Chancel Aleph

<Benhimself> Heyo all.

<RandBrittain> Good evening.

<Benhimself> Reading Houses of the Blooded has given me the desire, if I'm ever making up a new character, of playing the Estate of Revenge.

<Benhimself> Probably eternally frustrated, though, because, well, who would piss that guy off?

• crusher_bob has joined #childrenofeve

<crusher_bob> hello

<RandBrittain> Hey.

<Benhimself> Heyo.

<Benhimself> Also, argh, to slowness of PbP.

<Benhimself> If I ever do it again for Nobilis, I'm definitely just going to ad hoc Imperator and Chancel creation. Or, like, 'everyone gets to say one thing about Imperator, and about the Chancel, and I'll stat up everything necessary based on that.'

<Nentuaby> That's not a bad idea.

• borogove has joined #childrenofeve

<borogove> hey people.

<Benhimself> Just endless going back and forth with 'I like these attributes' 'Well, those aren't bad, but I'd prefer THESE' 'Well, I prefer THESE' 'All of those are bad! Wah!'

<Benhimself> I'll be better once I've finished breakfast, of course.

<RandBrittain> Good evening.

<RandBrittain> Yeah, I gave up on my other PnP game, although that was largely because it wasn't very good.

<RandBrittain> The concept never got a chance to click, probably because we didn't discuss it very much.

<Benhimself> Mmmm. I just saw a bunch of people going 'We need an HG!' and being all 'PbP is pretty slow, I could totally handle being an HG.'

• You are now known as HollyhockGod

• crusher_bob is now known as Ebba

• borogove is now known as Fiona

<Ebba> On the plus side, it looks like there is finally a PnP getting started here in Hong Kong.

<Ebba> Alas, it is going to be D&D 3.5.

• Nentuaby is now known as Pandora

<HollyhockGod> That does sound less convenient.

• Benhimself is now known as RyanSherbrig

• Pandora is disappeared and waiting to BEHOLD!

<Ebba> Wasn't someone being poked?

• RyanSherbrig is a glorious being of pure light being poked in the ribs by somebody.

<RyanSherbrig> (Ah, no Alexa tonight?)

• Ebba was hoping to be mostly incognito, but it looks like there is a fan club.

<HollyhockGod> Correct. Fan club, poking, BEHOLD!

<Ebba> quote: A separate thread or PMs might be best, as I might have to miss the next session or two due to family stuff.

<HollyhockGod> I suppose I may as well start with Pandora and Fiona, who were disappeared by Wanda.

<HollyhockGod> From their perspective, there was a slightly uncomfortable warping of space, and then you find yourself standing in a darkened, but evidently vast room.

<HollyhockGod> From the feel of the air and the sound, it's the size of a cathedral, and it seems to be filled with dimly lit glass cases.

<HollyhockGod> "This is the Lyceum of Dusk," says Wanda. "The great museum of the Light."

<HollyhockGod> "Here I catalog the history of each failure of the Light," she tells you, nodding, "for our edification."

• Pandora nods politely and peers around her.

<HollyhockGod> "Here," she says eagerly, gesturing at a nearby box, "is the memorial of Queen Xanthippe, who would have financed medical research that would have eliminated dozens of diseases and made Africa the center of modern civilization, if only she had not been killed at the age of three."

• Pandora makes a noncommittal little "mmm."

<HollyhockGod> "And over there," she adds, "is the tomb of Marius, the seventh Power of Ink, who was drowned in his own ichor by the agents of the Dark."

<HollyhockGod> You find yourself being led along through memorial after tomb after exhibit, of which there seem to be thousands.

<RyanSherbrig> (That's an awesome opening to introduce our crazy quest.)

<RyanSherbrig> ("Speaking of our eternal war with the forces of the Dark…")

<HollyhockGod> Wanda, meanwhile, appears to be approaching a kind of ecstasy of sorrow.

<HollyhockGod> As she continues from box to box, her voice grows ever more lugubrious, but her eyes are suspiciously bright.

<HollyhockGod> You can just barely see them under the hood, but they're becoming more visible as her head starts to move more often.

<HollyhockGod> One memorial, to the Time Crash, seems to be another one of Timeheart's windows that looks out into a complete separate wing- another museum within the museum.

• Pandora begins to become just a leeetle bit bored of this, and attempts to steer the conversation a bit. "Tell me, Lady, what do you have to commemorate the Garden by?"

<HollyhockGod> There's an obelisk with the names of the seven Powers of the Light who died in the fall of the Roman Empire… oh? bored?

<HollyhockGod> "Ah," says Wanda.

<HollyhockGod> "We're still building that one," she says. "Indeed, we may never finish that memorial."

<HollyhockGod> "Come this way."

• Pandora flicks a look at Fiona and then follows.

<HollyhockGod> You find yourself being to what seems to be the center of the enormous room (although it's hard to tell because either there aren't any walls or they're too far away to see), to the top of a giant flight of circular stairs.

<HollyhockGod> 'The Room of Eternal Loss is just below," announces Wanda, but you find your eyes drawn to the center of the stairwell.

<HollyhockGod> On top of the massive central pylon which the stairwell wraps around is another glass exhibit case.

<HollyhockGod> A distressingly familiar exhibit.

• HollyhockGod wonders vaguely if anybody saw it coming.

• Pandora will let you know when she learns what It is

<Fiona> (Your box?)

<HollyhockGod> See, Fiona can see this stuff when I telegraph it for like a mile away.

<HollyhockGod> It's the expression on the stone Pandora's face that really sells it.

<RyanSherbrig> (oh snap)

<HollyhockGod> I might describe it as "transcendent foolishness," with a touch of greed.

<HollyhockGod> Wanda, who evidently hasn't considered the diplomatic ramifications here, is already proceeding down the stairs, still going on about the difficulty in bioengineering the correct flora for the Eden Room.

<Pandora> (The problem with saying it's "distressingly familiar is that just about EVERYTHING about the era was distressing, and familiar.)

<HollyhockGod> (My fault. I was expecting that everybody would figure it out, but that's hard to gauge. It calls for more exposition!)

• Fiona is trying to both pay attention to what Wanda is saying and watch Pandora's reaction)

<RyanSherbrig> (Commit suicide out of offense.)

<RyanSherbrig> (It'll be funny.)

• Pandora mutters under her breath. "Decent likeness."

<HollyhockGod> (I knew I should have used the clown hat!)

<HollyhockGod> (The trouble with well-adjusted characters is that it's hard to convince them to blow up cities out of pique.)

<HollyhockGod> (Ryan, you need to get some buttons I can push.)

<Pandora> "Perhaps you could elucidate the meaning of this work, Lady. My own perspective on the incident is a little… too close to the trees to see the forest. What does it mean to you?"

<HollyhockGod> Wanda, some ten steps down, looks up, turns her hood at the statue, and then at you, and back and forth several times.

<HollyhockGod> Something important appears to have penetrated her awareness.

<HollyhockGod> "Ah. Yes. You see, well, this exhibit, this era, um….."

<RyanSherbrig> ("I have to thank you for this lovely visit to your chancel. You should come visit ours sometime.")

<Pandora> (There is no physical likeness, recall.)

<HollyhockGod> A merciful Creator chooses to interrupt this uncomfortable moment with a blast of wind that knocks off the hood.

<Ebba> (Wouldn't mystic sight show that you are the person, though?)

<Ebba> (Since it's your story?)

<Pandora> (Not if she wasn't personally familiar with the mortal Pandora, I wouldn't think.)

<HollyhockGod> A noise behind you reveal the source of the noise to be Dana, who was evidently just moving fast enough to leave skid marks on the floor from her deceleration.

<HollyhockGod> "Whythereyouare!"

<HollyhockGod> Dana is far too poised to seem out of breath, but you detect a trace of forcedness in her smile as she peels you away from the Lady of Regret. "Wanda, may I steal this two for a moment? I was just about to spool up the quantum banks, and I need to show off the flashy lights. So very chic."

<HollyhockGod> Wanda, who more or less has to be submissive by nature, I suppose, can only mumble, "Ah? Oh, yes, yes, certainly."

• Fiona is disappointed she won't get to hear about the garden memorial project now.

<RyanSherbrig> (Okay, that made me laugh out loud.)

<HollyhockGod> At some point, while you turned to look at Dana, somebody caused the "Pandora's Box" exhibit to disintegrate. Dana seems to be hoping you didn't see it first.

• Fiona smiles faintly at Wanda.

<Pandora> "Mmm, Lady Eternity, if I may be quite? blunt… Whose feelings are you attempting to rescue, here?" Her face is blunt, but her gaze is direct.

<Pandora> *Her face is blank,

<HollyhockGod> Eternity thinks for a little while.

<HollyhockGod> Then she says, "Lady Eve's-Daughter, I'm a firm believer in the greatest good for the greatest number."

<HollyhockGod> <beat>

• Pandora quirks an eyebrow, a wordless 'go on…'

<HollyhockGod> "Wanda is awfully proud of her museum. I prefer to look to the future."

<HollyhockGod> "Observe." She reaches behind a stone monument and slides an ordinary wooden door into view.

<HollyhockGod> She opens it to reveal a large, brightly-lit room which contains equal amounts of….. well, I'll get to that later.

<HollyhockGod> Back to Ryan and Ebba in the big room!

<Pandora> (I'm guessing the destruction of the exhibit was Eternity aging it to dust… miracle void if inapplicable) Before Pandora slips out of the museum, the impolitic statue silently reforms itself.

<HollyhockGod> Ryan, you're being prodded.

• RyanSherbrig turns out.

<RyanSherbrig> "Can I help you?"

<HollyhockGod> The prodder is an apparently young female in a rather smart tuxedo.

<HollyhockGod> She's got one eyebrow raised, and in the space on the watch-chain where there'd usually be a watch, she's got a pocketknife.

<HollyhockGod> "So: Radiance," says she. "Vesper's been tellin' me about you."

• RyanSherbrig checks her out with the Sight.

<Ebba> (Death?)

<RyanSherbrig> "At great length, I imagine."

<HollyhockGod> She does have a certain… finality about her.

<RyanSherbrig> (Ah, yes. What was her name again, from the letter?)

<HollyhockGod> "Barliman is the name," says Death. "Marley Barliman, Death's-Regal. Pleased to meet you."

• RyanSherbrig extends his hand, solidifying it for a moment.

<Fiona> (So far, Awesome's-Regal.)

<HollyhockGod> "I'd shake hands, but I'm told you're frightened of the pleasures of the flesh."

<HollyhockGod> "I don't want to force this."

<Pandora> (Death's-REGAL no less. Meep.)

<RyanSherbrig> (Bapsch, Immortal.)

<HollyhockGod> (Like there aren't three Regals in your Familia, too.)

• RyanSherbrig smiles.

<Pandora> (Yes, but none of us are death,)

<Pandora> (Regality is weightier in some domains than others.)

<RyanSherbrig> "While I have admittedly only known him for a short while compared to you, it occurs to me Vesper is a man who is occasionally prone to exaggeration of certain facts for the sake of theatrics."

<HollyhockGod> Marley looks left, and then looks right.

<HollyhockGod> "Well, yeah."

<HollyhockGod> "But he said it so convincingly!"

<HollyhockGod> "I was going to have so much fun seducing you- but gently, obviously."

<HollyhockGod> "Yet another one gone before it's time."

• RyanSherbrig laughs, genuinely.

<RyanSherbrig> "So, you're with the cause of the Light, then? Your duties to your Estate doesn't create any… conflicts with that?"

<HollyhockGod> "Eh," says Marley. "I've only got enough immortality for me. Everybody else has gotta go sooner or later."

<HollyhockGod> "I just try to time things right so it stays interesting."

<HollyhockGod> "Better to die in battle then after twenty years in the veteran's home, ya know?"

<RyanSherbrig> "Well, forgive me if I'm out of line, but… does everybody have to go sooner or later?"

<HollyhockGod> "Yep," says Death. "Humans only have a certain amount of Time to live. I know because I keep it all in a box under my bed."

<RyanSherbrig> "Oh, really."

<RyanSherbrig> (New plan, guys!)

<HollyhockGod> 'Remind me to show you sometime," she adds, seductively.

<RyanSherbrig> "It would be my pleasure."

<HollyhockGod> "We're currently holding steady at about seventy billion man-hours of Time."

<HollyhockGod> "The Power of Time is making more, but it's a slow process- he can't do much more than maintain our current store."

<RyanSherbrig> "So you're not necessarily against projects that happen to extend or enhance humanity's lifespan, then."

<HollyhockGod> "Also, you've probably heard this before if you ever got a Tarot reading, but Death is about more than just Death."

<RyanSherbrig> "Mmm, yes, I recall the concept vividly from my days as a mortal sorcerer."

<HollyhockGod> "The one-way door- that's me."

<HollyhockGod> "Of course, people only ever remember the big one."

<HollyhockGod> "I could mention the loss of virginity here as an example, but I won't."

<RyanSherbrig> "My sister makes it seem a bit more like a revolving door at times, actually."

<HollyhockGod> 'Technically speaking, it's like that for everybody," Marley clarifies. "But she does maintain a bit more continuity than most… so far."

<HollyhockGod> "But I guess none of us are perfect," she adds, wistfully.

<HollyhockGod> Meanwhile, Ebba is being invited to visit the Chancel of Worldshapers, Magrathea.

<HollyhockGod> "It is not named Magrathea," says E'jah.

<Ebba> "Then, what is it named?"

<HollyhockGod> "Everybody but you calls it that," says Selim.

<HollyhockGod> E'jah says, "The proper term for our home is "Worldshapers, Inc. Astronomicon Central."

<HollyhockGod> "I appreciate that it's somewhat wordy, but a name should say what a thing is."

<HollyhockGod> "And it should not be a "popular culture" reference!"

<HollyhockGod> "Everybody else understood what I meant by 'Magrathea,'" says Selim.

<HollyhockGod> "He's got a point," admits Gloria, scrupulously.

<Fiona> (As it happens, I don't. Off to Wikipedia.)

<Fiona> (Ah, found it.)

<Ebba> I hope it's as not dullish and brown.

<HollyhockGod> "I don't want people thinking our Chancel is dullish and brown, exactly," says E'jah, nodding at your point.

<HollyhockGod> "Look at what you've done. You've created a stigma."

<HollyhockGod> "The trouble with catering to the limited society of the miraculous," Gloria notes to Ebba as an aside, "is that you generally don't have a marketing department."

<HollyhockGod> There is a gong.

<HollyhockGod> The lights are dimmed, and a woman in an enormous veil addresses the party from atop a pedestal.

• RyanSherbrig dims as well.

<HollyhockGod> In fact, she seems to be wearing several veils, each of them currently floating around her in a holding pattern, making the actual female quite invisible.

<RyanSherbrig> (I'll actually just go out of Elemental.)

<HollyhockGod> "Your attention, Noble guests," she says. "My honored Sibling Dana will shortly begin her demonstration of her new quantum microuniverses in the Yellow Salon. I hope you'll all join us there, where the hors d'ouevres will be waiting."

<HollyhockGod> She gestures at a large set of yellow doors which grow out of the wall at her summons.

<HollyhockGod> Then the veils contract, and she's gone.

<Ebba> Perhaps you should ask the power of words to visit, and then get him to write you a nice marketing brochure?

<RyanSherbrig> "Oooh, hors d'ouevres."

<Fiona> (I think you'd be more likely to end up with a highly suggestive marketing brochure)

<Pandora> (I presume the Yellow Room is where Dana took me and Fiona from the Museum?)

<Ebba> (Ah yes, with a picture of Ebba in skimpy clothing on the front? "We'll make your world?")

<HollyhockGod> ("Come see our globes!")

<RyanSherbrig> ("Huge tracts of land!")

<HollyhockGod> As predicted, all four of you arrive in the Yellow Salon at the same time.

<HollyhockGod> It's quite large, and is about fifty percent morning room and fifty percent complicated computer equipment.

<HollyhockGod> Lots of large display monitors, and a big, impressive-looking control console with a keyboard laid out in the characters of the True Tongue.

<HollyhockGod> The doors disappear discreetly behind you.

<HollyhockGod> "Ah, so you've all arrived," says Dana, addressing the party. "Please enjoy the sphinx chops; I had to consult the Internet to make enough for everyone."

<Ebba> "We are on the Internet?"

<HollyhockGod> "The research teams I've been directing have been making a lot of progress, and we're on the verge of discovering an entirely new way to achieve our great directive."

<Ebba> (Self-referential joke?)

<HollyhockGod> Selim whispers, "Creatures with paws for hands don't know about Google."

<HollyhockGod> "Our primary difficulty has always been the unfortunate necessity of occupying a Creation that also houses our greatest enemies."

<HollyhockGod> "Hence, I instituted a new project intended to design and model alternative Creations, multiverses founded on protoshimaic principles which do not permit the existence of the Estates of the Dark."

• Pandora begins to frown.

<Ebba> (Um, isn't it Nobles who are of the Dark, and Estates are more or less neutral?)

<HollyhockGod> "Using these quantum computers designed by myself and the Duchess of Mystery, I've begun to model entirely new states of being. Just recently, we succeeded in designing a Creation with three separate Estates!"

<HollyhockGod> (I presume she means the Estates of Dark Imperators, which do tend to be somewhat nasty, although there are exceptions.)

<HollyhockGod> "Specifically, the Estates of Bissonomy, Existence, and Glossolalia."

<RyanSherbrig> "Bissonomy?"

<Ebba> (Heh, Discworld reference, lost virtue.)

<HollyhockGod> "I firmly believe that our ability to design separate spiritual spaces will proceed regularly- you'll have to ask the Duchess about that one, Ryan- and we shall be able to move on to the problem of actually building these universes."

<HollyhockGod> "If we can design multiple new Creations which the Dark will be locked out of, we can begin to create homesteads in which humanity will finally be free to flourish as the Creator intended."

<HollyhockGod> "It is my fond hope that I will soon be able to report even greater progress."

<Pandora> "Surely the part where we actually undertake the act of Creation something more than an implementation detail?"

<HollyhockGod> "I admit that it's ambitious, but I think it's doable," says Dana. "My main concern is whether we'll be able to get into it or not, or whether we'll have to construct new guardians for those humans who emigrate."

<HollyhockGod> "Given the development of Creation since the Fall, it may not be possible to include each of our Estates without necessitating that other, less desirable parties be invoked as well."

<Pandora> "What of the Excrucians?"

<HollyhockGod> "That is an excellent question, Lady Eve's-Daughter," says Dana, "but I don't know the answer. It's impossible to predict how they'll react until we actually do it."

<HollyhockGod> "As your Sibling can tell you, there are many regions in the Lands Beyond that the Excrucians choose not to attack. Perhaps this will be another."

<Ebba> So you are planning to place these new worlds outside of the weirding wall?

<RyanSherbrig> "Now that's ambitious."

<HollyhockGod> "Yes, it's our intention to build entirely new Creations, whether based on a new Ash or not."

<HollyhockGod> "Building new worlds within Creation proper is fairly simple with the right materials and knowledge," explains E'jah. "They'll even create themselves if you wait long enough and don't care what you get."

<HollyhockGod> "Making a world that can support itself separate from the Ash and the local causa is more problematic, but with the proper ingredients it might be done."

<Pandora> "What ingredients might those be?" Pandora says, not expecting to like the answer.

<HollyhockGod> "Well," says E'jah, "I'd probably want to start with a certain amount of unformatted causa causans- some amount of the divine spark that has not yet taken on any specific resonance that might develop into a new Estate and Imperator. It's rare as hen's teeth, obviously, and nearly impossible to store, but it would be a good basis for universal construction jobs."

<RyanSherbrig> "A thought occurs to me, when the Lady of Eternity mentioned the Creator's intentions of humanity flourishing."

<RyanSherbrig> (Well, SOMEBODY has to bring it up.)

<RyanSherbrig> (Or tackle me before I do.)

<Fiona> (Declines to tackle Ryan. Sorry, not today.)

<RyanSherbrig> "In the Garden, where humanity was born, now sadly held by our enemies, there existed two forbidden trees. The tree of knowledge lead to our war with the Dark. If we could gain access to the fruit of the other tree, however, we could well end it. In our favor."

<Ebba> (Can you use aspect to read peoples body language through their Auctoritas, or would it need to be a miracle with penetration?)

<RyanSherbrig> (Aspect 7 dramatical musical accompaniment to make this idea seem Awesome.)

<HollyhockGod> It's readable, but you can hide your thoughts with Aspect 2.

<Ebba> (Of course, not everyone will want to hide their feelings right away…)

<Ebba> (What's the general reaction of the other Nobles?)

<HollyhockGod> "If only we could," says Dana. "At this point, however, the citric Immortality is hopelessly corrupted."

<HollyhockGod> "And to my knowledge in all of Creation that tree was unique."

<Pandora> "'Hopelessly' is a very strong word, my lady."

<HollyhockGod> "You think that perhaps the tree could be cleansed, Eve's-Daughter?"

<HollyhockGod> "Truly, you would be the foremost authority on that subject."

<RyanSherbrig> "The Phoenix seems to think so."

<HollyhockGod> I should note that you're supposed to gauge your fellows for their potential as allies before you spill what you're up to.

<RyanSherbrig> (I have decided to take a crazier tactic!)

<RyanSherbrig> (Also, whoops.)

<RyanSherbrig> (We're all servants of the Light here, right? Guys?)

<Ebba> (or Excrucian shards pretending to be servants of the Light :D)

<HollyhockGod> (I suppose convincing them that you want to steal some of the citric Immortality could be a useful tactic.)

<Pandora> (I'm kind of worried about that, actually, Ebba. )

<RyanSherbrig> (I'll drop an SMP for manifesting my virtue of Dedication to the Light, actually.)

<RyanSherbrig> (Really, I should have been doing that this entire party. Ah, well.)

<HollyhockGod> "Obtaining a sample of the corrupted Tree and purifying it would be a unique endeavor…" mused Dana.

<HollyhockGod> "What would you need?"

<RyanSherbrig> "At this stage, to know who would be willing to lend their resources to assist us in this endeavour."

<RyanSherbrig> "Making any plan would require knowing what forces we can bring to bear."

<HollyhockGod> "An admirably unspecific request," says Katriana, who evidently entered the room while nobody was looking, because you didn't see her move.

<HollyhockGod> "Plans first; budgets after," says Selim cheerfully.

<HollyhockGod> "Please don't encourage him," sniffs E'jah.

<RyanSherbrig> "Very well. We require people willing to perform espionage on, or assist in the infiltration of and theft of the most valuable resources of, the chancel of the oldest and presumably most powerful Imperator of the Dark."

<RyanSherbrig> (It was the first dark lord who got the garden as a chancel, right?)

<HollyhockGod> That's right.

<RyanSherbrig> "Is that specific enough?"

<HollyhockGod> "Well, if there's anybody about willin' to walk into the Sable Gardens on your say-so," says Marley, "I'm sure they'll give you a ring."

<RyanSherbrig> ("And if we happen to find any causa causans lying around, we'll be happy to let you know.")

<RyanSherbrig> (Ryan doesn't say that, but he thinks it awfully loudly.)

<HollyhockGod> The veiled woman, who seems to be the Duchess of Mystery, dreamily says, "I could send you some of the reconnaissance data if you like."

<HollyhockGod> "The project is certainly worth supporting," agrees Dana. "I'm certain that in no time at all, you'll have convinced any number of us that you have what it takes to direct it. The Duchess can give you better information on exactly how the Gardens are defended, so that you can bring your personal approach to the problem."

• RyanSherbrig nods.

<RyanSherbrig> "My Design is in the Almanac should anyone wish to contact me on the matter."

<HollyhockGod> "Perhaps we can schedule a slightly smaller meeting for those who feel the project is worth the risk. I propose that we table the issue for ninety days while you examine the current situation and prepare your proposal."

<RyanSherbrig> (Man, she's so diplomatic.)

<Pandora> "That sounds appropriate."

<HollyhockGod> "Agreed, then. And now, I believe dinner is served."

<HollyhockGod> Which more or less ticks off the last of my checkboxes. Was there anything else you wanted to accomplish tonight?

• Pandora finds Wanda and attempts to resume the conversation about the Eden exhibit.

<HollyhockGod> Wanda is happy to talk about the Eden exhibit, which is apparently only 2% complete.

• Ebba will pursue some of the mechanics of building something beyond the Weirding Wall, to see what materials would be required.

<HollyhockGod> Apparently she only has sketchy ideas of what sort of things lived there, and she has to have Dana individually recreate each life-form to order.

<Ebba> (Since it sounds like something that would require close watching if anyone wanted to try it, best to know who's amassing the stuff needed, and how close to having enough stuff they are.)

<HollyhockGod> "Well," says E'jah, "beyond that unformatted causa, you'd need…"

<HollyhockGod> "You wouldn't need anything," says Selim.

<RyanSherbrig> (Yeah, seriously, you can't let people run around with crazy plans like that.)

<HollyhockGod> "Well, you'd need a really top-flight schematic," says Gloria, diplomatically.

<HollyhockGod> "True, yeah," Selim admits, "but if you actually had that you could use it to build everything else."

<HollyhockGod> "But since you'll never get any it doesn't matter."

<HollyhockGod> "If you actually wanted a serious proposal, Lady Ebba, you'd want a large mass of matter from the Lands Beyond."

<HollyhockGod> "Things that don't bear the essence of the Creation that exists- they'd be targets for the Excrucians."

<RyanSherbrig> "Hypothetically speaking… would it be possible there might be some essence of causa causans in a place directly touched by hand of the Creator? Such as, say, the place that was the origin of all life?"

<HollyhockGod> "Well," says Gloria, "certain locations, such as Heaven, or Eden, or Serpenthane, have a higher proportion of causa than the rest of Creation. Much higher, in fact."

<Pandora> (Uh, didn't Heaven create the Garden as Humanity's origin place, not the Creator as Life's?)

<HollyhockGod> "But each of those locations already possesses a strong resonance."

<HollyhockGod> (It's unclear. Things going on in Heaven affect the Earth, but Eden seems to have been unusual.)

<RyanSherbrig> (I'm trying to skew things a little to try and get them to help us!)

<HollyhockGod> "Heaven is aspected toward beauty, Eden had a strong affinity for the creation of biological life, and Serpenthane bears the stamp of tranquility and, um, the serpent-essence."

<HollyhockGod> "You'd need causa that hadn't yet taken on any qualities at all, which more or less never happens, or at any rate when it does the divine breath instantly takes on some form of resonance."

<Fiona> (I'm going to have to go shortly.)

<HollyhockGod> Well, we're finished whenever you want to end the conversation, I suppose.

<Pandora> "The Box statue takes up quite a strong place of honor in the exhibit, but how is that a failing of the Light, exactly? The Scarab saved us, after all."

<RyanSherbrig> ("Jargon jargon jargon spline reticulation jargon jargon")

<Ebba> (Heh, just waiting for the part where they point you that you could just crack an Imperator open like a pinata to get the stuff you needed.)

<HollyhockGod> "This is technically true," says Wanda, "but it would have been better if the Box had remained unopened."

<RyanSherbrig> (Scarab?)

<HollyhockGod> "Not that you were to blame," she adds hastily. "A mortal could not be expected to have the appropriate perspective."

<Ebba> (From the Pandora myth- the scarab of hope.)

<Pandora> "Speaking of which… do you know who was responsible for the Scarab?"

<Ebba> (IIRC, the last plague in the box was the end of hope, something like that, but Pandora was able to shut the box before it got out.)

<HollyhockGod> "It was my Lady's own creation."

<RyanSherbrig> (Didn't know hope was a scarab, cool.)

<RyanSherbrig> (Also never really grokked why keeping hope IN the box was a good thing.)

<HollyhockGod> "It is regrettable that I cannot introduce you to her, for I know she would have an interest in you, but she dreams the War for now, and we must promote her cause for her."

<HollyhockGod> (I presume it was put in the box by another one of the gods to sneak it to Earth.)

<Pandora> "I see." Pandora touches the scarab charm to her forehead in a prayerful manner. "Pass her my deepest thanks, when you are able."

<Pandora> (I made up the scarab detail for my char.)

<Fiona> (I'm off. Will see people again next week. Has been a good session.)

• Fiona has quit (Disintegrated: Fiona)

• You are now known as RandBrittain

• Ebba is now known as crusher_bob

• RyanSherbrig is now known as Benhimself

<RandBrittain> Well, I guess that finishes the story.

<Benhimself> That was fun. It's interesting, that's the first time I've actually done an Affiliation-based gathering of Nobles.

<RandBrittain> Character points for everybody!

<Benhimself> Whoo!

<RandBrittain> So, people had fun?

<Benhimself> But yeah, being in a group of Nobilis who all, supposedly, have the same priorities was an interesting twist.

<Benhimself> Getting to argue on specific interpretations of them and such.

• Pandora harbors dark suspicions about this "new creation" plan.

• Pandora is now known as Nentuaby

<crusher_bob> well, I'm not sure if the idea is ambitious or truly crack smoking

<Benhimself> I figured it was just 'big unfeasible plan that probably didn't have a high hope of success.'

<crusher_bob> With Nobilis, it's hard to tell.

<Benhimself> So we could see what we looked like from the outside.

<Nentuaby> They're just lucky Pandora isn't Heaven. She would not be tolerating all this Pride and Blasphemy!

<crusher_bob> Guess I could start saving up for 'World Maker's Hand' a Major Creation of all estates would cost 21 CP, yes?

<crusher_bob> Of course, I'm not sure what i'd would be good for, other than scaring the piss out of everyone…

<Benhimself> Lesser creation would just be 12.

<Benhimself> "Just".

<Benhimself> I was considering jokingly suggesting a Major Creation of causa causans.

<Nentuaby> Genesis Torpedo, anyone?

<Benhimself> Call it a hard miracle, one thing at a time, one trick, uncommon…

<Benhimself> 1 point!

<Nentuaby> Does anyone have any suggestions for a 2-pointer for Pandora?

<Benhimself> Hmmm. Save it for another attribute level?

<Benhimself> I may save up for Aspect 1.

<Benhimself> Or Tempest.

<Benhimself> Teach those trees to smartmouth me!

<Nentuaby> Hmm. Attribute level would make sense, I guess, since I can't really think of any particularly thematic gifts.

<crusher_bob> I have a full 3 points saved up now.

<crusher_bob> But am not sure what to do with them.

<Benhimself> So RB, anything you would like to see more or less of from us?

<Benhimself> Like, should I give Ryan some buttons you could easily push?

<RandBrittain> Well, I just thought that it would be nice if the most dramatic member of the Familia was easier to provoke.

<RandBrittain> Pandora has all these buttons, but she responds to stress with 'boundless tranquility,' so it's kind of a slow burn.

<RandBrittain> Ebba might do well to have some kind of unique Gift for affecting people's beliefs.

<Nentuaby> Oh, her tranquility isn't boundless, it's just pretty big. ;)

<Nentuaby> Her buttons are kind of weird too. It was, for instance, Dana whose face she really wanted to bite off, not Wanda.

<RandBrittain> Really? Why?

<Nentuaby> The interruption, trying to pass it off as if the statue was never there… that rubbed her fur severely the wrong way. Disparaging the past was the wrong move too.

<RandBrittain> Possibly, but it might seem like a good move when you're talking to Rebirth, if you don't know her.

<Nentuaby> Pandora took it as a sort of backhanded condescension, however it was meant.

<RandBrittain> Interesting. So, what's your take on the other new NPCs I introduced?

<Nentuaby> Mine or Pandora's? Z)

<Benhimself> I liked the Worldshapers. And Marley, although I fear my whole "Let's make your Estate inapplicable to all humanity!" thing may have spoiled things on that front.

<RandBrittain> All of you.

<RandBrittain> Well, you have to convince her you can make it happen before she can get defensive.

<crusher_bob> The Worldshapers seem interesting so far, but I only really get a feeling off the math guy.

<Nentuaby> I liked them. Pandora likes Marley unexpectedly, is probably never going to like Dana one bit, and kind of likes the Shapers Three but gets spider-sense signals from them.

<crusher_bob> The other two were in the background too much.

<crusher_bob> Possibly try having them show up by themselves later, instead of as a group?

<crusher_bob> While Ebba's spider-sense signals are more comming from Dana, rather than the Worldshapers…

<RandBrittain> Dana is certainly Type A.

<RandBrittain> Well, now you have three months to put together your proposal to steal the fruit of Immortality.

<Benhimself> Step One: Bust into the Sable Gardens.

<Benhimself> Step Two: Ad lib.

<Benhimself> Step Three: Victory over death forever!

<crusher_bob> We could have Ebba try to sneak in, take a cutting and graft it to herself.

<crusher_bob> Nothing could possibly go wrong.

<crusher_bob> They just wait around for her to bear fruit.

<Benhimself> "I alone shall possess the key to immortality!"

<Benhimself> "Which I will, of course, use for the good of all of France."

<Benhimself> Sorry, old webcomic reference.

<crusher_bob> Isn't there supposed to be an evil Pandora wandering around?

<Benhimself> Oh, yeah. Man.

<RandBrittain> I never really took to that idea.

<RandBrittain> Curses should be ironically appropriate!