#aequilibria

[vaalthus]

To Appease a God: Play within the Rules, Balance the scales or Leave them uneven (theory)

With the conclusion of Book 3, the general course of the Hero has been clearly defined for Book 4: Find a means of stopping Aequilibria from destroying the world as we know it and killing everyone who lives on it by putting it back to sleep.

Destroying Aequilibria is obviously out of the question as all beings born on Lore are dependent upon the flow of mana and thus cannot exist without it. We also lack the means of amassing enough power into a weapon like the Exalted Artillery to force the entity into slumbering. A fact I imagine The Elements had deliberately intended to be the case after the Exalted Alliance amply proved that entities capable of generating mana as they could would always be a threat to their vision.

As such, it only makes sense to ensure any new creations are not capable of that kind of power ever again. So, destruction is off the table, and we lack the power necessary to force the Core to go back to sleep early.

The binding of the core our trio of mages are currently utilizing to keep Aequilibria at bay seem like a nice solution but not one that will surely last even if we were to apply it on a grander scale as our god would only continue to rattle at its chains until they no longer held.

So, what are our options? I believe we have already been given the answer on how to achieve this task by the Aequilbria itself.

I suspect that a good portion of our journey throughout Book 4 will not be by finding the power needed to force Aequilibria into submission, at least not completely, but rather to achieve the 'balance' it so desperately craves in a manner that fits its parameters of its own concept of Order to a point a refresh is no longer deemed necessary for Lore and it goes back to sleep of its own volition.

At the end of Book 1 we didn't really restore order to the world. We stopped the World from being brought to Doom yes, but we did not uphold the balance, only stopped the matter from getting worse. The fact that in Book 2 we saw the elements in a state of disarray should be evident that the imbalances only continued and got worse due to numerous forces as we were later imprisoned in ice.

And so, under this lens, the Hero's mission is clear: Reinstate the Creator cycle, bring back the Avatars from their stasis, close the holes in the fabric of reality, and clean up the various errors detected Aequilibria. We will become a balancer of Lore and bring about elemental unity. A balance we make of our own, one that will not be perfect but just good enough to satisfy the system.

This is where the Shadowscythe will come to be a thorn in our side in this new saga. The Shadowscythe have one consistent goal: To rid the world of the pollution of the elements, to bring all into The Darkness as they see it and they will do this at whatever means necessary.

Furthermore, they know exactly the best way to make this outcome happen: Corrupt the Balance into their favor.

We have been shown a number of times that the Shadowscythe will go after the Creator and Destroyer to fulfill their long-term goals because to control both is to have to control of the system designated by Aequilibria.

The Shadowscythe/Doom is not foreign to the world. It may have snuck its way into this universe at the dawn of its birth, but it is now deemed an acceptable force in existence by Aequilibria. As a result, there is not necessarily a rule dictating that Lore cannot have them present.

Therefore, there is nothing to say the only thing allowed in creation is darkness as perceived by the Shadowscythe, especially should Aequilibria fall asleep completely unaware of what goes on upon its shell until it is time to wake again. Which if the Shadowscythe get their hands on Fluffy and Draco again, may never happen again once Lore has been refreshed.

As mentioned, the world is imbalanced. The Twins are not yet ready to take on their roles in earnest at the moment, and the Avatars cannot preside over them or their planes to cease the chaos occurring in the Elemental Plains and keep that same chaos from bleeding into Lore. Now is the perfect time to strike at the enemies of Doom while everyone is still recovering from the loss of leaders or damage incurred from the Rifts or new fissures created by Aequilibria struggling against its bindings.

Which means, all the Shadowscythe has to do is ensure that order continues to be disrupted in whatever way they can until Aequilibria breaks free and destroys Lore for them, hell they might even work towards assisting it in breaking free as well. Which likely means they might be responsible for a good portion of whatever conflicts we see in Book 4 either directly or indirectly or causing certain ongoing conflicts to continue long before they became a factor in those conflicts.

It's a race against time in the long run for us and one I'm sure our old adversaries will plague nearly every step we take to avert this existential threat.

In the end, where our goal will be to balance the scales to achieve a form of equilibrium in our own way, the Shadowscythe's goal will be to keep those scales as unbalanced as possible to ensure the annihilation of everything on the planet so that they might determine its course in the aftermath.

Ah but that concludes my thoughts.

[cyraen-ae]

So, with my theory about the "origins/true identity" of the Aequilibria that I've alluded to a handful of times in the past, I found myself extremely interested with everything it said during the latest release, so I thought I'd look at each one individually

Impurity

If you're wondering why I'm focusing on such a line. Impurity for the Pre-Reset orb, to me, indicates that it has awareness of it being "external", and it considers it as affecting the purity of its world. Quite odd that it used this word, and nothing else

With an anomaly

The Hero is an anomaly, hm? What about them is anomalous. The only thing "unusual" that I can immediately place about the Hero is the fact that "they came before", as Kathoolthalas put so bluntly. Is it that they're the only "true" survivor of before the Reset? The only one to be transplanted, not recreated? Or is it something else

We are the Elements

I guess it fits the eight eyes-lights things. But are they saying they're literally a tangible expression of the building blocks of reality? Notably, while researching this line, I saw one interesting one from Kathoolthalas

"Molded and shaped, became eight, became one. Twisted embodiment" Is Aequilibria this twisted embodiment? It's both Eight (the lights) and One (the dragon head)

To return to us is the inevitable fate of all things

I won't lie I'm still not sure for that one. It seems to just follow through the previous line. They're not just a force that exists within reality, they're reality itself.

Assessing the state of the shell.

Now this is where it gets interesting One : Aequilibria starts talking like a robot from this line onwards Two : the shell? Not just the planet, or the world, or anything. The Shell. Such an odd term. What it tells me is that Lore exists to protect the Mana Core. Act as an outer shell to it. Is it just a shell in this sense, or in an even more literal sense. Is Lore secretly a dragon egg for the Aequilibria? I mean, it would have been here under our nose from the start if that's the case

The Creator's cycle has been disrupted

What.. does that mean? Did something happen to Fluffy's egg before it had a chance to hatch? Did Seppy's corruption seep through into its next reincarnation?

The caretakers' location cannot be defined

This one is pretty obvious. The caretakers are the avatars, and they're now gone, orbed, and put in Lock and Key

Numerous holes in the fabric found

If I had to make an assumption, this is talking about the various Proclamation Rifts, not much more to see here. Although the fact that the Deadlands Rift is still open is proooobably gonna be cause for an issue with it

Disruptions to the flow of fate found

Now THAT is an interesting quote. The flow of fate. That means that Aequilibria focuses on a specific Fate it has planned for the world, and if it doesn't go this fate, it immediately goes on the defensive. The question is... what caused this disruption in the first place?

Numerous errors and anomalies found

Once more, this is an interesting line. Errors and anomalies found What are its errors and anomalies? My current theory.. we saw it call two things anomalies (or similar words). The Pre-Reset orb, and the Hero themself. Do they view Pre-Reset/Reset related stuff to be anomalies?

[vaalthus]

Remthalas Theory/Sort of Analysis: The All-Seeing Idiot God, The Dreaming Chaos, The Path of Omniscience. Oh and like potential Lore Spoilers maybe.

With the conclusion of the Reckoning War, and having bared witnessed to Remthalas’ actions, I believe we have a better idea of what our aquatic Dreamfarer desires and intends not only for themselves but for the inhabitants of Lore as well.

We already know that Remthalas believes that the only way to achieve freedom, to dream, is to not be shackled. To not live out the dreams or whims of others. Unfortunately, this boils down to the lesson Remthalas got out of the idea is that people should not tie themselves down by basic laws or morals people tend to follow. Otherwise, the endless possibilities provided by true freedom are not possible.

This a concept that he has clearly taken to his very core given how angrily or impulsively he’ll react should he feel someone is ordering him around or someone else shirking their freedom in his point of view as demonstrated when he rebuked Notha twice for commanding him and when he killed Mr. Nameless/Twinkles.

So that’s it then, right? Remthalas is just an anarchist drunk on freedom? Wanting all of Lore to break their shackles and live out their own dreams never minding once of those around them, right? Well yes, but there is I think a bit more going on here.

I found a few things concerning about Remthalas in our fight with either Notha or Uaanta. One, is that he found the Avatars more interesting in their reduced orb state. Secondly, he didn’t appear to want to destroy them. Thirdly, is that regardless of who we chose to side with, Rem finds us interesting either way. Fourth, and most concerning is that he only found Uaanta truly fascinating if she merged with the Avatars. Lastly, and most revealing was his desire to see all the events unfold regardless of what the outcome was and then simply bounce when a conclusion was reached.

The reason why I find him being able to see Uaanta as a truly fascinating player in this conflict is to be some cause for concern is that being ‘interesting’ to Remthalas seems to, at first, amount to being someone that can bring about his idea of freedom, freedom from the balance the Avatars imposed. Characters like the Hero and I imagine Notha when he first met her and was introduced to her ideology. However, if this is the case, why find Uaanta interesting? She after all plans to shepherd away the very entities responsible for the very concept that resulted in his abandonment and have shackled so many others and their dreams. Why find someone who still intends to be devoted to the Avatars to be a person of interest then? Are they not still choosing to wear their shackles? To ignore their own dreams in the favor of the dreams of others.

 The answer I think is simple. In the end, it was just less about Remthalas serving his ultimate plan and Remthalas wanting a show. Remthalas has always long been aware of our capacity to come out on top over our opponents, including his own fellow members. Why would he suspect there was any possibility we would lose to our dear friend or even Notha? He didn’t because he knew we would win, but how can he enjoy the play if all the actors aren’t putting in effort for their roles. After all, are you satisfied by the just the ending of a movie or the passionate performances that it took to get there?

You see I believe Remthalas revealed what he plans for us and Lore all the way back when we first met in the Ex Somniis Fabula or The Story of Dreams quest. In his introduction, Remthalas posits the question of whether he’d be able to alter reality if the entities only referred to as “They” dreamed instead of just slumbering. With quite the determined, if not a bit demented, expression on his face I might add. There’s also one other feature to this and it’s the fact that Remthalas points out that we’re in his dream, or perhaps more accurately his dream space, and that it’s basically just a blank white box. (There are also the blue glowing circles on his robes that could symbolize having multiple eyes to see which are only visible when he’s in his dream form, but it could also just represent Kathool’s eyes so who knows) This is ultimately his domain and by the looks of it he can bring anyone into it and determine what is experienced within this tiny space. What the viewer sees could amount to anything but what they ultimately stand is just the box, the blank canvas. Here, Remthalas controls reality, what goes on in the ‘bigger picture’ so to speak. Here, Remthalas is as close to a god as anyone else that can control their own dreams.

 What I’m getting at here is that Remthalas doesn’t just want freedom he wants to see possibilities and the process it takes to getting to an outcome. What he wants is to dream and for everyone else to be the actors in his never-ending play of entertainment. To see the big picture change from one point to the other. These are details that I think were touched on when he mentioned that he enjoyed the dreams of children because of their ability to imagine possibilities to fill in gaps left behind by a world they are still very new to. Or when he appeared genuinely disheartened at the idea that he was not at rest. Or when he finds dreams to be not interesting enough when pointing out that Voyna can only ever dream of dragons due to her trauma with them. Or even when we fought him in the dream to save Sally and he noted that our dream was “Fierce, but one dimensional” Or the rather basic nature, in comparison to whatever else he wanted to show us, of Notha’s backstory and memories.

 What he wants is for Lore to be his dream. To fit all of existence in that little box of his and to watch things go wild. Which is why I called him ‘Idiot God’ because if true then Remthalas is basically trying to become Azathoth, the Blind-Idiot God from the Lovecraftian Mythos who created the entire universe in that series by simply dreaming, and who will kill it if he ever wakes up. A character/concept I still believe was being referenced when Remthalas asked what would happen if “they” woke up and questioned if the world would stop existing if “they” did. However, unlike Azathoth, Remthalas intends to be aware of all that happens when he finally dreams.

Azathoth is not the only eldritch god that Rem appears to share similarities with and to be honest it the one that makes him perhaps the most untrustworthy. The god I’m referring to of course is Nyarlathotep: The Crawling Chaos, The Dweller in Darkness, The Haunter of the Dark. These are just a few titles of Nyarlathotep, but I believe they would fit Remthalas for the similarities they share with the Outer God. For one thing is how both Remthalas and Nyarlathotep communicate through dreams to any of their unaware victims and pass on information that might shatter their world view. Furthermore, much like Nyarlathotep, Remthalas seems take more enjoyment in the dreams of others being messed with in a way that is typically nightmarish in nature. The most important similarity here of course is that both entities are more driven by spreading chaos and madness through people as opposed to their utter annihilation like other eldritch gods such as Cthulu. The reason for this is because in the case of both characters, I believe in Rem’s case anyway, their enemies isn’t so much other people but rather boredom, in addition to their own stagnation.

An interesting contrast I just thought about between them however is how Nyarlathotep and Remthalas spread chaos. As mentioned, Nyarlathotep does so through dreams by revealing, in typical Lovecraftian cosmic horror fashion, how utterly pointless the lives of his victims are in the face of the sheer overwhelming forces at play in the infinite and unknown universe and how they should just succumb to madness and/or become one of his followers, to amuse himself. Remthalas kind of does something similar when he suggests that morals and the lives people are currently living don’t hold much weight in the face of the grander schemes and roles of the Avatars. 

However, unlike Nyarla, Remthalas would do this so that others cast off their rules, still to amuse himself with the chaos that would thrive from that but in his view, they’d be getting something out of it. A sort of “You and everything you’ve known don’t matter so succumb to despair and madness and entertain me” vs “You and everything you’ve known don’t really matter so do what you want and entertain me” Chaos vs Chaos but different philosophies on how to get it.

The connections that can be drawn to other well known eldritch entities does make me wonder if when we see Remthalas next he might be trying to elevate his power on the material plane to that of the Primordials (Kathool, Uthuluc (probably not Uthuluc out of all of them to be honest), The Witness, Sciuridaehotep, the latter of which is just a Nyarlathotep reference) or is somehow going to get them involved in some way when his plans really start to get under way. If he does somehow involve Kathool in what he intends to pull off I imagine we might see Aquella again given that she’s supposed to overwatch his bedtime and I think it would fit to have a water take on another that was devoted to Kathool. I’d suspect she, or potentially another water elf, could reveal more of in-depth info on Remthalas’ servitude to the Avatars and later Kathool.

This brings us to the question of course of how exactly Rem plans to pull this all off. Obviously, we fit into those plans. However, with what just happened with the Avatars now being out of the picture and Myalos also being out of commission, what’s the next step? Where does he take us from there? The answer goes back to those “They” entities being referenced. Remthalas has brought them up, but he wasn’t the only one I believe. Celeritas mentioned them once when Sinnoncence made his move. I believe, I’m certain, that our dear Big Daddy named dropped them for us a long time ago. 

The one and only Aequilibria, the true gods of existence who are said to be slumbering even now. How Remthalas intends on exerting power over these beings is unknowable, but it would appear the best time to do so before they awake once more.

Which brings us to the Hero and the interest Rem has taken in them. It is clear the main reason that Remthalas has taken an interest in us is because of how capable we were in comparison to Uaanta at the time he was scouting us both out. We are an invested tool…and yet. I cannot help but wonder if Remthalas continued engrossment of us isn’t just because he knows we’ll be useful to his plans but also because Remthalas is straight up looking for a plus one when his plan would be theoretically completed. He did offer us to see where the currents of existence could take us.

  After all, why look at and enjoy multiple paintings in a vacuum or go to the movies by yourself when you can have someone watch it all with you. Then again, as I mentioned earlier, he could simply be viewing us as just another tool to pull off his plans and that is join the others later once everything falls in place

All of what I stated is more speculation than anything but if any of it’s true then we are in for a ride.

[aeqtales]

Watardha ‘considering’ renaming itself.

The Nether-Fedatti nation of Watardha is considering renaming itself. The local government cites that in this day and age, a name derived from the infernal lingua of the Ancients has no place.

Watardha means Silent Inner World in Geryura and was named so for Watardha’s vast landscapes and views. The government states this should still be reflected in its new name, and proposed to baptise the country to ‘Vista’.

Hortha Wrang, spokeswoman of the Modern Demon Emancipation Movement, speaks of pure political symbolism. “Now that the Goddess takes a more prominent role in Kinoran lives, her ‘forever’ fans crawl from up from beneath the woodwork, each tumbling over another to gain a glimpse of Her eternal attention. And how better than to rewrite 3 millennia of history in ‘Her’ favour?” Hortha declared to send over experts to help local Watardhan demons with forming a legal case against the name-change proposal.

Other movements are equally sceptic towards the local government’s reasoning. Hortha’s comments are echoed by the Secular Concern and other Free-fate activists. Karik Wreeval, founder of the Secular Concern, stated: “While we don’t oppose name changes as such, we are worried about the motivations behind the name change. We cannot move towards a society where we change things merely because we fear repercussions of the Divine.” The Social Wealth party, prominent opposition party in Watardha’s parliament, sees her concerns differently: “It’s a waste of money,” states spokesperson Garo Rentar Gazplace, “it brings no benefit to the People, creates more chaos than harmony, squanders resources and takes attention away from more pressing concerns. It’s just a hobby-horse of a few religious Conservative Unionists.”

Tartvan Abernal Yaelsburgh, governor of Watardha and initiator of the proposal, believes these concerns are entirely disingenuous and adds: “Only a few academics and people of a wicked persuasion understand the meaning of this nation’s name. We want clear and modern language associated with our nation, where else to start than with our name?”

The proposal for name-change will be officially considered in the Parliamentary Meeting scheduled on 4.5.3182. Until that time, comments and counter-proposals can be send in through normal means under the case-number of 45-45-3182.

[aeqtales]

[aeqtales]

[aeqtales]

8: Holvert Hill 1

“Would you trust this ‘man’ with the Union?”

Holvert Hill noticed the worn out poster on the city wall as he took a hit from his freshly lit cigarette. Seeing the poster was still there, told him enough about the neighbourhood he was in; Har-Ikei sympathisers.

Then again, he could tell it from the rest of the environment as well; neat, ordered, clean. Pedan, Telleh’s district for the rich and powerful, exactly the way he hated it.

In the distance he saw a light flicking on in the darkness. He threw his cigarette on the floor and hid himself a bit more behind the bush he was already brushing up against. A task surprisingly easy for the 1.80 meter tall Kikiru.

The light was followed by a creak of a door and then footsteps crushing into the gravel. They came closer. Then finally, the man to whom they belonged to stepped into the street light. The soft algae green tint gave colour to an older black haired, light skinned Inwid gentleman. The man wore a long cloak with underneath an older looking tweed jacket and baggy trousers. Holvert was about to come out until he noticed the emblem on the cloak of the gentleman: a triangle in a circle with three circles embedded within it. Arcane Circle. A mage.

His contact at the Grey Market had told him nothing of that. No, according to the lady trader, here lived a former Vwaskarika officer who made himself somewhat infamous as a connoisseur of occult artefacts.

Expertise he eagerly used as one of Har Ikei’s secret police. And now as Arcane Circle member, apparently.

Holvert’s case now started making a bit more sense. A mother had come to him a few days ago, worried about her sixteen year old son. He had been seen spending time in the company of an older man. She was worried that he was doing things for money he was way too young for.

In reality, the boy was still too young and in Holvert’s eyes, the relation just as abusive. But it was no longer about manipulative love.

For a brief moment Holvert considered how to approach the situation. The mages of the Arcane Circle had become well respected after their commitment to the Reformation, that cutesy name given to the rebellion against Har Ikei’s regime. Intimidating him might make a new powerful enemy.

On the other hand, intimidating him might make a new powerful enemy. Just the way Holvert liked it.

The man was about to walk off until the detective cleared his throat and stepped from underneath the shadow of the large bush.

“Can I help you with anything?” the man spoke with a clear voice, though probably already aware that this could end in trouble.

For a brief moment, Holvert only leaned over the man, towering above him just long enough to see the other man drop any pretence of comfort.

“It’s about Jori,” Holvert then spoke, “He’s a bit too young for this. You know that.”

“It’s a new free world, the man is old enough to make his own choices and certainly old enough to be my apprentice,” the mage said and was about to walk off.

“A true Arcane Circle member wouldn’t be living here,” Holvert remarked before the man could do so. He turned back to Holvert, suddenly a lot less comfortable with the situation.

“I mean, with the crowd that lives here,” Holvert clarified and nodded at the wanted poster he noticed previously. “Either you’ve been hiding something from your neighbours, in which case good luck with that. But I think it’s more likely you’re trying to hide your previous allegiances from your new colleagues.”

The mage now sighed heavily, “Look, for people like me, there are two options. Either prison or pretending our previous lives never existed. Can you blame me for picking the latter?

I just want to live. Forget about the past,” he tried once more when Holvert gave him no reaction, “I’m sure you’ve done equally regrettable things.”

Holvert could argue with the man, but he knew that wrestling with trash made you smell just as bad. So he ignored that last statement.

“If I hear so much a hint of you abusing the boy, I will expose your little ploy,” Holvert replied him, “And I know people who loathe your type enough to use you as a sacrifice next equinox.”

From the nodding of the man, Holvert understood he made his point. No need to linger here for longer. And so he too disappeared beneath the canopy of the night, making his way back to his flat. He looked forward to moving the notes of this case in from the Active Case Archive into the Finished Case Archive.

Coming into his street, he sped up the stairs leading to his apartment, went down a small corridor, until he ended at his office’s door. He swept in, tried not to trip over the stack of papers he left everywhere in the office after he attempted to clear out his archives (and subsequently forgot to put the ordered papers back into their cases).

As he reached over to turn on the projector of his personal computer, before he could type up the final notes to the case, he heard a knocking on the door. He dropped his shoulders, whom previously were flexed up in anticipation.

“It’s open,” he stated. And soon after, a young Kikiru entered his office - Looking far more determined and self-assured he had ever seen a 16-year old behave. Beneath the boy’s arm was a round object covered in cloths that he placed before Holvert on his desk.

“I’m Jori.” Jori stated, “I know my mother hired you to keep track of me but I tell you she’s the one who’s keeping secrets from me. I want to hire you.”

“To do what exactly,” Holvert said as he leaned back in his chair, with one eye on the large clothed package.

“My mom always told me that my dad died during the Winter Offensive but then I asked the Arcane Circle mages and they said they didn’t know a mage by the name of my father’s. Then they said that I could give them the skull of my dad’s and they could find out who he is. But then it turns out that this is not my father’s skull!”

Holvert barely remembered what the boy was saying, as he was just informed that the clothed object was someone’s skull. And while Holvert was a native of Telleh, and quite familiar with Telleh’s odd burial customers of keeping the skull of the deceased as a memorabilium - Holvert was also a Yeeshkarnadze and touching dead things was, putting it lightly, an issue. Fortunately, Jori was dissatisfied with Holvert’s hesitance and uncovered the object himself.

Before Holvert laid a Kikiru skull. He leaned over and inspected it as closely as he could without having to undergo a ritual purification. “Birano Welkander”, the inscription on the forehead stated.

“And the mages said that this was not him?”

“No! I mean, yes! One of those mages, I think his name was Ballak Torr, he used necromancy to talk to the skull, but the skull wouldn’t answer to that name! And then I said: maybe it’s a false name. But then they told me that a name is a name, and even an assumed fake name allows them to talk to the memories.”

“Did they say who it was?”

“Dunno. They have to know the name to talk to the skull. I don’t know. But I discovered there was something wrong when I looked in the city database, the only records with that name was from a man dead for 50 years already! And that’s why I went to the mages.”

“Right...” Holvert stated while trying to keep the details in mind. Slowly he typed away some key elements on his computer, a move that brought a little peace to the boy. “Did you talk to your mother about this?”

The boy looked up, “She hired you to know what I was doing, right? I don’t think she wants me to know. But I don’t understand why.”

“And now you want to hire me now to find your father instead?”

“Yes... and my mom will pay, when I confront her with the truth!”

Holvert let out a long growl and once more looked at the skull. “The fact that you have this skull, one that apparently did not belong to your father, means that there is a family without a skull - or worse: a switcheroo...

“I’ll do it,” Holvert said not too convincingly. He then asked the boy to give him as much detail as he could about his father - which was scarce as it was: 30-years old when he conceived him, supposedly a member of the Arcane Circle. Died during the Winter Offensive - the mini-civil war the mages tried to start against Har Ikei 15-odd years ago. The mother and father never married but the boy’s birth certificate showed he was registered as Jori’s father. And after the boy was done, Holvert politely kicked him out of the office.

What Jori said was little to go by. A nice challenge. Especially now that Holvert had to think about how to both tackle the payment from Jori’s mother without giving away Jori’s own case. A nice challenge indeed...

[aeqtales]