Nathaniel Blauss:
Guys, I had a real blast last night. Thank you for the huge compliment you gave me by being interested in my story.
Michael Hopps:
I also had a great time. Thank you, Nate.
Also, new welcome line at the top of [[Branwen]]'s Branches. I'm pleased with it.
Ryan Petti:
Hey that AI did a great job with her hand
Also had fun last night fellas. It was great to ponder all these connections.
Thomas Maloney:
And I didn't have an existential crisis because I knew what was happening!
Michael Hopps:
The 5 statues in the tower are Mons' children.
Mike Robinson:
You mean... [[Mog]]'s children?
Michael Hopps:
I mean, I do.
Mike Robinson:
I missed the whole tower thing, I'll have to revisit the log. Was that something we had considered before?
Michael Hopps:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1emqYTYZ_gYKiFgIxbaCIxuVGSm_zFuDcBj0vMHBGMj8/edit#heading=h.wr9kmivxwg11
That one and the next day too
Mike Robinson:
Thanks
Nathaniel Blauss:
And then it went silent....
Ryan Petti:
I noted in the Sibling section of B's Bs that one of those statues was refer to as "brother" so that tracks
We've also seen a couple instances of a pair of brothers, so I'm wondering, we know there's [[Bremphyr]] and [[Osgog]]. Maybe the other three are women.
Also, what if [[Mons and the God of Death]] and [[The God King]] are the same story told from different cultures?
Michael Hopps:
The statues are 3 men and 2 women.
Ryan Petti:
Close
Nathaniel Blauss:
Can [[Balthazar]] role Old Lore?
Ryan Petti:
Both stories involve temples and stones atop them, crumbling to the ground.
Michael Hopps:
Yeah. I like that take. I'm starting to warm up to the Greek/Roman telling of the same gods idea
Nathaniel Blauss:
Seriously, though.
Ryan Petti:
The [[God of Death]] could be the three primordial sisters.
I'm gonna channel Sadie and whisper into Mike's die "please be a 19, please be a 19, please be a 19..."
Nathaniel Blauss:
I really think someone should bite the bullet and read (and condense) the log from the bear village to the Lake. There's a lot in there that I think you don't remember.
Mike Robinson:
Rolling...
Oh is someone helping me?
Is that what [[Silas]] did?
Nathaniel Blauss:
I think you just have to roll this one.
Mike Robinson:
Got it, 16+7 = 24
23
Wait, did Sadie recently wish for a 19? 😂
Nathaniel Blauss:
You remember that there were certainly stories of the five children of [[Mons]], and that they were [[Osgog]] (healer), [[Bremphyr]] (smith), [[Rhiannon]] (horsewoman/sailor), [[Kevnis]] (weaver), and [[Crochenwen|Priweythva]] (potter).
Mike Robinson:
There's that similarity to Kerevna
Michael Hopps:
[[Kerenja]]
Nathaniel Blauss:
[[Kerenja]]?
Mike Robinson:
And [[Rhiannon]] was a name inscribed on a sword or something?
Yeah [[Kerenja]], sorry
Michael Hopps:
The sword is "[[Rhiannon]]'s Gale" I think
Mike Robinson:
Ah okay, so [[Rhiannon]] and [[Bremphyr]] must be tight
And [[Storr]] would probably like her
Interesting that [[Osgog]] is a healer, and is associated with the black lake
Ryan Petti:
Gale is the sword edged in light? Or maybe the other one is?
Mike Robinson:
I think that's the other one
Ryan Petti:
It's one of the four gifts [[Mons]] children gave him
Mike Robinson:
Gale was forged with wind, less forged and more guided
Ryan Petti:
Was that established already?
Michael Hopps:
Last night.
Mike Robinson:
Was what established? Sorry
Michael Hopps:
These are the 4 gifts: [[Scepter of Stone]], the [[Crown of Water]], the [[Cloak of Wind]], and the [[Sword of Darkness Edged in Light]]
Ryan Petti:
Heh well, i agree
Mike Robinson:
[[Sword of Darkness Edged in Light]] sounds like it came from [[Osgog]]: a healer associated with darkness, darkness contained by light?
Did [[Osgog]] create the prison?
Or just seal it with the Black Lake?
Ryan Petti:
[[Osgog]] didn't give [[Mons]] a gift though, he was missing.
Mike Robinson:
(Or neither)
Oh okay
Michael Hopps:
Osgog (healer): a monster
Bremphyr (smith):, Sword of Darkness Edged in Light
Rhiannon (horsewoman/sailor): Crown of Water
Kevnis (weaver): Cloak of Wind
Priweythva (potter): Scepter of Stone
How do you feel about this mapping?
Mike Robinson:
I think that's about as close as we can get given what we currently know
Ryan Petti:
Pretty good
Nathaniel Blauss:
Yeah, if folks have questions for me, please make sure I understand that that's the case.
Ryan Petti:
These are also things we could ask [[Bardh]]...
Mike Robinson:
Okay, yeah nothing had been directed at you so far
Just spitballing a bit
Ryan Petti:
Also, going back to the cultural interpretation bit, if [[Mons and the God of Death]] is man's telling of that story, to whom does [[The God King]] belong?
The GK does glorify the natural power of the wife quite a bit.
Mike Robinson:
[[The God King]] is a retelling from a different perspective?
Ryan Petti:
But i still dont think it jives with any druid interpretation of the world.
Mike Robinson:
Male/Female dichotomy
I think you're on the right track, though
Ryan Petti:
Same story, different cultures. A theory from a dozen texts ago.
Mike Robinson:
Oh yeah I skipped like 185 texts the other day, too overwhelming
I don't think the sisters would write a story, though
Well, maybe as an oral tradition. But to whom would they tell it?
Maybe the druids?
Do we believe these Sisters to be the most powerful beings we,be encountered? Or do the Ancients, like the Turtle, have a greater power we haven't yet seen?
Ryan Petti:
Didn't we ask the turtle about the sisters? I seem to remember him calling them children.
Michael Hopps:
We hadn't met the 3 yet at turtle time
Mike Robinson:
I believe there are 12 Groves, each encircled by a different variety of tree as represented in Mosoth's Grove, and each Grove is a Place of Power associated with a different Ancient (and the Grove at [[Monsoth]] is a "hub" that connects them all via the Spring)
Ryan Petti:
I resent the naming of [[Monsoth]]'s Grove
Mike Robinson:
And whose side are we on? Are we leaning one way or the other (or perhaps yet another)?
What's it called? Sorry I don't remember
Ryan Petti:
I don't know, just not that
[[Silas]] is like on whatever side the turtle and the sleeping bear are on
Mike Robinson:
Yeah, I'm kinda thinking the same
Michael Hopps:
#TeamMabmnoss
Ryan Petti:
* -like
Hopefully those align. If not, well....
Mike Robinson:
On one hand, Balz is in awe of the things mankind has wrought with only his hands and ingenuity
But it's a change from the natural order
Which gives him pause
Michael Hopps:
And you've born witness to the cruelty that man's hands can wrought when seeking power
Mike Robinson:
Yes indeed
Michael Hopps:
Who is this [[Sun King]] anyway
Mike Robinson:
And though I'm a man of science, I'm not dogmatically so
It's more in service of a greater understanding of the universe
I believe he's mortal
And is on his way across the sea
"Returning"
Well, not sure if it's a return, but he is expected (someone we met associated with Trenowydh mentioned that I think?)
And he has no qualms about torture in service of a goal
Not a great guy, by all accounts
He wants info on the source of [[The Black Water]], super interested in that
Ryan Petti:
So do my circle elders
Mike Robinson:
True, but I'd wager for different reasons
Balz is also not unique: see [[Mali]]
She underwent a similar ordeal, but came out of it seemingly more inclined to side with her tormentor
Ryan Petti:
Nor am I. Another of my people was sent north to investigate a hermit living by a lake who acts as... wait for it... a blacksmith.
I think this lake is the circular one i've seen in dreams
Michael Hopps:
Yeah, that's our [[Weyland]]/[[Bremphyr|Bremfyr]] fellow.
Mike Robinson:
Oh my, that is very interesting
Ryan Petti:
I'm wondering if our search for the child will send us north into those mountains and to that lake, "among the stars"
Mike Robinson:
I think you're correct
Ryan Petti:
I've seen visions of a cabing on the pebbel shore of this lake. Pebbel shores appear in a few different places as well.
*cabin
Maps.... maps.... maps....
Nathaniel Blauss:
All of this has bearing on your fellowship undertakings...
Mike Robinson:
One other thing to note which muddies the waters (heh) a bit with the [[Sun King]]: I'm not certain this is the case, but the torture and magic used on Balz seems to have resulted in his being possessed of "stone bones" like the Ancient Turtle
It could be that Balz already had those as part of him, though
Michael Hopps:
The monster Osgog created had horns. The [[Sun King]] experiments and makes humans with horns. [[The Black Lake of Osgog]]...[[Sun King]] interested in source of black stream...
Ryan Petti:
Yup, I've seen [[Constellations]] representing us in some way, though I don't quite understand it yet. You my friend, are Draco.
Mike Robinson:
Oh and those ancient bone stones are also connected to Dragons, as is Balz (motif of him being a dragon)
Actually, Nate, can you answer that or no? Are [[Balthazar]]'s ancient bones a result of the torture, or had he already had them?
Ryan Petti:
And interesting, in the sky, Draco is curled between the Great Bear and a bear cub.
😮 to “ So the stars tell our story? Are we already written on the pages of time? Inscribed on the wheel? ”
Nathaniel Blauss:
[[Balthazar]] would assume that he started as a "normal" human, and that anything different from that is a result of the "torture".
Mike Robinson:
So the stars tell our story? Are we already written on the pages of time? Inscribed on the wheel?
Thanks
Yes Hopps, I think the monster was a dragon
It was described as a chariot led by pillars of smoke, or something like that
Which could be how a witness interpreted what they saw
Ryan Petti:
Re: our path forward, Silas' first two dreams may be of interest:
http://osgog.mrobinson.us/index.php/[[Silas]]#Dreams
"The [[Elder Lands]]"
Michael Hopps:
I'm thinking the [[Sun King]] is Osgog.
Mike Robinson:
Is the [[Sun King]] trying to find a suitable candidate for a new dragon, or someone to act as a vessel for the monster's return?
Nathaniel Blauss:
For what it's worth, you should know that your stories don't really contain dragons. It's not like there were knights joisting with them, or anything. There is a hint of some ancient being called Dragon or Wurm, but to the extent that you've heard of it, it would have been some ancient monster, and not a species of creature.
Mike Robinson:
Okay, good to know
@Hopps, I agree. It would explain his absence, and the threads do seem to converge on him
But why did he cross the sea?
Michael Hopps:
[[Mons]] sailed across the sea to this continent. So his children would have been back in the old world. Osgog and others could still be back there.
Mike Robinson:
Oh right, that makes sense
Michael Hopps:
After slaying Osgog's monster, [[Mons]] was wounded and came across the sea to our land.
Mike Robinson:
Very grateful to our resident lore master, thank you
Michael Hopps:
Imagine what Nate would have done if we didn't take the book as a reward.
Mike Robinson:
Right?
Nathaniel Blauss:
Oh, I had plans.
Mike Robinson:
I hope we meet a wandering troubadour who regales us with further tales...
A bit off topic, but I'm still thinking about these instances of fire being gifted to people
Michael Hopps:
[[Mannix]] had an hourglass. Wonder what that was about. I mean, if it's on par with the book...
Agree, Mike.
Arming humanity to keep the chaos of nature at bay, right?
Mike Robinson:
I recall something strange about it. Didn't it behave oddly?
Michael Hopps:
Like my pendant - ever burning ember
Mike Robinson:
Could be. The hunters were able to fend off the lions after gaining the knowledge. A metaphor for man's fight for survival against the disinterested brutality of nature?
[[Mabmnoss|Morianoth]] gave an ember to someone, right? Is that the same ember?
Michael Hopps:
Old brother found fire, gifted from a raven related entity.
[[Weyland]]’s mother Morgan had a way with flames, and so their fire never went out. She said she had fire in her heart, and all believed her.
Mike Robinson:
re: hourglass, I think I remember [[Mannix]] using it at camp one night and the sand flowed strangely
Michael Hopps:
[[Weyland]] dreamed that he too had fire in his heart, and that he could create a fire that would not go out even greater than his mother’s, and that using it, the villagers would not need to defend themselves with sticks and stones anymore. He dreamed that he could capture fire, and turn it into stone - hard and constant - and with that frozen fire, he could help his family and friends protect themselves.
Mike Robinson:
And we are pretty sure [[Weyland]]/Morgan are Brenwydh/Mabnoss, right?
Michael Hopps:
Yeah.
Mike Robinson:
Sorry if the spelling is wrong
So is Brenwydh the man in the woods who gave the hunters fire?
Nathaniel Blauss:
[[Bremphyr]] is the name of Mons' son who was a smith
Mike Robinson:
That's what I meant, yeah. Sorry
Ryan Petti:
Who probably live in a cabin on a lake in the [[Elder Lands]]
Michael Hopps:
Who was revealed to be a 1-eyed smith who created Gale
Using techniques influenced from his mother, NOT his father.
Nathaniel Blauss:
No worries. There's not necessarily a lot of context for these names unless you have a background in my invented language.
Hopps: clarification.
Michael Hopps:
Always welcome.
Mike Robinson:
But Gale was created with wind not fire
Nathaniel Blauss:
He did use techniques from his father, but he was not anti-mom, and took ideas and strength from her, too.
You sense that Gale has captured wind, but not that it was exclusively made from that. It's still a sword made of metal.
Michael Hopps:
Got it. Man making things, but in a "work with nature, not against it" sort of way.
Mike Robinson:
So frozen fire: the result of using fire's energy to forge metal
Transferring fire into the metal
Nathaniel Blauss:
Mike Robinson, I think Hopps had some ideas on what frozen fire meant a while ago.
Michael Hopps:
Bronze
Mike Robinson:
And it was different and probably correct as opposed to what I said? Lol
Ahh okay
Nathaniel Blauss:
Just more detailed.
Not different, and yours isn't wrong.
Michael Hopps:
From [[Weyland]]: King of Stone, you have created stones out of many things: you’ve turned water, and air, and even night into stone, but never have you made a stone out of fire.
Mike Robinson:
So a bit confusing, though. [[Bremphyr]] works in harmony with nature to create, but his goal is to arm men against nature?
Michael Hopps:
I think there is a fine line between survival in nature and exploiting and destroying nature
Mike Robinson:
An internal conflict imparted by mom and dad?
That makes sense. Exist in harmony as part of nature and do what you must to thrive, as opposed to bending it to your will to serve you
Ryan Petti:
My folk have been quite effective in not crossing it. It can be done, if you're intentional.
Michael Hopps:
Modern man, like on Earth, has crossed into dominating, exploiting and destroying the natural order. It wasn't always thus.
Ryan Petti:
This may be the reason my elders sent one of my colleagues to investigate this hermit smith. To see what his intentions are.
Nathaniel Blauss:
[[Bardh]] would remind you that the motivation of characters in stories sometimes has more to do with the teller, rather than with whom the story is about.
Mike Robinson:
[[Silas]], do your people have any oral traditions or sayings related to this natural harmony?
Nathaniel Blauss:
Yes.
Ryan, I found a story I had started a while ago. I'll send it to you in answer to Mike's question when I finish it up.
Mike Robinson:
By the authors
Ah, so there may be agendas at play
Ryan Petti:
👍 to “ Ryan, I found a story I had started a while ago. I'll send it to you in answer to Mike's question when I finish it up. ”
Another reason why we should try and suss out who wrote these things.
And what may be different interpretations of the same idea.
Michael Hopps:
[[Bardh]] didn't know [[Foamflower]]. Just saying. That's interesting and bugging me.
And I'm still unclear on "Mother and Daughter, one and the same." When I rolled that 20 on Gale.
Mike Robinson:
That to me sounds like reincarnation, or like the lifecycle of a phoenix
Entities that always exist, but I'm slightly different bodies and with different name
Names*
But then again, Mabnoss had two daughters with [[Mons]]
So maybe it's more of a trait or aspect passed on to children?
What was the context of that roll, Mike?
Nathaniel Blauss:
So, the stories in [[Balthazar]]'s book would not be attributed to an author. They were scribed and illuminated at [[Tawesek]] by one of the artisans.
[[Balthazar]] would have heard of [[Bardh]] as a great poet from antiquity.
Mike Robinson:
Nathaniel Blauss:
These are stories [[Balthazar]] at least as heard of (I guess I should make a chart of who knows which ones).
But it would be hard to know who's take you were getting.
Mike Robinson:
Gotcha
Ryan Petti:
Right, I guess that's the bit i'm wondering about.
Nathaniel Blauss:
Give me a minute, I'll go put some stuff in the wiki.
Mike Robinson:
[[Bardh]] wrote of the foundling, but doesn't seem to interested in our theories about [[The Abbot|the abbott]]
Ryan Petti:
So maybe that's not all that relevant, and we should take these stories for just that, stories. And look for real world representations of these things to validate or invalidate the ideas.
Probably not so black and white as that but, something along those lines
Mike Robinson:
I think he just loves stories and poems, and doesn't think too much about them. He strikes me as someone who loves a bit of flowery prose on its own merit
Ryan Petti:
👍 to “ I think he just loves stories and poems, and doesn't think too much about them. He strikes me as someone who loves a bit of flowery prose on its own merit ”
Sounds familiar
Michael Hopps:
I love the "well it makes for a good ending" bit
Mike Robinson:
Same
Ryan Petti:
From last night:
Storr: Ever heard of the foundling?
The foundling?? Well, lots in stories, but if you talk about THE foundling, there;s one that came from royal lineage that left to go set a watch. This young prince walks off and then comes back and declare something, I don’t know.
Bal: What was he watching?
It was about the time. He was going to come back when the time was right. A motif that shows up i stories, the young child that sees something, walks off into the wilderness.
Osgog/The Sun King?
Mike Robinson:
It certainly sounds like he "left" the old world to end up stranded on that rock. But their values don't seem aligned.
There royal lineage is definitely important, though
But there's the question of the nature of his return. He drank from the fountain and died, all part of the plan. To whence did he return, then? To Terenowydh? Or beyond the grave?
Not back across the sea, surely
Nathaniel Blauss:
I put who would have heard what about the stories in the wiki for reference.
Michael Hopps:
Mike, [[Bardh]] mentioned a sword named Gale, so I whipped it out. He told us it was forged by Mons' son, Bremphyr.
I was alarmed that I may be wielding a sword of Mons, rather than Mabmnoss.
I asked if I could focus on the sword and get a sense of its “rightness” in my hands.
It felt right, and came with that insight: Mother and Daughter- one and the same.
Mike Robinson:
Awesome, thanks
Are you Mabnoss' daughter?
Fathered by someone other than Mons?
Nathaniel Blauss:
[[Branwen]] wouldn't know how to answer that.
Mike Robinson:
What color are [[Branwen]]'s eyes? Purple, right?
Obviously a very close connection with the eyes and the ravens
And the ever-burning ember
And interesting that [[Branwen]] was "born" like a phoenix, during a festival ostensibly for Mabnoss
Was it foretold? Did the festival serve as a herald for her coming?
Rhetorical
Another "return"
Ryan Petti:
Is [[Branwen]] a foundling?
Mike Robinson:
Another loop around the circle
Ryan Petti:
Another pin through the onion
Mike Robinson:
!
Okay, hear me out
The grove at [[Monsoth]]
Ryan Petti:
I mean, in a way, [[Silas]] is also a foundling. Parents died, found and raised by the druid folk.
Mike Robinson:
Is a twelve-spoked wheel, which we noted is very like a clock
The hours on the clock are the different trees, which I conjecture are each representative of a different Anxient
So why a clock?
Because
Time is a wheel
And
The ancient currently holding power tells us what time it is
We awakened the Turtle, but I don't believe we are in his hour
The Bear still sleeps
So which ancient holds sway now?
And what happens at midnight?
Ryan Petti:
There was a woman under the tree as well wasn't there?
Mike Robinson:
Yes I believe you are right
[[Mannix]]'s girlfriend?
Michael Hopps:
I woke in a land of charcoal and grey shadow, and a great swirling sky filled with a storm of darkness. I lay in a bower of black vines with flowers of purple and blue and lavender which glowed in the darkness. Nearby I heard the crackling of a fire, and saw that instead of red and orange flame, the flames were made of the same flicking of blue and purple and utter darkness like the flowers and the sky. I heard voices, and footsteps around and behind me, but whenever I turned to look, I saw nothing, and the voices and footsteps immediately hushed. I was afraid, and I knew not where I was, or who I was, or how I got there.
I looked down at my naked chest, and saw black coagulated blood run down my body.
Then I heard the music of a flute coming from the fire, and I recognized a tune - though I knew not from whence I knew it. I approached the fire, and feeling no heat from it, I stepped into the flame, and was consumed and all went black. And I felt that I rose up into the sky in a swirling tumult, and suddenly felt my feet on the ground, and felt my eyes and opened them, and found myself standing here amongst you.
Ryan Petti:
In the beginning (would that have been midnight?) was it the sisters being in power? Chaos?
Michael Hopps:
That's what I know about my origins.
Mike Robinson:
That tracks with rebirth to me, yeah?
Michael Hopps:
It does, yeah.
Mike Robinson:
Why the blood? Do you know if it was yours, and if so where was the wound?
A remnant of how you previously died?
Michael Hopps:
[[Cricket]] was stabbed in the chin or neck, right? Not the chest.
Mike Robinson:
Coagulated due to a long slumber
A period of waiting before rising again from the purple flame into the orange
I think the neck
And that makes a lot of sense. So not a very long period of waiting, at least in "our" time (but I'd wager time flows differently on different layers of the onion)
Michael Hopps:
I wonder how [[Mannix]]'s hourglass behaves in these different layers...
Mike Robinson:
(It must, because the spacetime geometry is different)
Great question
How would it behave if we brought it to the clock?
Michael Hopps:
Ok, now regarding [[The Abbot]]. He was a prince across the sea, we think. We think that Osgog is over there, ruling the roost. Is [[The Abbot]] is one of Mons' children?
Mike Robinson:
(Assuming it's a clock and not just a grove)
Brother to the sun king?
Which element would [[The Abbott]] be, the
Michael Hopps:
And [[Weyland]]/Bremfyr
Mike Robinson:
Then*
Michael Hopps:
[[Kevnis]], the weaver.
Mike Robinson:
Osgog (healer): a monster
Bremphyr (smith):, Sword of Darkness Edged in Light
Rhiannon (horsewoman/sailor): Crown of Water
Kevnis (weaver): Cloak of Wind
Priweythva (potter): Scepter of Stone
[[Priweythva]] is the other daughter?
Ryan Petti:
Based on these gifts, I'm willing to bet that Ploy is the prevelant card game in [[Monsoth]].
Michael Hopps:
Yes, the statue was female
Mike Robinson:
"Weaving" connotes building a spiderweb to me
Or planning/manipulating
Not necessarily in a negative way
Guiding things to fruition
Michael Hopps:
He could have gone to watch for his dad's return?
Or to watch for Osgog's chasing him?
Mike Robinson:
I wonder if all of Mons' children are invested in this mystery of [[The Black Water]]
Wait, isn't Mons trapped under the black lake?
Maybe Osgog believes [[The Black Water]] is a sign of the prison weakening, and is crossing the sea to try to reseal it?
The black stream, that is; not the water itself
Ryan Petti:
But Mons is Mogg...
Maybe Mogg's Mons-ness is trapped?
Michael Hopps:
I don't think we know what was imprisoned beneath the lake, do we? We know its Mons?
Mike Robinson:
No, maybe not
Was it the monster?
Ryan Petti:
I think it was maybe the monster. We were thinking "dragon", but it's not that exactly.
Mike Robinson:
It does feel like the advent of the black lake coincides with the caging of [[Mog]]'s balls
Ryan Petti:
Though I do like the idea of Mogg's memories and mental capacity being trapped.
😂 to “ It does feel like the advent of the black lake coincides with the caging of [[Mog]]'s balls ”
Mike Robinson:
Me too
Ryan Petti:
...or, balls.
Mike Robinson:
The seven faced man: probably not simultaneously
We've probably met this guy in various forms
[[The Boatman]]?
Bardh?
Ryan Petti:
If this was all one guy though, that seems nefarious. Like this fellow is trying to instill chaos into our investigation and throw us off the trail.
Michael Hopps:
The [[The Boatman|Boatman]] said this: All human beings contain a measure of goodness. Below the lake is trapped the symbol of evil created by men, because men created it to move it away from themselves. And so the lake was made to keep that evil out of the world, yet it still exists and it would be better if it stayed there and does not escape.
Mike Robinson:
A weapon?
Ryan Petti:
"the symbol of evil created by men"
If it were a weapon, men would have kept it. They love that shit.
Mike Robinson:
Men created the evil, realized they couldn't control it, and created the lake to keep it locked away
Ryan Petti:
Something they were terrified of
Mike Robinson:
They didn't fill the lake with black water; the water is black due to the influence of the evil trapped within
Ryan Petti:
👍 to “ They didn't fill the lake with black water; the water is black due to the influence of the evil trapped within ”
Might also have something to do with the darkness that comes in the night that the bear people were scared of
Mike Robinson:
Yeah maybe not a weapon. I was thinking something analogous to a nuclear bomb, something they might have realized would lead to their own destruction
Ryan Petti:
Which I suspect also happens around the village we're currently in, though I wanted to ask Bardh about that
👍 to “ Yeah maybe not a weapon. I was thinking something analogous to a nuclear bomb, something they might have realized would lead to their own destruction ”
Mike Robinson:
Oh interesting
Ryan Petti:
He mentioned us being safe only while we stay inside the inn
Mike Robinson:
Sounds like the darkness
Oh hey by the way: let's not forget about [[Musk]]
Ryan Petti:
Maybe this darkness or trapped evil is evolving
Mike Robinson:
What role did he play in the kidnapping, or the appearance of Trenowydh and the tremors in the mountains
Ryan Petti:
First as a black stream, and now its becoming airborne
But the bear folks had been scared of the darkness at night for a long time
Mike Robinson:
Like first the evil seeped into the water, and now the air? Trying to permeate everything?
(like radiation...)
Ryan Petti:
Not sure, maybe
[[Musk]] was messing with something in the caves, and rumored to have caused the qukes
😮 to “ (like radiation...) ”
Michael Hopps:
Boatman:
That’s a good question. Did Osgog summon a monster or did he find something ancient that was beyond the imagination of most people and therefore called it a monster because they were afraid.
Mons "slew" this "monster", which could be trapping it, somehow.
This smacks of the ending of The God King, where they lock away the 3 enchantresses.
Ryan Petti:
👍 to “ Mons "slew" this "monster", which could be trapping it, somehow.
This smacks of the ending of The God King, where they lock away the 3 enchantresses. ”
[[Musk]]: [[Musk]] has always been “playing with fire”, Abbot always said that [[Musk]] was in touch with greater and deeper things, and we all have to suffer the consequences.
Mike Robinson:
Another face of the seven-faced man?
A meddler in the natural order?
Ryan Petti:
3 enchantresses = primordial ooze
How many faces are we up to?
Mike Robinson:
I think we've guessed 5 including the sisters? But we could be completely wrong
Part of me feels like the faces refer to something endemic to the world we're in; a reference to something. Perhaps star signs? [[Silas]], you know of these. How many [[Constellations]] do your people observe as significant to the machinations of the universe? What are those [[Constellations]]? What traits do people born under those various signs possess?
DM could maybe chime in here re: the stars/asterisms/Constellations?
Ryan Petti:
Here's what I know of what I've seen of the sky:
http://osgog.mrobinson.us/index.php/Silas%27_Conspiracy_Corner#[[Constellations]]
As for what my folk know beyond that...
(the IRL column was really just my own curiosity and doesn't have any bearing (pun) on the game)
I did ask what [[Constellations]] were in the sky when we were at the prison, but I think that answer still needs to be provided
Nathaniel Blauss:
I just taught a class. I think I read through everything. What am I supposed to be answering?
Michael Hopps:
Who are Ice Beard and the Honey Woman?
Mike Robinson:
What are the [[Elder Lands]]?
Michael Hopps:
I put together a Gods section in [[Branwen]]'s Branches. Please peruse.
http://osgog.mrobinson.us/index.php/Branwen%27s_Branches#Gods:~:text=we%20shall%20go%E2%80%9D.-,Gods,-%5Bedit%20%7C
Mike Robinson:
Silas appears to have been informed about seven constellations specifically. Interesting.
Ryan Petti:
😮 to “ Silas appears to have been informed about seven constellations specifically. Interesting. ”
Nathaniel Blauss:
Are the Ice Beard/Honey Woman and [[Elder Lands]] questions addressed to me?
Mike Robinson:
Yes
Ryan Petti:
I think the [[Elder Lands]] are the area to the far north where that smith dwells.
Mike Robinson:
See I got the impression they were on another plane
Ryan Petti:
Yeah another thing i was going to ask Bardh about
Nathaniel Blauss:
Can Balthazar or Silas role Old Lore?
That's for [[Geshwa]].
And then anyone could roll for [[Elder Lands]].
Ryan Petti:
[[Geshwa]]: 13
Mike Robinson:
I rolled poorly
10
Michael Hopps:
And a 9 here.
Ryan Petti:
Brutal
Nathaniel Blauss:
I think Bardh might tell you that that [[Geshwa]] story is a strange one. That it feels very old to him, and that Icebeard and Honeywoman are two characters who only ever exist on the edges of stories, and he's never been sure if their appearances are actually connected or not.
You'd have heard vaguely of Elder lands, sort of like a we'd think of the place where fairy tales take place.
Michael Hopps:
The last lines of the tower poem make me think [[The Abbot]] is a mons spawn.
Bottom of the branches page.
Mike Robinson:
Yeah just read that
Are any of the Mons siblings twins?
The eldest brothers?
Michael Hopps:
Unclear so far, I think.
Mike Robinson:
Nah I think I'm grasping
Ryan Petti:
👍 to “ You'd have heard vaguely of Elder lands, sort of like a we'd think of the place where fairy tales take place. ”
Michael Hopps:
I wonder if Rihannon is the daughter that is like her mother.
Nathaniel Blauss:
You don't know anything about twins in that generation.
Ryan Petti:
The kindly woman from my dream suggested that I visit the elder lands. I'm very much interested in doing that.
Mike Robinson:
So [[Morianoth]] was previously a blonde, and was changed by the dark enchantresses into her current form
Michael Hopps:
That is the going theory.
Mike Robinson:
Related to the separation of [[Mog]] and [[Mabmnoss]]?
They haven't spoken since that happened?
Michael Hopps:
Possible. They tried to turn [[Mabmnoss]] against him in [[The God King]] tale.
Mike Robinson:
Re: Abbott being a Mons spawn, he is apparently of royal lineage, so that checks out
I'll re-read all the stories this week, they're not fresh in my mind
Are the twins male/female? "Both unalike"
Another dichotomy
Michael Hopps:
I was trying to figure out how the Bear fits in. If the 3 made God's on the earth, a bear males sense to me. But a twin...?
Mike Robinson:
"One and one are eldest, seeing all that was or is {...}, again they are well hid"
Sounds like a pair of eyes, watching for a period and then closing.
I would think maybe the turtle as a fraternal twin, doesn't get much more unalike
I do still think my theory of twelve ancients has merit, but trying not to rely too heavily on that
And what are the "eight, then thirteen bees"?
Eight and then five more for a total of 13? Or are we thinking 21?
Michael Hopps:
Maybe the number of bees is significant, maybe Nate just wanted to keep the Fibonacci numbers going
Mike Robinson:
13 - 8 = 5, and this is a poem about the five ancient powers
Michael Hopps:
The honey woman sends bees to watch for her.
Mike Robinson:
Well then we should expect a batch of 21 bees next
Kidding but who knows
Maybe there are thirteen ancient powers: an original eight, and then the sisters and twins. The first eight bees were sent before the five had established themselves, so only eight were sent to watch the eight powers. Five more were sent after the sisters and the twins gained a foothold of some kind
Tenuous
Ryan Petti:
Something unnatural the way folks have talked about this black water
Thomas Maloney:
Liked “Yeah. I like that take. I'm starting to warm up …”
Mike Robinson:
Maybe Rhiannon will go to the black lake to search it's depths (she sees the way, of deeps she'll take the sounding)
Free the monster or whatever is trapped there?
Thomas Maloney:
Liked “And Rhiannon was a name inscribed on a sword or so…”
Liked “The sword is "Rhiannon's Gale" I think”
Mike Robinson:
And the "coming of the foundling" will herald her arrival, I.e. she is on her way?
Maybe sounding the deeps is just a poetic way to say "sail across the ocean"
Michael Hopps:
[[Kevnis]]. Gotta be [[The Abbot|Bryok]].
Mike Robinson:
Same person as [[Kerenja]]?
Let's not forget the wise old woman in the village near [[Tawesek]]
She seemed to know [[The Abbott]] well
Michael Hopps:
[[Kerenja]]. Gave Gale to [[Mannix]]... [[Kerenja]] == Rhiannon?
Mike Robinson:
Oh didn't realize Kerenja was a female. Yes, I bet you're right
Literally is called Rhiannon's Gale
She "wields" the wind
So whoever wields Gale fights with her power
"With" meaning using
Michael Hopps:
So I got:
Osgog = sun king
Bremphyr = Weylund
Rhiannon = Kerenja, and is one and the same as Mabmnoss
Kevnis = Foundling/Bryok/Abbot
Mike Robinson:
Yeah, spot on
Michael Hopps:
Which leaves [[Priweythva]]. A sister, depicted as a potter in the statue.
Mike Robinson:
Maybe the old woman in the village?
Can't think of any references to pottery. Was there a gift from [[The Abbott]] related to pottery?
Michael Hopps:
No.
The not taken items:
A brass lantern, vial of crushed blue poppies, copper bell, and tarot cards.