[Nightmares of the Second Age] The Daily Scribe

Skadi would ask if the Exalted have actually bothered to keep track of the casualties on the Wyld's side.
 
Arynne said:
Skadi would ask if the Exalted have actually bothered to keep track of the casualties on the Wyld's side.
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The following is my interpretation of Fae. Feel free to correct my perceptions if I am grossly incanonical, but I think I'm fairly close despite having not read GWM in some time.


The Fae are, for all intents and purposes, without number. Mortals, not so much. Fae are only unique so much as being near Creation crystallizes them into individuality - in Pure Chaos, the very fact that a infinite number of Raksha exist means that uniqueness is impossible. When one seemingly-unique Raksa is smote of existence, the very nature of Pure Chaos dictates that it will be replaced and not missed. How does one philosophically justify keeping track of the deaths of things whose total cannot be counted, who are infinite in number and whose uniqueness is arguably impossible? This is something hard to fathom as human beings, because we are both finite and truly unique. The easiest way to consider the Fae's existence, in my mind, would be something along the lines of Bacteria. Even this isn't terribly great, because in the face of the scope of the universe the number of Bacteria on Earth is terribly small and finite - just less small and finite than the number of human beings.


Remember - in the First Age, there were no Bordermarches/Middlemarches/Deep Wyld. The reality machines created by the Solars had no gradual shift between Creation and Pure Chaos as exists in the Creation of the Age of Sorrows. Fairies of the First Age would most likely have looked upon those of the Second Age who live in the Middle/Deep Marches as beings of calcified ugliness, those who've rejected the formless purity of the true Wyld. There are plenty of Fae in Pure Chaos (arguably the majority of its denizens who actually know of Creation's existence, the Raksha, and - most importantly - care) who see them as no better than Creation's denizens. For this reason, we can somewhat differentiate Raksha from true Faeries. I'm not certain as to how or if Raksha existed in a similar manner during the First Age given the lack of the Bordermarches and such, but most certainly Fae of Pure Chaos took calcified forms temporarily in order to deal with Creation-bound inside that place of treachery.


Aside from their souls, mortals are not irreplaceable. The number of mortal souls is quite finite, and the number of living mortals is FAR more finite. The Great Contagion and Great Crusade wiped out 90% of Creation and 9:10 of all Creation-bound life. To the Fair Folk, those mortals are nothing more than reservoirs of virtue to feed on. To the Raksha of Pure Chaos, they're nothing more than calcified possibility that can only be wiped out (but so are the Fair Folk).


EDIT: As far as Storm's perspective goes - Fae are Fae. He participated in Operation Wyldhand enthusiastically, though his views changed somewhat after he saw the negative effects on the mortal populations affected by it. Fair Folk are no different, and until presented with a perspective that shows them individually different from the monstrous Raksha of Pure Chaos he will terminate them.


EDIT2: Sol Bless 'Reation.
 
Deep Wyld, as we now call it, existed during the First Age. It was smaller than it is now (if such terms can be said to apply) but it existed. According the Dreams of the First Age, the Marches also existed in some places, mostly for the convenience of the Exalted. There were shaped fae then as well -- otherwise, where did the rulers of Water Root Triumvirate get their army of Fair Folk slaves?


So perhaps we should differentiate between faeries and raksha, then, and say Skadi seeks to forge some kind of understanding between fae and human, and the Unshaped are as big an enigma and eldritch abomination to her as they are to everyone else.


Otherwise I'll have to rewrite her entire backstory and have her raised among elementals or something...
 
Arynne said:
Deep Wyld, as we now call it, existed during the First Age. It was smaller than it is now (if such terms can be said to apply) but it existed. According the Dreams of the First Age, the Marches also existed in some places, mostly for the convenience of the Exalted. There were shaped fae then as well -- otherwise, where did the rulers of Water Root Triumvirate get their army of Fair Folk slaves?
So perhaps we should differentiate between faeries and raksha, then, and say Skadi seeks to forge some kind of understanding between fae and human, and the Unshaped are as big an enigma and eldritch abomination to her as they are to everyone else.


Otherwise I'll have to rewrite her entire backstory and have her raised among elementals or something...
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There's no reason she couldn't have been raised by some of the stranger First Age Raksha who thought dealing with Creation and Exalted weren't a problem. Maybe the court has a Solar Patron/Ally who built them a Freehold in his or her province in return for a diplomatic favor?


No need to rewrite the backstory, that's for sure.


And yeah, I forgot about the Water Root Triumvirate (and the Deep Wyld of the FA too! I thought it felt strange to describe a near instantaneous drop-off into Pure Chaos, so even a slight boundary of Deep Wyld makes a lot more sense). I never said Fae never took shapes, they were just far fewer and most of them probably viewed them as a more temporary thing. Modern Fae in the Marches and such probably see shapes as being a much more permanent thing than most First Age Fae, but I could be wrong too. Anyhoo, going with that it still doesn't eliminate the possibility of the Water Triumvirate - there's no reason shaped Fae who ventured into Creation couldn't have been enslaved by a wayward Twilight, or the same Twilight venturing out into Pure Chaos and snagging up Fae left and right.
 
Hm. Skadi's origin presupposes a tribe of Fair Folk, Fae-Blooded and Wyld-touched that were both hostile to the Exalted and predatory towards Creation. The presence of humans among them would normally require raids into Creation, but I suppose a particularly nasty Solar might have handed people he disliked over to them, or just looked the other way as they used his territory as a staging ground for raids into his rivals' domains.


Eventually, of course, they bit off more than they could chew.
 
To quote the writers: "Creation is HUGE." It is entirely feasible that remote tribes living far from anywhere a celestial exalt chose to care about behaved in whatever way suits your desires.
 
Arynne said:
Hm. Skadi's origin presupposes a tribe of Fair Folk, Fae-Blooded and Wyld-touched that were both hostile to the Exalted and predatory towards Creation. The presence of humans among them would normally require raids into Creation, but I suppose a particularly nasty Solar might have handed people he disliked over to them, or just looked the other way as they used his territory as a staging ground for raids into his rivals' domains.
Eventually, of course, they bit off more than they could chew.
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Yeah, that's the thing - in the Second Age it's perfectly feasible. In the First Age, it's doubtful it would have unless they resided in said Solar's domain. That would have never flown in a public place; the Deliberative would have dropped the hammer hard on that. Your idea works perfectly though given the proper context, and could very well play into plot points of future Creation. For example, maybe those of their descendants who survived the Great Contagion became the Tear Eaters Tribe?

Esbilon said:
To quote the writers: "Creation is HUGE." It is entirely feasible that remote tribes living far from anywhere a celestial exalt chose to care about behaved in whatever way suits your desires.
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Not infeasible, but still quite improbable. Don't underestimate the resources and power of First Age Solars, let alone other Celestials. It'd be impossible to actually hide their existence from some prying eyes among the Celestials - the relevant question is how much they'd actually care to do something about it. That's something that can be easy to manipulate, because everyone knows most First Age Celestials were dicks, whether by intention or nature.
 
I don't underestimate their resources, I estimate their interest in rooting out such groups so long as they didn't bother *them* quite low. I agree entirely that if a solar gave himself the mission of destroying all faerie influence in his domain, he would be able to do it in a month.


If, however, he tried doing it in someone else's domain, he would be in violation of that someone else's rights, and if he tried getting a motion through the Deliberative, people would support such groups just to be dicks to him.


But all in all, the First Age is sufficiently undetailed that it's an ST call and will likely be different in all versions of the First Age.
 
There are also places, like the Fringes of the North, where I AM does not speak, the Deliberative does not govern and only outcasts and renegades make their home. At least one of these places, the Sea Fingers, are effectively ruled by a faerie called the Blind Pasha, who is powerful and clever enough to make the area resist Solar attempts to reshape it.
 
Ok, I need your input guys, don't want to exclude anyone or deprive you from rp'ing, in Aurora's view this could very well be a trap to get us away for his army to purge the Dragon Kings of our tower while we're busy drinking tea with the bad guys, overwhelm us on an open field with his minions, or he simply wants to know what he's up against before he strikes, either way, Aurora's first decision would be to bring Rose and herself and that's it, with Storm watching from afar hidden, and Skadi and/or Grond in small animal shapes we could bring on ourselves while the rest remain behind guarding the tower, thoughts?
 
Considering that you are being put on the spot IC I don't feel it is appropriate to give an opinion one way or the other OOC. Go with your characters gut.
 
I think this is kne of those times where the ic/ooc distinction has to fade into the background. This is a game, and while deeper immersion makes it more fun, being cut out due to another's actions is not at all fun.
 
Skadi, Tiger, Aroura and Storm are our main combat heavies as far as I can tell (correct me if I'm wrong), with Aroura and Storm covering Rose in case of a trap and Tiger and Skadi keeping an eye on the tower, I think we'll have our bases covered in case of a double cross.
 
That sounds sensible, except that I would suggest Storm be the one to stay behind -- if the tower gets swarmed by hordes of tiger warrior cannibals, a high War score will be essential.
 
We also have the ability to keep a (large) force in the air to keep an eye on both the tower and the meeting point. Or be able to respond to either in short order. Now, whether we want to tip our hand to that or not I don't know, but its a thing.
 
I agree with JayTee. Storm can easily move where he's needed by wings, assuming that in the instance of a double cross you'd be ambushed at the meeting place too.
 
Just make sure that you post it in the IC thread as to what you say to Bane.
 
Wait, if Storm can fly then we can just have him keep an eye on both locations using Fean's idea. That way we have a relay between both locations and we can keep our trump cards a secret a little while longer.


So, Tiger and Skadi at the Tower, Rose and Aroura with Bane, and Storm keeping an eye on both while airborne and telling one group if there is any trickery at the other. Plus this means after signaling Rose/Arour he can quickly come and help organize the troops if they attack the tower, like Arynne said.
 
Storm can also be invisible so.. there's that.


I was actually referring to the drop ship we have access to that is functional and armed. Maybe De can have it ready with some back up troops just in case?
 
JayTee said:
I'd rather avoid playing our hand so early. The less they know about us, the better.
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This. No need for the ship immediately, we can always scramble one if we need to. Let Storm be your eyes in the sky and we should be fine.
 
Does Storm have Keen sight technique? If so, he and Tiger could work out some kind of signaling system using their respective super vision
 
OTOH, our awesome strategies, while awesome and clearly a good idea, also seem to be effectively writing PCs out of the game.


Maybe we can start a side thread where the rest of us play scrabble or something. :-P
 
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