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    1. Zendrelax 10 yrs ago

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either from Ancient Greece, Egypt, or or the Norse beliefs


Aww, man. The god I thought of when I saw the title wasn't any of those. Still, I can get why they were excluded—surviving myths of Celtic gods, from all pantheons, do feature their gods as human figures rather than divine, since they were written down so long after Christianity rolled in.

Still, I could probably cover the same general character with Thoth, so it's no deal breaker. Unless I can get you to okay the Celtic gods, of course. That would be lovely.

That could be what's going on. My college doesn't actually start back up for another month, so I'm mostly just waiting for word for word on who should kick things off.
Indeed. So... who should make the first post of the attack?
I believe I am last to go in the posting order so... I will wait for everyone else.


...There's a posting order? I do not recall that being briefly discussed, but never actually being established..

If there is one, and I'm just being dense, I apologize for violating it.
<Snipped quote by Zendrelax>

I can find nothing wrong with that entire assessment at the moment. Seems like a fairly good strategy from what I can see.

Just to be clear though, Vortigen is suggesting Khata erect some sort of defensive barrier around the Order of the Stars so that Vortigern can kill them so they don't get reinforcements?


Yeah, looking at it now, it isn't really the most coherent sentence I've ever written.

The plan would be to prevent any members of the Order of the Stars from escaping—the fewer enemy mages on the battlefield, the better. A barrier put up by Khata would have the added benefit of being something that reinforcements would not be able to get through, but it is a task that could also be left to some of her magically inclined servants if she was needed elsewhere on the battlefield. Of course, the Enlightened wouldn't be able to make as strong of a barrier as their master, but it would still accomplish the goal of keeping the mages inside, as they would be too busy dealing with Vortigern and his army of spirits to marshal their collective power and break out.

Of course, while Vortigern and his forces could probably handle the Order on their own, some help after the initial surprise attack wouldn't be entirely amiss...

And I just realized that I did miss something! The Order of the Moon! I'm not entirely sure what they could do, but they could probably find a way to be a real nuisance if they tried hard enough.
Full tactical analysis complete. Er, well, I think it was full. I might have missed something. But I'm fairly confident that I didn't.
To say that Vortigern had been caught off guard by the latter statement would be an understatement. He had been organizing the resources they had before them—limited as his knowledge of that may be—into the skeleton of a workable plan. That said, the words rung with truth. He himself did not presently harbor such intentions, but such conflict was bound to fester amongst this group. And yet...

"While we can be certain that those in this room will be at odds with each other at some point, we would do well to remember that our... Father is unlikely to take well to us causing too great an upset to his desires. It would be wise to refrain from doing such things until Kil'threx's wishes can be more accurately understood." Vortigern himself had no desire to stab anyone in the back, [reoccupied with loyalty as he was, but he could not deny the likelihood of others engaging in such activity. "I hope that, at the very least, we can accomplish our appointed task before we start at each others' throats."

That speech complete, he turned to the map that Aborath had made. "Kil'threx was light on details, but there is one chief dungeon in Melaron." He waved a hand, and a translucent pillar of blue light rose from what was clearly the King's Palace was on the map—technically an illusion, being a manipulation of light, but not truly masking anything. "Otherwise, there is a decreasing possibility that the statue is held by the Order of the Sun," a paler pillar over said Order's headquarters, "and of it being held by the Order of the Stars." An even paler pillar rose over said Order's complex. "Those agents I possess which have infiltrated the Order of the Moon have not identified any facility that would fit the description of a dungeon, save the King's own. That does not, however, mean one does not exist. In any case, it is imperative that our adversaries do not suspect our primary strategic objective."

Vortigern looked up from the map at Aesir. "Your army could, thus, serve a double purpose: distracting their own forces from imminent internal attacks, and keeping them penned inside the city walls. Triple, if accounting for the standard benefits brought by a besieging army."

He looked back to the map. "Even then, should someone guess our purpose, they might seek escape with the statue by means of magic. Even lacking such a realization, the sheer utility and power provided by their magic could cause problems for us. As such," the palest blue pillar was intertwined with streaks of bright, burning red, "one of our foremost tactical objectives should be the destruction of the Order of the Stars." There was some small part of Vortigern, shriveled and dry, that cringed at this. Even being what he was now, he remembered his time in the Order fondly.

I shall have those memories forevermore. Now I must work towards the future.

"I have personally infiltrated the Order of the Stars in the past, and shall be able to do so again." Any defenses they might put up around themselves, Vortigern's flesh was of their Order, as was the cloth that flesh bore. More like as not, they would recognize him as one of their own. "While I and my spirits could hold them in place, and ultimately destroy them, it would tie me up for a considerable length of time—even after the more competent of the Order is dealt with, the entire complex would need to be searched. Some form of backup may be desirable. Or at least something to corral them inside." He glanced over at Khata Nyarlith. "Some sport of barrier over their own defenses, erected once I was inside." He did not address the other former-mage by name, but the implicated request of her—or perhaps her servants—was definitely there.

Looking back to the map, he continued. "The mages receiving some form of aid would be... inconvenient, if not detrimental to that particular attack. As much of Melaron's ordinary forces would be tied down with the siege, and with keeping the peace, it would likely fall to the Order of the Sun." Bright red light, identical to that marking the Order of the Stars, wound its way into the pillar marking the Order of the Sun. "As such, a simultaneous assault on their facilities to tie them down might also be in order. Yes, there interference in any of our operations could prove most vexing." He leaned back in his chair. "Any one of us—or probably two, as Aboreth suggested—could likely handle them. Those whom their powers affect the least could be the most effective." He looked to the roof, reaching one hand to his chin. "Iona's presence alone could seriously demoralize them, if she isn't otherwise occupied." At this point, he had near enough forgotten that he was not alone in the room. It was a wonder that he hadn't just moved his tactical analysis into his thoughts.

"It would likely also be effective if we attacked the Palace at the same time as well, to add to the confusion. In fact, capturing it, or else turning that which is above ground to rubble, would be quite useful in demoralizing the enemy, making battle even easier. Yes, three simultaneous attacks could be the way to go."

He leaned forward again, placing both hands on the map. "Even still, once we find the statue, it is unlikely that it will be unguarded. Whoever stowed it underground is likely to have left some form of arcane defense behind. And enchanted it such that destroying it will be more difficult than smacking it about with a mace. And they may well have left some unknown contingency behind that will trigger in the case of Kil'threx's release." Vortigern let out a sound resembled a cross between a hum and a growl as he stared at the map, discontented with the presence of uncertain variables.

Leaning back again, he caught sight of his compatriots, and realized that he had been the only one talking for some time. "Ah, yes, I'm sure that some of you have thoughts on our mission."
And we've already begun plotting against one another. Lovely. This world has ne'er seen a more disfunctional family than Kil'threx and his children.
@dragonmancer, I liked it. Well, I didn't hit the "Like" button, but it served it's purpose well. What do you think of mine?
Whisper and Shadow


Vortigern was caught off guard by Kil'threx's arrival. It fit the mode by which one might expect the God of Evil to make their appearance, but at the time, he had been observing the brewing tensions amongst his future associates—both to learn more about them, and for some measure of amusement. The rumbling that announced Kil'threx's presence knocked him from that stupor.

And what a presence it was. Every person that had gathered there was powerful, of that there could be no doubt, but Kil'threx was on another level. Beyond what he knew, beyond what he could see, he could feel the power radiating from even this simple manifestation of the Father of all Evil, and he knew that Kil'Threx was in another class entirely.

And then there were the promises he had made. Vortigern precisely what it was that Kil'threx foretold; Vortigern's future was one of servitude, however it had been smothered in fine words.

Yet, would the servitude not also be then smothered in something fine? Even accomplishing one of the things that he promised would be nigh impossible for me to accomplish on my own. If we free him, then, absent complication, it would mean that he would give me everything.

And all Kil'threx promised was sorely tempting. He had made his peace with servitude before his arrival, as he had no delusions about contesting the God of Evil, but now, he thought, servitude may not be so horrible a fate.

Of course, before that could come to pass, they had a task to accomplish. Vortigern smiled from deep inside his hood.

"I am not truly familiar with any of you, not beyond what stories have reached my corner of the world—pale imitations of reality that they may happen to be—but I would say that between the nine of us, we have more than enough power to destroy Melaron. I would dare to say the only possibility of failure is if we get in each others' way." There was an audible tremor of excitement in his voice. "I propose, thus, that we make some measure of a plan for our assault."
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