I absolutely LOVE Eduard's lore, and your DM's setting. Can I ask more questions about him?? I have A Lot, sorry if I'm overstepping! Only answer if u want! But what's his relationship with each of the Black Rose like?? The party got attached to them, but it sounds like they got attached to Eduard. When they entered the dungeon the rite was taken to, is that the same one that Modus Tollens has trapped people in? Do any of the Rose know about any of what's going on between Modus and Eduard? (1/2)
(Cont. of the ask):
Also, what's Ed's connection to Queen Lida aside from working in a library named for her? She's an idol to him, but you said "was" a psionic, and the wiki lists her as possibly deceased... have they ever met? And how does Ed feel about the Lattice? Does he regret knowing them? He's trying to get his old life back, do You as his player think he would be able to, even if his memories of the Lattice were removed? I love your Boy's story, but what are his Feelings abt it...?! (2/2)
(Answer):
Okay okay putting this again under a cut bc I've got a lot to go through here.
First and foremost, Ed and Eduard are different people. Ed is the big, bald half-giant, Eduard is my little warlock man! It's confusing, I know, but my DM had no clue Ed was gonna be such a recurring character I'm sure. I'm going to be proceeding assuming you meant Eduard with every "Ed"
Alright, now that we've got that squared away, let's start with the questions!
What is his relationship with each of the Black Rose?:
I portray his relationship with all three of them as a happy, healthy polyamorous relationship. They are all in love with one another, no one is one-sided or anything like that.
That being said, the individual pairings do have their own dynamics.
[Above] Jara and Eduard's conversation on their way to the dungeon for the first time.
Jara was probably the first one Eduard fell in love with, but not the first one that he really began any sort of real romantic relationship with out of the three. Jara has been sweet and protective of Eduard from the very beginning. She is the group's captain and takes the leading position of the Rose, and as such the other three often look to her for direction, and she is always very caring of her boys. Despite being an elf and not requiring sleep, Jara would spend every night in the dungeon with Eduard holding him in her arms to make sure he got a good night's rest (he had problems sleeping then.)
[Above] Ed holding Eduard after the latter received healing. Eduard had dropped to like 3 HP moments prior.
Ed is likely the one that Eduard initiates things with. Ed is basically the darkest dungeon stress healer of the group. Without him, the other three would be walking around with rainclouds over their heads. Ed's influence makes Eduard want to be a better person--and it's likely the same for Jara and Zack who tend to also lean towards evil and neutral alignments. Ed's also the one that is most in touch with his feelings and is able to easily read how his companions are feeling--which means that he's the first one to realize that Eduard is in love with himself and his two companions, as well as vice-versa. With Eduard in particular, Ed is very protective and frequently puts himself in front of Eduard during combat to make sure he doesn't get hurt.
[Above] Zack taking an academic interest in Eduard but being kinda gay about it.
Zack and Eduard probably have had the most growth together in terms of their relationship. When Jara was trying to decide if she wanted to bring Eduard along with them on their delve into the dungeon, Zack said something along the line of, "Well if we bring him with us, there will be fewer questions when he disappears." But now, in current time, Zack forsook their mission (which they were all willing to risk their lives for, mind you) by influencing a magic ring tracking the rite to instead track Eduard to find him when he went missing--then scoured the halls of the lowest level of the mega-dungeon for four days to find Eduard. Their relationship went from conflicting, to curiosity (As Zack was interested in Eduard's warlock magics and the tome once Eduard confided in him), and now to only vaguely veiled yearning so desperate that they'd risk life and limb for one another.
When they entered the dungeon the rite was taken to, is that the same one that Modus Tollens has trapped people in?:
Yep! It's all part of the same mega-dungeon. Modus Tollens currently has Zack's rite within his vault, and that's why it would be a suicide mission. To attempt to steal a cursed rite of power from a Lich as powerful as Modus is basically a death sentence.
Do any of the Rose know about any of what's going on between Modus and Eduard?:
To be completely fair, "What's going on between Modus and Eduard" is not nearly as homoerotic as I like to depict it as, I'm just gay. HOWEVER, that being said, Eduard and Modus Tollens are still doing shady and dangerous shit, and the Rose does not know the full extent of it. This is not Eduard intending to be sneaky or anything like that, though. Eduard just sees no reason to burden his companions with that, he doesn't want to worry them. He believes he can handle it on his own, and it would keep the people he cares about safest if they didn't know everything.
Also, what's Ed[uard]'s connection to Queen Lida aside from working in a library named for her? She's an idol to him, but you said "was" a psionic, and the wiki lists her as possibly deceased... have they ever met?
Eduard has... sort of met her. Technically she disappeared about 700 years before the current game, but it was revealed that she had died within Modus Tollen's dungeon--and the Lich's influence stretches farther back in time than that. Queen Lida was killed and had her flesh eaten by Odrea--someone she had trusted--because Odrea wanted power from the Lich to help her own companions escape. It didn't work, and Odrea and her companions are still stuck in the dungeon to this day... sort of. That's another long story.
Back to Eduard, though. Eduard only knew of Queen Lida because of her history, her library, and the fact that she was the founder of the Order of the Black Rose; an order made with the intent of finding and obtaining sensitive information and relics, evil or not, and learning to harness them. It was a cause that resonated with Eduard, especially after his run-in with the Lattice.
He only discovered she was a psionic when Modus Tollens told him. The Lich offered him one of her eyes preserved in red glass, which alone granted him the ability to use his own psionics after he had touched it.
[Above] Meme with a living Lida, Eduard, and Lida's preserved eyes.
Another PC, Mendrin, had hold of her other eye at that point, and when Eduard learned of that he asked for it and acquired both eyes that way. By using both eyes as foci for his psionics, Eduard... uh... well, he brought Queen Lida back to life.
Sort of.
She revitalized as a pulsing, floating nervous system that connected to her reclaimed eyes, but she had no brain, no bones, no skin, etc. She was, however, insanely powerful, and vanished rather quickly after regaining her sentience. Modus Tollens is quite obviously frightened of her.
And how does Ed[uard] feel about the Lattice? Does he regret knowing them?
Eduard is scared of the Lattice. That's the easy way to put it. The Lattice scares him so long as it is basically holding him at figurative gunpoint. The Lattice could decide at any moment that keeping Eduard alive isn't worth it and simply vanish him from existence, removing his memory from every mind on every plane, erasing any loose ends so that the god can return to blissful anonymity.
He does, however, also appreciate it. The Lattice has offered him a life he never dreamed he could have had. Eduard was a book nerd working a cushy desk job at a fancy library preparing to go to a college for wizardry, but now he has experiences more incredible than any he has read about. He is altering real history with every action he takes, and he has three new companions in his life that he would do anything for.
He doesn't regret knowing the Lattice, but he does want to get it over with.
He's trying to get his old life back, do You as his player think he would be able to, even if his memories of the Lattice were removed?
Perhaps saying his "old life" was bad phrasing. Eduard would not like to go back to the way things were verbatim.
Eduard would, however, like to one day be able to settle down with his three partners in a black stone Chroma manor by the sea without fear of forgetting them, or worse, them forgetting him as he fades into the obscurity of the Lattice. That, I believe, is certainly within his power...
As long as he can find a way to kill Modus Tollens.
