2025-02-21 The Dyed Queen's Deception
General Summary
Flashback: back to when we were travelling between Y’danna and Kamthahar
Developing travel between Nexus and Kamthahar.
Rohen’s caravan company already operates a basic waystation in Kamthahar, just enough of a place for messengers to stop and rest before returning or continuing on.
In Nexus, the circle has Nightnail and 12 Carnelian Peaches.
We stop, collapse Little Cloud, Dreamflower uses Travel Without Distance to take the circle back to Nexus, do some business there, Travel Without Distance back to where we were and continue the journey.
Scene: in Nexus
Sentinel Hill is Lady Kunegon, Nexus district is Grimwolde.
meets someone wearing the mask of the August Councilor of Nighthammer.
Dreamflower asks Grimwolde what sort of souvenir to bring her back from Prasad.
Scene: Nightnail
Commotion: a gathering of roughly 30 Autochthon cultists.
Flickers-in-moonlight is there visiting and is pleased with the spiritual progress made.
The cultists are excited because the alchemical is there.
Resynced time
There are the 3 major Dragon Clans: Clan Burano, Clan Ophris and Clan Akatha.
Within each are 4 minor clans, so 12 prominent organizations.
Scene: Stelsor seeks the man-on-the-street perspective of the Prasad-Y’danna conflict.
Stevedores are excited that they’ll be able to get work on the ships.
Innkeepers are concerned it will bring a rough crowd.
(Officially there was no war. A special ops team couped and then Prasad sent their army to liberate.)
Scene: Meeting with the Rani-Satrap
The August Concilor of the Firey Elements is going to speak to Rani-Satrap Burano Rohavin, who is basically Empress of Prasad. Dreamflower accompanies him.
The counselor cautions Dreamflower to step lightly when meeting the Dragon Clan.
The rani-satrap receives them, remarking on her dislike of Nexus's tradition of counselors wearing masks.
Dreamflower wants to help negotiate the release of the hostages from the Lover's agents.
The rani-satrap claims ignorance of the hostages and those who hold them.
The counselor discovers he misunderstood that the agreement with the hostage-holders wasn't made with the rani-satrap. (It was with the Fecund Court).
The rani-satrap points out that, in accordance with the Pure Way, the spirit court is free to transact its own business.
Between our flying and the Abyssals using a portal, this whole situation has exploded right under the rani-satrap's nose before she could even hear about it, let alone affect it.
The rani-satrap is trying to shrug it off here, but, she actually just found out that this spirit court dared circumvent her authority by making their own magic treaties with foreign powers.
There's 2 interlocking oaths at work: the original oath between the Lover and the court, and a new oath guaranteeing a fair negotiation for the hostages.
Scene: at the Fecund Court
The circle walks up on a goddess and their Dragon-Blooded child arguing.
The goddess is Jade-Tongue, The Dyed Queen, Prasad's deity of the markets and trade.
Orchid Harvest is a Fire Aspect, wearing silken armor with sigils from Clan Akatha (presumably from her father's side).
Jade-Tongue wants her daughter to be a merchant, but Orchid Harvest chose a monastic path.
Fortifier asks if they have heard anything about what the Lover's agents have been up to.
There haven't been any stirrings to their knowledge.
Jade-Tongue remarks on the circle's distrust of Deathrose Pot-pourri and Miribadi Ghostlover
We explain that we know these two were behind a lot of sinister plots back in Nexus.
Jade-Tongue is surprised by this because they seemed nice to her. The Lover had even given her a black and white ermine stole. (nonmagical, we checked)
We ask what the relationship between the two spirit courts.
Jade-Tongue says they are fierce rivals. The Fecund Court feels the Crimson Tailed Banner Court defames them to Clan Akatha.
Side-note: Jade-Tongue isn't technically in either court, and kind of mediates between them.
Under the Pure Way, the mortals are only allowed to worship the gods according to a specific calendar, which is controlled by Clan Akatha.
They might have some Exigents in Prasad, but they probably have fewer than usual because, if they need a champion, they could use a god-blooded child or ask Clan Akatha.
We ask for Jade-Tongue to introduce us to the Crimson Tailed Banner Court.
She agrees to do this but says to meet with them tomorrow.
Scene: Investigating Deathrose and the Lover
Stelsor uses Jade Leaves a Trail to look into who is behind the take-over of Y'danna.
Who prospered from this?
Clan Burano has benefitted the most from Y'danna being absorbed into the Empire.
Dreamflower asks around at the Fecund Court.
Subtle Wood says the original pact with the The Lover Clad in the Raiment of Tears was made 25 years ago, but seems to have a blank spot in her memory of that time.
Dreamflower is concerned someone has magically tampered with the goddess's memory and persuades Subtle Wood to trust her to try sorcery to restore it.
From the recovered memory, we discover Jade-Tongue actually made the bad deal but blamed it on Subtle Wood, modifying Subtle Wood's memory to accept the blame.
The magic that changed Subtle Wood's memory came, interestingly enough, from the Lover's ermine stole. The effect was designed to dissipate after one use, which is why the stole seemed mundane earlier.
It isn't an accident that the ermine stole now belongs to Jade-Tongue.
Comments