By the second month of 1031, Grey's followers have finished excavating at the North Pole. Grey and the Seekers are busy fighting in Dast at this point in time. Furir Elin has been resurrected and has joined the Seekers. Tess spends 7 days to re-activate his James Sutherland cover. ** 1031/05/25-1031/06/03 ** What Tess knows about soul crystals (from players guide to the Shadow Elves) ============================================================================ Soul crystals contain from 1 to 100 souls. [..] Full training in the way of the shaman, includes many powers that can only be hinted at here. One of these powers is the ability to use soul crystals as material components of a spell. The shaman, casting his magic, can intensify it by drawing upon the power of all the souls contained within the crystal. Considering that virtually all Elves have some inherent ability at magic, and that there may be as many as 100 souls in a crystal, it is easy to imagine the power that the shaman has in this regard. Some details of the daily life of a Shadow Elf: "<<1 p.m.:>> Reginal had stared at the wall of this cave for over two hours now, and he felt ready to take the next exacting step. The pick in his hand looked like a child's toy, small as it was, but it was of the finest shadow elven craftsmanship. Further, it had been blessed by the shamans at the Temple of Rafiel. No other tool would fit the bill for the precise work he was doing. Reginal was no ordinary miner. He was not digging a new passageway to some cavern, or widening some tunnel so that carts could pass, or even raising the ceiling of some underground river--a dangerous job, but necessary for navigation in many cases. No, Reginal was mining soul crystals, and he knew that damaging the gem in any way meant many deaths, for these multi-faceted stones held within them the past and future members of his race. This was Rafiel's gift to his kind, he thought, the secret of the soul crystals. Tap! Tap!> His pick struck the rock wall in two places; then Reginal stood staring again. This one would require a few more hours of study before he could continue his excavation." The rocks surrounding the habitat of the shadow elves infrequently yield forth a particular sort of gem--a gem found nowhere else in the world. Rafiel has taught his shamans that these gems are "soul crystals", the holders of the race of shadow elves. Each soul crystal, depending on its size and quality, can contain from one to 100 souls. These souls lie dormant as long as the gem is contained in its original rock formation, but after it is excavated these souls are free to be born. When a shadow elf becomes pregnant, a soul from a nearby soul crystal enters into the woman to await its imminent birth. Which soul? From which soul crystal? These are decisions for Rafiel himself to make, and those who revere him must of course respect his judgments in all such cases. Shadow Elven shamans require soul crystals to memorize spells, and require better soul crystals to get better spells. There are Shaman spells that draw on the power of the souls to smite their enemies - the more souls in the soul crystal, the better the effect is. There is the equivalent of a Hallow spell - everyone must be blessed, tools, the area, and the people must be blessed. Shamans essentially can do metamagic feats using the crystals. Tess will study what the Shadow Elves know about the soul crystals. Tess spends two weeks in the Shadow Elven libraries, then heads back to Glantri. ** 1031/06/04-1031/06/17 ** Tess investigating the Shepherds of Rad ======================================= Tess develops a Glantrian cover - a cleaner. He will try and check out the Shepherds of Rad - their temples, while wearing the silver bodysuit. Wizards should go to the temple regularly to ensure they are of clear mind. The wisdom of the Shepherds of Rad comes from talismans only they know how to build. People go to the temple when seeking universal knowledge. The shepherds recite mantras that supposedly enhance the intellect and memory. Tess breaks into a room where the talisman is in the Temple of Rad. The talisman is about 10cm across, and it is a good quality quartz crystal, free of obvious flaws. It is held in a claw setting (ala a diamond ring). Tess can check around with Locate Object to find temples with a talisman, and use Clairvoyance to view that room to see if he can hang out in a room with a decent hiding location. A couple of places are actually protected (e.g. the more major temples). Tess will sneak in and hide in the rafters and wait to watch the Shepherds of Rad perform a ceremony - he is curious what they do with the talismans. Tess observes a religious ceremony involving most of the priests of the temple. The high priest lays his hand ont he receptable, and everyone prays. The priest looks straight up at Tessarael, but he doesn't appear to have located Tessarael. The priest then says, "Rad has told me, we have a guest hiding in our rafters." Everyone looks up. Tess teleports out. The ceremony appear to have been more some kind of communion. This took on the order of 3 months. ** 1031/06/18-1031/09/17 ** Tess in Glantri looking to make political allies ================================================ Tessarael can appear as a minor noble from Alfiesh, though he has nothing to back it up in terms of land or power. Tess is seen as a socialite, a courtier, and is entertaining. Glantri is a bureaucracy, and everything in Glantri is licensed. Tess discusses what he found out in Glantri with Phoranin in her office to protect it from divinations. The Temple to Rafiel has been making the radiant thing for a long time, longer than Porphiel's life time. Tess knows the Glantrians are always maneuvering politically, so it is unlikely they are working on a national scale - more on an organizational scale (e.g. Shepherds of Rad, Brotherhood of the Radiance). What started the great war was the Alphatians claiming the Glantrians were studying forbidden magic, and the Glantrians disagreed - no magic is forbidden in Glantri. Then followed assassinations and so forth, but this was the root cause of the war. Tess presumes that the forbidden magic is what the Glantrians were studying - i.e. the crystals. Tess is hanging out with the Erewan Elves. There are less than 30,000 Elves in the principality, and less than 5,000 Elves in the capital. In Erewan, fairly much everyone is literate. Most Elves have some natural talent, and many are competent Wizards. There are a lot of scribes and translators, and they have paper factories as well. They export paper and provide Glantri's paper. Becoming friendly will get Tess the introduction to voting to join the nobility, but he doesn't appear to be significant enough for the Erewan to spend political capital to get Tess to be a noble. Tess needs to have done something that was good for Glantri, or he has to get friendly with a number of different political factions (probably 3 months per faction). People don't have to turn up to vote - that is handled by a guild in the absence. Nobles control their dominions, but owe fealty to the Council. They can set taxes and so forth. Lands not part of a dominion are free territories, which are administered through ministers by the Council. A Prince gets 10 votes, and a Baron gets 4 votes. Viceroy of a Fort gets an extra vote, Grandmaster of the School of Magic gets an extra 10 votes. For example, Etienne has 25 votes total. If a motion gets between 51 and 79 votes it goes to parliament; if it gets 80 or more and it is passed; if it gets 50 or less it is rejected. Parliament is by a show of hands - if you get 2/3 show of hands you win, otherwise you lose. There is an appeals process, which is settled by duel. The Erewan have 21 votes on Council and 52 at Parliament. Votes on council and in parliament (out of date, C = council, P = parliament): House of Igorov (Morphail) - 15 C / 35 P House of Linten(Vlaardoens) - 17 C / 32 P House of Ritterburg (Von Drachenfels) - 16 C / 32 P House of Silverton (Volispin Aendyr - hit by rock) - 22 C / 41 P House of Singhabad (Prince Jherek Virayana) - 25 C / 32 P House of Sirecchia - 16 C / 35 P Hosue of Sylaire (Prince Etiene) - 25 C / 45 P House of Athambra (Belcadiz Elves) - 18 C / 29 P House of Ellerovyn (Erewan Elves) - 21 C / 32 P Tess will spend some time ingratiating himself with different nobles in different principalities. First he spends 3 months in the Singhabad principality. ** 1031/09/18-1031/12/17 ** Urmahid Krinagar, Prince of Bramyra, Count of Skullhorn pass, is the brother-in-law of Prince Jherek. Urmashid's sister is the legal heir of Prince Jherek (she is the only wife that is a wizard), however only the other wives have children. Some years ago, the Prince Jherek's youngest son disappeared while hunting. The oldest son spent time searching for him, but did not have any luck. Prince Jherek is Ethengarian, though the Ethengarians have a huge price on his head - Prince Jherek is the one who controls to pass from Glantri to Ethengar. The circular patch in the Glantri map with lake in the middle near Udhgar is where the meteor fell. The youngest son of Prince Jherek was hunting sasquatches in the mountains near Skullhorn Pass. If Tess rescues the prince's son, he would gladly sponsor Tess for nobility. Six men-at-arms went missing too. The Ethengarians could have been out in the direction. The area has already been search thoroughly. Tess should talk to Ralindi, Prince Jherek's oldest son. Ralindi searched with men, dogs, and spells, and found no sign of his half-brother nor the men with him. They found some signs of where they had been, but too late to use a skilled tracker. There were only sasquatch tracks in the vicinity. They have found and fought other sasquatches in the area. Ralindi is dressed in wizard robes, and looks like a serious chap. Ralindi seems seriously concerned. Ralindi is tall, has jet black hair, darkish skin, hair in a long braid, and sports a thin moustache. They looked at the sasquatch lairs and so forth. Rejladan had told Ralindi where he was going. Ralindi is mid-20s, his half-brother is only several years younger, and disappeared when he was 10. His half-brother disappeared about 12 years ago. Ralindi is closer in sucession than his half-brother. Ralindi says do not talk to me about my mother. His father has 3 wives: Lan-sin, Aleah (Ralindi's mother), and Waira (Rejladan's mother). Aleah has never been close to Ralindi, he has always felt closer to Aunt Waira. There has been a lot of recriminations. Ralindi left to study elsewhere, to avoid the family hassles. Lan-sin does not particularly like Ralindi or Rejladan, but would be unlikely to hurt them. Lan-sin does not like Jherek's other wives. In her younger days, Aleah was a spirited person - she is Glantrian. Aleah did try to be close to Ralindi after Rejladan's disappearance, but then got bored. Tess will wander around the palace talking to some of the staff and so forth. Aleah is a complete seductress. However, Prince Jherek wears the pants in the family - i.e. he is in charge. Some of the old retainers indicate that that was not always the case, but Prince Jherek is in charge now. Waira was married to provide a mother figure for Ralindi. Waira was distraught when Rejladan disappeared - she has always been very quiet, staring out the window ... there is some faint rumor of her having been an adventurer once. In the past 12 months, Waira started weapons practice - relearning how to fight. The servants consider Lan-sin to be a big tragedy - the Prince loves her foremost, but she appears not to be able to have children. Lan-sin has a lot of class - tall, statuesque, hourglass figure, mid 30s, dresses in traditional Ethengar manner, carrying herself with quiet grace. Aleah is Glantrian, whereas Waira is Ethengarian - daughter of an ultra-rich spice and silk dealer from Krondehar. A drunken minor noble suggested Lan-sin sleep with him, and she said she would do as her husband Jherek ordered. The next day the noble was the object of a hunt by them. Tess gets a chance to go to Waira's training room. Tess is instructed to be polite et al. to Waira. Waira is there with her trainer and a couple of servants. Waira is small in appearance, wearing loose robish clothing, in the style of Western Ethengar. Waira is very pretty - long wavy medium brown hair with a heart-shaped face. She looks about 30, though must be quite a bit older. Tess offers to spar with her. Waira uses a curved sword and shield. She is wearing armor under her robe. Waira is 8th level - Tess compliments her on her skill. Aleah and Waira do not get along. They take a break between bouts and Tess chit-chats about some of his previous experience. Waira says she started this as only a method of keeping fit, in spite of a lack of practical seasoning. The weapons trainer looks like someone who has seen a few wars. Waira opened up and did not seem mousey to Tess. Prince Jherek believes Rejladan was kidnapped, given the protections from divination. If it was monsters they would have found something by now. A possible motivation is Aleah dislikes Waira and this was an opportunity to hurt Waira. While Aleah is not a spellcaster, she is a skilled seductress and could have made it worth someone's while to do so ... now as someone else was involved and Aleah may not have wanted to kill Rejladan in any event, just putting Rejladan somewhere else (Hollow World? somewhere where divinations don't work) might make sense. Various allies and so forth of the prince visit the prince regularly. Where did Ralindi go to for a while in the interim? Before Rejladan disappeared, when Ralindi was 9 and Rejladan was 6, they went to the Great School of Magic to study. Ralindi did not have particularly great aptitude for magic. Since that time, Harold of Haskins became an uncle to Ralindi - this is before Rejladan disappeared. After his half-brother disappeared, Ralindi left Krondahar and went to live in Sablestone with Prince Harold of Haskins for 5 years. Haskins was enfiefed at about that time to become a principality. Ralindi never finished at the Great School, which also means he cannot become a prince, but he has some skill at magic. Prince Ralindi has spent his holidays since over at his second family. Harold of Haskins didn't particularly like or dislike Rejladan. Tess goes to Glantri City. At the School of Magic, Tess finds out that Rejladan was somewhat of a prodigy at magic. Ralindi was the more physically active of the two brothers, whereas Rejladan preferred to read. Rejladan was the youngest person to go to the School of Magic at that age - the prince set a law that people be tested at age 6, and Ralindi was held back to go at the same time as Rejladan. Ralindi took going to the School of Magic badly - he was out of his depth socially. Culturally, they are quite different from others at the school, and they are not protected there. Ralindi had a number of discipline notices on his record. The people recall that Prince Jherek and Waira visited several times to see Ralindi. The people at the school tried to protect Ralindi from bullies, but it didn't help. Eventually the Arch Duke of Wes Heath, Harold of Haskins, turned up and started treating Ralindi like a nephew. Tess finds out that Harold of Haskins is referred to as a gentle and kind person, but a bit of a recluse. Harold does teach at the school, but has a withered left arm - they say that is why he is a recluse. He wasn't born with the withered arm. Some time ago, Harold started turning up with his arm hidden, and eventually they got a glimpse and saw that it was withered. Tess goes to Harold's principality to look for information. Harold has a number of children, including a male child of the same age as Ralindi - they attended school at the same age. Harold used to belong to the House of Sirecchia (Prince Innocenti) before the war, and then became a prince in his own right. Harold is a master at the School of Magic, teaching water magic - elementalism, one of the seven secret crafts. His arm was withered about 25 years ago - no details. Ralindi used to live in the Haskins manner, he still has quarters there. People assume Harold took Ralindi under his wing at the school because of Ralindi's problems. Harold's son Dominick is not particularly friends with Ralindi. Dominick is a slight, weedy bookworm, whereas Ralindi likes sports. Tess looks for some info on Aleah in Glantri City. Aleah is a terrible flirt, but be afraid of her husband. Aleah is very beautiful, and looks about 20. Tess can meet Ralindi in Glantri City. Tess asks if anyone took particular interest in Rejladan. There was another prodigy at the time. Tess asks Ralindi about Harold's arm. Ralindi lies through his teeth, and says it was some sort of magical accident. Ralindi had done some investigation into Tess too - found out that Tess was good at finding information. Ralindi asks why Tess wants to help them, and Tess explains that he is seeking some political allies. Rejladan's disappearance was after the war with the Alphatians. Rejladan didn't particularly like hunts - he would have parked himself under a tree to read. Ralindi has spent his time since the School of Magic involved with parliament. House Lindenberg and House Ritterburg are the major enemies of their house. House Ritterberg is obsessed with armies, parades and medals - Prince Jaggar Von Drachenfels would like to have a war with Ethengar, but it would be suicidal, especially for House Singhabad which would be on the war front. House Lindenberg sees them as being Ethengarian and not Glantrian, though they have been Glantrian for almost as long. They would like to see those lands return to the hands of true Glantrians. Ralindi says that even a wish by Prince Jherek failed to bring Rejladan back. Hence either his soul or person is being kept somewhere. Thus why they believe he was kidnapped. Ralindi was having a difficult time at the school. Jherek introduced Ralindi to Dominick, but instead found a second father. Jherek was distraught when Rejladan disappeared, and Ralindi found Harold's support helpful. Tess will try the faerie dust having run out of all other options, doing so under the ministrations of a priest. Tess has weird disjointed dreams. Tess has one possibly true vision: Tess sees a child, scared, and afraid - just his face, and his face fades into the background into a ring of fire, which then fades. Tess speaks to Ralindi again, and asks if Harold has any enemies in fire magic. Ralindi asks for the details of the vision, and indeed Tess saw Rejladan. The question about fire magic triggers a question from Ralindi - has Tess heard of Vanceri's Flaming Exit? - it is a plane traveling spell that only a handful of people in Glantri know. Tess stays at Harold's mansion while Ralindi goes to talk to his father. The Prince and the son sweep into the room a few hours later, decked out with adventuring gear. The Prince commands, "Tell me what you saw," and Tess tells it. The Prince says, "We will confront her," - a noble of Glantri, it is not a safe expedition. Tess is happy to accompany them and help. Prince Jherek teleports Tess and Ralindi to a mansion not in the city. Jherek strides up to it, some guards come out and ask may we announce you, and he commands out of my way (looking like he might kill them if they don't move). He yells out at the front of the mansion, "Countess Vilean, if you have my son turn him over now." Tess spends 200gp/week when active politically in Glantri to appear as a minor noble and socialite. So about 2,400gp spent during this time.