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Post by griffinguy24 on Nov 27, 2010 22:25:16 GMT -5
(OOC: Since a number of your character blogs or whatever have mentioned your characters speaking to Dr. Lord regarding certain issues, I figured we'd use that as a fledgling start to our RP board)
Activities day has been a rush, and the Band is varying degrees of exhausted and thrilled. Questions burn in the mind of many of the young Scions, when you each receive the following email from alan.lord@faculty.harmon.edu:
"You kids did some excellent work today. I've got some downtime, and I'll be in my office from 5 to 8 if you have any questions. If any of you want to talk, I'll be there.
- Dr. Lord"
An opportunity to speak with your Band's Guide has arisen. Do you take it?
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Post by jahierasaladin on Nov 28, 2010 3:02:38 GMT -5
There's a knock on the office door before a shy voice drifts in, "Dr. Lord? It's Jahiera..." The tiny Egyptian scion hesitantly opens the door and steps in, looking very small (no small feat mind you) and very strained. Her movements are as smooth as ever, but they jerk every now and then, keeping time with particularly loud sounds.
"I haven't been around that many people, and the ones I'm usually with expect wierd stuff from me..."
She stops for a second and curses to herself in Egyptian, and begins again, "Is it always like this for you? I mean, I have been holding myself back the entire day, the first day I had a lot of people give me second looks because I either reacted to stuff that wasn't there or to things just as they happened and..."
She stops and sighs again, looking rather peeved at herself, and turns her pleading eyes to the good doctor, "Ca...could we chat about this Scion thing...cause I never really understood what it meant."
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Post by griffinguy24 on Nov 28, 2010 14:43:57 GMT -5
Dr. Lord's office is on the small side, surrounded on all ends by floor-to-ceiling bookshelves. A collection of animal skulls lines his desk. Ix Chel lays sprawled on the floor next to his desk, looking rather uninterested.
Dr. Lord looks up as you enter, "Good evening, Miss Saladin. What can I do for you?"
"Yes, Miss Saladin, it is like that. Every single day. Fate, the incorrigible bitch that she is, reacts to our Legend and decides that what we need most is for our lives to be interesting. So, odd things happen. We're the universe's weirdness magnets. And as time goes on and your Legend grows, it will only get worse."
"I wouldn't worry too much about the odd looks of your peers. I know your history. Few people are as privileged as you to have your childhood, but even without your divine heritage, you are not the usual college student on an American campus. You're a British-Egyptian daughter of an archaeologist who hasn't had a single day of traditional schooling, or even much socialization with others your age. It's going to be tough. You should take it in stride.:
Dr Lord sighs, "As for what being a Scion means, well, the basics are, you and I are both children of the Gods, with the divine ichor that powers the gods flowing in our veins. You're a fledgling Scion, what we call a Hero, someone with more mortal blood than divine ichor. I'm a Demigod, a more experienced Scion, someone with more ichor than blood. This is something metaphysical, though, it wouldn't show up on a blood test or anything."
"Now, I'm sure you've heard the Greek myths of the Titans. Well, the Titans are a multi-pantheon threat. They're the Gods' ancestors, and they are, by and large, a bunch of bastards," he thinks for a second, "How should I put this? The Titans are just too... big. They're tied to certain concepts of the World. Fire, wind, light, darkness, each Titan is tied to something like that. Problem is, back when they ruled, they regarded humanity as something like a hive of bees. Mostly they left us alone, sometimes they stole our honey, sometimes they'd throw a rock at our beehive just to piss us off, sometimes they'd try and kill us all off."
"So their kids, the Gods, who're more in tune with humanity, teamed up to stop them, and sealed them in Tartarus. Note that they sealed them, rather than killed them. Killing a Titan does some really bad shit to the universe. When Thor killed Ymir, the Titan of Ice, Fate threw a huge backlash. The Ice Age ended, and the Great Flood began. So, they decided that the best way to end the Titan's reign of terror was to essentially neuter them, then seal them in a pit below all the Underworlds and keep them from running amok. Worked great for the longest time."
"And then they escaped."
"So, now, the Gods are fighting a war on all fronts to keep the Titans at bay and, hopefully, seal them up again. So, we come in, their kids, Scions. See, if Fate's a bitch to us, Fate's REALLY a bitch to the Gods. I've seen a major God come down to the World at full power only once, and when it happened, the sheer crazy that unleashed made my worst day seem like a vacation. The worst part is the mortals. Mortals see that much Legend at once, they get Fatebound to the God, and start acting like Fate's little puppets. And when that happens, the God gets stuck in the same script. If a hundred mortals surrounding a God get Fatebound into thinking the God's a vicious sociopath, or a militant pacifist, or a self-sacrificing martyr, suddenly the God can't act any other way. So, when something needs to be done in the World, they send us, who can sneak around more under Fate's radar."
"What this entails for you... well, that depends on a lot. It depends on Bastet, since she's your mom. It depends on the Pesedjet as a whole, since you're one of them. It depends on your Band, since they're the ones supporting you and helping you grow. It depends on your enemies, because fighting and overcoming them helps to define your Legend. It even depends a little on me, since I've been sent here to guide you and your pals. More than any of that, though, it depends on you. Whatever you choose to do with your life will define your time as a Scion more than anything else."
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Post by Gabriella Velas on Nov 28, 2010 22:02:10 GMT -5
Gabriella waits outside for her turn.
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Post by jahierasaladin on Nov 28, 2010 23:20:00 GMT -5
Hearing about the situation had made the normally hyper scion quiet, somber, and more than a little scared as she contemplated something horrific.
"H-Have gods died in this war?" Can they die in the first place? She had only recently met her Mother, and she loved every moment of it...she did not want to lose her, not when there were so many questions she wanted to ask her.
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Post by griffinguy24 on Nov 29, 2010 0:09:47 GMT -5
Dr. Lord laughed, "Of course they have. Not that it's stopped them. Seriously, once you become a God, death is kind of a joke. Take your pantheon. Osiris got chopped to pieces and end result was he turned blue. Hell, he'd still be the pantheon's king if a fish didn't end up eating his penis. And in my pantheon, we're so sacrifice-happy that we've stopped counting the Gods' deaths. Hell, my divine patron kicked off the start of the Fifth World by slicing and dicing the entire pantheon and then himself to power the sun. And don't even get me started on Baldur."
"Death isn't even something you guys have to worry about too much. My entire Band even died once. Through a combination of dumb luck and truly Epic Stamina, I managed to survive. Good thing I survived, too, I'm an apprentice Psychopomp myself, that's why I can travel all over the place. I had to scour the various Underworlds to bring my friends back from the dead. Took a few months, but it was doable."
"So yeah, don't worry so much. Death for the divine isn't something you should lose sleep over." He thinks this over an smiles, "Oh, but if for some reason, you DO end up there, and you meet up with Anubis, tell him 'The peaches are not ripe.' Heh, good times."
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Post by jahierasaladin on Nov 29, 2010 0:25:42 GMT -5
She blinks as her lips tug upwards in spite of herself, she starts giggling, "Sounds like one of those epic long stories-" Like the ancient casino her father's team found at one point... "-but yeah, I guess I will." She blinked as she heard someone breathing outside the office, taking a sniff, she found herself smelling blood from two sources.
"Gabs is waiting for her turn," she smiled at the man who helped put somethings into perspective. "Umm, you don't mind if I come later on? I've got some homework I need to finish up anyways..." She quickly stood up and walked to the door, turning around she gave the doctor a thankful smile, "Thank you sir."
With that, she strolled outside and grinned at Gabriella, before heading to the campus library, "Your turn."
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Post by griffinguy24 on Nov 29, 2010 1:33:31 GMT -5
Dr. Lord, nods at Jahiera, "Glad to be of assistance. Take care."
Ix Chel gives a brief yowl, "Oh, and tell Miyet that Ix Chel says hello."
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Post by Gabriella Velas on Nov 29, 2010 9:47:17 GMT -5
Gabby walks into the office looking rather worried, and takes a seat. After a few seconds of silence she finally blurts out what's been bothering her since her father visited her.
"Dr. Lord it was implied to me by father that he would be "asking" me to do some things I won't be comfortable with." she pauses nervously, unsure she wants to know the answer. "Did your father ever ask you to sacrifice to him and when my dad insists what in the hell do I do about it? she spews out rather quickly.
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Post by Alex Efasteyo on Nov 29, 2010 15:11:17 GMT -5
Alex arrives at Dr. Lord's office, and awaits his turn.
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Post by griffinguy24 on Nov 29, 2010 16:37:29 GMT -5
Dr. Lord gets a look in his eyes that can only be called "nostalgic" as he says, " Ah yes, the dreaded sacrifice question. First of all, Tezcatlipoca is fairly easy going with the blood. Be thankful you aren't a daughter of Huitzilopochtli, he'd be down here by now screaming at you for failure to provide hearts..." he then grows serious, "The first thing you should know is that it is only in the rarest of circumstances that you will be required to end a human life for our pantheon's purpose. The second thing is that it is incredibly easy to get mortals to willingly spill their own blood for you. Your father is a master of charm and manipulation, and I know those talents are yours as well. A Scion of your caliber can easily get a cadre of followers to cut themselves for you, especially if you find people who are emotionally disturbed... or fans of those vampire books..."
He shook his head, "But, that may also be distasteful to you. Another thing you must consider is that, as a Scion, you will have enemies. This comes part and parcel. There are those who would happily murder you with a song in their heart. And you know what? Their blood is just as useful for our purposes. I'd say the vast majority of sacrifices I give are Titanspawn."
He then sighs, "My own patron doesn't ask much sacrifice of me. But Quetzalcoatl is notorious for spilling the absolute minimum blood to ensure the continuity of the cosmos. In a few historic cases, it was too little. In any case, he's told me many times the most important thing to remember is that the sacrifices must be made for the good of the universe rather than personal gain. When you experience the rush you get from it, you'll understand that. I have worked with your own father, though, and he demands significantly more. If you truly feel you cannot do this, I have this advice for you: He favors the bold. And he favors results. Impress him, in any way possible, and he will be incredibly lenient. But do not make an enemy of him."
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Post by Gabriella Velas on Nov 29, 2010 16:47:40 GMT -5
Gabby nods meekly. "I know all about parents who demand only the best." She lets out a sigh. "What if he sees it as a weakness in me? I honestly don't know if I can take another parental figure's disappointment or flat out hatred of me."
"And worst of all, what will my band think of me? Can the really accept some of the things I will need to do? How do I explain it to them? I mean I've already got marks from things He has asked of me..."
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Post by griffinguy24 on Nov 29, 2010 19:12:23 GMT -5
Dr. Lord lets out a wry smile, "You think you're the first Scion of his to get antsy when told to sacrifice? Over half of the Scions in our pantheon are squeamish about the blood, especially at first. Only the truly devoted and the truly psychotic are truly gung ho about it."
"I don't claim to know the psychology of Tezcatlipoca very well. No one does. The face he shows to one person may be the opposite of what he shows another, and this is doubly true of his children. But among us teotl, blood truly is thicker than water. I wouldn't be too concerned."
Dr. Lord rolls up a sleeve to show his forearm, which is covered in old scars, scabbed-over wounds, and bandages that seem fresh, "Marks are not unusual among us. They aren't exclusive to our pantheon either."
"Most Bands are aware of our needs, and those that aren't get a quick education. With a few glaring exceptions, most of your Band seem to be accepting people. I have little doubt that they will accept you no matter what. My Band accepted me and my sacrifices. And I have accepted similar ugliness from them."
"If anything goes wrong with Tezcatlipoca, anything truly wrong, tell me. I have experience dealing with him. I will do my best to make it right."
As he says this, Gabriella's eyes flash intermittently between white and black...
OOC: Gabby, you'll get a Conversation shortly with the details
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Post by Gabriella Velas on Nov 29, 2010 20:17:31 GMT -5
As she comes out of it, "Wait so you're like...my nephew?"
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Post by griffinguy24 on Nov 29, 2010 22:16:34 GMT -5
Dr. Lord puts his head in his hands, grumbling, "Great. You saw THAT. I should have known this job would be hell when both my grandfathers agreed that I needed to take it. And as if Grandpa Tezzy hasn't fucked around with my life enough, he sends ANOTHER jaguar nahualli to..."
Suddenly, he pauses, staring directly at you, his golden-green eyes now pitch black, "Huh... so Tepini ISN'T a nagual... he's... damn... and your... it's not even a... huh... now THAT'S interesting..."
Dr. Lord blinks, his eyes normal once more. He coughs, "Right. Well, I think that's enough for right now. Mr. Efasteyo is waiting patiently outside. Have a good evening."
As Gabriella gets up to leave, Ix Chel places her paw on her foot, looks directly at her eyes, and snarls, "One last word of advice to you, cihuatzin. Sometimes, it's best for you to keep secrets." She lets her go, but continues to glare.
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Post by Gabriella Velas on Nov 30, 2010 11:11:10 GMT -5
Gabby half glares at the cat before hurrying out. Still looking a bit shocked, she heads to her room to change for another work out.
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Post by Alex Efasteyo on Nov 30, 2010 11:54:28 GMT -5
Alex says a quick "Hi" to Gabriella as she hurries on by, then steps into Dr. Lord's Office.
Paying very little attention to the office interior, Alex quickly comes to the point. "Dr. Lord, I feel pretty lost. I don't know if you can help or not, but I sure hope you can. Much of my Visitation was a haze, and I don't recall how much Hephaestus explained to me about Titanspawn. But for the last 10 months I've had a burning hatred for them and have been thinking they are all evil and need killing. I know that's not very smart of me, but...Anyway, yesterday I learned dwarfs are Titanspawn and apparently Titanspan can be on our side and aren't just our enemies. But I've got no experience on judging them, and human moral values seem a poor standard to judge the Gods, so I can't see using them to judge Titanspawn either. So how the heck am I supposed to know which ones need killing. I mean I don't want to wait to see them ripping off my face or the face of a friend. Is there a book or something with a real history of mythology. Can you tell which ones most likely need killing? Is there some source somewhere to sort of jump start me in knowing who's on which side of this war?"
Alex finally breathes in after that long speech, and looks hopefully at Dr. Lord.
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Post by griffinguy24 on Dec 1, 2010 15:08:10 GMT -5
"I know all about your Visitation," Dr. Lord says, as he takes out a kettle to make some tea, "And I understand how, in such a situation, you would be angry at all Titanspawn. The issue is, the phrase 'Titanspawn' is quite inclusive. A number of races born from the Titans, like the dwarves and the tengu, have rebelled against their Titan masters to serve the Gods. Even so, there are still dwarves and tengu and the like that remain loyal to the Titans... There's no easy answer to that. The best I can say is that not every Titanspawn is as bad as the cyclopes that attacked your school."
He prepares his mugs, including one for Alex to take if he chose, "As for who the 'good guys' and 'bad guys' are in this war are, well, the answer to that is also complicated, because the Gods are fickle and don't always have humanity's best interests at heart. At the very least, though, the Gods as a whole are involved with humanity, and even the selfish ones want to stay that way. The Titans... not so much. The few that aren't cruel or indifferent towards mortals don't understand them well enough to do any good."
He pours the tea, adds some sugar, and takes a sip of the brewed beverage, "Best thing to keep in mind when dealing with Gods is that there's a severe case of values dissonance at play. Many of the Greek Gods are serial rapists. Almost all of the Aztec Gods are serial murderers. But, if you talked to them about it, they haven't done anything wrong, and most will be pissed with you if you imply that they did. They're old, they're set in their ways, and they don't view the World the same way we do. It takes a while to even start to comprehend how they operate. I once asked Quetzalcoatl why the blood sacrifices were even necessary... the images he showed me of how the universe really works, the beauty of it all and the fragility and our place in it..." he shivers, "It made me weep. I still don't understand all of it and what I do understand still fills me with awe."
"There isn't a book or anything that explicitly tells you everything. First of all, every Pantheon has a different perspective on this war and the universe in general, and it can color anyone who guides you. That's why the Gods have been forming multi-pantheon Bands as of late, to ensure none of their Scions get too entrenched in one universal viewpoint. Second of all, the rules change, frequently. Many Gods are fickle and easy to provoke into a rage or easily placated from one. Read up on mythology. All of it. Any of it. Even if it's not the absolute truth, it'll give you a good idea."
"Oh, and pay attention when we do our labs," he smirks, "Not that you'll have much of a choice."
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Post by Alex Efasteyo on Dec 1, 2010 16:01:41 GMT -5
Alex takes the remaining mug, putting in about twice as much sugar in his tea as Dr. Lord did. He listens patiently, nodding at a few points, though a slight frown settles upon his face.
After Dr. Lord's last comment, Alex proclaims, "Hey, I always pay attention in my classes! I'm a good student and like learning things."
"Well, except sometimes I do get sidetracked by an idea in class. But it only happens when talking about building things, so, um, I don't think I'll have one of my spells in your class."
Then Alex sighs and says, "I was thinking about that question for most of the past 24 hours, and I half expected an answer like you gave me. I guess I just had an easy answer before and was really hoping to have a new easy answer once I found my old one was wrong. I really should have known better."
"And I have been studying mythology some, though really only the Greek and Roman mythology. I guess it's time I picked up some more books on the subject."
"I've got another question that's been bothering me since yesterday too. It's about mortals and doing obviously supernatural things in front of them. In particular, I was thinking about Dave's summoning his motorcycle in front of all the other students. And we did a lot of other stuff, I am not even sure who might have seen me make my armor appear."
"So, um, how much are we supposed to avoid notice by mortals?"
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Post by griffinguy24 on Dec 1, 2010 18:42:58 GMT -5
Alex takes the remaining mug, putting in about twice as much sugar in his tea as Dr. Lord did. He listens patiently, nodding at a few points, though a slight frown settles upon his face. After Dr. Lord's last comment, Alex proclaims, "Hey, I always pay attention in my classes! I'm a good student and like learning things." "Well, except sometimes I do get sidetracked by an idea in class. But it only happens when talking about building things, so, um, I don't think I'll have one of my spells in your class." Then Alex sighs and says, "I was thinking about that question for most of the past 24 hours, and I half expected an answer like you gave me. I guess I just had an easy answer before and was really hoping to have a new easy answer once I found my old one was wrong. I really should have known better." "And I have been studying mythology some, though really only the Greek and Roman mythology. I guess it's time I picked up some more books on the subject." "I've got another question that's been bothering me since yesterday too. It's about mortals and doing obviously supernatural things in front of them. In particular, I was thinking about Dave's summoning his motorcycle in front of all the other students. And we did a lot of other stuff, I am not even sure who might have seen me make my armor appear." "So, um, how much are we supposed to avoid notice by mortals?" "Easy answers, HAH!" Dr. Lord says, chuckling, before he coughs, "Sorry, sorry. I wish an easy answer for your predicament did exist, because it'd make my job a whole hell of a lot easier, too." "But yeah, cross-reference whatever you can. I've got a whole lot of various myths, particularly on Central and South America, but not right here available to give. You know, first lab session, I'll print out a reader's guide on the various mythologies, along with some notes and corroborations." "Yeah, I heard about the motorcycle incident. Well, the words "Aesir" and "subtle" are rarely in the same sentence, at least not without the prefix "un-". I mean, one of my Bandmates and best friends is the son of Sif. Sif, one of the Aesir's most restrained members! And he rides around on a giant brown bear. Seriously, rides him like a horse! He can't even magically conceal Hollr-Vinr like I can Ix Chel. I checked around once I'd heard about it, and no one literally believes a guy just summoned a bike out of nowhere. Mortals, bless 'em." "The best course of action is to try your damndest not to get the mortals' attention, but don't worry too much if you do. Mortals rationalize stuff like you wouldn't believe. Just remember, the bigger it is, the less likely that they'll be able to pretend they didn't see it. Guy summons a motorcycle out of thin air, they later think he just drove a motorcycle through the quad. Bunch of college kids fighting a nemean bear in the middle of the quad, throwing around their godly powers... that's too much for them." |
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