LOG START
[18:15:39] Master of Games
All Creation, Beneath the Sword
Session 23
With the rise of the sun, an unfamiliar face descends the stairs to the footstep shrine’s long-forgotten inner sanctum. A woman wearing armor much like Raizo’s men, with dark skin, green eyes, and blonde hair visible under a hood still wet from some rainfall—must have been far away, because there’s nary a cloud in the sky here.
None of you remember meeting this person before; certainly she’s not one of the Band though they seem to have let her through without a second thought. But she’s carrying the Imperial Daiklave, so this must be who’s been sent to deliver it, and some answers as interest, as promised by… some strange Chosen you don’t well remember.
She sets the daiklave down, unharmed and in its sheath, with a grunt of effort. To one not attuned to the blade, it may as well be a six-foot slab of black iron. “Delivery for Lord Datei and his sworn brothers, do I have the right address?”
[18:16:13] Master of Games
”Good thing I checked your whereabouts first; I almost headed to the city.”
[18:22:22] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori eyes the item-deliverer with caution. He cannot recall the Chosen but he knows this person is the same or an agent of the Chosen, and should be treated as such. He commits himself to not allowing this memory magic to work on him in the future. “You cut it close, but it is still on time. I am glad. I believe I was told I would receive information as well.” He steps closer to the heavy sword, to inspect it to see if anything seems amiss. Not that he has exactly very intimate knowledge of the sword prior to its kidnapping.
[18:24:43] Raizo
Raizo approaches with a raised eyebrow. “Sorry, do we know you?”
[18:24:57] River Snake
Snake is similarly on guard, not wanting to get somehow played by the memory thief…or walking memory void, or whatever. Assuming that’s who this is and not an agent of some kind.
[18:25:18] River Snake
”Someone we don’t know delivering the sword we were waiting for, presumably the memory thief again”
[18:30:08] Raizo
”Oh, yeah. I wish to lodge a complaint with your office in Heaven that dealing with people that I can’t remember is extremely obnoxious.”
[18:30:40] Master of Games
The newcomer looks at Raizo flatly. “You don’t. The name’s Marea, if you care. If you don’t remember it in an hour, that’s fine too. For the record, I can think of a few ways to steal a memory, but I’m not a memory thief. That would imply I do it on purpose, and that I can give the memories back.”
[18:30:48] Master of Games
”Best get in line, then.”
[18:31:18] Master of Games
”Anyway. I did promise answers. What questions do you have?” The sword looks in perfect condition. In fact, it seems to have been polished and the sheath cleaned.
[18:33:25] River Snake
Snake wonders if her reality power works on paper, writing down her name, a description of her appearance, and other useful notes about who she is. Seems unlikely to work but its worth a shot.
[18:34:02] Datei ma Kagemori
”The biggest seems to be…Why? What is the point of stealing a treasure but returning it, what, 15 hours later?”
[18:34:05] River Snake
”I don’t suppose you can tell me how to steal memories, sounds useful”
[18:44:20] Master of Games
”Well, the easiest way is to make them tell you, then club them in the head until they forget. If you want something subtler, you’ll have to find a way to make the memory solid enough to keep."
"I’ll admit it was a bit of an attack of opportunity. I’ve been studying that sword’s history for a while, and figured this would the best opportunity to get my hands on it directly. I had an expert take a look at it, and we can decide our next steps with it back in Creation.”
[18:44:49] Master of Games
”I figured if we judged it better kept out of human hands, I’d just not give it back, but getting to study it at all is more important.”
[18:45:10] Master of Games
”Hence, the promise.”
[18:45:29] Datei ma Kagemori
”Was any magic used on Gensuji beyond what was done to our memories?”
[18:48:49] Master of Games
”Yes.”
[18:49:50] Datei ma Kagemori
”Any lasting effects of the magics?”
[18:50:43] Master of Games
Marea shrugs. “No. Just a little shell game with his attention.”
[18:51:19] Datei ma Kagemori
Kagemori raises an eyebrow at that description but moves on. “What did the expert find out?”
[19:00:41] Master of Games
The Imperial Daiklave is a curved sword of classic Vanehan style, a solid six feet long not counting the hilt. The blade is of a pitch-black metal that shines like a beetle’s carapace, not the banded iridescence of Agate Lake’s sacred steel. The guard is of brass, the hilt wrapped in the same brilliant blue leather the sheath is made from.
For the first time, Marea hesitates and visibly thinks through how to answer the question. “Do you know what soulsteel is?”
[19:03:36] Raizo
”Not especially. I’m going to guess something demonic.”
[19:04:13] River Snake
”I’ve heard of it in legends, steel made of souls of the dead. Can’t say I’ve ever seen any of it”
[19:04:17] Datei ma Kagemori
”I know it is a magical material of great power. You can make some assumptions of it from its name. I also know that there’s not much of it in Vaneha, and I imagine the near east in general. Why?”
[19:16:29] Master of Games
”It can be hard to guess what the average person out there has heard of. Never handled it myself, gives me the creeps. Anyway, it’s forged in the lands of the dead, from the souls of the dead. I bring it up because it turns out this sword isn’t made of soulsteel, but it is made from souls. Souls who felt very, very strongly about their legacy in life. Strongly enough to let their ambitions be smelted down into black iron to forge into a weapon that could see them through.”
There are always stories of haunted objects that whisper to their owners. The Imperial Daiklave does not whisper, or speak for that matter. It simply makes itself wordlessly unmistakable to whoever touches it: its will is to unite all Creation beneath the Sword. Wield it, or do not. It has no use for weaklings.
[19:19:28] River Snake
”I didn’t know you could do that, but…magic”
[19:20:19] Datei ma Kagemori
”I am unfamiliar with the process of using souls as a material, but I suppose it is not so strange to learn there can be multiple ways to do it. There must be something that sets this soul-material apart from soulsteel, but that is a question for a smith I suppose. It is largely a construction of Jade is it not? And I suppose this soul-enfused iron.”
[19:21:18] River Snake
”The fact there’s a way at all to just…put souls into a sword is something on its own”
[19:24:53] Raizo
”Well, the world is full of incredible surprises.”
[19:28:18] Master of Games
Marea shakes her head. “It’s not. I’d assumed it was a jade alloy myself, but if it were, I could have used it to get through that gate before you ever showed up. The way I understood it, the souls aren’t trapped in the metal, the metal is made from the souls the way you make steel from iron ore. You’d have to ask the smith how, but I doubt she’d tell you.” Marea shrugs again. “The specifics really don’t matter so much to me.”
[19:29:59] Datei ma Kagemori
”Was it personal curiosity then? I was planning to ask why heaven was taking an interest in the Sword now, when it is been in Vaneha’s hands for centuries, but it sounds like this is not part of a larger mission.”
[19:30:16] River Snake
”Souls being made physical and then forged into a sword…Hmm.
[19:30:33] River Snake
Snake thinks and shrugs “This just keeps getting weirder”
[19:34:16] Master of Games
Again, the Chosen of Secrets thinks. “Not… quite. For us, the interesting thing is where and when the First and Hundredth and the Sword Princes got their hands on it. That connection might tie into a larger investigation, and clarify some records that have been lost. Or maybe destroyed.”
[19:35:12] Master of Games
”But I’ll admit I was curious.”
[19:35:58] Datei ma Kagemori
”You can inquire with the deity, perhaps. You clearly have some connections.”
[19:36:44] Master of Games
”I’d rather they don’t know about me, actually.”
[19:37:15] Datei ma Kagemori
”Does your memory trick not work on them?”
[19:41:13] Master of Games
She grins. “The use of a pot is where it’s not. The shape of a hole tells tales. Doesn’t it?”
[19:42:27] Datei ma Kagemori
”It does seem rather non-total, yes. The promise remained in my memory even if the face of the promiser did not. Fair enough, I suppose. What do you plan to do now?”
[19:52:35] Master of Games
”I suppose I’ll go back to Jibei while the bird’s still out of the nest. We’ll see each other again if it would be beneficial. Counter-question: what do you plan to do with this knowledge? And the sword, for that matter?”
[19:55:45] Datei ma Kagemori
”I plan to meditate on how to reinforce my mind against hostile attacks. I am considering how much to tell to Gensuji, but for the moment I plan to return the sword to his possession. I promised to do so, after all, and I keep my promises. This knowledge gives me a better understanding of him, in a way, so for that I thank you.”
[20:03:04] Master of Games
Marea laughs. “Well, try meditating on this: I cupped water from the river, with my fingers splayed wide to get as much as possible, but I’m still thirsty. Who stole all that water?”
[20:04:08] Datei ma Kagemori
”I’ll give you an answer later. Also, do you know who the goddess depicted in the murals of this temple is? The guardians do not know.”
[20:04:38] Raizo
Raizo shakes the sword on his belt. “Better to meditate on this if you ask me.”
[20:11:26] Master of Games
”To know the world is to choose it.” She looks at the murals. “My briefing only mentioned that she died in the Crusade. If you ask me, her name was lost from the world then. Even her daughters probably don’t remember it.”
[20:12:12] Master of Games
”I guess that’s another way to steal a memory, incidentally: the Fair Folk can probably do it.”
[20:16:17] Datei ma Kagemori
”So it seems. A powerful ability, to slay one’s enemies even in memory.”
[20:16:50] Raizo
”Is there a way around it?”
[20:16:59] Master of Games
”Not that I know. There used to be so much more of the world. All gone, and we’ll never know it.”
[20:17:20] Raizo
”I suppose you have no real reason to tell me how to defeat one of your strongest tools even if there is.”
[20:18:29] Master of Games
”If you ever find out, let me know. I’ve always wanted to be able to ask for the usual at my noodle stand.” Her expression gives no clue as to how much of this is a joke.
[20:19:32] Datei ma Kagemori
”If it is truly a curse, surely the vast resources of heaven would be able to find a means of alleviating it.”
[20:20:02] Raizo
”I’ve always hated it when the staff at an establishment can guess what I want, personally, but I guess if you completely lack the option, it has its appeal.”
[20:21:46] Raizo
”Don’t know why. I guess I just see the whole thing as, say, ‘I am here to give you money, you are here to give me what I paid for, this is the extent of our relationship, don’t overstep. We’re not friends.’.”
[20:26:39] Datei ma Kagemori
”On this fivescore fellowship you or your boss works for, I’ve tried to keep my head down as it is quite handy to be underestimated or overlooked. But I imagine my presence is now known to heaven. Are they going to have any issue with me or mine?”
[20:35:20] Master of Games
”Answering that question fully would require a history lesson and not be all that useful, I think. To keep it short, yes, I’ve known about you for a while; and the Urchin Prince too. You, on the other hand,” She looks to River Snake, “I had no idea were in Vaneha. Let’s say not everyone is happy that the Chosen of the Sun are back. There are those who think your power’s liable to drive the world to destruction.”
[20:35:58] Master of Games
”Believe it or not, I am more or less on your side. But maybe I can tell you that story some other time, when it becomes important.”
[20:36:58] Datei ma Kagemori
”I would have preferred to simply be told that I would be left alone, but I appreciate your honesty.”
[20:37:52] River Snake
Snake smiles “I like to be a surprise when I go somewhere, and I’ve not got any plans that would lead to destroying the world I’m aware of”
[20:37:54] Raizo
”Known good things, I hope.”
[20:41:11] Master of Games
”Neither did the ancient Solars, I bet.”
[20:42:36] Master of Games
”Since you’ve been so good to me, let me tell you one thing you didn’t ask before I ask to be excused.” Marea points at the mural of the goddess. “The twins had a father, too. You might ask them where he’s buried, and why he’s nowhere to be seen here. It might be instructive.”
[20:43:02] Datei ma Kagemori
”Another question to ask them.”