The Legend of Hieda III: Esteemed Companion

[Mr_Bob]

>"Stories?  What do these fragments tell you? Can they be reassembled?"

[Fightest]

>"Stories?  What do these fragments tell you?"

> Illuminating Decree looks at you askance.
> "Stories, very valuable, yes? In this world, stories give stability, yes? Stories give relevance. Shards of dreams scattered when heaven cracked, fragments of stories everywhere, everywhere."

Can they be reassembled?

> "Mmm, of course, if they want to be. I can reassemble the fragments, but the original storyholders must want the story retold."

[Labuto]

To other voices : I assume that we basically have to summarize the story so far from a 3rd person's view and retell it as a story to fix our heaven?

[Fightest]

To other voices : I assume that we basically have to summarize the story so far from a 3rd person's view and retell it as a story to fix our heaven?

Fightest's note: Nope. Your Fantasy Heaven was constructed from dreams and hopes of a lifetime, not only your own, but of the many spirits who spent their time in it. To fix it you would have to seek them out and get them to approve the story that Illuminating Decree has reconstructed. I'll present you with that challenge once you get off the island.

[Labuto]

>Abilities

>Inventory

>Try picking up a fragment and exam it, see if we pick off anything from it.

[Fightest]

>Abilities

> Your heaven is often described by those seeing it as a wondrous miracle, but that seems a bit too grand for what is merely an unusually literal incarnation of your hopes and dreams. You are, naturally, untouchable when projecting it, allowing you to force a peaceful resolution to conflicts that might escalate to violence.

>Inventory

> You are wearing your traveling clothes, a simple linen outfit that is easy to clean and repair. It has a few rough patches, and might need to be maintained soon before holes start appearing. You have a pack with some food and water, and miscellaneous traveling necessities. Unfortunately, the major portion of your supplies was on Ani's yacht.

>Try picking up a fragment and exam it, see if we pick off anything from it.

> You pick up a fragment. It feels smooth to the touch, like glass.
> branch family's sole heir married to unify the holdings led to kinstrife as ambition prevailed over common sense and a civil
> It is very much like picking a page at random from a book and trying to make sense of what is going on without any context. That said, you think you remember this particular story - a territorial dispute amongst the dragon-spirits of a river province to the far South-East.

[Mr_Bob]

>Can we project while we project?

[Fightest]

>Can we project while we project?

> What are you trying to do, bub?

[Mr_Bob]

> Can we project ourselves into the story fragment, re-living and thereby re-creating the dream?

Does it work that way? Would it take too long to accomplish? Would it matter?

[Fightest]

> Can we project ourselves into the story fragment, re-living and thereby re-creating the dream?

> Not into the fragment, as such, its story is far too incomplete, but you think you might be able to recreate a fully-formed story that has become part of your heaven.

[Fightest]

> A few hours pass.
> Echoes of your projection had called the attention of some ocean spirits, but they approached you warily, as they would danger, or sickness. You eventually managed to convince a school of iridescent fish to carry you to the nearest inhabited island.
> Now you rush along with the fish, flying soundlessly through the water. It is dim, here, and only the occasional fleck of red or green from fish scales suggests that the world has not lost all its colour.
> In this stillness, you are alone with the sound of your breathing and the occasional clink-clink as Illuminating Decree carefully sifts through broken dreams.
> You do not know how much time has passed when she speaks.
> "Hmm, hmm, this one is ready, but..."
> She turns to you, making sure she has your attention, then draws a sharp talon along a thick, jagged crack through an otherwise flawless arrangement of dream-glass, circular, with whites and yellows, like a daffodil. The sound as she does so grates on your ears, it is a terrible, monstrous sound.
> "But the story is weak, missing a piece that never fit it in the first place. Do you understand, dream-child?" she asks, coming closer to you to look into your eyes.
> "It is missing suffering. Anguish."

[Mr_Bob]

> How far are we out until our stop?
> "You mean to say this story doesn't have enough suffering? What story is this?"

[Fightest]

> How far are we out until our stop?
> "You mean to say this story doesn't have enough suffering? What story is this?"

> It is hard to say, but these are not major spirits, they will not travel too far from their demense. Perhaps a few more hours.
> "Exactly right, dream-child, exactly right. The story tells of civil war between brothers-in-law of a river dragon clan over family holdings. The resolution came at the end when the eldest brother revealed that he was under duress and, through assistance from his younger brothers, brought unity to the family branches that had been thrown into disarray by the machinations of a malicious uncle. Good story. Inspiring. But no suffering."

[Mr_Bob]

> Anything we can recall about this story?
> Project, while projecting.

[Fightest]

> Anything we can recall about this story?

> Illuminating Decree summed it up quite aptly.

> Project, while projecting.

> But you want to take a closer look.

> Once upon a time three sons and three daughters were born into a wealthy and powerful river dragon family, strongly influential in a deep Southeastern province. When they were still children, the youngest brother was adopted as the heir of a branch family, as none was yet present. All it takes to break up the friendship of children is distance, and the younger brother soon forgot about those closest to him. According to family rules and tradition, daughters would separate from the main family to found dynasties of their own, and so they did, barring the youngest daughter, who had developed a deep love for the youngest brother in their brief time as playmates. Her singular desire was to bring the family back together, and to do so she made a foolish decision.
> Inheritance laws stated that the eldest child became the sole heir of a family's holdings. However, all children of a dynasty possessed claimant rights to their family's holdings that held until they died, such that any child might dispute poor rule of the clan head. A majority vote amongst dynasts would be required to give this dispute validity, with the eldest child holding the power of proxy in absentia.
> Passing herself off as a daugher of a foreign nobleman, the eldest daughter made a place for herself in the court of the youngest brother. She possessed a natural charisma and it was not long before the youngest brother became infatuated with her. Their marriage was declared soon after.
> Marriage laws favoured women, such that holdings and claimant rights would pass on to the woman once the ceremony is complete. For the most part, this was purely cosmetic, as the husband and wife were expected to come to full agreement on matters of clan and dynasty, and either could dispute the other's decision. The eldest daughter, however, chose to instigate conflict. Secretly, she altered the marriage contract such that her husband would acquire holding and claimant rights instead.
> And so came to be the precarious situation. Now both the oldest and youngest brother had the authority of a family's heir, with claim to the holdings of the principal family. Wary of the attempt of a coup, the eldest brother began to amass troops. The younger brother had no choice but to do the same, as he was worried that the older brother might attempt a pre-emptive attack. Of course, to do so would be illegal, as the younger brother could not make claims to the territory of the older brother, and the older brother had no claim to the territory of the younger brother. So it appeared to the observer, that a political stalemate developed and would never resolve itself. Whilst unfortunate that tensions were so high, nobody expected for war to break out, as nobody believed the youngest brother would get the majority vote required to make any of his claims valid.
> In the meantime, the hitherto-unmentioned middle brother, with no true political power of his own, was doing his best to keep tensions as low as possible. Through his position as a high magistrate, he was able to prevent unsanctioned border conflicts from exploding out of control through quick and thorough investigation and judicial procedure. Troublemakers found themselves behind bars quickly, and, curiously, crime in the region sank to an all-time low. Morale of the population, however, dropped steadily as food, material and luxuries were diverted to keep the unreasonably large armies supplied.
> So bad it became that, should this have continued for another year, the region would be in danger of famine, as farmers, craftsmen and merchants were all drafted into the steadily-growing army.
> Nobody knows who whispered the rumour first, but not even the middle brother's efforts could keep it from spreading like wildfire: the youngest brother had the majority vote. Anyone with political acumen would realise the truth of the matter: with the other sisters having founded their own dynasties and were busy with the affairs of their own states, they could not be reasonably relied on to provide a vote, making the eldest daughter the holder of their vote by proxy. The eldest daughter, who was married to the youngest brother.
> It was perhaps hours from war breaking out. And it might have, plunging the region into disaster and ruin, were it not for the elder brother's realisation of his familial ties and duty. Realising the danger of the situation, he arranged a secret meeting between the brothers. While tense, there was no hostility at the meeting, for all it takes to rebuild the friendship of children is a reunion. Between the experience of the eldest brother, the cleverness of the middle brother and the honor of the youngest brother, the three came to the realisation that the buildup of forces came as a result of a convincing proposal made by the eldest brother's advisors, who were led by the eldest brother's uncle, who had developed a power base in the army and the noble elite. They concluded that the uncle wanted to force the region to come to civil war, where he could unite the armies into a military junta and regain the power that he lost when the children were born.
> Through decisive action and judgement, the uncle was exiled, the armies were disbanded and peace finally returned to the region. No agreements were made, no contracts were signed, so was the brothers' trust in each other that, despite the power each of them had, none would use it poorly. And so the river province entered into an age of wealth and happiness.

Fightest's note: There. Happy, Bob? Are you happy?
[edit] No, that is not Tenshi.

[Labuto]

>"Why does there need to be suffering?"

[Fightest]

>"Why does there need to be suffering?"

> Illuminating Decree narrows her eyes and smiles.
> "The question too few ask. You see, there was once an entity that entered this world. We called her Koishi, for lack of a better name, and she lived in stories like a child would in a sandbox. She brought stories with her. They were stories of every kind, of kindness and compassion, of cruelty and hardship, of people and gods great and small. The world resisted at first, of course it did, but, in the end, it came to accept these stories. Many even found solace in them, in knowing that, by being a character in one of Koishi's stories, they would always be relevant."
> Illuminating Decree shakes her head.
> "But Koishi lost control. Sometime, somewhere, she lost control. And now the stories no longer belong to her. Now they belong to something dark and envious, full of pity and dripping with scorn. It has built a terrible machine at the heart of this world where all stories flow through."
> She grabs your shirt with both hands and pulls you down to her eye level.
> "The Anguish Engine now constructs a new world in place of this one, one full of pain and suffering, and there is a place for every one of us in it."

[Mr_Bob]

Yo dawg, I herd we liek projecting so thought we should have a projecting project project in projects, wurd? I'm sorry.

> "So we need to re-write the story to be resolved with more suffering, that it might be in accordance with this dark and envious agenda?"

[Fightest]

> "So we need to re-write the story to be resolved with more suffering, that it might be in accordance with this dark and envious agenda?"

> "We do not need to do anything, dream-child. It is very, very much a matter of what you choose to do."

[Mr_Bob]

>"But you say this story is incomplete without suffering. How can I complete it without this engine of anguish taking over?"

[Fightest]

>"But you say this story is incomplete without suffering. How can I complete it without this engine of anguish taking over?"

> "An incomplete story is still a story. It is just weaker. Less relevant. And you have it wrong, dream-child: the Anguish Engine has long taken over, hence..."
> She taps the glass arrangement for emphasis.
> "Hence the weakness. Stories without suffering have no place in this new world."

[Jq1790]

>"Then...is there any way to wage an attack on the Engine itself, so as to reverse the harm it has done to this world and return the strength the stories should possess?"

[Fightest]

>"Then...is there any way to wage an attack on the Engine itself, so as to reverse the harm it has done to this world and return the strength the stories should possess?"

> Illuminating Decree's eyes flash.
> "To wage war on the Engine is to wage war on the entire world. You will become a part of history. You will cease to be the Dream-child, the Esteemed Companion. You will become supremely relevant, but your self will erode until there is nothing left other than pure ideal. Aah, it would be glorious. Yes, Dream-child. It can be done."

> Time passes. You have not yet come to a decision on whether to write suffering into the story of the Dragon-princes, but you still have time. Out in the distance a landmass rises, and the shoal brings you as close as they can before returning to the deep ocean.
> The remnants of the spirit-enchantment wear off as you walk along the seabed and emerge from the water amidst gasps of surprise and shouts from people at the waterside. You appear to have arrived at beach near a bustling tropical port town. It is early in the morning, with the sun barely rising, and already there plenty of activity around the harbor and nearby markets.

Fightest's note: It's been kind of unofficial, so I'll say it properly now: I will be taking a week's break.

[Fightest]

Fightest's note: private matters came up. Updates will be sporadic.

> You are, for now, Principle-of-Magic, and today is looking up to be a good day.
> Mornings are the best, of course, for thievery, when goods start coming in and merchants start taking stock and laying out their wares, when the din and commotion is high but everyone is too caught up in their own business to notice a trinket or two missing until far too late.
> You are in the middle of scoping out the best spots when, subconsciously, your mind finally assembles the fragments of conversation you overhear and presents you with the final result: some weirdo just up and wandered out of the ocean like she was out on a walk, and she is not from around here.
> If she would wander down the market's direction, she could cause enough of a fuss that your haul today could double. Triple, even!
> Let's see if you can get her to do just that.

[Jq1790]

>Have we picked up any other details of their arrival, such as what direction they're CURRENTLY traveling, or if they seem to have a specific aim?

[Fightest]

> She was last seen cutting through the oceanside town on a heading straight inland, almost straight perpendicularly to where you'll need her to go.
> There was no meaningful talk about her objectives. There are a few shrines inland, but also farming villages, mines, recreational hotspots and the local baron's residence.

[Mr_Bob]

>Approach weird ocean lady.

I also have a suffering-infused version of River City Ransom Dragon Feud story on stand-by if need be.

[Fightest]

>Approach weird ocean lady.

> You follow the rumours upstream, through alleyways, across rooftops, up a balcony here, down a drain there, until you get to one of the memorial squares, the one with the fountain. The crowd is giving the fountain a wide berth, but the curiousity of everyone around is peak.
> That means the person at the fountain, looking intently into the water, must be the weird ocean lady.

[Mr_Bob]

> Examine Weird Ocean Lady.
> "Whatchu doin' Weir-... Lady?"

[Fightest]

> The stories seem to be true about the ocean bit - she smells like seawater and is still soaked to the bone. There's something unpleasant about her. She is muttering to herself.
> "Burn the effigy, throw the spear, cut the seal, pull the rope, catch the bird, burn the effigy, throw the spear, cut the seal, pull the rope, catch the bird, burn the effigy, throw the spear..."
> She is ignoring you.