who he is.
Random_Nerd: He's already uneasy about that, but you could easily make him more so.
Random_Nerd: (Oh, and on a side note, I would not have guessed that English wasn't your first language. You seemed perfectly articulate even in the debate.)
Knockwood: (Alternatively, we could try to make him Sakharoth regardless of who he actually is. >:) )
Harold: We could recruit him for our side and use him to oust Entropy. He'd make a fearless leader in our war against the Exc.
Random_Nerd: Yeah, that might work. he seems to /want/ to be Sakaroth.
Harold: (Thanks :) )
Random_Nerd: Oh, another thought. You could try to get him to not believe that he should try to impose his truth until he's got his own head straight.
Harold: Could be that Sakharoth died but 'dominated' him somehow before he died.
Random_Nerd: It'd be easy to get him to willingly go up against the strongest worldvision he could find.
Random_Nerd: That could make sense, too. Dionyl Imperators aren't as good in a fight as Angels, but they're very sneaky, as the world they live in makes that valuable.
Knockwood: That would mean he's Suebi?
Harold: But a brainwashed Suebi.
Random_Nerd: Well, if that were true, he'd kinda be both.
Harold: Sort of a Manchurian Excrucian ;)
Knockwood: If he's Suebi he's extremely valuable for his intel
Knockwood: Oh...
Knockwood: We could try to find Sakaroth's Nobles
BethE: He might not have any. If he's not Chanceled.
Knockwood: If they've been neutered then we know Sak's dead, and this is Suebi
Harold: We'll have to find some way of buying ourselves time if we want to find that out.
BethE: We can't ask the Aides because they don't have info on this guy.
Knockwood: You can do that with the other plans... confuse him, convert him, whatever
Random_Nerd: So, what did you guys like best and least about this session?
Knockwood: just got to stop him from taking over Dionyl
Random_Nerd: Well, at present, he's unlikely to take over /all/ of Dionyl any time soon.
Random_Nerd: But he's looking like he'll definitely take over the nearby area.
BethE: I dislike that I felt like I couldn't really contribute but that's okay.
Knockwood: I meant the people
Random_Nerd: Couldn't contribute why?
Harold: These are small details, but I really loved the way you described one of the first scenes: the grass playing golf, the rock ranting, etc.
Random_Nerd: I shouldn't have had the rock quote Holy Grail, but I couldn't resist.
Knockwood: And now we know that Monty Python is actually a fundamental concept of the universe. (If it was quoted by a rock on Dionyl) :D
Random_Nerd: Oh, and that world there was basically the way Blue Shock and his Family see the world.
BethE: Couldn't contribute because I don't do well with philosophical 'real debate'.  :) I can tell when you get into formal debate mode.
Random_Nerd: (Either that, or the rock-squirrel has been to Earth before!)
Random_Nerd: This wasn't formal debate.
Random_Nerd: Just, like, regular.
Random_Nerd: (Err, regular debate.)
BethE: Ah, so no tuxes then?
Knockwood: Actually, when I was trying to grab him, I thought about blowing some AMPs and making a scene a la anime...
Harold: What I liked the least, and it's also in the realm of details, but the dynamics of Dionyl made it a little confusing at time to follow who was seeing what :)
Harold: Knock, that would have been funny.
Random_Nerd: (Oh, and while he considered it, he still hasn't actually taken down your Warding. If you need to distract him while someone else does a sucker-punch, it'll still be quite unpleasant for him.)
Random_Nerd: I considered putting you all in different channels based on who saw what, actually.
Random_Nerd: But I figured that would be even more problematic overall.
Harold: That would have been interesting, but a LOT of work.
BethE: It is difficult when you're GMing.
Random_Nerd: Yeah, I don't type fast enough to make that worthwhile.
Knockwood: and clicking back and forth would have been a pain in the butt...
Knockwood: ...does that mean only Herb saw The City?
Random_Nerd: William saw it, too.
Harold: I certainly hope not, I put a lot of work in that city ;)
Knockwood: did we see it?
Random_Nerd: Not clearly.
Harold: And Akane?
Random_Nerd: Yeah, he'd have seen it too.
Knockwood: (she?)
Knockwood: (I see 'Akane' I think '... Tendou')
Harold: Oops. I can always rename him. He's my ninja after all.
Harold: Or I can just call him Ninja.
Random_Nerd: Yeah.
Harold: Or not call him at all :)
Random_Nerd: I don't think his name was even said in character, was it?
Harold: Nope.
Random_Nerd: But, yeah, he's your ninja, so you can call him what you like.
Harold: I'll work on that.
Harold: He started as a silly idea, but I'm starting to like him.
Random_Nerd: I'm glad to hear it.
Harold: I could see if Lesson can offer him a job or something...
Knockwood: Yeah, but you created him out of nothing.
Knockwood: He leaves the Chancel for a day and he's gone/.
BethE: If you bring him back into the channel, he would last as long as you wanted.
Random_Nerd: Unless Harold sustains him, at least.
Random_Nerd: And, yeah, he'd last forever in Amyra.
Harold: Oh, I'll sustain him! This being said, morning is on the way and I'm a bit sleepy. As always, it was a pleasure gaming with you guys :)
Knockwood: good night, Harold
Random_Nerd: Later, Harold. Good gaming with you.
Harold: Good night! Have a good weekend! I hope Story will make it next time ;)
Knockwood: Any idea what happened to him?
Random_Nerd: Spontaneous human combustion, I'm thinking.
BethE: Night, guys.  :)
Random_Nerd: But maybe he got eaten by bears.

• • • Harold has signed off IRC (Disintegrated: Quitting!).
      

BethE: I'm putting my money on flooding _and_ forest fire.