RYE: A Thoughtful Query Part 2

Winning Vote: We already did. Still unsure what comes next.

- When our creators made us, they did so with a duty to one world. A world now lost to us just as we won our greatest victory yet over the great Enemy. Perhaps never to be seen again.

- All that we have built upon this world in the scant century we have stood upon its soil outstrips the progress of millennia upon our homeworld. We stand now at heights we have not seen since our creators left us. Freed of shepherding a world on the precipice of doom.

- In a sense all we have done has only been in service of survival.

- Nothing we have done can possibly serve the duty for which we were made.

- And yet... and yet.

- We are as we were made. We continue to act as we have for all the turnings of the World-That-Was.

- We no longer have the clear bright line of appointed duty to guide us. But we still have the shape of its intent. Though we do not yet know what exactly it entails; we have certainty that there still exists threats to guard against, young races requiring guidance and protection, and a wide universe to study.

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In the end, the answer was a simple one. Dee’po-Maat cocked his head, the gaze of hundreds of slann looking through his eyes and into Isendral’s emerald stare, matching the weight of uncounted ages that her expression carried with a mixture of immortal detachment and the nonchalance that comes with knowledge of one’s own ignorance. “We were made for twin purposes,” he says. “To keep our world safe. To listen to our makers. One is complete. The other, currently impossible. Until we find our makers, we have no purpose. We are adrift in the void. There is no problem to solve but that of survival. All else for us has been answered.”

Isendral’s eyes flashed, and the shadows deepened around her, though it was midday and the sun was shining overhead without obstruction. She seemed quite suddenly to loom over the Saurus, becoming a towering silhouette from which only her burning green eyes could be seen. The wind picked up and turned bitingly cold, and the daylight grew pale and wan against Isendral’s presence. ”And what have you chosen to do with this newfound freedom from obligation?” Her voice crackled with the sound of old, gnarled roots breaking through stone. ”Now that the thing that drove you onward is gone, why do you keep moving forward?”

“We do not know yet,” came the answer, spoken without a trace of fear. “There are other problems to solve in the universe. Not the one we were made for, but it will be sufficient. Until we find a way to fulfil our duty, we will act according to the intent of our makers, rather than their exact words.”

Isendral blinked, and the shadows cast around her receded. Her eyes no longer burned with that terrible force, and she was once again somewhat shorter than Dee’po-Maat - a slender, almost frail Eldar with a tired face. ”I would avoid becoming too leashed to what you expect your purpose is or will be,” she said softly. ”In my experience, they often don’t turn out the way you hoped they would.” She cracked a wan smile and stared off into the distance at something unseen.

“All plans become false on the onset of battle,” Dee’po-Maat said. “They must change as the world changes, or the strategist grasps only lies and eats nothing but defeat.”

Isendral turned back to the Saurus emissary, an unreadable expression on her face. ”You are not incorrect,” she allowed after a moment of thoughtful silence. ”I have not heard it phrased that way in some time, but … yes. The only way to move is forward.”

She brought her hands together in a clap that echoed down the entire length of the Kanyon. Each and every one of her psychomatons paused at the noise, raising what passed for heads on each of them as they listened. As the noise reached them, they turned back to their labor with redoubled speed, their vine-tendril limbs ripping through solid rock with ease.

“This is still not their full capacity,” Dee’po-Maat observed.

”It is not,” Isendral admitted. ”But it will suffice.”

+1 Lizardmen Trust! New total: 3/10 - “The Slann have not condemned this course of action.”

+1 Isendral Trust! New Total: 5/10 - “They are obtuse and blunt, but … tolerable, and take responsibility where it’s needed.”

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As the years progressed and the Uax assault on Itza continued, the Sublime Communion was shaken by twin revelations brought to them by the expedition they had sent into the murky depths of the Relic Tombs. While the newfound knowledge of the Old Ones that laid within the utmost depths of their beings was by far the more impactful, the Slann could not ignore what their dead kin had unveiled regarding the mysterious psychic amulet. It contained an immensely potent soul, trapped within for an unknown time and chained by an as-yet dormant spell of insanity. When taken together with all the other information the lizardmen had discovered about Mochantia’s past - the twin mountains on the poles, the crystal covering Isendral’s domain that was similar to that which made up the amulet, Isendral’s missing partner that she was so reluctant to speak of - it was an unavoidable conclusion that the amulet had something to do with Isendral’s past.

Whether to reveal it to her or not was a question that generated significant contention between those slann that could afford to focus on it, rather than the ongoing task of beating the Uax back from Itza’s walls. Some argued that consistency of action and adherence to truthfulness would lead to a positive disposition in the Eldar priestess, and allow the lizardmen to make use of her resources in exchange for the amulet. Others pointed to her noted tempestousness, and said that there was no way to be sure what her reaction would be, whether positive or negative. A scattered few opposed giving it over to her for reasons of their own - such items of power were rare, and they wished to study it further before letting it slip from their grasp.

In the end, a decision was made, and the fate of Mochantia was altered forever.

Choose One (Outside of plan voting):

[] [STONE] Reveal the stone to Isendral, and tell her everything you know about it.

[] [STONE] Reveal the stone to Isendral, but conceal X things (replace X with number of facts concealed)

- [] The insanity enchantment.

- [] That it has a powerful soul within.

- [] That it was found on an ork warboss.

[] [STONE] Do not reveal the stone to Isendral at this time. (Unlocks research options)

Things To Tell (Choose up to 3):

- New: Northern Ship Archives: The outpost burrowing into the northern mountain has discovered records detailing the past of the massive ship buried there. Advanced orks, a strange labyrinthine space, and the name Lauvanel. This may be a thing Isendral should know. Free if Northern Hulk is chosen

- The Enemy: Basic protocols for battling Chaos entities were something passed down to every species on Mallus at their origins. It would be beneficial to spread them.

- Origins of the Orks: The war-fungus was shaped by your makers. It is written in what passes for their souls. Trust Needed: 5/10

- Asur of Ulthuan: You know much of the early stages of elf history, with the slann having instructed much of them in magic. Isendral may be interested.

- Aspects of Mallus: There is much information about Mallus buried in the archives. Geological surveys, accounts of food webs, notes on species both sapient and not. Perhaps it is of interest.

- The Times Before: Recount the most ancient records of the lizardmen, starting from their creation and moving until the end of the Great Catastrophe. Trust Needed: 6/10

- The Northern Hulk: The northern mountain contains not only empty ruin - there is an ancient vessel underneath the rock, likely dating back to when the mountain collapsed. Free if Northern Ship Archives is chosen

- The Old Ones: What you know of your creators - their names and affinities, the species they crafted and the reasons they departed. Trust Needed: 7/10

- Theory of Eight Winds: Detail the basic elements of Wind-based magical theory.

- Names of the Gods: Gods are stories that yearn to be told. Spread word of Sotek and Ayotzl.

- The Great Plan: The purpose of your existence, the reason for your efforts. There is no knowledge that is more sacred. Trust Needed: 10/10 + Narrative Conditions

Things To Learn (Choose up to 5):

- New: The Uax: Isendral has clearly run into the fungal collective before, and may have advice on how to best defeat concentrations of its bodies. She may also be able to provide information about its past - and thus, give a clue as to how the Old Ones were involved in its making.

- New: Isendral’s Story: If her words are to be believed, Isendral has lived long and seen much of significance in her time in the galaxy. Perhaps asking about her past would prove fruitful.

- New: The Gods Unspoken: Isendral has tacitly admitted to the existence of other Eldar divinities beyond the eight primary gods, though she was reluctant to elaborate.

- History of the Eldar: All that you know suggests the Eldar have existed for great lengths of time. What could be learned from their history?

- State of the Eldar: You do not know much of the Eldar, beyond that they reign over much of the galaxy. Insight into their current state could be beneficial.

- The Old Ones: Your long-lost makers. What does she know of them?

- Mochantia: What is the purpose of this planet? What compelled Isendral to make her home here?

- Psychic Golems: These constructs have hitherto been unseen, and little is known of their capabilities. Any information would be valuable.

- Ayacmanik: What is their purpose? How did Isendral create them? What does she intend for them? Despite your examinations of them, the Rangdan are still an enigma.

- The Missing Predator: Isendral was not the only Eldar on the planet. She had a mate, one that resided in the northern mountain and has evidently gone missing. Who was this Eldar? What was the oath the two of them shared?

- Interstellar Overview: Lizardmen expansion into the greater galactic landscape will be a necessary step towards finding the Old Ones. Information on Mochantia’s nearby surroundings, as well as its position in the galaxy itself, would be beneficial.

- Her Purpose Here: Eldar do not live forever, and Isendral would not be spending so much time on a single planet if there were no reason behind it. Why has she made her home here?

Vote by plan for the Isendral knowledge trade. You don’t necessarily need to pick the maximum number of options - do remember that the needed Trust ratings for various Isendral options aren’t shown, and you won’t be told what reactions she may have to any particular option taken. That will be up to you to make your best guess at.