Topic: A weird thought I just had....
Started by: Irmo
Started on: 9/18/2003
Board: The Riddle of Steel
On 9/18/2003 at 9:24pm, Irmo wrote:
A weird thought I just had....
I dunno if someone speculated on this before:
So....the Fey age when they use magic.
The Fey diminish in number, few are born, and many of those that are die.
Again, the fey age when they use magic. Since the process is irreversible, one could almost say their life energy is consumed.
Humans have shown up in great numbers. Although the part of them that uses magic is small, their sheer number makes for a considerable number of magic users....
Sorcerers consume Fey life energy when they use magic? For a people as attuned to magic as the Fey, hardly absurd....
On 9/19/2003 at 6:10am, Brian Leybourne wrote:
RE: A weird thought I just had....
Hmm...
You know, that's an interesting thought. Any plans to develop it further?
Brian.
On 9/19/2003 at 10:07pm, Irmo wrote:
RE: A weird thought I just had....
Brian Leybourne wrote: Hmm...
You know, that's an interesting thought. Any plans to develop it further?
Brian.
I came to it from two different directions, though keep in mind I didn't doublecheck everything with the book for consistency... one was simply trying to rationalize what happens when a sorcerer rolls for aging. My idea was that to invoke an effect, a sorcerer had to invest what we chemists call an 'activation energy' to get things rolling. He could either tap into an external source for that or an internal. Making the aging roll would mean that he has succeeded in tapping an external source -failing it meant he was tapping an internal source. So, in the case of success, it was, by whatever direct or indirect way, the fey lifeforce he diminished, whereas in the case of failure, his own would be burnt up.
The one thing I still have to solve is what happens when fey use magic, and succeed in their aging roll....do they really just distribute the loss of lifeforce on their entire population? And what happened when the Fey 'ruled the world'?
So much for one direction...
the other one was thinking about a potential future campaign involving the fey, and investigating what happened to their people....and suddenly I began to think of Uglub. Who was he? And why was he protecting sorcerers? Just because of their power? Or was there another level that was less obvious? And I wondered: What if Uglub is an outcast siehe, a 'dark Betrayer' indeed, in the eyes of his people? What if he protects the sorcerers in order to get back at his people in a way they cannot fathom, nor stop?
My current working idea is the following: Uglub blamed the humans for the decline of the fey and siehe and actively called for drastic measures to be taken (Turning human realms against each other by strategic use of deception and intrigue etc.) yet the Fey were apalled at such desire for bloodshed and cast him out. Given that he wanted to help them, Uglub was irate, and his hatred for the Fey now was almost as big as that for humans, yet he needed allies nonetheless to prevail. Studying with human sorcerers, he found out by chance that he was indeed correct: The humans were, to a large part, through their numbers, responsible for the decline of the Fey. But there was no point in bringing his proof to the Fey: He would not be admitted, much less listened to. But there was a way for proving he was right -and making them pay at the same time for casting him out despite him being right. He used his skills at magic to bring himself into a position of power, called on all sorcerors to come to the safe haven he provided and used their and his military power to address the 'human problem' by reducing their numbers through bringing war to their lands. The bottom line will be that he has a way to inflict near-genocide to the fey, can, with increasing control over human lands, influence the number of human sorcerers being born, and gains the trust of human sorcerers, keeping them close and into a position to potentially take many of them out should his former peers among the fey come crawling to his throne to apologize.
The whole thing would of course have serious repercussions...think of the druids, for example, and their respect for the fey allueded to in the book. What if they should find out that the very magic they weave hurts those they revere? And it should make Stahl one of the favorite nations for the fey, if they find out... and the consequences for the church would be drastic as well -a sorcerer is a potential tool against the fey, and taking out a heretic would benefit those heathen abominations of nature.
Lots and lots of implications....
On 9/19/2003 at 10:13pm, Brian Leybourne wrote:
RE: A weird thought I just had....
Cool stuff, this is the kind of topic that I really like to see on the forum.
Anyone else have any thoughts?
Brian.
On 9/19/2003 at 11:23pm, Sneaky Git wrote:
RE: A weird thought I just had....
Irmo wrote: The one thing I still have to solve is what happens when fey use magic, and succeed in their aging roll....do they really just distribute the loss of lifeforce on their entire population? And what happened when the Fey 'ruled the world'?
So much for one direction...
Cool thoughts.
Irmo wrote: ....and suddenly I began to think of Uglub. Who was he? And why was he protecting sorcerers? Just because of their power? Or was there another level that was less obvious? And I wondered: What if Uglub is an outcast siehe, a 'dark Betrayer' indeed, in the eyes of his people? What if he protects the sorcerers in order to get back at his people in a way they cannot fathom, nor stop?
My current working idea is the following: Uglub blamed the humans for the decline of the fey and siehe and actively called for drastic measures to be taken (Turning human realms against each other by strategic use of deception and intrigue etc.) yet the Fey were apalled at such desire for bloodshed and cast him out. Given that he wanted to help them, Uglub was irate, and his hatred for the Fey now was almost as big as that for humans, yet he needed allies nonetheless to prevail. Studying with human sorcerers, he found out by chance that he was indeed correct: The humans were, to a large part, through their numbers, responsible for the decline of the Fey. But there was no point in bringing his proof to the Fey: He would not be admitted, much less listened to. But there was a way for proving he was right -and making them pay at the same time for casting him out despite him being right. He used his skills at magic to bring himself into a position of power, called on all sorcerors to come to the safe haven he provided and used their and his military power to address the 'human problem' by reducing their numbers through bringing war to their lands. The bottom line will be that he has a way to inflict near-genocide to the fey, can, with increasing control over human lands, influence the number of human sorcerers being born, and gains the trust of human sorcerers, keeping them close and into a position to potentially take many of them out should his former peers among the fey come crawling to his throne to apologize.
The whole thing would of course have serious repercussions...think of the druids, for example, and their respect for the fey allueded to in the book. What if they should find out that the very magic they weave hurts those they revere? And it should make Stahl one of the favorite nations for the fey, if they find out... and the consequences for the church would be drastic as well -a sorcerer is a potential tool against the fey, and taking out a heretic would benefit those heathen abominations of nature.
Lots and lots of implications....
Damn cool thoughts. Here's a thought though... Uglub is [usually] described as/inferred to be "evil" and all whatnot. Why? Sure...he appears megalomaniacal...and most agree that he has an obvious distaste for the Fey...and he's such a snappy dresser. I mean, he's got to be evil. Right?
Or...maybe not. What if he's...er...misunderstood? What if Uglub is, as you say, "a Dark Betrayer," but for reasons other than mentioned above? It's just a little tweak to a cool idea, but what if Uglub discovered the "truth" about human sorcerors and presented it to the Fey Elders? What if they, in their arrogance, ignored his warnings...going so far as to forbid his further investigation into the matter?
If the Fey had something to do with the "Gifting" of magic to humans (not completely out of the question), this adds a level of bitter irony that I'm comfortable with.
Uglub could have ignored such censure, continuing to do...whatever. And for that, he was cast out. Sure, he could be acting out of revenge...or perhaps he's simply doing what he thinks is right. In his own way, he is attempting to save his people. Sure, a few humans...er...a lot of humans need to die...but that's okay. I mean, they're human, right?
Perhaps Uglub is more of the classic antihero, rather than the villian. His "protection" of human sorcerors allows him to "herd" them into place. He's got them just where he wants them...and they are helping him until his need for them has passed.
It could be that his use/protection of human sorcerors and his conquest of the world (in progress) is a means to return to the fold...one big ritual...a ritual to end all rituals...where the end result is the lifeforce of humans feed back into the Fey...
It's not evil...it's survival. And Uglub is the only being to see it.
It certainly would explain the "only-seen-by-the-soon-to-be-dead" corps of Fey Sentinels warding his person from assassination...
Just the ramblings of a fatigued mind.
Chris
On 9/21/2003 at 4:07pm, Irmo wrote:
RE: A weird thought I just had....
Sneaky Git wrote:
It certainly would explain the "only-seen-by-the-soon-to-be-dead" corps of Fey Sentinels warding his person from assassination...
Just the ramblings of a fatigued mind.
Chris
Someone please tell me where I overlooked that one....