Anarion

Sunshards

"I'm Princess Chen of the Northern Wind! Heir to the twin powers of Sourcefall and Ys, shard wielder to be, and an aspiring painter!" She grins and swords clash as she throws herself into the duel in the light of sunset. "And you...are very good at this!" she adds, wonder in her voice. She hadn't really believed that these two were anything more than particularly burly travelers (okay one was a snake, but that's hardly something to hold against a person!) but the sword work of this hunter impressed her. Chen could count on her fingers the number of people she couldn't disarm in three moves, yet here she was in a full blown duel and her advantage was obviously because her opponent had tried to play games and had hesitated to even draw her sword in earnest.

Setting sunlight merges with the light from her blade and it flashes brightly, offering her an opportunity to reset her stance and advance on the huntress. She doesn't, however, account for the fact that losing her own press is all the time needed to offer Rose a chance to collect herself. "I'd believe you're truly an ancient huntress" she says, not appreciating the danger to herself if she really did believe her own words. She starts a new stance, twirling one foot and bringing her sword around to strike feinting high and then dropping low. "But why in the world are you out here just wandering about? And with that strange snake person!"

Chen realizes as the flash fades that she has no idea where the snake went. Argh! Stupid, stupid princess. How dare she ever have fun! She can feel her cheeks burning just imagining the berating from her mother: "The wind instructed you, never lose sight of your goals young lady!" And here she had lost sight of her goals! "Your companion is gone, we've lost her. How about we fix that, I need to find her so I can finish my job out here! It's important. Maybe we can help each other instead of this extended duel?"

Chen parries, once twice, feints and tries to step back to create some space. "Tell me what you're looking for here, and what you want. I'm sure I can help." She tries to smile and quickly throws her sword out to parry again and retreat from the huntress's advance.

[Figure out a person: 1+2+1(heir to a mystic power)+3 (string spend)=7.
Three questions Rose:
1. What do you hope to get from traveling out here with Scales of Meaning?
2. How could Chen get you to let her chase after scales?
3. Bonus question from crossed swords: What do you hope for your future?
You get a question back]

Sunshards

The laughter comes first. A light, happy sound like tinkling crystal chimes. "Surely the subsoul of the Pyre of Inspiration needs no help from a lowly traveling princess, even from an ancient hunter." She laughs again, though her feet never leave their poised stance. "But if you are struggling with your traveling companion, my lady, I'm sure that I can offer to mediate."

Chen dips her head in the slightest bow, her long red scarf bobbing upwards, the smile still on her face and the sparkle in her eyes. She takes a breath and her whole body focuses arrow-sharp. The scarf bobs and the the blade flashes at the same time, the sound of its crystal tinkles like Chen's laughter. Chen takes one step towards Rose, never leaving the dancer's stance she's been holding or shifting her balance off her center. This is practiced bladework done naturally, the balance as sure as sure and certain as a casual walk. The sword blade strikes towards Rose's defenses in a series of blows and feints, though not one that bears her full weight. These are not commitments but teases, each one a gentle trickle of water splashing upon a rock looking to see which way it will fly forth. Looking for the easiest path to keep flowing. With each strike, her thin skirts flare lightly and her scarf gives another little bob behind her, teasing you like a cat tempted to catch a tassel.

Now is the first time that Princess Chen's attention is all for you, Hunter. She's obviously determined that between you two travelers, you're the one with the power here, and, hearing Scales' request, is delighted to take your measure. She's looking right at you, her dark eyes framed by darker hair and that thick red scarf. She's looking at your blade and your face to see how you react.

As to that reaction, how good are you eyes, Hunter to take Chen's measure? If you can see well from afar, you've seen a change in Chen's bearing in this handful moments. When she was contemplating, there was such uncertainty on her, and if you could see her approach at a distance, you might have seen her fidget and look oh so worried. But once she saw Scales it has been all confidence and she seems to truly be relaxing in this moment, looking forward to enjoying this fight and excited to take your measure!

[Chen starts a fight and rolls to entice Rose, also embodying her heroic aspect of legendary skill in this fight. 6+2+2+1=11. She'll gain a string and Rose choose an option to react.]

Sunshards

Shouting demon creature, were you expecting to be ignored? The airborne princess before you, hovering just above the treeline leans casually against her glowing crystal sword, obviously lost in thought, cheek resting on one hand as she gazes distantly over the path, looking at you but not seeing you.

In her mind right now, she's mulling her mother's words, the horses, the strange whisper of the wind that still clings to her. Follow the Snake. Thinking always helped distract her. It was almost like art in her head. She'd start from something and begin drawing the picture in her mind, filling in the blank spots, taking a guess at what might fit best, imagining what could go where when she lacked the full suite of colors. She'd do that when she was little, when her Mom (Hesha) or Mommy (Ysel) would push her. They always complained that she'd fall apart under pressure and then praised her later for how fast she learned. Go hide alone somewhere and think through the problem until she could do everything perfectly and her parents would love her. Coping mechanisms.

Right now, she needed distracting. Like, say, from the crushing weight of being told that she's the "speartip of our entire alliance." Gosh, maybe if she was that important she could have one of her mother's shard tiaras then?! It would have made this a lot faster than shivering with the North Wind wrapping around her. All her warm wools did nothing when it was close like this, blowing into every little hole and crevice, ugh. She hadn't expected that answer. She was hoping for the wind to just blow ahead of her, lead her on a chase right to Yue. It meant something that she got a cryptic answer instead.

Her first thought was that the girl was on the move, but she dismissed that because when it came to pure speed, Chen was one of the fastest princesses in the nine kingdoms, barring magical cheating. If it was just a matter of catching a moving target, the wind could have still led her straight there. That meant magical cheating. Maybe if she went straight there, she'd run into Yin with a full bodyguard and get overpowered. The snake-based route might get her there with better timing or by surprise. Still it was odd, where was she going to find a...snake...

It's only when Scales of Meaning emerges behind Rose, her naga form slithering from the trees and her face flushed with obvious outrage that Chen's attention properly fixes on the two travelers, and it is Scales to whom she makes her descent. She lands smoothly on the balls of her feet, shifting her weight with a dancer's practiced ease and, holding her sword by its hilt in one hand, makes a formal but not overly deep hands clasped forwards style bow towards Scales of Meaning (and a slight gesture towards Rose as an afterthought). The landing says "I know what I'm doing" and the attention and care indicates formality and respect. Mom was always emphasizing how important it was to make a first impression and Chen needed to keep her excitement in check at so instantly finding the target of her instructions.

"Oh Great Scales of Meaning" she says, avoiding any hint of sarcasm (for it's obvious that slighting the title has enraged the snake) "Magistra of accounts and balances. My name is Chen, Princess of the Northern Wind. I would be honored if you would permit me to accompany you and your herald on your present journey for the day. There are many dangers about and travel is always safer in numbers."

She lifts her head having made the formal offer and shares a warm smile with the two travelers. It's obvious she knows a great deal more than she's saying and has offered no explanation for her presence. But it would be rude to breach decorum and ask before responding to her respectful request.

Sunshards

"Mom, why do you have to be like that, I'm calling now, I can't always do everything instantly!" Exasperation and more than a little whining in that tone, but also stalling for time while Chen thinks what to say. A beat, then "I was finishing my scouting above the lake and then princess Qiu sent me a message and I'm going to win an easy contest she put on to find one new handmaiden and have a dance with her! That's what you wanted me to do right, I'm supposed to confront her and get the advantage and take away her shards, so I'm doing my job and you should be proud that I jumped on this opportunity!"

Chen spits all of that out in a breath, barreling right past the assorted lies. She pointedly ignores the fact that she was doing art rather than scouting, and utterly ignores the tiny voice in her head admitting that she would spend any dance melting into Qiu's arms rather than gaining an advantage.

She has another short pause, but jumps in to interrupt before her mom can say anything about all this. "I um, to win the contest I need you to use your shard to help me find the girl before Princess Yin. She brought out a whole pack of her wolves! Can you ask the North Wind where I can find someone named Yue?"

[Not sure if Chen's Mom counts as parleying with a toxic power. I think so since she's part of the forces pushing the destiny. If so, the result is 3+5+0=8. GM's choice as to what the price of the answer is.]

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Constance

This is your question to answer for Robena's ear alone. A quick a word, a sigh, a sag of the shoulders could carry mountains of meaning. But there is much you could say to Robena as well. Uther's reign is not what it once was. Would you tell her in the knightly manner, that your lady of Lostwithiel still has not sworn fealty to the High King and you have had visions of fire and blood in his livery that must be stopped through courage, chivalry, and a touch of magic? Perhaps the rumors of King Pellinore on the hunt and the Questing Beast rampaging through the woods?

Or perhaps you would you tell her that Arthur, Uther's only child, is missing and there is no heir to be found? That Merlin left the court a few years prior and is not to be found though it is your quest to seek him? Perhaps you've even heard the darker rumors of the High King's mad rantings, the tournaments he hosts from which knights do not return, and the rumors from little birds that cursed knights akin to what you saw from the Azure Knight wander the land?

Or perhaps again your ear is closer to the land and its people. Would you tell her of the rumors that the harvests have thinned and those with less fortunate land have been starving nearer to Camelot? Of winters growing colder and darker than they seemed in past? Of the rumors of monsters and wild beasts ravaging fields? Or perhaps the dire news a few farmers brought in before your departure that a blight is starting on the wheat and the whole year's crop could be lost if something isn't done.

Tell Robena what it means to you, river-daughter, that what was is grander than what is, and that as you look forward to what will be you see room for a greater fall?

Tristan and Nin

Nin you've hit on something here. Something that isn't right. "I don't rightly know sirs" Mort says and shakes his head as if to clear it, his hair flouncing. He ties his helmet to his saddle and passes a hand before his eyes as though to check his vision. "Though I grew up in the King's castle, I can't recall anything of the creature before we heard of it ruining the fields and Merlin gave his prophecy. I'm sorry I cannot be of more assistance." He shakes his head again and seizes on Tristan's question like a lifeboat, perking up immediately. "Heirs? Of course, my lord, King Pellinore is known for her fierceness in all things and the laughs and shouts of her family are a delight to those of us who serve. Why there's Tor and her brother Aglovale, already fine young knights holding the keep in our absence, and then Ladies Lamorak and Dornar both squiring and of course little Percival, who's a delight to all who visit. You must never have come to the King's castle if you've heard of none of them. I'm sure that if we complete the hunt, she would feast you for a week and introduce the whole lot of them."

Sunshards

Yin is...complicated. Like, the whole magic knight thing is extremely aesthetic and Chen is into that! But she did some sketches of Yin the last time she visited and...well they're too romantic, Yin does these poses like she doesn't know how to hold herself naturally it's all glitz and show. The only good sketch (In Chen's opinion) was when they got back from a hunt and Chen surreptitiously started some lines going while Yin was helping her knights get settled. That moment where she was working, guard down, shoulders relaxed, and just a little sweaty was real. Her lips curl upwards a little remembering it with a smile. Chen hadn't given her that sketch though it was sitting in her collection for...reasons. She was going to ask Yin to visit Sourcefall soon and maybe go see the waterfalls together at dawn. She had this idea that if Yin were a bit more out of her constant shining auras and knights vs. monsters thing she'd finally let herself relax and maybe they'd even go swimming together in one of the northern lakes. She almost laughed aloud imagining Yin jumping into the frigid lake and then shouting at Chen for tricking into something so cold!

As she thinks on the current situation though, Chen's brow furrows with worry because Yin is loud. Not that she's scary, Qiu could easily outmatch her in a one on one for pure presence. But if Yin's already on this and it's not just her but a pack of her wolves, it's going to be a lot. Like light shows and golden halos kind of a lot. And sure that's cool, Chen might enjoy it another time, but she would have preferred to get to this Yue first. The poor girl is really going to get overwhelmed and having Yin with her whole retinue show up was enough to give Chen a headache, so she could only imagine what a poor country girl who had never even started handmaiden training would be feeling.

Chen was going to need to move light and fast. "I should go then. You really never go halfway, do you Princess Qiu? I'll try not to add to anyone ripping up the countryside. Can't wait to see what you paint when I get back with Yue!" She gives Qiu a little wave and, leaving her art supplies on the boat, points herself towards the lake. Before her flight down had been the height of grace and elegance, a dancer's pose from blade of her sword to the point of her toe. Now, she was crouched and eager, her body leaning forward into a point, her sword held close along her side. The light within it dances up and with a burst of sudden energy and a gust of wind Chen is off and over the lake at speed.

Once she's outside of the immediate influence of Qiu's shards, she sighs. She's not sure yet if she's going the right direction, but she knows how she's going to do this. The wind blows everywhere and it would know how to find this Yue. But Chen didn't have the power to ask the wind that herself. She was going to have to call her mother.

She swallowed and put the number into her phone. "Hey, Mom?"

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Tristan and Nin

Mort gives a rueful shake of his head as your horses clop forward through the wooded path. You're beginning to near a break in the forest line. "I can't say that I do. Honestly, I've never even spoken to Merlin myself and he's been gone from court since not long after that prophecy. Personally, I thought that whoever did the hunt would be the one to do the catching and killing. And, if you're wise, sirs, you'll not imply that King Pellinore ever fails to catch what she hunts in her earshot."

Mort gives you a solemn nod and doesn't seem to have much more to say for now, though he doesn't move to ride away either, just continues with you.

Constance and Robena

Blood of the sheep. It's not so rich as human blood, but it is blood, and the sacrificial lamb long predates modern religion as the offering to be made to the gods in place of darker faire. So too, it will do for the ghosts. You've done something for them, and their spirits are grateful, though the hate that suffuses them has not been cleansed, merely...sated perhaps? They are, at the least calm from this and Constance has fulfilled her promise to arbitrate on Robena's behalf.

For the moment, you are in an embrace. Robena, Constance feels cold, much moreso than you thought, it's clear her brush with the ghosts took a toll on her today. Constance, what is it like being held in such a bear hug?

Sunshards

There’s a moment where the wind blows across the ship and swirl’s Chen’s hair. A loose strand swirls up past her ear and gently caresses her cheek, but she’s too lost in thought to brush it aside. A moment of silence and worry.

At last she looks at Qiu. “No, she’s not. She’s a person, or at least some demon or faerie that’s very much like a person. You like to play a tough game, but if she were really dangerous, you’d have put together your own hunting party, maybe called me or Princess Yin. You wouldn’t have hung up posters and tempted everyone into going after her to try and get a dance with you. I know the two alliances make you out to be a demon yourself, but I can tell you’re not interested in putting the servants and the handmaidens in danger like that.”

Chen finally brushes aside the hair and lifts her chin with a defiant look that says I understand you. A challenge, the first one issued here. But then she’s right isn’t she?

[Figure someone out 6+3+0=9. First question. How would Qiu feel if someone actually got hurt trying too hard to win her favor? Second question, what does she really hope to get from this contest? She gets a question of Chen as well.]

Dark Age (playtest): The Lands of Pendragon

Constance and Robena

Constance, you nearly hesitate. There is a moment after you make your answer where the ghosts advance on you and you think that you will break. You imagine in your head those cold hands reaching through you and into you, taking apart little shreds of your soul and replacing it with their own until you are nothing but their plaything, and as you think it, so it starts becoming true. It is the warmth of the cat, the fat and heavy Catherine held against you that snaps you out of it, for she is full of life and all wriggles and hisses. And as soon as you leave behind that cold, the ghosts retreat and pay you due respect. Tell us how the chill of the grave still lingers on you and how it affects your ceremony.

Robena, given your strength, the task Constance has set you is easy if demeaning. The ghosts do not accost you in the sunlight as you gather their bones upon the grass and offer them burial, though you can feel that they are near by the chill that that you sometimes feel run up your spine. Do you have words for Constance when the task is done and the dead buried? Do not forget as well that the traveler asked you for two things. A cat, yes, and also a small lockbox.

Tristan and Nin

"It has to be a member of her family, good sirs. It is but recent, so if you have not been to Camelot you may not have heard. The questing beast first appeared late in High King Uther's reign, a handful of years ago though I was still a squire at the time. Merlin, the great seer, made a prediction that a member of King Pellinore's blood would hunt the creature and so she was tasked with the work and has been after it since with few breaks, only changing out her knights as they weary. It has to be her, for Merlin said so, good sirs."

He looks at you hopefully as he speaks, and though it's unreasonable, he seems to think that having found you here so close to it that you might have some special knowledge, some insight into the prophecy for the creature will be caught and he's waiting on you to reveal your secrets.

Sunshards

The feeling is like coming up for air after being trapped in a rushing river. Equal parts exultation and relief flood through Chen and a pressure lifts from her chest that she hadn't known was there. She breathes, holds her breathe for a moment, and lets it out long and slowly as she settles.

It isn't that Chen of the Northern Wind had some master strategy in mind showing up with a painting and working ten moves ahead of her opponent. Quite the opposite, she still aches for that dance, for the warmth of that body, so fleeting where Qiu had guided her hands. It's just that her mothers had taught her about sunshards since she was old enough to walk. Their precious little Chen, daughter of grand Ys and Sourcefall was always going to be getting somebody's sunshard, after all. So she had played as soon as she could walk with mothers who reshaped the world to their whim and taught their daughter to wander their workings. A sunshard is a river of thought, an extension of the wielder's will, and it works just like a real river. Try to swim against the current and you end up nowhere. Swim straight on and you'll go too fast, lose control and find yourself trapped in hidden whirlpools and pulled under. But swim to the side and you kept control, let the current guide you as you made for a bank. So she had moved by heart and instinct trained from a lifetime: lacking her own sunshard to wield, Chen had made herself an important part of Qiu's story. With a moment to think as Qiu accomodated her, she could even start to see the shape of it, and it made her curious.

She glanced where Qiu was glancing and smiled. "Oh that's wonderful, I can't wait to see your work! And I'm sure the posters will give me everything I need to find her." Now Chen was smiling more than a little, imagining Qiu painting the wanted poster herself, though she had probably used magic or simply had it made. She relaxes into Qiu's motions, letting the other princess guide her or push her to go as she sees fit while Chen lets her mind wander. Or perhaps now she's even being a little teasing. "Oh, but poor Yue just Yue! The most valuable thing in all your realms with her face all over every town! She must be mobbed by every handmaiden and aspiring little princess this side of the lake! If she's really this valuable (and however did you find that out?) I think you ought to give her a dance to make up for the trouble she's going to have in getting to you, Princess Qiu."

It won't be lost on Qiu that this is the first time Chen has dared address the princess by name in this conversation, a sign of familiarity and comfort even with the Princess title. Perhaps too much comfort. Qiu might be thinking of ways to make Chen regret her boldness once she returns with Yue. Still, she's had an idea floated to her all of a sudden. Has she even thought about the sort of reception she plans to give Yue? It struck Chen that Qiu had called her "the most valuable thing" as though she were up for comparison against an antique sword or even a sunshard, and she wanted to know what the princess had to say about her plans once she had this new handmaiden. She's not sure yet if she'll get an answer or a joke though, and she's still letting Qiu guide where she goes. One push and she'll be off on her hunt, the moment Qiu wants her to leave. But not a moment before.