Wizard Guessing Game

Wizard Guessing Game

Somebody sent Tedros to the insane asylum (not literally) in TOTSMOV41. Guess who.

I'm sure you've all heard of: "Which witch is which?" Well, this is: Which wizard is this? Feel free to write out your reasoning. I'm curious.

Tedros’ head lolled to the side. “'Tis ungodly, my hears. Ears. Myne eyen hear. 's the Evil wizard, foul, foul." He laughed to himself as if he had witnessed a joke no one else was privy to. His head snapped to the other side sharply, his gaze unfocused. "No—foul fowl!” he burbled in a daze, approaching incoherence.

Lonesome Losses & Winsome Victories

Note:

The stanzas (when read top-down) go backwards chronologically, not forwards.

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- S O P H I E -

THERE ONCE was a girl with eyes green,

Who became an illustrious Dean.

She dared not to fail,

In glass slippers, black veils,

And entranced the most murderous fiend.

.

.

.

- R A F A L -

THERE ONCE was a murderous fiend,

Ensorcelled by emerald green.

He fought and he fought,

Nearly prevailed all for naught,

When his visions had lost all their sheen.

.

.

.

- M A R I A L E N A -

THERE ONCE were visions to glean,

By a bespectacled girl with a dream.

She’d plot and she’d plot,

Sow Evil's forthcoming Rot,

And engender a bold, new regime.

.

.

.

- R H I A N -

THERE ONCE was a boy who did deem

Evil brutish and churlish and mean.

But felled again and again,

By his own wicked pen,

His soul’s fate he could never redeem.

.

.

.

- H O O K -

THERE ONCE was a boy well-redeemed,

Once hired as buccaneer dean.

He would deceive and seduce,

And elude, say “Adieu,”

All betwixt two brothers’ warped schemes.

.

.

.

- THE S T O R I A N -

NOW writes a Pen for to see,

A devilish force the Woods heed,

It recorded tales all anew,

Every time it did slew

Those too wary to serve it. Indeed.

.

.

.

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If anyone would like an explanation as to why I chose the order I chose:

Sophie's Evil was unleashed by Rafal.

Rafal was set on the warpath by the prophecy and to some extent, Marialena herself, who could be seen as representative of the prophecy in a way, as a Seer.

Marialena sided against Rafal due to of her vision of Rhian as the One.

And Rhian was originally (partly) corrupted by Hook.

Finally, everything was orchestrated and everyone was driven by the Storian itself.

What do I have to say for myself? Always, the Pen is contingent on mortal men’s greed, it never will cede its ink and its sheaves!

I’m on a rhyming kick, haha. Thank you for reading.

About to take the longest bath ever

@maraneedscoffee Oh, definitely. His duality is unmatched. And besides, many Greek gods were known to have dark sides.

I've come up with another plot point to explain his two-sided nature and how it emerges, also involving him as predominantly an air element, exactly as you claim.

You might be pleased to find that the storyline slightly resembles that of Cupid and Psyche, if you had been wondering about your previous question: whether they ended up together. (In the future, if I ever run out of ideas, I may write an AU that I have partially outlined, which is even closer to the myth of Eros and Psyche.)

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First, I shall begin by saying that Rafal and Evelyn Sader are natural rivals. They oppose each other in their approaches to war. He's more... nuanced, even if they may be equally as bloodthirsty.

It all began with an event that was partially his own fault. He had sent ill winds that drove some people to be more intrepid than usual. And the event that follows was also indirectly Evelyn's fault for not stopping her cult from taking action against Sophie.

You see, some people in the empire need a scapegoat, someone to shoulder blame. As of late, the empire had been prosperous, but some dissidents decided to do away with their tyrant's earthly mouthpiece, his priestess.

By this point in time, many subjects of the empire Rafal had conquered had also pledged themselves to him. So, he was the patron god of their city. And although he wasn't quite conscious of it, Sophie still remained his favorite mortal. Of course, some people didn't like him, for he had overall been a just yet harsh ruler, indirectly, by his decrees. (Again, Sophie, among other government officials, were his mouthpieces. Usually, he wouldn't have had much of an earthly presence at all.)

Some of the dissidents happened to be worshippers of Evelyn, a goddess with a similar role as Rafal's. If this comparison helps: think of Athens versus Sparta. In this case, Rafal would have to be the equivalent of Athena, and Evelyn would be Ares. For reference, think of book two, of how Rafal disparaged Evelyn for her call to arms regarding the Girls, and also, notably, the brutish, crude business of slave Boys, as Rafal puts in in TLEA. So, she's more irrational and hot-headed, and he's colder and more strategic. It depends though. Arguably, he's just as temperamental, with volatility as in flux as the winds themselves. (I had to reverse the male-female dichotomies to work with their individual personalities.)

This excerpt I found might help clarify more:

"It is helpful to start with what we already know from ancient and modern references—whereas Ares embodies strife and slaughter, Athena is the goddess of strategy and forethought. This is fitting as Athena, like most of the goddesses, seems to occupy a large part of her time with making plans and developing strategies to later having male gods or mortals execute them. On the other hand, Ares engages directly in combat. As a result of Ares’ and Athena’s different habits and viewpoints, honors were given to them by different parts of the society. Athena is usually regarded as the goddess of military leadership, protection and strategy, whereas Ares would be the deity that regular warriors prayed to for inspiration and bravery by soldiers."

Anyway, this is what happens:

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Pillagers, temple robbers specifically, pay his temple a visit, and worse, foreign invaders (from the city Evelyn is patron of) are involved. They have joined the local cause to violently evict Sophie from Rafal's principal city, their motive being: if the god doesn't have a priestess to enact some of his curses and plagues and other sinister activities, well then, they'll be rid of their misfortunes! Right? Basically, the locals don't like Sophie for her role and the foreigners don't like any follower of Rafal's on principle because of his rivalry with Evelyn, so it's become both personal and state business.

Rafal's temple had been seeing more foot traffic recently because, by this point in time, Sophie isn't his only follower, which means there could've been witnesses. Yet, astoundingly, there were none. Not one local witness because the pillagers had selected a quiet hour.

What followed was that the pillagers, apparently by popular vote amongst themselves, intended to carry out the tradition of pharmakós.

"A pharmakós in Ancient Greek religion was the ritualistic sacrifice or exile of a human scapegoat or victim."

Or

"a person often already condemned to death, sacrificed in ancient Greece as a means of purification or atonement for a city or community."

So, they intended to "purify" the city by ridding it of her.

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The next day, when Rafal shows up at his temple, it's been ransacked. Then, he panics because what happened to his priestess? She's vanished.

All the while, he searches around, and overhears gossip among the other gods about some of Evelyn Sader's rogue followers doing something to swans. And come to think of it, the sacred swans have disappeared from his hallowed grounds recently too... This must be connected. Isn't it?

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Meanwhile, Sophie had been captured and was being prepped to become a human sacrifice, to Evelyn. Frankly, Evelyn wouldn't have cared one way or the other—it was more the mortals' fault, and yet, that wouldn't keep Rafal from blaming her.

Under the usual circumstances, a human sacrifice would have been a slave, a cripple, or a criminal, but the dissidents of the anti-Rafal faction thought Sophie was the source of their misfortune.

These sacrifices or evictions would usually occur either by burning someone alive or throwing them off a cliff. The dissidents decided on both, to better their chances of getting rid of the misfortune supposedly associated with her.

Again, they needed a scapegoat to blame and (somewhat symbolically) displace their own sorrows and suffering with. (Though, the less severe option would've been simply running Sophie out of town.) The theme of blame is very prominent here, even among the gods themselves.

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While all this is going on, the gods have begun to prepare for war and they take sides as they anticipate Rafal blowing up at Evelyn.

No one thinks about intervening because, to be honest, they're all greater than mortals, larger-than-life. What difference would a singular mortal life make? Saving Sophie doesn't even cross anyone's mind because, to them, priestesses are replaceable! The other gods are literally just here for whatever entertainment they can derive from the ant-like mortals. Often, they have a great time watching wars unfold.

Rhian Mistral, August Sader, Adela Sader, and Midas root for Rafal.

Rhian (from TCY), Callis, the Pan, and Marialena root against Rafal on principle, and thus, are on Evelyn's side.

Japeth, Merlin, and Nimue don't side with anyone.

And twelve makes an Olympian pantheon.

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When the moment of the sacrifice arrives, the dissidents throw Sophie off a cliff, where, if she hadn't fallen to her death, she would've been broken and burned alive at the bottom.

At least, she thinks, as she surrenders to her fate, breaking her spine from the fall immediately probably would be preferable, compared to what happened to the last scapegoat, who was whipped by green fig branches and stoned, but ah well... pain is pain. There's nothing she can do about it now. And she's outright sobbing the entire way down.

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At long last, during his search, Rafal discovers ten, dead swans that were already impaled and strewn about, and his mind jumps to the correct conclusion.

He personally involves himself in these mortal affairs, and catches Sophie from afar with his winds and sets her down somewhere safe. Luckily, she'd only ended up sustaining a few scratches from the cliffside branches.

And that is evidence of his decently benevolent, sympathetic side. Luckily, he had shown up just in time, so Sophie hadn't died.

The foolish mortals should've known: you can't foil a god.

Naturally, that is precisely when his duality presents itself:

He flies into an inexorable rage, goes absolutely berserk. These mortals, they've incurred his wrath. Mass destruction is on the horizon. They did the one thing that could've resulted in their complete and utter annihilation as Sophie, a fragile mortal, who obviously has a physical body as well as a soul that is capable of dying, had been his figurative Achilles Heel all along.

(Rhian thinks Rafal's "temper tantrums" are cute, but only to a point. Often, they're more "childish.")

Regardless, in maniacally steaming the dissidents off the face of the earth, as they crumble to ashes and their screams ring out, in becoming genuinely upset, he discovers that he actually cares about Sophie.

Even further impassioned by that display of his power, he decides to punish the capital of Evelyn's empire, resolving to punish them all no matter how long it takes, anyone who could've been involved when Sophie was stolen.

This malevolence as a response is basically just a fraction of his dark side. Many of the Greek gods had a dark side to them, being vengeful beings.

He's an avid proponent of disproportionate, not just equal retribution as punishment, as in, "You do this, I'll do much worse in return, I swear by my troth."

Ironically, the dissidents had brought misfortune upon themselves!

By the time he returns, this time in his visible, humanoid form, not as the winds, Sophie is waiting and for once, isn't in imminent danger.

By the end of it all, Rafal decides to take Sophie as his bride. She gladly accepts, and yet wonders where this came from all of a sudden? It took her brush with death for him to make his feelings known...

Thus, he appeals to the other gods and procures immortality and eternal youth for her, so they can wed as equals.

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If anyone has questions, feel free to ask.

I am sharing the funniest dnd character idea I’ve ever had bc I know I’ll never get to play them and I refuse to keep a joke to myself

Updates and Round V of Excerpts from The One True School Master of Vault 41

Draft 0 of TOTSMOV41 is at 171 pages or 54,527 words! (A lot of it is just notes, not actual story, so my bet is that it will turn out shorter than I may've led you to believe (still could be wrong though) but it's getting somewhere since I've last done some transferring of my notes into one, cohesive document.)

Not-so-fun fact about it: Rafal temporarily goes blind and deaf.

These contextless excerpts are shorter than usual, but I just realized I had written a trope I like in which couples indirectly, unintentionally clash, which I find funny and ironic.

Another fun fact: The song on my TOTSMOV41 playlist that vaguely fits the vibes around the time of these moments would be "All That Glitters" by Earl. I just discovered the song today! (Eventually, probably after I publish the fic, I'll post the fic's playlist.)

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Should she have gone for something even harsher than what she'd written in a flourished, calligraphic hand?

I would snub my date if he ever dared have rotten breath. It would be pure humiliation. In fact, I'd address it directly, as an announcement to all, so I could gain in my social standing while I simultaneously lower his. No man with poor hygiene deserves me.

No, not Evil enough of a response, Sophie scrutinized. Just petty. Back to square one. She sighed.

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Rafal thought he should change his shirt before their tower meeting tonight, but he was out of clean laundry and the spell to steam the blood out of his clothes would be too taxing on him in this state. Agatha wouldn't care and besides, they had work to do. But Sophie...

He took his black shirt to the sink and tried to scrub out as much of the blood as he could with a stiff brush. By the time he was done, there was one, even darker, rusted patch of blood blooming on his shirt and some flecks on the sleeves.

More mess—if only he weren't useless without his sorcery!

He clenched his fists in frustration, suddenly aware of his raw, cramped fingers and ragged, poorly groomed nails, ready to lob the bloody shirt out the tower window entirely, but no shirt with "Aggie darling" and her heightened suspicions around would be worse by about a thousandfold. He'd be a dead man walking as if he weren't one already.

Thus, he picked up the balled-up cloth from the sink in defeat. Wet shirt it was then. What other options did he have?

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Incidentally, Agatha turned up with a waterlogged crystal ball that overshadowed the sorry sight of his stained and torn shirt.

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If anyone wants to know the symbolism behind this, I'll gladly explain it! Also, if anyone wants to, I invite you to guess at it.

@maraneedscoffee Thank you! They're more entertaining to me when they bicker.

No, probably not. Even if he might care for other birds, they're not part of his "domain," I'd say. It's swans specifically that he sanctified as off-limits.

Possibly, but if they did end up together, I'd probably make something like the tale of Cupid and Psyche happen to Sophie because gods are really fickle, even if some actually love their mortal lovers.

No, she wouldn't snap because Rafal's been making her do Evil things in roundabout ways, without her complete consciousness of the acts. That's conflict #1, I suppose.

First, she's technically complicit in everything he does because she doesn't stop him. Second, sending her off to act like a sibyl, fall a presumably peaceful, stable empire and take it for him is another outlet for her to channel her Evil into. She will likely be mad when she catches on, and yet, at the least, he's been, quite kindly, giving her functional immortality (because he doesn't have a replacement for her), in the sense that he's put wards over her, and has kept her from being executed for treason under that mortal emperor. She does succeed by the way, and he lets her have some sway when they craft new laws for that empire:

"We should deem it illegal to not bathe regularly."

And how is that useful to my conquests? Soldiers don't always have access to water sources. Installing a statute like that would slow me down on all fronts.

"It would enable me to concentrate on my duties far more effectively without having to tolerate the unwashed masses, would elevate the empire's status as clean and purged of all disease, and besides, you could just summon rain if need be. You could drown anyone who doesn't follow the law."

Fine. Request granted, but I'm including an exemption for the men-of-war, the old, and the disabled. You don't associate with them anyway.

"Fair enough."

What, no groveling before me on the floor? Mortals these days...

"How about a simple 'thank you.' That should suffice. I'll compose you an epic if you're about to have an aneurysm over me."

I am sharing the funniest dnd character idea I’ve ever had bc I know I’ll never get to play them and I refuse to keep a joke to myself