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Nov 24, 2021 17:36
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Swedish Thaumocracy posted:E/F - but word it to the Council as if you are banishing her to the Abyss as punishment (a plausible lie and a good cover story)
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Nov 24, 2021 18:24
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A
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Nov 24, 2021 19:01
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Voting is closed for this session. B won, but I'll be adding the custom flavor to it.
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Nov 28, 2021 02:04
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Erialscape Outskirts, Oct 8 - 2:40 PM "You are not a fool. You are not as much of a fanatic as you set out to be." You hear the voice in your head. You look at the place that was once Erialscape. The empty, barren ground reveals nothing of the lives here lived, before, and now. "Eternity does not last forever. All Celestials before have died. The elves, immortal, too, die. My people will live longer and happier than they ever could in the war torn world of ours. The world is a jungle, one that took away everything from you. My people will not know the suffering that your daughter endures, in her quest for justice. Her own kind of justice. Don't you think she's a bit like you, maybe more than you give her credit for?" You walk around, nervous. Volxen is talking, but you can't hear him. He is not happy at these developments - you may not be a fanatic, but in a way, he is. Paraluzia: Your paramount principle was to reduce the existence of pain. You wrote books on defining rules to prevent exploits of laws in order to profit from other's suffering. That wages be fair, that slaves be no more; that the nature be given no freedom to harm sentient beings; that the unruly, entropic truth of the universe - that truth that gave birth to life be given no more freedom than the natural passage of time to tear flesh apart, and, through information, cause pain. Paraluzia: That medicine and healing be measured and tested, so that no ails or ills be their result. That work be fair and risks reduced. A unified world, to mitigate the pain of existence. The truth you realized long ago, isn't that so? Lisabeth: Existence is unfair. Paraluzia: Nothing in my plan goes against your vision, Lisabeth. I abide by not just your laws, but by your core principles. Lisabeth: Good. Lisabeth: Then you shall have no problem explaining all of that to the Council. Paraluzia: You intend to disregard all that I said, all that I created? Lisabeth: Your appeal to my sense of morality is touching. I can't help but wonder how many hours, days, weeks you practiced those words. If you simulated my reactions. Very impressive. Lisabeth: But you will be taken to the Planar Council. Then and there you will confess to your crimes, and I will argue that since the deed is already done, Erialscape should instead be taken to the Abyss as punishment, and there the Abyss shall be your prison. You will not be given authority over it as you asked, and a blind eye shall be turned to whatever you choose to do, at first. Lisabeth: Once you have destroyed all the creatures that are lawless in the Abyss, I will then intervene and take part as your jailer and represent the Abyss. I will do it myself, and should I die, then too shall you, I will make sure of it. You will never represent the Abyssal Plane. Paraluzia: You expect me to wage war against the Abyss on my own? Absent alliances? Lisabeth: I do. You will either succeed, or you'll fail, and in your failure be responsible for the collapse of your utopia. You played a dangerous game with me, and those are the results. Paraluzia: Surely you could do that yourself. Lisabeth: Yes, but you broke the law. And you shall be punished for the genocide of your people in this realm. It befalls you to be responsible for the same crime in the Abyss. If you truly believe in your utopia as is, then the matters of the outside world should truthfuly be of no importance to you once you're established. Paraluzia: And what if I tell of your plan, Judicator? You intend to present me as a villain in front of everyone. To make me a villain in a world where there is none. What will you do if I tell of our deal, or present evidence of it? Lisabeth: Then, old friend, I will see to it that your dream is dead. I can guarantee that no atom of Erialscape will be left intact; only then will you understand the true consequence of this game you played with me. You shall serve the laws as defined by your Judicator, one way or another. Lisabeth: Oh, and whatever you choose to do, I expect the dwarves to come begging for help. You will help me retake the allegiance from them, and show how quickly the consequences of forsaking the law spring forth when help is denied. Lisabeth: Now then, where is your "seeding device"? You don't trust that the device she's handed you can't contaminate your castle - or you, for that matter - so you'd rather not leave it around. You immediately transfer it to a hidden plane close to the Abyss, and you passively use your Mana to compress the space around it, in case the device uses spores or mechanical equivalents to spread. The effort required to do that in such a safe space is taxing. A) Wait for Kaleida to return, before deciding on what to do next. B) Go to the Dwarf Domain and look for Kaleida, but plant the device already. C) Plant the device in the Dwarf Domain. Elentor fucked around with this message at 07:33 on Dec 18, 2021 |
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Dec 15, 2021 13:57
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C!
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Dec 15, 2021 14:29
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B!
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Dec 15, 2021 15:16
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B
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Dec 15, 2021 21:08
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C
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Dec 16, 2021 10:53
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C We can totally trust murdercity1
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Dec 16, 2021 11:38
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I can't even, I abstain but will watch in horror as we screw everything up.
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Dec 16, 2021 12:45
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A
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Dec 16, 2021 23:03
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A
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Dec 17, 2021 03:42
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Voting is closed. C won.
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Dec 17, 2021 18:38
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Oop
Dog Kisser fucked around with this message at 20:01 on Dec 17, 2021 |
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Dec 17, 2021 19:58
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Very curious, but I'm afraid the command is invalid DK.
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Dec 18, 2021 03:53
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Erialscape Outskirts, Oct 8 - 4:00 PM Volxen: I can't distinguish your actions from good or evil, Lisabeth. I don't understand what you tried to do there with Paraluzia. Lisabeth: Would you have me destroy Erialscape? Volxen: It would be the right thing to do. Erialscape's existence threatens the rest of the natural order, especially if given freedom to expand. Lisabeth: We see Paraluzia as one of ours, I can't be responsible for killing all of her people a second time. If they exist - if she is right, the least we can do is banish her and contain her on our own accord. Volxen: And you think this deal will help you, and not her? Lisabeth: We're handling two factions that chose to oppose us. For all we know, the Dwarves are building even more terrible things. Maybe I shoula have listened to my daughter. Lisabeth: Volxen, I'll go straight to the Dwarf Domains. I need you to return to the Castle and inform Serray that we need to convene a meeting with the Council with regards to Paraluzia, Priority One. Volxen: Why not have me go with you? Lisabeth: I need someone to stay back. If I don't return, inform the Council of the see- actually, just ask Sil'Legad to go back in time and not let me go. Assume I died if I'm not back in 24 hours. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Dwarf Domains, Oct 8 - 6:00 PM Uppermost Floor, "The New Town" The New Town looks pristine, and in a sense, fake. It does not reflect the Dwarves' culture and wealth, but rather something much more melancholic. You think of your daughter's words as you request the Governor to take you down to the old city. As you walk down the endless staircases deeper into the earth, you leave the freshly built city and see with your own eyes that the Dwarf was not lying when he said the lower cities were being abandoned. The first layer familiar to you is crumbled, uninhabited, with buildings torn as if salvaged for materials. The Governor at first looked overly happy to see you, as if hopeful of something, before you turned to your line of questioning. Governor Erglom: I assure you there's been a mistake, your Excellency. The Dwarf Domains would never choose to defy your authority, rest assured. Lisabeth: Then why, pray tell, have I been informed the Dwarf Domains no longer recognize my said authority? Governor Erglom: Those are technicalities. They have been cleared with the Planar Council. Have you not been informed? Lisabeth: Informed? By whom? Governor Erglom: Our jurisdiction has been temporarily switched to the Earth plane, so the Earth representative, Gharrmundak, should have given heeds to you or yours. Lisabeth: Who the hell is Gharrmundak? Governor Erglom: ...the Earth Plane representative, Judicator. He's been recently elected. We have been building an extensive interplanar network in order to boost our factories here, and, in turn, we have given way of land to the Dark-Below - the Dwarf Domains no longer recognize your authority as a state because such state no longer exists. Those temporary cities are just that - temporary, as we move to the Earth Plane. They are officially part of the Dark-Below. Lisabeth: What are the factories building? "War Machines, Judicator" - he says, without hesitation, as if everything had been cleared and nothing was wrong with it - "Metal Golems and Automatons designed to fight the Abyssal Demons." As you move down further you see that the deeper layers have been turned into factories, a living forge that extends as far as the eye can see, and the lava pools instead of used to power the Dwarven Lava Engines are instead contained, replaced by cables and tubes radiating a blue, magic aura. Stealthly, you portal in the Seeding Device hidden in a corner, away from the Governor's vision. Lisabeth: Then who is controlling the factories? If you are leaving Spaceheim? Governor Erglom: As I said, your Excellency, the Dark-Below now owns the old Domains. They funded this entire operation. Lisabeth: Funded how? Governor Erglom: Your Excellency, your family has been offering its patronage to the Dark-Below for quite some time now. I assumed... all of this was well within your knowledge. The sheer artifacts donated, alone - Lisabeth: Turn this back a notch. What artifacts? Governor Erglom: The Shadowlings over the past two years have been gracefully building a museum of artifacts of old, of incalculable value. The wealth of the Dark-Below has of the past two years far surpassed that of the other nations, through that and their operations in the Astral Realm. Lisabeth: I... what? Turn this back a notch, again. What operations? Governor Erglom: They've built a new kind of power plant - they call it the Celestial Engine, a reactor able to generate both thermal and magical power. Through it the entire lower cities have been able to be redesignated as war factories, to safeguard the Dark-Below against the incoming Abyssal invasion. Lisabeth: This is insanity. Your entire civilization is leaving your legacy behind. What makes you so sure of this invasion? Governor Erglom: Esther, your Excellency. She predicted the Abyss would attack and attempt to invade us. A few weeks later, portals to the Abyssal realm opened and from there poured terrible creatures. We were able to fight them off, and started rigging the gates to and from the Dwarf Domains to buy us time. The few creatures that broke through destroyed the lower layers of our Domains and we had to seal them off entirely. In a few weeks 30% of our population was killed. We stood no chance against the Balorogs, and they blocked all sorts of communication with the outside. We stood alone. We sent for help, but Far-Ezalar had been busy with the Netherlings in the Dark-Below, Esther attempted to help us seal the lower levels. We were hoping for, well, you, your Excellency. Governor Erglom: That's when the Dark-Below offered to buy our lands and convert everything into the War factories, as well as pay our transition to the Earth Plane. They leave 15% of the production with us to defend ourselves. Our people is almost entirely gone. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Lisabeth's Castle, Oct 8 - 11:00 PM You ponder upon the implications of what you learned today in your office. Your head hurts. Majordomo: It would seem miss Kaleida has returned, Madam. Would you like to speak to her now? She is in a hurry. Lisabeth: Sure, why the hell not? A crude portal is opened to your office. Kaleida is back, looking exhausted and panting. Kaleida: Saint Warrior, I bring terrible news. Lisabeth: I'm pretty sure we know all the terrible news there is to know, Kaleida. I came back fairly recently from the Dwarf Domains. We know they're building war machines to fight against the Abyss invasion. Kaleida: What? Is that all that they told you? Lisabeth: Yes? Kaleida: I submit myself to your future judgment, for I have used mind-control and hypnotic magics, which you have forbidden, but I had to for my line of investigation led me to dire news. You are not wrong, but that's not the full extent of it. You rise from your chair, disturbed by the notion of more bad news this day. You look at the Succubus, but say not a word. Kaleida: I met with Far-Ezalar, whom we suspected to be empowering the creatures attacking you. You are right, it was him - he said it was Esther who told them, the Dwarves, that the Abyssal creatures were being assisted by Paraluzia, but Far-Ezalar was personally told that you would convince the Planar Council to send Paraluzia to the Abyss itself. Kaleida: From there, the Dark-Below would have no chance to defend as the Nether magic would have little power in the native lands of the Abyss, and Paraluzia would unite the Abyssal creatures under her command to unleash an assault on the other planes, immune to concept, reality and time-altering magic in the Abyss. It would be a war of her simulations against how effectively Time Mages can change the outcome for the better here, but in Esther's vision, she wins by brute force. Kaleida: Since then they've been rigging the Dwarf Realm across many planes to protect it from their invasion. Their factories are being fueled by something created by the Netherlings, something they call a Celestial Engine. The Dwarves chose to move to the Earth Plane where an invasion by Abyssals or other creatures would be very hard to perform given Dwarves can merge with the earth. They're building an army to stop the Abyssals. I told Far-Ezalar to cease his attacks because you would never side with Paraluzia - in fact, you were mad at her for defying your authority. Kaleida: You siding with her would be insanity, right? Kaleida: Right? Lisabeth: Oh. Lisabeth: So Far-Ezalar has been sending the killers, as we suspected. And Esther has been playing us this whole time. I knew of Esther telling the Dwarves about the invasion, they told me that, but I had no clue she had given this... "extended" version to Far-Ezalar. Lisabeth: With the Dwarves moving out, the Dark-Below has a massive army - funded by me, apparently - enough to make them a force to be reckoned with. Kaleida: Am I the only one thinking that the "Celestial Engine" is just a portal to Bolderag's corpse? Lisabeth: Right, which means Bolderag was killed to fuel this... but it couldn't have been the Dwarves who killed him. The Governor told me the War Machine was commissioned by the Dark-Below once they had created the Celestial Engine. The Dark-Below in turn has ceased recognizing my authority as an Abjudicator and my interference in their sentences. Who is running the Dark-Below? Kaleida: Saint-Warrior... the vast majority of the Dark-Below is controlled by a faction of Netherlings ran by your daughter. Your money has been almost entirely controlled by the 'Nethershadows'. I assumed you knew that. Heck, I assumed that was just nepotism. For the past years the Dark-Below has been extending to the Astral Plane, much like your Castle extends to the Deminether, it now exists under both jurisdictions. Crimes can be judged in the Astral Plane, whose representative is... Lisabeth: Adriana. Lisabeth: I... this is too much. You're implying Adriana and Far-Ezalar could be involved? Lisabeth: Does Adriana know of this prophecy of Esther's? Kaleida: I do not know. Lisabeth: The Dwarf Representative who met me seemed earnest. If they've been paid such a large sum of money so as to leave the plane entirely, out of fear of Paraluzia, or me, then... they sure didn't show it. He seemed to believe this was a deed of the Abyssal Plane. "So either Esther doesn't know what I just did, or she's playing them as well. No, she's definitely playing them one way or another." Kaleida: Saint-Warrior, forgive me for dabbling, treading dangerous waters, but who other than you had access to Bolderag? How could he have been found in the first place? "It... can't be. Adriana is a friend of his family. She's flown with his sons and daughters, and their sons and daughters, across the great space". You sit back down, in disbelief. Lisabeth: Adriana. She's the only one who knew his family, and his whereabouts. I could locate him, were that my wish, but she was in constant contact with his family. Lisabeth: I need some time. Lisabeth: Leave me be. Proceed. Elentor fucked around with this message at 15:42 on Dec 22, 2021 |
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Dec 18, 2021 07:26
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Chat: Majordomo... what are your thoughts on all of this? Any advice you could give us?
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Dec 18, 2021 13:59
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Lisabeth, think: Are you making good choices? You know, for your own mental well being?
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Dec 19, 2021 01:06
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Dog Kisser posted:Lisabeth, think: Are you making good choices? You know, for your own mental well being? She's letting a multitude of voices in her head dictate her every action. Gonna have to go with a big NO on that one.
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Dec 21, 2021 09:05
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Lisabeth's Castle, Oct 9 - 3 AM "Am I doing the right thing?" The question echoes in your head as in a ghostly voice, haunting you. "Why do I feel that there's more than one faction going on? Or two, or three?" "What would have happened in the Apogee of Calm? Should I have gone through with it?" "And what is Esther's role in all of this? She's seemingly the one who's been behind it all, but how? Why? What does she has to gain? How can she be manipulating events being undone across multiple timelines? Just how far ahead has she planned?" Your only conclusion is that, whatever it is you're doing, it must be part of Esther's plan. "Am I doing the right thing?" Lisabeth: Majordomo. Serray. Majordomo: Yes, madam? Lisabeth: I need to see my daughter. Call her. Send everyone to their chambers. ---------------------- Lisabeth's Castle, Oct 9 - 4 AM The Planetarium Adriana: 'Tis late, mother. Your choice to summon me at this hour hurts me. For it means you must have been made privy to truths you would have known long ago, had you approached me. Adriana: You should have come with me mother. Though I suppose it's in your blood not to trust your own family. Lisabeth: Adri... dearling, did you - did you kill Bolderag? She walks around. Her bejrin steps in as if to defend her, but she stops them with her hand. Adriana: Is that what you think? Truly? Lisabeth: Who else could have done it? Adriana: How could I have killed Bolderag? Lisabeth: If you didn't, then who did? Adriana: I do not know the full story, but when I told you the dwarves were up to something, I meant it. Far-Ezalar had been... doing his own version of what father does, in a way. He found a way to collapse realities into the one he wants, though at great cost. And for the past years he's been using such power to create portals to Bolderag's probable location, but Bolderag has travelled far and wide, and eluded him. Lisabeth: Why did you not bring this to me? Adriana: Because Bolderag did not want to. Because I did not want to. This was not your business, and this was not so because you chose it to be not so. You retrieved thineself to thine own, and made your presence as the judge absent. Absent order, 'twas left to the rest of us to fend for ourselves while you deluded yourself into believing there was peace. There was never peace, hence why I filled the role you left bereft. Whilst blinded by a light of your own making, you were left in the darkness. Lisabeth: How was there not peace? Adriana, if I was blind, what is it I did not see? Why did you not enlighten me? Adriana: Mother, the power of the twelve grew tremendously during the period you called calm. Whilst you rested in your abode, safe and sound, the others have continuously refined their skills. Lisabeth: I trust you'll find that my skills too have improved. Adriana: Is that so, mother? Even if 'tis fact, that does not remove from the equation the blind spot you have to the powers around you. There are no more heroes, only villains. Adriana: Far-Ezalar paid the shadowlings to steal your valuables, not I. He did so uninterested in your artifacts, but in your greatest assets, your notes and books on planar travelling, and portal mastery. Yes, mother, 'twas not your reliquary but your personal library and your studies room the real target. All the shadowlings sent to steal your trinkets were distractions, baits you fell for. Lisabeth: How... do you know this? Adriana: Because the shadowlings are under my rule. Those who betrayed me were interrogated, judged, and told me of Far-Ezalar's archives. When I could no longer steal from him, I then had my own subjects continue his deed and give me the books. There I learned fragments of your knowledge, and redacted the more dangerous subjects to Far-Ezalar. Adriana: Alas, in our game, I'm afraid he had the upper hand; his powers of negating entropy are so large he could reconstruct the lost pages. He's now a powerful Planar Mage, and so are his servants in your hunt. Lisabeth: That's... I can't believe you told me nothing, I can't believe you stole from me. No matter, whatever he chooses to do, I'm still the more experienced mage. Adriana: There is one book that never got him, I did not let anything on the Astral Plane make it to him. So as he mastered Portal Magic in his way, I mastered in my own way - I've seen beyond the Astral Plane, the glimpses into the Gone-Lands, beyond Far-Ezalar's vision. A war is about to rage on, Mother. Lisabeth: Adriana, you still haven't answered. How did Bolderag die? How did you build the Celestial Engine? Adriana: The Hexed and Far-Ezalar worked together. Amni would not help Far-Ezalar, but I am inclined to believe Amni knows, and, through Amni, Esther. The Hexed made a powerful gamble; Far-Ezalar promised him that through the powers of Bolderag, he could be rebuild. We don't know the details, only that they have access to illusion or transmutation magic, and Bolderag was led to believe he was fighting something beyond, maybe grander than himself. When he attacked, he was vaporized by his own power, as was The Hexed. Adriana: Far-Ezalar's gambit paid off, and he immediately started using Bolderag's energies to recreate The Hexed. Do you see now, Mother, how far your enemies have advanced? Through deception, the Hexed and Far-Ezalar can kill anyone they want - all they needs do is strike first. The Hexed cannot be killed as long as Far-Ezalar is alive, and Far-Ezalar... he is not an easy mark. Adriana: As soon as Bolderag died, I created the Celestial Engine. I did not know why, but the Dwarves started creating a War Machine at the time. I gathered resources with father and my allies in the other planes and we bought the Dwarf Domains; I pointed how their operations were illegal and did not fall under the law. They told us that they were being invaded by the Abyssals, and we offered protection and brokered their passage to the Earth realm. Esther told them - Lisabeth: That the Abyss would invade them. Let me guess, Far-Ezalar was the one who opened the portals? Adriana: I don't know, mother. that's what I think, but I know not. Lisabeth: Earlier today, my contact met with Far-Ezalar. She was told that Esther told him I'd side with Paraluzia in starting the abyssal invasion. Adriana: So Far-Ezalar still lies in the Dwarf Domain? Lisabeth: As far as I know, yes. Lisabeth: Adri, why did you not ask your father to save Bolderag? Adriana: Because I did. Time, and time again. Until at last, of all the notes I sent myself, I sent "Attempt #999,999 - Failure. You cannot save him. Build an engine to harvest his energies before Far-Ezalar takes control of it himself." Lisabeth: You set yourself a million attempts then, and after breaking the timeline a million times Far-Ezalar emerged victorious? Adriana: Do you understand now what we are up against? I thought time travel would eventually win against his reality manipulation, but we failed. At this millionth timeline, it falls upon us to accept the reality of Bolderag's death. Adriana: At least with the Dwarf factories under my control, and the dwarves moving away, Far-Ezalar is alone. The Balorogs he hired against you would falter against the army we've created. You can stay safe at the Dark-Below, mother, and there together we can fight Far-Ezalar. I now have the means to, if only I can use your help. Lisabeth: Daughter, about your army. Lisabeth: You ever heard the words "easy come, easy go?" Adriana: Mother, what have you done? Proceed. Elentor fucked around with this message at 16:34 on Dec 25, 2021 |
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Dec 22, 2021 15:42
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   --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Angerdor's Capital City, Oct 10 - 2:00 PM  "We are broadcasting from the area formerly known as Angerdor. The entire surface has been covered by a metallic, pink sheet that seems to be spreading. Although the rate of spread has slowed down, the sheet currently called a geo-infection is still ongoing." "Independent informers report that the situation we see at the surface is just a consequence of a greater event occurring underneath the earth. We've been informed that the now abandoned halls and tunnels from the dwarf domains are being consumed by this geo-infection and that it might be advancing towards the Dark-Below." --------------------------------------------------------------------- The Abyssal Plane, Oct 10 - 5:00 PM  "Reports that Erialscape - the entire floating continent - has disappeared and observed in the Abyssal plane have been confirmed. The continent appears to be coated entirely in the geo-infection and appeared close to the equivalent position of the ongoing geo-infection in Spaceheim. The Planar Council has declined to comment on this developing situation." --------------------------------------------------------------------- Containment Zone An-1, Oct 10 - 7:00 PM Former Angerdor  "A massive barrier has been raised around Angerdor and around the area known as the Dwarf Domains. The areas, reportedly being called as Containment Zone An-1 and Containment Zone Below-1 by the ArcTerrace news, are not to be entered by civilians. It is speculated that between 150,000 to 350,000 civilians are still inside those areas." "It is unknown if the ArcTerrace was directly involved in raising the barriers, or the Planar Council. No one is claiming responsibility for it at the moment." --------------------------------------------------------------------- Lisabeth's Castle, Oct 11 - 2:30 AM Lisabeth's Office Majordomo: "I trust you'll consider me getting rid of the last faction that defied your authority a token of good will." - Paraluzia left this message, shortly after exiting Spaceheim. Majordomo: Angerdor has suffered a near total population loss, Madam. Majordomo: In good news, the castle's reparations are almost complete. Shields are operational. You sit, thinking of the events that took place, and your blame in all of this. Lisabeth: I do not think we're gonna be needing them, Serray. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Lisabeth's Castle, Oct 11 - 2 PM The War Room Kaleida: So your monk friend left, eh? Lisabeth: Who? Kaleida: What do you mean who? Lisabeth: What are you talking about? Kaleida: The report you asked. That's what I'm here for, remember? Did you hit your head, Saint-Warrior? Lisabeth: Right... so what do you have? Kaleida: The Dwarves have all successfully evacuated their halls. They're in the Earth plane now. Kaleida: Angerdor, however, is gone. Only a few citizens escaped. 12 million people have been killed in the last 8 hours, with a few hundred thousand expected to die soon. Lisabeth: I'm surprised you decided to stick around and offer intel, I have not been kind to you. Kaleida: You have not, but I am a servant of a far greater cause, Saint-Warrior. I serve justice, and much to my dislike, you seem to be the only party in this causing trouble out of clumsiness rather than malice. Adriana: Mother played to Esther's hand. This is a game where the parties at play have Time-travel, Precognition, and Reality manipulation. We are severely shorthanded. Lisabeth: I want to say we should contact Sil'Legad and undo this mess, but I have the feeling he's avoiding us for a reason. Adriana: I already did, mom. We are not in the original timeline. Adriana: In the original timeline where the seeding device works I ask father to revert the events, but Paraluzia's fortress in the Abyssal realm could not be undone. The Abyssal Realm is outside of time as we know, or rather, it is in a stable pocket of time. What we did not know is that by changing causality here, we created a situation where both Erialscape in the Abyssal Plane and Erialscape in Spaceheim still existed. Adriana: So we changed again where we did not warn you not to use the seeding device. Although we avoid the paradox, the fortress in the Abyssal Plane stands strong. "Fortress", you think. "It looks more like an infestation, as the news report." Adriana: Father is now probably busy dealing with the Council and the bureau. The good news is that with all the parties currently involved in this, you are off the radars from the powers-that-be. Lisabeth: Is it spreading? How are the Balorogs reacting? Adriana: It's spreading, slowly. There's an agitation in the homes of the Abyssal creatures, but nothing is confirmed. They are attacking diplomats and visitors on sight. The planes are rigged with tethered-bombs. Majordomo: Madam, it is my opinion that you should destroy Erialscape while it's still possible. I know this will not bode well before the Council, but right now Paraluzia is seem as the perpetrator of this event and whatever you do will be justified. Adriana: Surely you realize that Erialscape is a vast encompassing continent spanning thousands of miles. There is no way mother can destroy such a humongous network without exposing herself to considerable risk or, worse, being absorbed by it. There is some silence. You and Serray exchange looks. Lisabeth: I might be able to. It's a long shot, but - The Castle System interrupts you. "Warning: Amni's presence detected in the War Room." "Incoming Message from: Amni" Kaleida: So the great seer finally makes public his presence. "Good morning. We are on borrowed time so I must speak straight to the point. Unbeknownst to everyone else, the current spreading of Paraluzia's influence in the Dwarf Domains is extending, stealthly, to the Dark-Below. Paraluzia is going for the Celestial Engine and should be able to reach it within 3 to 4 hours. Simultaneously, Paraluzia has gotten Far-Ezalar cornered, and although his powers are temporarily keeping her influence at bay, this will not last long. We know that Erialscape can convert people into its simulation through deconstructing their brains. It should go without saying that there's no current emergency bigger than preventing that from happening. To everyone able to stop this event, the current whereabouts of Far-Ezalar are 1800 feet underneath the earth, 2200 feet north-northwest of the Bara-An mountain in Angerdor. An aerial view of the position with the few remaining landmarks visible has been sent. This should be the top priority. Other heroes should be able to deal with Paraluzia in the Abyssal Realm eventually." Kaleida: I am confused, what is he expecting us to do? Even if we were to open a portal to the Fire Plane itself we can't really destroy 1800 feet of Erialscape's compound. Wait, is he still watching? Amni, if you are watching us, you cowardly buffoon, piss off and get thee back into whichever schemings you and your friends created that resulted in this mess. Castle: Master Kaleida, I report no more of Master Amni's presence. Lisabeth: I can do it. I'm pretty sure that I can do it. Kaleida: You're saying that you can destroy Erialscape, or blow it up enough that you can carve a hole deep into the ground? I don't mean to underestimate you, but I did not think such feats were possible. Maybe I did underestimate you. Adriana: Mother... even if that is true, this is a gamble. Adriana: Far-Ezalar and the Hexed walk together. If Far-Ezalar waited this late to be cornered, such that only a devastating attack could save him - or kill him - it might be that this is also part of his plan. A dangerous gambit, but the perfect bait. Kaleida: But on the other hand what would even happen if Paraluzia is to absorb the Hexed? Would she die? Would she gain his powers? Would he be neutralized and the curse cease to exist? Would the entire continent reflect damage? We know not how curses work, no one does. Lisabeth: Adriana, you've been saying you have a card up your sleeve for a while now. Now would be the time to let us know of it. Adriana: As I have told before, I have found that the portals to the Gone-Lands are not regular, but frequent - they appear in regions around the Astral Plane. Through it I have found that one can summon entities from those realms. At first I found refugees from the Gone-Lands, such as Uma-Nyel, but later I found that there are other worlds. Although I have been trying to chart them, even if we were to do it now I'm afraid we are out of time; those portals might take hours to days to open and they'd require our full focus. Adriana: If it's all the same, I need to evacuate my people in the Dark-Below to our temporary abode in the Astral Plane. Seems like the Netherlings are always running. Kaleida: You should evacuate the survivors from Angerdor, Adriana. You have a mastery of Portal magic, I do not. I'm sure I can cross the magical barrier from the containment zone, but civilians probably cannot. I know this is less than optimal for you, but I can handle evacuating the Dark-Below. My reputation there is pristine and they would understand me speaking in your behalf. Adriana looks down, saddened that she won't be there herself, but she agrees with Kaleida's point. With both the Dwarf Domain and Erialscape able to rig planar bombs, portaling in and out is dangerous; Erialscape itself and by extension the Dwarf Domains are not safe to walk on lest you risk being absorbed; you feel like there is not much choice left than bombing the remaining places before the contamination spreads. A) Travel to the Abyssal Plane and launch a Stellar Bombardment on Erialscape. You do not know how long this might take, but you estimate between 2 to 6 hours. B) Ask Adriana for the location of the Celestial Engine and nuke it. This will result in massive casualties but prevent the access of Paraluzia to it. This may take an hour. C) Go to the Containment Zone in Angerdor and nuke the area where Far-Ezalar is hiding, as Amni urgently request. This might take 30 minutes to an hour. D) Do nothing and honor your pact with Erialscape; wait for further developments. E) Confront Esther. Elentor fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Dec 26, 2021 |
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Dec 25, 2021 16:33
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E
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Dec 25, 2021 18:37
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gently caress it why not C
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Dec 25, 2021 19:41
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E 
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Dec 25, 2021 20:30
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Request Information: Is there a way to stabilize portals, make them bigger or more permanent? Kinda want to put a portal to the star at the planets core now...
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Dec 25, 2021 20:33
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Swedish Thaumocracy posted:Request Information: Is there a way to stabilize portals, make them bigger or more permanent? Sort of, this has been an established power of Lisabeth's. She can make a cutout rift to a plane. She's done this in most battles so far, creating a 3d cube portal to the earth dimension to cage things, or a portal to dump lava inside another portal, and so on. In practice the 3D portal is essentially the same as summoning the star where she wants. Because of how intense the star core is, she wants to create a micro-portal for most purposes; for the current situation, she might just open a regular portal to completely devastate the area.
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Dec 25, 2021 20:40
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c
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Dec 25, 2021 20:47
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C
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Dec 26, 2021 02:12
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Voting is closed for this session. E won.
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Dec 26, 2021 15:41
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Elentor posted:Kaleida: So your monk friend left, eh? 
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Dec 26, 2021 18:16
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Right? I don't blame him but yknow. On one hand, hope he's alright. On the other hand, I fully expect with our villian streak to have him end up dead or trying to kill us.
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Dec 26, 2021 18:33
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Lisabeth's Castle, Oct 11 - 3 PM Lisabeth: I'm not going to the sites. Tell Paraluzia I honored the pact as well, and for her to stop spreading. It's a long shot, but... Majordomo: Where are you going? Lisabeth: Esther. Majordomo: You know she knows you'll be coming, right? Lisabeth: I do. Lisabeth: Serray, be ready to set the castle to self-destruct if needed. I don't think it will, but... if no issues arise, then... Lisabeth: You'll find that all the paperwork has been done to pass the Castle's inheritance to you, my friend. Same for the artifacts. Majordomo: What about your daughter? Lisabeth: My daughter, twould seem, is richer than I. Serray, you were the closest - nay, the only ally I trust. Majordomo: I understand, madam. Majordomo: May the Gods of the Nether aid you in your journey. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Esther's Skyhall, Oct 11 - 3:30 PM Esther: I knew you were coming.  Lisabeth: And yet you are alone. Esther: Oh, hoho. Esther: Ohhh hohohoho. Esther moves out of the way. Behind her, you see Amni dead, his last moments trying to get support on a nearby table.  Lisabeth: Amni... Esther: Indeed, Lisabeth, I am alone. I chose to be so, just for our meeting. Lisabeth: Esther... Lisabeth: You've been manipulating events for weeks now, maybe months. Why? Esther: Ooooohhohohoho. Esther: Because I can. Lisabeth: That's not a reason. Lisabeth: Why did you stop the Apogee of Calm? What was the reason? Esther: Isn't that obvious? Not only it sets the time bubble you're in just nicely, but, more importantly, it allows all of us to avoid Aemerilda. Luckily, none of you considered seeing her or presenting this situation to her. Which is really good, because unlike a certain friend of yours, assassinating her ended up being really easy as soon as you gave up. Lisabeth: "All of us"? Who is "all of us"? Esther: "All of us" means "all of us", you sanctimonious idiot. Including you. Where do you think your ethics and moralities lie at this point? Has your foolishness taught you nothing of your double standards? Lisabeth: That is preposterous. Regardless of what she may have sensed, I had no ill intentions. Esther: Yes, well, that's cute and pretty, but I'm afraid the same cannot be said of us. Aemerilda and Kod Lodi freaking out would not have done us a lot of good. Lisabeth: Why not get rid of Sil'Legad or Far-Ezalar? Why target me? Esther: Because, my dear, my power trumps theirs, and I need all of them playing four dimensional board games against each other, unaware of other threats at hand. Maybe you have forgotten that being clairvoyant is a fraction of my talents, and that's because I wanted you to. Over the past years I let my exploits die down and played the role of the nice, sweet oracle. Esther: Here, let me offer you a reminder that I am the most powerful wizard across the planes.  As she raises her arm, she takes you to the ceiling with mighty intensity, before knocking you down to the floor, and to the ceiling, back and forth. You feel as if you lost control of your body. Finally, a massive shockwave is blown in front of you, knocking you out of the room against the pillar in Esther's sanctuary. Despite these individual hits paling in comparison to the amount of energy you have withstood in the past, you start bleeding and feeling a dull pain in your bones. You can feel that her magic bypasses your magical protection to a great extent.  You find yourself barely able to move. With just a look, she makes the ceiling collapse on top of you. Esther: Just playing the good old do you want a cookie, Lisa? Is everything good? Oh, dear, Lisa. You grunt, bleeding heavily. You notice your sword is unable to maintain its enchantment. It takes all of your strength to get up.  Lisabeth: For someone who wants to kill me you sure are talkative. Esther: Well, yes, Lisa dearest. It's gonna be an awful lonely world without you idiots in it for me to lecture. To detail your hubris. Esther summons a great hole on the floor, but you manage to avoid it. "Not a portal", you think. You wonder if it's an illusion. Esther: How was it you wrote about me in your file? "Is known for always fighting unarmed and having a repertoire of magic so vast she seldom repeats them in a battle, making enemies unable to know what to expect." She proceeds to conjure a great fireball from within her own halls. You get ready to dodge, being used to dodging big projectiles - but the rolling flame accelerates suddenly and with such speed you could barely see it, much less avoid it. The collision is so strong it knocks you back. Esther: Those were your words, Lisa. Words you forgot. How can I not be talkative to you when we have so much to share, in so little time. Esther: Now let us see, I remember you had quite the powerful armor, able to give you immunity to toxins and hallucinogens, but not hallucinations themselves. Esther: What if you're a cloud? Oh you know the saying, when it rains, it peels. In a dream you are a cloud, raining. Each droplet of water falling down feels like a piece of your skin being stripped apart, and the pain is unbearable. You are unable to move, and unable to scream. You try to keep yourself sane throughout it. "It's just an illusion", you think, repeatedly. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Esther's Skyhall, Oct 11 - 5:00 PM Esther: With you, Aemerilda, Kod Lodi gone, and Far-Ezalar, Hexed and Paraluzia established as villains, there will be no power to stop me from taking the endless artifacts, riches and tomes the Twelve have amassed. That Bolderag would too perish only adds to my joy. Lisabeth: Esther... Paraluzia... she must be stopped. Her growth... Esther: ...is of no concern to me. Do you yet not recognize the gap between our powers? Esther: Oh, dear Lisa. It was I who erected the barrier around the Containment zones. It is I who shall appear as the sole champion of the Planes when this is all over and done. It is I, and I alone, who will master all domains of magic. Lisabeth: You don't get it... if she reaches the Celestial Engine, no one can tell how fast she will grow. She kneels down close to you, in jest. Esther: But I can tell, dear Lisa. I know exactly how fast she can grow. You feel the magical energies being drained from your armor, before she kicks you with average strength, knocking you down. The pain in your body intensifies. Esther: Etherflow Manipulation. I can prevent magical energies from flowing to your precious armor, leaving your enchantments useless. My magic penetrates such enchantments naturally, and I could have killed you without draining them, but I want you to experience the full gap between us. You raise your hand and start opening a portal to the star. The portal immediately fizzles. Esther: I've seen beforehand each one of your portals, Lisabeth, and rigged portal collapsing devices. They override any spatial distortion as soon as it starts with a different one. Do you appreciate it, Lisa? It means you cannot blow yourself with me with your star summon. Such a powerful spell. Thank you for giving me the idea, and now - thank you for giving me the coordinates to the star as well. You try to phase out, but you are instead horribly burned. Esther: Oh, right, how could I forget to mention. My castle is not in Spaceheim, not exactly. We are offset just enough so the dimensional curve your body makes to phase in and out crosses through invalid planes. Trying to phase out might kill you. Lisabeth: Esther... you talk way too much. You unleash a cut against her, but your spatial projection isn't enough to reach her. Pouring all of your internal mana, you do it again, but Esther brushes the cut off with her hand. Running towards her, you physically hit her with your sword, only for her to hold it with her hand. As she drains the magic in your weapon, the flame around it fades in her hand, and as she ultimately holds your enchanted blade, it fails to make the slightest cut in her bare hand. Esther: I've waited this moment for so long, Lisa. So, so long. I can't help but brag. I hope you'll understand, I never liked how the twelve of us were put on the same level. I took exquisite delight in killing each one of you. I think I'm taking even more delight in killing your sanctimonious, pretentious rear end. Esther: The audacity of the population to consider you the mightiest among us was painful to endure. What is it you did to Kaleida? Oh yes, your disintegration power. Your armor is immune to it, isn't it? All mana-filled and what not. But I can pull the Mana from it. And vibrate it just the way... you do. Without the increased strength magic that your armor gives you, your equipment is a heavy, unbearable chunk of metal that no normal being can bear. Esther looks down at you with pity, barely able to get up. Esther: Disintegrate. As you did with Kaleida's hammer, your armor shatters and falls apart. Esther: There, I relieved you of its weight. Now, Lisa, I'm afraid our chat ends. Esther: Die.  In what feels like a miracle, or a dream, Volxen stabs Esther. From within her body, an explosion occurs, splattering her heart, guts and vital organs all across the room. A secondary explosion starts happening inside her head, but it is compressed back to non-existence. Although her spine no longer exists, she stands still. "How... how is this even possible? What sort of magic... I don't even know what school of magic she's using to stay alive." Esther: What? What is this? Volxen then stabs her under her chin into her mouth, and triggers an explosion. The fire dissipates almost instantaneously, and his magical dagger shatters shortly after. You are flabbergasted by her defenses. Still standing, her hemorrhage has stopped. Her heart regenerates and her muscles slowly form back. Esther: I... yes, I saw this in a dream, but why... why could I not remember? Esther: Blood... Esther: Oh, hahaha. Volxen. What a fun... a fun... what... what happened? Esther: I'm hurt. What hurt me? No matter, I'll end this soon enough. Volxen: Lisabeth, I've broken all the planar rigs that Esther set. I have tether bombs chasing anything she creates, but we don't know what else she holds in store. Volxen: Your armor had been enchanted by Galvalad to give me magical energy and protect those around you. Lisabeth, this might be our only chance. She hasn't drained me yet. Volxen: We'll see each other on the other side. Lisabeth: Volxen? Volxen, no... no! No! With one of his spare blades he stabs her once more in her back, blowing her spine, lungs and heart. This time his blade shatters immediately. Esther: What? What just happened? I... I do not need a spine when I have mastered telekinesis, invisible assassin. My body remains my own. Esther raises her arms, in a vain display of power. Opening her hands, she draws forth a number of magical blades to behind her. Before the blades hit their target, an explosion of energy is felt in the air, scattering large amounts of mana all over the place. Esther is thrown away by the explosion, but just as soon as she hits the ground her body begins healing at extremely fast speed. You cannot remember what caused that sudden release of energy, or what hurt Esther in the first place. Still using telekinesis, she raises her reforming body. Esther: Whatever trick you just conjured, Lisabeth, good job. Unfortunately, all that Mana belongs back to me. She starts to drain the mana around the room with frightening speed. You vaguely remember that your spells should now work.  Esther: This is the end. A) Summon the Star Core with all the Mana available. B) Summon the Star Core just enough to destroy the Skyhall. C) Attempt to teleport Esther into the Star Core. D) Attempt to teleport back into your Castle. Elentor fucked around with this message at 22:19 on Dec 28, 2021 |
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Dec 26, 2021 19:30
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C
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Dec 26, 2021 21:10
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A No half measures
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Dec 26, 2021 21:32
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Dog Kisser posted:A A No Regrets
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Dec 27, 2021 00:14
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so that's where voting at near random gets me  A: "I cast gently caress you" feels about right, given the circumstances 
Arcanuse fucked around with this message at 07:09 on Dec 27, 2021 |
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Dec 27, 2021 06:48
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C Teleporting her into the core of a star feels like a much bigger "gently caress you" to someone who regenerates from mortal injuries, but still feels pain.
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Dec 27, 2021 07:14
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Otherkinsey Scale posted:C Bringing the star core here is effectively the same thing but not targeting HER
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Dec 27, 2021 16:23
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If Esther’s skyhall is close enough to populated areas that the core would kill a bunch of people, C, otherwise A.
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Dec 27, 2021 22:32
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