Civiron's Realm

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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

Cheasadh's comment gets a raspberry blown at her. "I meant normal versus WEIRD. Pink floof castles is pretty not-weird compared to some of the other junk I've had to deal with."

Crazy things!

Like nonsense classes and doofy classmates. And getting lost in weird swamps. Or finding a pocket dimension full of chickens. The pink floof castle is a nice change of pace.

Then talk of screams in the night. "I wonder if that's why foxes are death-things sometimes, too. 'cuz they do a pretty good job of screaming at night."

Khannie doesn't though.

She could.

But she doesn't.

Strictly speaking ANYONE could scream at night. But most anyones aren't spirit fox things, either. And really Khannie's senses are kind of an odd topic. So long as she's using that shadow illusion human disguise her senses are more or less human. It's only when she starts peeling it back that the fox senses start getting serious.

"Yeah! Let's see what sorta owl things are in here."

Maybe owl chairs?

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Re: Civiron's Realm

Post by Earl of Purple »

Castle Pinktooth

"People think lots of things are bad omens. Black dogs, black cats, owls, the number six repeated three times, rains of fish, lambs without gallbladders... all kinds of things. Ultimately I think they're mostly meaningless." Although the last one is only really detectable in rather specific circumstances, so probably means little right now. Unless Khannie or Brinika decide to go into haruspicy, anyway.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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Morty wrote: Feb 16, 2023 11:10 pm [Castle Pinktooth - the Date]

"I wouldn't count on these gremlins to take care of a castle." Iknika waves her hand at the small goblins scurrying about. "I think Civiron takes care of it. She's the goddess of this place. Near as I can tell she put this castle here to entertain visitors and we were just the first to see it. My cousins and siblings sure love it."
Castle Pinktooth - The Date

"So she gave it to you because you're the first to ask for it? Or is it a 'someone else will get a turn eventually' sort of deal?" He can't really blame Civvy if that's the intent. A whole castle for mostly-free is a lot.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Date]

Iknika shrugs.

"I don't know, honestly. For now we have a cool castle to explore and decorate. My cousins are happy like molerats in a termite mound. We'll see what happens next. Until then we can find a secluded, gremlin-free corner with a nice view." She grins.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

Brinika pushes the door open and strides inside with her usual verve and gusto. The three bold explorers are greeted by cold air and a circular stairway. Ascending it leads them to an archway without a door, which opens into a strange place.

It's a domed, dimly-lit room filled with fog. There are trees here, though it's hard to say if they're real. Between the fog and the trees, not even Brinika can see much here - though her pupils dilate as they always do when it's dark.

The one clearly visible feature of the room is a stone pillar upon which sits a large, very fluffy snowy owl. Its feathers are white, but tinged with (what else) pink.

"Greetings, brave seekers of knowledge. I have waited for ones such as you. Can you prove your wisdom in my trials and emerge rewarded?"
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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Morty wrote: Feb 20, 2023 10:18 pm [Castle Pinktooth - the Date]

Iknika shrugs.

"I don't know, honestly. For now we have a cool castle to explore and decorate. My cousins are happy like molerats in a termite mound. We'll see what happens next. Until then we can find a secluded, gremlin-free corner with a nice view." She grins.
Castle Pinktooth- The Date

Isaac returns the smile.
"Well, this place is pretty huge. There has to be an unused corner somewhere, right? Lead the way." Isaac steps aside to let Iknika take the lead.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

"People believe lots of weird stuff but I'm never sure what's real and what's fake because of the Nexus," Khannie replies to Cheasadh, sounding a little annoyed. It is SO HARD to figure out what's complete nonsense in the Nexus because just about ANYTHING can be real.

And then.

The OWL DOOR opens!

Our heroes are immediately beset upon by darkness.

That is, however, a problem Khannie can help with!

She raises a hand and reaches for a relatively simple arcane formula to cause a mote of light it ignite above the tip of her index finger. It isn't very bright. About as much light as a torch. Either a burning one or a not so great electric one. But it's enough to see by. Khannie knows her friends. They're well equipped to see in dim light, but they need some dim light to see by.

The zoroark allows a few layers of her illusion to peel away, her human eyes replaced by yellow, vertically slit eyes of a fox. Dilated wide, sure, but that's to be expected when things are pretty dark.

And there's the owl.

Is Khannie a brave seeker of knowledge?

Considering how much time she spends studying magic and math and history?

Yeah. That's probably accurate.

She puffs out her chest proudly. "Sure can! Give us your best shot."
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Re: Civiron's Realm

Post by Earl of Purple »

Castle Pinktooth- The Trio

Cheasadh is last to enter since she was standing at the back. Her eyes aren't as good as Brinika's in the dark, but they are better than a human's would be, which is handy.

"You're so fluffy! Yes, I'm ready to test my wisdom." Cheasadh nods excitedly, looking forward to whatever the reward might be- if she's smart enough to answer the questions, anyway.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

The fog swirls and churns until it shows a vision. It's a heavily stylized one, as if drawn with chalk on stone. It shows a library, in the process of being consumed by flames. There's a lone figure in a clerk's robe standing in front of the shelves, which will soon burn to ashes.

"As you can see, tragedy has struck. The library has caught fire. Soon most of it will be destroyed. This young librarian only has time to take one book before she flees.

One of them is the last surviving grammar textbook of an ancient, dead language. Should it perish, knowledge of it may be lost forever.

One is a book of bold, new scientific theories. If it survives, it may lead to incredible discoveries and great inventions.

One is the only copy of the work of a genius poet who died too young. If it perishes, her brilliance will be lost before anyone can appreciate it as it deserves.

Which book should the librarian save?"


"Do you want an answer from each of us? Or one for all three?" Brinika asks with a look of intense focus on her face.

"That is your decision. Can you agree on a single answer?"
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

Oooh.

That's a cool illusion effect. Or maybe not an illusion? There might be some real fog going on. Khannie notes that idea for future use when she wants to make something look artsy. The stylized effect makes it clear that it isn't really real, but it helps to highlight the parts the presenter is wanting the audience to focus on.

But!

To the question.

Khannie puts out her arms to draw her two friends into a huddle! They need to discuss the pros and cons of the different options.

"I think the history book is the most important one," Khannie intimates to her friends. "If you lose a book that shows you how to read an old language, then you lose EVERYTHING that culture wrote down 'cuz no one knows how to read it anymore. New science ideas happen all the time and someone else will probably figure those ideas out. And poetry is important I guess but that's just ONE person's artwork. If the history book gets lost then that means you lose the art of EVERYONE who wrote in that language."
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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Castle Pinktooth- the Trio

"If it's the last source of the forgotten language, there's nothing to translate. Without that book, the language is truly lost but who will know? Nobody remembers it. That book of poetry's someone's legacy, the only thing of them left. I do agree about the science, though. It might put people back a decade or two, but that's not really much, is it? It just sounds like it." Cheasadh is fourteen. A decade is a serious chunk of the life she's lived; it seems like a long time. But gnomes live longer than humans, and her parents were in their fifties when she was born. "If there is something else written down somewhere in that lost language, translation's still possible. Just a lot harder." There were no grammatical treatises on Ancient Egyptian, when hieroglyphics were translated. Just several parallel texts and a descendent used as a liturgical tongue with no native speakers. "So I think the poetry's the most important to save. It's heritage, like the grammatical one, but heritage everyone can read and enjoy already."
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

Brinika's ears pull back towards her head in what's a sign of intense concentration and indecision.

"I kinda want to agree with Ches, but is it just because I want to be a singer and write my own songs? And it'd feel really bad if some songs I wrote were lost forever? I agree that it's that or the dictionary, though. Someone else might come up with those theories. But this is hard."

[Castle Pinktooth - the Date]

Iknika strides forward with a confident strut that Isaac will recognize. She doesn't precisely know where she's going but she won't let that stop her. She opens a series of doors, that eventually lead them through a kitchen. There's nothing particularly interesting about it and it looks like it's been ransacked by gremlins already.

However, another door leads them to a modestly-sized but very pretty ballroom. It is, of course, pink. And with many ruffles. Tables are set by the walls, leaving the centre clear for dancing or talking. Some comfortable armchairs are strategically-placed for people who might not be able to stand.

"...huh. Should have expected something like that, I guess."
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth]

"I guess it's possible someone might be able to cheat with magic," Khannie reasons, an idea suddenly occurring to her. "There are spells for translating stuff. It's a sorta wizardry that's great for doing archeology stuff since if you know the spell you can use it to learn what a sort of writing says. It's not a sorta spell formula I know how to solve yet but other people do. So I guess people could still translate stuff even if that one book got lost."

Without the threat of a whole civilization's knowledge being lost the old book doesn't seem QUITE as important.

"I think maybe that makes the poetry book the one that's the most irreplaceable."
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Re: Civiron's Realm

Post by Earl of Purple »

Castle Pinktooth- the Trio

"So I think we're agreed on the poetry book?" Although Cheasadh is starting to think perhaps the answer matters because it's theirs, and not because it's the right choice. They're all correct, depending on the person and what they value most.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

Brinika nods vigorously.

"Yeah! Let's go."

When the three bold adventurers return to the owl, Brinika says:

"The librarian should save the poetry book!"

"Indeed? What made you choose this option, young seekers of knowledge?"
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

"It's the one that'll be the hardest to replace," Khannie answers definitively. "If there's other writings of the old language there are other ways to figure out how to read it. And scientific models can always be discovered by someone else, even if it takes some time to do it. But if no one has ever read this poet's work and it's really REALLY good then there's no way to get that back EVER. If it burns then those words'll be lost."

So reasons Khannie.

That seems to her, at least, the best way to decide.

Which of the choices are most irreplaceable.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

Post by Earl of Purple »

Castle Pinktooth- The Trio

"Yeah, I agree with Khannie. And she worded it better than I could." Cheasadh thinks they're all irreplaceable, it's just the poetry's the one that really can't be recovered. Hopefully it's good poetry, though that wouldn't really affect her opinion much regardless.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

"I want to write songs someday. And I wouldn't want them to be lost forever," is what Brinika has to add. It's a personal reason but she wants to be honest.

The owl nods. Or... does the closest an owl can get to a nod. Her head bobs up and down, certainly.

"You chose beauty over knowledge of the past or potential for the future, in the hope that these can be regained some other way. Your choice is well-reasoned. Go further to face more questions."

The owl takes flight and disappears into the fog, between the trees. The only way for the trio is forward.

"She didn't really say if we gave the right answer. I'm not sure if there is a right one."
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth, The Trio]

Khannie remains silent for a time, watching the owl vanish into the mist. Did they make the right choice? She's thinking, maybe Brinika has got the right idea.

"This is probably the sotra trial where it's just for figuring out what sorta people the heroes are," Khannie reasons as she sets off to follow the owl. "I think between the three of us we've got everything that bird could throw at us covered!"

Brinika and Khannie have definitely got confidence covered.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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Morty wrote: Feb 23, 2023 10:25 pm [Castle Pinktooth - the Date]

Iknika strides forward with a confident strut that Isaac will recognize. She doesn't precisely know where she's going but she won't let that stop her. She opens a series of doors, that eventually lead them through a kitchen. There's nothing particularly interesting about it and it looks like it's been ransacked by gremlins already.

However, another door leads them to a modestly-sized but very pretty ballroom. It is, of course, pink. And with many ruffles. Tables are set by the walls, leaving the centre clear for dancing or talking. Some comfortable armchairs are strategically-placed for people who might not be able to stand.

"...huh. Should have expected something like that, I guess."
Castle Pinktooth - The Date

"Wow. This place is stinkin' huge!"
Isaac says aloud, walking about the place sideways so he can get a proper look at the decor which somehow isn't dusty. He leans in to Iknika and whispers even though they're alone,
"You know I don't think I ever actually learned how to dance. Kinda got lost among all my other courses." He does certainly have a full repertoire of hobbies and classes.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

Post by Earl of Purple »

Castle Pinktooth- The Trio

"I thought that as well, Khannie. That makes things easier and harder." Easier because there are no wrong answers, but harder because there's no wrong answers so the 'right' answers have to be chosen properly. "I'm looking forward to this." She grins, and will... well, probably follow Khannie. The sorceress cheats when it comes to leading the trio by having longer legs.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

The three girls proceed through the fog and the trees. The fog parts once again to reveal a clay figurine of a man walking on a road among towers and walls that look to be made of paper. The owl is sitting on a nearby low tree.

"Your next task, seekers of knowledge, will be to tell me who this man is as you see him face different situations and challenges."

[Castle Pinktooth - the Date]

"And here I was thinking of asking you if I may have this dance." Iknika twirls on her feet with a fake pout. "Lady Eschelle has been teaching me to dance. She says it's an important skill for a knight."
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

Khannie doesn't CHEAT by having longer legs!

There aren't any no having long leg rules.

At least no such rule that she's aware of, anyway.

If someone created such a rule no one told HER about it, anyway.

So!

More forest. More owl.

"Yeah, this has been pretty cool so far. Do you think the lady that made this place just, like, set up a castle with a puzzle owl for the fun of it? Just waiting for someone to run into it and have fun?" Khannie wonders aloud. But now they've got a new puzzle!

With...

A golem?

And paper buildings.

"Uuh..."
Khannie isn't quite sure what to make of this yet. She's heard stories about men made of clay but she isn't sure if the clay guy is supposed to be literal or if he's supposed to be figurative. Guess she'll just have to wait and watch and see what happens?
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Re: Civiron's Realm

Post by Earl of Purple »

Castle Pinktooth- the Trio

Ignorance is no defence in the eyes of the rules, Khannie. Earl is so disappointed in you.

"This... might be tricky. I wonder if he's someone we know or an archetype or something." Cheasadh sort of hopes it's an archetype, as a man they all know is a pretty short list. Her dad, Jace, Pathfinder, and... Perhaps some of her uncles and older cousins, if Khannie's met any of them. She's going to follow the figurine, and try to glance at its face to see if there's any clues there.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

Cheasadh can't see the man's face - the figurine's head is featureless. However, closer inspection will reveal that he is carrying something heavy, but proceeding with determination. Every now and then, someone confronts him - a face appears in one of the towers, shouting, but there's no sound. At one point, someone tries to bar his way, but he strikes them with his fist and knocks them away before proceeding onward.

"Well, he's certainly determined. But we don't really know why or what for."
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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Morty wrote: Mar 02, 2023 10:58 pm
[Castle Pinktooth - the Date]

"And here I was thinking of asking you if I may have this dance." Iknika twirls on her feet with a fake pout. "Lady Eschelle has been teaching me to dance. She says it's an important skill for a knight."
Castle Pinktooth - The Date

Isaac grins.
"I'm sure it is. For a mage and artist though, not quite so much. Still, if you want to guide me I guess we could get the idea across."
Isaac is certainly not the type to have reservations about his girlfriend leading the dance.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

Khannie frowns at the scene playing out. Tough is right, there's definitely something going on here.

But what?

"He's doing something the other people don't like," Khannie observes. "Some people are shouting at him and that one guy even tried to stop him and got decked for it. So whatever he's doing is a heavy burden to him that he feels like he's gotta do, but everyone else wants him to stop?"

That seems like a pretty reasonable summery of what's going on here, right?

Though Khannie isn't sure what the specifics are.

How specific does the owl need them to be?
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Re: Civiron's Realm

Post by Earl of Purple »

Castle Pinktooth- the Trio

"I think he's more archetype than individual, honestly. I... might be wrong, I'm not confident about it. What kind of thing needs to be carried around but nobody wants it taken away?" Cheasadh can't really think of anything, and is worried she's gone the wrong route and this is supposed to be somebody they know and not just a hypothetical individual representing a type of person.
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

"Being really stubborn doesn't have to be a good thing. Maybe he stole this thing or is bringing it to someone he shouldn't."

The man continues on his way, but at some point he stops. He stands on a tall hill for a while, then raises his hands towards the sky, balling his fists and shaking them. He then throws his burden off the hill and turns back where he came without it.

[Castle Pinktooth - the Date]

Iknika steps back and bows, deeply and formally. Clearly a practiced motion. She reaches up with her hand towards Isaac.

"Then may I have this dance, my fair lord, as your faithful knight?"
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Re: Civiron's Realm

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[Castle Pinktooth - the Trio]

Oh.

Huh.

That wasn't going where Khannie was expecting it to.

Usually when someone is shaking their fists at the sky that means they're... defying the gods.

...right?

Khannie really doesn't have a great deal of personal experience with religious stuff but she HAS read history and she knows hubris when she sees it. It was considered arrogance to judge the gods.

Honestly that sounds like nonsense to Khannie. Always had. All the gods she's ever known were just people. Powerful people, sure, but still people. And when people do dumb mean things they ought to be called out on it.

"Okay so what do we know? Guy is mad. He's going to this hill. People don't want him to. He's willing to fight anyone who tries to stop him. And when he gets there he just pitches the thing he's carrying and yells at the sky. I'm thinking HE thinks some god wronged him and he thinks something that isn't fair happened."
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