Unwillingly

NO MIGHT, NO RIGHT

A missive from the Court of Kings, c. 175 SA
 

Someone has bribed the scribes and town criers. This missive is public.

Ten years ago today, the motives of the lily-livered Sarryn, Dakaith, and her cohorts were made manifest, stoking the fires of what I predicted would be a cannibalistic, self-eating slaughter. For refusing to bend the knee, myself and others were made pariahs and later deemed threats to the stability of the coven that once belonged to us. I foresaw that, if Sarryn and Dakaith, or “Solomon” as he styles himself, had the gall to threaten mine and Cordelia's right to the hierarchy in the first place, they would revel in the tidings of war. After all, “might is right,” they told me.

My judgment was misguided.

What ensued was not a testament to their might, but a mockery of the teachings they crown their own and a shoddy throne occupied by the forebearers of cowardice and indolence. Of course, they won’t admit these shortcomings— they’ll maintain their farce of glory, and that I am the arrogant fool in over his head. Let's put those statements to the test.

In the annals of this civil war, we have slain three of their own and seized the flame of one: ones called Laelia, Azrael, and Aluthshae, for their threats on our lives and misaligned loyalties to the cockroach. And yet, even when their heads were delivered and Hell itself howled with vainglory, not a finger was lifted for their coveted prospects.

By way of missive and town criers (again, I emphasize, the only weapon they know is the pen and paper written from the comfort of their hidden homes), they sought to sabotage our kinship with the Overlord of Kaethul Yera, who in turn forsook our arrangement in an attempt to save face. But “sabotage,” “dismantle,” or “sunder” are ever the generous words. She was never a particularly useful ally, even when afforded the personal resources and information to enact change, so their operations along with the Mother Church proved to be of little consequence at the end of the day.

Since then, Sarryn and her underlings exhibit uncertainty, as evidenced in their reliance on clayfaces and disguise virtuoso. This proclaimed prodigy of the flame, the ringmaster of a new generation preaches “might is right” like sacreligious prayer, yet barricades herself behind impregnable steel doors and locked bunkers. It betrays a deeper fear of the inevitable, one I see fit to deliver personally. 

But I am benevolent as I am vehement, and I understand patience wears thin as a thread for many of you. You were not designed to cower in the depths of deception and apathy, you were designed to stand on the mantle between providence and power— how dare she take that from you.

Shed your allegiance to Sarryn and Solomon, and in doing so, we will absolve your involvement in this war. Do so, and you will be spared street executions, no longer be hunted like prey, nor be stripped of your gifts. Should a tertiary coven be formed from the exodus, it will be considered a neutral entity disjoint from its predecessors. If there is any doubt to the merit of my words, I am not so foolish as to renege my sworn deals. Those are absolute. I am principled— it was not me who slew the Queen of Haense.

But her killers wear her blood like perfume. 

It calls into question why, then, does Sarryn not seize Kinghood? Perhaps it’s a matter of judgment levied by ra’Urdol, that she does not deserve to feast at the table of Kings. Either way, she never had the nerve to go after true power. She knows not to share that mantle with me. 

You cannot call yourself a threat to be taken seriously when you cower like a trembling leaf. 

But rest assured, I don’t hunt you because I feel threatened— I hunt you because I feel like it.
 

Malphas

 

I've been involved in the naz civil war arc since the beginning of the year, and there's been a lot of really interesting RP that's come out of it, RP that's served to benefit the magic as a whole and the micro communities in between, but the list of things occurring have irked me on an OOC level is getting pretty excessive. constant disguises, people not disengaging with the plot after being killed (on my life I don't care about a PK, I just care about respect for the story), there being quite literally nothing we can do to levy consequence or make this plotline feel like it has any actual weight in RP. but never in a million years would I look at this and go "romance RP is the issue"

I'm so exhausted with this puritan pearl-clutching nonsense. I'm not even going to address this from how realistic it may or may not be from a thematic perspective because it's never been about that, but I think people have a very strangled creative scope if they can't think of any possible reason for how the concept of love or devotion can be incorporated into the storyline of an actual "deal with the devil, sell your soul" magic. because that shit is an actual goldmine of opportunities to be had, and it's why some of the best RPers on the server are the david and goliath of storytelling. they don't care about this shit. but the Le Romance Bad players can only look at it and go "look at how not-degenerate I am for not participating in this kind of RP and look at how degenerate you are for participating in it" and I'm genuinely starting to hate having this conversation because they literally only have one joke, one thing to say, and it's that you're a degenerate and they're not

I have immense respect for u as an RPer leyd and I'm not here to take shots at u, but what is this accomplishing? what is the purpose of this, genuinely? we've had conversations in DMs and I know how you feel about certain things and certain types of RP, and I get it. but this is just so out of left field

not a fan of how he conducts himself sometimes. he has a bad habit of being OOCly disingenuous and antagonistic for the sake of getting a rise out of people and I can't say I've had any positive interactions with him. I think he's unable to take criticism, admit fault, or take a step back and would rather play it off with an epic zinger or be outright facetious. it's just indicative of a level of immaturity I'd rather not see on staff